Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
I swooped her up in my arms and carried her to the kitchen, so we could make more noise. “Yep. There was a storm last night, and a tree fell on her roof. See?” I held Remy up to the kitchen window to look out. The storm was long gone; the early morning sky was clear and bright. It still was surprising that Remy had slept through the whole thing.
Remy gasped.
A rock rolled over in my stomach, seeing the damage in the light of day. It looked apocalyptic. There was a tree branch in Joy’s house, having ripped a hole in the roof and the side wall. I could see framing and sodden insulation.
Joy could have died! If she were a shifter, she’d have been hurt but would have healed quickly. But no. If the tree or any large beams from the house had struck her, I would’ve lost my fated mate.
The thought made me ice cold. What if I’d found out my fated mate lived next door, only for it to be too late?
No. It wasn’t that. I was worried for anyone getting hurt like that. Any neighbor.
“Is she okay?” Remy asked, her little chin wobbling.
I stopped the doomsday thoughts before they got any more traction. Joy was safe in my bed. I’d carried her home and fucked the fear and trauma right out of her. I’d taken care of my mate’s safety and needs, not even realizing she was mine.
“Easy, she’s fine. You make big messes sometimes, just like that storm.”
“Can she keep staying here?”
I shook my head. “She’s got her own place. I’m sure someone’s going to cover the hole in the roof and the window today, so she can sleep there tonight.”
She thought about that for a moment, seemingly appeased because she asked, “Can I go see the storm’s mess?”
“No.” I answered too sharply–probably infusing alpha command in my voice, which froze Remy’s little body.
She might be a wolf with superior healing abilities, but it was still dangerous over there.
Remy was used to my grouchiness, but the alpha command brought out a hurt boo-boo lip. Tears swam in her big brown eyes.
Instant regret washed over me. “I’m sorry, baby. Daddy doesn’t want you over there because more of the roof might cave in. That storm’s messes are dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt. Ever.”
She continued with the hurt puppy eyes, and I gave her a squeeze. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Did I?”
She nodded with that lower lip still pushed forward adorably. This kid had me wrapped around every finger and toe.
I set her on the counter to kiss her head.
“What’s this?” she brightened, finding Joy’s now-cold, untouched cocoa on the counter beside the stove.
“Oh. I made that for Joy, but it’s no good now.” I took the mug from her before she could taste it and dumped it in the sink.
“Wait! Daddy!” she cried.
“I’ll tell you what. If you eat two eggs and two strips of bacon for breakfast, I will make you hot cocoa. Deal?”
I didn’t usually let her have that much sugar or caffeine in the morning, but taking a full mug of cocoa right out of her hand and dumping it was pretty insulting, even if the milk had probably spoiled.
She instantly cheered. “Okay.”
I let her stay up on the counter as I reached for a frying pan in the cupboard below.
“Good morning.”
My wolf growled with approval when a sleep-tousled Joy stepped into the kitchen, still wearing my flannel shirt–buttoned this time–that hung to her thighs. Fuck, she looked good enough to eat.
“Joy!” Remy hopped off the counter and ran to Joy who gave a surprised little oof as her legs got tackle-hugged.
Now that I knew Joy was my mate, every word she spoke to my kid was significant.
Her quick, easy smile, the brightness in her face, and the way she hugged Remy and tousled her hair meant everything.
I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to bed for another round.
My dick stirred at the thought of doing it again.
But no. I needed to push her out the door before Remy got attached.
Hell, I didn’t know if Joy even wanted another round with me. She’d been releasing steam last night. Trying to get the adrenaline of the accident out of her system.
Maybe I’d just been a vehicle to an end for that.
It certainly didn’t mean she was ready to move in and for me to mark her. To marry me if that was what she needed. It didn’t mean she was ready to commit to my kid.
And that mattered. I couldn’t let Remy get attached to her and have her heart broken if Joy wasn’t interested in us.
I needed to play this right. Joy was human and didn’t recognize me as her mate. Johnny, one of the guys who worked at the ranch with me, had told me he’d had to make his new human mate Emma fall in love with him. He’d knocked on her door to kill her boss and discovered she was his fated mate. He’d had to pivot, quickly.