“Do you think Elle’s really okay with us being mated?” Tyler asked cautiously as he turned his pickup truck onto the highway leading south to the Grizzly Creek Ranch. “I remember her being pretty hardline about not mingling shifter lineages.”

“Her thinking may have changed a bit on that,” Mary replied, putting her hand over his hand where it rested on the gear shift knob. “After all, Ash is the only one of her kids who’s actually mated to a bear shifter. And then there’s her own mate, Justin, who’s a sabertooth shifter, which, by the way, is the very last lineage I would have expected her to choose. She used to complain all the time about sabertooth shifters being a bunch of no-good troublemakers. Uncle Bill too. Maybe the two of them are mellowing out in their old age,” she added.

Tyler scoffed. “Have you met them?” he asked incredulously.

But his mood seemed to lighten a bit.

In the days that had passed since Tyler had rescued her from the fire, Mary had found herself feeling happier than she’d ever been. Following Uncle Bill’s lead, most of her pack had responded to the news of her mating with cautious acceptance, which was better than she’d expected.

Even her mother seemed more enthusiastic after Tyler invited them all over for dinner on Friday. After consulting with Mary about her family’s likes and dislikes, he had cooked them his most delicious meal yet.

Mary and the others were still searching through the rubble of her burned-out house and Hawkins Hardware.

It remained difficult, uncomfortable, stinky work, but Mary returned to Tyler’s house every evening to find the air conditioning on, dinner on the table, and an incredibly sexy bear shifter offering her a glass of iced tea and a hot kiss.

She was addicted to his scent and touch and loved falling asleep in his arms after making love.

Waking up was almost as good, because Tyler had taken her flippant “naked-man coffee” comments to heart and brought her a steaming cup every morning with a heaping side dish of unclothed eye candy.

It all seemed to be too good to be true, like a dream that had to end sometime. But she was going to enjoy every moment of this miracle that had carried her out of the flames and into this new life.

“Anyhow, it’s not like she can undo our mating,” Tyler continued, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. “We’re a done deal, right?”

“Yeah, we are.” Mary squeezed his hand, and he flipped it to capture her fingers.

She’d known Elle all of her life, of course, and knew that her heart was in the right place, even if she could be stubbornly opinionated about certain things. But that was Elle Swanson, who was Uncle Bill’s longtime friend.

Tonight, they’d be dealing with Elle Swanson, the Swanson clan matriarch. And just like with her pack, she and Tyler wanted to get Elle’s official clan approval for their mating.

“Exactly,” Mary agreed. “It’s just a formality.”

Speaking of formalities, she’d be bringing Tyler to the monthly Jacobsen pack meeting three days from now. Having Uncle Bill’s approval was going to smooth everything. Hopefully.

At least Dean and Kenny had come around to the idea of Tyler as their brother-in-law. They’d been at the Friday night dinner, and Kenny had showed up yesterday too.

Her younger brother had enjoyed a bottle of cold imported Mexican beer and gorged himself on Tyler’s fish tacos, made with freshly caught trout that had been deboned and fried in a light, crispy coating, then served with spicy mayo, fresh pico de gallo, and shredded cabbage wrapped up in homemade flour tortillas.

“I sure hope so,” Tyler said, staring straight ahead. “You know, I’ve always been grateful that Aunt Elle used her influence to keep me out of jail after that stupid stunt with your uncle’s cop car. And then there was the time that I convinced Ash to drive around the county during roadwork season and reprogram all of the electronic signs to announce the Zombie Apocalypse up ahead…she was furious with both of us but managed to smooth that over too.” He blew out his breath. “I just get the feeling that she thinks of me as a clan liability rather than an asset.”

* * *

When Mary and Tyler arrived at Elle’s big yellow Victorian farmhouse on the ranch, he saw a surprising number of cars parked along the gravel road that led from the highway up to a cluster of houses. The vehicles ranged in size from a small blue Prius to a big, gunmetal gray BMW SUV and the ranch’s white Ford F150 pickup trucks.

“Wow, it looks like the entire clan decided to come to dinner this week,” Mary said, looking suddenly nervous.

