Chapter Sixteen
Blake’s eyes flashed and his entire body went still. He sensed Krista’s alarm, she could see that. He slung his muscular arm around her shoulders in that protective way he had, and she felt the prickle of his fur poking through his skin. He was having a hard time controlling his wolf.
Dawnie hadn’t changed in all these years. She was still slightly overweight and had blonde thinning hair and woeful brown eyes. She looked gentle and caring, and that wasn’t entirely a lie. She was caring, and gentle when she wanted to be.
Krista plastered a smile on her face, shook Blake off, and walked over to Dawnie.
Dawnie stepped forward and wrapped Krista in a tight hug, then did a half spin before setting her down again. Somehow, she managed to maneuver Krista away from Blake, through the crowd that had suddenly appeared. When had they appeared?
Krista heard an alarmed, angry growl from Blake.
Dawnie looked her up and down with an expression that didn’t exactly spell approval. “What have you been up to, baby girl?”
When Dawnie talked like that, it was like all the years slipped away and there was nothing but goodness between them. But that just wasn’t the case, and Krista couldn’t let herself fall for it. Talking to Dawnie was like sipping her moonshine; a sweet, treacherous minefield.
They still had to dance the dance, though. “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard I’m a nurse practitioner now. Working at a clinic.”
“Got your license last year, was it?” There was the Dawnie she knew. Couldn’t help but make sure that Krista was aware Dawnie had eyes on her all the time, even all the way over there in the big city. “May,” Dawnie added, to drive home the point.
“That’s right,” Krista agreed, as her eyes drifted over to her second cousin Allen, who had just arrived and who was stumbling a little, his eyes unfocused. And he hadn’t even had a drink yet. A fox shifter who was most likely Allen’s wife was watching him with a wretched, woebegone expression on her face.
Moonshine staggers.
Damn it.
Blake suddenly shoved his way through two bear shifters who were trying to block him from reaching Krista, and they both responded with furious growls and claws curving from their hands. Everyone in the vicinity backed off, watching the scene warily.
“Boys!” Krista yelled. “That’s my fated mate there. Now, why would you try to get between a man and his newly bonded mate?”
They were trying to be subtle about their purpose here, pretending they were just party-goers who happened to be standing in between her mate and her, and she wasn’t letting them. Normally she’d be all political and let them get away with it, but she didn’t have time for games right now.
Dawnie flashed the two bears a look and they settled down and stood there, glaring at Blake and grumbling. Then the oddest thing happened: Dawnie stifled a huge yawn, as if she’d been up all night. Why?
Krista felt a sudden flare of hope—and maybe, understanding. Maybe Dawnie didn’t have Ethan—and she’d been out looking for him. After all, if Michael destroyed Flowering Dogwood looking for his son, he was destroying Dawnie’s business, too.
Dawnie glanced at Blake. “You’ll excuse me if I borrow your mate so I can catch up a minute.”
That wasn’t a question.
“No way,” Blake growled, and several people standing nearby gasped out loud. Krista tensed. She loved that her mate was so protective, but his mate instincts were riding right over his investigator instincts, and they couldn’t afford that right now.
Dawnie gave him a smile that chilled Krista’s blood, and then she turned her ice-cold gaze on Krista. “You sure haven’t taught your mate how things work down here. Come and sit a spell.” Dawnie wasn’t going to ask again, and Krista needed to see if Dawnie had anything to say, anything at all about the mess she’d made.
“Give me just a minute, Blake.” Krista walked off quickly with Dawnie without even looking at him, but she could feel his eyes burning into her back.
They walked about fifty feet away from Blake before she flicked him a quick glance to make sure he wasn’t following. He stood there vibrating with tension and not even trying to keep the gray fur from rippling over his face. When they approached a picnic table, everyone sitting at the table took one look at Dawnie, leapt to their feet and hurried away, leaving behind half-eaten plates of food.
Dawnie didn’t bother to sit down. “You swore you’d never set foot here again. Yet here you are.” That wasn’t exactly a warm and fuzzy opening. So there they were.
Krista plastered a pleasant smile on her face. “That was ten years ago, Dawnie. I’ve grown up a lot since then, and I met my fated mate. I’m showing Blake where I grew up.”
Dawnie pinned Krista with her eyes for a second and a half. “Still mad at your momma?” Krista nodded. “Of course, you are. Well, you’ll be happy to know that Maybelline’s doing a lot better. And she’s sorry for how she abandoned you.”
“Having a hard time landing a man these days, is she?” Krista guessed. “Years of hard drinking were hell on her looks, and now she’s craving a new source of drama?”
Oh, no, she wasn’t bitter.
Dawnie shook her head in reproach. “Holdin’ a grudge, it’ll eat you alive. Give her a chance,” she said. “How long you staying?”
