Me:Bad enough Jackson Miller was heading toward the general store before I intercepted.
Grayson:Where are you now?
Me:Main Street. Keeping watch until she's done.
River:Good. I'm locking up in ten and driving her home.
Grayson:We need to talk. All of us. Tonight.
River:My place at 8. Grayson, can you bring Bea?
Grayson:On it.
I pocket my phone and lean against the patrol car where I have a clear view of the entrance.
Twenty minutes later, River emerges with Bea at his side. Even from here I can see the mark on her neck—high enough that her collar doesn't quite hide it.
Ours.
River spots me immediately and raises a hand. Bea follows his gaze and waves, a smile lighting her face that makes my chest tight.
River's driving her home. Keeping her safe until the meeting tonight.
I watch until his truck pulls away, then get back in my patrol car. Two more hours of shift, then River's place at 8.
By 7:45,I'm pacing River's living room.
"You're going to wear a hole in my floor," River observes from the couch.
"Her heat could start anytime. Days, maybe. We don't know. What if we don't know what to do? What if she needs something and we can't?—"
I pull out the small notebook I keep in my jacket pocket. Open it to the page where I've already written "Heat Prep" at the top and underlined it twice.
"Are you taking notes?" River asks, something between amused and fond in his voice.
"We need a plan. Supplies." I click my pen. "What if she gets dehydrated? What if?—"
"Seth." He sits up. "Breathe."
I take a breath. A real one. But I don't put the notebook away.
"We won't screw this up," he continues, "because we care about her. Because we'll ask what she needs. Because we're doing thistogether."
Together. The word helps.
I write it down.Together. Ask what she needs.
He checks his phone. "They'll be here in five."
The sound of a truck engine cuts through my thoughts. Doors slam.
Oh god. She's here.
The door opens and she walks in, and?—
Oh god.
The intensity hits me first—cinnamon-apple gone thick and honeyed, so sweet it makes my mouth water. She's wearing jeans and a soft sweater that slides off one shoulder, her hair down in loose waves.