Plastic and paper crinkled as her hand tightened on the bouquet of summer flowers that she had brought as a hostess gift.

Moved by a protective impulse, Tyler gave her a quick hug before he went to the back of his Chevy pickup and pulled out a cooler filled with chilled bottles of Scotch ale from the Bearpaw Ridge Brewery.

They walked up the stairs to the house’s broad roofed porch and pushed open the door.

The scent of roasting beef and other scrumptious smells billowed out of the house, borne on a wave of noise from multiple conversations and the delighted shrieking of children.

Mary hesitated in the doorway.

“Ready?” Tyler asked after a second.

“Yeah. It’s not like I don’t know your family,” she said.

They crossed the foyer with its grand curving staircase, then followed the sound of the tumult down the carpeted hall, its walls lined with family photos, to the grand Victorian living room.

The room, complete with antique Persian carpets and a huge, ornate horsehair sofa, was crowded with Tyler’s cousins, their mates, and kids.

As they entered, Tyler caught sight of his wildlife biologist cousin Evan, who was standing in one corner of the room with his arm around Steffi’s shoulders. Both of them were laughing at something that Evan’s older brother Mark was telling them.

“What’s he doing here?” Mary asked, coming to a sudden halt. “I thought he was away for the summer, doing research up in Montana somewhere.”

With a pang of jealousy, Tyler remembered that Mary and Evan had been involved for a while. Tyler thought that his cousin had been an idiot for not appreciating Mary like she deserved, but Evan’s loss had been Tyler’s gain.

And Tyler really didn’t like the distress he saw in the tightening of his mate’s mouth and the spike in her pulse. He set down the cooler against the wall, then looped his arm around Mary’s waist, drawing her close to his side.

Evan turned and waved to Mary with a genuine smile. Steffi did the same.

But before Tyler could say anything reassuring to his mate, Elle Swanson was bearing down on them.

She was a tall, curvy middle-aged woman with short frosted blonde hair and warm brown eyes.

“Tyler! Mary!” she sang out. The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at them. “I’m so glad you came!” Her glance fell on the big Styrofoam cooler. “Is that Bearpaw Ridge Ale?” she asked with a delighted smile.

“It sure is,” Tyler assured her. “Hi, Aunt Elle.”

She beamed at him and enclosed him in a maternal embrace, kissing him on the cheek. She smelled comfortingly of food with a faint trace of lavender.

Then she repeated the action with Mary.

“Thanks so much for inviting me,” Mary said when Elle drew back.

She offered Elle the bouquet.

Elle accepted it and took a deep, delighted sniff. “Why, thank you. That’s so sweet of you. And I was thrilled when Bill told me the news about your mating!”

Then she peered over Mary’s shoulder at the wide cased opening of the living room. “But where’s Phoebe? Isn’t she coming? I was hoping we could celebrate as a family tonight.”

“Mom said she wasn’t feeling up to it,” Tyler said. “I thought she was going to text you and let you know.”

He was keenly aware that everyone in the living room—with the exception of four-year-old Matthew and his toddler cousin Ellie—was paying close attention to their exchange.

Elle frowned. “I feel like she’s been avoiding me. I hope isn’t anything I’ve said or done.”

Haven’t you figured out that she’s as intimidated as hell by you?

Tyler shook his head and opted for the diplomatic answer. “She took Dad’s death really hard, and she’s become kind of a hermit lately. I think she’s still working through a bunch of stuff.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Elle said with genuine sympathy. “Ordinary or not, I wouldn’t want Mike’s widow to think that she’s unwelcome here.”

“Care for some champagne?” Elle’s new mate Justin asked as he approached them with two flutes of sparkling wine.

He was a tall and leanly muscular sabertooth shifter with short, tawny hair, deeply tanned features, and striking blue-green eyes.

“Hey there, Justin. How’s it going?” Tyler greeted him, glad for the interruption.

He’d gotten to know Justin pretty well during their volunteer work together at the fire department, and he liked the laid-back Texan. Tyler was also a big fan of Justin’s recently opened Wildcat Springs Texas BBQ restaurant.

