Keira Kendrik (13 page)

Phoenix's mother answered the phone but when she heard his tone,
she quickly put both his fathers on the line.  He spoke to them for a short time and they said they would gather the journals and be down on Sunday. 
It looked like the weekend was going to be a busy one
, Phoenix thought as he hung up.

Phoenix informed the men of the plans for the weekend
.  He also sent Christian and Gavin to Champion to work on who these people could be.  They would also handle any issues that came up for the time being.

Together they decided that Dominik and Marco would go over to Bentonville to make inquiries there about outsiders
.  So that left Jackson, Cade, Trent, and Cord at the ranch.

"I will speak to the ranch hands
," Phoenix said. "We also need to be on alert for anything. We need to be mindful that there will be outsiders here for the day when Keni and Olivia arrive."

"We will all be on alert
," Jackson said. "Cade and I will keep an eye on Sophie."

"I can help with that
," Cord drawled.

Immediately, Cade growled at Cord.
"No, you won't."

Cord laughed and put his hands up.
"Okay, I won't. I will help keep an eye on the two visitors."

Phoenix chuckled at
Jackson and Cade's possessive poses.  He silently wished them luck.  Sophie was a stubborn little thing, they may have some trouble coming their way.  Jackson and Cade took the men out, stating they were going to get them settled in the bunkhouse.  Only Jackson and Cade ever stayed at the main house but even they were staying in the bunkhouse because Jasmine's friends were arriving. 
Speaking of life mates
, he thought.

'
I know you are awake.  I can feel you waiting
,' he said to Jasmine.

'
Ha, ha.  Did they find that woman
?' she asked.

'
No, no news yet.  Don't worry.  We are good at this sort of thing, we will find out who they are and what they want
,' he answered as he began to fill in Jasmine and Gabe as to what they had discussed.

'
I think it's a good idea to get the journals.  We can go over them with the dads and see if there is any reference to anyone of concern
,’ Gabe answered.  '
Ah, Phoenix?  Jasmine is pale and has a scared look on her face.
'

'Little one
?  What is it?'
Phoenix asked as he got up from his desk and began to make his way upstairs.  When he opened the door to the bedroom and walked in, he saw her standing in Gabe's t-shirt staring at both of them.

"Your
parents
are coming?" she said in a frightened voice.  "What am I going to do?  How do I act?  What do I wear?  I don't have anything suitable.”  She began to wring her hands.

Phoenix smiled, he had been worried for a second
.  She was worried about meeting her future in-laws.  It was so cute.  He walked over to her and took her face in his hands.

"You have nothing to worry about
.  They are going to love you," he said gently.

"He's right
," Gabe said from the bed.  "Now get back over here.”  He moved over to make room for her.

She made a face at him and said, "Are you sure they'll like me?"

They both nodded.  Then Phoenix said, "Don't forget, Keni and Olivia are coming tomorrow and bringing you your things.  So you will have something to wear.  If not, we will take you into town to get whatever you want."

She sighed and nodded
.  "Okay.  I guess."

They coaxed her back into bed and Phoenix left to quickly grab the tray Lucy had made for them
.  They hand fed her dinner and then they all took a leisurely bath where they showed her the joys of bathing together.  Then they gently dried her off and took her back to bed.  She was exhausted, so they tucked her in, and she fell asleep surrounded by their warmth.

The next morning dawned bright and cheerful as Jasmine woke to Gabe kissing her neck
.  He informed her that Phoenix had already gone down to have another meeting before breakfast and he had to join them.  She gave him a leisurely kiss good morning and then he left her to get ready for the day.  Keni and Olivia would be arriving mid-morning, Jasmine was so excited to see them again.  Once dressed, she found Sophie in the dining room having breakfast and joined her for some coffee, she was too excited to eat.

They talked about her friends, which they had done often and then Sophie told her that she had found some paperwork on their abandonments.

"I want to go to the courthouse and get copies so maybe I can try to find our parents or at least what happened.  I also want to look for more references on the symbol.  It has to mean something.  Are you sure you're okay with all this?" Sophie asked her.

"I have always wondered why they did what they did
.  I think all children in our situations feel that way.  It will be like the experts say, closure," Jasmine said.  They had had this discussion several times, both indicating they wanted to know what happened, why they were left like they were.

"Okay
.  I am going to talk with Jackson and Cade to see if they can take me," Sophie said.

Jasmine hesitated, she knew
Sophie didn't know about Otherkin but with the threat over them, she needed to be aware of the danger.  "Sophie, there are some things going on right now on the ranch.  They may be tied up for a bit.  Let's wait a couple of days.”  Just when Sophie opened her mouth to say something, Jasmine put her hand out with the ring on it.  "Besides, don't you think you need to take some time to help your newly found sister plan a wedding?"

