Ellis: Emerson Wolves ― Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance (11 page)

Dawn didn’t move or speak for several minutes. Ellis just held her, telling her how sorry he was that this happened.

“I didn’t have much. Not hardly anything at all, but it was stuff that I’d made or had fixed up to make work for me. Clothing, I guess. And some of your stuff. I guess it’s a good thing we hadn’t taken anything there yet, huh?” He told her that they’d start fresh. “Yes. Fresh is good.”

She got up and moved to the kitchen. Dawn started moving around the kitchen looking like she was getting ready to fix them something to eat. Ellis didn’t have the heart to tell her that he really wasn’t that hungry. He didn’t try to stop her when she pulled out a skillet, and when Sloan and Hunter’s cook came in, he stayed out of her way as well. By the time she was mixing up a batch of what he knew were biscuits, the rest of his family was there.

They all pitched in making breakfast. His dad set the table, and Sloan helped him. Hunter was in and out of the room, making calls, handling things that needed to be taken care of. By the time they sat down, a huge breakfast laid out for them, Dawn was smiling again. Sadly, but smiling all the same. And the food was filling and comforting, too.

“They’re going to work on the house as much as they can. Graham has consented to send the crew working on his house up as well. And Dan has a crew going up in an hour.” Dawn nodded at Hunter as he continued. “We know who did this, and Mike has put out a warrant for their arrest. He thinks by nightfall they’ll have them both.”

“They did this because of the work being done where they lived. One of the men on site there said that he’d talked to an older couple a couple of hours before they heard the sirens. He said that the man was shocked to see the house gone, and then he’d asked who had done it.” Addie said she was sorry before she continued. “The land is in both your names, and when he asked him, the guy didn’t know not to tell them it was owned by Dawn Whitfield and Ellis here. I had crossed out your name on the bottom of the work order, but it was still at the top of it. He said that he corrected it, but he was sure now that they knew who you were by that name.”

“So they find out that their niece, who had been abused by them for most of her childhood, owned the land that was signed over to her, and decided to burn my house down, too.” No one said anything, and Ellis wasn’t sure if Dawn was just speaking or really wanted answers. “Where will we live until we have a place to stay?”

“Here. With us.” His dad looked over at Hunter, who nodded along with Sloan. “You can stay here, and when the garden is ready here, you can help show some of them fancy ideas to me and Sloan, so we can have as good a garden as you do.”

“But for now, we’re going to have to start getting things going for tonight.” Everyone looked at Sloan when she stood up. “We’re going to put our best face on, step out in style, and make some money for the abused children in this area. And after today, I think we should about double our efforts to make this the best damned charity event in the entire country.”

As the women scattered to do their things, Ellis sat at the table trying to think why the hell someone would burn another person’s house down. He looked up when his dad hit him in the back of the head.

“What the hell did I do?” His dad sat down and glared at him. “Dad? I didn’t burn down the house. I didn’t do anything to warrant you hitting me.”

“Propose to her.” Ellis sat up straighter in his chair, and Hunter laughed as his dad continued. “Do I have to do everything for you boys? Gosh darn all mighty. What do…are you going to marry her?”

“Yes. I already asked her, and she—” His head bounced forward again. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I didn’t see no ring on her finger.” He turned to Graham and Lee, who had just gotten into town last night. “Did either of you see a ring on her finger? Hunter, did you see one?”

“No, Dad, I didn’t see one. I wonder why that is, since he asked her and all.” Ellis made a mental note to tell Sloan something really horrible about her husband. And if he didn’t know anything bad, he was going to make it up to get back at him.

“Why don’t you go into town and I’ll help you pick out a ring?” Ellis glanced over his dad’s shoulder, and both Luke and Hunter were shaking their heads at him. Dad turned in time to see them both doing it, and he glared at them. “I had to help these idiots, too, and see the thanks I get? No respect for the elderly. I tell you, it’s a sad, sad world.”

“I have a ring.” Everyone turned to look at him, and Ellis flushed. “I mean, I have it ordered. I did it before we left to come here. I’m supposed to pick it up in two hours.”

His dad stood up and tapped his foot. Ellis wasn’t sure what he wanted so he stood up too. At least he figured if he was standing, his dad couldn’t hit him as hard. Ellis looked at the rest of his brothers before his dad started speaking in a tone that made him think he was talking to idiots, the lot of them.

“Get your coats on, boys. Make sure you’ve peed before we get into the car.” Ellis started to laugh at them, scrambling to do as he’d said. “Don’t laugh, boy, you’re buying lunch for us all.”

