“Well, your mother is with Tempest and Brandt at Lily’s. Your dad is fishing with my dad. Enthrall and Destroy have been gone all day — something about checking on the borders of Whispers — but I’m pretty sure that when they figured out a party was being planned they teamed up to get out of having to participate. Which is why Marauder and I got chosen.”
“Oh, Marauder… I hate that he’s going to be upset with me. I really liked him.”
“He’s not upset with you. In fact, he denied her being his sister before I left. Everybody knows how petty and selfish she is.”
Angelle nodded as she sat beside Boon, her head resting on his shoulder.
Boon picked her up and sat her in his lap. “This is going to cause all kinds of trouble for you, isn’t it?”
“Not at all. The only people that might take offense are Destroy and Rowan, and Rowan was already shaming Saige for causing this.”
“Saige admitted to being responsible?”
“Not at all. But Rowan knew she was anyway. She’s her daughter, but that doesn’t make Rowan blind to the way she is. Rowan is a very fair person. I think she blames herself for the way Saige turned out. They spoiled her, never made her have any repercussions for anything she did. And she was always doing something.”
They sat quietly for a few seconds before Angelle sat up and looked at Boon. “I noticed Lily said Tempest had just agreed to a wedding. Did she understand that we don’t want one yet?”
“She did. And it wasn’t really about us anyway. She just missed being able to have one for Tempest, so once I redirected her, it wasn’t a problem.”
Angelle nodded then leaned back in Boon’s lap again. “Do you think Saige will come back?”
“Not a chance. I told her I’d kill her. And I will. And she knows that. We won’t see her again unless we happen across her in Whispers some time, but I’m certain she won’t even glance in your direction. You don’t have to worry about her.”
“Thank you for trusting in me,” Angelle said.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Boon said. “As shaky as we started out, Saige could have really caused us some problems.”
“Not now. Not ever. When I decided to give you my trust, it was forever. Not as an experiment. I never doubted you for a moment.”
“I love you.”
Angelle smiled at him and kissed his jaw. “I’m tired,” she said as she started shivering.
“Adrenalin dump,” he said. “I’m going to sit here and hold you until it passes. And then I’m going to hold you even longer.”
“Promise?” she asked with a smile.
“Always and forever.”
Chapter 23
The next morning, bright and early, Boon and Angelle were awakened by persistent knocking on their front door. Boon was up and pulling on a pair of pants before Angelle had even completely registered what woke her.
“Go back to sleep, hon. I’ll get it,” Boon said, exiting the bedroom with a less than welcoming expression on his face.
“Well, hell,” Angelle muttered as she quickly tore off her nightgown and pulled on a pair of leggings and a teeshirt. She rushed out of the bedroom thinking she might have to intercede if there was trouble with Saige’s parents, or Enthrall, or anyone else that wasn’t happy with the fact that she’d chased Saige away from her home with the use of a weapon.
But when she rushed into the family room, what she found was Boon assuring her parents that everything was fine.
“She’s fine. I give you my word. If there had been a cause for worry, I’d have contacted you — even if you were back at your own home, I’d have had Lily contact you so you’d know what was happening. But she’s fine. We just needed a little alone time to relax and regroup.”
“Angelle!” Avaleigh exclaimed, rushing over to her when she stepped into the room. Avaleigh hugged her, then looked her directly in the eye. “What happened?”
“Saige tried to claim Boon and my house. I decided she was not going to be successful. It’s not a big deal. Everybody’s fine.”
Boon laughed.
“Okay, Saige is a little less than fine, but I’m pretty sure she won’t try to claim Boon again,” Angelle said.
