Second Chance Mates

by Sabrina Vance

"You've got to be kidding me!"

  "'Fraid not, Clara. Looks to me like someone drove their truck through it."

  Clara froze, shocked. "I guess I'd best go check it out."

  "You call me if you need any help mending it. I can send my husband and one of my boys will be glad to help out. I'm damn annoyed at whoever it was for making a mess like that and apparently not even telling you!"

  "Me too," said Clara through gritted teeth. "Thanks for letting me know."

  Petra didn't make any moves to drive off. Instead, she wrinkled her mouth, her shrewd eyes watching her as she asked, "Clara, have you been having any other trouble?"

  "Why do you ask?"

  "I've seen Stanton around. Wondered if he'd been by." That was Petra. Straight to the point and no nonsense from her short ponytail to her work boots.

  "He has and I sent him packing each and every time."

  "Good girl. If he doesn't take the hint, call me and I'll send the boys. Though you do have two fine men to help you out. They staying?"

  Clara shielded her eyes with her gloved hand and smiled. "Is this gossip part?"

  "You got me." Petra made a bashful finger clicking gesture and laughed. "Remember the invitation to come by. Haven't seen you in a while."

  "I appreciate it." Clara stepped back as Petra rolled up the window, taking the air conditioning with her, and drove away with a wave.

  Packing up her tools didn't take long and she lowered them into the back of the truck, hopping in the driver’s seat and turning the truck around, powering forwards to the area Petra had said was damaged. A few minutes later and Clara rounded the bend, pulling up alongside a long stretch of fallen fencing. Except, it wasn't just broken. It was smashed to pieces. Like Petra said, a long stretch of brand new fencing looked like someone had run a truck straight into it, accelerated, stopped and then reversed over the smashed pieces, ensuring they couldn't be reused. Posts were bent and splintered and the same devastation continued at least another two hundred yards. It had cost Clara plenty to have the hired hands dig in and lay the posts, and cost her a week of time to hammer the boards into place and it was all for nothing. She could scream.

  She started to gather the smashed wood into a heap but ended up hurling the chunks instead. "I know it was you, Stanton," she screamed in frustration into the still landscape. "And you are never getting my land! You hear me? Never!"

  Staggering back to her truck in frustration, she hooked her arms over the door and indulged in quiet, furious sobs until they subsided. Wiping her arms over her eyes, she dried them quickly and glanced at her watch. It was gone noon and she was expected home. Getting into the truck, she was beyond angry. Looking into the mirrors as she drove away from the devastation, she couldn’t help muttering curses but by the time she reached the house she was crying again and frantically trying to wipe the tears from her face. She punched the truck into park and was still sniveling as she climbed out, her feet hitting the ground as Luke rounded the corner, his face splitting into a broad smile that faltered as he reached her.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Stanton," she spluttered. The name brought on a fresh round of tears and she found herself pulled into Luke's arms as he stroked her hair and said soothing things, his large presence at once reassuring and comforting her. Finally when she'd stopped sniffing enough to put her arms around him and lay her head against his chest, she was able to say, "Stanton's men smashed up a section of the fencing."

  "They were here? Did they hurt you?" Luke pulled back, his face an angry mask as he frantically searched her for any signs of damage. "If they hurt you, I'll..."

  "I'm okay. I didn't see them. My neighbor Petra saw the damage and told me, but it had to be them. I just know it!"

  "Baby, I'm so sorry. We'll fix it, I promise." Luke enveloped her in his arms again and kissed the top of her head.

  "What's the point?" She sniffed, her jaw wobbling ever so slightly as she tried to hold it together. "They'll only smash it down again."

  "Maybe Cade and I should go pay Stanton a visit." Luke's voice was menacing.

  "No." She squeezed her arms around him. "Don't do that! He'll just accuse you of harassment." She didn’t want to hurt any male pride by pointing out Stanton always had hired muscle on hand and she would hate for Luke to get hurt.

