23. Tate

TWENTY-THREE

TATE

I'd been living with Harley and her girls for two weeks. The transition had been fairly simple and easy, and it helped that I enjoyed being around them. It was nice to have people at home when I got off work. It was nice not to enter an empty bed each evening. It was nice hearing the talking and laughter that was always going on. It reminded me of how quiet and lonely my house had been before.

There hadn't been any more signs of Luis. No further kidnapping attempts, no sign of the black car. My guys still followed the girls to school each day. Their reports had been bland and vanilla. Nothing exciting, other than the fact they got to watch two freshmen boys get into a fist fight in the parking lot one afternoon. Carl and Terry had both laughed until they'd almost cried when they'd described it. Apparently, the boys had basically been having a slap fight, and neither had done a very good job proving his manhood. I'd laughed along with them, but I was still on edge. There was no way Ortiz had just up and left. It did not seem like his style. For now, though, things were quiet and calm.

At least it would be if not for what was going on tonight. Mariah was bringing home a boy for dinner. The fact that I wasn't her real father was not lost on me. The fact that my dragon, and by association, my own mind, didn't give a damn also had to be taken into account. For all intents and purposes, I felt like a father figure. I wanted to protect and take care of all the girls. Mariah included.

Mariah came down the stairs and called out, "He just texted me. He'll be here in a minute or two."

Harley grinned at her. "Okay, sweetie. He does like steak and potatoes, right? Potatoes are already in the oven, so I can't really turn back now."

"Oh yeah. Who doesn't like grilled meat?" Mariah said, shrugging off the question.

"Vegans don't," Jordyn said.

I raised an eyebrow. "No offense, Mariah, but I don't think I could stomach it if you brought home a vegan."

Mariah rolled her eyes. "He's not, trust me. He eats the school hamburgers and pepperoni pizza. We're good."

Jordyn leaned against the counter, her eyes bright with mischief, and said, "Kayden's so pretty. I can't wait for you to see him, Mom."

"Just a hint," I grumbled. "Boys prefer the words handsome or sexy over pretty."

Jordyn tilted her head. "Pretty is pretty. Doesn't matter what he prefers."

I rolled my eyes right as the doorbell rang. I was the closest, so I stepped to the door, put my shoulders back, and placed a serious and intimidating look on my face before turning the knob. As I swept the door open, the young man with perfectly tousled hair grinned, then caught sight of me. I'd been going for an intimidating and overbearing dad vibe. This kid wasn't falling for it. His grin widened and he put his hand out to shake. He was a good-looking kid, healthy and strong for his age, but I could have picked him up and broken him over my knee. It was also a very small town, so the kid probably knew who I was and what I did for a living. Even with all that, he looked at ease and confident. I raised an eyebrow and shook his extended hand.

I stepped back and smiled, waving a hand inside. "Come on in, Kayden. Nice to meet you," I said, with my best gracious host voice.

"Thanks, uh, Mr. Mills. I didn't know you and Mariah's… well, it's nice to see you," Kayden said.

I had never seen the kid before in my life, but I nodded. "Good to see you again, too."

Jordyn chimed in, "I forgot to tell you guys. Everyone at school knows Tate and his three friends. The girls call them The Crew, and everybody thinks they're super-hot. Hotties with bodies, they say."

"Jordyn," Harley hissed in a near-yell. She looked aghast, but I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

"What? I didn't say it. I'm just telling you what everyone else says."

Kayden cleared his throat. "Well, she's right. Every kid knows who Mr. Mills is. Most people know what he does for a living and think he's…" He paused and grinned a little. "…they think he's a badass. Nothing to be ashamed of," he said with a shrug.

I would love to say that having a fourteen and seventeen-year-old say all these things about me was silly, and that I didn't care. But the awkward kid I had been when I was younger, the one who had wanted nothing more than to be cool, did perk up a bit. As silly as it was to say, my ego definitely took a boost.

Mariah looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She grabbed Kayden's hand and walked toward the stairs. "We're gonna go watch a movie until dinner is ready."

"No funny business," Harley said.

"Mom!" Mariah gasped, her face turning blood red.

I glanced over Mariah's shoulder and gave Kayden a look that told him everything I wanted him to know. He saw my expression, and the smile that had been on his face slipped away. He gave me the faintest of nods in acknowledgment. He understood exactly what my look meant. If he even thought about touching Mariah, he'd find out how much of a badass I really was.

Harley and I went to sit on the back porch with a couple of glasses of lemonade while the potatoes cooked, enjoying the early evening weather. It was warm but comfortable.

"How does Mariah feel about her little boyfriend?" I asked.

Harley rolled her eyes at me. "I don't know that it's a full relationship yet. She seems to like him though. I do too."

I nodded. "Looks like a good kid. He wasn't intimidated, but he was also respectful. I like him. Do you remember what it was like?"

Harley sipped her lemonade and frowned. "What what was like?"

"Being that young and having that first real boyfriend or girlfriend. It was exciting and scary all at the same time."

Harley nodded. "True. It was so long ago I have a hard time remembering all of it though."

