“You’re exercising?” a soft voice said from her left.
She swung around to see her friend. “Maggie!” Cara hustled down the porch and hugged the wolf shifter. “And no. My jeans are tight.” She laughed.
Maggie leaned back, shoving curly brown hair from her face. “You look wonderful as usual.”
Cara grinned. “So do you.” Her friend looked amazing in a deep green sweater with a brown skirt and very cool leather boots. “Great outfit.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “Somebody has to dress for success around here. I swear, if it fits, Terrent wears it, no matter how old. Last week he actually put on a pair of bell-bottom jeans . . . the kind from the seventies.”
Cara winced. “The genuine kind?”
“Oh, yeah. I burned them that night before he could stop me.” Maggie’s pretty brown eyes lit up. “Then I threw in a cloak from the eighteen hundreds.” She frowned. “Looking back, I might’ve been able to sell that on eBay.”
Cara chuckled. Wolves were wicked smart when it came to finances. “You would’ve made a fortune.”
Maggie sighed and tucked her arm through Cara’s. “Come with me. I have a surprise for you.”
“I love surprises.” Cara trooped along next to her friend, fully appreciating the stunning fall foliage all around them. “It’s beautiful here.” She catalogued a blue spruce, several cottonwoods, many pine trees, and kept going in her head. Finally, they reached a wide clearing in front of a sprawling wooden lodge. “We’re at headquarters.”
“Yes.” Maggie stopped and whistled through her teeth.
The door to the lodge opened, and a large vampire strode through.
“Garrett!” Cara called, releasing Maggie and running for her son.
“Mom.” He caught her as she reached him, swinging her up. “I wanted to let you sleep in.” Setting her down, he leaned back to study her. “You all right?”
She smacked his chest. “Of course. What are you doing here?”
“Uncle Dage called and said you’d be here.” Shocking gray eyes surveyed the area before he concentrated on her again. “Headquarters is secure, and I like it here.” He smiled, and lines crinkled at his eyes. “The food is great. Huckleberry pancakes.”
Cara winced. “Don’t eat them out of headquarters, sweetie.”
“I’ll try.” He looked down at her, so tall and broad. In his early twenties, Garrett was sinewed and fit with Talen’s strong build.
She reached out and touched his dark hair, which almost reached his shoulders. “You’re growing your hair out?”
He shook his head. “I hadn’t noticed. Been busy with the Enforcers.”
“Where’s—” Just as Cara started to ask the question, Logan Kyllwood loped out the front door, munching on a bagel.
“Mrs. Kayrs,” he said, his green eyes lighting in pleasure.
“Cara,” she corrected him for the zillionth time. The demon-vampire mix was obvious in his hoarse voice and large build. The boys, both the same age, had quickly bonded when Janie had mated Zane, Logan’s brother. Family was family, as they’d both attested. “Are you two behaving?”
“We are,” Logan said solemnly, his lips twitching. “Honestly, we don’t have much of a choice, you know? The Enforcers are always around.” The boys were helping the witch Enforcers on a case in Seattle involving a deadly mineral that harmed witches.
“Ah, I know. How are you feeling about your mother mating Daire Dunne?” Daire was a dangerous Enforcer who had always seemed a little cranky and a lot honorable.
Logan lifted a massive shoulder. “We decided to let him live.”
Cara laughed. That was as good as a declaration of love, now, wasn’t it? “Smart of you.”
“Well, Mom loves him. Plus, she likes to rob banks lately, and Dunne has a talent there.” Logan shifted to the side, his gaze narrowing. “I sense a demon near.”
Garrett moved faster than she could track, scooping her up and setting her on the porch behind him.
Cara caught her breath as Logan deposited Maggie right next to her. The boys took up defensive positions in front of them.
