Epilogue
Eight Weeks Later
Jane paced from one side of the room to the other. “Why are they taking so long to get here?”
Kai’s voice filled his mother’s living room. “You know Nikki’s too pregnant to shift and fly, so they’re driving. It takes longer.”
She turned on her mate. “I still say you should’ve gone to get them.”
He raised his brows. “A dragon landing in your parents’ small village would’ve caused a stir, not to mention a considerable amount of paperwork to garner permission for me to do so.” He patted the empty spot next to him on the sofa. “Come sit down, Janey. Otherwise you’ll wear yourself out before your parents arrive.”
“I told you that I’m fine. My shoulder is a bit stiff still, but your magical dragon’s blood did its job.”
Kai shrugged. “They’re your parents. But if you end up needing to take a nap or pass out from exhaustion, then you get to explain why.”
“So much for being a supportive mate.”
“I am, but you’re being irrational. The meeting will go fine.”
“Provided you and Rafe don’t kill each other,” Jane muttered.
“I promised to behave and I mean it. Now, come here, Janey.”
Jane could fight it and pass the time by arguing with Kai, but her shoulder ached a little from all of the arm swinging she’d done while pacing. With a sigh, she plopped down next to her mate and leaned against him.
Between her videocast series and its PR, following the case and prison sentence against Maggie Jones, and working on her own recovery, Jane hadn’t had a lot of downtime with her mate. Kai had been busy as well with finalizing agreements with Snowridge and even helping out Glenlough in Ireland.
Add in the visits to Snowridge to visit Kai’s family and help Delia learn to control her dragon once more, and sometimes Jane wondered how she remembered to breathe.
It would be a few weeks yet before they finally could go back to their normal routine, so Jane merely soaked in her dragonman’s heat and the sense of comfort that always came with being near him.
Kai spoke up. “I know part of your restlessness is because you’re worried about my sister, but she’s nearly back to her old self.”
Delia’s dragon had barely spoken to her at first and had acted more like a young child than a teenager. But with intensive training from Kai, Rhydian, Snowridge’s tracker, Carys, and other alpha dragon-shifters, Delia’s dragon was learning and maturing. Everyone was hopeful for the future.
Well, at least for Delia’s.
“Your sister might be nearly back to normal, but we won’t know for years about the other children.”
Squeezing her good shoulder, Kai answered, “With all of Stonefire’s doctors working on a cure, they’ll find something. I know they will.”
“I hope so.”
A comfortable silence fell. Jane’s eyes grew heavy, but just as she struggled to keep them open, her mother’s familiar Australian accent boomed from the entrance. “Jane Elizabeth Hartley, come give your mother a hug.”
She looked up to see the tall, red-haired figure of her mother, Leonie Hartley. “Hi, Mum.”
When Jane didn’t get up, her mother closed the distance and scrutinized her face. “Should you even be socializing yet? You had a nasty injury not that long ago and look tired.” She glanced at Kai. “Are you going to back me up on this, Kai?”
Jane put up a hand. “Just stop, please, Mother. Today isn’t about my health.” She stood and hugged her mum. “Where are the others? And Dad?”
“Your father is with Rafe and Nikki. Something about Rafe wanting to make sure Nikki doesn’t fall down the stairs.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “She might be six months pregnant, but she’s not that big yet.”
“You know your brother and how protective he is of those he cares for. He could have twenty people telling him Nikki was fine and he’d remain skeptical.” Leonie placed a hand on her hip and stared at Kai. “Where’re your parents?”
Kai looked over at the door leading to the kitchen. “They should’ve heard you come in.”
Jane wondered if Kai was referencing her mother’s tendency to talk loudly, but managed not to smile. She merely patted Kai’s arm. “Go get them. The more people in the room when Rafe arrives, the better. You’ll both behave more.”
Grunting, Kai glared at her. “I can behave. He’s the one being irrational. You’d think he had pregnancy hormones racing through his body instead of Nikki.”
Snorting, Jane opened her mouth to reply when her mother cut her off. “Of course you can behave, dear. But I’d like to meet your mother. We did just drive more hours than I’d like just to get here.”
Sighing, Jane resisted placing her face in her hands. She loved her mother, but sometimes she was a bit over the top. “Please don’t guilt trip him this early in the visit, Mum.”
Her mum tsked. “I’m just being honest. If you don’t know that my nature is to speak the truth by now, then I don’t know how you ever made a living as a journalist.”
Jane was tempted to rub her forehead. “How about maybe toning it down just a bit? At least until after I can introduce you to Kai’s family? I don’t want them running for the hills before that. Speaking of which, maybe that’s why they’re hiding.”
“Jane Hartley, I appreciate some backbone, but I expect a little respect from my favorite daughter.”
“I’m your only daughter.”
Her mum waved a hand. “That doesn’t matter. And this is who I am, so if it embarrasses you, I’ll leave.”
