After a long night of reading up on service dogs, Caeden’s eyes were burning. It took every ounce of energy he had left to drag himself over to the apartment in time for lunch with Barbara. He had texted the sheriff at four a.m. saying he would be over after catching a couple of hours of sleep. It turns out your phone lets you hit snooze as many times as you want. Apparently, he hit the button repeatedly over a two-hour period. He was relieved that he managed to wake up at all, he really didn’t want to see what Barbara was like after being stood up.
One last huge yawn escaped him before he walked into the apartment. Two steps in he had to stop and rub his eyes, they had to be playing tricks on him. Every room had been transformed, the walls were brightly painted, fresh flowers in vases, and throw pillows on the couches.
“There you are, dear, you are just in time for lunch. Come in and meet some friends of mine.” Barbara waved him eagerly into the kitchen. “Ladies, I’d like to introduce Caeden Shepperd, he’s a deputy with Sheriff Graelin.”
Three young women in their 20s stood leaning against the counters with drinks in their hands. It didn’t pass his notice that Barbara had brought three very different women. The redhead with porcelain skin was introduced as Sinead. The blonde with huge dimples was Sandra and then of course there was a brunette with caramel skin named Tracy.
He waited patiently as she told him a little about each of them, he shook their hands politely and tried to remain friendly but aloof. At twenty-three, he wasn’t ready for anything serious and he just moved to town and wanted time to get to know people.
Caeden could see Barbara staring closely at him, he knew she was hoping one of the girls would be his mate.
“I’m sorry for being late but I see you didn’t wait for me. This place looks great but isn’t it a little overdone for someone who is blind?”
Barbara tsked as the girls shook their heads and rolled their eyes at him. He caught sight of West and Rook standing off to the side trying to wave him off. Apparently, he said something he shouldn’t have.
“Men, you are such simple creatures. Everyone deserves to be surrounded by beauty even if she is robbed of the ability to fully appreciate it. She will smell the fresh flowers and be able to touch the pillows so I think what we did was perfect.”
Properly chastised, Caeden nodded, “You are right, it looks wonderful and I’m sure she is going to love it.”
“Good, now that we settled that, let’s sit down for a lovely meal.” Barbara led everyone to the table and shoved Caeden to the head seat and the three ladies on either side of him. She thought she was so clever.
***
“So Caeden, did you enjoy lunch?” Barbara looked innocently toward her prey.
“I think what you really want to know is if I enjoyed any of the ladies in particular?” Barbara couldn’t help laughing at Caeden’s bluntness. She nodded to indicate he should continue. “They were all lovely but I don’t feel any different so they aren’t my mate. I’ve seen some crazy reactions when people meet the one so I think I am safe for now.”
“Well that’s a shame but don’t you worry, I’m not giving up either.” She gathered the plates from the table and headed for the kitchen.
West cleared his throat to get Caeden’s attention. “Did you think any more about the request?”
“I’m just not sure I am comfortable pretending to be her pet. Can I meet her first and see how it goes before we tell her that she is definitely getting one?”
A chirping noise in the kitchen alerted everyone to Barbara’s phone. “Well, it looks like you don’t have to agonize for long, they just pulled onto Main Street and will be here in a few minutes. Help me get all this cleaned up, she shouldn’t be welcomed into a mess even if they are almost a day early.”
As the last dish was dried and put away, the door opened to a cheerful Constance calling out to everyone. Barbara, ever the hostess, immediately went to the hallway to greet them while the three men hung back awkwardly.
Caeden could hear Barbara greet the girl animatedly as she led them to the kitchen. The young girl rounded the corner with her arm linked with her aunt’s and a cane in her other hand. Her cornflower hair trailed down her back in curls. He was surprised to see she had sunglasses on, he thought that was something they just did in the movies.
She held her hand out and gently shook Rook’s and West’s hands as she was introduced. When she was a foot away, her soft scent reached his nose. The air knocked out of his lungs, his eyes dilated and all ability to think was frozen. “Shit.”
Constance and Barbara both reared back at his outburst as the girl pulled her hand back toward herself awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I said that out loud, I just remembered something I forgot to do earlier.” He knew it was a lame excuse but his higher brain functions were suspended while his other head was fighting to take control. He quickly grabbed the dish towel off the counter and held it in front of the bulge growing in his pants. Relief flooded him as he remembered the girl couldn’t see it either way.
“Caeden, I’d like you to meet my niece, Koira Scott. Koira, Caeden is a deputy and has agreed to keep watch when I can’t be around.” The tiny, pale hand jutted out again and waited for Caeden to grab it.
For a moment he stared at it, he knew touching her would send his senses reeling. He’d found his mate, no power on Earth could keep him from her now. A small part of him wondered if he avoided physical contact with her, could he concentrate on protecting her then when the danger was over, he could mate the shit out of her. With a resigned sigh, he gently squeezed her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Koira. I will stay out in my patrol car and when you need to go somewhere, I’ll be happy to be your escort. And I’m not sure if your aunt told you but we have a service dog that will be on loan to you part-time. He’ll be here when I can’t be.” Caeden let out a deep breath as he realized he spoke at lightning speed. He scowled at the rest of the group who smiled all too knowingly toward him.
“It’s nice to meet you Caeden but truly, I don’t need a full-time babysitter. I’ve been on my own for two years now and don’t want to go back to being anyone’s burden. It’ll take me a couple of days to adjust to the apartment and the town, then you can go back to your real job. I do appreciate the dog, though, I’ve considered getting one but figured I better learn how to take care of myself before adding another dependent on.”
The soft tinkle of her laughter was an aphrodisiac to Caeden, any blood left in his upper body quickly rerouted to his ever-increasing erection.
“You have nothing to worry about, Ms. Scott, I’ve assigned Caeden to you full-time and we’re helping out the police in your area close that case.” West smiled then realized she couldn’t see his comforting gesture.
“Absolutely, you should definitely use Caeden as your errand boy, and wait till you meet Thumper, he is just the sweetest dog. He especially loves his belly being scratched, his leg shakes a mile a minute when you hit the right spot.”
If looks could kill, Rook would be dead on the ground. It would be an unsolved murder though as Barbara, West and Caeden all looked equally willing to do the deed.
“I’ve never owned a pet, he sounds wonderful. I look forward to meeting him.” She turned toward her aunt, “When you take me to the store later, can you help me remember to pick up some dog bones so I can give him treats?”
All noise ceased in the room as they all realized they hadn’t thought about the logistics of him actually being her pet. Constance’s mouth flopped open and closed as she tried to think of what to say.
“I’ll make sure to bring his favorite treats with me when I come over.” Constance was relieved Caeden stepped in.
“Koira, let me take you around the apartment, they did a lovely job getting it ready for you.” Constance led her out of the kitchen, quietly describing every detail to her.
“Thumper? Really?” Caeden growled at Rook, “You could have at least given me something cool like Spike.”
“I think we’re avoiding the real subject here, did I just imagine it or did you just meet your mate?” Barbara held her breath, barely containing her excitement.
“It would appear so and just my luck, the only affection I am going to get from her is a belly rub.”