She looked up at him and waited for whatever he wanted to show her.
“See that land between Emmalyn’s and Barron’s house, and the pool way at the end of the street?”
“Yes.”
“It’s mine. I just arranged to build there.”
She turned quickly and looked up at him, with her mouth hanging open in surprise.
“What?”
“You’re joking.”
“No, I’m not. It’s mine. And I’m going to build a house on it. For me and my family.”
“Your family?” she repeated, her voice soft.
“Yep.”
“And that would be?”
“Don’t know yet. Working on it. But it’s safer than safe back here. Emmalyn used to be not only an FBI agent, but she’s also a Bear. And then with Havoc and Analise across the street…”
“Oh, we’re on that again. Okay, I’ll play. So, if Emmalyn is a Bear shifter, what is her husband? Wait, you called him a mate. What is her mate?”
“He’s a Bear, too. But he’s a Grizzly, with some unusual talents.”
“Like what?”
“Well, his father is a Bear, but his mother is a Dragon. And he’s inherited things from both of them.”
“Definitely a couple you want to stay on the good side of,” Giada said, smirking at him.
“Without a doubt. Everybody that lives in this neighborhood is either a sibling, or a cousin. And our parents, the generation above us, all live across the highway. It’s safe here. Nobody will be harmed here ever again.”
“I like the idea of that. Wait, again?”
“It’s a long story. Emmalyn had a stalker, but she’s fine, now. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that part.”
“No, it probably means you’re all safer now because you realized there could still be vulnerabilities.”
“Very true. You ready to go home?”
“Let’s go. Show me your home.”
They pulled up in the driveway of Remi’s house a minute later. “This is beautiful,” Giada said.
“Thanks. It’s a guest house. Used to belong to my cousin, Remi. But he sold it back to the clan when he moved to Missouri to try to win his mate back. Now it’s just a guest house for anybody that needs a place to stay while they’re in town, or if there’s a problem with their own house — renovations or something. There are two more guest houses up on the first street we passed when we first turned in off the highway. And there’s another one behind us, that way,” he said, pointing past the house. “They sit on the river though, and that’s something I just don’t want. Sitting right on the river.”
“Why not?”
“I just prefer the land. My sister, Hellen, she married a Gator shifter, so they intentionally moved back there for proximity to the water.”
“You should write a book,” she said, shaking her head as she allowed him to lead her toward the front door.
“About what?” he asked.
“About this crazy shifter family you’ve dreamed up. People make money for stories like that. Especially if you throw in romance.”