Kai chuckled. “Please don’t, Leonie. You and Jane are more alike than I think my mate wants to acknowledge.”
Jane was about to protest, but Lily and Gareth entered the room, with Delia right behind him. Jane jumped at the distraction. “Mum, this is Kai’s mum and stepdad, Lily and Gareth. The younger one is his sister, Delia. Everyone, this is my mum, Leonie Hartley.”
Lily rushed to Jane’s mum and smiled. “Nice to finally meet you, Leonie. It’ll be nice to trade stories with another parent of a stubborn child.”
“Tell me about it. Jane made not eating her lunches into an art form.”
“Mum, please,” Jane said.
Lily replied as if Jane hadn’t spoken. “Kai was the same with baths as a toddler. I half expected potatoes to start growing out of his ears.”
Jane glanced at Kai and he shrugged. “I don’t remember it.”
She opened her mouth to ask for details, but Nikki’s voice boomed into the room. “Stop it, Rafe. I mean it. Ask me again if I’m okay and I swear I’ll cut off one of your balls tonight.”
“You’re the one huffing up the stairs. Me asking about your health is to be expected,” Rafe stated.
Her dad’s calm voice came next. “Son, I’d leave it be if I were you. I think she’s serious.”
Nikki replied, “Of course I am. And thank you, Tom, for noticing when I need a break.”
“That isn’t fair, Nikki,” Rafe replied. “I’m allowed to be protective when your health is concerned, per our agreement.”
“I think maybe we should revisit that agreement, to include you need to leave me be when you’re being a pain in my arse.”
Her dad’s stern voice interjected, “I think this argument can wait. Otherwise, we may never be invited back here.”
Rafe and Nikki murmured their apologies.
Kai whispered, “Your dad may not be a dragon-shifter, but he knows how to put dominance in his voice.”
Jane looked askance at her mate. “Do you blame him? He had to live with the three of us.”
Kai grinned. “Fair point.”
Nikki, Rafe, and her dad came into the room. Her dad’s tall, gray-haired form walked between Nikki and Rafe, no doubt to act as a buffer. He’d done the same thing many times in the past to keep Jane and Rafe from killing each other as children.
Jane stood and Kai followed suit. Jane motioned toward her dad. “Everyone, this is my dad, Tom Hartley.” She pointed to each member of Kai’s family in turn and introduced them. Her dad nodded when she finished.
Lily clapped her hands. “Right, now that everyone is here, let’s head into the kitchen and dining room. I have snacks laid out and I’ll put the kettle on for some tea.”
Rafe muttered, “I need something stronger if you have it.”
Nikki shot her mate a glance and then walked toward Jane. Threading her arm through hers, Nikki said, “I think it’s time for us to chat a bit, Jane. It seems my presence has driven my mate to drinking.”
Sighing, Rafe said, “Nikki, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”
Jane glanced at Kai and he reluctantly went to Rafe and her father. Kai slapped Rafe’s shoulder. “Come, I think there’s some larger in the kitchen. My mum might even have a secret stash of whiskey, too.”
When Rafe merely nodded, Jane knew her brother was stressed. She leaned to Nikki’s ear and whispered, “He might be a pain in your arse, but it’s a sign of how much he loves you.”
“I know that rationally. But carrying Rafe’s spawn is making me irritable and cranky. The next two or three months can’t go by fast enough.”
Jane drew Nikki’s arm closer and squeezed. “Then let’s try distracting you. Your second-in-command duties have helped, but once you have some of Lily’s cooking, you’ll forget about everything else but filling your plate whilst you still can.”
Nikki grinned. “I remember from my last visit to Snowridge.” She tugged on Jane’s arm. “Come on. Let’s hurry and snap up as much as we can before the males get to it.”
Fully on board with the plan, Jane walked into the kitchen and past the males. As she and Nikki loaded up their plates, Jane glanced to Kai standing at the other side of the kitchen. The sight of him and his stepdad drinking beer with her dad and brother made her smile. As much as she loved the passion and love of her relationship with Kai, the little things made it that much dearer.
And for the first time, she didn’t doubt that they’d be old and gray one day, making more memories with those that they loved. Kai was her future, and she couldn’t wait to see what it held.
*~*~*
Did you enjoy this story? Then please consider leaving a review. :)
The next Stonefire Dragons book will be Craved by the Dragon, a full-length story about Killian O’Shea and Brenna Rossi. It’ll be out in March 2018. If you’re wondering about the Lochguard series, Finn and Arabella’s follow-up novella, The Dragon Family, will be out in May 2018. (Followed by Alistair Boyd’s book in Fall 2018). Just in case you didn’t know there was a Lochguard Highland Dragons series, I’m including an excerpt from the first book, The Dragon’s Dilemma, after my Author’s Note.
If you want to stay up-to-date on new releases, then please .