Triple Dog Dare [Triple Trouble 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

When they were preparing to load up, Lina snagged Elain’s arm. “Come ride with us for a while. Please? Otherwise, I’m liable to fry these two chumps out of sheer aggravation.”

“Hey,” Jan protested. “What’d we do?”

“You didn’t do anything,” Lina shot back. “It’s just that you’re men and I’m hormonal and it’s your fault I’m as big as a house.”

Carla smiled. “It’s all right, honey. Your father and I don’t mind.”

Elain didn’t miss the pleased glance Carla gave Liam.

When they were back on the road, Elain confronted Lina. “Fess up.”

Lina smiled. “They need alone time. No better bonding time than on a road trip.”

“Is this part of your visions? Did you see something?”

Lina laughed. “No, this was just plain old intuition combined with seriously needing some estrogen backup against these two.” She poked her two men in the shoulders over their seats.

Rick, who was driving, protested. “Hey! That’s not fair. What’d I do?”

“You were born with a penis, that’s what,” Lina shot back.

Elain laughed, but she saw through Lina’s false gruffness. She truly loved her men. “So what can I expect when we get to Maine?” Elain asked.

“You’ll love Lacey,” Lina said. “She’s a real sweetheart. She’s like a grandmother.”

“And she makes wicked-good banana nut bread,” Rick said.

“Yeah, there is that,” Lina agreed. “She’s a damn good cook.”

“I think I gained five pounds during our last visit,” Jan said.

Elain sipped at her coffee to buy her a few minutes. “Have you seen anything happening between my mom and dad with your visions?”

Lina shook her head. “Nothing yet. Doesn’t mean I won’t.”

“Oh.”

Lina laid a hand over Elain’s. Elain immediately felt a wave of tender concern from Lina. “I wish I could give you an answer about that.”

“He’s got the hots for her,” Jan said.

“What?” Elain asked.

Rick nodded. “From what I could see with my own two
male
eyes,” he said with a glance in the rearview mirror at Lina, “he really likes her.”

“You think so?”

“Elain, please don’t get your hopes up,” Lina said. “Let nature run its course. I know it’s natural to want them to end up together, but don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t happen.”

“Will Lacey be able to tell me anything?”

Lina shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask her if she’s had any visions. We’ll be there in a couple of days. Try to enjoy the trip.” She offered up a playful smile. “Admit it, you were jealous when I first walked in and hugged Brodey, weren’t you?”

Why lie?
“Yeah. It was like this instinctive wave washed over me. Sorry.”

Lina laughed. “No problem. I would have done the same thing, probably. But seriously, are we okay?”

Elain smiled. “Absolutely. For the first time since I met the guys, I feel like I have a girlfriend I can talk to about all of this.”

“I know what you mean. I have friends, but I can’t talk to any of them about the unusual stuff, you know? I actually lost a couple of friends when they realized I was with both Jan and Rick.”

Elain hadn’t even thought that far ahead in the equation. Not that she had that many friends to worry about. Acquaintances, sure. Coworkers? Lots.

Well, former coworkers.

What Elain hadn’t counted on was not missing work. She had been convinced she would be bored silly and ready to beg Ain to let her get a job by this point.

She wasn’t.

Sure, she’d miss her men over the next couple of days, but the adventure of having her parents and new friends keeping her company, as well as meeting new people, overshadowed that.

The thought of going back to work now was a nearly alien thought. Not that she wanted to lay about, either.

Children…

No, she didn’t need to think about children right now. She needed to think about getting through this new batch of bullshit and the wedding before thinking about starting a family.

Jan and Rick might as well not have been in the car for all the attention Lina and Elain paid them as they bounced from one topic of conversation to the next. By the time they stopped for their next bathroom break, Elain knew she and Lina would likely be friends for life.

Feeling a little guilty that she’d abandoned her mom, Elain walked over to her car as she and Liam got out. “How are you guys doing?” Elain asked.

