The fervor over the custody case seemed to fall into a lull over the next couple of weeks, so much so that Maggie was constantly jumping over the strangest things.

A car broke down outside the diner and she had a little bit of a freak out, calling over to the gym to find her father and Cage came running, nearly scaring the nice old man to death.

A noise late at night had Cage putting some teens looking for a place to drink some of their dad’s alcohol nearly in the nuthouse.

Basically, she was on the verge of losing it… because nothing was happening.

Even poor Mr. Foley had almost ended up with a lap full of coffee when a delivery man knocked on the back door of the diner and made her jump. He’d handled it all in stride, but Cage and Frances had begun to worry about her, a lot.

Dinner had been a tense affair and Maggie, well, she’d fallen asleep halfway through the meal. If it hadn’t been for Cage’s quick reflexes, she would have hit the floor. Instead he pulled her onto his lap and tucked her head down against his shoulder.

“Hey,” Frances leaned back in her chair, “do you mind holding her like that for a little bit?”

Cage’s smile was genuine. “Mind? You going somewhere?”

Frances pointed a finger up at the ceiling. “Thought I’d set you two up for some… quiet time.”

She laughed at the dubious look on his face. “Keep calm, Cage. It’s not like I’m going to go looking through her underthings and show you where she keeps the toys. You two haven’t had a chance for the fancy restaurant, but I can at least go upstairs and help you make the night a relaxing one. Hmm?”

Cage grit his teeth at her. “Go on.”

Picking the key ring up off the table, Frances stood up and made for the door. Right as she took the handle in her hand, Cage spoke.

“When you get upstairs, knock on the floor so I know you’re inside.”

“You’re afraid I won’t make it upstairs? That’s rubbish and you know it.”

He shrugged his free shoulder. “It is what it is. Make a noise on the ceiling so I know you’re up there and then another before you come back down.”

Frances leaned forward on the table, her eyes boring into his. “You can hear me through the floor, you know that.”

“I like the idea of you following some directions.” His upper lip pulled back to reveal his fangs and Frances… she returned the favor.

“Fine. Noise on the floor.” When it was open in her hand she turned back with a half scowl and held up her freehand with her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. “This is how close you are to being a proper wanker,” she uttered a loud heaving sigh. “You don’t know it, but I could kick your arse.”

That earned her a pointed look.

“But you’re holding Maggie, so I’ll overlook it this time.”

* * *

Maggie roused when she felt her bare feet touch cold tile. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the candlelight surrounding her. “What’s all this… where did these candles come from?”

She looked down and watched Cage’s fingers unbutton her blouse. “You lit all of these?”

He looked up into her eyes with a smirk. “You like it?”

Drawing in a breath she sighed and smiled. “Oh, yeah.”

Cage’s smile eased. “Then I wish I could say it was me.” He finished with the buttons and took hold of the collar. “Frances wanted you to relax, so she set it up.” The shirt peeled easily from her shoulders and down her arms.

“If I’m lucky, I won’t drown in the tub, especially if it’s warm.” She leaned back as he tugged the button on her waistband loose, lifting her feet when he stripped her pants and panties down her legs.

“I thought you were getting enough sleep.”

She saw his furrowed brow and she lifted her hand to the deep crease and smoothed it down. “I’m just worried about the custody thing. I don’t want you to lose Frances. I don’t want to lose Frances. And if it comes down to it, if it’s going to be my past that lets them take her away, I’ll-”

He snaked a hand around the back of her neck and pressed her forward until their lips smashed together in a desperate kiss.

When he moved back, it was just enough to give him room to look directly into her eyes. “You’ll trust that this is going to work out. Adrian knows what he’s doing, and I am going to take care of things. What I need you to do,” he slanted his mouth over hers again, his tongue rubbing against hers like he was inside of her, building her passion to a fevered pitch. And when her hands grabbed at his arms trying to hold herself upright on the seat cover, he pulled back to take a breath. “I need you to relax a little.”

