Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart (The Cedar River Series) (18 page)

While it couldn’t have happened to a better person, it still felt wrong. “What about her husband and his buddies?”

Lance grimaced, “Let’s just say that they will never be found thanks to the Pierce Pride and the dragons.” Ooh, to have been there for that hunt!

“I guess I’d better get back to the house. Mama made a special dinner to celebrate the fact that we’re all back together.”

Lance hugged me and kissed my cheek, “I’m so glad you’re back on your feet, Ana. We’ll have to run up to Pine Bluff some night for dinner and a movie.”

I smiled, “That’s sounds like fun, Lance. You know where to find me.” I waved as I walked back.

Everyone was in the living room waiting for me.

“I put your plate in the oven, Ana,” Mama said.

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry.”

I curled up next to Brady on the sofa. He put his arm around me and I felt safe again. Colin started passing out gifts. Papa carried in the swing that he had made Mama. She began to cry, “Bernie, where are we going to put this now?”

Papa held her tight, “On the brand-new deck of our brand-new house. We’ll be able to sit out there every night and watch the stars.” She kissed him.

Papa handed out his gifts, insisting we open them first. He bought Brady a knife and a hand-tooled leather sheath. Colin got a new stereo system for his truck. Callum got tickets to a music festival he wanted to go to in the summer plus a gas card and the promise of a hotel room for him and three friends.

I opened my box from Papa to find a soft green sweater inside. The second smaller box held a necklace with charms on it each set apart by jade beads. There was a cat, a Book of Spells, a pentagram and a dragon. Mama clutched his hand.

“Thank you, Papa. I love these.” Papa handed me a large package next. “I hope you like this as well.” Inside lay a quilt made with fabric covered in dragons on one side and cats on the other. It was so thick and soft, I rubbed my face in it.

“He had Mrs. McIntyre make that. She’s been working on it since the holidays last year,” Mama said.

I got up to hug him tight. “It’s beautiful. Thank you so much for everything.”

Mama oohed and ahhed over her gifts. Papa was tickled with his cigars though Mama gave me grief over buying them for him. She was also excited about the certificate for the pots and pans, as well as, her new mixer, cutting board and knives. “All for my new kitchen,” she squealed with glee. The stained glass hanging would be going in the new window over the sink once the house was ready. She slipped the necklace from Colin on.

Everyone felt so blessed to just be together. I sat on the sofa and let the music of their voices wash over me as I drifted into sleep. I heard Mama say something about putting me in Bowie’s bed, but Brady insisted I stay on the couch. Somebody covered me with my new blanket and I slept on until morning.

Chapter Thirty-Six-Bowie

I thought I’d sneak back into the house while everyone was still asleep. I made a pot of coffee and turned to go upstairs to take a shower. There laid Ana on my couch, sound asleep. Why the hell wasn’t she upstairs in a bed?

I walked to her side and watched her sleep before I climbed the stairs. My heart hurt to even look at her, but I certainly wasn’t a worthy mate for her. As much as it hurt for me to imagine her with anyone else, maybe Lance would be better for her. I let my feelings for Ana cloud everything else. My throat closed at the idea of Lance getting to love Ana every night, but I had let her get hurt.

I noticed the gifts on my bed when I came out of the bathroom. I sat down to open them one by one. The typical shirts, socks and underwear from Mama. Video games, CDs and DVDs from my brothers. Papa had bought me a certificate to the building supply store in Pine Bluff. Then there were my gifts from Ana. I hated to open them, but I knew she’d gone to a lot of trouble when she’d purchased them. There was a CD I’d really been wanting, and a signed copy of a Clive Barker book. It was the biggest box that had my curiosity peaked. Inside were the shoes she’d worn to the town holiday party along with a bra and panty set made out of black lace. I was stunned. In the bottom of the box was a note, “A little something to help bring in the New Year. I love you, flyboy. Forever yours, Kitten.”

I wiped my hand across my face. Under the paper were a couple more gifts, I looked at the tags to see who they were from and noticed they were to Ana from me. She wouldn’t even open my gifts to her. I’d gotten her a set of hardcover books that she had been wanting, plus I had found a box of her favorite chocolates. They are as expensive as hell, but she loves them so much.

