Page 29 of Lion's Little Scamp

She would never tell Harrigan that because men did not like being told they were beautiful, even if they were. And riding on his back through the woods had been such an amazing experience, she wondered how soon she could talk him into doing it again.

Poppy and Talia were standing near the front doors, looking nervous. As she and Diego reached the main lobby, Lonergan approached from an office at the back of the building.

Seeing the other girls had Irish feeling nervous as well. Had they gotten in trouble? Would they still want to be her friends?

“Girls, don’t you have something to tell Irish?” Diego said as he moved to stand with Lonergan.

The girls nodded before stepping toward her. Each one took a hand and held it between both of theirs.

“We’re sorry,” Talia started.

“Yeah, we’re sorry,” Poppy parroted.

“We didn’t mean to get you in trouble with Sullivan for leaving before finishing your chores.”

“Or to get us lost in the woods. But you knowing how to follow our trail back to the barn was really cool.”

“So, we hope you’ll still be our friend, because we need all the friends we can get.”

Irish was stunned by their words, and their praise, and their asking if she wanted to be their friends. “Um, yeah, I’d love to still be your friend. I’ve never had friends before, and don’t want to lose you as my first ones.”

“Yay!” the two other girls yelled as they began to bounce on their toes.

Irish joined them in a little happy dance before turning to Master Lonergan. “Do you know where Harrigan is? He didn’t meet me after class this morning like he usually does.”

Lonergan exchanged a glance with Diego before approaching. The girls released her hands so she could turn to face him, but she felt them step up to stand right behind her.

“A problem developed this morning that he had to handle. Why don’t we go have lunch and I’m sure he’ll join us before you finish.”

Irish nodded and allowed Poppy and Talia to usher her out of the administration building and across the lawn to the dining hall. As they crossed the grass, she looked around but did not see her Daidi anywhere outside.

Getting in line, she followed Poppy through the food line with Talia on her other side. Since coming to Bratburg and eating three meals a day, she found that her stomach had adjusted to eating regularly and she was hungry.

Looking down the line at the meal options, she decided to put together something different. Grabbing a hotdog bun from the bread tray, she picked three sauce-covered meatballs from the vat of spaghetti and meatballs. Moving further down the line, she took a piece of cheese from the sandwich fixings tray and laid it on top. She then went on and grabbed a plate of French fries, and a bowl of applesauce.

“What did you make?” Talia asked once they had left the line and were at the condiments station.

“A meatball sandwich.”

Talia looked from her spaghetti meal to Talia’s sandwich with envy. “That’s so cool. How did you come up with that?”

“When you live on the streets for long, you learn how to make do and take odd things and make a meal out of them,” Irish said as she covered her French fries with ranch dressing. After adding a glass full of milk to her tray, followed the other two girls to an empty table in the center of the room.

She ignored the looks that the other trainees were sending her way. In less than two weeks they would be moving on, but she would be staying in Bratburg. Now if she only knew where Harrigan was, maybe she could relax and enjoy lunch with her new friends.

She had just finished eating when movement at the front doors caught her attention. Harrigan walked in, followed by another man who she never thought she would meet again.

“Sailor?” Pushing from her chair, she scurried between tables to where the two men were standing near the food line.

Both men turned to look at her, and after a moment, both held out their arms in welcome. She froze, torn between she should greet first.

Harrigan tried not to let the indecision and fear in his mate’s eyes hurt him, but it did. Would she choose this stranger over her own mate? If she did, what did that say about the future of their relationship?

She looked from him to Sailor and back again one more time before walking into Harrigan’s still open arms. As she hugged him, the beast within him immediately settled. All was well with his world once again.

After hugging him hard and planting a kiss in the middle of his chest, Irish turned her head to look toward the newcomer. He had dropped his arms, looking both disappointed and pleased at the same time. Had he really expected her to choose him, even after Harrigan had told him that they were mates?

“What are you doing here, Sailor?”

---