Carla smiled. “We’re fine, honey. Enjoy your time with Lina.” Elain didn’t miss how Carla glanced at Liam. “Your father and I are talking.”

Elain and Lina spent the next leg of the journey riding with Kael and Zack. Elain quickly discovered she liked both men. By the time they called it a day, they’d made it to Virginia. After agreeing upon a place for dinner, they found a hotel. Elain roomed with her parents, sharing a bed with her mom.

As she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she couldn’t help the smile on her face.

* * * *

Marston felt nervous. He’d intended to get closer to the Lyall house, but despite getting there early in the morning, it seemed he’d missed his opportunity. He parked on the road outside their driveway and, using a pair of binoculars, studied the yard again. Three of the cars that had been there yesterday were now gone. And he knew from observation that two of them had belonged to the dragons.

Damn.

Something had happened, but he wasn’t sure what.

He drove back down the road and parked near a convenience store anyone leaving the Lyalls’ had to pass to get into Arcadia. After several hours and spotting no one, he drove past the Lyalls’ property again.

The cars were still gone.

He knew Micah Donovan was holed up there with his new mate. Donovan’s truck hadn’t moved from where it’d been parked for several days. And that was a wolf he didn’t want to mess with any more than he wanted to tangle with the Lyalls.

He followed one of the Lyalls to town when he left the house to run errands. To the feed store, hardware store, groceries. No sign of the Pardie bitch.

Later that afternoon, another of the brothers, he couldn’t tell them apart from a distance, drove into Arcadia and went to a plumbing supply store. Again, no sign of their mate.

He strongly suspected she’d left the property with the dragons. Unfortunately, he had no idea where they went.

Returning to his hotel room, he knew he had to rework his plan, quickly, before Abernathy started crawling down his neck for results.

The next day, they all got up and moving and headed out, eager to be on the road. They made good time, stopping only for food, gas, and bathroom breaks for Lina. When they stopped that night for dinner and hotel rooms, Lina called Lacey and told her they would see her the next day.

They awoke early the next morning, ate, and got moving as quickly as possible without wasting any time. Elain nervously looked forward to meeting the Seer. Lina had told her their last visit had been nearly a year earlier, although they talked by phone almost every week.

Elain had never been to Maine before. From listening to her men talk about it, she wasn’t sure what to expect. The Clan compound was more a small, rural town area than an armed fortress. The entire area, while on the coast, was also heavily wooded. Elain and Lina rode with Carla and Liam for the last leg of the journey.

“Not much has changed,” Liam softly said from the front passenger seat as he stared out at the passing landscape.

“How long has it been since you’ve been here?” Lina asked him.

He turned to look at them from the front seat. He wore a sad smile. “Too many years. I used to have several friends in this Clan. I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t want anything to do with me now.”

Lina patted him on the shoulder. “You’d be surprised. Don’t count them out.”

“Do you know Lacey?” Elain asked him.

“Not as well as her own Clan. I’ve met her a couple of times at Gatherings. Not sure if she’ll remember me or not.”

Lacey lived on a rural country lane in an old wood-and-stone cottage fronted by a white picket fence. In the front yard, beds of late summer flowers were still holding their own against the arrival of autumn. Large pots of flowers and herbs dotted the front porch.

As they parked their cars, the front door opened. A large, shaggy black dog bounded out the door and down the front steps, followed by an older woman Elain assumed was Lacey. When they got out, the dog made the rounds of the newcomers, his tail fiercely wagging his whole rear end.

Lacey walked down to meet them and gave Lina a hug first. “Hello, dear. It’s so nice to see you again. I’ve missed you.”

“Me, too,” Lina said. “Who’s this?” She reached down to pet the dog. It stood nearly as high as her waist.

“That’s Jasper. He seems to have adopted me. He showed up one night a couple of months ago after a storm. No one claimed him, so he’s mine. The vet says he thinks he’s part Bernese mountain dog.”

