“Winters,” Aric repeated, sitting in one of the chairs without asking if it was okay. He moved to tug Sami onto his lap, but she fought the effort.
“I’m too old for that,” she snapped, her eyes flashing. “I’m not ten.”
Aric flashed her a dark look. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re still eight and doing cartwheels in the lumberyard.”
“Well, I’m fourteen.” Sami puffed out her chest. “And I’m the one who took care of myself last night. I was all by my lonesome the entire time. I think that means you have to start treating me like an adult.”
Rather than heap praise on his child, Aric snorted. “You’re my baby until you’re forty. I’ve already told you that. I don’t care how big you think you are.”
Sami shifted her eyes to her mother. “Are you going to do something about him?”
“Nope.” Blasé, Zoe sat in the chair next to Aric and stared at her daughter. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
Mother and daughter hadn’t embraced, which I figured was a strategic move. Zoe wanted to appear strong, and given the things I’d heard about her, it was an understatement.
“I’m not hurt,” Sami replied, slapping her mother’s hand away when she moved to check her arm. “Knock it off. If I was hurt, I would’ve healed myself. I can do that now.”
“I seem to remember something about that,” Zoe said dryly. “Yet you didn’t heal Rafael.”
Sami made a protesting sound. “I didn’t know he was hurt. He didn’t tell me.” She sent Rafael an accusatory look. “If he’d told me, I would’ve fixed him.”
“He’s fine,” Aric countered, shooting the vampire an unreadable look. “If you’d been the one to heal him you would’ve been grossed out anyway. It was better that it was your mother.”
Sami tilted her head, confused. “Why would I have been grossed out?”
“Because he has scales under his shirt,” Aric replied, not missing a beat. “Oh yeah, the vampire you’ve been crushing on totally has scales under there. Go ahead and do that screeching and stomping thing you do because you’re freaking out. I’ll wait.”
Despite myself, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. The show of family love was heartwarming, momentarily causing me to lose my train of thought. Gunner, however, was still on task.
“I’ve heard of you,” he announced, his eyes on Aric. “You’re James Winters’ son.”
The name was familiar. “The state senator?” I furrowed my brow. “Actually, now that you mention it, I think I knew that. I’ve heard stories about you as well.”
“Ha!” Aric stuck out his tongue at his wife, although it seemed more like a reflex than anything else. It was obvious the parents had struggled through a rough night separated from their child. Now that they had her back, they were blowing off steam, and probably trying to center themselves. “I’m famous, too.”
“I would never argue with that.” Zoe rested her hand on top of his but kept her gaze on me. “Who are you?”
“Scout Randall.” I held out my hand. “I’m with Spells Angels. This is my associate Gunner Stratton. He’s also with the group.”
“Your associate?” Zoe cocked an eyebrow and held out her hand to shake mine. Her smile was smug. “Do all your associates spend the night at your cabin?”
“How do you know he spent the night?”
“Because that’s his vehicle.” She tipped her head toward the truck parked next to the porch. “It’s cool to the touch. I know because I checked when I walked by. There’s also a layer of dew on it, which means it was here all night.”
I smirked. “All the stories mention how powerful you are. I didn’t realize you were also a world-class sleuth.”
Zoe’s smile widened and she pointed it at her husband. “Ha! Did you hear that? I’m a genius.”
“Oh, well good,” said Aric. “There’s nothing I love better than listening to you when you’re riding high on the ego wave.”
For her part, Sami seemed focused on Rafael. She kept staring at his side, as if she expected his wound to spontaneously open again.
“What are you looking at?” Rafael queried, frustration evident.
“I want to see your scales.” Sami’s voice was low. “I want to see if they’re really gross.”
Rafael darted a glare over the girl’s head and focused on her father. “Nice. I guess the fact that I was ready to sacrifice myself for your child last night doesn’t count for anything, huh?”
Aric merely shrugged. “You’re clearly fine. If you need to cry, I’m sure our new friends have some Kleenex.”
Rafael rolled his eyes. “I have no idea why I spend time with you people. It takes me three months to detox from the snark each and every time.”
“You’re addicted to us,” Zoe replied, her attention drifting back to Sami. “Stop staring at him,” she ordered. “He doesn’t have scales. Your father just said that to mess with you.”
Sami’s brown eyes were narrowed when they landed on Aric. “That’s not nice.”
“Neither is the fact that you have a crush on a vampire. You’re breaking your father’s heart.”
Sami chewed on her lip, glaring at him. “I don’t have a crush on him anymore.”
“No?” Aric looked relieved. “That’s good. Just keep picturing those scales.”
Sami shook her head. “It’s not because of that. I’ve just been thinking about it. He liked Mom when you guys were young. I know that was fifty years ago, but it’s still gross. I’ve decided to set my sights higher.” Her gaze drifted to Gunner and she flashed him a smile. “Much, much higher.”
Aric scowled, glaring at the other male shifter in attendance. “She’s fourteen,” he warned. “I’ll crack your skull open.”
Despite the serious nature in which the threat was issued, Gunner barked out a laugh. “I think I can manage to refrain from going after a child. For the record, they were in real trouble when we intervened last night. They’re lucky we heard them because we were in bed.”
Aric sobered and nodded. “Thank you for saving my child.”
“And me,” Rafael added.
Aric shot him a look and shook
