Page 42 of Cold Foot Cash

And now here he was, sitting next to a bonfire, watching her chatter with the females of the Cold Foot Crew, and wishing he would’ve found her years ago—back before she’d met her ex,before he’d gone down his troubled roads, back before he’d gone to prison. All of that time had been wasted.

Harley had pulled her long hair into a ponytail as she played horseshoes with the girls, and the blond curls up front had fallen out. Her blue eyes were bright and happy, and he loved every single thing about her body shape. Loved how she was shorter than him, loved that she had curves. Loved that she was confident. Loved how nice she was to the other girls, and how easy she fell into conversations with anyone here. Loved the way she moved. Loved the way she couldn’t seem to keep her attention off him for long.

He understood that. He was feeling the same.

“I know that look,” Wreck said from where he sat beside Cash.

When he looked over at his Alpha, he was taking a swig of Happy Hooker beer that Cash had put in the cooler.

“I don’t have a look,” Cash muttered.

“Mmm hmm.”

“We’re just friends.”

“She fits in well here,” Wreck observed.

Cash tried to change the subject. “How’s catfish hunting going?” he asked Kade.

“It would go faster if you could get me screenshots of some of the conversations. I bet its someone at the warehouse. I looked all over our pages, but no one ever mentions that you work there, so it has to be someone who actually knows for a fact that you work there.”

“I bet it’s Darth,” Cash muttered. “He’s always watching me. He gives me the creeps.”

“Maybe. We can look into Darth.” Kade crossed his arms and stared into the fire. “How’s maker-hunting going?” he asked Garret.

“It’s not going at all,” Garret said with no hesitation. “I don’t want to know.”

“Why don’t you want to know?” King asked. “Someone had plans for you, obviously. They Changed you without a bite, so that means they injected you, and then what? Never stepped forward after you were Turned to teach you how to be a shifter? Why? What was all that for?”

Garret shook his head. “I used to drive myself insane with it, but not anymore.” He lifted his attention from the sleeping baby in his arms, and there was truth to his tone when he assured them, “I’m good. To me, Raynah is my Maker now. She teaches me about my bear. You guys teach me how to balance my life. Why would I give a fuck about some mystery guy out there and his lame plans? Whatever his reasons, I got lucky.”

“You got lucky to get Turned into a shifter without consent,” Cash said out loud, just so Garret could hear how ridiculous that sounded.

Garret shrugged and looked around. “I bet my life is better than that guy’s. I got a good lady, got a baby, got friends, got a warm bed at night, got a job, got food on the table, got my brother—”

“Thanks for listing me last, Prick,” Dylan muttered.

Garret chuckled and dragged his attention back to baby Breah. “Whatever that guy’s reasons, I don’t care anymore. It isn’t about his plans. It’s about me and Raynah’s plans now.”

Wreck was sitting beside Cash, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Damon and I are still hunting him though, Garret. Even if you don’t want to know, what he did is against our laws. He can’t be allowed to get away with it. What is to keep him from doing that to someone else? What if that someone gets eaten up by having a new animal, and with no guidance? You ended up in a good place, but that was sheer luck. I want to turn your Maker into ashes. There is no excusefor what he did.” Wreck turned to Cash. “Harley fits in well here,” he repeated, and gosh dangit, the Alpha never forgot a conversation. Cash had failed to derail it.

“She’s got some things to get through before I can think about that stuff,” Cash said low.

“But you’re just friends though, right?” Wreck asked, his tone smug.

Cash glared at him. “You know, you aren’t allowed to be annoying while you drink my beer. Them’s the rules.”

Kade was standing on the other side of Wreck. “I think the rule should be we’re allowed to be annoying to you all the time, because you’re fucking annoying all the time.”

Garret was sitting in the camp chair on the other side of Cash, holding baby Breah. Without looking up from the baby, he said, “You say he’s annoying, but I say he’s hilarious.”

“Thank you,” Cash said. “That’s why you’re my best friend.”

“Since when?” Reed asked from Garret’s other side.

“Since all of you but Garret drank my beer!”

“I just don’t think that’s a good decider,” Dylan, Garret’s human brother said from where he stood staring at the flames on the other side of Reed.

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