“I like Prince,” Maizy declared, putting a giant forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. Ivy pointed to the napkin on her lap and silently coaxed her to wipe her face. “He’s my hero and got me from the road with all those cars. I was really scared that no one would find me.”
Denver stretched his arm behind Maizy’s chair and angrily tossed his fork on his plate with a clang.
Mom looked at Austin. “He was the one who found her?”
Austin nodded and sliced up more of his meat. “He’s sent a few of his men to look for your ex. I don’t think he liked finding a little girl abandoned on the side of the freeway because her father decided to drop her off like a bag of garbage.”
“What are you going to do with this house?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Keep it,” Austin said with a mouthful. “It belongs to my parents and I don’t plan on selling. Maybe I can pass it on someday.”
Then he got real quiet and cut his meat into sizeable pieces.
“The house will fall apart,” I pointed out.
“Land doesn’t fall apart. The house can go for all I care,” he said, waving his fork around. “It’s the property that holds value. We can use it for a getaway whenever someone in the pack wants some time alone with their woman, or their wolf wants a private run.”
Ivy’s eyes brightened and she glanced around, as if she were thinking the same thing I was. What woman? These men didn’t seem like they were ever going to settle down.
Austin held the fork to his mouth and slowly pulled the meat from the prongs. He had a look on his face that only an inside joke could deliver. “You did mention something about a heat house.”
Oh God. I blushed so hard I had to pretend to drop my napkin on the floor and then bent over to pick it up. Someone in the room snorted with laughter and I was tempted to crawl all the way underneath the table.
“I want the key to that house,” Ben said from across the room.
“A place like that would be useful,” Ivy remarked. “I’d be interested in something like that.”
“What are you all talking about?” my mom finally chimed in.
I swear, I couldn’t get up. I kept staring at the floor, three seconds from bolting out of the room. Then I felt Austin hook his fingers around the waistband of my shorts as if he could read my mind.
“Females go into heat,” Austin said matter-of-factly.
Oh God, just shoot me now.
“Heat?” Mom asked, setting her fork down.
“It means they go into freak-mode,” Ben replied in a humorous tone from the other side of the room. “Ever seen a cat in heat?”
I tried to get up but Austin’s grip on my shorts tightened. I remained under the table, holding the napkin between my fingers and staring at my mom’s black shoes. She was probably wondering what the hell was wrong with me.
“It’s when they’re ovulating and their body wants someone to give them babies,” Maizy suddenly blurted out.
I sat straight up like a lightning rod and glared at her. “Who told you that?”
She tucked a large cucumber in her mouth and smiled. “I saw it on TV. That’s how kittens are born. Can we have a kitten?”
“No,” Wheeler cut in, tearing off a piece of his bread and stuffing it into his mouth. “We don’t like cats around here.”
“That’s all you,” Ben said. “I don’t give a shit about cats.”
“Watch your language around Maizy,” Mom scolded.
“Well,” Wheeler replied, “I don’t like cats. I don’t want them anywhere near me.”
Ben smirked. “What’s the matter, Wheeler? Afraid of a little pus?—”
Austin slapped his hand down on the table and everyone shut up. “We’ll head out before sunrise so we can get as much done as possible before it gets hot. I don’t want to hang around here any longer than we need to, so the sooner we move, the better. I’m going to close out the bills on this place by month’s end.”
