Second Chance Mates

by Sabrina Vance

  "But lovable," Cade countered and she snorted.

  They let silence wash over them until Cade opened his eyes and rotated his head, searching for Luke. "Where'd he go?"

  "The cat went for a wander. If he pisses on my property, I'm going to make him wash it off."

  "Fair enough."

  "That goes for you too."

  "I'm house trained. We can get him a tray."

  Clara giggled.

  "What else do you need fixing?" he asked, before she got it into her head to tell them to go.

  Clara sighed. "How long have you got?"

  Cade rolled onto his side and stroked a curly lock of hair away from her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked at him sleepily. "How long have you got?" she asked again, an amused tone in her voice.

  "As long as you need."

  "Oh, Cade, I..."

  "Shh." He rested a forefinger against her lips. "I'm not asking and you don't have to say anything."

  "Oh." She seemed surprised, flummoxed, and she frowned before resting her head back on the deck and closing her eyes again, allowing him to look upon her. She looked blissful. A little tired maybe, a touch too thin, but that could be fixed with rest, better food, and someone to help her.

  A small, selfish part of him was a little worried that she showed interest in Luke, but what had he said last night? That he didn't mind. Well, yeah, maybe actually he did. Was this what Colton felt like when he told his brother that Clara was his mate too? He felt a renewed surge of sympathy for the situation fate put them in, even though they'd all managed to fight it; Clara by pushing him away, him by leaving. They'd all fought it, except Colton. Which just showed who the smart one had been.

  Lying down again, unable to bridge the enormous divide of once inch between them just yet, Cade wished his brother was around to talk to. They had been best friends from the minute Cade was born, two years after Col, and he missed him so much it hurt. Of all the people he knew, Clara understood that, yet they'd never talked about it. Grief was strange. It made people internalize a pain that should never be held within and it forced people apart when what it should do was bring people together. Without thinking about it, he wrapped his hand around hers and they lay there.

  "I'm sorry," he said, at last.

  "What for?"

  "That you lost Colton."

  He heard her breathe sharply and wondered if she was about to cry, then, she simply said, "Thank you." Another long pause then, "I'm sorry you lost him, too." And this time she squeezed his hand.

  "I'm sorry that I left you when..." He was about to say 'when you needed me' but something stopped him.

  "I recall I screamed at you, so...I could hardly expect you to stick around, Cade, and I was too wrapped up in my own grief to see anyone else's."

  "I'm sorry anyway." He balled his free hand, tapped it against the deck, and was about to spill some more emotion when Luke bounded onto the deck and flopped beside them, panting.

  “Had enough chasing mice?” Cade asked dryly. Clara giggled.

  "Screw you. The farm is great," Luke said. "What are you planning to do with all your land?"

  "Run."

  Cade sat up on his elbows and looked down at her. "Say again?"

  She grinned up at them. "Run. That's what the farm is essentially about. How many safe places are there for shifters like us to run in peace? Not many. The parks are off limits during hunting season and they're not all that safe any other time. I know we talked about a nature center and stuff, but the farm is going to be safe haven." Clara pointed to the far side of the house where the ramshackle barn stood. "See the barn. That's going to be converted into a meeting house, with a kitchen, bathroom and meeting rooms and there will be a playground for the kids and picnic tables to one side. No one can hear or see a thing, unless they’re supposed to be here."

  Luke raised his eyebrows and nodded appreciatively. "I grew up in the city. Didn't work out so great when I was learning to control my beast."

  "He got photographed for their newspaper one year," laughed Cade. "Caused a city-wide panic."

  Clara giggled again, the mood lifting. "Seriously?"

  Luke just shook his head. He got to his feet and dusted his jeans with his hands. "Man, if we're letting secrets out..." he said with a warning shake of his finger.

  "Ignore him. He's got nothing on me. Now about that steak." Cade patted his stomach, and smiled, pleased to see her smile back. It made her whole face lift, and his heart sing to see her happy. If he could keep it up, even through the occasional pangs of hurts, maybe they could both be happy. He’d give it everything he had. Would give Clara everything he had..

