Seducing Their Wayfaring Souls [3xtasy Lake 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (19 page)

Lars felt a large weight lift from his chest at Zack’s acceptance. If he accepted Lars then he would accept Cris and in time his own abilities. Right now, Lars was more concerned about Tara’s reaction. She hadn’t moved from where she sat on the dock. Her eyes looked a bit wider than normal and her breathing was much too rapid. Her hands shook when she held them out for Zack. Lars placed the boy in her lap and stepped back waiting to see what her reaction would be. If she freaked out and demanded to leave, he would have to accept her decision.

His heart kicked painfully at the possibility as she pressed a kiss against Zack’s temple and then proceeded to give him a lecture about the safe use of a boat.

“And furthermore I’m grounding you from the lake, young man.”

“Aw, Mom, for how long?”

“Forever.” Tara looked and sounded so angry but she pressed another kiss against Zack’s temple.

“As for you.” She narrowed a look at Lars and he found himself unable to look away from her gaze. “Is there anything else you’ve failed to tell me?”

“I don’t believe so,” Lars replied and then looked pointedly at Cris and then back at Tara. Her eyes widened even more and she darted a look up at Cris, then back at her son, and then back up at Cris.

“What haven’t
you
told me, Cris?”

“Aw hell.” Cris pulled his shirt over his head and then started to unbutton his jeans. “This isn’t how I planned to tell you, but we better get it all out on the table now, so to speak.”

As soon as Cris had most of his clothes off, there was a burst of reflected light and his remaining clothes dropped to the ground around a large coywolf.

“Yeah! Crith can do it, too!” Zack fist pumped the sky.

Tara blinked rapidly, her body swaying slightly, and Lars rushed forward, afraid she was about to pass out and crack her head on the dock. He dropped to his knees behind her and pulled her into the V they created. Zack crawled forward, heading toward the animal.

“No!” Tara yelled and grasped for Zack’s shirt.

“It’s Cris, Tara.” He supported her back and rubbed her arms with his hands. “It’s still Cris in there. The wolf won’t hurt Zack, I swear it.”

Zack had no fear and crawled toward the coywolf. Once he was close enough, Cris leaned forward and swiped his tongue up the side of Zack’s face. That made Zack laugh and Tara’s stiffness eased slightly.

“Is he…”

Lars understood what Tara wanted to ask. “Yes, Zack is his father’s son and one day he will be able to shift into a coywolf as well.”

“When will it happen?”

“Usually around puberty, children will shift to their other form, but they need to be exposed to other shifters. It’s important for their development.”

Tara nodded but didn’t say anything. He realized this was a lot for her to take in and he was impressed and relieved she wasn’t freaking out in a more dramatic fashion. Although he’d noticed that Tara wasn’t one for dramatic outbursts.

The coywolf slowly moved up the dock on his belly with Zack draped over his back. Lars could tell that Cris was watching Tara carefully as he approached.

“Zack, I don’t think you should be antagonizing him like that. He’s not a horse.” She’d stiffened up again but seemed to get ahold of herself and relaxed slightly.

“It’s still Cris, Tara,” he said calmly.

“I hear what you are saying, but my brain isn’t grasping that concept too well.”

Cris moved closer and nosed her hand with his muzzle. She curled her fingers into the fur between his ears and scratched him lightly. The big animal shuffled closer and rested his chin on her thigh, closing his eyes as she scratched him.

“I need some time to take all this in.”

“Take all the time you need, Tara. We’re not going anywhere. Ecstasy Lake is our home and we want it to be yours, too.”

The inability to find out any information about her car frustrated Tara to no end. So when River offered her a lift out to the mechanics’ shop the morning after she’d discovered Cris’s and Lars’s secrets, Tara was more than a little grateful. She hadn’t heard anything from either man this morning, but they’d both promised to give her some time to digest what they’d revealed to her. Zack wanted to visit the McGuigan sisters and they’d offered to keep an eye on him if he wanted to go play a couple video games at the arcade.

