Bernard, Lynnette - Laurie's Loves [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (3 page)

“I’m sorry, Ms. Young,” Jackson told her quietly, shaking his head slightly at Jace as he turned his attention toward him, “but I’ve just been told that we’ve overbooked these next two weeks, and this room has already been assigned to another couple.”

Laurie’s head snapped up. Panic filled her eyes at the thought that her vacation might end before it had even begun. Her shoulders sagged as she looked at both men sadly. Looking around the room, she was overcome with loss that this comfortable haven would not be hers. Once again, the reality of her life slammed into her, and she knew a sadness deep down to her bones. Tears welled up instantly, and the soft brown of her eyes filled with a deep sadness that tugged at the two men’s hearts as they saw the glistening of unshed tears that she fought to hold back.

“Please,” she said in a pained whisper. “I can’t go back home. I’ve waited forever for this vacation.”

Jace stepped toward her, his wolf tearing at his chest as he fought to get out to comfort their woman. He took a steadying breath to calm his wolf, but the scent of her made him all the more determined to protect and cherish her.
Fix this!
He looked at Jackson with an anger that would have fallen any other man, but Jackson only smiled and reached out to gently brush the stray tear that slid down their mate’s cheek with the pad of this thumb.

“Darlin’, don’t cry,” he told her soothingly. “You don’t have to leave. We just have to relocate you, is all.”

Laurie smiled through her tears and took a soothing breath. “Really?”

Jackson nodded and brushed his thumb across her cheek, closing his eyes briefly as the warmth from her soothed his heart. “We have to move you to the private compound. We have a room there for times just like these when we have an overflow of lodgers. You’ll have your own balcony that looks out over the ranch. You can even see the lake from there. And we’ll comp your stay to show you how sorry we are for the inconvenience.”

“Oh, no,” Laurie protested. “You don’t have to do that.”

“It would be our pleasure, darlin’,” Jackson told her, winking. “No arguing now. Let’s get you to your new room.”

He reached forward and lifted the heavy bag, leaving the overnight bag for Jace to grab. Jace winced in pain as his shoulder twinged when he lifted the bag.

“Are you all right?” Laurie asked him, reaching out to touch his arm lightly.

Jace straightened slowly and looked down at her. There wasn’t one bit of deceit in this woman. She saw his pain and reacted to it with genuine concern and kindness. A picture of her massaging his shoulder flashed through his mind, and he saw Jackson turn toward him and smile knowingly.

It wasn’t a fantasy. Both could sense the rightness of it. Laurie would be the one to give them caring and comfort. Even though both men knew that Jace’s shoulder would be totally healed by the evening, it didn’t stop them from knowing that she would ease their aches in both body and spirit. More than anything, they appreciated her genuine concern.

“I’m fine,” Jace told her calmly, unable to stop himself from scowling down at her.

“No you’re not,” she told him quickly, ignoring his bad temper. “Your shoulder is hurting. Have you had someone look at it?”

Jace straightened and looked down at her. He was amazed that she could pick up on his pain but even more surprised that her eyes held no fear when she looked up at him. His shoulder did hurt from his morning run when he had stumbled and had collided into a fallen tree. It angered him that things like that had been happening to him more and more lately. Jackson had told him that the reason he was having more difficulty containing his emotions in order to keep his anger in check, and was finding himself stumbling more often and nearly losing control of his wolf, was because they hadn’t found their mate. Once they found their mate, she would ground them both. She would be the warm and loving force that would center them. And now they had found her.

Jace scowled down at the woman, unwilling to give in to the need he had to crush her to him and claim her. He fiercely pushed aside the feelings he was beginning to have for her. He didn’t want her to understand him. He didn’t want her to sense his pain. He didn’t want to appreciate her real concern. He didn’t want to need her. But he did—every one of those damn things. He did want them all. And it was scaring the hell out of him.

Laurie looked up at him and smiled sadly. She could sense the pride in him, but she could also sense the pain. “Stubborn man,” she finally whispered, exasperation evident in her voice. She shook her head as she faced the man called Jackson, hesitating slightly as she saw him smile. Her stomach did a little flutter as she found herself between these two very masculine men.

Down, girl.
The admonishment whispered in her head.
Don’t get caught up in thoughts that could never be your reality.

Jackson couldn’t stop himself from chuckling as he turned and led the way out of the room. This little spitfire was going to be just what Jace needed. Just what he needed, too.

Laurie followed behind Jackson, ignoring the growls coming from behind her. “And you can stop your grumbling,” she warned him. “I have some liniment in my bag. You can use it on your shoulder before you go to bed tonight.”

Jace said nothing. He just rolled his eyes and followed them out of the room, admiring the view of Laurie’s beautiful curves as she walked before him. How he wanted to reach out and squeeze that delectable ass.

What room do we have for the overflow of guests, Jackson?

The one across the hall from mine and next to yours.

Chapter 3

Laurie walked into the kitchen of the main house and looked around. The two elderly women standing before the stove looked up at her entrance. The taller one faced her and smiled at her with welcome in her eyes.

“Hello, Ms. Young,” she greeted her warmly.

“Please, call me Laurie,” Laurie told her quickly as she made her way across the kitchen to stand beside them.

“Martha Gregg,” she answered, smiling. “This is our housekeeper, Vera Moore. It’s very nice to meet you, Laurie.”

