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Cammie and Alex had been the first. Seth designed them a home, and they all pitched in, building it just down the way on Rocky River property. Then Seth met his mate Amelia, who owned the Anderson ranch where they fought on Saturdays, and he moved there. And then the last to go was Jax when he’d moved in with Piper. He’d had the whole attic of the ranch house converted, complete with a bathroom and enough space for all his musical instruments.
The end result was three empty bedrooms, including the guest room, and an empty attic room. The only occupied rooms now were the master, where he slept, and Shelby’s room. Yeah, plenty of room to grow a family in.
Shaking his head, he opened his door to go around and help Holly out. The way things could change in the space of a couple weeks. He hadn’t thought he’d contemplate raising a family here, or anywhere, and yet there he was, doing just that. But Holly made all the difference.
Sitting her on her feet, he kept his hands on her waist and looked into her beautiful eyes. They seemed more green than blue, and he watched as they dipped down to his lips before looking back up. Taking that as an invitation, he was just lowering his head to kiss her when the porch door slapped closed and the sound of running feet hit his ears.
Suppressing a groan of disappointment, he made sure Holly was steady before reaching in and grabbing her cane. He gave it to her just as Shelby reached them, skidding to a stop in front of them.
“Mrs. White, you’re here! I’m so glad you’re here,” Shelby said, excitement dripping from her voice. “Did you come to have dinner with us? Because it’s Dad’s turn to cook,” she said, voice dropping low. “So if I were you, I’d sneak into the pantry and have a snack first. That way you don’t have to eat much of dinner. That’s what I do.”
“Hey,” he said indignantly, smiling to himself when Holly giggled. “My cooking isn’t that bad.”
“It really is,” Shelby told him seriously. “I love you, Dad, but you’re a horrible cook. It’s either burned or you can’t even tell what it’s supposed to be.”
Shaking his head, Ian let that slide, opening the back door to get Holly’s luggage out. When he turned around, Shelby’s eyes were huge in her face as she looked between the suitcase, him, and Holly.
“She’s not just here for dinner, is she? Is someone trying to hurt her, too? Not. Gonna. Happen. I’ll shift and tear—”
“Shelby.” Ian shook his head at her. He understood she was upset, and it actually warmed his heart to hear her say she’d willingly shift for Holly. But Holly didn’t know what they were yet, and his daughter just almost spilled the secret.
Shelby hung her head while Holly looked between the two of them, a puzzled frown on her face. “Shift? Shift how?”
Shaking her head, Shelby said, “It’s not important. Come on, I’ll show you inside. You can sleep in my room. Me and Cammie are going to have a slumber party tonight, anyway.”
Still looking confused, Holly glanced back at him as Shelby took her hand, tugging her toward the house. Forcing a smile, he gestured her on, following behind with her suitcase. Things were going well with Holly, better than he’d thought they would after she told him she wasn’t sure she could take the risk. But now the one taking the risk was going to be him, because he had to tell her what he was. What he and Shelby were.
Holly was resilient and strong as fuck. She’d had to overcome so much in her lifetime already, had to accept her life would never be what she’d always thought it would be. How did he ask her to accept this, as well? It was a lot to ask of anyone, but he thought she could handle it. If anyone could, it was Holly. He just hated to add any more stress to her shoulders.
But he wasn’t going to tell her the truth of what he was until after they figured out who was going after them, and put an end to it. It was going to be hard enough to tell her what was going on, why he wanted her to stay here, that her car was vandalized because of him. He wasn’t going to add anything else to that. One thing at a time.
Walking into the living room, he paused as he noticed all the fighters gathered in the living room, staring at him.
“I’m assuming that was Holly that Shelby just dragged upstairs with her?” Seth asked, eyebrow cocked.
“It was,” he acknowledged.
“She’s beautiful,” Amelia said softly.
“She really is, isn’t she,” he replied with a soft smile.
“So what happened?” Jax asked. “Something must have, for you to show up with her and her suitcase. Especially since you were trying to stay away from her while this shitstorm is going on.”
Exhaling, Ian walked over to the couch and sank down. “When she went to leave work, she found her car vandalized. Her tires were slashed, and someone painted whore on her back window in bright red letters. She called me, and I went right over, waiting with her until the sheriff’s deputy left, and then I asked her to come back here.”
“And you think this has something to do with whoever’s going after you or Kian?” Cammie asked.
He nodded. “I do. Holly keeps to herself. She doesn’t even really have friends. She goes to work and comes home. She thought maybe it was kids, but I don’t think it was. The timing is too suspect, and the whole thing too specific. Slashed tires could be random, but the word on her back window? That wasn’t.”
“This is all so fucked up,” Piper muttered, a frown on her face.
“It is. But it tells us one thing. This person is most likely after me, not Kian. They set their sights on Holly, which doesn’t sound like something they’d do if Kian was their target.” Pausing, he glanced over at Kian. “I’d still like you to stay here, though. This shows they’re willing to go after those close to me, so you’re still not out of the woods.”
Kian nodded, and they were all silent for a moment.
“We have to figure out who this is,” Alex murmured.
Seth said, “It’s probably—”
