Chasing Tiger Tail [Tigers of Twisted, Texas 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  “Fuck off, Danna. You’ve always thought you were too damn good. Going off to college and trying to get into law school. Who do you think you are?” Harriet took another drag and blew the smoke into her face. “God knows why you’re so fucking proud of yourself. You caused all the problems in this family just by being born.”

  Rage filled Danna. She was through taking the blame. “It’s not my fault. You know why our mother left.”

  Why did she bother saying the same things over and over? It never did any good. “The party’s over. Get your men out of here.” She took the keys off the nearby table. “They’ll have to leave their truck here and walk back to their ranch. I’m not letting your stoned asses drive.”

  “Bullshit, Harriet. Those are my keys. Get them back from your crazy sister.” Ralton whipped his arm out to point at Danna and almost fell over with the gesture.

  “Get it through your head. You can’t drive drunk and stoned.”

  “Shit, Danna. Give them to me.” Harriet lunged at her.

  She sidestepped her sister, but Harriet clutched her arm and held on.

  “Give me the keys, you human bitch.”

  Harriet’s words hurt, but she couldn’t give in. “No. Back off.” She held the keys behind her, keeping them out of her sister’s reach.

  The slap came hard and fast. Stunned, she gawked at Harriet, unable to speak.

  Harriet gasped and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh, shit. Danna, I’m sorry.”

  Heat flared in her cheek but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. As many times as they’d argued, they’d never come to blows.

  “Danna. I don’t—” Harriet’s worried expression crumpled into anger. “Fuck it. You deserved it.”

  Danna shook her head, still trying to believe what had happened. “Dad, let’s get out of here.” Yet when she turned around, he was gone. “Where’d he go?”

  A shout came from outside. Fear clutched her, stiffening her body as she spun toward the door. Once on the porch, she looked around. Her father lay on the ground, clutching his left leg.

  “Dad!” She was by his side in a matter of moments.

  “Damn it. Shit.” He writhed in pain, holding his leg. The bottom half of his leg was bent at an odd angle.

  “What happened?” Harriet bent beside him. “What’d you do?”

  “What’s it look like I did? I fell. Damn fucking step is bent or something. I told you it needing fixing.”

  There was nothing wrong with the porch steps. Danna had repaired them a month earlier. Arguing, however, wasn’t worth the breath it’d take.

  “Stop moving.” She touched his leg and cringed at his cry of pain. “I think you broke your leg.”

  * * * *

  “Don’t look now, but I think there’s a problem at Danna’s.” Phil pointed toward the scene in front of the Harris home.

  “Looks like the whole family’s together. And not in a good way.” Cam steered the pickup off to the left of the house and brought it to a stop. “Our plan’s gone out the window.”

  They’d come to see if they could smooth things over with Danna. After she’d rushed out of the coffee shop, they’d given her the rest of the day to cool off. But that didn’t mean they were giving up. Not on buying the ranch and sure as hell not on getting her to agree to mate them.

  Phil strode over to where Hank lay on the ground, flanked on either side of him by his daughters. The Wills brothers stood on the porch, watching. It didn’t take a genius to see they were drunk off their butts. From what they’d gathered from others, the Wills brothers weren’t the kind of men who gave a shit about anyone except themselves. If their father hadn’t left them well off with their ranch paid in full, they would’ve been in the same dire predicament Danna and her sister were in.

  “Danna.” Phil slid his hand along her arm. Her grateful smile was more thanks than he’d ever need or want. One look at Hank’s leg told him the problem. “Broken leg?”

  “Yeah.” She took her father’s hand as he let out a wail.

  The stench of alcohol stung his nostrils. “I guess the alcohol’s not helping much. Then again, maybe it’s dulling the pain.”

  “She forced him out of the house.” Harriet rubbed the back of her hand under her nose, catching her sniffles. “If she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have fallen and gotten hurt.”

  Phil shot his brother an imploring look. Someone needed to distract the drunken woman. Fortunately, Cam picked up on his silent request.