  Chapter Seven

  Clara stretched on the brand new deck, two years late but here nevertheless, and turned the page of her book, enjoying the heroine's sassy attitude as she chewed out the murder suspect. Reaching for her glass, she sucked the straw into her mouth and slurped a mouthful of iced tea, the half-melted ice cubes clinking as she drained the tumbler. It may have been early evening but the air hung hot and still about them as the steaks sizzled and she'd decided not to send them home…yet.

  "Refill?" asked Luke, reaching towards her with the jug.

  She pushed the glass a couple of inches towards him as she turned the page and he poured.

  "What's the book about?"

  "It's a mystery."

  "Yeah?" he persisted.

  "Mmm. The heroine has got to find the murderer before he finds her. She thinks she's..." She trailed off, her hearing picking up the sound of crunching tires as a truck picked its way along her driveway. Luke clearly heard it too.

  "Expecting someone?" he asked.

  She frowned and checked her watch, not that she needed to. It was gone six and she wasn't expecting anyone. "No." Turning a corner of the page in on itself to mark the place, she shut the book and pushed herself to her feet with a sigh. The oppressive heat of the afternoon had faded into a pleasantly warm evening—a breeze would be welcome—and there was something delightfully sociable about having company, even if the guys weren't trying to force her to chat, instead talking quietly between themselves while she read.

  Off to one side of the deck, Cade manned the barbecue. The smell of steaks and the piquant sauce made her stomach grumble.

  Despite her protestations that Cade and Luke were pains in the neck, the evening had been very pleasant so far. She was even looking forward to eating on the picnic blanket they'd set out on the deck; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked forward to anything. Maybe she'd even see if she could scrape enough money together to head into town and buy a little table and chairs to sit out on. A smile perked on her lips. When was the last time she'd bothered to make plans that weren't solely for the benefit of the sanctuary? It felt good.

  "Want me to get it?" asked Luke. He hovered next to her, waiting for her to make a move, probably waiting for her to snap at him. Not that she had the heart to, especially when he'd been so helpful, but it wouldn't do to let him get too comfortable.

  "No, I'll get it. Thanks though." She gave him a smile, just a little one, to show she appreciated his offer. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad having the guys around. When was the last time she'd had company that hadn't ended up dragging her down? Her whole family treated her with kid gloves, but she could understand that given that she was awfully snappy, and she'd stopped inviting her friends over. The males barely spoke about Colton to her, or even looked at her, while her girl friends just burst into tears as if her own heartbreak wasn't enough. After the talk earlier with Cade, the one man she knew who bore the pain too, she didn't feel so pressured to act as if everything was peachy. It was like a weight off her shoulders.

  "Can you get a salad on your way back?" called Cade as she stepped through the doors.

  Clara paused long enough to look at him over her shoulder. "Sure," she agreed, feeling oddly domestic. It reminded her of so many evenings with Colton, or the three of them together. Instead of allowing herself to
crumble with the longing, she took the evening in her stride. This is what it feels like to be normal.

  Slipping on her sandals, she padded through the house and opened the front door, so relaxed she didn’t think to check the peep hole. When she saw who stood on her porch she wished she had. She wished she'd just ignored the door, only given that Stanton was a nosey bastard, he would probably have followed the scent of the steaks out back and come looking for her anyway.

  "Well, hello there." Mr. Stanton ran his eyes over her and flashed his teeth in what she thought he probably thought was a friendly smile. Really he just looked like he was snarling which given that he was a shifter of the bovine persuasion, and quite literally bull-headed, probably wasn't that dissimilar.

  "What do you want?" she asked none too politely.

  "Is that any way to greet a guest?" Stanton pulled off his hat and made to step forwards but she stood solidly in the doorway with no intention of yielding to the odious older man.

  "You're not a guest," Clara pointed out, "and this is hardly business hours."

