Derek’s Treasure

Chapter 1-1

Laurelynn stepped off the gangplank from the plane and took a deep breath. She hated flying and feeling like she was trapped in a tiny tube with so many people suspended thousands of feet in the air. Even the crowded airport was better because at least her feet were on solid ground. That made the crowd easier to handle. Still, she"d go through a lot more than a couple hours discomfort for the chance to see her grandbabies. Even for just a few days.

She made her way through the crowds and down the long hallways leading to the luggage claim. She hadn"t checked any bags this trip but had long ago learned it was an easy place to meet her ride. As she neared the exit and the large room filled with luggage carousels, she wondered who they"d sent to pick her up. Not for the first time she felt the sharp ache of loss at losing the prosperity leaving her now ex-husband Neil, but that was about all she missed from that life. Not being able to afford a rental car so her daughters wouldn"t have to send someone to pick her up at the airport was humiliating, but not as bad as all the things Neil had put her through over the more than twenty years they were married. Married, not mated. She shook her head and reminded herself that part of her life was over now. She could move on, and she was determined she would.

Stepping through the opening into the large open area, Laurelynn scanned the crowd already there, looking for a sign with her name or any name that might be for her. She didn"t see anything. That was odd, Rebecca, her oldest daughter and Karhyn of the White Mountain Chanat, always made sure there was someone here to pick her up, though she had only come herself a couple times. It was a long trip and Rebecca hated to leave the babies alone that long, and a long car trip with them was less than pleasant. even if they were closing in on a year old now. Unable to hold back her confusion, she frowned as she started scanning faces. If there wasn"t a sign, then they"d sent someone who would recognize her, that meant someone she probably knew.

It only took her a few seconds to find a face she recognized. It made her stop in surprise. She hadn"t expected them.

She found herself smiling despite the surprise. She hadn"t expected her second daughter, Rachel, and her new mate to be the ones to pick her up, for a couple reasons. The first was that Bobby was an enforcer and not just any enforcer but one of the limited number who protected the Kahn and his family. If that wasn"t reason enough, they were fairly recently mated. She wouldn"t think they"d want to waste their day by driving down the mountain. Then again, maybe that was part of the draw. All those hours together.

"Hey, Mama!" Rachel threw her arms around Laurelynn and hugged her tight. "How was your flight?"

"Not bad." Laurelynn hugged her middle daughter tight, reveling for a moment in the mostly familiar scent.

"Really?" Rachel asked as they broke apart, sending her a doubtful look.

Laurelynn shrugged refusing to waste even a single minute of her limited time with her daughters complaining.

"Do you have more bags?" Bobby, her newest almost son-in-law waved to the carryon bag she dragged behind her.

"This is it. I didn"t want to have to wait on more."

"Then let me take that." He took the handle from her and herded the two women toward the elevator. "That will give us a head start on this crowd, if we keep moving."

She noted the way his eyes continuously scanned the large room. She wasn"t sure if he was keeping an eye out for general trouble or if he was looking for something in particular. She also wasn"t sure if she wanted to know.

"I"ve been excited for you to get here, Mama." Rachel hooked an arm in one of Laurelynn"s and kept moving. "I don"t know the first place to start when planning a wedding and I"m desperate for your help."

Warmth filled her chest at the idea of helping to plan Rachel"s wedding. She"d missed doing that for Rebecca, at the time it couldn"t be helped, but it was a regret she wasn"t sure she would ever let go of. "I would think your sister would know more about what is available around here than I do. Isn"t she helping?" Laurelynn let herself be towed to the elevator and considered it lucky when the doors slid closed with just the three of them in the tiny box.

"I haven"t asked," Rachel admitted, her cheeks pinkening. "She"s so busy with the twins, I don"t want to add more to that, especially when she might feel like she can"t tell me no."

At that, Bobby let out a short bark of a laugh. Rachel frowned at him, but Laurelynn watched the two of them while trying to keep her face blank.

"You have something to add?" Rachel asked, one brow lifted.

"Since when has Rebecca ever had a problem telling anyone no? I mean it was her determination not to be forced into something that brought her here in the first place."

Laurelynn started to argue but stopped as his words sank in. She turned and looked at the man who was closer to her age than her daughter"s. It wasn"t the easiest thing for her to admit, but he wasn"t wrong. Rebecca had always had strong convictions and a level of determination she both envied and resented in turn. Her oldest daughter"s spirit and determination had made things more difficult for them more than a few times over the years. Still, Laurelynn was so happy her father hadn"t managed to crush her spirit. Because it had been the same spirit that had caused so much trouble that had also ended up setting them all free. Neil was still out there, somewhere, but at least he was no longer in power over her and the kids.