  “Harriet, show me where to find some blankets.” Cam took hold of Harriet’s arm, leaving her little choice except to go into the house with him.

  Phil pulled his belt out of the loops. “Danna, find something that’ll work as splints. Two-by-fours or the like.”

  “Okay.”

  “Noooo. Don’t leave me, girl.”

  He took Hank’s arm and forced it down, keeping him from grabbing Danna’s arm. “She’s got to help us out, man. Once we get your leg trussed up, we can take you into town. Does Twisted have a doctor?”

  “Dr. Effers. He runs the pharmacy in town, too. I’ll be back in a minute.” She took off, dashing toward the barn.

  Phil turned his attention back to Hank. “Take it easy. You’re going to be all right.”

  “Give me a drink. Damn it. I need a fucking drink.”

  “Sorry, but I’m not sure you should drink any more. The doc’s not going to want to give you any pain meds until you sober up some.”

  Hank moaned, falling back against the ground. The man wasn’t a great father by any means, but Phil hated seeing anyone in pain.

  Cam and Harriet returned, carrying several blankets. Phil nodded his thanks as they rushed past him. They’d lay out the blankets in the bed of their truck to create a makeshift bed for the injured man.

  Danna returned with two boards approximately the same length. “Here you go.”

  Phil placed the boards on either side of Hank’s leg. “Hold them in place for me.”

  With Danna helping him out, he slipped his belt underneath then wrapped it around Hank’s leg. “Easy, guy. This might hurt.”

  He worked quickly, bringing the end of the belt through the silver buckle. Once he was sure it was ready to go, he gave Danna a nod. “Ready?”

  She nodded in return. With one move, he tightened the belt. Hank let out a shout that reeked of agony.

  “Goddamn it. He’s killing me. Ooh. Shit!”

  Cam put a hand on Danna’s shoulder. “Let me get there, hon.”

  As soon as he took her place, Phil moved to Hank’s feet and got ready to transport him. Putting his hands under the injured leg, he motioned for Cam to take Hank’s arms. “Ready? On the count of three. One. Two. Three.”

  He’d only thought Hank had made a lot of noise before. Now the man’s bellows were off the chart. They moved as fast as they could while taking care to make the trip as smoothly as possible. The really rough ride would come when they drove him into town.

  “Danna?”

  She’d stayed beside them. “Yeah?”

  “Get him his liquor.” Phil cringed as he stumbled a little, causing Hank pain with the jerkiness of his movements.

  “What?”

  “It’s not going to make much difference now.” No matter what he’d said earlier, the man was still going to have to sober up and get the booze out of his system. If nursing a bottle would help him make the trek to town easier, then so be it. Once they got him to Twisted, Hank would be the doctor’s problem.

  “Okay. I’ll give the doc a call, too.” She took off, dashing back to the house.

  Harriet gave her hell, taking turns shouting and then crying as Danna returned with one of the bottles. “I’m coming along.”

  “The hell you are.” Phil didn’t like being mean to any woman, but he’d be damned if he’d put up with Harriet as well as the injured man. He handed the bottle to Hank who took a long drag. He moaned and hugged the bottle to his chest.

  Harriet’s mouth fell o
pen, stunned at Phil’s tone as well as what he’d said. Thankfully, she didn’t talk back.

  Together, he and Cam lifted Hank into the back of the truck. They gently lowered him on top of the blankets. “Hop in the cab, Danna. I’ll stay back here with your father.”

  “Will do.” She got into the passenger side.

  “Watch out for potholes.” Cam jumped out of the flatbed then got behind the wheel.

  “Ooh, shit.” Hank chugged from the bottle again. A trail of liquor traveled down his chin.

  “Hang in there, man.” Phil tipped the bottle a little higher, getting more into Hank’s mouth. “And drink up. It’s going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.”

  * * * *

  Danna kept her back ramrod straight. If she didn’t, she’d collapse. Nothing was going right. The ranch was being foreclosed on, she hadn’t been accepted into a law school yet, and now her father had broken his leg. On top of it all, she’d met the two men she knew instinctively were supposed to be with her for the rest of her life. If she wanted them, they were hers.

