Chapter 53

Jo was vaguely aware of being carried in and out of places, but was too out of it, and too comfortable in Ryker's arms, to really wake up last night. However, this morning she was wide awake and staring blankly out a window at a view that definitely wasn't the same as the one from her bedroom window.

Hmm.

She glanced at the bedcovers. Nope, not hers either. She sat up, frowning as she examined the room. Wait, she'd seen this room before...

Hearing movement from the floor, Jo crawled to the end of the bed and peered down, grinning a little as she stared at Ryker, his large frame curled up on top of a sleeping bag on the floor. He was scowling in his sleep, causing Jo to have a sudden urge to smooth out the wrinkles on his brow. He was just a little too far out of reach though.

"Doofus, you could have slept in the bed with me."

Ryker's eyes immediately popped open, his stare searching hers for a few seconds before his face finally relaxed.

"My dad wouldn't have had it," Ryker said, sitting up as well. He ran his hand through his wild morning hair, then stood up before joining her on the bed, his gaze instantly drawn to her shoulder.

"How you feeling?" he murmured, hand brushing her lower back as he raised her shirt slightly and leaned closer to look at the stitches. "No signs of infection yet."

Oh, shirt. Apparently sometime during the night Ryker had put her in one of his oversize shirts.

Jo swallowed, distracted. Ryker liked to sleep with his shirt off, she knew that from the times he'd stayed over at her house. But he usually put it on before getting this close to her.

"Mhmmm."

Ryker gave her an amused glance, one eyebrow raised. "That didn't answer my question."

Jo looked away, flushing. "I was agreeing it probably wasn't infected because I feel fine." Or something like that. She paused to take stock of her body, then added, "A little sore, I guess, and I can...I don't know, just...feel it every time I move." It was hard to describe, just a slightly uncomfortable stinging feel, but one you could sort of ignore if you didn't think about it.

Ryker nodded, bending slightly to kiss her collarbone before straightening back up. "Brett gave me some pain medication for you if you want it, though he said you should take it with food."

"Breakfast actually sounds amazing," Jo replied as her stomach announced itself with a loud growl. The hot dogs at the bonfire felt like forever ago. She supposed a lot had happened since then and, hey, a body needed fuel for proper recovery.

So she obviously couldn't turn down food.

"I can make that happen," Ryker said, sliding off the bed. He tossed on a shirt, which was unfortunate. One of these days, she was going to have to tease him about falling into the shirtless werewolf stereotype, but then he might want to wear a shirt more often...she could hold off on that joke, just in case. He reached out a hand for her, and she let him help her up and determinedly didn't make a face when her stitches went tight for a second.

Hmm, the last time she had had stitches was when she was seven. She had fallen off a trampoline at a friend's house and landed on a lawn ornament, which most would say was a freak accident. Now she despised lawn gnomes, especially ones carrying fake pitchforks.

It had been a couple weeks before she could get those stitches removed, so she guessed this was going to be the same way. Maybe it wouldn't take as long. Who knew, especially since her powers had started up. It was possible that she could do more than throw fireballs.

They headed downstairs, and Jo felt like she was getting a mini tour of the parts of Ryker's house she had never been in. "Is one of these Lexi's room?" she asked, pointing at a couple doors. They were on the second floor, and there was a big open space that led to stairs and various doors. Sunlight streamlined through big picture windows.

"That one," Ryker said, pointing to the door across from his. "And then dad's." That was the farthest room from the stairs. "Brett's old room is downstairs, and then yeah. Mine."

"It's pretty here," she said, admiring the hardwood floors and cabin-y feel. It was extremely cozy and rugged at the same time.

"I've always liked it," Ryker said.

They headed downstairs, Jo holding onto the smooth wooden banister. "How's Blake?"

"Alive."

Jo rolled her eyes. "Ryker..."

"A couple pack members are keeping an eye on him," Ryker said. "He's not far from here."

Jo guessed it would be a bad idea to ask if she could see him, and really, she didn't honestly want to at this point. She knew he was alive and doing okay. He had invaded the Monroe pack territory and threatened her and Lexi, and she had to remind herself of that.

"What's for breakfast?" Jo asked as they stepped into the kitchen. "I can help."

