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“The fun I mentioned earlier,” Flidae said. “It’s about to begin.”
****
“I most certainlyamgoing.” Brandy held her hands out for Parker’s truck keys as they stood in Chella’s driveway. “Flidae’s giving me a chance to see him. I’m taking it.”
“Okay. Okay.” Parker waved his hands in a calm-down-now gesture. “Let’s think for a minute here.”
“She has to go.” Dylan looked at Parker then back to Brandy. “You’ve read all the comic books with me. Sometimes the superhero needs saving too.”
Parker’s gaze softened. “I know, bud, but I’m worried about your mom.” He looked at Brandy now. “You don’t know what Flidae is up to or what she might do to you.”
“She’s offered me an invitation to see Reardon,” Brandy said. “That’s all I need to know.”
“But you don’t know where you’ll end up, B!” Parker raked his hands through his hair, his frustration clearly growing by the minute.
“I know you’re concerned, Park, bu—”
“Concerned! I’m a shit-ton more than concerned, Brandy. I mean, in the span of a few hours, I’ve watched a man turn into a wolf, a Celtic goddess take over my fiancée, that same goddess toss a fairly large man around like a ragdoll, and then she disappeared into thin air along with the wolf.” Parker paced between Brandy and Dylan, muttering a few more words Brandy couldn’t quite hear and probably didn’t want to.
“But that wolf, Park? That wolf is mine. I’ve cared for that wolf.We’vecared for that wolf and last I checked, we’ve made a career out of helping wolves anyway we can. Factor in that the wolf in question is also the man that I…” The next words got caught in her throat as the truth of them slammed into her chest. “He’s the man that I love. Just like you love Chella. Wouldn’t you do absolutely anything for her?”
Parker jammed his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants and sifted out a long breath. When he pulled his hand out of his left pocket, his truck keys dangled from his fingers.
Brandy snatched them up before logic and reason made him change his mind. She stepped forward and quickly hugged her friend. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear.
“Yeah, well, you’d better get your ass back here in one piece to tell me, in person, that I was a fool for worrying about you.” He dropped a light kiss on her cheek then stepped out of the embrace to rest a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on the kid until Meredith can come get him.”
Brandy kneeled in front of Dylan. “Any last minute words of advice from your vast comic book knowledge?”
Dylan squinted as if he were searching his mental database of all things comic book and looking for any pearls of wisdom. “Yeah, no monologues and consider everything in your environment a possible weapon.” He threw his arms around Brandy’s neck and squeezed. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, baby. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I know you will. The good guys always win.”
Brandy ruffled Dylan’s hair then ran to Parker’s truck before her rational, scientific brain could take over and agree with Parker that what she was about to do was insane. She hopped in the truck and started the engine as she took a mental picture of her son and her best friend to carry with her into the unknown.
As she drove, she reviewed Chella’s message from Flidae. The goddess had invited Brandy—and only Brandy—to go to the spot where she and Parker had first found Reardon injured in wolf form. Flidae had promised to allow Brandy to see Reardon. Sure, it all sounded like a plot to lure Brandy in, but she didn’t care. She had to go. She had to try to get Reardon back.
Brandy had always considered her life a good one. Even with the loss of her twin sister all those years ago, she’d made the most of what she did have—an amazing boy, a fulfilling job, the company of beautiful wolves, a breathtaking woodland property to call home, a phenomenal best friend, a supportive and loving mother. What more could a woman ask for?
I know the answer to that now.
Reardon McAlator. Having him in her life would change it from a good one to a happily-ever-after-fairy-tale-romance-novel one.
And she wanted that. Desperately. She also wanted Reardon to be happy and he seemed happy with her, Dylan, and the wolves of Silver Moon.
Hebelongedwith them.
She slammed on the brakes once she got to the entrance gates of the sanctuary, making Parker’s truck stop at an odd angle in the dirt. After hopping out of the truck and fumbling with the latch on the entrance gates, she bolted for her cabin.
Meredith stood in the door. “What’s happening? Parker called and gave me the details, but he couldn’t be serious.”
Brandy’s gaze swept over her mother’s worried face. “He was serious, Mom.”
Meredith let out a pained cry. “Oh, Brandy. What if something happens to you? I’ve already lost one daughter. I can’t lose two.”
“You’re not going to lose me. You’re going to gain Reardon. As a part of this family. I can’t imagine the universe would give him to us and not let us keep him. I’ve got to fight for him, and that’s what I’m going to do.” She’d never felt surer about anything in her life.