The trip in was made with Ellis driving Luke’s car, and Luke and their dad in the back seat. Graham was up front with him and Lee; Hunter and Jarrett were in the other car. They’d had to tell their mates that they were going into town. Ellis told Dawn that he’d be back soon, that he had to get his tux.

“Don’t start off lying to her.” He looked at his dad when he spoke. “Once it starts, there’s no stopping the lengths that you have to go to unravel them.”

“I am getting my tux.” His dad smiled. “Dad, I love you very much for thinking so much of Dawn. You do know that she loves you, right?”

“I do. And I love all my girls, too.” He looked over at Luke. “Even if some of you haven’t made me a grandda yet. I’m hoping your brother gets on the band wagon a bit faster than you did.”

“As a matter of fact, we’re adopting a little boy next month.” Ellis and the rest of them congratulated Luke, and he smiled. “We were going to tell you all tonight at the ball, but I think we could all use a pick-me-up. Jack is telling the others, too. His name is Kelly and he’s six. He’s half-wolf, but his mother just doesn’t…she’s giving him up, and he has to go through the screening process before we can take him. She’s giving up all rights to him.”

“Kelly, huh? And he’s six?” Luke nodded at his dad. Luke turned in his seat to talk to Dad easier. “About the right age for me to take fishing, don’t you think? And he’ll be all ready for it by summer, too. I’ll have to get him a pole and stuff. You think he’ll take to the water okay? I can get us a boat, just the two of us.”

His dad talked about all the things he and Kelly were going to do all the rest of the way into town. Luke turned and looked at Ellis as they pulled into the parking lot of the mall. When they were getting out, he hit him in the shoulder.

“You’d better get busy, little brother. I’m ahead of the game now.”

Ellis sat there for several seconds after Luke got out of the car. And when Ellis got out, he had a plan. Not only was he going to make up a story about Luke to tell Jack, but he was thinking that he needed to add a prison term in there somewhere. The ideas and possibilities were endless. Yes, sir, he thought, his brothers were in deep shit as far as he was concerned.

Chapter 11

Basil wiped a wet cloth over Neva’s head again. She was soaking wet and she was freezing. He had no idea what to do, but he was sure she was dying. When she said his name in the faint voice again, he moved closer to her and kissed her forehead.

“I don’t want to die, not here.” He sobbed a little. “I think you should just take me to the hospital now. I think they can fix me.”

“I’ll call them right now.” He didn’t, but she nodded at him. This was the third time she’d asked to be taken to the hospital, and he’d lied to her each time. They were wanted, and if he took her to the hospital, he was pretty sure that the cell he’d had before would be much nicer than the one they’d get now.

It was her heart, he knew that. They’d been running for their very lives when she’d told him that she wasn’t feeling well and just dropped over. He’d stayed with her until the police and fire trucks had come. Then he’d run into the woods and hid. It was not the right thing to do, and Basil felt horrible about it. But when he’d gone back to get her, sure she was dead, she’d been feeling well enough to get up and walk. That’s when he knew that things were not right with her.

Her walking had been off. When he’d tried to get her to walk in a straight line, she’d go to the right a little until she was walking in the wrong direction. And her mouth looked all funny. Sort of like his momma’s did when she’d come home from the hospital. Saggy like.

And now her breathing was all harsh, like she had a terrible cold in her chest. Basil sobbed when she asked him again if he was going to call her an ambulance.

“I will.”

When she closed her eyes, he knew it wasn’t going to be long now, so he left her there. It wasn’t
if
she was going to die now, it was
when
. And the way she was breathing told him that if he was going to get her help, even to have somebody bury her body, he’d better do it now. He moved to where a man was standing at the side of the road with a phone to his ear and waited for him to close his phone before he spoke.

“My wife is dying.” The man looked around, then back at him. “In there. We got to here before she said that she ain’t gonna be able to move no more. Do you think you could call her an ambulance for me? I’d sure appreciate it.”

“Your wife is in that building and she’s dying? Is it a drug overdose? ” Basil broke down then, dropping to his knees even as the man called for him. “They want to know your name and hers.”

“Her name is Neva, Neva Combs. I’m her husband, Basil.” The man repeated the information in the phone, and Basil heard him say that he wasn’t going to wait around. When he closed his phone again, he looked at him.

“They’re on their way. And they said for you to wait here. The police will have some questions for you.” Basil nodded, and as soon as the man was across the street, Basil starting walking away from his love and her body.

