Page 2 of Dragon's Midlife Secret Baby
“You okay over there?”
“It’s been a long time.” He reached up to run his hand over his face and down his beard. It was wet, just like the rest of him. John couldn’t remember why he’d grown it out in the first place, although at least that was a memory he didn’t particularly miss. “What are your friends going to do to help me? If I don’t have a name and don’t know where I live, then I don’t know what they can do.”
Jace flicked on his blinker. “They’re very resourceful women.”
“You’d bring a stranger home to women?” Somehow, John knew that wasn’t right.
But Jace chuckled. “I might as well tell you right now. Even though it might sound unbelievable, they’re witches. Powerful ones. I’m bettingthey can tap into your mind and at least figure out who you are and where you belong.”
“And if they can’t?” John asked dejectedly. He couldn’t allow himself to feel hopeful about this. A witch that could peer into his brain sounded like a delusion, a nightmare. Maybe he hadn’t made it to shore after all and was drowning, and these were the last images his mind had decided to show him.
“Then you can get a hot shower, fresh clothes, and a good meal. I don’t think you’ll mind that.”
John’s heart surged at the mere thought. It was more than he’d had in a long time. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
They pulled up in front of a large house. John peered at it uncertainly through the windshield, eyeing the columns that held up the portico and the awning windows between them. “Do you live here?”
“Several people do, actually. I can explain it all later. For now, let’s get you inside.” Jace brought him in through a side entrance.
A woman with choppy black hair appeared. She smiled at Jace, but her eyes widened in surprise when she saw John. “Who’s this?”
“This is John. I found him down at the docks, and I thought we might be able to help him. John, this is my partner, Erin.”
She stepped forward, smiling at him sweetly as she studied his face. “Hello, John.”
“I’m going to take him to the guest suite to get cleaned up. Is Maeve around? I think we need her help.”
Erin stretched up onto her tiptoes to kiss Jace’s cheek. “I’ll go find her.”
A few minutes later, John was led into a bedroom with an attached bathroom. Jace made sure he had towels and searched a cabinet for some clothes. “I think these will work well enough for now. I’ll leave you to get cleaned up. Use anything you need in the bathroom. Then come on out, and we’ll see what we can do.”
“Thank you,” John said sincerely. When Jace was gone, he stood for a moment in the middle of the bedroom and listened to the house. Footsteps sounded above him. He didn’t know these people, and now that Jace had driven him around, he felt even more lost than he’d been when he arrived on shore. But he wasn’ttrapped. His body told him he wasn’t in any danger, and it felt so good to let that go.
He stepped into the shower, watching the soap foam up and wash away down the drain. When he’d finally warmed his bones and dried off with an incredibly soft towel, John caught aglimpse of himself in the mirror. Automatically, he jerked back from his reflection. Even clean, his shaggy hair and scruffy beard bothered him.
Jace had said he could use anything in there. It only took the opening of one drawer to find a pair of scissors and a razor, so he trimmed and shaved away his beard. His hands were uncertain as he worked, but taking all that off felt like lifting a weight from his shoulders. He raised the scissors to his hair but then put them down again and just combed it back instead. That would have to wait for someone who knew what they were doing.
He put on the clothes Jace had left out for him. As he did, John sensed something familiar in this house. It wasn’t the house itself. He didn’t think he’d ever been there. It was nice, but it didn’t feel like a place he belonged. It was a different sense, as though something else in the house was a part of him. His jumbled thoughts had been a way to occupy his time while he’d been locked away. Out there, they were a frustration and an annoyance.
John emerged into the living room where he and Jace had been a short while ago. His new friend Jace was there, along with Erin.
Jace rose. “Looking good, John. Come on overhere. This is Maeve.” He waved his hand toward another woman who was seated regally in an armchair.
She was much older, with her hair mostly gray and crow’s feet by her eyes, but her skin had a youthful glow, and her figure was lithe. Maeve rose from her seat and glided toward him, taking one of his hands in both of her own. Her fingers were soft against his skin as she tipped her head to the side and studied his face. “Welcome, John. Jace has asked us to help you, so we’ll do our best.”
He recognized something in her deep brown eyes but didn’t know what. That seemed to be the theme for him, though.
“You’ve already met Erin. This is my daughter, Chelsea.” She gracefully gestured to the other woman on the couch, one who’d had her back to him when he’d walked into the room.
He turned to greet her. Chelsea had thick red hair that fell in long spirals around her shoulders and had the same brown eyes as Maeve. She was gorgeous, and something about her moved him inside. It was more than attraction, but John didn’t know how to explain it.
Chelsea smiled at him in greeting, buther smile quickly faded. Her face paled. Though everyone there had studied him with interest, Chelsea was staring. She swallowed, and her chest heaved.
Erin, seated next to her, put a comforting hand on her arm. “What’s wrong?”
But Chelsea’s eyes remained locked on his. “Your name isn’tJohn,” she gritted out. “It’s Beck. And I thought you were dead.”
