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“Not yet, sorry.” Their eager expressions dissolved at his reply.
Dammit.He loved his job and knew he was doing vital work safeguarding the state’s natural resources, but he hated missing out on precious time with his girls. He took a deep breath. “I wanted to tell you that made a very special new friend yesterday.”
“You have agirlfriend, Daddy?” Savannah demanded.
“I do.”
“Is she pretty?” Taylor wanted to know.
“She’s very pretty,” Lucas acknowledged. “But even more important, she’s a wolf shifter, and she hunts down bad guys, like I do. Would you like to meet her tonight, after dinner?”
To his relief, both girls nodded enthusiastically.
“She sounds cool!” Savannah exclaimed. “I’ve never met a wolf shifter before! What’s her name?”
“It’s Malia,” replied Lucas. “And I’ve told her all about you two kittens.”
“Is she going to be our new mommy?” Taylor looked curious rather than upset, but Lucas knew he had to handle this very carefully.
He shook his head. “No, kitten. You already have a mom, and she loves you very much. Malia will be more like…” He stopped to think, then came up with a solution. “Uncle Nathan.”
“Auntie Malia?” Savannah asked with a thoughtful expression. “Because Uncle Nathan is nice. He buys us ice cream whenever we go to the park.”
“And Malia is nice, too,” Lucas assured her. Now for the vital part of this conversation. “But, girls, there’s something really important you have to do for me.”
“Anything, Daddy!” Savannah said instantly. Taylor echoed her.
“Well, it’s a little tricky,” he explained. “You see, Malia doesn’t know about my identity as a superhero yet. When you talk to her this evening, do you think you can keep that secret? Just for a few days?”
They both nodded solemnly.
“It’s really, really important,” Lucas cautioned them. “You can’t forget. I’m close to catching some very bad people, and if anyone, even Malia, finds out about my secret, I’ll be in a lot of danger.”
“We won’t say a word, Daddy,” Savannah promised.
“Not a word!” Taylor repeated excitedly. “It’ll be our super-special secret!”
* * *
That afternoon, when Malia entered her cabin, she was greeted with the delectable aromas of roasting chicken and potatoes oven-frying in the drippings.
“Hi honey, I’m home!” she called, jokingly. She added, “And it smells fabulous in here.”
Lucas poured a glass of pale golden wine, and handed it to her before bending to kiss her.
After the emotional ups and downs of today—not to mention an extra-busy shift in this dismal weather—it was wonderful to return to her warm, dry home and receive this kind of greeting from her new mate.
“How was your day?” he asked.
She raised her glass in a silent toast to him. “Let’s just say that I really need this right now.” She took a sip, and discovered that he’d served her a smooth, buttery Chardonnay. “So, I told my brother and parents about our mating today. And my pack alphas.”
He smiled wryly. “I hope they didn’t give you too much of a hard time about it.”
Malia blew out her breath. “Rob and my folks were cool about it, and congratulated me. Great Uncle Bill and Great Aunt Mandy…not so much.”
“Damn. I’m sorry to hear that. The last thing I wanted was to cause any problems for you,” Lucas said, putting his hand on her arm.
“It’s not your fault,” she told him, then continued to the potentially uncomfortable part of this conversation. “But, since you’re technically part of the Bearpaw Ridge Pack now, you’re, um, ‘requested and required’ to attend our monthly meeting and potluck tomorrow.”
