Page 16 of A Mate Betrayed

“Morning, Keegan,” Daire said.“This is Kinleigh.She’s Luna Payton’s cousin.”

“Oh, then double welcome.”A woman stepped from the back to behind the counter.“And this is my cousin, Mairi, visiting from Scotland.”

The pretty redhead waved at them.

“I’ll take a dark brew with sugar,” he ordered, then turned to Kinleigh.“My treat.”

“A small cappuccino, please.”She nudged Daire.“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

In a few minutes, Daire paid and they waved as they left.

“You were right,” she said as she sipped her coffee.“This is good.”

Daire drove them to the construction site where he worked on new single-family homes for the growing town.Payton told her there had been a mass application to join the pack, so much that she needed someone to help with all the petitions.Her cousin had even asked if she wanted to stay in Sheridan and work for them.

For a moment, Kinleigh actually thought about it.Even though she loved her dad and her pack, a restlessness flowed under her skin.An itch to find the place in this world where she belonged since Vaughn had taken away her future as Luna.Whoever her father trained to become alpha would have his own mate, regulating her to watch from the sidelines.It wasn’t that she yearned for that position, but she’d grown up with the knowledge that whoever she married would be alpha.

Until the High Luna gave her a cheating liar of a mate.

“Jericho wanted each house to be eco-friendly,” Daire explained, snapping her out of her dark thoughts.From the tool chest in his truck bed, he pulled out two white hard hats and passed one to her since they were in an active construction site.“Recycled glass.Recycled steel.Reclaimed wood.We also use precast concrete, which takes less energy and material to produce.”

They walked along the dirt-strewn road, past houses in various stages of completion.The hum of saws, hammers, and drills echoed around.Various people raised their hands in greeting.The layout of the community impressed her, showcasing how Jericho paid attention to the needs of his people.

“Hey, Daire!”

They both stopped and turned as a man hurried up to them.He was big and brawny, good looking in a lumberjack sort of way.Short dark hair, dark beard, wearing flannel.

“Morning, Beta Ledger,” Daire said.“Have you met Kinleigh?”

“Not yet, but I do know you’re Payton’s cousin.I’m Ledger Klayman.”

She bowed her head to honor his rank.“Nice to finally meet you.”

“Hey,” he said, looking at Daire.“I looked over the estimates you dropped off and I like the numbers.”

“Great,” Daire said, smiling.“I’ll place the order once I drop Kinleigh at Jericho’s.”

“All right, I’ll see you later.”Ledger turned to Kinleigh.“My mate and I are planning a barbecue this weekend.I hope you can come.”

“Thank you,” she replied.“I’d like that.Is there anything I can bring?”

“Bring whatever andwhoever.”He threw a wink toward Daire.

She saluted him.Ledger turned and gave a wave before heading back to one of the framed-out houses.

Kinleigh glanced up at Daire.“We’ve established we’re not calling this thing we’re doing as dating, so I’m not calling it a date, but would you like to go to the barbecue with me?”

He slid his arm around her lower back and pulled her into his body.“I would love to go on another non-date date with you.”

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