"Or you can sit over by the island and I'll make breakfast for you," Ryker said, opening a cabinet by the oven and pulling out a metal pan. He used it to wave over at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"I like to help," Jo said stubbornly, wandering over to the fridge instead of the island. Inside there were eggs, bacon, a half-full milk carton, protein drinks--

The door bumped against her, and Ryker peered down at her over the edge. "Jo. Let me do this."

"Are you going to fuss if I don't?"

"Yeah."

Jo briefly considered it. Did she want to fight? Yeah, fighting was fun. But was it really worth the fuss? Probably not this early in the morning.

Maybe if they'd been arguing about lunch.

"Fine," she conceded. "But I expect gourmet scrambled eggs."

Ryker smirked, clearly enjoying his victory. "Topped with diced chives, got it."

Jo stared at him as he set to work prepping his cook station like he was some kind of master chef. Or like MasterChef was all he watched. Not that she'd ever seen home watch TV. "Wait, " she said in disbelief as she leaned against the island, crossing her arms. "Are you saying I could've had my own personal chef cooking for me this whole time, and I've let you just..." she threw her hands in the air, "bring me pizza?"

Ryker chuckled as he washed some produce. Good lord, maybe she shouldn't have said the word gourmet. "Don't even lie, I'm pretty sure you live for pizza."

"Maybe so," Jo admitted. "But..."

Ryker moved in front of her, interrupting her train of thought as his large hands settled on her waist.

"But what?" His grin was teasing, but gentle. "But I need to cook breakfast for you from now on, is that it?"

"That's a good start," Jo said, grinning widely up at him.

"Hmmm." He looked over her head as if briefly considering, but Jo was pretty sure he was just formulating the perfect comeback. Perfect in his head anyway. "Guess I can't object to that since making breakfast implies I'm spending the night." Jo's jaw dropped as she gaped at him, causing Ryker to throw his head back in a full-body laugh.

"Don't looks so upset by my suggestion." Before Jo could even say anything, he suddenly tightened his hold on her hips and lifted her, perching her on the island as if she weighed nothing. "But here, you watch me cook and judge if my skills warrant permanent sleepover status."

Jo leaned back, bracing her hands on the counter as she swung her legs out. She ignored the twinge in her shoulder again--it was good to stretch injuries, right? "What, are you some kind of three Michelin star chef?"

Ryker stared at her shoulder for a moment, eyebrow raised, by wisely said nothing. Unless she was bleeding through her shirt, she wasn't going to worry.

"Nah, but I have my certification in Jo Scott favorites." Jo couldn't control the snort of laughter that broke forth from her.

"Pizza's very different from breakfast," she warned him.

"You forget I take you to get coffee almost every morning."

"That's not even breakfast."

"Exactly." He looked up from his chopping. "Since you don't do breakfast anyway, I think I'm pretty safe here."

This man. It wasn't fair how easy it was to love him.

Bantering with him was so easy, and filled her with an odd mix of peace and joy as she watched him expertly whip up eggs (an omelet for him, thank heaven the tomatoes weren't for her food), bacon, and a batch of pancakes.

"Are you feeding an army?" she said, hopping off the counter and moving to the barstool to eat as Ryker set her plate there. There was clearly more food than the two of them could eat, even if one of them was a giant werewolf.

"Nah, I made enough for the family, otherwise they'd whine all day." On cue, they heard movement on the floor above. "That's probably Lexi, she's like an elephant in the morning," Ryker said, grabbing a bottle of ketchup before sitting down.

Jo stared pointedly at the bottle of ketchup, which Ryker ignored as he squeezed the blood red goop all over his eggs and bacon.

"Is she the monster?" Jo muttered, scooping up some eggs. "I think your food would disagree." What was the point of being a gourmet chef if you covered your food in ketchup?

"My food has no opinions. I think it'll be fine."

Yeah right.

But speaking of gourmet...

"Sweet heavens," Jo moaned. "These eggs..."

"Melt in your mouth, right?" Ryker's smirk was downright bordering on smug. "What do they say about men who cook? Aren't you supposed to marry them?"

Jo smirked over at Ryker. They still hadn't completely discussed that whole marriage thing or when it was supposed to happen, and she guessed it was too early in their relationship for anything like that. Except there was the whole mates thing. Werewolf life was complicated. "I think you're supposed to appreciate their skills, if nothing else."

