The diner was near the center of town, a plain white building with picture windows and a bell over the door.He opened the door for her, and she stepped inside, the warm air heavily tinged with the scents of maple syrup and bacon.
“Morning, Leo,” a female said with a smile from behind the counter.“Who’s your friend?”
“Hi, Betsy, this is my mate, Mira.This is Betsy; she and her mate Frankie own the diner.Best pancakes on the planet.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Mira said.
“You too, hon.Sit anywhere.Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” Mira said, and Leo agreed.Leo greeted people, introducing her to pack members as they moved through the diner to sit at an empty booth.Betsy appeared with a carafe of coffee and mugs and handed menus to them.
After they both ordered the pancakes and bacon, they drank coffee and talked about the plan for the day.He was going to take her to the festival.It was the last day, and she needed to be part of the festivities and support her house.
When the plates came—stacked with pancakes and bacon—they fell into an easy conversation about the pack and what it was like to grow up as a shifter.She told him about being nomadic with the psychics, and how chaotic it could be, never knowing what a town held for them or how long they might stay.They didn’t always follow stars, but her dad’s vision about her future at the festival was enough for them to want to follow it.
“They’ll keep following it?”
“That was their plan,” she said.“I really don’t know what they’ll do, though.I did find my destiny here.”
While they talked, her gryphon pulsed faintly inside her like an echo.Every time their eyes met, she felt a surge of heat, a whisper of what it might be like to tumble into bed with him.
When they’d finished eating, he paid the bill and they walked outside.The sunshine brought plenty of heat with it, and she very much wanted to take a shower and put on fresh clothes.
They stopped at the security office, and she met the wolves who were going to drive along with them to the festival as an escort, and then return to accompany them back to the pack.
When they were on the way to the festival, Leo said, “I know we just met.”
“It feels longer, though.”
“Yeah, it does,” he said, glancing at her with a smile.He took her hand and linked their fingers, resting it on his thigh.“I want to say that you’re my mate and I want to be with you.We’ve only known each other for a day, but your family are nomads and I get the feeling they’re going to want to take off.I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but I want you to know that wherever you want to be, I’ll be with you.If you want to stay in Thorn Hollow, I’d love that.But if you want to be with your family and house, then I’ll leave Thorn Hollow and consider you and your family my pack.”
She hummed in surprise.She knew they’d have to figure out the future soon enough, but she hadn’t expected him to be so sweet and gracious about it.
“Is it okay if I don’t know what I want to do yet?I appreciate what you said so much; it means the world to me.And it’s not because we don’t know each other that well, it’s just that I don’t know what the right choice is for us as a couple.I don’t know if my family is going to stick around if I don’t say we’re coming with them, or if they’ll leave anyway.A lot of stuff seems up in the air.”
“Yeah, but that’s okay.Let’s just enjoy the day.I think things will fall into place and we’ll both know what the right move forward for us is.”
She didn’t have to figure things out on her own; she had Leo at her side.At the end of the day, they were going to start a family of their own.And maybe that was as part of a nomadic group of psychics who never settled anywhere for long, or maybe it was in Thorn Hollow.
But wherever it was, it only mattered that she and Leo were together.
Everything else was just minor details.
* * *
Leo and Mira pulled onto the grassy parking area at the festival grounds after waving goodbye to their escort, who didn’t follow them in.When she got out of the truck, the scents of kettle corn and fried dough made her stomach growl, even though she’d just had breakfast.She definitely had a soft spot for fair food.Her parents waved them over to where a group of chairs was set up under a shady tree behind the booth.
“Hi, honey,” her mom said, hurrying forward to wrap her in a quick hug.“I’m so glad to see you.”
“Hi, Mom.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m better after talking things out with Leo,” she said.She knew her mom wanted to know that she forgave them for the secrets all these years, but she wasn’t ready to let things go just yet.
“Good, I’m glad.Did you eat yet?”
“We had breakfast before we left Thorn Hollow.It’s the cutest town.Speaking of cute things, I wanted to talk to you, Dad, and the house really quickly.”
