Eight

Noel pulled into a parking spot in downtown Melbourne, roughly thirty miles east of Bull Creek. Jake refused to go inside Everglades again after what he had witnessed the last time he passed through the doors, so Noel thought taking him to another bar, another town even, might make talking to him go a little smoother. She also thought alcohol would help and not just for Jake. She needed a good, stiff drink to see this through, whatever this turned out to be. She still wasn’t sure. She didn’t even know what Wes truly thought about it or where he expected it to go. “Talk to Jake,” Wes had said. “He’ll need some reassurances as well, some idea of what we’re trying to figure out.” However, what exactly were they trying to figure out? Two men loved her, and, for better or worse, she loved two men. Did any of them have a chance? How would she ever choose? Could she choose? The truth was, she didn’t want to choose. She wanted them both, loved them both. What have I gotten myself into? She knew she could never choose between them, so the only thing that made sense would be to end it with both of them and start over somewhere else. Lainie and Adira always talked about Draven Falls, so Noel figured that would be a good place to start a new life.

With a determination to see her decision through, Noel slid out of her car and stepped into the Florida humidity. Downtown Melbourne held a unique assortment of specialty shops, antique stores, bars, and restaurants. Giant oaks shaded the old-brick buildings, covering the sidewalk and a two-lane road, and even though it was almost seven at night, the sidewalks were still cluttered with shoppers and pub-crawlers, lost in conversation and laughter. The night sky was just beginning to gain a sprinkling of stars as the evening swallowed the sun, and a cool breeze whispered through the trees to caress those on the sidewalk, keeping the heat from being totally unbearable. Noel had told Jake to meet her outside a small Irish pub in the middle of the popular area, and it didn’t surprise her to find him already waiting outside, arms over his chest, one foot propped up on the brick wall behind him. His face held a hint of impatience along with traces of the hurt Noel remembered seeing the other night when he walked into Everglades unexpectedly. She felt a tightening in her chest as she realized she would only hurt him again. With a deep breath she hoped would help calm her nerves, Noel stepped up onto the sidewalk and headed toward her fiancé.

Jake glanced up, watching her approach, his expression never changing. Only when she was a few feet away did he shove himself away from the wall and turned to face her. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure you were going to show up,” he said, uncrossing his arms and shoving his hands into his pockets.

She gave him a weak smile. “I wondered the same about you as well to tell you the truth. I’m glad we both kept our word.”

He gave her a curt nod, then glanced back at the pub. “Have you eaten here before?”

“We did a girls’ day a few weeks back,” she answered. “Alanna, Eve, Lainie, and I, just before Adira arrived in Bull Creek. This was one of the places where we stopped. They sometimes have live music and a great party atmosphere. However, the place gets quieter the further toward the back you sit.” She shrugged. “We could sit wherever you’d like, though. Or even choose a completely different restaurant if you want.”

Another curt nod. If that was all he was going to do all night, she might scream. “This will do. You ready?” he asked.

She just nodded in reply, hoping he’d get the point. He just turned, however, and moved to open the door for her. She sighed. The night looked to be a long one.

The hostess seated them quickly, one across from the other, and took their drink order. Noel knew she needed the liquid courage to see herself through this evening. Once the waitress left, Jake clasped his hands together on the table in front of him and leaned forward a little. “You seem to have made a good start to a new life in Bull Creek. I’ll admit, it seems a drastic step from Chicago. From a major city to a little backwoods town where they don’t even pave the roads. Seems a bit extreme, don’t you think? You could have just told me how you felt rather than running states away.”

Noel kept her hands in her lap so Jake wouldn’t see how bad she shook. “I told you; I was scared. I needed to think.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping, her gaze dropping to the table. “I, honestly, didn’t mean to stay away so long.” She looked back up into his eyes and prayed he saw the sincerity in her gaze. “I truly meant to come home. At least, at first.”

“But you didn’t.” His tone remained flat, his expression equally so.

She sighed again as she shook her head. “No. No, I didn’t. The longer I stayed, the more I got to know the people here, the more this became my home.” She dropped her gaze again, afraid to look into his eyes as she said the next part. “And then, I met Wes, and things grew so quickly between us. I love him as much as I love you, and I have no idea what to do about it.”

