BAYOU NOËL Read Free

shook his head and growled. “I apologize. I must
be jetlagged.”
    Unfolding from the trunk of the cypress,
Raphael moved forward, amusement lighting his eyes. “So where is
she?”
    “Medical,” Garrick uttered tersely. “She
quit. After five years.” He sniffed. “Claims to have a new
position.”
    “Then she’d be in the dormitory with the
other single Nurturers.”
    Garrick’s gut clenched. He’d forgotten that
part of Nurturer housing. “When you referred to the other males who
might be interested in her, were you speaking in general or do you
know—”
    “I know nothing, brother,” Raphael assured
him. “But if you’re this jacked up over the idea of such a
thing…well, what does that tell you?”
    “That she doesn’t belong there,” Garrick
tossed out.
    “Try again.”
    His eyes
lifted sharply to connect with Raphael. “That this new job of hers
is a bad idea. She was safe and comfortable where she was. She was
happy…” He broke off. Happy ? Shit, clearly not. Because if she had been, she’d have stayed. And wouldn’t
have looked at him like that in the hall before she’d walked out.
Like he was her jailer. Like she wanted nothing to do with him
anymore.
    He swallowed thickly.
    Like she wanted something else. Or someone
else.
    Without even a grunt of farewell to his
mentor, Garrick shifted back into his puma form and took off into
the trees. He would fix this. Offer her more money, more challenges
to her Nurturer nature, whatever she required. Anything to get her
back home where she belonged.
    Then he could return to his work, to where he
belonged, with peace of mind once again.

CHAPTER 4
     
     
    Molly was given her old rooms at the back of
the dormitory.
    She didn’t have a lot of space. A small
bedroom, a living room and bathroom. Still, they were hers. With no
aggravating male thinking he could stroll in and out of her life
whenever he felt the urge.
    After unpacking her belongings, she’d headed
to the communal storage shed to gather lights and holly, as well as
the small box of decorations she’d left there after the death of
her parents.
    Once back in her rooms, she’d set about
creating a Noël atmosphere, all the while forcing her heart and her
mind to accept what was. Yes, she was back to where she’d started.
Yes, her spirit was bruised. And yes, it felt as if she’d wasted
the last five years of her life.
    But she’d be damned if she was going to allow
her heavy heart to ruin these last precious days of a holiday she
adored more than any other.
    Bayou Noël was going to belong to her
now.
    At last, satisfied that she’d replaced the
institutional boredom of her space with a festive cheer, Molly
moved to the window that overlooked the bayou, remembering the last
Noël she’d shared with her parents. A smile touched her lips.
    She’d tried to pretend she was too old to be
excited by all the presents that had been neatly and beautifully
wrapped and stacked both around the fireplace and inside their
stockings. But she’d been secretly thrilled when her father had
refused to listen to her protests, and had swung her into his arms
so she could place the angel goddess on top of the mantel.
    That’s what she missed. What she wanted.
    The laughter. The love. The sheer comfort of
family.
    A family of her own again.
    She wiped away a tear. Dammit. Maybe she’d
make a stocking for herself this year. And some hot chocolate with
extra marshmallows.
    This was her place. Her new start.
    Repeating the words in an attempt to convince
herself that she hadn’t made a terrible mistake by walking out of
that house earlier, Molly abruptly stiffened as she caught the
familiar scent of an approaching cat.
    Garrick.
    Shit . Pulse
pounding, she moved forward, wishing she’d locked her door. But she
was too late, as the angry male simply barged into her rooms, his
aggression filling the space with prickles of heat.
    Glancing around, his brows slammed together
as his gaze took in the