Finding Strength Read online

  “Green.”

  Chapter 9

  Tyson watched as the girls tugged Jasmine out of the lodge and to Brady’s truck before Mama Ally cleared her throat from where she was standing behind the reception desk. Turning his attention to her, Tyson saw the wicked grin splayed across the older woman’s face. She was up to something.

  “What’re you up to, Mama?” Tyson raised an eyebrow in suspicion at her.

  She shrugged before replying, her voice casual. “Y’all think I’m crazy, but you fail to remember I’ve seen a lot through these old eyes. I’m not up to nothing but I’m beginning to think you should be.”

  Tyson’s suspicion faded to confusion. “What on Earth do you think I should be up to, Mama?”

  “If you’ve gotta ask then you’re obviously not there yet. Let me know when you are.” Mama winked at him. “Now, if you don’t mind, could you please go tell Brady it’s his turn to man the desk? I’d like to go break into a nice bottle of wine and get back to reading my book.”

  “I’m right here, Mama. I told you I’d cover Stella’s shift. I just wanted to see them off,” Brady called from the other side of the lodge.

  “I’d tell you to stop smothering that poor girl, but your daddy was the same way with me when he was alive, so I know it’d be pointless. We raised a good boy.” She smiled at him and ran a hand over his short blond hair in the way only mothers can as he slid behind the check in counter.

  “What book are you reading today?” Tyson asked.

  “Oh, this one is a good one.” Mama grinned ear to ear. “It’s all about a woman on the run. She’s pregnant, ya see, and she’s trying to protect herself and the baby growing inside of her from whatever evil is on her heels. She thinks she needs to do everything on her own, but she doesn’t realize the handsome stranger that takes her in is the best thing that could ever happen to her.”

  Tyson felt his face flare with heat. That sounded oddly specific and familiar. “Sounds like you’ve read this one before, Mama.”

  “Nope, I just read the synopsis on the back.” She winked before shuffling off up the stairs.

  “That woman is trouble,” Brady chuckled.

  Ain’t that the truth.

  “Do you need anything from me, Brady, or are you good here?”

  “I’m good, Tyson. Grab the guys and come back in a couple of hours though. I’ll be done with all the desk work and will need some company to keep my mind busy until Stella and the girls come back.”

  “Sounds good, brother.”

  Taking his leave, Tyson headed back to the door on the opposite side of the lodge. He was still trying to wrap his head around what he should do about his current predicament with Jasmine. Did he try to show her that he could help her raise these babies? Or did he give her the space she wanted?

  Tyson was so deep in thought as he pushed through the door that he walked right smack into a man clad in black tactical pants and a plain black t-shirt.

  “Oh shit, man. I’m so sorry!” Tyson exclaimed as he reached his hand out to help the stranger stand up out of the dirt.

  The man had dark brown hair with matching brown eyes. He definitely had to be ex-military given the way his muscles stretched the clothes he was wearing. But there was something more to him, and Tyson’s wolf didn’t like it.

  As Tyson helped the man to his feet, the stranger plastered on a smile. “It’s no big deal. I should pay more attention to where I’m walking too. I guess I was a little busy taking in the scenery.”

  “What brings you up here?” Tyson asked, trying to get a feel for the stranger.

  “Oh, back in my military days, I met a girl who said this was the perfect place to get away and really reconnect with myself. I used to do a lot of hiking back in Montana when I was growing up, so I thought why not give this place a shot before I go home and see my parents?”

  “Sounds like a good time. That girl of yours was definitely right though. There’s just something about this place,” Tyson agreed. “Sorry, where are my manners? The name is Tyson.”

  The man gave Tyson’s hand a single, solid shake. “Dane.”

  “Well, Dane, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m friends with the owner. I’m sure I could help you out,” Tyson said, his southern hospitality shining through even though something about the man was rubbing him the wrong way.

  “Sure will,” Dane grinned at him before heading inside to check in with Brady.