“Right now?” She gasped in a breath that sounded like she could barely manage to pull the air into her lungs. “Right now it feels like you want me excited,” she pulled herself closer, spreading her legs so his hips could fit between them, “like you want me aroused and needy.” She reached out and yanked at the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it out of his jeans. “I can promise you that I’ll get some really good sleep if you take off these clothes and let me give you a bath in my tub.”

The tiled wall of her bathroom echoed with the vibrations of his growl. His head lifted up and she saw that his eyes had gone midnight dark. She knew it wasn’t just Cage looking at her and wished she had an animal inside of her as well.

Cage’s smile twisted on his lips, and she knew she’d said the words out loud. “Baby, if you want an animal inside of you,” his voice purred from his lips, “you’ll let me bathe you and then let me fuck you until we both see stars.”

She didn’t answer in words, she grabbed for the button on the waistband of his jeans.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, Maggie had no idea how quickly her life was going to change.

Just after breakfast when Frances bounded out the door to jump into yet another Uncle’s car, Maggie’s father pushed open the door and stood just inside the diner.

“Hey, Maggie.” He didn’t seem to understand how shocked she was. “How about a hug?”

“A hug?” She wiped her hands off on a dishrag and ran out to hug him. “Sure! Goodness, it’s been awhile since you’ve come in to eat.” She stepped back and gestured to the dining room. “Pick a chair and tell me what you want, I’ll have it right up.”

Before she could step even further away he reached out a hand and caught her arm. “No, that’s okay, I’ve already eaten breakfast. Hildie made me something to eat before I left the house this morning.”

“Oh? What’s up?” She looked carefully at his face. “Is something wrong?”

He waved her off. “Don’t get all worried about me, I’m fine.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “Dad?”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I just wanted to stop in and see how you’re doing. You know, with Frances?”

Laughing, she shook her head. “You know how I’m doing with Frances. Are you really that curious about how I’m doing or just about Cage?”

To his credit, her father maintained the same casual expression. “He told me that he’s taking care of you.”

Whoa. Her mind went all the way to the wrong place at the wrong time, because yes, Cage took care of her the night before. Over and over.

“Maggie?” Her father’s voice cut through her thoughts and she barely staved off a blush as she focused on his face.

“Yes, he is. Taking care of me. So, what’s this visit for if you don’t need a good meal. Hmm?”

Her father looked away for a moment before looking back at her with a shrug. “I’m going on a trip. Heading to London actually.”

That caught her attention. “Why London, why now?”

He walked to her side and touched her arm. “You know that if I can help one of my men, I’ll do anything I can for them.”

“And one of them needs you in London?”

He winced a little. “I can’t tell you the specifics. He asked me not to.”

Maggie ducked her head and stared into his eyes. “Dad, if there was something wrong, you would tell me, right?”

“Do you trust me, sweetheart?”

The endearment staggered her back a bit. They’d come a long… long way from her teenaged years but this was… wow. “Yeah.” She smiled at him. “Yeah, Dad. I trust you and I love you like there’s no tomorrow.”

Well, it looked like she staggered him right back. “Great. And when I come back from London, you and I are going to have to go to dinner, just you and me… and maybe hit some balls at the batting cages.”

That made her day. “That sounds like the best night ever, Dad. You and me.”

Her dad pulled her in for a tight hug and then he was gone, leaving Maggie feeling like she’d just missed something really important.

* * *

Dinner was another ‘pick me up’ that she needed after the odd conversation with her father. The first one back was Frances who fairly danced in the door with her backpack in front of her. “Guess what I’ve got in here.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes at the younger woman. “It better not be a puppy.”

Frances’ expression held more than a hint of mischief. “Ohhh, that’s a great idea for next time.”

“Frances…”

The door swung open and Cage filled the space. “You two look happy.”

Maggie gestured toward Frances. “It seems like she has some news for us.”

“So do I,” he nodded, “but you first.”

Stepping up to the table that Maggie had set, Frances put her backpack down and opened the main zippered compartment. Reaching in she pulled out a stack of folders, divided them in half and handed Maggie one stack and Cage the other.