  Luke patted her back gently, then let his hand move in circular movements that had her feeling like she was being lulled to sleep and it was awfully reassuring and comfortable in his arms. Resting against him, she didn't want to let go.

  "I'm pleased that you'd be worried about Cade and me, but we're big boys. We can take care of ourselves," Luke said softly.

  And me too, she thought, I want you to take care of me too. Not that she'd ever say it aloud. She had her pride after all.

  "And we'll take care of you too," he said, like he'd plucked the idea from her mind. "I'll always take care of you, sweetheart." And with those words, he melted the last bit of her resolve to be cautious.

  ***

  Luke paced the deck, waiting for Cade to finish checking his emails or whatever it was the guy was doing on his laptop. When the lid finally shut with a click, Luke beckoned him outside. From here they could both see Clara weeding the patch of scrub that she'd announced was about time it was turned into a vegetable garden. Mostly, to Luke, it just looked like an excuse for Clara to hit the dirt with her shovel.

  "I've had an idea," Luke said.

  "Does it involve you getting into Clara's pants again?"

  "No. Though, man, I gotta tell you she is one helluva lover." Luke shut his mouth at Cade's glare. "Sorry, but I was not going to turn her down. You can get that look right off your face too. I've seen the way she looks at you so don't go having a pity party on my account."

  "Sorry. I'm happy for you, really."

  Luke raised his eyebrows.

  "Really!" Cade said again, this time with feeling. "I love her and I want her to be happy."

  "I'm damn sure I'm going to love her," said Luke. He sat on the deck, legs dangling over the edge and watched as Clara beat the shit out of some weeds. Cade flopped down next to him.

  "You'd better," said his old friend. "'Cause if you ever, ever..."

  Luke held up a hand. "You don't need to say it. I'm in this for the long haul. Every single bit of me feels it but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

  "No?"

  "No. This stuff with the property developer, this Stanton guy, is bothering me. I don't think this is the first bit of sabotage Clara’s put up with."

  Cade nodded. "I've been thinking the same thing. Can't see how we can prove it though."

  "Now that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Luke grinned. "Remember how I got hired for that surveillance job last summer?"

  "The one from the construction site? All that hi-tech cyber stuff?"

  "That's the one. I think I can do the same thing here. If we catch Stanton in the act, there's no way he can do anything but back off. And if it isn't Stanton, we still catch the culprit. Should solve some of Clara's problems."

  "What do you need me to do?"

  "Keep Clara company while I head into town for supplies. I should be able to pick up cameras and wireless transmitters there. I'll be a couple hours, maybe more depending on if I can’t get the stuff I need there."

  "And by keep Clara company..." Cade trailed off as they watched her bend over and grab a handful of weeds, completely unaware that her top dipped down leaving a fine view of hers breasts cupped in white lace.

  Luke immediately stiffened at the sight, remembering how he'd walked in on her talking a shower only a couple of hours ago. It had taken him all of thirty seconds to disrobe, jump in and service her thoroughly against the wet tiles. Damn it, if he wasn't already ready to go again and in the wide open too.

  "I'll leave that to you two, man. Whatever happens, I've got no problem with it," he said. "I've never shared a woman but I know plenty that have and they seem happy enough. No reason why it can'
t work for the three of us, if she's willing. Hell, we all know it's right."

  "Feels pretty damn right to me," agreed Cade. "The whole time I've known her, I've known she'd never be just mine and I never really had a problem with that. Neither did Colton. If things change...I've always just wanted her to be happy. If I'm happy and you are too, that's icing on the cake."

  "So long as we don't have to keep baring our feelings," growled Luke. "I'm not turning metrosexual."

  "That man purse you bought says otherwise."

  "It's a laptop bag, asshole."

  Cade snorted. "Yeah."

  "Wait until Clara finds out how many shoes you have."

  "You have what, three pairs? I like shoes."

  "Now who's metrosexual?"

