The Witch, the Wolf and the Snowstorm: (Book 6, Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas) (15 page)

Chapter Fifteen

12
th
December

Don
sat on the hood of his rental car soaking up the sunshine.  It was a far cry from the winter wonderland he left back in Virginia.

After leaving the Shaw’s
house, he ran home and packed a small bag.  Hiking into town he managed to catch a lift on a snowplough into Darlington.  From there he managed to borrow a truck with snow tyres from his friend Cain and drove to Alexandria.  Then it was just a flight to Dallas, renting a car and a short drive to Charming.

Coming home after twenty years was strange.  The place hadn’t changed at all.  It was like stepping back in time.  As he drove through town he knew a few of his old pack mates spied him.  By now his family would know he was back too. 
Something to worry about later
.

For now he was sat waiting outside the double wide of his former future mother in law,
Victoria.  The trailer park was just on the outside of town.  He’d been waiting a good thirty minutes but no way was he budging until he saw her.

When he’d arrived he’d knocked on the door politely.  One of her neighbours, the same neighbour
who’d lived there since he’d first come calling on Melinda twenty years ago, came out to find out what was going on. 
She was just as nosey as he remembered
.  After a few minutes she recognised him, and gleefully told him Victoria should be back from her shift at the Laundromat within the hour.  The neighbour then settled down to wait on her make-shift porch. 
Undoubtedly hoping for a good show
.   

A few of the residents had eyed him curiously, but after a quick growl they had kept their heads down and kept walking.  A few of the women were not so
deterred, they gave him appreciative looks before being dragged away by their fractious husbands.

After forty minutes his wolf went on alert. 
Victoria’s small old rusty car put-putted upside along his rental, brakes screeching. 

Victoria
lumbered out of the car eyeing him distastefully.  She was perhaps a few pounds heavier, her skin unnaturally tanned a few shades darker and her hair bleached a few shades lighter.  But it was her.

She heaved a deep sigh.  “I suppose you better come in.”

Much to the displeasure of the nosey neighbour, Victoria led Don into the house, sneering at the neighbour as she went. 
Yep,
Victoria
hadn’t changed much
.

Dumping her purse on the floor she switched the radio on
to Mexican samba music.  “Keeps away big ears.”  She sniggered angling her head in the direction of the neighbour.

She lit a cigarette an
d settled into a rocking chair, pitching back and forth.  Don stood, his hands behind his back holding his stetson.  He observed her with a blank look on his face.

“Knew you’d turn up eventually.”
  She dragged on the cigarette and coughed violently.  “Well it’s no good, she’s long gone and so is your money.  Ain’t no point in threatening me either, I got friends in the Sheriff’s office.” She told him smugly.  Don remembered twenty years ago she was sleeping with the married Sheriff. 
Apparently she still was...

He remained silent.  She squirmed under his impassive gaze.  “Look I’m sorry
okay, I had no idea what she was up to.”  Her words reeked of lies, making his wolf snarl. 

Don suddenly started speaking making her jump.  “Why don’t you tell me what you do know?”  His voice was velvety, the calmness belying the thunder he felt inside him.

She sucked on her cigarette, hand shaking slightly. 
For all her bravado she was definitely afraid of the big bad wolf.

“Melinda always thought she was too good for this place, always thought she was something special.”  She said nastily.  “She was determined to get out of here
, make her way in the world.”  Victoria clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

“Thing is she needed money, and that deadbeat boyfriend of hers Allen sure didn’t have any.”

Allen... that rang a bell
.  Don could remember being introduced to an Allen.  He was about ten years older than Melinda, a cobweb and spider tattooed on his neck and a conviction for assault.  He’d thought it strange at the time that she was such closer friends with him, but hadn’t really cared. 
Too besotted with Melinda to notice
she was sleeping around behind his back
.

Victoria
exhaled loudly.  “So Melinda got it into her head that she could get money out of some of the wealthy boys who live round here, cast a spell to make them fall in love with her, skin ‘em for all they were worth and then break the spell.  No harm done.”

Don’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head at that,
no harm done?! 
“But then she met you.”  Victoria jabbed the cigarette in his direction.  “I warned her not to get mixed up with a wolf shifter, god knows I did, but she wouldn’t hear of it.  She saw you in the grocery store, she knew you came from a good family and she couldn’t help herself.”

Victoria
shambled out of the chair to pour herself a whiskey.  “Course she reckoned without you thinking she was your true mate.  After that she panicked, you were talkin’ about bondin’ and gettin’ married.  I told her the best thing she could do for her future was to go through with it.  She’d never meet a john better than you.  She even considered it for a while...” 

She
chuckled throatily seeing Don’s horrified expression. 
Thank god Melinda hadn’t gone through with it, the thought of being married to her made his skin crawl and his animal livid.

Victoria
settled back into her chair.  “She knew she couldn’t get any money out of you, not without going through with the wedding.  Toward the end she was about ready to give up, throw in the towel.  But then your family gave her an out.”  She ogled him slyly, delighting in his reaction.  “They came to her, offered her a huge wad of money to stay away from you.”

Victoria
stubbed out her cigarette and then lit another.  She shrugged nonchalantly.  “So she took it.” 

Don shook his head appalled at what he was hearing.
  “She came to me, beat up.  Said my brothers did it.  That a lie too?”

