by Chant, Zoe
Georgia laughed softly. “Guilty, I’m afraid. It’s been a while, but we’ll figure it out.”
“I could give you a hand, if you like,” Garrett said, glancing at the fireplace. He could see the problem immediately – there were too many big logs on it. If they’d tried to put them on before they’d gotten the tinder and kindling going, the fire would have been smothered.
“Oh, would you?” Georgia asked, then bit her lip. “I mean, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”
“Not at all.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Garrett swallowed. I was supposed to just be returning a mitten, he thought to himself. Not getting caught up in Georgia and Logan’s breakfast time.
“I’m just getting finished up in the kitchen,” Georgia said. “If – if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Absolutely not.” Something about Georgia’s hesitance made him want to reassure her it really wasn’t any trouble to help her out. And it wasn’t: he was a highly trained field agent with the Shifter Patrol Corps. He could build a fire in his sleep.
Going to the fireplace, he knelt down in front of it, starting to pull out some of the larger logs. Sensing a presence by his side, he turned to find Logan crouching next to him, watching him intently.
“You want to learn how to build it so you can help your mom next time?” Garrett asked, noting the interest in the little boy’s eyes.
Logan glanced at him. “Yeah. That’d be good.”
“It won’t take long,” Garrett said. “It’s easy once you know what you’re doing.”
That was definitely true. Garrett had felt uneasy before, but now he felt he was back in familiar territory. He felt a little less like an intruder if he was being of some use to Georgia and Logan.
And to be honest, being here and helping someone out suited him better than rattling around the massive, luxurious chalet, regardless of the fact he’d planned on spending his vacation time alone.
“You’ve got to get a good base of tinder and kindling,” Garrett told Logan, who was watching closely. “Paper’s good – you want to tear some up for me?”
Logan nodded, grabbing a couple of sheets from the stack of old newspapers by the fireplace. He tore them up, before handing them to Garrett.
“You make a little pile, like this,” Garrett continued, scrunching the paper into balls and putting it beneath the grate. “Then, you get these small pieces of wood here, like this. You want to put some on?”
Logan nodded, taking the pieces of kindling Garrett handed him and placing them on top of the grate.
“Good,” Garrett said. “That’s working great. Now, if you get the matches, I’ll light the fire.”
“Can I light it?” Logan asked.
“I don’t think so,” Garrett said. “When you’re older, definitely. But now, it’s better to get someone older. Fire can be tricky, you don’t want to take any risks with it. Okay?”
“Okay,” Logan agreed.
Striking the match, Garrett waited for the tinder to catch, the flames working their way up to the kindling, before he put on a couple of the larger fuel logs.
“There you go, see?” he said to Logan as the flames licked over the larger pieces of wood, igniting them easily. “Keep it fed when the logs start to blacken, and it’ll burn all day.”
“Thanks,” Logan said, glancing over at Garrett, a wary smile on his face. “I thought having a fire would be cool. We don’t have one at home.”
“They are pretty cool,” Garrett agreed as he stood and then moved the heavy wrought iron screen in front of the fire. “And they’re the best way to keep warm in winter. Much better than keeping the heating on all day.”
As soon as he and Logan moved away from the fire, Freddy bounded over to lie on the rug in front of it, basking in the warmth.
“I can show Mom what you showed me next time,” Logan said earnestly. “Then we can make it ourselves.”
“You sure can.” Garrett smiled in spite of himself. “I’m sure you’ll be a great teacher.”
He caught the beginnings of a shy smile on Logan’s face before the boy turned away to run his hand over Freddy’s sleek head. The dog lolled a little, looking up at them both with adoring eyes.
Garrett felt a small tug in his heart at the sight. When he’d been young, he’d once dreamed about having a family like this. A wife – a mate. A kid – a few of them, actually. Maybe a few animals running around the place. He liked animals, after all, and animals liked him. It seemed to be part of being a shifter.
But that had been before his job had consumed his life.
