Kaylene sat at the table in the camp restaurant in a daze as she listened to Landon fill everyone in on the information she had filled him in on. She couldn’t believe she had actually told him. She had planned to take all of it to her grave, which apparently was going to happen sooner, rather than later, if her parents got what they wanted at this rate.

Feeling a hand resting on her good side, Kaylene turned to the side carefully and saw that it was Jesse. “You know, I thought you were the scum of the Earth for leaving our boy after him claiming you but now I get it. I have to say thank you. I can’t even imagine what the task force would have done to him, let alone the prison camp.”

“Actually, with the new warden up there, everything is much better, but I still wouldn’t wish for anyone, especially Landon, to end up up there. Thankfully with that new legislation that was put into place, the task force has been disbanded and the prison camp only have the big ol’ baddies locked up. I’m just glad that I did what I did for him but I still feel guilty. It’s my family’s fault that Landon was put in that position in the first place,” Kaylene explained.

Mama Ally piped up from across the table, “Unfortunately, you don’t get to pick who you’re related to sweetheart. Let me tell you what though. Those two hooty tooty bird brains show up here, and I’ll shoot them on sight.”

“I’m hoping that won’t be necessary, Mama, but thank you for the offer,” Kaylene said, smiling in appreciation at Mama Ally.

“Why do y’all gotta go around ruining my fun?” Mama sulked, sinking back in her chair to pout.

Scratching his head in contemplation, Tyson said, “So what are we thinking? How do we handle this? We just found the chance to save Landon’s connection with his panther and now we have to worry about how to keep them both alive.”

“Well, I don’t know if it will work. But I may be able to get my sister involved,” Kaylene suggested.

“You have a sister?” Landon asked, looking as though he was feeling slightly dumbfounded about the new information. She had never mentioned a sister to him before, or any siblings for that matter.

Kaylene nodded, “Yeah, I do. Her name is Karina and she’s a big pain in my ass, but she’s the only reason I found out about how my parents had set up everything to make sure Landon would get arrested and I would have to take the deal to keep him safe.”

“God, your family is so messed up,” Stella muttered under her breath.

Looking over at Stella, Kaylene couldn’t help but agree. She felt her eyes drift down to Stella’s tiny baby bump. It was barely there, but it was definitely visible if you looked. Kaylene needed to do whatever it takes to keep Stella and that little cub safe.

“I’ll give my sister a call from the lodge phone. I’m sure there’s something she would have up her sleeve to keep my parents and their nonsense far away from here. I don’t want things to come to a fight over something as ridiculous as their little fued with me,” Kaylene said, trying to put herself into a standing position.

Landon stood and hooked an arm under her to lift her to her feet gently and said, “If there’s a fight to be had, I’ll fight it. No one is taking my mate from me again. End of story.”

“So it’s settled; Kaylene will call her sister, and we’ll regroup tomorrow,” Stella said matter of factly as she looked around at everyone at the table.

“Alright, Landon, can you help me to the lodge? Let’s get this over with,” Kaylene said, already feeling the dread that was dumping into her system about having to call her sister for a favor.

“Sure can, Feathers,” Landon nodded before scooping Kaylene up in his arms to carry her.

“You’re lucky I’m hurt, or I’d be severely upset about you carrying me everywhere,” Kaylene teased.

“Oh, whatever. You and I both know that you’ve always loved my body and the things I can do with it,” Landon chuckled.

“Get a room!” Tyson called after them.

Ignoring Tyson’s antics, Kaylene looked up at Landon and said, “It’s really too bad that I’m all busted up like this. I imagined a reunion with you to be much more…Exciting.”

“Don’t you worry, Feathers. I’ll take real good care of your needs later. I’m gonna make you feel so good, you’ll forget all about the pain you’re in. I call it nature’s best pain killer,” Landon said, giving Kaylene a wink.

Kaylene felt the arousal from his words pooling in her panties. He’d always known just the right thing to say to make her feel like she couldn’t control herself with him. She wished she would have come back sooner. Maybe she could have prevented more of their suffering if she had just come clean in that bar last year.

“You know, I came to see you once, after everything happened,” Kaylene admitted softly, casting her eyes to the side so she wouldn’t have to see the expression on his face.

Landon kept his eyes trained on the ground in front of him to make sure he didn’t trip with her in his arms. “I know you did. I could see you sitting in the back of the bar. I kind of thought I imagined you, but the boys saw you too. I chased after you into the parking lot, but all I could see was your taillights racing as far away from me as you could go.”

“I’m a coward. I was telling myself that staying away from you would keep you safe, but really I was just afraid to tell you everything and watch you hate me for walking away. Then you said what you said the night that I got up here, and it reaffirmed to me that I deserved your hatred and that I needed to take that secret to the grave. It’s why I was demanding you apologize to me, because I knew it would just piss you off more being told what to do and it would keep you far away from me,” Kaylene explained, feeling her face getting hot with embarrassment.

“Feathers, I won’t lie. I was pretty damn pissed at you for leaving me. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m still pretty hurt by the fact that you kept all of this from me for so long. But I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I’m going to tuck away the pain from the past and work to build a stronger bond with you now. The only thing that matters to me on this Earth is your happiness, and I’ll die trying to ensure it. Now stop worrying over the past, and let’s work on building a stronger future,” Landon suggested, craning his neck to kiss her on the forehead.

