Page 126 of Beware of Dog

Cass swallowed hard. “I know that.”

“Is he good to you?”

“Very.” It was an answer she could give immediately, and without reservation. “There’s…” she started, and thoughtmaybe that’s too much, but then she thought about what she’d meant to say. Thought about Shep in all his uncouth, grouchy, charmless wonder, and knew that it was the right thing to say. “I’ve never had a man treat me this well before. No one.” Not even, she didn’t need to say, the ones related to her by blood.

Emily’s brows lifted, face smoothing with quiet shock. “Well.” She nodded.

Cass let out a deep breath and felt the last of her nervous tension drain away. “I’m happy, Mum. I really am.”

Emily smiled. “I can tell.” She sniffed, and rubbed at her nose with a knuckle, but thankfully didn’t tear up. She gazed at Cass a long moment, still smiling. “I’m so proud of you, darling.”

“For getting married?”

“For following your heart. For being brave enough to come here, and study your art, and be with the man who takes care of you.” Then the tears formed, big fat droplets that gathered on her lower lids.

“Oh, Mum…”

“No, no.” She swiped a hand through the air and blinked hard. “Happy tears, happy tears.”

Cass stepped in close to hug her, and it felt like another hurdle had been cleared.

~*~

The rest of the Tennessee contingent arrived on Thursday morning, courtesy of Ian’s jet. Raven had volunteered to host them, and Cass wasn’t sure if it was better to be there already when they arrived, or show up afterward.

“You’re so nervous it’s making me nervous,” Shep said, while she adjusted her top in front of the bedroom mirror.

“I’m not nervous,” she said, and when she smoothed her hair, her exhale was audibly shivery.

“Yeah. Uh-huh. Who is it? Walsh? Fox?”

“And Shane, and Albie, and their old ladies. And the girls: Violet and Abbie.”

“Maybe they won’t commit murder in front of their kids.”

“We can only hope.”

Tenny and Reese rode over with them, and Cass was grateful for their presence; more grateful still when they stepped off the elevator and Tenny stepped out first, leading the way.

“Seriously?” Shep asked. “I don’t actually need a human shield, bro.”

Tenny half-turned as he walked, hand clasped to his chest, expression mock-touched. “Babe, did you hear? He called me ‘bro.’ We’re brothers.”

“In-law,” Shep stressed. “And not fucking yet, so don’t test me.”

Chuckling, Tenny walked the last few feet to the door and let them in with the key. Voices spilled down the hall, not loud, but many of them, and overlapping.

Shep hesitated at the threshold. “Shit,” he murmured. “That’s a lot of British.”

Cass took his hand and, heart pounding, donned a smile she didn’t feel and tugged him forward in Tenny’s wake. “Let’s rip off the bandage.”

“If he shoots me,” he said, “wear something hot to my funeral.”

She laughed, and was still laughing when they entered the crowded living room. The laughter dried up quickly when her gaze traveled around the room and she saw that every one of her brothers, save Phillip, was all crammed into the same space. Raven’s flat was huge, but there were so many of them that it looked cramped, now.

Several calls of, “Hey!” went up.

Movement pulled Cass’s attention in multiple directions: Eden scooping up Abbie before she could snatch a crystal swan off the coffee table; Emmie standing up from the sofa; Violet launching forward with a cry of “Uncle Ten!” and bolting straight for him.

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