Before Mary had come into his life, takeout orders of smoked brisket, barbeque chicken, and cornbread had been Tyler’s go-to dinner whenever he worked late and didn’t feel like cooking for himself.

Justin grinned as he handed Tyler and Mary the flutes.

“Well, I’m about as happy as a seagull with a French fry,” he said in his soft Texas drawl.

“Speaking of happy,” Elle said, raising her voice and her glass of wine, “I want to congratulate Tyler and Mary on their recent mating. I’ve known Mary since she was in diapers, and I’m overjoyed to welcome her into our family.”

“To Tyler and Mary!” Evan called from the back of the room.

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted them.

The next few minutes were a little chaotic as the members of the extended Swanson family crowded around Tyler and Mary, offering their congratulations and good wishes.

Tyler suppressed a jealous surge when Evan bent to hug Mary.

“I’m so happy for you, doll,” he said. “I always felt bad about the way things ended between us.”

Mary’s smile looked forced as she returned the hug. “You and Steffi seem really happy together. And if we hadn’t broken up, I might not have said yes to one of Tyler’s fantastic dinners.”

“He cooked for you?” Steffi asked, her large eyes sparking with good humor under her dark brows. “He must have been smitten.”

“I was,” Tyler said simply. “And still am. It was love at first sight.”

“It was,” echoed Dimitri Medved, who had been adopted into the Swanson clan after his sister had married Ash Swanson. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off her while he was supposed to be fighting the fire at her place last Monday.”

“Couldn’t help myself,” Tyler said, trying and failing to suppress his grin. “She was wearing the cutest pajamas I’d ever seen.”

“I was covered in soot, and my hair was a rat’s nest,” Mary said severely, but the tension was gone, which made Tyler happy.

“So while I have all of you handsome fellows in one room—” Steffi began before she interrupted herself. “Dane, I can see you trying to hide behind Annabeth, and it’s not working!”

Dane gave an exaggerated sigh and came over to join them.

“Right,” Steffi said. “As I was saying, now that I’ve got all of you Swanson hunks cornered, I wanted to let you know that I’m starting work on the next BPRFD fund-raiser.”

Dane, Mark, and Evan all groaned.

“Not another calendar, Steffi. Please,” Mark begged.

Tyler looked at Dimitri, who shrugged and mouthed No idea.

Steffi crossed her arms and glared at her brother-in-law. “Yes, another calendar. The last one did fantastically well, with orders coming in from all over the US and Canada after my Facebook post advertising the calendar went viral. The proceeds paid for the fire department’s new paramedic van, if you recall.”

“What kind of calendar?” Tyler asked suspiciously, seeing the glum expressions on his cousins’ faces.

At the same moment, Mary said, “I loved that calendar. I’ll totally buy the next one that comes out, especially if Tyler’s in it.”

Tyler was beginning to have a bad feeling about this, especially when he caught Mary and Steffi exchanging conspiratorial looks.

“Mary? What kind of calendar?” he asked again.

“The best kind: shirtless firefighters,” she answered with a smirk. “Last year, Steffi had all of the volunteer firefighters pose in their boots and bunker pants while holding puppies or kittens, and you would not believe the response! We were even getting orders from Europe and Japan. After buying the van, we still had funds left over to donate to the Bearpaw Ridge Animal Shelter.”

“It was pure sexual exploitation, but it was fun,” Evan said, grinning.

Based on what Tyler knew about his cousin, Dr. Evan Swanson was exactly the kind of guy who’d enjoy posing shirtless and having women drool over him…even if he was very happily mated these days.

“Uh…” Tyler said.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted half-naked photos of himself sent around the globe, even if it was for a good cause.

“Oh, come on, Tyler,” Mary urged him. “Be a good sport. Plus, it would make me very happy.”

She fluttered her eyelashes at him shamelessly, and he had to smile.

“We could really use a couple of new models, since Ash moved away to Seattle and Justin is being stubborn,” Steffi added. “And you and Dimitri are perfect.”

“Can I keep my shirt on?” Tyler asked.

“Why on earth would you want to do that?” Mary asked. She looked at Steffi. “He’s covered in tattoos, and it’s totally hot.”