Basil watched from down the street. Just as he’d walked into the alley, the ambulance had gone screaming by him. He knew that they were going to find her dead, and when they came out a bit later with her body all wrapped up in a big black bag, he sat down and cried his heart out. Or at least what was left of it. The rest was in that bag with his Neva.

There was nothing left for him, he thought some time later. His body hurt from sitting in the same position for so long, and when the ambulance left the building that they’d been in, he watched as the police started making their way to his side of the street. It was only a matter of time before they caught him. He knew this as surely as he’d been sitting there thinking.

Walking again, he thought of all the things that had gone wrong at the house, the brat’s house. The house had been old, so the fire had caught really quick. And the men that had been working on that land had come up on them so fast when they’d been enjoying the house going up that he’d nearly wet his pants, he’d been so scared. Neva had hit one of them with her shoe, and they’d laughed a little about that, too, just before she fell. Basil felt another sob coming on and bit his lip to keep from letting it go. Looking for a place to stay off the streets and warm, he walked into the first place that was open. It just happened to be a bar.

He watched the news in the bar that he’d entered; his picture and that of his Neva were all over the news. Either the people in the bar didn’t care who he was or they didn’t see him, but Basil was able to order himself a beer, the cheapest thing the man said there was to drink. Not that he’d touch it; the stuff made his head pound too much when he only took a sip or two of it.

When the bartender told him it was closing time, Basil wondered where the time had gone. No one was hurt around him and the bartender didn’t seem to be afraid of him, so Basil figured that he’d only been napping and not letting his temper get ahold of him. He moved out into the street, only just realizing that he had nowhere to sleep tonight.

He made his way back to the building where he and Neva had been, but the yellow tape all over the place and the lone cruiser made him think twice about that. He had no idea how far he was from his home. But when he thought of that, he realized that it was gone, too.

“Everything I love is gone.” Moving to the building across the street, he tried not to notice the couple having sex against the wall as he entered. He supposed that things like that happened in the city and was glad that he had a house…. Trying to fix his mind on something else, he wondered what he was going to do now.

This was all the brat’s fault. Not all, he supposed. She didn’t kill off Neva. Her heart had done that, as well as her running away from the men at the fire. If Dawn, of course, hadn’t had their house all torn down, they would have been there and not burning down her house in the first place.

Basil leaned against the wall and was startled out of his thinking when a man handed him a blanket. It smelled really bad, but it was a good deal warmer than his little coat he’d had on when leaving the police station. Basil could not believe that just that morning he’d been in jail.

