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ChapterSeventeen
Cindy
Caleb was glued to the living room window. “Whoa. There’s a huge truck out there.”
“Oh, yeah?” Huge with a four-year-old was relative. But it was pretty impressive anyone managed to get a big truck up to Green Mountain. “What’s it doing?”
We were waiting on Bibi and her entourage, but that wasn’t exciting for them anymore. They’d accepted them as part of their lives.
That was what I loved about kids. If you were cool, you were in.
“They’re backing up! Coming to our house. Carter, come look.” Caleb pressed his face against the window, and Carter would have to position himself at the other window to have a chance to see anything.
The shrill beeping that confirmed Caleb’s claim pierced right between my eyes. I’d had more champagne than I’d drank in a while last night. And sleep? Right. That didn’t happen. Every creak of the old house had me out of bed, checking on the kids. If Carter’s claim was correct—he was half asleep, and his flair for embellishing the truth had to be considered—and I’d caught Pedro sneaking in here, he’d have to deal with me.
“Bibi’s here,” Carter said. “I think she’s moving in.”
“This is our territory,” Caleb protested.
“Don’t you dare.” I pressed my lips together not to laugh. As gross as this peeing-on-everything phase was, it was kind of funny. But they could never know Mom thought so. Not until they were old enough for me to embarrass them in front of their potential mates with baby pictures and mortifying stories.
“Good morning.” Bibi kissed my cheek and breezed in when I opened the door. She somehow managed to make a velour running suit look stylish. When I wore sweats, I looked like I’d gone through the washing machine with them. “I hope you got your beauty sleep last night, because we’re getting straight to work.”
“Are you moving in?” Carter asked.
“I have my own cute little bungalow on Colorado Ranch. Right near the mercantile, so the next time you stop and see Miss Jenny and Miss Gretta for some pie, you can come see my house.”
Caleb wrinkled his nose in confusion. “What’s a bungalow?”
“A fancy little house perfect for Aunt Bibi,” I laughed. “Seriously though, what are we doing?”
A cluster of people stood on my front lawn. The shifters looked familiar, but the humans didn’t.
“I told you that the makeover started today. Meet Sarah, Annie, and Jani. All of them are interested in babysitting, so I thought it would be a good idea for everyone to get to know each other in a low-pressure setting. Then when you have a date, or maybe you just need some time to yourself, you’ll have someone to call.”
I waved to them. I knew Sarah and Annie from the pack, and Jani was a Colorado Ranch wolf. They were all good candidates. They’d face scrutiny from our pack for helping me out, but I loved that they were here anyway. “Thank you so much. If the kids give you any trouble, let me know. Something tells me Bibi will be keeping me busy this morning.”
“Something told you right.” Bibi grinned. “Last night we discussed new houses, but we have to fix this house first. Even if you’re not moving, you need a fresh start. Especially your bedroom. Let’s give you a place that’s all yours, with no ties to the past. So, while the big strong men I hired move your old furniture out and replace it with this temporary set, we’ll be going through your closet, deciding what to keep and what needs to go. Like anything that belongs to Pedro. That all needs to go.”
“All his stuff is there.” I took a seat on the edge of the couch to absorb the shock. It wasn’t my best choice, because the kids had started running back and forth on it as the moving guys came into the house. In their eyes, the only way we could top this was if they’d brought construction vehicles or an actual airplane. Good luck to the ladies that had been charged with watching them today. “I haven’t been able to bring myself to get rid of it.”
“Why don’t we go into the kitchen? I brought breakfast for everyone.”
“We had breakfast,” Caleb said.
His brother, obviously interested in more breakfast, glared at him.
“I bet whatever Bibi brought is a treat, and sometimes it’s okay to have second breakfast.”
She opened the bag to reveal still-warm blueberry muffins. My stomach growled in appreciation.
I cut one in half for the boys to share, and then another for me to share with Charlotte. My girl was not a morning person, and she was more than content to take her treat at the table in her booster seat with the ladies.
Bibi took a sip from her blinged-out travel coffee mug. It had been branded for The Mating Game. Nice. “How come you’re still hanging onto his stuff?”
“A piece of me never thought this would be permanent. And throwing it away—you’re not going to throw it away, are you?”
The thought made me panic. It shouldn’t. If he cared about his crap, he would’ve brought it with him.
“Haven’t decided what we’ll do with it. But if you hadn’t said anything, we’d probably throw it out.” Bibi took a bite of her muffin. “We can store it if you’d prefer.”
“At some point, he’s got to stop running. He’ll need his things.”