“That settles it,” Steffi informed Tyler. “You’re in. In fact, if we get the right rescue puppy, I might use your portrait as this year’s Facebook ad. Otherwise, if you have a dog of your own, maybe we could have the two of you pose together.”

“No dog, but I’ve got a rescue parrot,” Tyler offered, surrendering to the inevitable. He knew he couldn’t say no to Mary’s eager expression. “He could sit on my shoulder. He loves people and loves to be in the spotlight.”

That brought Steffi to a momentary halt. “You’ve got a rescue parrot?” she asked. “For real?”

He nodded. “His name is Bogey. He’s green and yellow, and he talks.”

“That has possibilities,” Steffi said, in a musing tone. “Though puppies and kittens have universal appeal…”

“I vote for Bogey. You’ll be the sexiest fireman-slash-pirate in the calendar,” Mary said. “I’ll buy a second calendar for the office.”

“Not helping,” Tyler informed her, but he couldn’t help grinning at the thought of Bill Jacobsen’s expression when confronted by a photo of half-naked Tyler at the police station.

Despite his protests, he couldn’t help but be flattered by Steffi’s teasing compliments.

But most of all, he was warmed by the deeper meaning of the offer—that he had finally found the acceptance he had been longing for here in Bearpaw Ridge.

Steffi eyed Dimitri. The young Russian shifter pretended to look around frantically for help.

“Justin,” he called. “Save me! Tell Steffi that you’ll pose for her calendar!”

“I decline the honor,” Justin said, laughing. “I’m too old and too scarred to be making a shirtless fool of myself. I’ll leave that part to all of y’all young fellas.”

“You look just fine to me,” Elle purred, stroking a polished pink fingertip down her mate’s arm.

“Mom!” Mark sputtered. “Don’t do that in public. Please.”

Elle’s smirk was positively evil.

“Justin may still be looking fine,” Evan said, “but what about Dane? I’ve heard rumors that Annabeth’s pastries are taking their toll, and he’s developing a ‘Dad bod.’”

“He is most definitely not,” Annabeth said indignantly. “And he’ll look great in the calendar. Won’t you, my love?”

Steffi smiled at Dane in triumph. “Sounds like you’re in.”

Dane gave his pretty redheaded wife a wry look.

“I guess I am,” he said in a resigned tone.

“Good.” Steffi’s attention returned to Dimitri. “And you’re in too.”

He opened his mouth to protest, and she added, “Resistance is useless. And don’t try to avoid me, Dimitri. I know where you live.”

He sighed and threw up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I’ll do it.” Then his gray gaze sharpened. “Can I bring my pet boa constrictor?”

That didn’t faze Steffi one bit. “Only if it’s a rescue. Was it a rescue?”

Dimitri sighed. “No. I don’t actually own a snake.”

“Knew it,” Steffi said smugly.

“It was worth a try.”

Dane bent and scooped up his giggling four-year-old son. “How about I pose with Matt this year? He’s cuter than a puppy.”

“He sure is,” Annabeth agreed.

Dane set the little boy on his shoulders, and Matt promptly grabbed onto his father’s hair. “Giddy-up, Daddy!”

“I like that idea,” Steffi said with an approving nod. She looked around at her hapless victims. “Great. Let me contact the rest of the firefighters and work out a shooting schedule with my photographer buddy, and then I’ll be contacting all of you for with the date and time of the shoot. Say, Captain Dane, can we pose the guys in front of the fire engines again this year?”

“Sure,” he agreed amiably, reaching up to capture the small, sneaker-clad foot kicking his chest.

“I’ll bring coffee and pastries to the photo shoot if you let me stay and watch,” Annabeth said, coming over to take Matt from her mate.

“If you’re going over to watch the shoot, then I’m coming too,” Mark’s mate Caitlyn said. “I feel the need to write an article about the calendar for the fire department’s blog.”

“Hey, Steffi, stop these women, will you? No one said anything about the photo shoot being performance art,” Mark teased.

“Dinner is ready,” Elle called.

The little meeting broke up as everyone left the living room and followed the Swanson clan matriarch down the hall to the huge formal dining room in the back of the house.

