Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (74 page)

About twenty miles from home Connor
missed
his
mate. Pushing with
his
mind
he
tried establishing a link, but failed.

When it was seventeen miles away
he
was able to connect.
“Princess, I’m almost home.”

The connection with her was exactly what
he
wanted.
She had been miserable and ha
d many other emotions varying this weekend that it was hard not to come back to her.
The warmth and love from her instantly healed
all his
stress
and anxiety
.
“I’m waiting
for you
at Mother’s. Also
…
we have a
special
visitor.”

“Really? Who?”
He
felt excited for some reason.

“You’ll see.”
She sounded smug as she closed her mind.
She didn’t want him
to see who had come over, but her thoughts
explained
that she was safe and calm.
That eased him even more. She was safe, that is all that matter
s
. Then her emotions calmed as his did. She enjoyed linking minds again
.

P
ull
ing
into his in-laws driveway Connor
saw a cherry red sedan parked on the side of the road.
It seemed so familiar, but he
ha
s
n’t seen that specific vehicle in
many
years.
Jenny
’s car was gone and she most likely
had gone to
work.
Connor
adjusted
Tool at
his
hip as
he
exited the vehicle. Mark
stood
nearby
when
Connor
saw Sarah come out the front door.

“Welcome home you two.” The moment her emerald green eyes locked onto
his he
knew
that he
was truly at home with her. She had on short shorts that exposed her
luscious
legs and her black sleeveless shirt
with the open diamond print
complimented her bust
perfectly
. With each breath she took they would swell
for his viewing enjoyment
. She wore no shoes as she crossed the yard. And as she stood bef
ore
him he
couldn’t help
him
self as
he
kissed her plump red lips.
Connor
scooped her up in
his
arms
and she wound her arms around his
neck
with the same need
. She kissed
him
back with the same passion
that
he
was delivering. “Now that feels lik
e a better welcome home
,
My
Knight.”

He
drew her close and whispered in her ear
seductively
. “I know a
n even
better welcome home, Princess.”

She giggled
, arched a provocative eyebrow
and said
cheerfully
“Did you bring
home
any
more
firewood that needs chopping?” A
nd at that
he
twirled her
around
as
they
laughed together.

When Connor
sat her
back
down
on her feet
, Mark
wore
a proud
smile as he looked
upon
them
. It was wiped away as heavy footfalls
pounded the earth.
“Ma
aaa
r
rrrk!”
A
pink and blonde
blur
flashed by
for a moment
,
followed by a solid thud on the ground. Whe
n
Connor
turned
,
Mark
had been
flatten
e
d
on the ground with Kara sitting erect on his stomach
. Connor
started laughing. The combined weight of Mark and Kara pushed him a solid inch into the ground. “Welcome home
,
Honey!” Kara was back to her joyous and annoying self
again. “How was your weekend?” B
efore he could
put a word in
she continued. “Mine was great! Sarah and I had a two day slumber party.”

Sar
ah’s back was pressed against her love’s
chest as
they
watched the spectacle.
“Slumber Party? I feel afraid to go home for some strange reason.”

She tilted
her head up so she could see his hazel eyes
.
His
head shadowed t
he sun from her eyes as she thought
“Oh, you haven’t the slightest idea
,
Connor.”
S
he smiled
his
favorite s
mile
a
nd
his heart began beating fearfully and expectantly
.
It was a strange
, dual
sensation.
“Just you wait. I’ll show you exactly what happened while you were away. You should be worried.”

Mark brushed some of Kara’s hair back around her ear. “Your contacts came in. How do you like them?”

Kara shook her head. “I wish I didn’t have to have t
hem. I like my new eyes more.” Connor
turned around with Sarah as Kara leaned
forward and kissed Mark.

When Kara stood and helped her mate to his feet she said quietly “This morning I hit my maximum weight. I couldn’t take another bite of breakfast. I had to go home and look at my weight and I weigh three hundred and thirty pounds.”