I chuckled. "Well, unfortunately I have a really good memory. I still remember the first time I tried to fumble a girl's bra off. It was a disaster. I ended up snapping it on her back. Left a massive red welt. I definitely did not get lucky that night."

Harley almost spit her drink out as she fought back laughter. Once she regained her composure, she patted me on the leg. "I guess even guys like you have to start somewhere."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means not everyone is born a suave, smooth talking, slab of walking testosterone like you."

"Oh." I raised my eyebrows. "Is that what I am?"

"Don't let it go to your head."

"Well, I'll do my best to make sure mister Kayden stays the straight and narrow."

Harley swatted my chest. "Don't run the boy off. Mariah likes him."

"Okay, okay, I'll try my best."

We sat there, simply enjoying each other's company for a few more minutes. My dragon was so content it worried me. I'd never been this content or at peace with anyone. Was it just the mating bond? Was it simply the way Harley made me feel? She was depending on me, which stoked my protective nature—the dragon loved being needed. Being able to keep them safe. Even when we didn't exactly agree, she still listened when I knew what needed to be done. I loved her for that.

My eyes widened in surprise. Harley didn't notice the sudden stiffness to my body. Love? Had that word really just tickled the edges of my mind? My heart thudded hard against my ribs. Was I really, truly, falling in love with Harley?

I did the best I could to cover my surprise at what I'd been thinking about. We went inside to check on the potatoes. They were getting close, so I pulled the steaks from the fridge while Harley put the salad together.

While I seasoned the meat, Mariah and Kayden came down the stairs. "How's dinner coming along?" Mariah asked.

"Good. If you want, you can help me cut veggies for the salad," Harley said. "Kayden, do you want to help Tate cook the steaks?"

Kayden swallowed hard, then, to his credit, he smiled. "Sure."

The boy and I stepped outside and turned the grill on. "How do you like your steak cooked?"

"Medium rare, a little closer to the rare side."

I pointed at him with the spatula. "Kid, I think there's hope for you yet. If you'd said well done, I'd have thrown you out on your ass right then and there."

He laughed at that, and I decided I actually liked him. Grudgingly, but I did. He seemed like a good kid. He was brave, too. I didn't know whether I would have gone out on the back porch with a guy that looked like me at that age.

"What do you do at school? Any clubs or sports or anything?" I asked.

He nodded as he handed me the plate of steaks. "I play baseball. Love baseball, actually."

I frowned, something tickling my memory. Had I heard this kid's name before?

"Are you the kid that had the walk-off homer in the state finals last year? Won Lilly Valley High the state championship? Didn't you guys upset the reigning champs?"

He reddened a bit. "They were the four-year running champs. It was a lucky pitch, though. The pitcher had a dead arm. His coach should have pulled him at least an inning before. It was just luck."

Modest, too? Well, shit. The guy was fucking Prince Charming. "What are your plans for life after school? College? Work?"

His eyes lit up. "I like baseball, and I'm pretty good. There are several pretty big schools offering me scholarships, I want to go to one that has a really good veterinary program. I want to be a vet. That's the first thing Mariah and I found out we had in common."

I had no idea Mariah wanted to be a vet. My mind began to spin through scenarios, doing math with my savings accounts and investments I'd made. Both girls would need college funds. I was sure Harley had plans for that. There'd probably been life insurance from when their dad passed. All well and good, but if I was going to be around, I would make sure the girls didn't want for anything.

Kayden went on. "Upstairs, all Mariah could talk about was you. Mr. Mills, she really likes you. I thought you should know that. All she could talk about was how happy she was that her mom found you, and that she wasn't alone anymore."

Son of a bitch, this kid was freaking awesome. That sealed it. He was all right with me. In fact, I didn't think Mariah could have done any better. I smiled wryly to myself and thought, they still needed to leave the door open when they were in her room .

Once the steaks were done, I handed the plate to Kayden to take in. Inside, I closed the door and walked over to Mariah, then kissed the top of her head. She looked at me in surprise, but then smiled when she looked into my eyes. I had a family again. I'd already known it, but looking into Mariah's eyes really pushed it home. It would take all the hosts of heaven and all the demons of hell to pry me away from these women.

Hours later, after dinner, after Kayden went home, and after the girls were asleep, Harley and I lay in bed, panting and sweaty after another mind-blowing evening of sexual adventures. Teenagers tended to sleep like the dead, but we'd still done our best to be quiet. I wasn't sure how successful we'd been.

"So?" Harley asked. "Did you and Kayden have a good talk outside? I assume you did, since he looked much less like he was going to piss himself when he came back in."

I laughed. "I have to say, he's a good kid. Smart, athletic, polite, the whole nine yards. I'm pretty sure that he knows he's found a prize with Mariah. We're good buddies now."

Harley wrapped her arms around me and whispered, "Good," before slipping into sleep.

I held her and listened to her gentle breathing. Over and over again, the same words played on repeat in my head. Love, family, mate, love, family, mate. It was strange, but in the best damned way. I fell asleep smiling.