“Carlie is human,” Georgia said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “But we don’t fault her for that. We’ve been friends with her family for many years. And she’s done us a favor a time or two.”
I guessed Carlie did know it all.
Connor stepped into the room with Wes, and when his gaze landed on Carlie, his eyes went wide. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.”
“Connor!” Carlie said, and ran into his arms. He smiled with brotherly affection.
“How are you, squirt? It’s been a while.”
“I’m good.” She stepped back, squeezed his arm. “You got muscles.”
Connor grinned. “I grew into them. How are you? How’s the bakery?”
“Donut Town will always be Donut Town,” she said with a rather infectious grin. She looked at me. “My family runs it. It’s up the road.”
“Best doughnuts on the north shore,” Georgia said, and Carlie grinned.
“You just like it because we keep shifter hours.”
“That’s part of the allure,” Georgia agreed. Then she looked around, clapped her hands together. “All right,” she said. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s eat before this gets cold. Grab a dish, and we’ll put it all on the table, eat family style.”
I grabbed a cloth-covered basket of buttery rolls, while Connor picked up the platter of chicken. And we headed into the dining room to have our fill.
TEN
Cassie brought Will, now in a onesie dotted with spot-eyed puppies, downstairs. He sucked drowsily on a blue pacifier.
“Dinnertime was a success,” she said, placing him in a white reclining contraption that looked like it might have been engineered by NASA. He stirred when she moved her hands away, opened his eyes wide and verged on a fuss, until Wes tapped the top of the device, and it began to swing gently back and forth.
The baby’s eyes drifted shut, his little body relaxing.
“Do they make those for adults?” Alexei asked.
Miranda walked in with a glass bowl of green salad, stopped when she saw Connor. Their eyes met, magic rising as they watched each other.
“Miranda,” he said.
“Connor.” She put the bowl on the table with an extra snap of sound, slid her gaze to me. “I see you followed through on your promise to bring a vampire onto clan property.”
“I always follow through. Thank you for stocking the refrigerator. Very thoughtful.”
Her smile went thin, mean. “I hope I bought something she can drink.”
“You did great,” I said. “She’s very appreciative.”
The cheer in my voice just made her scowl more, which, of course, had been the point.
“Are we going to have a problem?” Connor asked, tone mild.
“No,” Miranda said. “As long as you remember your place.” She moved a step closer, anger burning in her eyes. “You aren’t Apex, and you aren’t in charge here. And they don’t take kindly to input from strangers.”
This time, Connor moved closer, so the tips of their shoes nearly kissed, but looked over her shoulder, as if he couldn’t be bothered to meet her stare. “You remember that our memories are long. And I won’t forget your sowing discord in the Pack.”
“Our memories are long,” she agreed. “And I won’t forget your disloyalty to the Pack.”
“Children,” Georgia said, moving into the room with the bottle of wine Miranda had found. The word was part question and part warning, and the magic between Miranda and Connor shattered like glass.
“Sit down,” Georgia said, this time the words softer, and we all moved around the table.