Page 98 of Seen Knot Heard

Sensing my distress, Nathaniel reaches out, his fingers grazing the side of my face with a gentleness that steals my breath. “Don’t worry about it. This is only a minor hiccup.”

I let myself lean into his touch, savoring the warmth of his skin. But even as my body yearns for more, doubt creeps in.

Was I too hasty when I pushed for him to move forward with the bonding before his pack was secure? Is my desire to belong to the Misty Pines pack too selfish? If I returned to Louie now, would he call off the inspector?

I step back, putting distance between Nathaniel and me.

His hand falls to his side, but his eyes linger on mine, intense and searching.

“Uncle Nat!” Quinn rushes over to pull on his sleeve. “Come see the picture Auntie Chloe and I made!”

Nathaniel’s expression softens. “Auntie Chloe?”

“Because she’s going to form a bond with you and Uncle Holden, and Uncle Blake, and, and, and Uncle Dom!” She gasps to catch her breath.

Nathaniel allows her to drag him over to the table, and I trail behind them, now worried that I overstepped in telling Quinn before speaking to the Alphas.

Quinn holds up the picture of Detective Stardust. “This one’s for you, Uncle Nat!”

Nathaniel makes a show of accepting it and listens to Quinn tell him which parts she made and which ones I contributed.

“It’s beautiful.” Nathaniel holds the picture up so the light catches on all the glitter. “You’ll have to help me decide where to hang it.”

Quinn beams with pride. “Can we do it now?”

“I think we need to let the glue dry a little more.” He walks over to the fireplace and sets it on the mantel. “We’ll keep it safe here until morning. How does that sound?”

Quinn taps her chin in thought before she gives a decisive nod. “Sprinkles can guard it.”

“Good idea.” With a hand on her shoulder, he guides her back to the dining table. “Now, why don’t you clean up so we don’t have glitter in our dinner?”

Quinn throws her head back with a whine but climbs up onto the bench and starts putting things back into the tote.

As she does, Dominic strides out of the back hall, and my heart does that flutter it did the other night when I ran into him in the kitchen.

“I have an investigator searching for any connection Louie has with the inspector.” He slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans, drawing my eyes downward. “While he’s at it, I asked him to dig into Louie’s other activities. If we can dig up some dirt, we can use it as leverage to force him to back off.”

“Excellent work,” Nathaniel says.

“I also called our lawyer, and there’s at least some good news for Chloe.” Hearing my name, my head snaps up to find Dominic watching me.

“Sorry, what?” I ask, flustered at being caught staring.

A pleased expression crosses his face. “The restraining order Grady filed against your mother has gone through.”

“Oh.” I blink at the turn in conversation. “How will that work?”

“As soon as your mother is served, she won’t be allowed to contact you in any way or come within three hundred feet of your home, both here and at your apartment.” His gray eyes hold mine. “I forwarded a copy to your email. We’ll receive confirmation once the order is in place.”

I swallow the lump forming in my throat. “Thank you. That…means a lot to me.”

“Well, it was Grady who started it.” Dominic rocks on his heels. “We just got our lawyer to push it through faster.”

Nathaniel’s hand settles on the small of my back. “Soon you won’t have to hide your phone in your desk.”

“That will be a relief.” My shoulders sag. “Maybe then I’ll be able to focus on my outline.”

“Have you received a counteroffer from your publisher yet?” Dominic asks.

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