Connie slipped into her room, settling herself on her bed and opening her laptop. She wasn’t putting this off any longer. Nope. She was going to set things in motion because she had no idea how long these things took.
Gerri Wilder ran the most prestigious dating agency ever. She must be busy and she might not even want to help Connie find someone for her best friend. “Goddess, I hope she does,” Connie whispered. “Surely she doesn’t just help rich people?”
She nibbled her lip, worried that Ms. Wilder wouldn’t even read her email. Shaking her head and straightening her shoulders she opened the Paranormal Dating Agency website, determined that she’d do whatever it took to get her friend her soul-mate. “Okay, what do I need to do?”
She read through the information section, noting the details given carefully, especially the facts where Ms. Wilder said she preferred to speak to the person directly whenever possible. Well that wasn’t going to happen! Then it went on to say that when that wasn’t possible her next preferred method was a video and her very last option was a picture. Result!
Connie had a ton of videos of Cyndi. All she had to do was pick one and attach it to the email she would write and send. The next thing she had to do was write the dang thing and she knew she had to make it sound good because she just had to make this magic worker of a woman take on her friend as a client. There was no way she couldn’t. Just no way. If she had to sell everything she owned then she would. Well, maybe not everything . . . she couldn’t give up her shoe collection.
That was sheer insanity!
It took her hours to compose her message. The words being changed time and again until she was happy. Her first were filled with too much despair and neediness and downright misery. The next few were so upbeat she sounded like a cheerleader on crack so she deleted those too and started over. Staring at the blank screen for ages before she decided to just write from her heart and explain how much she cared for her friend and hated to see her lonely and sad. Connie knew that there was someone special out there for Cyndi and that she trusted Ms. Wilder with her best friend’s happiness and although she wasn’t rich, she did have some savings she could pay and she’d sell her belongings for any shortfall. If that didn’t cover her fee then she offered her services for anything that Ms. Wilder considered suitable and attached her own picture to let her know she was fit and able to do most things, including cooking, cleaning and general running around.
There, if that didn’t get her the PDA’s help then nothing would.
Connie had already picked the video she was going to attach, one that had her friend sitting on her own at a Pack barbeque, looking gorgeous as ever but also showing her sadness . . . or so Connie thought every time she looked at it. She just prayed that Ms. Wilder thought so too and offered to take on Cyndi as her client. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed, Connie pressed send, her heart thudding with anticipation.
Jeez, she hoped it wasn’t too long until she got a reply because her nerves would be shot to hell in no time. As it was, she had to try and hide it from Cyndi and that was going to be difficult enough. Having her best friend living with her was great, until times like these when she didn’t want her finding out something so dang important. She sighed as sadness settled inside her as often happened when she thought of her friend’s unhappy past . . . her reason for staying here in the first place after a visit a few years ago, when they’d become firm friends.
Shaking her head, she brushed those thoughts aside. Stop it! She’s much happier here now. She chided herself, knowing it was true and her parents had adopted Cyndi as another daughter and Connie sure as heck thought of her as much more than a friend. Her mom interrupted her, causing her to jump.
“Connie, can you come here, please?” her mom shouted. “I’d appreciate if you could go check on things for me.”
Connie sighed, closing down her browser just in case Cyndi saw it and plodded downstairs. “What’s up, Mom?”
“Can you see if you can find out anything more about what’s going on?” her mom asked, her face pinched with worry.
“Sure,” Connie replied. “Don’t look so worried, Mom. I’m sure we’re safe here in camp. Chad won’t let anything happen to us and Da’rion is on the case, so you know he’s got all his guys out there hunting those fu—”
“Don’t you dare!” Her mom raised her voice, waggling her finger.
“Sorry.” Connie’s lips tugged up. “But they are and you know it. They’re rotten through and through and I can think of worse words for them.”
Her dad appeared at the back door, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. “I heard you two outside. What’s going on?”
“Rogues,” Connie said the word with distaste. “There’s reports of them in the area and we’re all to stay in camp until further notice.”
“Fuckers!” Her dad spat out and Connie burst out laughing as her mother shook her head.
“See, Dad agrees with me,” Connie managed to get out.
“I know he does but there’s no need for that language, Abner.”
“What? That’s what they are and if I get a chance I’ll tear a throat or two out.”
“Dad, don’t say that,” Connie said, stepping forward. “Leave it to Da’rion and his men.”
“Don’t worry, baby girl, I won’t go looking for trouble but I won’t shy away from them if they come anywhere near here either. I’m not too old to protect my family. Not yet anyway.”
Connie gave her father a long look, seeing him for the man and Wolf he was. Yes, he wasn’t as young as he used to be, but he was still muscular and strong, and she was under no illusion of how vicious he could be when the situation called for it. “I know, Dad, I just don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Ditto, baby girl, so you stay close. Okay?”
“I will. I’m just going to see what’s going on so Mom can relax.”
“You’re a good girl looking out for your mom.” Her dad sneaked over to place a quick kiss on her mom’s cheek. “It’ll be fine, sweetie, I’m here and I promise not to roam far until things have settled down.”
“Thank you, honey, you know how I get at the mere mention of those dang rogues.”
“Mom! You are such a drama queen.” Connie laughed. “You have a camp full of Shifters to keep you safe and you have nothing to worry about because you never go anywhere on your own, and I promise to do what Da’rion advises. Okay?”
“And what about tomorrow night? It’s Friday. You were talking about dragging Cyndi to Silvers.”
“Silvers will be there any other night, it’s not going anywhere. We can stay home and bake cookies.” Connie did a good job of keeping a straight face as she spoke, her mother’s eyes widening in shock as her dad winked. “Not! I’ll stay home but you can bake the cookies.”
“Away with you before I take the broom to your sassy ass,” her mom squealed, reaching behind her.
Connie knew when to make a retreat and rushed away laughing. “I’ll be back soon and let you know if I hear anything new and don’t you two lovebirds get up to anything while I’m gone.”