Like the rest of the house, it was decorated with nineteenth-century wallpaper and high molded plaster ceilings. A large bronze chandelier hung from the ceiling, with large, tulip-shaped frosted glass shades around the light bulbs.

It wasn’t Tyler’s style, but he had a professional appreciation for the expert restoration that had been done on the house to bring back its former glory.

A giant oval mahogany dining table dominated the room. The leaves had been inserted to stretch it to its full length, and it was set for ten adults with antique china and crystal wine glasses and matching water goblets. There were also a booster seat for Matt and a high chair for Ellie.

Just like the last time Tyler had been here, all the guests helped to carry the serving plates and bowls of food from the kitchen, fill glasses from a pitcher of iced water, pour wine, or slice bread.

In deference to the oppressive heat outside and the lack of air conditioning inside the house, Justin had brought large catering pans filled with a selection of smoked and barbequed meats from his restaurant, as well as macaroni and cheese, Texas-style coleslaw with a spicy lime vinaigrette, and cornbread.

At Elle’s direction, everything was set up, buffet style, on the dining room’s long sideboard.

Annabeth busily unboxed a selection of pies and fresh fruit tarts from a stack of bakery boxes labeled with the Cinnamon + Sugar logo and placed them in the center of the dining table to create a tantalizing display of desserts

When everyone had had the chance to fill their plates from the buffet and seat themselves, Elle said, “In addition to welcoming Mary to our clan, there’s more good news. Dane and Annabeth?”

Tyler figured that the announcement was for the benefit of the Ordinaries in the dining, room, since he and the other shifters already knew, thanks to their keen noses.

“Dane and I are expecting a baby this autumn,” Annabeth said.

“I’m gonna get a baby sister!” Matt announced from his high chair.

“Or maybe a baby brother,” Dane said gently. “It’s too early to tell.”

Mark raised his glass. “Congratulations, guys! Caitlyn and I are looking forward to another niece or nephew.” He grinned. “We’re still trying for a little sister or brother for Ellie, and we’ll let you know as soon as we have some good news.”

Everyone lifted their glasses to Dane and Annabeth. Matt lifted his sippy cup.

“Speaking of babies, when are Ash and Nika coming to visit again?” Tyler asked. “I’d like to meet little Dimitri.”

“They’re calling him Mitya. That was my nickname when I was a kid,” Dimitri said. “Nika’s not sure when she’ll be able to get away, but Ash says he’s hoping to visit soon and bring Mitya with him.”

“Oh, good,” Elle commented. Then her sharp brown gaze settled on her middle son Evan, who was seated across the table from Tyler. “And when are you and Steffi planning to give me a grandchild?”

“When Evan stops spending all summer out in the field,” Steffi replied. “We’ve talked about starting a family, but my stint of caring for Olivia showed me how hard it was to take care of a baby on my own. Plus, my job with Ash’s company has just gotten a LOT busier, because the latest release of Hunter’s Blood is a runaway success so far.”

“And I don’t want to miss out on any parental experiences because I’m away from home,” Evan added, serious for once. “I’ve just heard that the funding for that interagency lynx study that I’ve been on for the past few years will be ending next year. Steffi and I think that we might want to start our family after my final field season.”

Thankfully, no one asked Tyler and Mary about their reproductive plans.

Instead, Elle inquired, “So Tyler, what are your plans? I know that you’re currently working on your mother’s house, but what will you do after that?”

“Well, I promised Mary that I’ll rebuild her house. We found some plans online that she really likes, so I’m planning to get started on her place as soon as I wrap up work on Mom’s place, which should be pretty soon. It’s basically down to painting and installing countertops and appliances now. I’m hoping to get her moved in before the end of the month.”

“And then?” Elle pressed, and Tyler finally twigged to what she was really asking.

He realized that Mary, seated on his right, had tensed up again. Yet another thing that we haven’t talked about.

Tyler drew a deep breath and reached for Mary’s hand. “And then I’m planning to resign as CEO of Schaeffer Construction and sell my share of the company to my cousin Eddie. I’ve decided to start a new construction firm in Bearpaw Ridge.”

Mary whipped her head around to stare at him. “We’re not moving to Portland?”

