Twelve

Wes glanced over his shoulder to Noel, his little elf staring at the woman in his doorway with a pinched expression. Noel hadn’t spoken of her family much, only saying that she needed time to think and she knew she wouldn’t get that with her mother around. Of course, now that Wes knew what Noel needed to think about, he could understand her not wanting to have her mother in her ear the entire time. Running off on your fiancé didn’t exactly make for a casual conversation.

“How did you even know I was here?” Noel asked as she crossed her arms over her chest, closing herself off. Wes worried that there was more to their relationship than just Noel needing time to think.

Noel’s mother stood there, donning the same pose as her daughter as she stared back. “Once Jake told me you were in Bull Creek as a waitress for some dive bar, I made some calls. It wasn’t hard to find out the gossip of what you’ve been doing.”

Wes turned to Jake. “Dive bar?”

Jake shrugged, an apologetic look on his face. “That was before… Everything. And really, you have to admit, Everglades needs some upkeep.”

“Everglades is a rustic bar,” Wes said, put out. “It’s supposed to look like that.” Of course, he knew the bar needed some repairs, but he wasn’t about to admit it now.

Jake popped an eyebrow at the remark. “Rustic is one thing. Rundown is another.” He then held out his hands before saying anything else that might ruin their relationship before it even got out of the gate. “I know you realize it needs repairs. Noel told me so herself. I’m not criticizing, really. I just want to help is all. I am staying here after all.”

“You’re staying here?” the older woman asked Jake. “Why? What about your business back home?”

“Mom,” Noel broke in before the conversation could travel further down the path it headed. Wes made a mental note to hash it out with Jake later. “Why are you in Bull Creek? I told you I was fine.”

“Fine? Fine?” Her mother gave her daughter an incredulous glance as she shoved her way past Wes and into the cabin. “You left Jake at the altar basically, and then I hear you’re serving cheap beer for some woolly-looking man, and then someone tells me you’re actually dating him. What happened that you couldn’t even call your own mother and tell her what was going on?” Then Noel’s mother glanced around at Wes and Jake. “And why are all of you here?” She narrowed her eyes at Jake. “Have you come to kick his ass and steal your girl back? Good for you. Now, do it, and let’s get out of these woods.”

Bull Creek residents seem selective on what secrets they keep, Noel thought. “I happen to like these woods,” She said at the same time Jake said, “I’m not kicking anyone’s ass.”

“Woolly-looking?” Wes turned to Noel. “Am I really woolly-looking?”

Noel shrugged, smiling. “It looks good on you. Grizzly bear like.”

“It goes with the look of the bar,” Jake smirked.

Wes turned to him. “You’re really not wanting to start this out on the right foot, are you?”

Jake shrugged. “Something tells me you can handle it.”

Wes rolled his eyes. He would be spending his life with a wise ass. Great.

“Mom, everything is fine,” Noel said, turning the conversation back to where it started. “You didn’t need to come out here.” She turned to Jake, glaring. “Jake should have never called you.”

Wes noticed the other man looked honestly apologetic. There must be history with the mother he would need to know soon if he was going to be a part of this family. He shut the door, closing out the night and trapping the drama inside. Shifters had great hearing, and he didn’t need his neighbors hearing more than they probably already had.

Noel’s mother stiffened her back as she looked totally unashamed. “I needed to check on my absent daughter. Now that I’ve seen Bull Creek, I assume you hardly reached out because cell service doesn’t reach this far.”

Noel sighed. “I didn’t call constantly because I wanted time to think. I told you that.” She took a deep breath as she turned back to the island in the middle of the cabin. “I need another drink.”

“Of course, because drinking is the answer to everything,” her mother quipped. “What is going on here, Noel? We had a wedding all planned out, and then you just up and ran off. I think you owe me some sort of explanation.”

Wes stared at Noel, wondering how much her mother knew of the paranormal world. When Noel arrived in Bull Creek, she had very little knowledge of the community herself. While the two women had kept in contact via cell phone, he highly doubted she had filled her mother in on her real reason for running off. He turned to Jake, and the look on the man’s face told Wes he hadn’t given Noel’s mother the information, either. A quick glance at Noel, and he could see the stress stretching her features. With a deep breath, he forced a smile on his face and turned to his little elf’s mother. “Why don’t we all sit down?” he suggested. “My name’s Wes. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?”

The mother narrowed her eyes at him. “What? I can’t have a drink like my daughter?”

Wes stood there for a moment, his mouth open, confused. “I just thought with your comment that you didn’t care for alcohol. You can have whatever you’d like, of course.”

The mother nodded. “Good. I’ll take some whiskey then. Only two ice cubes. Don’t water it down.”