“You’re a very good-hearted person. And you deserve to have a bedroom that makes you feel like the sexy she-wolf that you are. A sanctuary where you can get away from everything and get a good night’s sleep.” She pulled a tablet out of her bag and swiped the screen before sliding it across the table. “Pick anything on this site. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
Charlotte became very interested in the brand-new screen. I pulled her onto my lap so she could look too.
“Shouldn’t I wait for L—” I stopped myself. “Did you see the news?”
“I did. The stories didn’t say anything that he didn’t tell us last night. I’m disappointed that the story got leaked, but that happens with these shows. You can’t live and die by the press, Cindy. You’ll drive yourself crazy.” Bibi tipped her head and studied me. “Something in that story made you think differently about him.”
“I don’t think he’s faking how he feels about me.” More like, I really didn’t want him to be faking it. “But every time someone mentions the acting thing, it makes me wonder if this is a game to him. A way to stay in the spotlight. Which makes me wonder if he’ll leave me after I’ve served my purpose.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Bibi put her hand over mine. “That’s exactly what he’s worried about. He wants nothing more than to prove to you he’s for real. He’s going to show us the real Logan Mathis. Not the actor. The wolf.”
“What if he never shifts again?”
“Does that matter to you? You’re asking, so I would wager a guess that it does.”
“What if he can’t claim me?”
Bibi paused for a beat. “Maybe he can claim you in other ways.”
“I wouldn’t know who I was without my wolf. And I don’t think he doesn’t have his wolf. He’s in there, I can sense him. But I don’t know how the rest of the pack will accept him if he can’t shift. They’ll challenge him. Challenge us.” I kept my voice low. There was no way Sarah and Annie hadn’t seen the news—I had countless texts from other she-wolves in the pack with shocked emojis, asking what I was going to do. I didn’t need to add fuel to the fire.
Bibi raised a brow. “Would you deny his mate claim based on what your pack wants?”
“No. It’s time for me to stand up to my pack. I thought they knew what was best for me.” I peeked around the corner, making sure no one was listening. But the boys had roped their new babysitters into playing mover with them. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the ones who are fighting me so hard are afraid we have some she-wolves willing to walk away from their wolves. Convenience isn’t what is best for this pack. We need passion. We need change.”
“If they do walk, The Mating Game will be happy to help them find their forever mates.” Bibi grinned. “You’re a brave wolf, Cindy. It’s not easy to be the only one willing to ask for more. But I can tell you, it’s worth it.”
“That’s pretty high praise coming from the bravest wolf I ever met.” I could talk a big game all I wanted, but if I really wanted to change things on Green Mountain, I had to put it into action. It wasn’t just the flash of the TV show. It was the little things, like taking back my bedroom.
Guilt twisted my insides. Pedro had picked this cabin for us. He’d fixed it up the best he could, and it had been our home for ten years. But he’d chosen something different, and now it was my turn.
What would happen the next time he made one of his stealthy, middle-of-the-night visits and saw I’d actually moved on...
I leaned forward, so only Bibi would hear me. “Carter said that Pedro’s been slipping in to visit them in the middle of the night. He was half asleep when he said it, and sometimes the kids come up with some wild stuff—”
Bibi gasped. “Maybe it’s not safe for you to stay here while we film. What do you think about getting a couple of rooms at the chalet? We won’t have the entire building to ourselves, like we did during the filming of the Werewives, but we can make sure we have security outside of your rooms twenty-four-seven.”
Which meant I’d be near Logan all the time... “No. The chalet is incredible, and the kids would probably love it, but I won’t let any wolf chase me away from my home.”
“Good for you. If you change your mind, all you have to do is say the word. A van will come get you immediately. But if you’re staying here, you’ll have round-the-clock security. And it’s time to make some changes to the inside.” She pointed to the tablet.
A chill went down my spine.
Pedro wouldn’t hurt us. Right?
But there was no telling what he might do to Logan. And in his human form... No. I refused to worry about that.
Bibi and her crew were afraid of something bigger.
The human men carried my old mattress out the front door. If I was ever going to get a good night’s sleep in my brand-new bed, I had to stick to my convictions. I turned my attention to the tablet, letting Charlotte attempt a couple of swipes before I got to business.
“Oh. This set is gorgeous.”
“Let me see.” Bibi reached for the tablet, and her face lit up when she saw what I’d chosen. “I love this for you. The total opposite of what you have now.”
Everything was white—from the cushioned headboard to the carvings on the nightstands and the bureau. Two silver lamps flanked the bed, and the sheets were a pale paisley pattern. It was soft enough not to look ridiculous in my mountain cottage, but feminine enough that I’d feel like a queen laying my head on all those pillows.
Pedro thought pillows that looked pretty were stupid. All I had were four lumpy, ugly things that somehow always got twisted in their cases.
“If you want it, we’ll place the order right now,” she added.