  Stanton sniffed the air and ran his eyes over her again. "I see I'm in time for dinner."

  "In time to interrupt dinner," Clara clarified as she looked past him to his truck. Of course he'd brought two of his men with him, big dudes with crossed arms that made their muscles bulge as they idled against the truck featuring Stanton's decal of a bull. They seemed to be shifters of some variety, though she couldn't say what with the distance between them. All she knew was that they weren’t lycan.

  "Perhaps a glass of iced tea on the porch." He nodded to the swing Colton had spent a whole day assembling and hanging. Oh, she'd loved sitting there with him, kicking their legs and making it rock. It gave her the shivers to think of letting Stanton sully it.

  She didn’t move. "Could you cut to the chase?"

  "I came to see if you'd reconsidered my offer. It was very generous."

  Behind her, footsteps made the floorboards creak and she felt Luke as he came to stand behind her. Mr. Stanton stiffened for a moment as he took in Luke's large build, his nostrils flared in recognition of the big cat.

  "I see you have company already," Stanton said, snidely.

  "Yes, I do."

  "What's going on, Clara?" Luke asked.

  She looked up at him, saw the concern etched on his face as he took in the hired muscle and Stanton, clearly wondering at the need for three big men against one woman, before returning his gaze to her. "This is the property developer I mentioned. The one who wants to buy the land and put a ton of condos on it. Make it some kind of gated development," she told him.

  "Which will be sensitively done, of course," cut in Stanton. "And you will be well compensated for it. Actually, seeing as you love the area so much, I thought I'd throw in a condo for you too. All mod cons. Air conditioning for hot nights like these. A view of the lake." Stanton smiled again, probably expecting her to fall all over his latest offer. After all, she'd been saying no for more than a year now, he probably didn’t expect her to hold out much longer. He'd been before, before Colton died and Colton had told him in no uncertain terms that they would never sell. Then Colton had died and Stanton kept on coming. She wondered just how far he would go to get her land when he realized whatever offer he pushed at her would be rejected.

  Not for the first time, she wondered if he would have stopped coming if Colton had been here to see him off, and how awfully convenient it was for Stanton that her husband died. No, she wouldn't think like that. She refused to. Stanton was a snake but he couldn't possibly be responsible for Colton's accident.

  "The land isn't for sale," Clara said for the umpteenth time.

  "I don't think you properly understand my offer," said Stanton, his voice taking on that 'now you listen to me, little woman' voice he'd used to patronize her with time and again.

  "I understand it just fine."

  "It's a better offer than anyone else will give you," Stanton said. "You'll have a mortgage free home and money in the bank."

  "And I'll lose my land, my home and I'll be surrounded by people, and cars, and noise." Men like Stanton never got the concept of home, didn't understand what it could mean. He understood money and profit and that was it. He could never understand the beauty of the land, its tranquility, everything it meant to her and what it would mean to the community.

  "You'll have friends and company," Stanton countered, glancing at Luke.

  Probably wondering who he was, thought Clara, and she decided not to volunteer the information. It was none of Stanton's business who she entertained.

  "I'm not going to sell," she said again. "If you'll excuse me, I'm making dinner and I don't want it to burn." Not necessarily a lie but that steak smelled so good and she did have a salad to throw together. And she really, really wanted Stanton to go away before he completely spoiled her good mood. She made to close the door and Stanton stuck his shiny cowboy-booted foot over the threshold, blocking the door's path.

  "Clara..."

  "Don't Clara me," said Clara indignantly. Clara was family and friends. Clara was what Colton whispered when they made love. Stanton did not qualify on any count to call her so familiarly.

  "And move your foot," said Luke, his voice cold. He moved forwards, his body pressing against her back and it was reassuring. She was glad to have him at her back, literally.

  Cade called something from the living room and Luke twisted his body slightly, answering him, something inconsequential about dinner. A moment later, Cade joined them at the door, laying a protective hand on her shoulder. The two of them flanking her gave her strength.