  Cade tackled him, knocking them off the deck to the ground and Luke sucked in a playful punch, groaning in mock pain as he rolled away. "Get outta here before I seriously take you down," laughed Cade, shoving him off and making his way towards Clara without a backwards glance.

  ***

  “You know what I want?” asked Clara, straightening up as Cade meandered over to her.

  “Tell me.”

  “I want to go for a run. I haven’t gone wolf in a long time and I have the urge to be on four feet. You with me?”

  Cade grinned at her. It wasn’t what he’d had in mind for keeping her occupied but now she said it, it struck him how brilliantly opportunistic the moment was…and how much he wanted to switch to his furry lycan self. Living in the city had its plus points. The downside was trotting the streets as a wolf wasn’t exactly acceptable. But out here? Not a person to see for miles. “You bet I am.” He pulled off his shirt and laid it over the fence, unsnapping his jeans.

  “Cade!”

  “What? Nothing you haven’t seen before.”

  “Well…”

  “I know you and Colton changed out here all the time.”

  “Well, I guess…”

  “I’ll turn my back, okay?” he sighed but turned anyway. Clara had nothing to be shy about. He knew that not only from the times he’d seen them naked—they were wolves, it went with the territory—but also from the way her body had arched and writhed as Luke took her the night she’d let him watch.

  A soft thump as her jeans hit the fence told him she was getting ready for the change. A moment later the air sizzled behind him. He chanced a glance over one shoulder and saw the small pale-furred wolf standing where Clara had been. Her tongue lolled to one side. Her paws padded at the ground.

  “Too bad I can’t join you,” said Luke from the deck.

  “Yeah. Too bad,” said Cade, without feeling. “Later, man.” He waited until Luke’s footsteps retreated, before pushing down his boxers and standing naked in front of her. “Like what you see?” he asked.

  Clara flopped onto the ground, covered her eyes with her paws.

  A moment later and a cold nose nudged her’s and she sprang to her feet, sniffing Cade, recognizing his own larger furry self. She circled him, nipped his ears and sprang forward, yipping for him to follow.

  Cade leapt forwards, the urge to race surging through him as their primal selves indulged in the freedom the sanctuary offered. He couldn’t wait for the day when it opened to other shifters, could only imagine the animals that would mill around her, but for now, he was content with it just being the two of them.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It seemed strange to be in the house alone with Cade. Though the guys hadn't been staying with her long, she'd grown used to their amiable duel presence, enjoying it even. It was nice to wake up and hear noises in the house, familiar things like the radio or whistling while one of them made breakfast. The scent of coffee waking her, or the smell of bacon and pancakes if they were feeling particularly hungry. And of course, it was other things, things that seemed so familiar now, through the day that made the house feel occupied. At long last, the house felt lived in, not as if she merely existed in it.

  This house was made to be lived in. She couldn't bear thinking about how it would be if they were forced to leave by Stanton, especially now that she and Luke had connected in such an intimate and enjoyable way. It wasn't just the mind-blowing sex though. Having them both around, helping her out—the to do list she had been floundering though had diminished by half in a week—and jumping in on all the projects, discussing them with her, pointing out flaws in her plans and where she could improve them, admiring her ideas, was so welcome that she wondered why it never occurred to her to ask for help before. Damn her stubborn pride and grief that kept everyone at bay.

  Maybe she could have gotten some of that from hired hands, but she wouldn't get the down time she looked forward to at the end of each evening too. No more evenings alone, mindlessly watching television or picking up a book she could have cared less about. No, now evenings were all about relaxing in good company, time to sooth their aching muscles and work their jaws with conversation and laughter. Evenings spent with Luke sat on the floor, his long legs stretched out, working away at his laptop, while Cade put a movie on or insisted on snatching her romance novel and reading out the bits that made her blush...

  And the touching. She craved the touching. Since that night when she'd kissed Cade outside the bar with almost violent abandon, she'd felt a lot more receptive to him, more relaxed when their hands brushed or when he gave her a good morning kiss. She initiated the flirting too. The confusion about what she'd always felt for him had drifted away, turning into something deeper and more soothing. Cade was always gentle, never overstepping the mark, always ensuring she was comfortable around him, despite them both knowing she had slept with Luke, and allowed him to watch.