Could I really take that chance now? Could I really have a family like this?
He glanced up toward the kitchen, only to find Georgia watching them, her brown eyes wide, a plate of bacon in her hands.
“I, uh, think I made too much,” she said, a long moment after their eyes met across the room. “After all the help you’ve been, you’re welcome to stay and help us eat it.” She hesitated. “If that’s all right with you, Logan.”
“Sure.” Logan’s answer was swift. He stood, making his way over to the table. “I’m hungry. You’ve been cooking forever.”
Georgia laughed lightly as she put the bacon down on the table. “Yeah, yeah, so I’m not the world’s fastest cook. At least I get there in the end.” She glanced up at Garrett. “Would you like to join us?”
Garrett hesitated, before his stomach made the decision for him, gurgling loudly.
Georgia’s eyes twinkled. “That sounded like a yes to me.”
Garrett couldn’t hold back his laugh, giving in at last. “Okay, sure.”
“Oh,” Georgia said suddenly, pointing at his midsection. Garrett glanced down, seeing a flash of red sticking out of his pocket. “I never got my mitten back off you. Pass it here, I’ll go put it away while you guys tuck in.”
“Sure.” Garrett took the mitten from his pocket, passing it across to her. As Georgia reached out to take it, their fingers brushed gently against each other.
It was only a brief moment of contact – less than a second of his fingertips touching hers. But nonetheless, Garrett felt the jolt of it travel right up his arm, through his chest, and into his heart.
Within him, his dragon leapt up, jaws open, eyes blazing. Smoke rose from its mouth, its head held high as it let out a mighty roar of triumph.
Our mate! This woman is our mate!
Garrett stood stock still, shock making his heart pound.
Or maybe that was the effect of the newly realized mated bond. Either way, he felt breathless, unable to do anything but stand in place, staring into the eyes of the woman he now knew he shared an unbreakable connection with.
Somewhere within him, he realized that everything made sense now: his dragon’s insistence he go to her; his complete inability to get her out of his head; his strange reluctance to leave her side. All the pieces were falling into place.
I have a mate. And she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
Garrett tried to shake himself out of his stunned state as he looked at Georgia.
Did she feel it too?
He didn’t know if humans felt the mated bond the same way shifters did – though he definitely knew of shifters who’d bonded with humans. His old workmate, Rowan Stanton, was one. He regretted suddenly that he’d never been more interested in how mated bonds worked. He might have a better way of judging the situation now.
But looking at Georgia’s face – her wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and parted lips – he had trouble believing she hadn’t felt something.
“I – I’ll just go put this away,” she said quickly, blinking. Energy crackled in the air between them, before finally Georgia turned away, hurrying down the corridor.
It was all Garrett could do to keep himself from staring after her, instead forcing himself to go sit down at the table, where the most impressive breakfast he’d ever seen was laid out.
“So… your mom is a pretty good cook,
then,” he managed to get out, looking over to where Logan was pouring syrup over an impressively high stack of waffles.
“The best,” Logan said. “But she doesn’t get much time, since she has to work. She said she’d cook every day while we were here.” He looked up at Garrett, face pensive. “I help her, though. I dry the dishes.”
“I’m sure you do,” Garrett said, looking across the table, not sure where to start.
Well, who didn’t love waffles? Logan clearly had the right idea.
And eating would buy him some time to think.
Logan was right about Georgia’s cooking: the waffles were amazing. Perfectly fluffy and griddled to perfection. Eating them made Garrett wonder just how long it’d been since he’d had a home-cooked meal, before concluding that he couldn’t remember. When he was out in the field he ate whatever he could catch, in his dragon form or out of it. When he was between assignments, it was protein shakes and takeout, things that were quick and easy.
Garrett grabbed a plate of crispy bacon, offering it to Logan, who accepted it gratefully, heaping it onto his plate.
“Make sure you save some for your mom,” Garrett said, as Logan tucked in.
