The Moonlight Breed 8: Leap in the Dark by Gabrielle Evans (chrysanthemum read aloud .txt) 📕

Maybe.

Probably.

Xander dropped his chin to his chest and sighed. “I’m a fucking asshole.”

The door closed with a soft click, and Spiro returned to his seat, wearing a million-watt smile on his face. “Yeah, you are, but we’re going to change that. I can help if you’ll let me.”

“I don’t see how talking about my feelings is going to fix my arm.”

“It probably won’t, but it will make you less of a douchebag.”

The first real smile he’d worn in weeks pulled at the corners of his mouth, and a low, rumbling chuckle spilled from his lips. He didn’t know where the hell this guy had come from, but he liked his no-bullshit attitude.

If he didn’t do something and do it fast, he was going to lose Braxton. He’d been a certifiable dick to everyone, including his mate, and it needed to stop. Getting shot had hurt like hell, but it couldn’t hold a candle to the agony he’d endure if Braxton finally got fed up and left him. That, he wasn’t sure he’d survive.

“Okay, Doc.” He didn’t know if it would help, but Spiro had laid it all out in front him in a way no one else had, and Xander didn’t like what he saw. “I’m in.”

Chapter Two

“So, I’ve been thinking.”

“Uh-oh,” Braxton teased as he pushed his pasta around his plate with his fork. “Alert the media.”

“I know, I know, but listen. All the series are finished, and we haven’t produced anything new in a while.”

“There’s been a lot going on in the last year.”

“You’re not listening.” Keeton leaned back against the booth and crossed his arms over his chest while giving Braxton a stern look. “What if we went in a new direction? I mean, move away from graphic novels and try something else?”

Braxton pushed his plate away and folded his arms on the table. He was about to ask for further information when a big, beefy cowboy swaggered up to them, placed his palms flat against the tabletop, and leaned closer, looming over them. “I think it’s time for you boys to go.”

“We just got here,” Keeton argued, though they’d been inside the little café for nearly an hour.

Everyone had stopped eating, and the room was deathly silent as they all watched on with judgment in their eyes for Keeton and Braxton and approval for the cowboy. It was exactly what he’d feared would happen, but of course, he hadn’t been able to convince Keeton. Why couldn’t they have just spent the day in Cloud Peak? It was mostly populated by shifters, and no one would have looked twice at them.

Keeton had argued that Cloud Peak was boring, and they didn’t have a proper place for him to get his hair and nails done. In the end, Braxton had given in, just like he always did, and they’d made the two-hour drive to Total Image in Rawlins.

They’d gotten a few strange looks when they walked into the spa, but the ladies on staff had been surprisingly friendly after the initial awkwardness. Keeton had been buffed and polished to a shine, and Braxton had even conceded to getting his hair cut, highlighted, and styled. Dressed in jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers, he couldn’t see how they looked any different from the other groups or pairs of men at different tables.

“This is a nice town, and we don’t tolerate your kind here.”

“And what kind would that be?” Keeton asked with a pleasant smile. “Someone insanely good-looking? Don’t worry, honey, there’s no need to be jealous. I’m sure you’ll grow into that nose.”

Braxton sank back in his seat and groaned. No, they didn’t look any different than the other men there, but that was before Keeton opened his mouth and his purse tumbled out of it. “C’mon,” he urged as he tried to slide out of the booth, only to find his way blocked by another burly cowboy. “We don’t want any trouble. We’re leaving.”

“I think I’ll have a cup of coffee.” Keeton appeared to be the picture of ease as he waved toward their waitress.

Braxton, on the other hand, was going to throw up in his mouth if they didn’t get out of there soon. “Keeton, please, let’s go.” Georgia hadn’t exactly been the mecca of tolerance, but Braxton had known what places to avoid. This was like a whole other planet, and if they made it back to Haven in one piece, he might never leave again.

The first man who’d approached their table grabbed a hunk of Keeton’s hair and dragged him out of the booth. Onlookers gasped and murmured quietly, but no one made a move to help them. “We don’t want your kind here,” he repeated. “Get in that fancy pickup of yours and go back to wherever you came from.”

“Let him go.” He was shaking so violently that he wasn’t even sure his legs would support his weight, but he couldn’t just sit there while his best friend was assaulted. Braxton didn’t consider himself a coward. He was just a realist, and realistically, he was going to get his ass kicked by these two towering rednecks.

He and Keeton hadn’t started the altercation, and the law was on their side. Frankly, that wasn’t a hell of a lot of comfort, considering the arrest wouldn’t come until after he was beaten to a pulp.

The cowboy’s friend grasped Braxton’s arm in a tight grip and jerked him to his feet. Braxton hissed when his hip collided with the table, overriding the pain in his shoulder as the guy yanked him around by the wrist. “You have something to say?”

Steeling his courage, Braxton looked right into the icy glare of his attacker and stiffened his spine. “I said, let him go.”

“Boys,” an elderly gentleman behind the counter called, and Braxton sighed inwardly, thinking they were finally going to get some assistance. “That’s enough. Take it outside.”

“We’re leaving,” Braxton stated