“I need that wooden toolbox you guys didn’t want.”
He braced his hands on his hips. “And what do I get?”
“My undying gratitude.”
“There you go again, making promises you can’t keep.” He winked at me before heading off. Despite his hat, he didn’t have a twang.
“Is that your mate?” I asked.
“The one and only Montana Vance. Don’t let him fool you. That man would paint this entire house yellow if I mentioned I like the color.”
I followed her gaze to the right, where Montana was turning the corner. Archer wasn’t chopping wood anymore.
Why would he be? Do you think he chops wood for two hours straight? Or were you just hoping he’d be so hot by now that he would have taken off that shirt and showed you his sexy muscles?
“Shut up, brain,” I muttered.
“What?” Robyn spun around. “Oh! You didn’t tell me your animal yet.”
My gaze shifted to a towering Native man trying to round up the mare. “I’m a horse.”
“Really? The only horse Shifter I know is Kevin.”
“Mercy mentioned him.”
Montana ascended the steps and handed Robyn a wooden toolbox. He gave her a quick kiss before heading inside.
Robyn took the pencils and markers from my hand and dropped them into the box. “You can keep this to store your pens and whatnots. Someone bought the wrong one at the store, so they were going to take it back. You see? Fate.”
I hefted the toolbox. “Thanks.”
“Do you want some water? I need water.” She staggered back to the door and headed inside.
Still eyeing the horse, I set the toolbox down and walked out to the pasture.
The Native man was taller than Bear and had a commanding presence. When he turned to face me, I stepped back at the jarring sight of the tribal tattoo inked on half his face.
Why would anyone tattoo their face?
He smiled. “You must be Cecilia. Hope told me you were coming by today. I’m Tak, the alpha.”
The horse ran by, her hooves beating against the earth.
“What are you trying to do?” I asked him.
“Bring her in.”
She whinnied and then trotted up to him before turning around. Then she kicked her back legs but wasn’t close enough to make contact with him.
“She’s being stubborn,” Tak said with an exasperated shake of his head.
“Why not leave her outside? You have a fence, and it’s summer.”
He rubbed his chin while watching her. “We have some difficult neighbors I don’t trust. She’s still getting used to her new packmates, and I don’t want her to get spooked and jump the fence in the dark.”
I locked eyes with the snowy mare. “She wants to play.”
“She plays all day,” he said, giving a spirited laugh.