Thanking the man, he huddled down inside of the blanket, trying his best not to breathe through his nose. Turning his head away from the other groups of men and women getting settled in for the night, Basil cried himself to sleep. His Neva would never be there for him again.

~~~

Dawn was so afraid that she was going to fall on her ass. The shoes were actually comfortable, but they were much too high for her. And the more she tried to concentrate on not wobbling, the more she thought she did. Looking in the mirror again, she tried to think what Ellis would see when he saw her.

“You should see you the way we do.” She looked at Sloan in the mirror as she sat at her dressing table. “You’re very beautiful. Even Hunter says you’re the type of beauty that wins contests, not marries his brother.”

“I think he’s as nuts as the rest of them are.” Sloan laughed and said that she agreed with her. “Why do you suppose he’s wanting to marry me? I know that’s a stupid question to ask, but we’re okay just living together now. Why do we need to have all that other stuff?”

“I said that, too. And Hunter said it was because we needed to make it legal in the eyes of humans.” Dawn snorted. “My thoughts on that, too. But he did make a good point. He loves me and wants the world to know that I belong to him. He had to take a lot of hits with that, too. In the paper and online. They just couldn’t understand why someone with my money would marry someone as…they called him mundane. Normal, and someone even said he was a gigolo.”

“But you’re happy, aren’t you? I mean despite all the differences in your lifestyles, you’re happy.” Sloan turned to look at her, and Dawn flushed. “You must think I’m a real rube. I mean, I have nothing. Less than nothing, it feels like right now with everything gone, but he still loves me. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to be contributing much to this relationship. And if he does take Mike’s pack, I have no idea what to do there either. I can’t even put together a nice dinner for more than four people without a full-out panic.”

“Mary said that she, Martha, and Claribel are going to join your pack if Ellis does take it. And that they’re going to work for you.” Dawn nodded. “They’re the oldest people in this pack, did you know that? And they know more about running one than anyone I bet could ever imagine.”

“And that’s another thing. I got that contract this afternoon. You do work fast.” Sloan told her that when she saw something she believed in she didn’t waste time. “Why do you believe in me so much? Is it because of Ellis? You’re humoring me because I’m going to be living with your brother-in-law?”

“No. I wouldn’t be in business very long if I let my feelings override my business sense. And let me ask you something. You say that you have no idea how this is going to work, right? The business you and I are going to do.” Dawn nodded and sat on the bed across from her. “Why do you make the jelly year after year?”

“It’s either that or the fruit goes to waste.” Sloan shook her head. “Okay, then you tell me, Miss Know-it-all.”

“You make it because you like doing it. It’s okay to want to do that because it feels good. I like making money. I don’t need any more. In several lifetimes, I could never spend all that I have. I enjoy it, and taking on a new business or two that may make some money too. It’s an investment, yes, but it’s also so rewarding to me when the company I’ve helped begins to show enough profit that they no longer need my support. That’s the thrill of it for me.” Dawn asked her how long she thought they’d be partners. “You’ll be on your own before most companies I help are even halfway to getting things rolling. This event tonight will prove to you how much your jelly is going to succeed.”

“I’m afraid.” Sloan told her she’d better be, and Dawn laughed. “You are…I thought at first you were this scary alpha person. Not a bitch, though I’m pretty sure that you can be if you want, but this woman who knows it all and has a good head on her shoulders.”

“But you don’t think that now?” Dawn shook her head. “Now you see me as what? An over-round person that feels like the world is caving in on her at any given moment and that someone is going to see her for the fraud that she is?”

“You do feel that, don’t you?” Sloan nodded and turned away from her. “No. I read up on you. Jack told me that I should. To get a better understanding of you and what you are. But you’re none of those things you just said. No, what I see now is a woman who dearly loves her family, who wants the best for everyone even if that isn’t what they think it is. And you are the most insecure person I’ve ever met. Including me. You want your child to be normal, but you have no idea what that is. And when you leave this house tonight to be on the spot, you’ll do it because it’s expected of you, not because you want to.”

“That’s about right. And you? What do you think I see with you?” Dawn shrugged, and Sloan laughed. “I see an equally insecure person, but someone who has more backbone than she thinks she does. And honey, you have a lot to have survived what you did living all alone for all these years. I, at least, had my wolves. You’re brilliant, beautiful, and terrified more than you want anyone to know, and you’re going to make a hell of an alpha bitch to Ellis’s male.”

Before she could tell her that she was right, on all of it, Jack and Addie came into the room. They were all getting dressed together and someone was coming to fix their hair and makeup. Dawn had no idea how to even begin on either of those projects, so she was glad to have someone helping her.

As soon as the hairdresser sat her in the chair, she tisked at her. “You needed a trim like ten years ago.” She pulled her hair out of the ponytail holder and let it fall to her shoulders. “Pretty hair, but honey, you have to let it down once in a while. Oh my, what am I going to do with it?”

Jack winked at her in the mirror…she’d been told the same thing. But instead of a ponytail, Jack wore hers in a clip. Just as bad apparently. As the woman fussed with her hair, complaining about how it was stiff and unresponsive, Dawn let her do her thing. Ellis touched her mind just as the makeup artist came to do her face.

You should know that I might not be with you tonight because I’m going to kill my father.
She laughed
. I swear to you, he has an opinion about everything and everyone. Did you know that the roast beef sandwich is not all that good for you? He’s telling me this as he shoves a foot long one into his pie hole.

You had a sandwich? I got to have a salad with chicken on it and a little dressing. We’re supposed to not be bloated when we put on our dresses. Frankly, I’m going to need to eat something before the dinner thing tonight or I’m going to be lying on the floor from hunger.
Just as unflattering, I think.
He told her he loved her.
And I love you. Save me a few chips if you have any. I’ve not had any of those in years.

I love pickle chips. That’s what I’m having with my sandwich now.
He moaned, and she wanted to hurt him
. There’s going to be food there, did you know that? I mean a real meal of roasted chicken and rice something. Also there’s a lot of finger food. Not usually my thing, but I’ll make sure I load you a plate and carry them around for you to nibble on.

Thank you very much.
She closed her eyes when the woman fixing her makeup told her to.
I’m going to be all painted up. You might not know me when you see me. And my hair is a mess according to the stylist. I’m not allowed to put it into a ponytail anymore.