  She was fairly certain that he knew she and Luke had had sex again since then, though not exactly by design. Luke had simply walked into the bathroom earlier while she showered, disrobed and joined her, taking her hard and fast against the slippery tiles. She knew Cade probably knew because she'd cried out when she came and she hadn't exactly been quiet. Not that Cade said anything when she returned downstairs a few minutes after Luke to find him with his laptop open at her table. Luke made no attempt to disguise his cheerful demeanor and Cade had just winked at her.

  To her surprise, at first, she enjoyed initiating some of the contact with Cade; it gave her a thrill to have him respond. She wasn't even all that cross about waking up and finding him in bed with her a couple of times. After she got over the surprise, and after Luke had taken her to bed, she'd found it nice to snuggle up to someone in the morning. She'd missed the intimacy of having a lover so much.

  This was the first time they’d been properly alone though. Sliding onto the sofa next to Cade, she snuggled against him as he lifted his arm in invitation. She pressed against him happily as he curled his hand around her arm. Two years she had gone without being touched. Now she couldn't get enough.

  “How are your muscles?” Cade asked.

  “I think I’ll be sore in the morning but I loved it. I felt so free!”

  “When did you get so fast?”

  “Col and I loved to run and being out here meant we could do shift whenever we wanted. I haven’t for months. I felt slow tonight.”

  “If that was slow…”

  "Wait until you see me go fast! Hey, what did Luke say he was doing in town?" she asked, still puzzled at the sketchy excuse he had given about getting some sort of computer equipment.

  "His laptop or something. He's the tech guy, not me." Cade shifted and his hand landed on her head, stroking her hair. She tightened her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Want to watch a movie?" he asked.

  "Mmm, sure. I was thinking about getting a glass of wine. Want one? Or a beer?"

  "Sounds nice. You get the wine and the glasses. I'll take remote control duty."

  Disentangling herself, she walked back to the kitchen, grabbed the white wine from the refrigerator and snagged two crystal glasses from the open shelf as music filled the room. Setting them on the coffee tab
le, she jabbed the corkscrew in, cursing when she couldn't get the cork to budge.

  "Let me." Cade took the bottle from her and had it open in moments.

  "I weakened it for you."

  "Sure you did," he scoffed. "Do you mind if we just listen to music instead? I looked through your DVDs and gave up." Cade laughed as he poured her a glass, drawing her back to the sofa and back into his embrace. She sipped, resting her back against him and drew her bare feet onto the sofa, stretching out her legs.

  "Not at all. I like this. Very relaxing." She recalled all the lonely evenings she'd spent over the past two years. Sometimes she had just stared at the wall, too numb to do anything. She had to stop thinking of that time and enjoy these moments. Now she let the music soothe and lift her spirits, enjoyed the feel of Cade stroking her hair. He stopped and kissed the top of her head.

  "Despite what I might have said when you turned up, I... like having you here," she said, picking her words carefully. She didn't want to imply there was more to them just yet—even though she knew there was—but she wanted him to know that she appreciated him, that she liked him. That she wanted Cade here. She didn’t want him to feel rejected in anyway. She wouldn’t do that to him again. "I don't feel lonely anymore."

  His breath ruffled her hair as he spoke. "I'm glad."

  "And you make the best pancakes."

  "Wait until you try my waffles." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

  "If you make a sausage comment, I may have to smack you." She held back a giggle.

  "What if I like it?"

  "Cade!" She took a long swallow of wine, allowing the warmth of the alcohol to suffuse her. She wasn't a big drinker and two glasses was probably her limit. Still, it wasn't like she had to drive anywhere and she was in her own home. Plus it was nice to be sharing a drink with someone. Part of her wished Luke was with them, sharing his easy banter and the camaraderie he shared with Cade which was funny to watch and now less awkward to join in with.