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“Instead of involving Mindy’s mom, why don’t I just call Doug and say I’ve changed my mind about his offer to mate with him?” Cassidy suggested.
Mike inhaled. “I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I," Mason said. “If you say that you’ve reconsidered his offer—and you can make up any reason you want—I’m betting Doug will arrive with more than one or twofriends,” Mason said. “If he’s smart, he’ll think it’s a trap—which it will be.”
“Fine. What should I say to get him to come after me?”
Mike could tell all of this talk about Cassidy seeing Doug again was upsetting her, and he had other things on his mind. “How about we celebrate us being back together again? We can discuss taking down the Kitcheners at another time.”
“That sounds good.” Her smile wasn’t as full as he would have liked, but Cassidy did seem happier not having to think about the future for the moment. “I’m sorry I’m not myself. It’s been really hard these past few days, in large part knowing that you both would be upset that I left.”
“Upset?” Zach said.
“Shh. She feels bad enough,”Mike telepathed.
The server came just in the nick of time and asked for their order. It didn’t take them long to decide.
“Okay. How about angry or even furious? Look, I feel bad, but I did it to protect all of the Grangers. Don’t forget that when I found Zach all those weeks ago, his family was being attacked by some vigilantes.”
She had a point. “That is behind Zach’s family. We want to focus on you,” Mike said.
Cassidy placed a hand on his. “Thank you. I can see now that I wasn’t thinking straight. My first instinct is always to run.”
“I get it,” Mike said.
“I have a suggestion,” Cassidy said. “What if we see the sights of Idaho Falls tomorrow, mostly to give Alex and Liam time to contact those friends of theirs. If they agree to come to Wildwood, we can plan accordingly.”
“I love it,” Mike said.
“Since you won’t be sitting around brainstorming some devious plan, what do you think of me flying home?” Mason asked. “I want to pass all of this by Dad and round up a few of our clan to see who would be willing to do battle.”
“Fly home? You just don’t want to endure the drive back to Montana,” Zach said.
Mason grinned. “Well, there is that, but you have to admit having some pre-planning will be good.”
Mike held up a finger. “I think Mason’s idea is brilliant. And while you’re at it, see if there is any way we can get some reconnaissance on Doug’s clan. I have no idea what that would entail. It could be bugging their homes or their phones, or maybe even doing some kind of drone flyover. It would be awesome if we had an idea how many men Doug plans to come with—once he learns that the woman he desires is back in Wildwood.”
“When I return, I’ll see what Dad suggests, but short of driving there and planting some devices, I'm not sure what can be done. Dad might want to call his good friend General Armand. The man has more toys than Santa has at Christmas.”
They all laughed. Having a plan—at least a possible plan—felt good.
* * *
For the rest of dinner, Mike and Mason told stories about Zach. While Zach wasn’t always pleased that they had to mention some of his more embarrassing moments, Cassidy loved learning about him. Then Zach decided to turn a few tables on Mike and tell a few tales about him from high school.
“Mike and I were on the basketball team our freshman year. Even then all the girls were after him,” Zach said.
Mike pretended to be shy. “Not all the girls.”
Zach laughed. “Almost all of them. Anyway, after we won this big game, Fabiola Sanchez, a girl Mike liked, motioned him over to the bleachers.”
“That’s because she said she’d lost her phone and wanted me to help her find it.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes. “You fell for that old trick?” She was teasing him. It was rather clever.
“The point is that she and Mike started making out. Mike must have been so smitten that he forgot that her father was the assistant principal.”
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me her dad caught them?” Cassidy asked.
