“Reagan, wait.”
I followed the sound of the booming voice and saw a giant man with a baby in his arms, a gorgeous blonde woman rushing to catch the little girl who was making a run for my dog. “Baby, you need to wait for Mommy, remember? Rowan’s dog is a guard dog, so we need to ask permission.”
Reagan stopped immediately and looked up at her mom. “Okay, Mama.”
“I think we should put him up,” I said to Scooby.
“Why?” he challenged, nodding to my dog. “Look at him. He’s totally in love with Ori and he isn’t showing any aggression toward anyone. You’re the only one who’s freakin’ out here, Twinkles. Trust your training.”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt, honey.”
“No one’ll get hurt,” he promised. “I let everyone know about Lord, as you can see, and the adults will make sure their kids are careful.”
“Come here, RayRay,” Orion directed from his place on the floor. He held his hand up to me and smiled. “Give me the leash, Rowan. I got him.”
I glanced at Scooby who nodded, so I handed Orion the leash. Reagan walked slowly toward him and knelt in front of Lord.
“Reach your hand out, baby, and let him sniff you,” Orion directed, and Reagan did so. Lord licked her hand immediately, making the little girl giggle. She didn’t need any further urging and threw her hands around his neck.
Scooby pulled me close before I could ‘rescue’ her. “She’s good, Rowan.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” the big man said. “She’s our animal lover. We cannot keep her away.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. Lord hasn’t had a lot of exposure to kids, so I was a little nervous.”
He smiled. “I’m Sundance, this is my woman, Wyatt, and this is Braxton.” He nodded to the baby sleeping in his arms.
“I’m Rowan.” I found myself leaning into Scooby, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people suddenly surrounding me. His arm tightened around me, and I felt instantly safe again as he introduced me to his brothers and their families. Orion had Lord well in-hand, so I was free to roam about the cabin, so-to-speak.
“Okay, you’ve hogged her long enough,” Violet decreed. “Our turn.”
I held Scooby a little tighter. “Um…”
Scooby leaned down and whispered, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“We’ll be gentle,” Raquel added.
“I’ve got Lord,” Scooby promised.
I bit my lip and nodded. Scooby gave me a gentle squeeze and I reluctantly left him, following the ladies into the kitchen.
“Okay, tell us everything,” Violet demanded, holding up a bottle of red wine in question.
“What do you mean?” I asked, nodding to the wine.
“You’ve obviously made things official with Scooby,” Violet said.
“Um, well…”
“I can only assume the reason you’re not on the back of Scooby’s bike is because of your dog, right?” Violet handed me a glass of wine.
“Is that significant?”
“Don’t freak her out, Letti,” Raquel admonished.
“I’m not trying to freak her out,” Violet said. “Seriously. I was just asking to get the lay of the land. Because you’re one of us now, so we need to welcome you properly.”
“Jesus, Violet, you need to take it down a few notches,” Indigo hissed.