Sophie saw the ring and gasped
.  "Oh, Jasmine!  I am so happy for you!”  She jumped up and ran around the table to hug her.

"Thank you
.  I am so happy.  We will have so much fun with Keni and Olivia.  We can plan to our hearts content.  I just know they won't wait long," Jasmine said with a chuckle.

"They
?  Sooo, it is Phoenix
and
Gabe.  I wondered," Sophie said with a gleam in her eye.

"Are you okay with that
?  I know it's not conventional," Jasmine said hesitantly, she had never thought about what others outside of the ranch would say.

"Oh no, I think you are a very lucky girl
.  I think it would be incredible to have two men at your beck and call," Sophie said with a wink.

Jasmine laughed
.  "Yes, it is quite nice."

"Besides, I noticed a lot of people in town are in a m
énage.  They all seem very happy, if you know what I mean," Sophie told her.

"I sure hope Keni and Olivia feel the same way
.  I don't want to hide it from them either,” Jasmine said hesitantly.

"Well, if they are your friends, they will accept them
.  How could they not?  They are hot," Sophie told her.

"Hey now, get your own
," Jasmine said.

"I just might
," Sophie said with a gleam in her eye.

"You just might what?" Jackson's voice made both women jump.

"I, ah, I just might..." Sophie stuttered, blushing.

"Help me pick out a dress for tomorrow
," Jasmine supplied for her.

Sophie gave her a grateful look
.  "Yeah.  A dress.”  She stood.  "I'm going to go upstairs and continue looking through some articles.  See you later.”  She took off as if the hounds of hell were on her tail.

Jackson chuckled
.  With his Otherkin hearing, he had heard every word said.  He could only hope Sophie would consider a ménage as she was about to be in one.  He walked over to Jasmine, who had just stood to go to the kitchen, and knelt in front of her.  He bowed his head as Cade came in and did the same thing.  Phoenix and Gabe were right behind them.  They stood in the doorway with their arms crossed and smiles on their faces.

"
Princess Jasmine Raine, we pledge our loyalty to you.  We vow to give our lives for yours, to protect you and your offspring until death,” Jackson said.  Then both men put their fists over their hearts.

Jasmine looked at Phoenix and Gabe for help on what she was supposed to do, but they just stood there watching her.

She cleared her throat and said, "I am honored.  Thank you for your loyalty."

That seemed to be the right thing to say because they both rose from the floor and then they each hugged her, congratulating her on her mating
.  She hugged them back, thanking them.  Then Phoenix and Gabe came to stand on either side of her.

'You did well, Princess Jasmine.'
Phoenix’s voices came in her mind with humor in it.

'
Princess?  What the hell is that
?' Jasmine asked him.

'
Our formal titles are as princes of our people.  You are now princess.  It is how it's been done for centuries
,' he explained.

'
I'm no princess, I'm just Jasmine
,' she said simply.

He slid his arm around her and kissed her neck as he said in her head
,
'That is why we love you and why our people will love you.'

Gabe stepped up behind her and kissed the other side of her neck
.  She put an arm around both of their necks and hugged them.  They were her world now.  Her childhood had been tough, now she had finally found a home with these men, a love like she had never known existed.  Her past was making her feel unsure as she thought about their parents coming to visit and her friends.  She didn't want anything to take all that away from her.

Keni and Olivia arrived in a whirlwind of hugs,
kisses, and crying.  They kept grabbing her and hugging her, afraid if they let go she would disappear.  She took them into the living room where Lucy had put out drinks and snacks until lunch.  They all sat around on the couches, chatting about Jasmine's ordeal.

"It seems like a lifetime ago to me now
," Jasmine told them.

"You do seem happy
.  Does it have to do with that big rock on your hand?" Olivia, the observer, asked.

Keni grabbed her hand and looked closely at it
.  "What have you been up to?"

Jasmine laughed and said, "Well, I am kinda engaged."

"Kinda?  What is that shit?  Spill," Olivia ordered.

Jasmine looked at her best friends
.  They had been through a lot together.  She took a deep breath and said a little prayer they could get through this.  "Well, I'm engaged.  Getting married.  To Phoenix and his brother, Gabriel."

Olivia, who had been taking a sip of her tea, spewed it out as she exclaimed, "What?!"

Keni sat there looking at her, stunned.  Then she said, "Two men?  Did you just say two men?"

Jasmine nodded
.  "You met them when you went to Champion.  Phoenix and his brother, Gabriel, own it."