Ryker rolled his eyes. "And marry them."

"Mmm."

It really was amazing how good everything was. She even reached over and stole one of Ryker's ketchup-covered slices of bacon and it was good like that, too. "So you just like cooking?"

"My parents hated cooking, and Brett's awful at it," Ryker said, stabbing at a bite of his omelet. "I got tired of eating grilled cheese sandwiches and hamburgers for practically every meal, so I learned from a couple other pack members how to cook." Looking pleased with himself, he put another slice of bacon onto her plate. "Lexi never bothered learning until last year because I always cooked."

"And I'll despise you forever for leaving me for a year," Lexi said cheerfully as she came into the kitchen. "It was rude!" She grabbed a coffee mug from the drying rack beside the sink and headed instantly for the coffee pot.

"I was training," Ryker said, making a face at his younger sister. "

Right, Ryker had mentioned once that he had gone off last year to stay with a different wolf pack and to travel some. She guessed it was his lone wolf year before settling down somewhat. Or maybe he had secretly been looking for his mate and didn't want to tell her. He would've been eighteen, after all, and that was somehow a magic age when it came to werewolves.

"Good morning to you, too," Ryker said.

"How're you feeling, Jo?" Lexi asked, ignoring her brother. She was extremely chipper for it being the morning after a late night, but then again, Jo would bet that everyone here was used to staying up late.

"Fine," Jo said, though she wouldn't mind taking her pain killers. She was surprised it didn't hurt more than it did, but the way it stung was annoying enough. "Are you ready for your birthday party?"

"That's not today, is it?" Lexi asked, wide-eyed.

"No, it's tomorrow," Jo said with a laugh. It would be crazy if they had all managed to sleep an entire day. "I was just wondering. I mean, it's been a little crazy here lately..."

"Yeah, no kidding," Lexi said. She headed over to the stove and started fixing her plate. "I think I am. Maybe we should reschedule it?"

"We'd have to rewrite your birth certificate," Ryker said. He popped a piece of bacon into his mouth. "Might be hard."

"You know what I mean," Lexi said. "We could just have a little party and worry about everyone getting together later."

"It's your birthday," Jo said, "Just because Duncan and his group are acting up doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate you. Or show that they can push us around."

Lexi glanced over at Ryker. "You're sure she's not a werewolf?" Her eyes gleamed, partly mischievous and extremely curious. "Or something else..."

Oh, right. She had forgotten that Lexi might have noticed that something odd had happened with the fire. Jo became focused on her breakfast, aware that both Lexi and Ryker were looking at her. She imagined that Ryker was wondering if he could tell Lexi while Lexi was wondering what was up.

Luckily she was spared from explaining when heavy footsteps hit the stairs. Malcolm appeared in the doorway. He glanced around the table, not looking at all surprised to see her there. Did that mean Ryker had brought other girls home? Or did Malcolm just expect her there? She shoved down the spike of insecurity and hoped it was the latter.

"Morning," Malcolm mumbled, grabbing a handful of bacon. Lexi must've inherited her morning person side from her mother.

"Lexi wants to move her party," Ryker said through a mouthful of eggs.

"Maybe!" Lexi said, staring at him. "Just until things cool down."

"No," Malcolm said, "I understand why you want to, but we can't show weakness to Duncan." He shoved a couple slices of bacon into his mouth. "Charlie told Duncan about Blake last night. Said we'd keep him until Duncan could prove he'd behave."

"Good," Ryker said, obviously approving of the message. Most likely he had come up with it. "I'll go talk to him today." He met Jo's eyes for a moment. "Can you help Lexi with the party preparations?"

"Don't we have classes today?" Jo asked. Sometimes college seemed like the least important thing in her life, but she did want to pass her classes with at least a C. Hopefully higher.

"I think this'll be a skip day for me, and you're healing," Ryker said, "Do you need to call the coffee shop?"

"No, I don't have a shift today..."

"You should stay close to the house today," Malcolm said, looking at the three of them. "I'll call anyone who has a problem with that. It's safer for you all."

Safe. Right. Her life was so weird now that she was safer in a house full of werewolves than a college campus.