  Tyson watched as Dane strolled through the lodge and up to talk to Brady. Something about him wasn’t right. Shrugging, Tyson decided it wasn’t his problem to worry about. Sometimes strangers were just meant to be strangers, and Tyson intended to keep it that way.

  Making his way back to his cabin, he could see Jesse and Landon outside working on their motorcycles. It’d been a while since he took his out on the open road, but oddly he wasn’t missing it.

  Maybe after Jasmine has these babies I can take her out on the bike sometime.

  “What’s got you grinning like an idiot?” Jesse asked as Tyson strolled up to his friends.

  “Idiot? Who, me? Nah, I think you’ve got me confused with yourself, big guy.” Tyson laughed as he sat down in one of the lawn chairs on Jesse’s front porch.

  “Oh, shut up and go get us some beers, would ya?” Jesse suggested, turning his attention back to his bike.

  “What’s the magic word?” Tyson asked in a sing song voice like little kids would.

  “Are you serious? Go get us some damn beers, ya prick,” Jesse grumbled.

  “Not until you say it.” Tyson had to tease him.. He knew it wasn’t wise to poke the bear, but sometimes it couldn’t be avoided.

  “Fine,” Jesse groaned as he turned back to face Tyson. “Tyson, would you please go into my cabin and grab us a round of beers?”

  “See? That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

  “Whatever man, just go get them.”

  It didn’t surprise Tyson that Landon had chosen to stay quiet. He’d never been a man of many words, except for when it came to Kaylene. The man could sit and have private conversations with Kaylene all day long. But when it came to his friends, he preferred to stick to listening.

  Heading into the cabin, Tyson quickly pulled a few bottles of beer out of the fridge and went back outside. Handing the bottles off to his friends, he popped the top on his and settled back down into his chair. Taking a long draw off of the bottle before setting it down on the arm of the chair, Tyson relaxed back into his chair a little. Sometimes a person just needed to take the edge off a little so they could mellow out.

  “By the way, boys, I worked out an agreement with the owners of Barbarian Brewing that you might be interested to hear about,” Jesse said after taking a drink of his own beer.

  Barbarian Brewing was their favorite place to get local brews in the area. In the last few years, microbrews had become extremely popular, but most tended to stick with the pale ales and other light beers. Tyson and his friends enjoyed Barbarian because they had a variety—everything from porters to sours to ales. They never had a bad beer there, but Tyson’s absolute favorite was Beta Wolf. After years of playing in bars, there weren’t many beers that could get him drunk on only a couple of rounds, but this one had a way of sneaking up on you.

  “And what kind of agreement is that? Free beer for a year?” Tyson raised an eyebrow at his friend.

  “Well, sort of, in a way.” Jesse paused to take another drink before he explained. “We get a month’s supply of beer each if we play live music for them once a month when they do their next beer release. The owner, James, heard us play at one of the bars last time we passed through downtown, and recognized me when I came in to pick up the kegs for the restaurant last week.”

  “No fucking way, man.” Tyson narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jesse, trying to decide if he was being serious or not.

  “Yep. The first gig is next month.”

  “That’s awesome. I can’t believe they did that,” Tyson
remarked.

  Landon looked up at Tyson from the other side of his motorcycle. “If Jasmine is living with you, you’ll need to drink responsibly, Tyson.”

  “Shit, I forgot about that. Guess I’ll just have to stick to having a beer with dinner and nothing more. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

  Satisfied with Tyson’s response, Landon nodded and set back to working on his bike.

  “I never did say thank you for taking her in.” Jesse’s expression was serious as he looked at him.

  “If you had the space and it was one of my sisters, I know you would’ve done the same.” Tyson shrugged, trying to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t want to let it slip to Jesse that Jasmine was his intended. That was something Jasmine would need to tell him.

  “You’re not wrong.” Jesse took another draw off of the beer bottle he had in his hand.

