Page 84 of Kidnapping Their Third

Annette smiled broadly and pointed to the barn. “All the tools and the utility vehicle are in there to use, no one has touched them in years.” she frowned thoughtfully. “The vehicle might need to be serviced so I’ll talk to Kell about it.”

Pike had to keep himself from rushing off to the barn to start looking at what they had. “Thanks, Annette.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she warned. “I have a feeling the pack will start putting in requests as soon as they find out what you’re doing. As far as borrowing a truck, you can use one of the pack vehicles. I’ll send Kell over with keys. We have plenty of cars and trucks, so don’t feel like you have to return the keys. Use it as you need to.”

Then she said something under her breath about the sorry state of his Caddy. He ignored the accurate comment and started for the barn.

“Thanks, Annette,” he called back. Maybe being part of a wolf pack wasn’t so bad after all.

***

Cora

Waking up to the smell of food wasn’t unusual for Cora anymore. Pike was an early riser and often hurried to cook her something fabulous for breakfast. She’d never eaten sowell in her life and if she wasn’t careful, she was going to need to buy bigger sized jeans.

Sitting up, she looked down at Kimble. His eyes were open but with the out-of-focus aspect she’d gotten used to seeing when it was daytime. With his returning strength, he could get up and move around during the day, but only for a limited time. Each day he could stay awake a little longer, so she expected he’d be able to resist day sleeping within a few months.

“I’m getting up,” she warned him. Sometimes he’d get up with her and other times, he’d wait until after breakfast so he could help her shower and get dressed for the day before going back to bed.

His bedroom en suite boasted a massive shower stall with two shower heads so they could all get clean together. Well, mostly clean. Shower sex seemed to be Kimble’s new favorite thing, and Cora wasn’t about to talk him out of it!

“Later,” Kimble mumbled, then let his eyelids drop closed.

“Okay, I’ll come back after breakfast,” Cora promised and dropped a kiss on his cheek. He smiled before his features relaxed back into unconsciousness.

Pulling on a robe, Cora shuffled out into the kitchen just as Pike was about to place two heaping plates of food in the oven to keep them warm.

“You’re up!” he said with way more excitement than a Thursday morning warranted. “I made French toast the way you like it with extra cinnamon.”

Cora stopped dead in the large opening to the kitchen and blinked at him. “I need coffee.”

Pike’s expression turned sympathetic, and he lowered his voice a little. “Sorry, I forgot about the sleepy Cora rule.” He set the plates on the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. “Come sit, mate. I’ll fix you a cup of coffee.”

It took at least two cups of coffee before Cora could carry on a conversation. In sharp contrast, Pike was ready to start his day the moment he opened his eyes and had to learn to keep his chatty nature in check until Cora had a little time to finish the painful process of waking up.

No sooner did she sit down than Pike was plunking a mug of coffee with the perfect amount of cream in front of her. She ignored the food and slurped down half the mug in one go.Holding the warm mug in both hands, she let a contented sigh ease out of her.

“That’s better,” she murmured. Pike brought the coffee pot and creamer to the table, then took his own seat and started shoveling food in his mouth.

Considering he’d seemed a little depressed the last few days, this change in mood was startling. First, she finished her coffee, then broke the silence with a question.

“What’s going on?”

Pike straightened in his chair and lowered his fork full of food as joy and enthusiasm radiated off him. “I’m going to design and plant a giant garden for the pack!”

His declaration wasn’t anything she expected. “That’s great?”

“Isn’t it!” he said, obviously not hearing the question in her words. “Kell gave me the keys to a truck and said I can use it every day if I need to. I’m going to spend the day clearing the old garden area and breaking up the soil. I promise I’ll have dinner ready for you when you get back.”

Cora latched on to the last part. “You don’t have to cook for me. You’re not my house-spouse. Spend your days doing anything you want.”

“House-spouse!” Pike chortled. His phone chimed, and his laughter disappeared as he looked at the screen. Dropping his fork on his plate with a clink, he picked the device up and typed. The happiness of earlier was gone, replaced by a furrowed brow and tightly pressed lips.

Cora poured a second cup of coffee and added cream while Pike sent a message to whoever took his smile away. She heard the whoosh sound of a sent message just after taking a sip of another perfect cup of coffee.

Pike sat the phone down and looked at her, trying to smile. “So I was thinking—hey!”

Cora swiped the phone to see who’d made him unhappy.

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