"She was my fiancée before she bolted and ran. How the hell am I supposed to be?"
As if with practiced precision, Logan didn't say anything. He just calmly waited.
"She just packed her goddamned bags and was gone. Quit her job, changed her number, poof. Gone."
Tyson jumped down and paced. "I looked for her. No idea where she went; she just disappeared. No explanation, no closure. Just gone."
"I remember. It sucked."
"It still sucks. Now she's just going to come waltzing back in with her, what? Boyfriend? Husband? Lesbian lover? Just popping back up just like she left. No notice, no warning. Just hey, I'm back."
"You'll find out tomorrow."
"I don't want to find out tomorrow. The only way someone vanishes like that is if it was intentional. She didn't even tell me she was unhappy. She switches jobs and a couple weeks later, she switches lives apparently." He hadn't even been bitter about it; he had been absolutely destroyed.
"You haven't even tried dating." And that wasn't without pressure from all of his brothers.
"Once bitten, twice shy. I keep telling you guys that. I avoid relationships like the plague. If Val can cut me out of her life like that when we had never even had an argument, just cold turkey, then other bitches could do the same thing. I'm not cut out for that heartbreak."
Logan started to speak but Tyson cut him off.
"And I have dated. I don't mind female companionship."
Logan chuckled. "Except you haul ass like a scalded dog if they try to get your number."
"No relationships or I'm out. I'm very upfront about that, and if they try to take it too far, I give them the boot. But at least it's before there are any feelings involved."
"I can just go cancel her reservation and save us all the trouble."
"No," Tyson replied with a sigh, "I need to see her. Get some answers so I can move on. I don't want to, but I need closure."
Logan hopped down and clapped him on the shoulder. "Agreed. And you know we'll all be there to have your back."
"I hardly think she's here to start a fight."
"We have no idea why she's here or who she's bringing. You just say the word and we'll get rid of them."
Logan shifted back into his dragon form and shot back down the mountain. Tyson climbed back up his seat and sat there fuming over the entire situation. It was the one thing that he had wanted to happen, and it was the last thing that he wanted to deal with. The biggest problem was that he just wasn't looking forward to any of it.
Chapter Five: Going Home
Valerie Blanchette Kenway
After they checked out the following morning and got everything loaded, Valerie gripped the steering wheel of the Tahoe as she swung the vehicle toward her old stomping ground. She had contemplated calling the ranch ahead of time, but she really didn't want to be told that she couldn't check in a day early.
"It's better to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission," she mumbled to herself as she watched traffic. And there was going to be plenty of forgiveness requested very soon.
"What'd you say, Mommy?"
"Nothing." Valerie glanced back. "Nothing that you ever need to learn." She grimaced to herself. It never escaped her attention that things wanted by adults for themselves, were not always things they wanted for their children. Parenting was complicated.
They sang songs and played "I Spy" for the two hour drive. Valerie smiled as she passed the signs for the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. She and Tyson had spent plenty of time there volunteering over summer breaks from school... She took a deep breath and stiffened her shoulders as she mentally prepared herself to arrive at Manitou Springs. It would be nothing but memories from here on.
Despite her attempts to prepare enough that she thought she was ready for the onslaught of old times, as she drove through town, her senses were assaulted in ways she never could have prepared for. The diner, the grocery store, the little shops. Everything reminded her of Tyson, and everything reminded her of home. She was finally home, and that was the ironic part. She was coming back to the town that she loved, and all she was doing was dragging the danger to them.
A tear ran down her cheek as they passed the high school. Their senior prom had been one of the most special nights of her life. The long princess dresses, the fancy restaurant that no one could afford, and the flowers. Every detail had been perfect. And as they walked home afterwards, it had been the first time that Tyson mentioned marriage to her on a more mature level, one that had made her sit up and take notice.
And she had blown it. Big time.