  And, oh, God, how she wanted them.

  She was drawn to them physically. There was no doubt about the sexual bond the connection formed. But having seen how they treated her father, not once, but twice now, she couldn’t help but admire them. They were good, honest men. Men who wouldn’t do her wrong. Men who would stand by her side and protect her from whatever life through at her.

  But they were men who wanted her as a mate. Men who looked forward to having a woman at home on the ranch, giving birth to their children. She couldn’t be both a stay-at-home mom and the attorney she hoped to be.

  The trip into town had been hard and long. Between the tears threatening to fall and her father’s moans, she’d almost broken down.

  Dr. Effers had returned her missed call when they were almost to town and had directed them to go to his office above the pharmacy. Carrying her father up the steps hadn’t been easy, but it would’ve been impossible if the Nordstrom men hadn’t been there to help.

  Nonetheless, Danna kept glancing at them, and then looking away as the doctor worked on her father’s leg. Shame for her father swamped her. Why would anyone, even her fated mates, want to take on her family’s problems, especially when their own father had been an alcoholic? Her father was a drunk and a lazy man. He’d run the ranch into the ground and hadn’t been there for either of his daughters. She was embarrassed to call him her father and yet she still loved him.

  At least her father had stopped his hollering now that the doc had given him pain medication. He hadn’t like doing it since her father was drunk, but he’d given in, knowing it would put her father out. Her headache had started easing once her father had drifted off.

  Dr. Effers straightened up, groaning as he worked the kinks out of his back. Being a shifter didn’t mean age couldn’t seep into him. “You boys can take him on into my bedroom. First door to the left off the living room.”

  “But where will you sleep?” She hated that her father was inconveniencing so many people.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll put up a cot alongside the bed. When a patient’s in my home and my care, I like to be nearby. Especially the unpredictable ones like your father.”

  She watched as Cam and Phil lifted her father again, treating him with extra care as they moved him out of the examination room, through the small living room, and into the doctor’s bedroom. Once the men and the doctor had her father settled, they left him alone and returned to the main room.

  “How’s he doing, doc?” She dreaded asking. “Is the break bad?”

  Dr. Effers’s dark eyes met hers. “His leg will heal all right. Provided you can keep him sober enough not to break it again.”

  Shame kept her from looking at Cam and Phil. What would she see in their eyes? Pity? Anger? Frustration? Resignation?

  Dr. Effers gave them a good look. “It’s a good thing you two were at the ranch. I doubt Harriet and Danna could’ve gotten him into a vehicle.”

  “The Wills brothers were there.”

  It was Phil’s halfhearted attempt to play their help down. One that the doctor didn’t accept.

  “Those boys aren’t worth the fur it takes to cover their bodies.” He winced, realizing how harsh he’d sounded. “Sorry, Danna. I didn’t mean any offence.”

  She couldn’t defend the indefensible. “None taken. And for what it’s worth, I agree with you.”

  The doctor cleared his throat. “I guess your sister can’t help who her mates are. There’s no way around the connection.”

  Danna bit her lower lip and wished he hadn’t brought up the subject of mates. “The way I see it, they didn’t win the lottery with Harriet as their mate.” She made her own face of regret. “Sorry. I know she’s my sister and all, but the truth is the truth.”

  At last, she faced the Nordstrom men head-on. “Thank you for helping my father again. I’m sorry I haven’t said it before now.”

  “We were glad to help.”

  She dared to take another glimpse at Cam and saw none of the awful emotions she’d feared would show on his face. What she did see in his eyes, however, brought a sharp stab of lust to her pussy.

  He wants me.

  She chanced skipping her gaze to Phil and saw the same blatant yearning there, too.

  Not only do I have too much baggage with my father and sister, but I’ve rejected them. How can they still want me?

  “Yeah, well, still. Thank you. Both of you.”