I was crushed that she wouldn’t accept my gifts. I left the mess on my bed, got dressed and left. I was not fit company for anyone today. I went out to the Pride’s lands to help sort through stuff.

Physical labor certainly helped me work out a few issues. I went home to check any phone messages, and to grab sandwich. Mama was the only one there when I got back.

“Afternoon, son.”

“Hi, Mama. Thank you for my gifts. I appreciate it.”

“I’m already designing my new kitchen in here,” she said tapping her temple. “I can’t wait to use my new pots and pans, and that mixer, Bowie. Oh my, that thing is going to get a work out as soon as I have a kitchen again.”

I kissed her forehead, “You dream away, Mama. If we can build it, then you will have it.”

I put together a couple of sandwiches from the leftover turkey in the refrigerator, “Where is everyone else?”

Mama looked at me, “They’re all out at Ana’s cabin. They’re tearing down the shell today.”

Finally? “That’s terrific! I’m glad she’s agreed to it. I always worried about her when she went out there.”

“They’re tearing it down so that she can build a new cabin on the site. She refuses to move into the new house when it’s ready. She doesn’t want to make it uncomfortable for you when you come to visit us.”

She was planning on moving on without me, I realized. There was a sharp pain in the vicinity of my heart. That hurt…a lot more than I thought it would.

“Your dad is going to start working on it next week. Until then, she’s moving in with Brady. Colin and Callum are moving in here.” Mama watched my reaction in silence. After several moments, she said, “You made sure she knew that you didn’t want her anymore so she’s decided to move on without you. I guess I should feel lucky that she isn’t moving back to Pine Bluff, but I don’t.” I could feel the disappointment from across the room.

“Mama, she deserves a man who can take care of her and I didn’t. Instead, I came to town to see if I could help here.”

“Yeah, well, have you talked to her at all, Bowie? She thinks it’s because you’re ashamed of her.”

I heard the plate shatter as I tossed it into the sink  before I jogged out to my truck. I was going to let her know exactly what I thought of her theory.

Chapter Thirty-Seven-Ana

We were throwing the trash into the backs of Brady and Colin’s trucks. Papa had made a fire for us to throw the wood on so we could keep warm. I had soot and dirt all over my face and hands, but the physical labor made me feel alive.

Papa thought the pad was in good shape. Arthur had come out to see what the plan was. The Council offered to pay for my little witch’s cottage if I would work for them. It seems that they thought having a witch on the payroll wouldn’t be a bad idea. It wasn’t a hard decision to make when I agreed to work for the dragons of Cedar River.

Lance and Cameron had arrived to help with the rest of the demolition. I was hugging Cameron when Bowie’s truck came flying up the newly trimmed driveway.

“Anastasia!” he bellowed as he got out of his truck.

I heard murmurs of “uh-oh”, “he looks pissed” and “this should be good” from the men who walked away from their tasks.

I stood there and let him come to me. “What in fucking hell do you think you’re doing? You’ve been out of the hospital for two days!”

I smirked at him, “Nice of you to notice, Bowie.”

“I want to talk to you.”

“Finally? So? Talk.”

“Away from everybody.” He turned and walked away expecting me to follow him.

I crossed my arms and stood my ground, “I’m not going anywhere with you, Bowie Golden.”

He turned back around the face me. I knew everyone was standing behind me, listening to every word and grinning from ear to ear. “Why didn’t you open my gifts?” he asked. I could hear the hurt in his voice.

“I don’t want your gifts! You couldn’t even look at me, let alone talk to me! You don’t want me in your life? Fine, I can move on, too. I don’t have to deal with you anymore, sheriff. Get the fuck off my land, you sonofabitch!” What was it about this man that just pushed me to the edge?

“I love you, Anastasia Plum. I couldn’t keep you safe. I don’t deserve you! Godsdamnit! You could have been killed and it would have been my fault! You need someone like Lance who can take care of you. While I fell apart, he organized the search party to find you! You didn’t know that, did you? That’s right! Lance took care of you better than I could. I let you get kidnapped, beaten and who knows what else! Is that the man you want?”