Victoria
snorted.  “She had her fucktard boyfriend do that to her.  Course he went a bit too far, likes beating up women does that one.  But it did the trick, got you all riled up and gave her a chance to leave town with your family’s money.”

Don stared out of the window moodily. 

Victoria got up for another whiskey.  She was very aware of the fact that she was trapped in a small space with a very pissed off wolf. 
A wolf who might just want to take all his frustration out on her, given that her daughter wasn’t available
.

Her voice quavered.  “She visits now and
again, and... and she sends me birthday and Christmas cards... I have her address somewhere... I can get it for you no problem... you wanna go up there and talk to her, you do what you gotta do... I didn’t even want the money... that was all her...”

She was on the verge of tears,
real tears
.  Don gazed at her.  The vicious woman probably aided Melinda into making saps like him fall in love with her, probably took half the cash they swindled and now she was selling out her only daughter to save her own neck. 
Classy
.

Don pushed back at the bellowing animal inside him until he was silenced.  “I don’t care about the money.  And I don’t
wanna see Melinda again.  Ever.”  He told her quietly.

He placed his hat on his head and slowly sauntered out of her house.  Not bothering to answer the nos
ey neighbour when she asked what happened he got in his rental and drove away steadily.

*

13
th
December

Kayleigh
wobbled a little and clutched at Casey’s arm.  He was leading her up to the steps to her apartment.

“You know you don’t have to go home so soon.  You could stay a few more days at our house.”

She shook her head.  No, she just wanted to be alone to wallow in her misery over Don. 
Right after she kicked Greg out of the apartment. 
Okay so technically it was his apartment, but he was the guilty party so really she should get custody right?

“I just want to get home.”  She said out loud to Casey.

She’d woken up surprised to find herself at their house, the first word on her lips was ‘Don’.  Everything was a little blurry after the fight...  But Casey filled her in on Don finding her, bringing her to the house,
and then leaving...

His family had been great, they had taken care of her so well, fed her, clothed her, helped bathe her,
which she found incredibly embarrassing
.  But now she was starting to feel better and she needed some alone time. 
Time to think about her future, no way was she staying here knowing what Don thought of her.  If he wanted to mope after his bitch ex then that was up to him!

Moving to Rose had been the biggest mistake of her life!  Her heart
twinged at that thought.  If she hadn’t then she never would have met him at all, she never would have enjoyed what little time they had together. 
But wouldn’t that have been easier that the crushing sadness she now felt?

She
opened the door and he manoeuvred her inside.  Greg was there pacing the floor.  She’d called him to let him know she was coming.

“
Kayleigh!  Thank god, I’ve been so worried.” 

He rushed toward her and Casey instinctively growled lowly.  Everyone in the Shaw house had heard about Greg’s exploits with Sharron.
 
Kayleigh was never shy about sharing
.  Except about her time with Don, she’d take that to the grave. 
That was no one’s business.

“
It’s fine Casey, thanks for bringing me home.”  She ambled over to the couch.

Casey looked at her doubtfully, alternating with venomous glares at Greg.  “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, thanks.  I’ll talk to you soon.”

Casey nodded and reluctantly left.

Greg wrung his hands out, his eyes were sunken and his face sporting a few days stubble.  He didn’t look like he’d slept properly in days.  “Are you alright?”  He asked tentatively.

“I’m fine, just a little tired.”

He started pacing again, his face pinched.  “Was that your new boyfriend?”

“No!”  She yelled hotly, she would never be interested in Casey,
she couldn’t imagine herself being interested in any man other than Don... 
“And even if he was you have no right to ask!”

He looked pained, almost on the verge of tears.  His voice was strangled.  “
Kayleigh... I’m so sorry about what happened... I really did love you... I just...”

“Loved Sharron more.”
 
She filled in the blank
.

“I wanted to tell you, I just didn’t want to hurt you.”  He was mired in self pity. 
Kayleigh considered letting this drag on a little longer but she was tired and all she really cared about was having a bath and going to bed.

“Greg, the truth is I was having second thoughts.  When I found you and Sharron...”  She shuddered at the
memory, she definitely did not enjoy watching other people have sex!  “I was on my way over to break things off.”

“What?!”

Kayleigh groaned. 
He actually looked hurt by what she said
.  He had been cheating on her and he had the audacity to actually be hurt by her admission that she didn’t want to marry him anyway! 
Asshole!

“Really?
  You’re really upset by that Greg?  Really?”

He looked down at his shoes like a little boy.  “No I guess not.”  He muttered sullenly.

She chewed her lip pensively.  “So what are we going to do about the apartment?”

He went back to looking sheepish.  “I’m moving away
with Sharron, she says she’s had enough of small town life, she says everyone’s too judgey for her.” 

Kayleigh
almost scoffed, yeah can’t imagine why...

“So we’re moving to Vegas.
  We’re leaving in a couple of days, I’ve already moved all my stuff over to Sharron’s place so we can decide what we want to keep and what we want to take.  We uh, thought it would be for the best.”  He rubbed the back of his head.

Yeah, more like Sharron thought it would be best...
  “You’re really happy with her aren’t you?”

Greg grinned, unable to contain his joy.  “Yeah I really am.”

She smiled warmly in return.  “Then I’m pleased for you.  I really am.”  She got up and hugged him.

“Then I guess this is goodbye.”

“Yeah I guess so.”