Free There's Something About Werewolves: Seven Brides for Seven Shifters, Book 1 by Thalia Eames Page B

other in nearly broke his heart. Dillon grunted. He must’ve felt the emotion of their sadness as well. Garrett motioned for him to leave and, watching them for as long as he could, he closed the door.
    Out in the hall, the doctor pulled out his phone and made a call. Garrett left Dillon to it and met Cash on the way to the living room. “Nox?” Garrett asked.
    The younger man made a looping gesture with both hands. “He did it. He’s messed up about it too. You’ll want to handle that quick.”
    “What else?” They walked down the hall to the main part of the house.
    “He’s completely in love with her.” A wry half smile curled Cash’s mouth. “He asked if women ever forgive the men in their lives for burning their houses down.”
    Garrett paused mid-step. “You’re joking.”
    Cash shook his head. “I wish. You know how much I enjoy a good joke.”
    Garrett shook his head. Fuck. “Will the day ever come that I don’t wreck that woman’s life?”
    “I can’t call it,” Cash said, handing off a tablet and leading Garrett toward a room off the wide main foyer. He opened the doors to reveal the office he’d set up for him and Garrett during their stay in LuPines.
    Garrett flipped through his schedule, then through emails and calls Cash had tagged for immediate response. When his lip curled at the prospect of so much neglected work Cash chuckled. “Oh yeah, you’ll be up all night.”
    With a cold-blooded stare, Garrett said, “You couldn’t handle any of this?”
    Cash threw up his hands. “I took care of half of it already. That’s the last half. You owe me a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s 23yr.”
    Garrett made a few adjustments to his schedule and handed the tablet back. “You want a $250 bottle of bourbon in exchange for doing your job?” He inclined his head. “I don’t owe you shit.”
    His assistant/VP-in-training laughed. Garrett continued. “I’m going to have a talk with Nox. We’ll all have dinner. I’ll put the fam to bed. Then together we’ll tackle this mess you couldn’t handle alone.” Another bark of laughter followed Garrett out of the room.
    He’d searched the house for twenty minutes before he found Nox outside the door to Gran’s room. Garrett motioned his son over to him. Nox complied and they started the walk to the opposite wing of the house, where Cash had set them up.
    Inside the master bedroom he clasped Nox’s shoulders and guided him to sit on the bed. He only had to stare at his son for thirty seconds before a confession tumbled out. “I just wanted to see what happens when you fry frozen chicken.”
    “Lennox getting burned in college didn’t give you a clue?”
    “Nope. I stood back an’ did a jump shot to get it in there.”
    “You could’ve killed yourself.”
    Nox studied his sneakers. “Yeah.”
    The air between them thickened with the weight of Nox’s guilt and Garrett’s responsibility. The younger Westlake’s shoulders drooped under the pressure.
    “Look at me.” Garrett projected his ire outward for his son to feel. “You could’ve killed your godmother and your new grandma too.”
    Tears he knew would never fall filled Nox’s eyes. “Yeah.”
    “You’ll have to live with that.”
    Anybody listening would find his words harsh but his son’s high intellect often made him try things most kids would run from. Nox’s smarts made him test the boundaries of just about everything. Garrett refused to hit his son so he had to teach him consequences in other ways.
    Nox nodded and looked away. “I know.”
    Garrett reached out and cupped Nox by the nape. The kid shrieked when he crushed him to his chest but let him kiss the top of his head before pulling away. “I love you too, Dad. You don’t have to get demonstrative about it.”
    Before Garrett could say anything else a knock resounded through the room. Cash came in without waiting for a response. “That guy you had me look into, Ian Somers, he’s here and he’s