Page 97 of Spark
“According to you, there neverwasany danger to my guests,” Eddy reminded her. “Just my family.” He paused. “And you’re absolutely sure the ghost is gone now? There’ll be no more crazy stories from Esperanza's girls or the kitchen staff?”
“The ghost is definitely gone. I saw her leave myself,” Sophie said, thinking,Wait, I thought he didn’t believe in ghosts!
Eddy sat back in his chair. “And Caitlyn, you’re really planning to put this story in your next book?”
Caitlyn nodded. “It’s too good to pass up. And I’m sure Sophie’s writeup for the website is going to be pure gold.”
Sophie blushed.No pressure there, she thought.
“So, really, the only question is: do you want to capitalize on all the free publicity you’re about to get?” Caitlyn finished.
Eddy sighed wearily. “Do I have a choice?”
"Nope." Caitlyn shook her head and smiled cheerfully. “I’ll be in touch about that website writeup and the brochures. In fact, my summer intern here—” she tilted her head in Sophie’s direction, “can probably help you out, once she finishes writing up the story for the Mythtrust site.” She winked at Sophie. “You’re okay to work on the computer with that cast on your arm, right?”
Chapter Thirty
Grizzly Peak Ranch
Two weeks later
“Food’s almost ready! You guys just about finished up there?” Athena called from the bottom of the stairs.
Delicious smells had been tormenting Sophie and her new mates all morning.
Justin had arrived early to set up his big barbecues in the back garden, Elle and Margaret had been directing Dane, Mark, and the others to set up picnic tables and chairs under the fruit trees, and Daniel had spent hours in the downstairs kitchen busily cooking up a storm of appetizers and side dishes.
Annabeth had arrived about a half-hour ago, and had promptly recruited Matt’s cousins to help her unload the Cinnamon + Sugar delivery van, lugging dozens of trays loaded with a mouthwatering array of cookies, turnovers, and other pastries out to the back garden.
“We’ll be right down,” Sophie called in reply.
Chris and Matt finished positioning Sophie’s computer desk under the window in her new office in the tower room.
Sophie stood in the doorway, watching them. Her chest of drawers had already been moved into the master bedroom that they would all share from this day forward, and Matt had divided the big walk-in closet into equal thirds for their stuff.
Chris's old bedroom been converted into her office, complete with a beautiful set of antique bookshelves with mullioned glass doors that had been a housewarming gift from Elle. Those bookshelves had belonged to Matt’s great-great grandparents, and were a precious Swanson family heirloom.
“Perfect,” Sophie told her men. “Thank you. I wish I could have helped.”
She waved her cast at them, grinning, and they grinned back.
“My pleasure, ma’am,” Matt said, doing his best imitation of a movie cowboy.
“Happy to oblige,” Chris said, matching his friend and co-mate’s tone.
It was a big day for the three of them. Not only was this her official move-in day with her mates, but after some lengthy discussions between Sophie, Chris, and Matt, and the senior members of both the Swanson bear shifter clan and the Cougar Lake sabertooth pride, they had settled on a way to formalize their unconventional relationship. Caitlyn's husband Mark, who was an attorney, had drawn up the necessary domestic partner paperwork, wills, and other legal documents that would stand in place of an actual marriage between the three of them.
Not everyone approved of their mating, of course. And as Sophie had expected, the news had fueled a lot of gossip and rumors in their tight-knit community over the past few weeks, overshadowed only by the arrest and indictment of Sven Tringstad and his two daughters.
For the first time in her life, Sophie didn’t care if someone disapproved of what she’d done. She was gloriously happy with Matt and Chris. Their relationship might not follow the rules, but their bond was real, and deep. Getting to spend the rest of her life with her two best friends was all that mattered.
She knew she was extremely fortunate. Unlike the tragedy that had consumed the Ornelas and Tringstad families when two of their relatives defied convention in the name of love, the Swanson and the Langlais families had quickly recovered from their initial shock at the triad mating, and now accepted it.
The past two weeks had been filled with lots of plans and hard work.
After sweating over multiple drafts of her story, Sophie had finally completed her article about the haunting of the Bearpaw Springs Resort and its ties to the murder of newlywed Laura Tringstad and suicide of her husband Silvio Ornelas.
Caitlyn had praised her for doing a great job, paid her generously, and the story had appeared on theMythtrust Newswebsite two days later.
