Page 25 of Silver
“It’s his. The stickers on the back give it away. Clay was one of my brothers that showed up at my place this morning. He and Mica. I have a feeling that they’re inside, and it’s possible that they called Flint and Slate as well.”
Charlie gave me a terrified look. “Do they not work? And seriously, do you think that all four are in there?”
I sighed as I parked. “It’s possible. I swear, I didn’t mention coming here with you. But we do visit this place frequently. It’s likely that Clay and Mica came here after leaving my place. If you want to go somewhere else, we can.”
Charlie glanced at the door before looking back at me. The range of emotions moving across his face was a bit fascinating, to be honest. “No. Let’s go. I’m going to meet them soon enough, right? And they’re your brothers.” Charlie took off his seat belt and moved a bit toward the door before he looked at me over his shoulder. “Besides. You’re my mate, and if they act a fool about anything, you’ll defend me and kick their asses, right?” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he opened the door and slid out.
I was too busy smiling at the thought of defending Charlie by having it out with my brothers in our shifted forms to realize that my mate had just slid from my truck. It was a long way down for him, and that had me finally pulling myself from my thoughts and rushing out of the truck. I met Charlie in front of it, and he smiled up at me.
“Are you all right? You should have waited for me to help you down.”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do that next time. But I am a shifter, Silver. I can handle your truck. I understand why you have such a large one. Just like I have my tiny car.”
“About that,” I said as I took Charlie’s hand and laced my fingers with his. He stared at them a moment. I realized why and simply brought them to my mouth and kissed his. “I’m not going to ask you to get rid of your car. I never would. But I will ask that we take my truck when we go somewhere together. I just didn’t fit, Charlie. I get it that you love your car. But it was painful.”
Charlie stopped, and when I felt a tug on my hand, I looked back at my mate. He smiled at me. “I wouldn’t ask you to get in my car again. Not unless we weren’t given any other choice. Last night was different though. I didn’t know you, and you didn’t have a clue who I was. I’m good with taking your monster truck.”
I chuckled again. “True. And I can look for something smaller. Something that is a better fit for the two of us.”
Charlie shook his head. “No need. You keep your truck. I’ll give up my car when it comes time to start driving our kids somewhere. It’s not exactly stroller-friendly. And honestly, I’m not sure that a car seat will fit in the back all that well.” Charlie tugged on my hand. I was too busy suddenly thinking about Charlie being pregnant with our kids. Two days ago, the thought of kids never crossed my mind. Now? Oh yeah. I definitely wanted kids. The sooner, the better, as far as my gorilla and I were concerned. It would, of course, be up to Charlie, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t think about him being pregnant.
“Come on, Silver. You promised food, and I’m hungry. I didn’t expect such a workout last night, and now I need to replenish lost energy. Especially if we’re going to have a repeat later today.”
I smiled as I followed my mate to the diner’s door. I reached for it before he could, and the smile he gave me was worth everything. I followed Charlie in, stepping up behind himand immediately scanning the place for my brother. I found him. Actually, I found all four of them. Charlie either scented or sensed my reaction because he looked up at me. “What’s wrong?”
I smiled down at Charlie. “They’re all here,” I said quietly. Charlie’s smile fell a little.
“There you are, Silver,” Sally, one of the waitresses, said as she noticed me. “Your brothers are over there,” she added, then looked at my hand where it was on Charlie’s shoulder. “But maybe you’d like to sit up there?” She pointed to the corner booth in the front of the diner.
“Yes, that would be great.”
“Good. Just go have a seat, and I’ll be with you in a few.”
I led Charlie to the corner booth, and immediately, he slid into the seat facing the front, leaving me to look out into the diner. Exactly where I wanted to be so I could watch my brothers. They noticed exactly where we were, Clay and Flint both tracking our movements.
I narrowed my eyes at my brothers, who actually had the nerve to look embarrassed. “I know you want coffee,” Sally said as he came up to the table, then turned over the mug and poured coffee for me. “But how about you, cutie?” she asked. Sally was sweet and was amazing at her job. But the fact that she called my mate “cutie” didn’t sit right with me or my gorilla.
“Coffee is great,” Charlie said. He gave me a look, and then I felt him kick me under the table. “Why are you growling?” he asked.
“So it’s like that, is it?” Sally asked.
I looked up at her. “Yes. This is Charlie. He’s my mate, and you know I don’t mean anything by it.”
Sally rolled her eyes. “As if you or your gorilla could catch me.” Sally looked back at Charlie. “Do you know what you want?” she asked him. “I recommend special number two. It’sa tall order of hotcakes, three eggs made your way, two sausage patties, four strips of bacon, hash browns, and a side order of two biscuits and sausage gravy.”
“Oh yum. Yes, that sounds wonderful.” Charlie closed his menu and placed it back in the holder on the side of the booth.
“How would you like your eggs?”
“Over medium. Can I get some toast to go with them?”
“You got it.” Sally smiled at Charlie. “And for you, big guy? Do you want your usual?”
I nodded. “Can I get a glass of orange juice this morning as well?”
“Oh, me too, please?” Charlie added.
“Sure thing. Be out in a bit, and I’ll be back with your juices.”
