Jesse wasn’t going to bet against that.
The kids suddenly whizzed by with Willow droning, “He wants you too, Malachai.”
Shaya’s eyes widened. “Tell me she didn’t just quote Children of the Corn.”
“Sweetheart, how are you?” Tess asked.
Standing in the shadows, Harley said, “I’m good. How about you?”
“Fine, fine. But I’ve missed you. I was thinking of coming to California to see you. What hotel are you staying at?”
Crap. “Um . . .”
“Oh God, what’s happened?”
“Well, to cut a long story short—”
“No short stories. I want the full, uncut version.”
So Harley told her about the hate mail, Cassidy’s vision, and that Jesse had brought her to Mercury Pack territory to protect her. Before she could add that he’d also claimed her, Tess was speaking.
“You’re telling me you’ve been receiving hate mail from extremists and you’re only telling me this now?”
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
“You didn’t want to worry me or you didn’t want to trouble me with shifter problems? I’m not your grandparents, Harley. I accept that part of you.”
Harley sighed. “I know you do, and I appreciate that more than you know. But you’re a sweet person who blushes and hums and laughs like an angel. I didn’t want to unload this twisted crap on you. I didn’t want it to touch you. Is that so awful?”
“No,” said Tess before grumbling, “it’s that shifter protective streak at work. So, you didn’t say a lot about this Jesse guy other than he’s Mia’s brother and that a pup in his pack had a vision of your car exploding.”
“He’s one of the very few people in his old pack who didn’t accuse me of introducing Mia to drugs.”
“Well, it was nice of him to offer to protect you on his territory, but that’s not necessary. Ask him to drop you at my house tomorrow. You’ll always have a home here.”
Harley chewed on her nail. “Um . . . yeah, I don’t think he will.”
“You only ever say ‘um’ when you’re uncomfortable. Why are you uncomfortable talking about him? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Um . . .”
“Sweetheart, just because he’s a shifter doesn’t mean he can protect you better than your family. I have excellent security here, and I can hire bodyguards.”
“I know, but it’s not about that.” And she didn’t dare risk leading the extremists to Tess’s door anyway.
“So tell me what it is about.”
Harley rubbed her forehead. She wouldn’t be so nervous if Tess’s approval wasn’t important to her. “Are you sitting down? You should sit down.”
“Harley, I’ve had all the bad news I can take for one day.”
“It’s not bad news.”
“Go on.”
Taking a deep breath, Harley said, “Jesse would rather I stay here because . . . he claimed me.”
A pause. “He claimed you? He’s your true mate?”
“No, his true mate died when they were kids, but, well, he wants me as his mate.” Total silence greeted that statement. “Tess, you there?”
“Oh, Harley, you never fail to surprise me. Where is this Mercury territory? Give me directions. I need to see you with my own eyes.”
“Directions? Not a good idea.”
Tess huffed. “I don’t always get lost.”
Harley snorted softly. “Sure you don’t.”
“Stop distracting me from the real issue. I told you, I need to see you.”
“The Alpha male isn’t real big on visitors. I’ll come to you.”
“And you’ll bring Jesse? I want to interrogate him and see for myself that he’s good enough for you.”
Harley smiled. “You don’t know how to interrogate someone.” Tess was a marshmallow.
“I need to see him around you and decide for myself if he cares for you the way you deserve—I will not rest until this happens.”
“How about we come see you Monday?”
There was an excited squeal. “Come at noon.”
“Okay, but, Tess, please don’t cook. Leave it to Ria; that’s why you hired her.”
A huff. “Fine. See you then!”
Harley grabbed another plate and piled it with goodies before returning to the bench. She handed Jesse one of her cinnamon twists, and he smiled.
“Thanks, sweetheart.” He gave her a long kiss before biting into the pastry. “What did Tess want?”
“Who’s Tess?” asked Taryn, ignoring her Beta female’s “Don’t be so nosy” admonishment.
“My aunt,” replied Harley.
Greta sniffed. “I take it she’s one of the rich ones. Haughty through and through, I’ll bet.”
Harley sighed. “Maybe you could take a trip to the library to brush up on your prejudice. Now what’s with all the tension?”
“We had ourselves a little problem.” Roni gestured with her spoon to Kim. “It’s gone now.”
Ally put a hand on Harley’s arm. “Don’t worry about Kim. She’s no threat whatsoever to your relationship with Jesse.”
Harley knew that. Of course, that didn’t mean that she and her cat wouldn’t happily tear the bitch apart with every claw she possessed.