  Tyson sat back in his chair and watched as his friends worked on their motorcycles a moment longer. Pushing himself out of his chair, he headed for his cabin. He needed to check his emails and make sure his team was good. As he sat down to the computer, Tyson was pleasantly surprised to see only three emails in his inbox. One was from his mother, one from his project manager, and one from the owner of Vixen.

  Clicking on the email from the owner of Vixen, Tyson read over what she had to say.

  Hey Tyson,

  Long time no speak, am I right? I was wondering if you could get someone from the team to pull video and audio records from the Anderson account for me? The dates are June 5 at 1200 to June 8 at 1800. I’ll review them myself.

  Thanks,

  Alicia

  Tyson logged into the security system he built specifically for Vixen and looked up the Anderson account. After a few quick clicks and keystrokes, he had the files saved and encrypted so only Alicia could access them. In her line of work, discretion was definitely a must. Attaching them to his email response, Tyson typed up a quick response to her.

  Hi Alicia,

  You’re right, it has been a while, but typically no news is good news. Here are the files you requested. Let me know if you need anything else.

  Thanks,

  Tyson

  Clicking send, Tyson moved on, skimming over the report his project manager sent. All was well at the small office that Levi helped Tyson run, which was always good news. The daily reports were never anything special. Putting the report into the folder Tyson kept for his records, he moved on to open the email from his mother.

  My little pup,

  I know you’re going through some confusing times right now and that you’re overwhelmed with your current situation. The best thing I can tell you about handling this situation is don’t overthink it. You’ve always been good at tending to your sisters’ needs, even though you were the youngest. Protect your mate and help her find her strength.

  These times will pass, and you both will look back in the years to come and she will thank you. Your heart is kind and pure, my boy. Keep doing what you know is right. The path will become clear soon.

  Much love,

  Ma

  Tyson stared at the screen, reading his mother’s words over and over again.

  “The path will become clear soon? What does that even mean?” he wondered out loud.

  Resolving to mull over his mother’s email, he turned his computer off and set about making some sandwiches for the guys. The woman had a knack for speaking in riddles, but Tyson just wasn’t sure if this was one he could solve.

  Chapter 10

  Jasmine wriggled nervously in the backseat as they bumped down the dirt road. The girls seemed completely content with the silence, but it was slowly driving Jasmine crazy. Quiet made her uncomfortable and it typically lead to her oversharing random trivia knowledge or saying the wrong thing. She wanted these women, especially her sister-in-law, to like her. The last thing she needed to do was blurt out something and make herself look like a crazy person.

  “Hey Stella, why don’t we turn on some music? After all, this is a road trip, right? Road trips require music!” Kaylene said from the front seat as she leaned forward to hit the power button on the stereo.

  “Yeah, that sounds great! I think there’s an iPod and aux cord tucked into the center console if you want to get them out. I’m not sure if it’s charged though,” Stella replied, keeping her eyes trained on the road.

  Kaylene started rooting through the center console and Jasmine sent up a silent thanks to the Fates. Music was her language, and it was Jesse’s as well. Their parents played for them growing up, and they often played at local bars as well. People would come from all over to listen to their mother sing while their father played guitar. Jennifer didn’t enjoy music as much as Jasmine and Jesse did, but it was always the thing that held their family together.

  “You look lost in thought, you alright?” Liz asked in a hushed voice.

  Jasmine nodded, “Just thankful that Kaylene suggested music. I don’t do well with silence.”

  “You and Jesse both. If she didn’t suggest it, I was going to give it a few more minutes and do it myself. Ever since Stella got pregnant, she’s been forcing herself to appreciate the silence more for some reason, which is odd because when I first arrived up at camp she was always blaring classic rock in the lodge.”

  “I was not blaring it,” Stella defended herself.

  “I could hear it from the cabins!” Liz giggled as she shook her head at her friend.

  “You like classic rock?” Jasmine asked, glad that the subject was on music. Girl talk was hard for her, but music—music she could talk about for hours.

  “Sure do!” Stella said, voice laced with pride.

  “What bands?”