Sure, they"d lost some of the comforts of their lives with him, but they"d gained so much more. The only one who might have thought they were better off with Neil around was Robert, their son. Robert had never said as much, and Laurelynn was only guessing at his feelings because of a few comments her son had made about missing something. She shrugged and glanced at Rachel.

"Did they say where I"m staying this time?" She"d stayed a couple places in the past, a couple times with Rebecca, Nick and the babies, but more often at one of the motels in town. It was never the same place twice in a row and she wasn"t sure if that was because of Neil or some other reason. She found it easier, if only on her peace of mind, not to ask the whys sometimes.

“I’m not entirely sure. Rebecca’s had some trouble finding a room. It seems everything in Springerville is booked. She said it’s taken care of, but I don’t know what was decided.” Rachel walked beside her as they waited for the luggage from the plane to arrive.

Twenty minutes later they had loaded into the large SUV that reminded her of a station wagon on steroids and were on their way.

"We can do a little shopping, stay the night in town and go back in the morning, or we can get back tonight, whichever you would like, Mama?"

Laurelynn took a breath and let it out slowly. She didn"t want to spend any more time in the city than she had to. Nor was she willing to give up any of the already small amount of time she got to spend with her grandbabies.

"I would rather go up today, if you don"t mind." She felt her face heating. "I know you would enjoy a chance to get away, but I just want to see everyone, if you don"t mind that is."

"Of course I don"t mind, Mama. I thought you wouldn"t want to stay, but I wanted to give you the option. If we want to get away, we"ll just bring you back to the airport and stay after." Rachel straightened in her seat. One hand reached across the console to grasp her mate"s.

Laurelynn couldn"t help but notice that while his gaze never left the road, Bobby lifted their clasped hand and kissed the back of Rachel"s, a smile curving his lips.

"No worries. We"ll get you there today to see the babies. The only stop I have planned is eating somewhere along the way. If you aren"t in too much of a hurry?"

Laurelynn started to frown at the implication that she might not let them eat, then caught Bobby"s grin in the rearview mirror and realized he was teasing her. Teasing wasn"t easy for her. She"d lost practice while married to Neil, but she was learning again. This time though she wasn"t sure how to respond without making it awkward, so she let it go, opting to say nothing over making a fool of herself.

They rode a while in companionable silence, only the radio playing softly and the soft whirr of tires on the highway filling the air. Laurelynn wanted to ask Rachel how she was doing and more, exchange news from the family, but she wasn"t entirely comfortable with Bobby. Not yet. She just hadn"t spent enough time around him yet to be able to judge or predict his reactions. That made her nervous. Mostly because she"d learned to be cautious from Neil. Instead of asking what she wanted to know, she watched what was left of the city fly past her window.

"Mama?" The tone of Rachel"s voice drew her back to the present and let her know this wasn"t the first time her daughter had spoken to her.

"Yes?" Laurelynn shook her head and turned her attention back to Rachel. "Did you ask me something? I"m afraid my mind was somewhere else."

"A million miles away or just a couple hours?" Rachel shot her a knowing smile.

Laurelynn frowned for just a moment before she realized what her daughter meant, then smiled. "Just a couple hours. I was thinking about Lizzie and Samuel. Wondering how much they"ve grown and if they"ll even remember me." She wanted to be closer to her daughters, especially now that Rachel had found her mate in the same clan where Rebecca had mated the Kahn. But their family, mostly Neil, had already caused them so much trouble, she didn"t want to ask permission to move here.

"I was asking if you"re ready for something to eat yet. We"re almost to Miami. There are several places we can stop, but it"s almost two hours to the next town. We"re good with whatever you want."

Laurelynn glanced around and realized she hadn"t noticed them leaving the city or that they were in the rocky mountain roads. She briefly wondered how long she"d been lost in thought, but frowned, not sure where they were, nor which route they"d taken. It seemed everyone had their own favorite path from the small town they lived near to Phoenix where the nearest large airport was.

"Are we going through the big canyon?"

"Salt River Canyon? Yeah, but not for a while yet. Why? Is it a problem?"

"No." Laurelynn gave a brief shake of her head. "No problem, but I"d rather eat after the canyon, if you"re sure you don"t mind."

"We don"t mind. Are you sure you"re okay with the canyon? We can take another route. It"s a little longer but we can avoid the canyon if it bothers you. You wouldn"t be the only person who doesn"t like it. I"ve met several who will find another route."

"I"m fine with it, it"s actually a beautiful drive. I"ve just found that the twists and turns in and out of the canyon sometimes upset my stomach and it"s better not to eat before we cross it," she reassured her.