Tyler shook his head. “I’m hoping that you’ll let me put a chef’s kitchen in that new house of yours,” he said. “I know we haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet, but I want to make a home here in Bearpaw Ridge, with you.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Elle said approvingly. “New jobs are always welcome in the county, and we could use another good general contractor in town.”

“I sure hope so,” Tyler said. “I hear that Mary’s got a promising career in law enforcement here, and it would be cool to be the sheriff’s husband one day.”

He saw a deep blush rise from Mary’s collarbones and roll over her face like a slow scarlet wave.

“You can add anything to the house you like,” she said in a choked voice and squeezed his fingers hard. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Thank you, Tyler.”

* * *

Tyler’s decided to rearrange his entire life because of me.

That thought, flattering and terrifying at the same time, had dominated Mary’s thoughts through the rest of dinner and dessert.

Despite her earlier nerves, Mary had ended up enjoying herself at Elle’s shindig. The Swanson gathering had the same warm, friendly vibe as the monthly pack meetings did, and she had grown up with Elle’s sons, so they already felt like family.

Before tonight, she’d have bet that Tyler wanted to move back to Portland at the first opportunity.

Mary had been simultaneously confused about his insistence on rebuilding her home and determined to avoid the unpleasant conversation about where they were going to live, because she had just assumed that being the head of a big, well-known construction firm would take precedence over her own hopes of becoming Bearpaw Ridge’s sheriff someday.

Now the late summer dusk was smoldering over the jagged top of the nearby ridge, she was filled to the brim with Justin’s BBQ and Annabeth’s pie, and Tyler was driving them home.

And it was time to have a serious conversation about their immediate future together.

“So, um, Tyler?” she ventured, after both of them had been silent for a few minutes. “I was wondering…”

She hesitated, not sure of how to phrase what she wanted to say.

“Yeah?” he prompted after a long moment.

“I really appreciate what you said at dinner, but I’ve been wondering. Um, did mating me throw a wrench in the works as far as your career goes?” she asked.

She studied his profile as he drove, saw him start to speak.

“Be honest,” she added.

His expression changed. He nodded. “Yeah, okay, things have kind of turned upside-down on me this week,” he admitted.

Ouch. But it wasn’t unexpected. “I’m sor—” she began, feeling sick to her stomach.

She’d been giddy with happiness at dinner when he had declared his intention of making her new house their home.

But had he just been saying what Elle and the others wanted to hear?

“But it was the boot to the ass that I needed,” he continued, interrupting her attempt to apologize. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s been great to work at Schaeffer Construction, but it was and will always be Grandpa Rob’s baby. I’ve spent the past six months thinking about starting my own business but haven’t done jack shit about it, because I kept getting distracted.” He reached out and put his hand on her leg. “This thing between us—it’s really made me focus on getting my act together. And figuring out how to make living here work for me.”

“I’d be willing to give Portland a chance,” she said, because it wasn’t fair to ask him to give up everything without offering a sacrifice of her own in return.

Tyler’s hand tightened on her thigh.

“I don’t want you to screw up your chance to become sheriff, Mary,” he said. “I know you’d be great for this town. And a good general contractor—which I am, by the way—can find work anywhere.”

“Then feel free to add anything to those house plans that you want. I want it to be your home too.”

“If you’re there, eating with me and sharing my bed, it’ll feel like home,” he said with sincerity.

She felt like crying with happiness as they turned off the highway and drove into the neighborhood where she and Tyler lived.

But as they pulled up to the house, they saw a police car parked in front. And the lights were on.

“What the hell?” muttered Tyler as he steered his pickup into the driveway next to the house.

“Maybe my uncle just dropped by for some coffee or something,” Mary suggested, but she didn’t believe it herself.

No one locked their doors in Bearpaw Ridge, and if you dropped by someone’s house while they were out, most people expected you to come on in and help yourself to a cup of tea or coffee while you waited for them to return.

This felt different, though. For one thing, she and the other officers on the police force never did a drop-in while they were in uniform, unless they had a warrant.

Inside, Uncle Bill was seated at the kitchen table, waiting for them. And he was wearing his uniform.

“What are you doing here?” Tyler demanded.