I stood there watching him, keeping the tears in check. “You sorry sonofabitch!” I whispered. “You don’t get it, do you? I’m alive because of you! I fought because you taught me how to defend myself! I ran because you told me to run! I didn’t lose my mind in that cage because I knew you would find me! You promised you’d find me! Even when that bastard told me what he was going to do to me the next morning, I kept my wits about me because you taught me that! He threatened to rape me, Bowie! Did you know that? He described in detail what he was going to do to me, but I kept telling myself, Bowie will still love you even if this happens, but he will be pissed if you don’t fight to stay alive!” He took a step toward me, tears glistening his eyes. “Don’t come any closer, Bowie,” I warned him. “You need to go back to town and deal with everything there. If and when I’m ready to talk to you again, I’ll let you know.” I turned around and walked back to the work site. I looked at the guys leaning against trees and tailgates with their arms crossed. “What? Show’s over. Let’s get back to work!”

Chapter Thirty-Eight-Bowie

We had a rough spring as far as weather was concerned. The people of Cedar River were anxious to get working on their homes and businesses. Construction crews from Garnett Family Construction in Boston, Massachusetts, showed up ready to work. Within a matter of weeks, our town was looking better than ever. There was a newer and bigger fountain in the center of town. Mama and Dad’s house was almost finished. All my mom could talk about was a brand-new house, but for the most part it was identical to the original. Her kitchen was set up a bit differently and she combined the living and family rooms into one big room. They were pouring the cement for the deck posts today. While they were there, the crew was going to pour a bigger pad for Ana’s cabin. They were also pouring one for me and one for Brady. Dad was building Ana’s cabin for her, but he was going to make use of the electrical and plumbing crews while he had the chance. I had offered to help him, but he said Ana didn’t want me there. That hurt. I hadn’t just lost my mate with my stupidity; I’d lost my best friend. I had only caught glimpses of her since she’d moved in with Brady. He told me she was doing fine, but I missed her like crazy. She wouldn’t let me apologize. She refused to answer my phone calls, my e-mails, or my texts. Brady told me she’d gone to Pine Bluff with Lance a few times. He didn’t think it was anything serious, just two friends hanging out, but I had let my chance at happiness slip right through my hands.

No one needed my help since the clean-up was done. Insurance claims had been filed and the money was coming in to the residents. Our sleepy little town was returning to normal.

I drove out to Mama and Dad’s to see if anyone needed my help there. I turned into the drive and caught sight of a blond-haired woman in jeans and sweatshirt walk around the back of the house. My breath caught in my throat.

“What are you doing here?” Colin called from the front porch.

“I thought I’d come see what actual work looks like,” I joked.

Colin looked at me and said, “She’s around back with Lance.”

I wasn’t prepared for it, but I could deal with it. As I walked around the back of the house, Lance picked her up from behind and spun her around. She was laughing and her baseball hat fell off her head, her blond hair falling from under it. She was letting it grow out again. Gods, she looked happy. She took Lance’s hat off his head and ran, teasing him with it. He ran after her, zigging when she zagged.

“Kind of hard to watch, Bo?” Brady said, startling me.

“Nah, she’s happy. That’s all any of us wanted, right?”

“I guess so,” he said as he stood beside me, shoulder to shoulder. “Dad’s picking up the wood to get started on her cabin. Want to take a walk so you can see the plans?”

I was stunned. The walls were all up and the trusses were up for the roof. “What the hell does she need a house this big for, Brady?”

He shrugged, “Maybe she’s planning on having a family someday.”

I could feel the fire of jealousy burning in the pit of my stomach.

“They put in the electrical and plumbing yesterday. I’m gonna miss her when she moves out. She went out and bought a car the other day, a hot little convertible.” I had seen her tooling around town in her car. It was a nice car. “I went with her to check it out. It’s a nice vehicle and she needs something now that she’s going to be on her own.” The acid in my stomach was burning something fierce. “I’m going back to make sure they’ve got the spot right for my pad.”

 I walked back fuming. Little Miss Independent really was proving that she didn’t need anyone.

Chapter Thirty-Nine- Ana

I was finally moving into my new house. I loved it. Once I was settled in, I was going to finish up the classes I’d missed since the fire. Not that I really needed to. The dragons took good care of me.