Kaylene rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, “You’re such a hopeless romantic.”

“Damn straight, baby. You’ve got Mama Harriet to thank for that,” Landon smirked.

“Remind me to call and thank her later,” Kaylene teased.

As they reached the lodge, Kaylene shifted in Landon’s arms, trying to make it easier for Landon to set her down.

Landon shook his head at her, “No, you aren’t walking. I’m setting you down on the couch and getting you the cordless phone.”

“When are you going to stop treating me like I’m a baby bird?” Kaylene raised an eyebrow at him as he nestled her down on the leather couch.

“I’ll never stop treating you like a baby bird, Feathers, because as far as I’m concerned, you are one,” Landon quipped teasingly.

“I am not a baby bird,” Kaylene said, folding her arms in defiance.

Landon walked over and snatched the phone from the counter and walked over to where Kaylene was sitting. Handing her the phone, he said, “I know, I know. You’re a strong, capable, independent woman who doesn’t need anyone to help you. But you have to admit that things tend to be much nicer if you have someone around to help you, right?”

“Just give me the damn phone,” Kaylene rolled her eyes as she snatched the phone from Landon’s hand.

Kaylene ignored Landon’s cheesy grin, knowing that she had let him get under her skin with the baby bird comment, which was exactly what he wanted. Punching in the numbers on the phone for Karina’s cell, Kaylene prepared herself for the conversation she was about to have.

“You’ve reached Karina Klein, magazine editor. How can I help you?” Karina’s sickeningly sweet voice asked on the other line.

“You aren’t fooling anyone with that fake voice, Karina,” Kaylene said grumpily into the phone. She knew she should be nicer to her sister, but the woman was Grade A Bitch material.

Karina scoffed, “Well, that’s just rude. What do you need, Kaylene?”

“Ah see, there she is. How’s the married life? Are Karey and Alan over the moon about one of their daughters doing something right by the family?” Kaylene asked bitterly. It was a hard pill to swallow when your parents cut you out of their lives, no matter how toxic they were.

“They’re blissfully pleased, actually. Especially because Rich and I are expecting twins,” Karina chirped.

“Good for you,” Kaylene mumbled. “Look I need a favor.”

“You need me to bribe Mom and Daddy to leave your little pussy cat alone?” Karina asked.

Feeling completely caught off guard, Kaylene asked, “How did you know?”

“I have their office tapped. Knew someday you wouldn’t be able to stay away much longer so before I handed over that thumb drive to you, I put a bug in their office to keep tabs on what was happening. I check the tape every few days,” Karina explained nonchalauntly, like everyone had hidden recorders in their parents’ studies.

“I have to say I’m impressed, but we’ve come full circle to where we were last time you helped me. What do you want in exchange?” Kaylene asked, voice thick with suspicion.

“I want you cut out of the will,” Karina stated.

“Seriously? That’s all you want? For me to give up some money?” Kaylene asked, feeling slightly bewildered.

“Sure do. Rich and I have big plans, you see. I’m planning to buy some beach front property for our babies to grow up on and doing that would be so much easier with your half of the inheritance,” Karina explained.

Kaylene could hear the excitement in her sister’s voice. It was nice to hear that she was genuinely happy about her life with Rich, but it made Kaylene’s stomach turn sour that her sister could only see money as the solution to be happy. Their parents would be proud of her behavior.

“Deal,” Kaylene said firmly.

Karina giggled and clapped her hands together on the other end, “Oh good. I’ll send all of the papers and the files I’ve collected in an email. Is your midwife service still working up there in No Man’s Land?”

“Yeah, we’ve got WiFi up here. Send them over, and I’ll take care of the rest,” Kaylene said, clearly trying to hold her tongue so she didn’t say something wrong and offend Karina.

“Ta ta,” Karina said before the line went dead.

“Well, that was surprisingly easy,” Landon remarked, stretching out on the chair next to where she was sitting.

Kaylene stared at the phone in her hand and agreed, “You’re right, it was. But I know Karina, and she’ll come through for me because she wants that money.”

“We don’t need their dirty money anyways. I’ve got more than enough to support the two of us and anyone else that comes along,” Landon winked.

“How did you do that?” Kaylene asked.

“Tyson runs our accounts for the band. Every bit of profit I’ve earned over the years has been put into a high interest savings account for later. I lived very frugally because I knew I would want the money later more than I wanted it right then,” Landon explained.

“Well that was awfully responsible of you. I’ve got money put away too luckily from past clients. Working with the prison camp couples definitely earned me a pretty penny,” Kaylene smiled at him.

“Wait, you were working up at the prison camp? That’s not far from here,” Landon said, completely confused at this point.

Kaylene shrugged at him, “Yeah I know. I’ve been up there since I found out about the shit that my parents pulled. The warden’s mate, Adrian, called and begged for my help. I went up there to help take care of her little dragon baby while she was still in utero. Then I ended up staying because I liked it so much, and the crew kept getting pregnant.”

“What a wild ride,” Landon remarked. “Obviously the Fates had something bigger in mind for us.”

Kaylene nodded, “I think you’re right.”