Vera nodded abruptly at Laurie, stepping back and facing Martha without addressing the young woman. “I have duties to attend to, Martha,” she said quietly. “I’ll speak with you later about the staff schedules.”

Turning, the small woman left the kitchen without another word. Laurie looked at her retreating form and frowned with concern. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Martha,” she said sincerely. “I don’t want to interfere with your jobs.”

Martha laughed and reached out to touch Laurie’s arm lightly before returning her attention to the many pots on the stove. “Oh, don’t worry about that,” she assured her. “This isn’t a job for me. This is my family.” She looked at Laurie and winked. “Don’t mind old sourpuss,” she whispered conspiratorially. “She’s never been one who likes to deviate from routine. The amount of guests this week is overwhelming her, and she doesn’t want to make a mistake. Don’t take it personally.”

Laurie smiled at her, feeling instantly welcomed by the kind woman. “I would like to help if you don’t mind.”

Martha looked up, startled. She could feel the goodness in this one. And she could smell her alpha and beta on her. Even though the scent was faint, it was there. Both men had touched her. She wondered if there was something going on that she was not privy to just yet. It had to be something. They had put her in the bedroom near theirs.

No human had ever shared the private compound with them before. It was just for pack. And now this woman was suddenly here instead of in the lodging assigned to guests. Something was definitely up. She could feel it in her bones that this was the woman who would be the mate to her boys. Though they weren’t her own children by birth, she loved Jace and Jackson as if they were, and she worried that they were destined to never find their mate. Maybe the Fates had finally smiled on them and had sent them this woman.

“You don’t have to help,” Martha told her sincerely. “You’re a guest. Tonight there will be a big dinner at the main dining hall to welcome all the lodgers. They’ll have lots of activities set up for all of you to enjoy your time with us.”

Laurie stepped back and looked away. “I really don’t want to participate in any activities. I just wanted some time away to relax. I haven’t had a vacation in fifteen years.”

“Why ever not?” Martha asked, shocked.

“I was alone with my kids,” Laurie explained, shrugging slightly. “I was too busy raising them. And no money to do anything for myself. Now that they’re older, I have some time to myself, and I’ve saved up so I could come here and just enjoy the beautiful country and have no responsibilities for a little while. Actually, I didn’t really have the money now, but after this past month I just had to get away.”

“What happened?”

Martha watched silently as Laurie averted her eyes slowly, unwilling to allow her to catch a glimpse of the tears that threatened to fall, but the older woman recognized her pain immediately. She could see there was much sadness in this young woman’s life.

“Not much to tell,” Laurie told her softly, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “One day is pretty much like every other.” She was not about to embarrass herself and tell this kind woman the misery of her life. The constant harassment and abuse of her ex-husband had really worn her down. He had been especially cruel to her lately, and she was really at a breaking point. She was barely holding it together.

“How many children do you have?” Martha asked, changing the subject. She was curious about the woman she thought might be the one destined to be the mate of her alpha and beta.

“Two,” Laurie answered proudly. “They’re twins. A girl and a boy. They just graduated from high school. They’re the best kids, and I love them to death. I’m very lucky.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it,” Martha told her knowingly. “A mother guides her children to be the people they are. We aren’t always lucky enough to have our children be the upstanding people we all wish they would be, but our influence has to have something to do with how they turn out. You must be a wonderful parent.”

Laurie blushed lightly. No one but her best friend Nikki had ever given her credit for how she had raised her children. Certainly not her ex, who continually told her she was worthless and did everything wrong.

“Why don’t you go out and sit on the deck while I finish getting dinner ready,” Martha told her quietly. “Just relax. Maybe you can help me tomorrow after you’ve had tonight to rest after your travels of today.”

Laurie smiled and nodded. “That would be nice. I would like that.”

“Don’t worry if you find two wolves come up onto the deck and sit with you,” the matronly woman told her as Laurie made her way out through the glass doors that led to the back deck. “They’re tame and often come up to sit on the deck with us after a long day.”

“Okay,” Laurie’s voice drifted back to her as she walked out onto the deck and sat in one of the extra wide lounge chairs, settling back to enjoy the crisp afternoon air.

She leaned her head back and relaxed, closing her eyes and giving in to the total beauty of the world around her. She could hear the rustling of the wind as it blew through the trees that surrounded the main house. Opening her eyes, she looked out toward the tree line and held her breath as she saw two wolves making their way toward the deck. They were both huge, one slightly bigger than the other. Both had dark fur, one black, the other dark brown. They advanced toward her slowly, and she couldn’t help the fear that gripped at her as they stepped up onto the deck and made their way toward her.

She held her breath as they took up spots on either side of the lounge chair she was sitting on and sat down on their haunches. Very slowly, the larger, black wolf leaned forward to rest his chin on her left thigh. The dark brown wolf did the same to her right. Their eyes held hers, waiting for her acceptance. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. And, once again, she smelled that wonderful smell she had experienced earlier. It was a combination of sweetness and muskiness, and it nearly made her drool.

Reaching out slowly, she touched their heads gently and began to pet them. The softness of their fur was a wonderful feeling under her hands. She soon relaxed, forgetting that they were wolves, and just enjoyed their companionship, smiling as she felt their rumbling of contentment beneath her touch.