Page 66 of Can't Be Love

“Congratulations, son. I’ll get the news out immediately.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

I heard him walking away, the voices growing more distant, and then a door shut.

“What happened?” he asked seriously.

“Have you spoken with Kyle?”

“Westin? No, why?”

“The Westins know a lot more than they’ve let on. They knew exactly who took Lily and were tipped off on how to find her. There’s a lot to catch you up on, but it’s probably best to wait and do it in person. I don’t even have all the details yet, only what Patrick O’Connell filled me in on.”

“Who did this, Thomas?” he asked, using his most serious tone.

“A human faction, Dad. They know about shifters.”

“The Verndari?” he said, sounding surprised.

“You know about the Verndari?”

“I do, but kidnapping shifters? That doesn’t sound like them.”

“Patrick said it was a small group of their young people going rogue,” I confessed.

“I see,” he said. “I’ll reach out to our contacts and find out what I can.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about them, Dad?”

“All in good time, son. You take care of your new mate and leave the rest to me. I also think a visit to your new in-laws would probably be a good thing. Since you and Lily are off on this wild road trip anyways, how would you feel about swinging over to the coast and paying a visit to Kyle to find out all you can?”

“Are you certain you don’t need us back sooner? I’m sure Lily would love to visit her family.”

“I’m sure. And I think it will do you both some good. Get to know each other better and all.”

I grinned as we said goodbye. I had already gotten to know Lily in every way imaginable, but I was up for the challenge of learning more.

“What are you certain I’d love?” she asked, standing in the doorway of the bedroom wrapped in a towel to keep from dripping on the floor.

“Dad thinks we should consider rerouting and heading for Westin. He thought maybe talking to Kyle and getting more details on what’s going on would be a good thing.”

“Really?” she asked excitedly. “Can we stop by the ARC and see Chase and Jenna on the way?”

I shrugged. “Don’t see why not. We don’t have anything to rush back for at the moment, so might as well enjoy it.”

She jumped in glee and clapped her hands before running and tackling me in kisses.

“Thanks,” she said breathlessly.

We spent the rest of the day in bed, and I realized quickly, I’d do whatever it took to always keep her that happy.

On day three, the snow finally stopped. Gino cleared a path from the main house to the cottage, which allowed us to walk over and have lunch with the other guests in the dining room. Bunny fussed over Lily and made certain everything was fine. We assured her it was great. I squared up on our payment and didn’t care one bit what she charged me. It was worth every penny. I had no doubt we’d be staying at Bunny’s Bed and Breakfast for many years to come. It just seemed like it became our place, and I was already making plans to book the cottage for our one-year anniversary.

“The main roads are all clear, and those from here to there should be soon, too,” Gino informed us.

“Great,” I said, turning to Lily. “Do you want to leave tonight, or wait till morning?”

She blushed and I knew that meant her deliciously dirty mind was going to places that would make me very happy later.

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