  “What else would we do, baby?” added Phil. “Whenever you need us, we’ll be there. Any time, any place.”

  Dr. Effers lifted one eyebrow, obviously not missing the unspoken part of their interaction. Knowing Twisted’s active rumor mill, he probably already knew they were her intended mates. He wasn’t letting on if he knew she’d rejected them.

  “Danna, could I speak to you privately?” asked the doctor.

  Surprised, Cam answered before she did.

  “We’ll wait in the next room.” Cam pointed at the other door and waited for the doctor to give him permission. He and his brother went into a second examination room, leaving her alone with Dr. Effers.

  “What is it? I thought you said his leg would heal.”

  Dr. Effers motioned her to take a seat on the sofa. “Let’s talk for a minute.”

  Alarm prickled over her skin. The only other time he’d been so serious was when he’d brought her in to tell her that her mother wasn’t coming back. She’d been holding out hope, latching on to her father’s dream of her mother returning, and the doctor, at other concerned people’s urging, had laid the truth at her feet. He’d held her as her father never had, letting her sob until the tears had finally dried up.

  “Am I in trouble?” she joked. But the humor fell flat.

  He captured her hand in both of his. “I’m going to do something highly unethical. Still, sometimes ethics have to come in second to doing the right thing.”

  “I don’t understand.” Warmth flooded her cheeks.

  “Your father’s my patient and I really should get his permission to talk to you. He’s too damn bullheaded to tell you himself so that leaves me. Danna, you and your sister need to know what you’re facing.”

  “Doc, you’re scaring me.” She wanted to flee. To run down the stairs leading to the street and never come back.

  “Your father’s been a heavy drinker for a lot of years.”

  She laughed, a choking sound. “That’s not a secret to anyone who’s ever met him.”

  “He’s a shifter, but he’s a half-shifter.”

  “Again. Nothing new there.”

  His grip tightened over her hand. “I’m glad you found your mates.”

  She reared back, trying to take her hand away, but he held fast. “Finding my mates has nothing to do with my father. And unless the gossip mill went haywire, you already know I’m not accepting them.”

  “Yes, I heard. But you might want to reconsider your decision. And about leaving for l
aw school.”

  She managed to pull her hand free and stalked away from him before whirling around to confront him. “You’re right. You have no right discussing all this. Look, Doc, I respect and love you, but what I decide is none of your business. And it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with my father.”

  The sadness rolling off him seeped into her, scaring her even more. She crossed her arms and rubbed them, trying to ease the chill sweeping over her.

  “I promise you it does.” He dragged in a long, slow breath. “Danna, your father’s dying.”

  Chapter Six

  “Will you stop acting like a teenage girl and stop eavesdropping?” Cam jerked his brother away from the door.

  “Aw, hell no.” Phil stalked toward the other side of the room. “He’s dying.”

  “Who’s dying?”

  “Her father.”

  “Bullshit. No one dies from a broken leg, much less a shifter.”

  Phil shrugged. “I know what you’re saying but I also know what I heard. Even weretigers aren’t immortal.”

  The urge to crack the door and press his ear against it was huge, but Cam wouldn’t give in to the impulse. One of them snooping was bad enough. “You had to have heard wrong.”

  “I didn’t.” Phil blew out a hard breath. “Damn. She’s already got enough troubles.”

  “Shit. What’s he dying from?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, but from the way he drinks I don’t think it’s too off the mark to assume it has something to do with his liver.”

  “Damn. That’s a shitty way to go. What else did the doc say?”

  “I didn’t hear. You yanked me away before he explained it to her.”

  Cam was ready to open the door when Phil put his hand on his shoulder and stopped him. “No, bro. Let the doc handle it for now. We’ll be here when she needs us.”

  * * * *

  “What do you mean he’s dying?” Danna couldn’t comprehend what Dr. Effers had told her. It simply didn’t make sense. She’d never thought of her father passing away.

  “I’m sorry, but all these years of drinking have finally caught up to him. His liver’s failing.”