Page 73 of Combust
The two male shifters openly sized each other up. Maggie felt what she termed, “a disturbance in the Force” coming through their mate bond.Uh-oh.
She hastily disentangled herself from Chris and went to kiss Cade hello.
Then, gripping her mate’s hand firmly and trying to project soothing thoughts through their bond, she said, “Cade, I want you to meet my brother Matt, his mate Sophie, and Sophie’s other mate, Chris.”
Cade’s dark brows shot up when he heard “other mate.” But he didn’t say anything.
Maggie continued, “Everyone, this is my mate, Cade Hunter. He’s also the new foreman at the ranch.”
“Nice to meet you, Cade,” said Matt, coming forward. He looked Cade up and down, then leaned in to give Cade a quick guy-hug, complete with pounding his back.
“So, you’re my new brother-in-law,” Matt continued with a crooked smile as he stepped back. “Welcome to the family. You’re a brave man to mate my sister.”
“Hey!” Maggie protested, in mock anger.
Cade just grinned. “I always did like a challenge. Somethin’ tells me I’m never gonna be bored.”
He nodded at Sophie and Chris. “Pleased to meet y’all. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Same here,” Sophie said, beaming at him. “And it was all good,” she added, quickly.
Cade flashed her a grin. “Mighty glad to hear it.” Then he hefted the takeout bag he held. “Miz Annabeth, I got Maggie’s message about y’all having to work late again tonight, so I thought I’d swing by with some supper.” He looked around. “I should’ve ordered extra.”
“We decided to surprise everyone,” Matt explained.
“Well, I don’t want to intrude on this reunion,” Cade said. “And I still got a few chores to finish back at the ranch. I’ll see y’all later.” He bent to kiss Maggie. “Have fun catching up with your brother and friends,” he murmured. “I know you’ve missed ’em something fierce.”
“I’ll be home before bedtime,” she promised. “And thank you for driving all that way to bring Mom and me dinner.”
“Yes, that was really thoughtful of you,” Annabeth chimed in.
He flushed. “It was my pleasure.” He handed her the bag, which smelled like Maggie’s favorite Italian sausage pasta dish. “Miz Annabeth, nice to see you.”
When the bakery door closed behind Cade, Sophie gave Maggie a thumbs-up. “He’s adorable!” she exclaimed. “I can’t wait to hear all about how you guys met.”
“I heard he landed in jail his first night here,” Matt said.
Maggie glared at him. “Because he fought a shifter guy who scared the crap out of me.”
“Oh?” Matt’s expression softened. “Cade was protecting you? That’s okay, then.”
Maggie rolled her eyes at him.
“About dinner,” Annabeth said. “We can share, but—”
“I’ll order some pizzas,” Maggie offered. “It’s only a short walk from here.” She had discovered, to her chagrin, that the Italian restaurant had recently stopped offering delivery.
“I’ll come with you,” Sophie said, instantly. “Maggie and I have some catching up to do, and I’m sure you want to have some time to talk to your mom, Matt.”
“I’ll walk across the street and say hi to Justin and Rob,” Chris offered.
Maggie phoned in her order for two large pizzas, then bundled up in her winter coat, scarf, and knitted hat.
She and Sophie strolled slowly down Main Street in the direction of the river.
After half a block, Sophie sighed happily. In the wintry air, her breath puffed out as a pale cloud.
“It’s so good to be back home,” she said, gazing up at the strings of colored lights stretched across the street. There were wreaths decorating the streetlight poles, and swags of greenery strung across many of the storefronts. “I like Los Angeles, but I really miss having four seasons. California only has two—the green one and the brown one. It seems like it’s raining half the year, and burning the other half.”