"Holy shit
," Olivia said and then looked at Keni.  Both of them remained silent.

Jasmine cleared her throat
.  "Are you guys okay with this?  It seems to be a common occurrence around here," she said.  "I really do love them and want you two to love them."

Keni, the
reasonable one, patted Jasmine's hand and said, "Of course we will love them.  When do we get to see them?"

'Where are you?'
Jasmine asked Phoenix and Gabe through their link.

'Coming in the back door
,'
Gabe answered with a chuckle.

"They should be here any second now
.  Be nice," Jasmine told her friends.

Olivia quirked a brow at her
.  "How could we not be?  They saved you."

Jasmine smiled
.  "They did.  In more ways than one."

"Ooh, she's got it bad
," Keni observed.

Phoenix and Gabe walked in to the living room and Olivia and Keni jumped up
.  "Ladies, it's good to see you again," Phoenix said smoothly, shaking their hands.  "This is my partner and brother, Gabriel."

They all shook hands and then Phoenix indicated they should all sit back down
.  Jasmine went over to sit in between the men.  She saw Olivia and Keni exchange a glance then Olivia's smirk at her.

"Mr. Raine, thank you so much for finding Jasmine and rescuing her
.  We are forever in your debt," Keni told him.

"Please, call me Phoenix and I think I am in your debt, Keni
.  Because of you and Olivia, I was able to meet the love of my life.”  He leaned over and kissed Jasmine's cheek.

'Suck
up,.’
Gabe's voice came in her head and she burst out laughing, forgetting that no one else could hear them.

"Ah, sorry
.  Gabe tickled me on my side.”  Jasmine tried to cover.  She heard his laughter in her head.  She mentally stuck a tongue out at him.

Keni cleared her throat and said, "I am happy to hear that you care for Jasmine
.  She told us the good news.  Congratulations to you both.  We trust that you know we will be watching and making sure you keep her happy."

Gabe inclined his head to her
.  "Of course.  We promise you it is our honor bound duty to protect and care for her always."

'
That was well said.  Thank you, handsome
,' Jasmine thought to him.

"Aw, that is so sweet
," Keni said out loud.

Olivia sat forward
.  "So, when is the special day?  Have you set a date?"

"As soon as possible
," Phoenix stated.

At her friend's quizzical glances, Jasmine said, "They can't wait to start our life together
.  I think they are too eager for the honeymoon."

The women laughed and the men grinned
.  Then Keni said, "Do we get to meet Sophie today, too?  Where is she?"

Jasmine nodded
.  "She's here.  She is upstairs and will join us for lunch.  She's working on finding out some things about our past."

"Are you okay with that
?  I know you have tried to let that go," Olivia asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay
.  It's important now that we know we both exist, to find out more about our past," Jasmine said.

Everyone nodded, agreeing with her
.  "We will help her and be with her every step of the way," Gabe said kissing her hand.

Jasmine smiled her thanks to him and then turned to her friends
.  "Lucy probably has lunch ready now, are you two hungry?"

"I'm famished
.  I skipped breakfast this morning," Keni said.

"You shouldn't do that, it's not healthy for you
," Cord's deep voice came in the room.

They all turned and saw Cord and Trent standing in the doorway, looking intently at Keni
.  She in turn looked at them and a little gasp came out.  She blushed all over and then said, "Well, it's not like I couldn't stand to lose a couple of pounds.”  She laughed, patting her stomach.

Trent growled low and said, "I think you are perfect."

"Th-thank you, I think," she answered.

Phoenix stood and said, "
Keni and Olivia, this is Trent Carson and Cord Bennett, they work with us at Champion.  Guys, this is Keni Creswell and Olivia Paxton, Jasmine's friends."

They all shook hands and then Trent pulled Phoenix aside to speak to him about a business matter while the rest went into the dining room to eat lunch
. 

Sophie entered and Keni exclaimed, "Good lord!
There is no doubt who this is!"

Olivia sat there stunned looking between the two sisters.
When she came out of her shock, she said, "Damn, you two are almost identical. It's only the hair that separates you two."

Jasmine smiled.
"See? Now you have an idea of how we felt when we saw each other. Sophie, I would like you to meet my two best friends, Keni and Olivia."

Sophie smiled as she stepped up and shook their hands.
"It's nice to meet you both finally, I have heard so much about you."

"You
, too, well, lately at least," Olivia said with a laugh.

Keni couldn't help it, she just stared and said, "Nice to meet you."
She glanced at Jasmine. "Wow." Jasmine laughed.