“Yeah, you know I love bacon,” Georgia broke in, reappearing from the hallway. Garrett watched her closely as she sat down across the table from him. She still looked a little flustered. Her cheeks were pink, and Garrett, with his shifter senses, could pick up that her breath was quick in her throat.
Maybe she really can feel it. Maybe she can sense our bond too…
But even if that were true, how could he explain what he was to her? She’d think he was nuts, and he wouldn’t blame her. He’d never had much contact with humans, and shifters were secretive about their existence, for very good reasons.
She is our mate, his dragon spoke up, growling softly. She will know us. If you tell her, she will know in her soul that it’s true.
Well, that might have been true, Garrett thought as he sipped his coffee. But it still didn’t make the conversation any easier to get started.
So, Georgia – what do you think about dragons? Ever thought about spending your life with one?
Garrett grimaced into his coffee mug.
Well, mated bond or not, Georgia wouldn’t want to spend much more time with him if she couldn’t get to know him – and to know that when a dragon found his mate, that meant he gave everything he was to her, and he took on everything that was hers. Her circumstances, her conditions, her –
He glanced across at Logan. He was happily munching bacon.
Her family.
We are our mate’s, and our mate is ours, his dragon rumbled. And her family is part of her.
“So, Garrett, you’re up here by yourself?” Georgia’s voice broke into his reverie.
Garrett nodded. “That’s right. It’s… a work thing. My boss gave me some time off. But I’ve never been much of a vacation person. I don’t really like crowds.”
“Well, these chalets sure are secluded,” Georgia said, flashing him a brief smile. “I have to admit, I’m loving the peace and quiet. I grew up out in the middle of nowhere, and I can’t say I have much love for bright lights and big cities.”
Garrett couldn’t hold back his low chuckle. “I agree with you there. I’m the same – if I can’t get out into the fresh air I tend to go a little stir crazy. My father used to take me out for weeks at a time, hunting and fishing in the woods. I don’t really know any other life, I guess. I just don’t feel at home in the city.”
That was all perfectly true: dragons needed their space. Apartment living just didn’t suit them. He needed room to spread his wings, to feel in touch with nature. Garrett supposed that was just part of being a shifter, and being so close at all times to his animal side.
“So what do you do for work?” Georgia asked. “No, wait – let me guess.” Her eyes sparkled. “It’s got to be something outdoors, obviously. A gardener? No, that doesn’t seem right. A lumberjack? No, not right either.” She bit her lip, pondering. “A park ranger. There. That’s my best guess.”
Garrett laughed. Georgia had been remarkably close. His job did involve investigating and tracking poachers, drug dealers, arsonists and gun runners, as well as any other kind of shifter criminal who might try to hide in the woods in their shifter forms. “Pretty much,” he said. “Though I don’t work for the National Park Service, that’s pretty much what I do. I make sure the woods are safe for everyone.”
“Are you looking for criminals here?” Logan asked, looking up from his food.
Garrett shook his head. “No, I’m on vacation now. Pretty sure my boss sent me up here so I couldn’t track any more criminals. This place is completely safe, I’m sure.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Georgia said, laughing. “Good to know we’ve got your assurance on that score – though Logan, you better make sure Freddy’s on his best behavior. We can’t have him getting carted off to doggy jail.”
Logan’s smile was quick, but it was definitely there. Garrett had already figured out that Logan’s father wasn’t in the picture, and that Logan himself was a shy, reserved kid. He clearly adored his mom and his dog. He was a good kid, and Garrett found his blood angrily simmering at the thought that any man might have been so dishonorable as to abandon not only Georgia, but the son he had had with her as well.
Such a creature is not worthy to even call himself a man, his dragon growled. He does not deserve them – either of them. We must prove ourselves worthy instead.
“Freddy seems like a dog of good character. I could probably let him off with a warning,” Garrett said, glancing over to where Freddy was cocking his ears, listening to his name.