Wes forced himself not to laugh at the woman’s quirkiness. “Sure thing” He turned, catching Noel’s gaze as he did. She gave him a soft smile, and he just winked at her. He knew she must be going crazy inside. Of course, the fact that she had both men nibbling on her neck just before her mother made her dramatic appearance probably didn’t help her nerves either. From hot and steamy to antagonistic was definitely not the direction they had planned when Jake and he pinned Noel between them.

Wes poured the drinks, making sure to only put two ice cubes in Noel’s mother’s glass, and then passed them all out. Noel took hers and immediately downed half of it. As Wes handed the whiskey to her mother, he said, “Here you go Mrs. Hastings, unless there’s another name you’d like me to call you?”

The woman took the glass, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Mrs. Hastings is good enough.”

“Oh please,” Noel groaned. “Stop being so persnickety.” She glanced at Wes. “Her name’s Margaret. Most people call her Marge.”

“I can be persnickety if I want,” Marge said. “I had to traipse across several states just to make sure my daughter wasn’t being kept locked up in some backwoods cabin against her will.”

“Why the hell would you think that?” Noel asked, taken aback by her mother’s description.

“Why else would you rarely call or even tell me where you were unless you couldn’t?” Marge said with a shrug. “It was either that or you were doing something you were ashamed of.” She glanced at Wes again, one eyebrow raised. “More than likely, it’s both.”

Wes saw Noel roll her eyes. “Would you please stop being so dramatic? I told you why I didn’t tell you my whereabouts. I needed time, and I didn’t want you nagging me while I sorted things out.”

“How was I supposed to know you weren’t made to say that?” Marge pressed, both hands wrapped around her glass. “You could have been coerced into saying anything. I didn’t know.”

Wes glanced over at Jake who sat on a stool, quietly sipping his drink, his demeanor calm and relaxed. Obviously, this was normal behavior for Noel and her mother. Deciding to follow the other man’s example, Wes slid onto one of the stools around the island to wait it out.

“I wasn’t coerced into anything, Mother,” Noel said as she blew out an exasperated breath. “Why do you always think of the worst-case scenario?”

“Because it’s the only reason I could think of for you to abandon your dear mother.” Marge showed no signs of letting up.

“I didn’t abandon you. Sheesh. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was, all right? I should have known better.” Noel finished off her drink and then walked back to the bottle and refilled her glass. “But Jake already told you I was all right, so there’s still no reason for you to be here. So, why are you here?”

“What? I’m not allowed to see for myself that my daughter is all right and not held captive in some woodsman’s hut?”

Wes felt his eyebrows pop up. “Hut? First my bar is a dive, then I’m woolly-looking, and now I live in a hut. Can we stop commenting on my life?”

Marge narrowed her eyes at him. “No, we can’t. You made your life part of my daughter’s, so that puts you in my life, and I have a right to comment on things in my life. Buck it up.” She turned back to her daughter. “So, what are you planning to do? Jake came here to rescue you, but I didn’t hear shouting when I walked up to the front door of this hut.” She shot Wes a smirk when she said the last part. “So, what’s going on? Are you returning home to marry Jake?”

Wes saw Noel’s shoulders rise and fall as she took a deep breath. “I’m not returning home.”

Marge narrowed her eyes more as she studied her daughter. “So, you’re staying here and getting married?”

“It’s complicated,” Noel said.

Marge bounced her gaze back and forth between the two men in the room. “I can see that.” She returned her gaze back to Noel. “How complicated?”

Wes could see the struggle on Noel’s face. How was she supposed to tell her mother that she loved both men and they loved her? How could she even bring up the subject of the three of them forming a relationship together? He took a deep breath, glancing at Jake as he did. “It’s not really complicated,” he said. “It’s just new, and some things need to be worked out.”

Marge glanced at Wes. “That sounds complicated to me.” She turned her focus to Jake. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Jake smiled at the woman, his lips twisted into a slight smirk. “Welcome to town?”

Marge rolled her eyes. “Fine. You three don’t want me to know anything.” She took a long swig of her drink, holding the glass away from her and staring at it as she swallowed. “Does your bar serve stuff this good, or do you keep it for yourself?”

Wes chuckled. “There’s even better at Everglades. Come by tomorrow and the drinks are on the house.”

Marge arched an eyebrow at him. “Sucking up. I like it.” She downed the rest of her drink and then set the glass on the table. “I’ll be there tomorrow then. I’m not going anywhere until I know what’s happening in my daughter’s life.” She moved toward Noel, placing a hand on her daughter’s arm, her expression softening just a little. “I missed you.” She then stiffened her back as she turned toward the front door. “Don’t do that shit again. I’ll see everyone tomorrow then for my free drinks.”

Wes watched as she opened the door, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud. However, when she opened the door, Sheriff Chet Einstein stood there, about ready to knock on the door himself. Wes stood as Marge turned back around to him, her eyes narrowed. “Do you usually have the cops coming to your door at this time of night?”

A sinking feeling filled the pit of Wes’ stomach.