“Is he also part moose?” Zack asked as the dog nosed him in the crotch, leaving a large drool mark behind on his jeans.

Lacey laughed. “He might be. He does have a habit of using people and furniture as napkins.”

Lina grabbed Elain’s arm and pulled her up next to her. “Lacey, this is Elain Pardie.”

Lacey smiled. “Hello, dear. It’s nice to finally meet you. I had a nice chat with Aindreas last night on the phone.” She opened her arms and Elain gave her a hug.

Elain immediately felt enveloped by a warm, friendly welcoming feeling. “Thank you,” Elain said, reluctant to step back. “This is my mom, Carla Taylor. And my dad, Liam Pardie.”

Lacey hugged Carla. “Very nice to meet you. I guess this has all been quite the shock for you.”

Carla laughed. “You could say that.”

Liam stepped up. “Hello, Lacey.”

She smiled warmly as she took his hand in hers. “Hello, Liam. It’s been a very long time. How have you been?”

“I’m a lot better now.” He glanced at Elain and Carla.

“I would imagine so. You’ve been away for so many years.”

“Did I do the right thing?”

Lacey shrugged. “That isn’t up to me to say. Your daughter is happy and healthy and you will all find healing. It wasn’t your decision alone. Maureen knew what had to be done to keep Elain safe.” She pulled him in for a hug. “Let your past heal and focus on the present and what is before you. Or, should I say, who is before you.” When she stepped back, she looked at everyone. “I called Daniel and Callie. They’ll be here soon. They’re looking forward to seeing you all, and meeting Elain and her parents.”

Parents.
That was a term Elain was still trying to come to terms with after so many years of only having a mom.

“Well, I hope you all are hungry,” Lacey said. “I’ve got lunch waiting for you.” She smiled at Elain. “I’d rather fill our stomachs first before we do our talking.”

* * * *

Daniel and Callie Blackestone appeared to be a very nice couple. Callie seemed like a normal woman, not an immortal one. Lina greeted them both with big hugs and introduced Elain first.

Daniel, also called Blackie, smiled as he shook Elain’s hand. “You able to keep Brodey in line? I know he’s a handful.”

Elain laughed. “I do okay.”

When she hugged Callie, she felt a wave of friendliness tinged by something she couldn’t decipher from her. Perhaps a deep sadness? It disappeared when their embrace ended.

“Nice to meet you,” Callie said with a smile.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Callie grinned. “Don’t believe all of it. Only most of it.”

Lacey had prepared a simple but delicious lunch of ham with sandwich fixings, potato salad, and some of her famous banana nut bread. Elain felt at home with the Seer. While she missed her men, she couldn’t help but relax in the midst of her newfound “family.”

Callie, Carla, and Elain insisted on helping Lacey clean up, but they shooed Lina back into the living room with the men. It didn’t take long. Once they’d finished, Lacey dried her hands on a dish towel and reached for a leash hanging beside her back door. “Lina, are you up for a walk, dear?”

She heaved herself, with Rick and Jan’s help, up and off the couch. “Yo!” She waddled over to the back door. “Are we going where I think we’re going?”

Lacey smiled as she clipped the leash to Jasper’s collar. “Yes. Elain, I’d like you to join us. Not to be rude,” she said to the rest of them, “but I hope you all understand that I need to talk to them alone.”

“No problem,” Callie said with a smile. “Actually, I think we need to get going.”

Daniel nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got some work to do.” They bid everyone good-bye.

“Ready, girls?” Lacey asked.

Lina’s men nervously looked at each other. “Um, as long as you’re sure it’s safe,” Jan said. “We don’t need the Lyall men killing us for letting something happen to her.”

Lina jammed her fist against where she assumed her hip was supposed to be, although with her pregnancy belly it was hard to be sure. “Honestly? Do you think we have anything to worry about?”