Connor spun on his
heels in shock. “Kara did you eat everything at my house this weekend.”

She lifted her chin at
him mockingly
and
he
finally saw her brown eyes. “As a matter of fact I did,” She smiled and glanced at
his
mate. “with
a little of
Sarah’s help
that is
. On Friday she had to let off some steam
and she needed to fill back up
. This morning we went shopping and refilled the pantry.
So get over it.
”

He
looked down at Sarah as she looked
back
up. “Did
you have a good weekend?
” Her answer was a soothing smile that
explained that he
will never know
exactly
what went on
.

“Connor, you and Mark have a visitor waiting for you.” Jillian
announced
,
standing in
the doorway.

The four of them
walked inside the log house after
Mark finished
brushing the grass from
his
clothing. When
they
arrived in the living room
Connor
feign
ed
surprise
after remembering who the car outside belonged to
. “Deputy Burrow!” The deputy was sitting on one of the loveseats
,
sipping on a soda. He was wearing a solid beige shirt a khaki pants along with
simple
flip flops. He wasn’t wearing a hat because his head was
still
wrapped in padded
gauze. He turned his head in their
direction and his smile
reassured
that all remained well
. “You’re alright. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you
still
be resting?”

His grin widened. “I am resting. My house is more of a dang
er than being around you six.” Connor
glanced around
the room so fast that the deputy wouldn’t have been capable of following
. Everyone in the house tried their best to not laugh. It
was ironic because the six of them
are potentially more dangerous than any
human
criminal
s
on the planet.
“As
for the reason
to
why I’m here…” H
e pulled a metal case from the other side of the couch. As he sat the case on the table he said “The family of that little girl
,
Maggie
,
wanted to give you something.” He popped the latches and opened the case to reveal
several
documents and
a fair amount of
money
inside
. He dug the money out of the case before closing it. “In here is four thousand dollars. Her grandparents
didn’t need to pay
for the rescue efforts
because you alone did w
hat
trained professionals could not.
They would have paid the rescuers since they aren’t paid by the state. So since they didn’t need to they let a special person choose whom to pay.
Maggie
decided
to give
the reward
to
Mr. Muscles
.” His
brilliant
grin widened at that nickname.

Connor
looked at the money
on the table
and said “I cannot accept that. My reward was getting to her before she was hurt.”

“
I told them that and they said for you to just
T
ake it
!”

He
looked into
the deputy’s
eyes and knew he wasn’t goi
ng to budge on this subject until
Connor
did something
he would consider reasonable
. “Tell y
ou what.” H
is
dark gaze
focus was
tightened
. “How about we split
the reward amongst our families?
Sara, Jillian and Jack get a thousand, Mark and Kara get another. Finally a thousand will go to me and to you. You could use it to keep you afloat while you’re on leave for however long.”

The deputy sat and pondered the
plan. He finally asked “Why would I get any?
I was on duty and it was all
part of the job.
”

“Because you helped me find Maggie and brought her home
safely
.”

He studied Connor
resolve
.
W
hen he knew
the tall boy
wouldn’t budge he sighed. “Boy, you are definitely one of a kind.”

Sarah was standing beside her husband
. “Why do you think I claimed him before anyone else
could
?”

At that
,
Deputy Burrow’s laughed. He divided
the money and took his share before he left. As he was walking out the door
Connor
said “Any time you need me, don’t hesitate.”
The deputy smiled proudly and patted his
shoulder.

When his car was
no longer in sight
Jillian asked “Connor
,
why
exactly
did you
phrase us as
‘Sarah, Jillian and Jack’?”

She knew without him
saying
it
, but she wanted to hear it aloud.

Connor
turned to
his
young looking mother-in
-law. Her golden eyes were on him
as she studied
intently
. “Because I said
family
. If I would have said it any other way, it could be construed as you and Jack not being father and daughter.
Would you like to explain to an officer how you could have birthed my wife when you look no older than she?
”

Jillian
crossed her arms
beneath
her breasts. “You definitely
are
one of a kind.”