“It looks like Georges and Luc are back.” River peered out the window of her car.

Tara followed her gaze and sure enough, the day was overcast enough she could make out a few lights on in the area she thought was an office. “Well why aren’t they answering their phones? I’ve been trying for days to get through to them.”

She opened the door and leaned back in the car. “Thanks for the lift out here, River.”

“No problem.” River got out of her side of the car. “How about I come in with you for moral support?”

“I’d appreciate it.” Tara’s stomach started fluttering with a hundred butterflies. If her car worked then she would be able to leave this afternoon, but if it didn’t then at least she would have an excuse to stick around a bit longer. “I don’t want to leave, River.”

“Who says you have to? You could do whatever you want, find a job, go to school, be a homemaker and have lots of babies. Cris and Lars are wild crazy about you and would support any of your decisions, I’m sure.” River had a wonderful honesty about her that Tara really enjoyed.

“I don’t want to rely on them completely.”

“You know, Tara, sometimes it’s okay to rely on the people who love you. I rely on my guys all the time. And they rely on me to keep life interesting.”

Tara couldn’t help the bubbly laugh that escaped her. The thought of staying there with Cris and Lars felt so perfect, so right. They rounded the corner and she noticed Lars’s truck parked by one of the doors.

“See, they’re already here to find out what’s going on with your car. I might as well head out then.” She gave Tara a hug. “I’m so glad you’re staying. Call me tonight. We need to set up a girls’ night.”

“Thanks, River. I’m looking forward to it.” Tara had never felt as cared for as she did then. Both men would be there to support her. Although, she planned on talking to them about coming to the shop without her. Didn’t she warn them once already she didn’t like surprises?

“Hey, Luc, what do Cris and Lars want?” Tara heard a male voice down the small hallway as she opened the door to the garage

“They’re here to pick up the contents of the Volvo,” another man answered. “Cris wants us to tell the owner her car’s totalled. She must be pretty hot since they don’t want her to go anywhere anytime soon.”

Tara froze in place with a gasp after hearing the man in the other room. A large man stepped out into the hallway. He was so much bigger than Tara and looked to be made of layers of muscle. “Oh, hi there.” He smiled and walked forward, holding his hand out. “Come on in. You must be here for the Jetta. I finished the bodywork on it and it’s ready to go. I hope you like it. It’s all custom like you requested.”

“But I’m not.”

He captured her fingers and walked into another room with her. “Georges, you didn’t tell me Miss Downey was such a beautiful woman.” The big man looked down at her and gave her a flirtatious smile.

“That’s not Miss Downey.”

Tara looked at the second man, who was as big as Luc. They both had broad, muscular shoulders and light brown hair. They looked so much alike, not twins, but she would bet brothers. “I’m Tara Brewer,” she managed to get out.

Georges’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, shit.”

She turned to Luc, who had let go of her hand and jammed his into the pockets of his coveralls. His cheeks were ruddy and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “What exactly did Cris and Lars tell you to say to me?”

“Tara!” Cris stopped in the doorway and looked at her as if he’d seen a ghost. Lars stepped into the room behind him.

“There’s an explanation—”

Tara held up her hand and cut off whatever Lars tried to say. She felt numb.
Why would they do this?

“You knew.” Tara felt the shock settle into her bones. She looked from Cris to Lars and saw the guilt written all over their expressions. “You both lied to me.”

“You were leaving.” Cris ran his hand through his hair. He looked frustrated and guilty. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“So you felt the best thing to do was to lie to me. You tricked us into staying.”

“You were taking our son away,” Cris replied.

Lars closed his eyes and dropped his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“So this is about you? You wanted Zack.”

