Page 44 of Brandt's Rule

Tempest laughed again. “I’m not.”

“Just pull up Barron in the contacts and call him, then,” Brandt shouted. “You don’t have to text.”

“Were you talking to him?” Tempest asked jokingly glancing at Bailey.

“Nope.”

“We weren’t talking to you!” Tempest shouted as she got in Bailey’s car and closed the door.

Bailey turned the ignition and backed out of their space. As they drove away both she and Tempest waved at the lot of them.

“I like them,” Ronan said, watching them go.

“Yeah, me, too,” Remi said.

“She belongs here with us,” Daisy said as she stepped closer to Brandt and placed her hands around his upper arm, looking up at him for agreement.

“She rattles me, Daisy,” Brandt admitted.

Daisy laughed softly and brushed a kiss on his cheek. “She’s supposed to. And all that golden shine she’s got around her, it’s almost blinding.”

“Golden? She’s got silver hair.”

“I know,” Daisy said, winking at him as she let go of him and followed Hellen who was heading toward her jeep. “I wasn’t talking about her hair. And I’m riding with Hellen.”

“Y’all drive safe,” Brandt said. “We’ll be right behind you.”

For most of the drive home, instead of rethinking everything about the evening, he was rethinking Daisy’s comment about all the golden shine around Tempest. Anyone in his clan knew all about the gold aura. Uncle Bam had taught them all. A golden aura meant that you had a mate, and if it was shining, really putting on a show, then it meant you’d met that mate. On instinct he reached for his phone, swished his fingers in the cup holder he usually tossed it in, and only when he found the holder empty did he remember he’d sent his phone home with Tempest. “Damn!” he cursed. He needed to talk to Daisy. Sighing in frustration he settled in to just keep following Hellen’s jeep until it turned off the highway and onto Uncle Kaid’s property so she could drop Daisy off. He had a question, and it couldn’t wait until morning.

Ten minutes later he brought his truck to a stop right behind Hellen’s jeep. He rolled down the window and leaned his head out of the truck when Daisy got out. “Hey!”

Daisy looked back at him.

“Am I gold?”

Daisy smiled at her younger brother, making a special trip over to his truck to lay a hand on his cheek. She nodded. “So very gold. It’s your time, Brandt.”

~~~

An hour later Brandt sat on the back deck of his home, sipping a beer while listening to the night sounds of the river just beyond his back yard. He knew better than to expect Barron to let him know that Tempest was home safe. She wouldn’t call Barron just to prove she didn’t have to. Instead, he fully expected her to invade his thoughts, if she thought to communicate with him at all before she fell asleep. Swinging his booted feet up onto the banister surrounding his deck, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting his mind wander. This entire Tempest thing was spinning out of control. It was nothing like he expected. He wasn’t able to keep a handle on it and it seemed to take on a life of its own. His friends, his clan, seemed to like Tempest and readily accepted her. As did his own sister. And that was more important than most would think. Daisy knew things, just like Uncle Bam did, and if she liked Tempest and said she belonged, then she really did belong.

Brandt blew out an easy breath and shook his head.

“Problem?” Barron asked, walking up and taking a seat near Brandt.

“Yeah. This is not what I planned.”

“What? Tempest? You’d be a damn fool to turn away.”

“I’m not turning away.”

“You’re not running toward it either.”

“Not ready for this shit,” Brandt said. “I barely figured out how to manage shit for me. Now she shows up and she’s so much more than I ever anticipated.”

“Didn’t you ever consider your mate?” Barron asked.

“Of course, I did. But I just said, she’s so much more than I anticipated.”

---