This time, Logan’s smile was big and bright, reaching his eyes. “Freddy’s the best dog.”
“Easy to be a good dog when you have good owners,” Garrett said.
Logan blinked, his mouth opening, before he looked down at his plate once more, to the leftovers of his waffles and bacon.
“What do you say, Logan?” Georgia softly coaxed him, though Garrett thought he could hear a slight tremble in her voice.
“Thank you,” Logan mumbled, his mouth already full of bacon again.
Georgia shot Garrett an apologetic look. “He can be a little shy.”
There was nothing wrong with being quiet or shy, Garrett thought. He wouldn’t have called himself gregarious, after all.
Ask her about herself, his dragon prompted him. We need to know more about our mate.
For once, the dragon actually had some useful advice when it came to interacting with humans.
“Well, you know what I do,” Garrett said. “Should I try to guess what you do?”
“Oh, me?” Georgia shook her head. “No – I’m nothing special. I’m just an evening cashier at a grocery store, and I work three days a week at the school library.” She shrugged, looking down as if she was ashamed. “It’s not exciting, but between the two of them it pays the bills.”
Nothing special? Garrett’s dragon was outraged. Of course she is special – she is special because she is her. Nothing else matters.
“Nothing special? You provide for your son,” Garrett said, his voice coming out a little more strongly than he had intended. He tried to hold back, but the strength of his emotion still came through in his voice. “Providing for your family is the most special thing you can do, whether it’s with love, or keeping a roof over their heads. That’s what matters. Not how you do it.”
Georgia looked up at him, her eyes wide. She opened her mouth, but it took several seconds for the words to come out.
“I – thank you,” she said at last, blinking rapidly. “I suppose I…” She cut herself off suddenly, looking down. “It means a lot to me that you’d say so. I guess I… I guess it’s easy to lose sight of that sometimes. You know how you always used to dream about what your life would be like when you were a kid, and then you look at the reality of it… it never does measure up, does it?”
Garrett felt a piercing pain in his heart. Was his mate sad? Lonely? He realized it must be difficult for her to raise a son while working two jobs. It probably didn’t leave her a lot of time to look after herself. But she was clearly doing a wonderful job of taking care of Logan and Freddy.
“Perhaps not,” Garrett said. “But look – perhaps it’s because I spend so much of my time dealing with criminals, people who don’t have any sense of decency or honor or loyalty. To meet someone like you for a change… well, it helps me to remember why I do what I do.”
He swallowed. It was true. Meeting Georgia, even if she hadn’t turned out to be his mate, had been a timely reminder. He’d been so caught up in his pursuit of criminals that he’d forgotten why he’d wanted to join the Shifter Patrol Corps in the first place.
Georgia said nothing. She looked down at her plate of half-finished bacon and eggs, her fingers playing lightly over the end of her fork. Steam spooled up from her mug of coffee.
Frowning, Garrett almost asked her if he’d said something wrong. But then she looked up, her eyes bright, a small smile playing across her full, luscious lips.
“Garrett, what’re you doing for the rest of today?”
Garrett blinked.
I know exactly what you’re doing, his dragon piped up, its tail twitching. You’re doing whatever Georgia asks you to do.
“I… hadn’t made any plans yet,” Garrett said. The most he’d considered was perhaps shifting and going flying. He wasn’t used to having free time to fill.
“Well, if that’s the case, and you feel like it…” Georgia trailed off momentarily, before taking a deep breath and seeming to gather herself. “Logan and I were thinking about going down to the lake, so Logan can skate and I can get a hot chocolate and watch him. Would you… be interested in coming with us?”
Garrett’s breath caught in his throat.
Our mate is asking us to come with her to help take care of her offspring, his dragon purred. She trusts us. She knows we will protect her and everything that belongs to her, with every last breath in our body.
Well, hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, Garrett thought. At the sight of Georgia’s hopeful eyes and small smile, he felt his own answering smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
