Page 28 of Kidnapping Their Third

Going through the door from the garage into the house, she heard Pike laughing. Curious and maybe a little jealous, Cora dumped everything in her arms on the kitchen table and tiptoed to the open arch between the kitchen and the living room. At this angle, Pike wouldn’t see her until she stepped through the opening.

Standing still, she listened to him talking.

“...that’s it exactly,” he said. “Fox shifter, I think you nailed it, Dad.”

The jealousy fled. Of course he wasn’t flirting with someone. This was Pike, he was incapable of cheating. He was so sweet and honest he wouldn’t even watch series episodes without her.

“No, Mom, I don’t think getting us all matching shirts is a good idea yet, maybe later,” Pike said with another laugh, then he paused, listening before talking again. “Winter solstice is months away, Mom. Let’s wait until November before we start planning for that.”

There was another brief silence before Pike spoke again. “Mom, Dad, I need to go, Cora just got home.”

Cora startled. How had he known she was there?

She stepped out from the kitchen as he was saying repeated goodbyes and finally took the phone away from his ear and tapped the screen. He looked up at her with a goofy-happy grin.

“It’s so good to see you!”

Kimble was asleep on the couch with his head in Pike’s lap. There were two empty family sized bags of chips on the coffee table in front of Pike along with half a dozen soda cans and a glass with a little water at the bottom.

Pike followed her gaze to the mess and grimaced. “I’m sorry. I was going to clean up but then my parents called, and I lost track of time.”

Cora didn’t respond as she drank in the sight of Pike and Kimble. Honestly, she didn’t care about the mess, she was only looking at it to keep from jumping onto the two men on her couch.

When had she gotten so needy?

The sun had started setting as she’d hit her street and she watched as Kimble opened his eyes and sat up. He smiled at her and scooted away from Pike to pat the section of couch between them.

That got Pike moving.

“Oh, you’re probably tired and hungry!” he exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. “Come sit!”

He pressed her to sit next to Kimble but didn’t join them on the couch. “I prepped dinner, so it’ll only take about twenty minutes to cook. Do you want a drink?”

Cora stared up at him, bemused. “This feels like Mad Men in reverse.”

Pike looked confused as Kimble put an arm around her shoulders and cuddled close. “Mad Men?”

“It was a show set in the 1960s,” she explained, noting Kimble’s tidy appearance. She ran a hand over his smooth face. “Did you shave?”

“I bathed and shaved him today,” Pike explained. “Your bathroom is surprisingly big for how small the house is. That made it easy to carry him in there for a bath.”

When Cora dropped her hand away from Kimble’s face, he leaned close and rubbed his smooth jaw against her cheek. Suddenly everything was better, and happiness bubbled up inside her.

She giggled and patted his head. “Yes, you feel very nice.”

“Since you didn’t answer on the drink, I’m going to bring you all the choices available,” Pike announced, striding into the kitchen. He was soon back with several cans of soda, a glass of water, and a bottle of sparkling water. Setting them all out, he whisked away the empty chip bags and cans. When he returned again it was with a small bowl full of chips and another with dip.

“Here’s something to snack on until dinner is ready.”

Kimble snuggled against her as Pike rushed around to make her comfortable. A girl could get used to this.

Chapter 11

Pike

Pike’s bear was practically vibrating inside him with happiness as Cora finished every morsel on her plate. Kimble had already had several bags of blood and was sitting as close to Cora as he could get without inhibiting her movements at the kitchen table.

“Damn, that was good,” Cora said, pushing the plate away. “You’re hired, Pike. You can cook all my meals from now on.”

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