  Stanton took a double take at Cade, probably because he was a younger version of Cade with the same stance, not to mention dark hair and blue eyes, then cut a glance at Luke and finally down to her.

  "I'm going to say this for a last time, Mr. Stanton. I'm not going to sell and I don't ever intend to sell my property. Now move your foot out of my doorway."

  "I think you'll find you're going to have to sell," Stanton sneered. "I know about your position with the bank and I know you can't last on your savings forever. I'm a generous man so I'll leave you forty-eight hours to rethink my offer. I think you'll find me less generous after that."

  "I won't reconsider. I'm happy here."

  Stanton glanced at the men at her side again and gave her an oily little smile. "Yes, you certainly are the happy little widow," he sneered.

  Clara bristled but before she could snap, Cade wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she felt Luke stretch to his full height, his hand settle on her shoulder. "You heard the lady," said Cade. "She wants you off her property and so do I."

  "And I suggest you don't come back," growled Luke.

  Stanton settled his hat back on his head, pushing up the brim with his forefinger. "You have my number," he said, looking her straight in the eye, his expression cold. "Forty-eight hours."

  Clara didn't wait to see Stanton step off her porch. Instead, she simply slammed the door shut behind him and, with shaking hands, locked it.

  "You okay, sweetheart?" Cade wrapped his arms around her and she leaned her head against his chest. What the heck? She slid her arms around him too.

  "I hate him," she mumbled into Cade’s t-shirt. "He comes every couple weeks now, sliming around and trying to get me to sell. I won't. I'll never sell this land!"

  "He's gone for now," said Luke, stepping away from the window flanking the door. "Hopefully for good."

  Clara huffed skeptically. "He'll be back."

  "Then we'll make sure he gets the message," said Luke, his voice cold but his hand warm as he rubbed her back. "Don't worry."

  Clara raised her head, sniffed the air and her eyes went wide. "The steaks! They're going to burn."

  Cade laughed as she extracted herself from his arms. "I do love a woman who gets completely distracted by food."

  "You'll be distracted if dinner burns," she chided.

  "Come on. I took the steaks off the coal
s already." He grabbed her hand, tugging her after him, Luke following behind like her rear guard. "You go sit outside and chill with Luke. I'll get the salad."

  ***

  Cade looked down at the sleeping form of Clara and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. She looked so peaceful and innocent with her hands curled under her head, her lips pouting slightly as she slept. He was surprised she'd fallen asleep given her agitation at dinner, but then maybe it was the amount of food she'd packed away when he thought she'd just been picking.

  "She okay there?" asked Luke, as he shut and locked the folding windows before dropping onto the armchair.

  "Fast asleep."

  "What do you make of that developer guy?"

  "Stanton? I remember Colton mentioning him. He's a mid-sized employer around here though I don't know anyone who works for him. I don't like the way he's been bugging Clara."

  "She's set on staying, huh? I can see why. This place is a dream."

  "Yeah. Colton used to say that." Cade smiled as Clara stretched and her feet ended up in his lap. He took one, gently massaging it. She purred sleepily. "I guess Stanton is kind of a pest. He doesn't seem to be getting the message."

  "You reckon there's anything we can do to help him get the point?"

  Cade shrugged. "I don't think Clara would appreciate us getting up in her business. I'd rather wait and be asked even if my instincts tell me that next time Stanton turns up I should beat his ass back to the road."

  "You too, huh?"

  "I'm bothered about what he said about the bank. I tried asking Clara about it a couple times but she shut me down."

  "Think she's struggling financially?"

  "I don't know. Maybe. I wish she'd tell me."

  "Have you noticed she hasn't yelled at us today?"

  Cade laughed, quickly tempering down the noise in case he woke her. "And she didn't tell us to go either. Another point in our favor."

  "Maybe she's getting used to us?"

  "She's always been used to me."

  Luke grinned. "She didn't seem too pissed about the sun lotion thing." His grin faded as Cade's eyes darkened. "Call it the acid test. And it wasn't like I jumped her," he reminded his friend.