“That’s not what he meant.” Lars stepped forward and reached for her, but she moved out of his way. She didn’t want him touching her right now. Pain radiated in her chest and her greatest fear was that if she let him touch her, she’d forgive them for everything. She glanced over at the two mechanics. Neither Luc nor Georges would meet her eyes and a sharp wave of nausea rolled over her. “Oh, my god. They were in on it, too, from the beginning.”

“Miss Brewer, we weren’t trying to deceive you.” Georges nudged his brother.

“Not too much anyways. We wanted you to have a chance to get to know our town and help our friends out.”

“Who else knew?” She put her hands on her hips and glared at all four men.

“The entire town,” Luc replied. “Cris made an announcement during his show and asked for everyone’s help.”

Cris snarled at him and Tara turned and pointed at him. “No, you don’t get to be mad at him or try to intimidate him. At least he’s telling me the truth.”

“Tara, we wanted to convince you that you’re meant to be here with us.”

Tara looked at Lars as he spoke, her heart aching at the thought of leaving, but she couldn’t live like this again. A small community who’d banded together to take her choices away was not a place she wanted to raise Zack. This town had more secrets than where she’d grown up. She eyed the two mechanics and wondered if they had their own secrets. Georges met her stare, his arms crossed over his chest, defying her to judge him or his brother.

She marched up to him and held out her hand. “My keys and the bill.”

“There’s no bill.” Georges placed the cold keys in her palm with an envelope.

“What do you mean there’s no bill?”

“We took the liberty of billing your insurance. They took care of it. Your receipt and paperwork are in the envelope.”

Tara nodded. She wanted to rail at them for making decisions without consulting her, but not having to deal with her insurance company was a relief. “Thank you for that.”

She turned and walked past Lars and Cris. “Don’t either of you speak to me again.”

“Tara, that’s not fair.”

“We thought we were doing what was best for you.”

“Fair!” Tara felt the tenuous grip on her temper slip. “What’s not fair is finding yourself pregnant and being thrown out of your home. What’s not fair is doing your best to do what’s right and then have your child’s father waltz into your life and try to take your child.” Her voice shuddered and she felt hot tears slipping over her cheeks. “What’s not fair is being manipulated into staying somewhere you thought you belonged. This entire town was in on the conspiracy to keep us here with lies. I can’t trust any of you.”

“Tara, I’m sorry.”

She held up her hands and stopped Lars from coming closer. “Don’t touch me! Don’t speak to me. You both told me how important I am to you, but obviously you don’t respect me enough to tell me the truth.”

Her hands shook as she got in the car and started it. She put it in drive and pulled away from the shop without looking at either man. If she looked at them she would stay. How could she not? They both resided so deep in her heart she knew she would never be with another person.

The worst part was she now had to pack Zack up and explain to him why they weren’t staying in a town filled with people he adored. They all treated her and Zack like family, but it was all a lie. A trick. She was nothing but a poor single mom who no one believed could make it on her own.

She drove to the hotel and parked by the front doors. Albert jumped to his feet the moment she came through the entrance. He ran his fingers through his long white hair and smiled. “Good afternoon, Tara.”

“I’m checking out, Albert, and I’d like to pay my bill, please.” Her voice trembled as she spoke and she cleared her throat to cover it up.
Get through the next few hours. You can cry later.

“Yes, of course.” Albert paused as he typed something on the keyboard. “Are you all right, Miss Brewer?”

No, she wasn’t all right. The agonizing pain ripping through her chest made her think she was having a heart attack. Her throat felt like it was in shreds and her eyes were burning. “I’m fine, thank you. Just allergies, I think.”

Albert didn’t look like he believed her, but he printed out the bill and pushed it over the counter. Tara handed him her debit card, but Albert waved it off. “Georges told me he billed things directly to your insurance and told me to do the same thing.”

“Oh, I didn’t know I was covered for this sort of thing.” A small sense of relief trickled over her at how much money that would save her. It bought her and Zack a bit more time. She could look into some occupational therapy for him when they settled.