Maggie stepped up beside him and they went through each folder, one for each of her classes. By the time they reached the bottom they were both smiling.

“Well?”

Maggie shook her head. “Looks like you’re fishing for compliments.”

Frances grinned. “Hoping.”

Cage was the one who reached for her first, tugging the teen into his embrace. “Your father would be so proud of you, your mom too.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you two.”

Maggie stepped forward when she saw some tears in Frances’ eyes. “Hey, you okay?”

When Frances didn’t immediately answer, Maggie pulled the girl into her arms and hugged her tight. “You were always this girl, Frances, you just got a little lost for a bit. We all know how that feels. The point is that you put yourself on the right path. That you saved yourself is the best gift you could give us. It’s so wonderful to see a smile on your face.”

Cage stared at both of them as Frances’ tears streamed down her face.

“I thought it was all over when they told me… when they said my parents were gone. I thought everything was over. And then my uncle and my grandmother, they didn’t want me and I thought I’d just curl up and die.

“And then they said you were coming.” She looked up at Cage through her tears. “When you got there and said I was going home with you, I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it in case you left me behind too. But you didn’t leave me. You brought me here.”

Cage swallowed, hard. “I thought you hated it here.”

“I hated feeling alone.” She squeezed her eyes shut and slowly opened them again. “Every night I’d go to sleep knowing that when I woke up, I’d be back in the home. Alone again. Waiting for… nothing. But you,” she wiped the back of her hand over her face, smudging her tears, “you were still there. You tried so hard to make me feel… okay. And I didn’t know how to be okay.” Frances dragged in a breath and reached for him. “But you didn’t give up.”

Cage pulled her back into his arms. “Never, Frances. I’ll never give up on you.”

Frances began to cry in earnest and Maggie could only stand back with her hand pressed over her heart until she smelled something in the kitchen. “Oh, my rolls!”

Dashing off into the kitchen she opened the stove to a big puff of dark gray smoke. “Damn it.” Her shoulders slumped as she grabbed a hold of her dish towel from the top of her apron. Using it to grab the pan from the oven. When she got it on the counter she had to admit, as much as it galled her, that she’d burnt the biscuits to holy hell.

Standing over her burnt pan of biscuits is where they found her.

“So,” she grinned as she turned to look at them, “I hope neither of you were looking forward to my biscuits because they’re basically charcoal briquettes. Sorry.” Leaning back against the counter she groaned. “I need some good news, so tell me, Cage. What news do you have for us?”

He looked from Maggie to Frances and back again. “I had a visit today from some guy in a suit.” He held up his hands to stop their questions, “I know, I thought the same thing too, but he was there to make me an offer.”

Oh, now that was something that sounded good.

“He’s a fight producer. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy as a job title, but I looked him up online. He’s produced some of the biggest events in MMA, Boxing, Martial Arts tournaments. He knows how to draw in a crowd. He wants me to help organize and headline an event at the sports arena downtown. It would be big money, help us fight this custody thing.”

“So, you’re going to do it?”

They both heard how excited Frances was.

Cage nodded. “I’d be crazy to pass up this kind of money and exposure for the club. If we can do more than one event, I can buy up the warehouse next door. Expand. Put more parking in. Sure. But the only thing is-”

“I can’t go.” Frances ground her back teeth together. “Even if it’s a special event like this? Please?”

Maggie stepped in to soothe the issue.

“After this custody thing is over,” she explained, “then we’ll talk, but we stood in court and told the judge that Cage would keep you out of the warehouse when the fights were on and I’m sure they’ll expect that to remain the same if it’s in a sports arena. It’s the violence that looks bad.”

“I’m a shifter!” Frances groaned. “It’s not like I won’t see violence sometime.”

“But not,” Cage interjected, “when we can keep it from you. Okay?”

Frances performed the eye-roll to end all eye-rolls. “Okay. I get it.”

Both Cage and Maggie breathed a sigh of relief.

“But after this is done,” Frances pushed right back, “I’m going to go… I just hope it’s before I’m eighteen.” She looked back and forth between the two and announced. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”