She looked puzzled. “Is it anything like the rumors say?”
Tonight, it definitely won’t be, he thought, shrugging.
Tonight, everyone would be on their best, completely and totally normal human behavior.
It looked like she was about to say something, but instead, she leaned forward, eyes narrowing at the ranch in the distance.
They were there.
As they pulled into the large clearing between the main house, the barn, and the guest houses, Dallas felt a sudden wave of relief wash over him. He hadn’t noticed how much he’d missed home, even though he’d only been away a few days.
They pulled off to the side and parked in the dirt. When they got out, they were greeted by most of the crew who were standing beneath the shade of the porch.
Harrison was there, wearing his usual cowboy attire and surly expression, next to his mate, Marian. She had brown hair and a warm smile. Clancy looked fancy, as usual, and was standing next to his mate, Billie, whose red hair shifted to the side as she leaned up to talk in his ear.
Standing against one of the pillars was Reno. The blond wolf cowboy-turned-mechanic nodded, smiling easily.
Beck and his mate Sierra were nowhere to be found, but that wasn’t particularly surprising given the fact that he preferred to spend time on her estate and would come back and forth as needed.
“Hello,” Marian said, smiling as the group stepped down from the porch to greet them.
Harrison nodded. “Welcome to Dragonclaw, our humble ranch. You must be Mel.”
Mel, who had still been taking in the place with a look of awe, nodded emphatically, eyes going wide as she shook the huge cowboy’s hand.
Harrison went down the line, introducing each of them, while Dallas just stood mutely by Mel’s side.
When he was done, Billie nodded, her brown eyes curious.
“So,” she said. “You that reporter out here lookin’ to do a story on the recent thunderstorms?”
Mel shook her head. “No, I’m actually looking into a few mysterious disturbances. You seen anything weird lately?”
Harrison and Clancy shared a quick knowing look.
“Can’t say we have, Mel,” Clancy said, his smile blinding. “Aside from the storms, nothing’s been out of the ordinary. Unless you count ol’ Bessie getting stuck in a ditch again.”
“Again?” Reno groaned. “That’s the fourth time this week.”
Mel laughed and leaned forward conspiratorially. “I’ll be sure to include that in my report.”
Clancy laughed at that, and Dallas hid a smile, watching Mel proudly. For some reason, it made him feel so happy to know that she was getting along with his family.
Then Marian cleared her throat and stepped forward, nodding at Harrison. “Well,” she said, “Dallas said you’d be doing interviews, and we’ll go first.”
Mel looked perplexed. “Really? As some people tell it, you’d think Dragonclaw was full of dragons and monsters, but you’re some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”
Marian laughed, linking an arm through Harrison’s. “You know how rumors are, and it’s a small town.”
Harrison nodded at that, gesturing inside the house. “Come on in. We’ll answer your questions.”
Dallas watched amusedly as Mel followed Harrison and Marian into the house, still looking pleased yet confused at the situation.
When they were gone, Clancy and Billie followed after them. Dallas was about to follow when Reno grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side.
“Dal,” he said as they walked out toward the barn. “That reporter, is she your mate?”
“What? No.”
Reno cocked an eyebrow, unfazed. “Don’t lie to me. We’ve known each other as long as I’ve been here, and I saw the way you were looking at her. It’s the same way Harrison looks at Marian or how Beck looks at Sierra.”
“So?”
“So,” Reno said. “I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you look at her, like she’s a treasure that you want to guard and keep to yourself for all time.”
“That’s not it,” Dallas replied, frowning. But he wasn’t completely sure who he was trying to convince. Reno? Or himself? His tiger seemed to be fairly adamant that she was his mate.
But then again, it wasn’t like he spent a lot of time around humans of the female, unmated variety. Maybe his tiger was just hungry for touch.
His tiger growled, offended by the thought.
Okay, that couldn’t be it. Maybe she really could be his mate.
He hesitated, then nodded slowly. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, that might be something you want to get sure about,” Reno replied, laughing, then looking back at the door. “Still, I like her.”
Dallas growled instinctively at that, and Reno held up his hands.
“Yeah, sorry, not your mate, but I’ll stay away from her, loud and clear,” he said with a grin. Then he sobered. “Still, glad she’s not my mate. I don’t know how we’re gonna handle this if she stays around for good.”
Dallas nodded in agreement. This was all getting so complicated.
If she was his mate, determined to expose shifters, what was he going to do?
11
Mel smiled in amazement as she set down her notebook and turned off her recorder after her last interview with Reno.
To her surprise, nothing interesting at all seemed to be happening at Dragonclaw, unless one counted a few summer thunderstorms, cows getting stuck in weird spots, and tractors misfiring loud enough to startle the county as out of the ordinary.
She just couldn’t make sense of it. According to everyone in town, this had been the center of all of the strange activity. Yet everyone here seemed perfectly normal.
Just a few ranching families making an honest living out on their sprawling plot of land, nothing weird about that. In fact, she found it all rather charming, and a small part of her envied them.
There was, however, something weird about all of the men at Dragonclaw.
Why were they all so freaking huge? Harrison, the apparent boss of the ranch, looked like he could crush her underfoot, and Clancy and Reno weren’t far behind.
Not only that, but they all had perfectly honed physiques, although that could have been from hard
