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He waltzes back into the room and slams the door on us.
The three of us share glances, each filled with heavy emotions.
“Well, that was fun,” Mom says.
Yeah, that’s one word for it.
“Let’s get back to the party and give Lexi her space,” Dad says, then glances at me. “Seems we’re going to get more time together than we thought. Maciah’s not sending you anywhere else now.”
No, I don’t imagine he will.
Chapter19
CAIT
Sitting on our back porch, even in the freezing weather, is still my favorite thing, but it’s even better with the snow because I get to watch snowman after snowman being built.
Though, nobody will beat mine.
He’s perfectly symmetrical and wearing a black top hat I bought in town the other day. His eyes are made from some stones I knew were down by the river along with his mouth, and I made sure to save a carrot from dinner for his nose.
One of my red scarves adorns his neck, and he has stick arms with three little branches at the end for fingers.
Just perfect.
A steaming cup of hot chocolate sits between my fingers as Lucinda joins me. “You totally cheated,” she says with a smirk that says she’s proud of me.
“I was merely prepared, and everyone else wasn’t,” I reply, tipping my cup toward hers.
We clink glass once she’s seated and watch not only the kids, but the adults run around looking for supplies. I did at least donate a few more items from the house to make things fair. Though, they have to look hard to find them in the trees beyond the yard.
“This was a great two days,” she says with a sigh. “I’d stay longer, but Dom and Raven will be home tomorrow.”
“Maybe we can do New Years at your place,” I suggest, though she’ll probably hate that idea.
“Why the hell not?” she replies. “We have a lot to celebrate.”
My head twists to face her more directly. “Never would I have thought Lucinda Morrow would welcome a horde of people into her home.”
“Meh. You guys have grown on me. Like a fungus I can’t get rid of. Seems easier to give in.” Her tone is dead serious, but I see the love in her eyes.
Grinning at her, I lean back in my chair. “I’m happy to be your fungus for the rest of our lives.”
“As if you have any choice,” she mutters quietly, almost as if she doesn’t intend for me to hear the words.
Soft footsteps sound from behind us on the porch, and I glance back, surprised to find our guest coming out of the house. Alone.
I stand to greet her. “Hello, Lexi.”
Her cheeks blush as she nods. “Cait.” Then, she looks between me and Lucinda. “I hope you don’t mind me interrupting.”
“Not at all,” I tell her, then gesture to a chair. “Have a seat.”
Lucinda eyes me suspiciously, but I ignore her. I’m not welcoming problems into my life. I’m merely being a good alpha female to my guest that I’ve been told hardly anything about.
Lexi sits, but doesn’t get comfortable, staying ramrod straight in the chair. “I came out here because I know I’ve just shown up, on Christmas of all days, and I wanted to personally make sure I had your blessing to be here. If you’d rather I leave—”
I cut her off with a wave of my hand. “Nonsense. Lykem is family, and now you are, too. We’ll find you a cabin tomorrow if you’re not ready to stay with your mate, and when you feel up to it, we can chat about where you’ve been and what we need to do about how you got there.”