  “Only the greats. Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Journey, Queen, Aerosmith.” Stella smiled, glancing up at the rearview mirror so she could see Jasmine’s reaction.

  “I love them all, but honestly, I think Guns n’ Roses will always have my heart. I grew up rocking out to them with Jesse in the living room.” Jasmine’s voice was faint as she reminisced, seeing it in her mind.

  Kaylene turned around to face Jasmine as best she could without the seatbelt choking her. “I remember when I met Landon that Jesse mentioned one of his sisters was singing for a club in New Orleans. Was that you?”

  Jasmine grinned. Jesse always bragged to people about her job. It wasn’t anything special, and she hadn’t made it in the big time by any means, but her big brother being proud of something she was doing with her life was important to her. She’d always been the wild child in the family, and her mother was always disapproving of anything she did, so when she landed the job singing for the club it was a little victory in her favor. She was doing something with her life and proving her mother wrong… Well, until the twins happened.

  “Yeah that was me, although Jesse probably embellished it a little.” Jasmine felt the blush filling her cheeks.

  “Well, I think that’s awesome. I’m definitely better suited to sit in the crowd and cheer. I may be a bird, but I definitely don’t have a singing voice.” Kaylene’s joke made the other girls snicker.

  “I think anyone can sing. They just need proper training,” Jasmine said thoughtfully.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” Kaylene waved her hands around dramatically. “This song bird definitely won’t be singing. Y’all would need new ears afterwards.”

  Jasmine rolled her eyes at Kaylene. “Were you good at being a midwife before you got the proper training?”

  “Well, no, but that’s different!” Kaylene tried to explain.

  “No, it really isn’t. It’s all the same. You had to learn how to use the tools you were given, and had to be guided through how to do things. It’s the same with singing or playing an instrument. You have to practice and learn how to control your voice and listen to the music,” Jasmine countered.

  There was a beat of silence amongst the girls before Kaylene finally spoke. “I never thought of it that way.”

&
nbsp; “No one ever does.” Jasmine winked. “Now why don’t you finish turning on some music so I can show you how easy it is?”

  Hours later, the girls were piling back into the truck after securing all of their shopping bags in the bed of the truck. Brady had been thoughtful enough to put on the hard-shell cover on, so nothing would fly out. Jasmine agreed, after much protesting, to let Liz buy her some more comfortable maternity clothes and a few things for the babies. Since Jasmine opted not to learn the babies’ genders yet, Liz purchased a few outfits for each just in case. Liz’s logic was whatever Jasmine didn’t need could likely go to Stella or Kaylene. She also didn’t know just yet that she was having twins. Jasmine wanted to wait to tell everyone at the same time, and Kaylene agreed to keep it quiet for her.

  “I’m really glad we ate while we were shopping but I forgot how swollen my feet get if I eat anything too salty,” Jasmine pouted as she rubbed at her newly pedicured feet.

  “I tried to warn you,” Kaylene called from the front seat as she fiddled with the iPod to turn the music back on.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.” Jasmine laughed. “But they were so good!”

  “Well you did the crime, now you gotta do the time! Just take your shoes off and put your feet up on the bench. Elevating them should help with the swelling some until we get home,” Kaylene suggested.

  Putting her feet up on the bench next to Liz, Jasmine leaned back against the door and decided to close her eyes for a moment.

  “Wake up, sleepy head! We’re home!” Stella sang as she nudged Jasmine awake.

  Jasmine’s vision was blurry with exhaustion as she pried her eyes open. “Did I really sleep all the way back to Silver Creek?”

  “Sure did, now rise and shine! Brady texted me when we hit Garden Valley to let me know they made us dinner. The girls have already headed into the restaurant. Now, I don’t know about you but I’m starving,” Stella said, rubbing her stomach for effect.

  A small rumble stirred in Jasmine’s own stomach before one of the babies kicked, almost to signal that it was time to eat again. Nodding, Jasmine gave a stretch the best she could in the backseat of a truck then slid out onto her feet.