After the initial shock wore off, th
ey had a wonderful lunch and everyone praised Lucy as she bustled about making sure everyone was happy.  She waved off their praise saying she was so happy to have people to cook for now on a regular basis.  They all talked of the city and the differences in life out on the ranch.  Trent and Phoenix joined them halfway through and Jasmine noticed how Trent and Cord kept an eye on what Keni ate.  Jasmine glanced at Phoenix and then Gabe and saw they were doing the same to her.  She thought that was curious but kept her thoughts to herself thinking she would talk to the men about it later.

After lunch, the men helped bring in Jasmine's things from Olivia's car while the women changed into jeans for a horseback ride
.  Olivia and Keni were both equally excited to be going out on the 'range,' but Keni seemed a little worried about the horses.  Phoenix assured her they had a docile mare for her and they would be by her side.  Trent and Cord invited themselves to come along and at Phoenix's remark, they assured her they would be with her as well.

Th
ey all rode out on a trail Jasmine had been on before it would take them on a short track around the property.  She knew the men were leading them this way to keep them close where they would be safe.  As they were cresting one of the smaller hills, a glint off one of the opposite hills caught her gaze and then suddenly she heard a whiz right by her ear.

Her horse whinnied loudly and then reared up
.  Jasmine heard Phoenix shout but couldn't hear what he said as her horse took off in a full run.  She grabbed on to the saddle horn as the men had shown her.  She had never ridden before coming to the ranch but had ridden a lot since being there.  The men had been patient and shown her different ways to ride to be comfortable as well as different things to do in different situations.  This situation called for her to hold on to the saddle horn and pray hard.

'Hold on
.  We are coming,'
Phoenix's calm voice came into her head.

'Oh you can be sure I'm not letting go!'
she yelled at them.

She saw Phoenix come along
side her and then Gabe come up on the other side.  She didn't panic as much as she would have had they not been there, they seemed calm and sure of what they were doing.  Phoenix reached out, grabbed the reigns, and began to slow her horse down while Gabe reached over to haul Jasmine onto his lap.  She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and buried her face in his neck.  Gabe used one hand to rub circles on her back as he began to slow his horse down.

Once the horses were stopped, Jasmine leaned back to look Gabe in the eye and then she leaned to press a kiss on his lips
.  "Thank you, my hero," she whispered to him.  He kissed her forehead and then handed her down into Phoenix's waiting arms.

Phoenix wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against him for a moment
.  Then he kissed her lips, taking her breath away.  When he leaned back, he said, "Are you alright?"

Jasmine nodded and buried her face in his neck, holding him tight
.  Now that the ordeal was over, she began to shake with the thought of what could have happened.  He held her to him and murmured into her ear that everything was okay.

The others rode up and her friends jumped off their horses to run up to her
.  They hugged her and exclaimed over her frightening ride.  Jasmine assured them she was okay and her horse was spooked by a snake.  That set the women off about snakes and they began to beg to be taken back to the ranch house.  It seemed neither of them was too fond of snakes.  Trent and Cord offered to escort them back with the rest following behind them more slowly as Jasmine said they needed to rest their horses for a bit.  When the others rode off toward the house, Jasmine turned to her men.

"What the hell really happened?"
she demanded.

"I'm not sure
.  It sounded like a gunshot," Gabe said.

Phoenix nodded
.  "That's what I thought I heard right before your horse took off."

"Someone was shooting at me?"
her voice rose a pitch as she asked the question.

Phoenix wrapped an arm around her
.  "We are not going to let anything happen to you.  Did you see or hear anything before your horse bolted?"

Jasmine thought about that for a moment
.  "Yes, I did.  I saw a glint off something in the hill across from us.  Then something flew by my ear."

"God, it had been that close
.  I didn't realize,” Gabe said as he took her from Phoenix to wrap his arms around her.

"Come on, I don't like us out here in the open
.  I have asked the men to search that hill and see what or who they can find," Phoenix said.

When they mounted up to ride back, Phoenix put Jasmine on his lap while Gabe led her horse back to the barn
.  Jackson and Cade came out of a copse of trees to walk right up to them.

"Everything okay?" Jackson asked, scanning the area.

"Now it is.  Someone is on our land.  Find them," Phoenix ordered.

Jackson nodded, then in a flash, he and Cade shifted into a wolf and a cougar, taking off into the trees again.

"They will have more luck in their animal forms.  Scents are stronger," Gabe commented to Jasmine.

Jasmine laid her head back against Phoenix's strong chest and relaxed as they rode back to the barn.
Although it had been scary, she was angered over someone trying to hurt her or her men.  She hoped the men found out who this was and quickly, she didn't want anyone she cared about to get hurt.