“Noel, my bear already scented you as his mate, and there’s nothing I can do about that. However, I don’t want to force you into a marriage you don’t want, no matter how much it’ll drive me nuts to deny my animal. You’re my destined mate. There won’t be another.”

Noel groaned as she looked up at the ceiling. “Wes says the same thing. Do you even know how much pressure that puts on me? Do you understand the weight you shifters put on us humans with all this destined mates bullshit? It’s like I’m now responsible for the sanity of both of you, and that’s just not fair.”

The waitress returned with their drinks and took their entrée orders, the conversation dying down while she took their order. As soon as she left, however, Jake started right back in where Noel left off. “I can’t help that it’s not fair,” he said. “Every paranormal race has its own rules and needs. This is ours, and trust me, we didn’t choose it. Quite often the burden is too much for us as well, especially when our animals scent a mate that the human part of them can’t stand. That’s happened before, and it makes everyone miserable. I don’t know how it works or even how the animals scent who they’re supposed to be with for the rest of their lives, but it’s always been this way and will never change.” She saw his shoulders droop as he settled back in his seat. “But, as I said, I won’t force you into a marriage you don’t want. If Wes is where your heart lies, then I’ll leave you be and return home.”

“I didn’t say I don’t want to marry you. That’s part of my problem. I want both of you. I love both of you. I know it sounds weird and wrong on so many levels, but it’s the truth.” She took another deep breath. “So, I think the best, most fair thing to do is just end it with both of you, because I won’t choose between you.” She knew it sounded selfish and wrong and greedy and so, so out there, but Jake asked for the truth, and she had made up her mind not to lie to him again. She just stared at him, waiting for his reaction.

“Have you told Wes what you’ve told me?” Jake asked. “What does he think about all this?”

“About breaking up with both of you and leaving? No. I actually just made that decision on the way over here.” She thought back to her last conversation with Wes and his ready acceptance of what she wanted. Okay, maybe not ready acceptance, but he at least believed he could try to make it work, whatever it was. “As far as what I want,” she took a deep breath, “he says he’s willing to make a go of it. Obviously, it wasn’t his first choice, but he says he’ll do whatever he has to so as not to lose me.”

Jake arched an eyebrow. “And you’re saying I won’t?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” she said with a shake of her head. She should have known before she said it he’d take her statement that way. “You asked a question. I answered it. There was no intended dig. If you took it that way that’s on you. Besides, you’re the one who lied, remember? You hid a major part of who you are from me until just before the wedding. You have no right to be sensitive.” She stared across the table at him, determined not to feel guilty about telling him the truth. He was the reason she was even in Bull Creek.

He stared back at her, his eyes never blinking, his lips a thin line. “Then I guess we need to figure out how to make this work because you breaking up with both of us isn’t the answer.”

She blinked. Stared. Parted her lips to say something. Closed her mouth. Then blinked again. “How?” Her voice came out soft, barely above a whisper, but she knew he had thrown her a lifeline, and she couldn’t grasp hold until she knew what it meant. “How do we make something like this work?”

He grinned. “There’s always a way for people determined enough to seek it out and strong enough to grasp it. I told you what it would mean to me if you walked away, and I guarantee it means the same to Wes. Therefore, the only answer would be to figure out how to make a relationship with the three of us work.” He reached his hand across the table, taking hold of hers and squeezing. “I’ll be honest, it’s not what I had planned, just like it wasn’t Wes’ first choice, but sharing you beats the hell out of losing you.”

“But, Jake, how do I ask that of you?” The thought of permanently having both men in her life spun crazy circles of thoughts in her mind as she dared hope he meant what he said. “You just said it isn’t what you really want? So why would you do this? I’m not worth it.”

He squeezed her hand tighter. “Babe, you are worth this and so much more. I’d do anything in the world for you.” A sheepish expression crossed his face as he scrunched his nose at her. “Besides, maybe it’ll make up for what I did in my anger.”

She stared, wide-eyed, concerned over a number of possibilities of his revenge on her and Wes filling her mind. “What did you do?”

However, what she imagined wasn’t as bad as what he actually said. “I kind of called your mother and told her I had found you.”

Noel felt her eyes go wide. “You did what?”