He snorts and lets the door slap in my face, so I’m guessing it has something to do with the Marines. Making a mental note to brush up on my military history – and check that Otley has installed a good coffee machine in the new house – I head back across the farm to the SUV. Cooper is waiting by the door, although I’m pretty sure he was somewhere in the bushes during my chat with Logan. “No problems with the jarhead?”
I shoot him a warning glance as we climb into the car. “Watch it, Cooper. He’s not someone I want pissed off.”
The burly alpha gives a soft snort. “We can handle one Marine, Mr. Castle.”
“Drop the mister stuff, will you?” I sigh, rubbing my eyes. Shit, I’m so sleep deprived I can barely feel my face. “I want Logan to be happy we’re here. That means you should treat him as part of our pack.”
“Seriously?”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard my security expert sound so astonished. “Packadjacent, if it makes you feel better. But I need him on our side, okay?”
Cooper nods. “Whatever you say, sir.”
God, that’s even worse. Crest used to insist on his staff calling him sir and it always made my skin crawl, especially since he surrounded himself with impressionable young omegas. Fucking creep. I think about Logan telling me to piss on his grave, and I can’t resist a small smile. Seems we have more in common than just Lily and Leo.
“Home now, sir?”
“No.” I press the button on the chair, reclining it until I have a perfect view of Lily’s house and the first hint of dawn bleeding into the sky. “I want to wait here a little longer.”
“Okay.” He taps his fingers on the wheel, barely restraining a full-body twitch. “Are we waiting for anything in particular?”
I glance at my watch, which is still on Alaskan time, and add a couple of hours. “What time does Starbucks open around here?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN – LILY
“Mom, why is Agent Ripcord sitting on our porch?”
I blink away the dream I’m having about pushing a broken cart through an empty grocery store, and focus on Leo’s puzzled face. He’s standing beside my bed, picking at the scrape on his cheekbone while also munching on a banana. I immediately see the issue with his new multi-tasking abilities. “Where’s your sling, Leo?”
“I took it off.” He shrugs and tosses his banana in the air. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. See?”
“I see.” I take his hand and gently lower the airborne fruit. “But unless you got a medical degree while I wasn’t looking, that decision is up to Dr. Burns.”
“Ew. Nothim, Mom. Hesmells.”
I push back the comforter with a huff, trying to will some life into my heavy legs. Dr. Burns is an elderly alpha who likes bathing in Old Spice aftershave, but that’s not my main concern about our upcoming clinic visit. Since Dr. Munster and Rosie have had the longest unofficial mateship in Knotty Falls, Ialways get the family discount for checkups, but Dr. Burns has no reason to cut me the same deal.
“We can stop at Kaysie’s for a cherry sundaeafteryour checkup.”
“Choc-wat?” he wheedles, shoving the rest of the banana into his mouth.
“Ugh. I guess it’s all one big sugar rush.”
“Yes!” He does a happy dance while I check my alarm clock, only to realize I hit the snooze button about an hour ago.
“Damn,” I mutter, running my fingers through my riotous curls. I went to bed without drying my hair last night, and I’m paying for it this morning.Thank the heavens for bandanas, I think as I grab a clean one from the pile in my dresser and hustle into the bathroom. This one has tiny cupids on it, because I couldn’t find a print with just bows and arrows. I make a mental note to take it off before I see Kaysie, in case she gets any big romantic ideas, and then quickly pull on a Rosie’s Blooms polo and fresh jeans. Even though Marion is covering the farm while we’re in town, it never hurts to do a little free advertising.
When I’ve slapped on my usual sunblock-lip gloss combo, I hurry downstairs, wondering how I’m going to compress my morning routine into the next ten minutes. “Leo, have you taken care of the chickens?”
“About time, Mom,” he grumbles from the window. His sling is back in place, although a baseball is clutched in his hand as he hops from foot to foot. “He said I can’t let him in until you get up.”
“What?” I stop abruptly halfway across the room. “Who are you talking about?”
“Agent Ripcord,” Leo clarifies with a heaving sigh. “Itoldyou, Mom. He’s waiting on the porch.”
Oh. My. God.
“Ellis is on the porch?”
