The Winter Moon's Wolf Part 17

Dean joined him but waited to ask anything until they were behind the door. "What's this about?"

"I have some photos I want you to look at of the guy who broke into your house."

"Do you think he's tied to the rest of it?"

Kelly looked around and lowered his voice. "I'm positive, but it's not my call." He opened a private room and let Dean enter. There were five pages, face down on the table. Once the door closed, Kelly said, "I'll tell you more after you've made a choice, or none."

Dean nodded. He pulled out a chair to get close and leaned over the table. One by one, Kelly flipped pages under the bright lights. On the fourth one, Dean's eyes widened and he raised a hand to point at the table. "Him. That's him."

"You're one hundred percent positive?"

Dean wracked his brain, flashes of the attack, of the face of the man there. "Cade could probably back me up. He didn't get a real good look, but he saw enough when he ran away." He tapped the second photo. "He's too redhead, and this guy is too old." He tapped another. "That leaves three possible." And Kelly hadn't flipped the last page yet. He studied the picture. All Dean had was the photographed face to work from, but he remembered the fleeting glimpse of the man when Cade had surprised him with his own attack. Dean had been taken by surprise, otherwise, he probably would've had a fighting chance against the man who'd been waiting for him.

He felt it in his gut. He knew knew that face even if he didn't know the man. that face even if he didn't know the man.

"What's his tie to Daniel's murder? The investigator said they had suspects. Is he one of them?" Dean searched for Kelly, who was writing on a pad.

"I need to contact the case detective. He can tell you more about that." He lowered his voice. "He's one of two in the set with the year and model of truck typical to the tire tracks we found the morning of the fire. But I didn't just tell you that."

Dean stood straight, a hand landing to rest on a chair. That did sound like good news, a good clue, or maybe just a chance to get that much closer to putting all of this behind him. "Is this all you needed?"

"For now."

He waited until he was outside by his car before calling Cade. "I'm done. I had to ID a picture."

"That's good though, right?"

"I have to hope so." It had to mean they were getting closer to what was going on and who was behind it. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Leaving it up to you. Wasn't going to a.s.sume with your parents in town."

Dean smiled. "Such a gentleman," he teased.

"Hey. Don't spread rumors."

He laughed. "Let me see what Mom and Dad are up to. She'd said something about wanting to see Gemini's before it was gone. I tried to talk her out of it." He trailed off, leaning against the car's fender. Dean knew seeing the building's carca.s.s would be a shock for her, but she'd been insistent.

"Let her see it, and then tell her why it's important enough that you can't walk away."

There was more than the bar now, though, that he wasn't willing to walk away from. He had no idea what was going to happen between him and Cade, but he had to admit, he wanted to find out.

"Have you thought about the rebuild yet?" Cade asked.

"Some."

"Would you be willing to bring it closer to Silo?"

Dean's lips quirked up at the corner. "It's something to think about." He had a good idea he knew what Cade was hinting at. "We'll talk some more about it."

"Good," he said in breathed relief. "I'm at the clinic. I promised Quade I'd help him today, so I'll talk to you tonight."

"Okay. Call when you're free."

When Dean hung up, he called his mom next to see if they were ready to go say a final goodbye to Gemini's.

A little more than an hour later, he was rolling to a stop in front of the charred building. It looked so sad now. Burned, wrecked, and hollow.

His mother gasped as they got out of the car. "That all happened from the roof collapse?"

"Most of it." He pointed into a corner. "Some of those planks came down about four days ago. Too much snow and ice. Unfortunately, there's nothing from the inside that can be salvaged." He'd be starting from the ground up when he started over. It was kind of depressing now standing there, taking it all in.

Trent stood with his hands in his pockets, a grim frown on his features. "Have you really thought about this? Do you really want to run another bar? You have a business management degree. There must be something you can do besides this."

Dean leaned on the front of the car. There was no reason to get closer. He'd already seen enough, more times than he really wanted to count. He crossed his arms. "Honestly, I don't know. The bar was so much a part of Daniel and me."

"So why don't you come home?" his mother wheedled again. "I know you wanted to keep Gemini's after Daniel's death." She took a slow, steadying breath, her small gloved hands fisting to release at her sides. Dean knew it pained her. It would always cause her pain to think of her lost son. "But it's gone now. There's nothing left to keep you here."

Dean tucked his chin to his chest. "That's not true, Mom."

"Cade?" His mother gaped at him. "Are you serious? How long have you known him? You've never mentioned him," she accused.

"Since before Christmas." He shrugged. How was he supposed to tell his parents that until about twenty-four hours ago, what they had hadn't been serious...yet? It was still new, but he was beginning to understand what was happening between them was happening. was happening.

"But he's..." She waved her hands.

"Let me tell you what he is," he said with a loss of patience. "He's a d.a.m.n good vet doctor. He's a supportive brother. He's been here since all of this started. He's put this whole f- this whole mess ahead of anything else in his life. He's been a good friend to me. So he has long hair, tattoos, and a motorcycle. Big deal. It doesn't make him who he is."

"And a motorcycle?" she cried.

Dean covered his eyes and rubbed with his palm. "Mom." Of course, that's what she caught in all of that.

"Mother." Trent put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Let it be."

"But..." She waved a hand at the burned out sh.e.l.l. "This!"

"I know," Trent agreed. "And he's okay."

Dean caught his father's gaze and realized for the first time how all of this was weighing him down as well. He was just trying to look strong for his mom. This was a lot of the reasoning behind not wanting to tell them every little detail. Any little bit was already too much.

He pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Come on. There's a place in town we can grab a bite to eat."

Neither parent looked thrilled with the suggestion but Dean sincerely doubted it was for the same reasons.

Chapter Fourteen.

Jamie sat on the picnic table bench at the rear of the vet clinic, watching a German shepherd puppy sniff around in the snow lumps while Cade walked a Border Collie named Sophie, a regular guest.

"Do you think Chris would take it wrong if I asked for a dog?"

Cade's attention turned to him. "Why haven't you asked him?"

"Because of..." He gave Cade a raised brow. "I didn't want to insult him, either."

"You could never do that," Cade said.

"Oh, I'm sure if I tried I could." He grinned, full of playful mischief. "But no, I don't want want to. I've just always wanted a dog. None of the animals here seem to be affected by you guys when you're around," he offered, sounding a bit hopeful. to. I've just always wanted a dog. None of the animals here seem to be affected by you guys when you're around," he offered, sounding a bit hopeful.

"We don't have an affect on other animals like this, not the way you're probably thinking. Could you see us all being vets if that happened?" He moved closer and sat beside him, letting Sophie and the pup nose at each other. "The wolf is another story."

"I know Bear and Biscuit aren't scared of him."

"They're used to him. A wild wolf? Don't count on it."

Jamie nodded, keeping one hand in his coat pocket. He bit on his lips, probably warming them in the cold. "So, should I?"

"Do you want one?"

Jamie tilted his head, watching the puppy paw and then b.u.mp against Sophie. "The house gets so quiet when he's here and I'm at home. I was also thinking about talking to Duncan, maybe doing something with SAR here."

"Do you think he's going to be around for it?"

Jamie gave him a knowing smile.

Cade laughed. "I swear, I'm going to start calling you yenta, or something."

Jamie burst out with laughter, a billowing cloud appearing on the air. "What, because I'm right about them? Because I told Chris after meeting Dean the first time that we'd be seeing more of him?"

"Don't look so smug." Cade pushed on Jamie's shoulder.

"I think it's worth the effort, that's all. Search and rescue," he quickly pointed out. "Not finding all of you your mates. Not taking that up as a second calling."

Cade huffed, but smiled. "You are, and shall always be, a brat."

"Thank you!" He tipped an imaginary cap.

This was one of the many reasons Cade liked having Jamie not only as a brother-in-law, but as a friend. Jamie wasn't afraid of any of them, of asking for advice, of talking, of anything, really. He was a genuine kind of guy.

"If you think it's something you can devote yourself to, then ask him. I can tell you this, he'll expect you to adopt or rescue."

Jamie gave him a stern look. "Like I'd buy a dog. With working here, treating them-"

Cade quickly raised a hand, cutting him off. He hadn't meant to rile him. "Could be another way Duncan could help you find the right nose."

Jamie scowled at him, but faced forward after. "True. I do like working here, but I want to do more." He scratched at a doggy head and floppy ears. "I've also been thinking about those cooking cla.s.ses I talked about over Christmas. I'm going to do a summer program. I don't want to be the next big name, but I enjoy feeding people."

"You realize you'll never get rid of us," Cade joked. Jamie had received so many compliments on his ham, Chris will have to fight off guests for next year's party.

Jamie's face lit with pleasure. "I'm good with that."

The back door of the clinic opened and a bundled up Quade sauntered out. "You two ready to call it done?"

They stood and guided their charges inside. A quick rub down with a towel, fresh food and water, and they were done for the night.

Cade smiled when he neared his home and spotted Dean's car at the curb again. The other man stood from the car when he turned into the drive.

"Where are your parents?"

"At their hotel, at least for now."

Cade nudged his head toward the house, a signal to follow. He doubted Dean would disagree.

Once inside, they hung up their coats.

"Honestly, I'm trying to convince them to go home."

"Not working?"

He groaned audibly and plopped down onto one of Cade's living room chairs. He put his hands into his face. "Mom is shredded. I hate reminding her of Daniel's dying."

"You're not responsible for his death, or for her tenacity."

Dean sagged into the chair, gazing at Cade with some of the saddest eyes. "No, but I'm not leaving. I have my life here. Friends." He stood after staring deeply for several seconds at him to clear the gap between them. "You."

Cade simply wrapped him up and held on. "You've been reliving that night, haven't you?"

Dean nodded. "I- There was nothing I could do. I was inside. He was outside. The shot was point blank. And now..." A shuddering breath rocked him against Cade's chest. The heat blasted against his neck when he released it. "They never blamed me."

"But you do," he said quietly. Dean didn't deny it.

"Now that the bar is gone, she is determined to get me home."

Cade threaded a hand through Dean's hair. "But this is your home," he said, hiding the twinge of panic. If Dean left, Cade would follow. There was no other option for him. It was a future he didn't want to think about, though. Too many decisions he didn't want to have to face if it came down to it.

"Have you eaten?" Cade asked, changing the subject.

"A late lunch with them."

"I have something to make here, if you want."

"Okay."

Dean disentangled himself from Cade, and he reluctantly let him go. Staring at the man he'd held, he knew if he chose to go north, Cade would follow. He had no idea about packs, jobs, or how he'd deal with being away from his brothers, but if Dean needed his parents, Cade wouldn't hold him back. He didn't know when it happened, when Dean had taken priority, even over his own family, but he had. It wouldn't matter how difficult it would be, it would have to be done.