Chapter 1
“You’re going to burn that.”
Elijah studied the bubbling marshmallow at the end of his stick. “I like it toasty.”
“I like mine toasty, too,” Carol Donovan replied, smiling at her grandson. He was a very smart boy, but one of these days, he’d understand that his grandma knew plenty about life. “But you haven’t been turning it. It’s going to catch fire.”
“No, it won’t.” Elijah kept the marshmallow right where it was. Sure enough, a flame erupted from the bottom corner of it. He whipped the stick up and down, trying to put it out. “It’s going to melt!”
“Here, darling.” In one quick motion, Carol grabbed the stick. She lifted it to her lips and blew it out before assessing the damage. “Nice and toasty, just the way you like it. I think Lila has all the chocolate and graham crackers.”
“Okay!” Already forgetting how distressed he’d been a moment ago, Elijah ran off.
“I’m surprised you didn’t just let him burn it,” Stacey said quietly. “I remember several of mine falling into the fire as a kid.”
Carol laughed at her daughter. “You didn’t listen to me, either. That boy gets all of his stubbornness from you.”
“Is that really so bad?” Stacey challenged.
“Considering all it’s gotten you, I’m going to have to say no.
” Carol leaned back and observed how much their lives had changed.
Just a few months earlier, Stacey had been mired in a high-paying job that demanded almost all of her time.
Carol had helped with the kids, especially when their father, Todd, couldn’t be bothered to make an extra run across town.
Life had been busy and stressful for all of them.
Now, they lived on a quiet little piece of beach in Truro, Massachusetts.
Stacey had found herself not just a man but a mate.
It’d taken them a bit to adjust to the fact that Dylan was a bear, as were the rest of his family members who lived in the area, but perhaps that’d been less of an adjustment than going from the Boston suburbs to the beach.
“You know, it’s great to see how happy you are with Dylan. ”
Stacey’s face flushed, but not because of the fire. “Do you really think so?”
“Would I ever lie?” Carol asked, tenting her fingers innocently above her collarbones.
“No, you’d just scatter around a bunch of little jabs and wait to see if Dylan was smart enough to pick up on them,” her daughter replied.
“Todd never was,” Carol reminded her with a snort. Her former son-in-law had left plenty to be desired. He’d set the bar about as low as it could’ve been with his infidelity, but Dylan had more than made up for it with his love and devotion.
Apparently, Stacey’s mind was moving along that same track. Her face was peaceful as she watched the gathered Brighams, her new family. “Things really have changed in a way I never could’ve imagined. I truly am happy, but there’s just one thing missing.”
“Hm?” Carol couldn’t imagine what that might be. “What’s that? A handsome man? A beautiful home? Sweet children? Your loving mother living right next door? Nope, none of that can be right.”
Stacey leaned over and bumped her with her shoulder. “For you to be happy, Mom.”
“Who says I’m not?” Carol challenged.
Her daughter leveled a serious look at her.
“I mean it, Mom. I know you’ve had a bit of fun here and there, taking off for a wild Saturday night with some guy you met through a dating app.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not the same as really having someone in your life.
Someone more permanent. You’ve got a spark in you, but it was always brighter back when Dad was still alive. ”
Carol was already shaking her head. “Don’t you start that again. Yes, I loved your father. We had a blast together, and I’ll even admit that sometimes, I miss having a love like that. But that ship has sailed, Stacey.”
“But—” Stacey tried.
“I’m sixty-six years old,” Carol continued. “I don’t need to settle down and get married. If you want to play matchmaker, you should be harassing Dylan’s brothers.”
Making a sour face, Stacey hunched down in her chair. “I don’t know them well enough to do that, not yet.”
“Good, then there’s a nice big project for you.
” Carol patted her knee. “I’m perfectly happy, especially now that my dog bakery is on the verge of opening up.
Barney has been a great taste tester, by the way.
I never thought I’d enjoy that scruffy little guy so much.
” The dog had once belonged to Dylan’s twin brother, Will, but he’d stayed there on the mainland when his master had returned to sea.
Carol couldn’t claim him as her own, exactly, since he belonged to the whole clan, but she was more than happy to have him around now that she was rattling around in that house by herself.
“A bakery isn’t the same as a man,” Stacey pointed out.
“Or a bear, in your case,” Carol rebutted.
A slow smile spread across Stacey’s face as she turned in her chair to face Carol fully. “Sure, but what about a wolf?”
“What?” Carol pursed her lips.
“A wolf,” Stacey repeated. “You’ve met Pierce.”
“Yeah. A man about twenty years younger than me with a mate and a baby girl. I know I’ve had my share of flings, dear, but I think even Pierce might be a bit young and committed for my tastes.
” Carol looked around for Vivian or Elijah.
One of them needed to come along with a bit of drama to distract their mother.
“No, I mean his father,” Stacey persisted. “He was out in Oregon when we first came to Truro, visiting the rest of his family. I heard he’s back in town. He’s about your age, you know.”
“Great, so he’s some old fart.” Carol flicked her fingers noncommittally in the air. “That’s what they all are once they get past sixty, you know. They start getting crabby once they’ve retired, and they don’t do anything but sit around and watch television. No, thank you.”
“Actually, he’s still working for the fire department.
I think Holly said he was the fire chief out in Oregon, so becoming a regular firefighter here is like an active retirement for him.
And when he’s not working, he’s spending all his time with his granddaughter Ruby or doing projects around Holly and Pierce’s house,” Stacey persisted.
“Sounds like he’s far too busy to add a woman into that schedule.
” Carol didn’t let much get under her skin.
She thought of herself as a free spirit, someone who could laugh off almost anything.
Life was supposed to be fun. If it wasn’t, you should find a way to make it so.
That attitude had usually irritated the hell out of Stacey, but their roles seemed reversed right now.
Stacey raked her teeth across her lower lip as she thought. “He’s in pretty good shape, too. He’s always going for runs on the beach with the guys.”
“Darling.” Carol reached over and took both of her daughter’s hands in hers. “I’m delighted that you’ve found love and happiness. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted for you and more. Really. But that doesn’t mean you have to go spreading it around to everyone else.”
“C’mon, Mom,” Stacey pleaded. “Rick’s a great guy. What more could you want?”
“For you to butt out,” Carol returned. “Now then, I think I’ll say goodnight to the kids and head back home.”
But just as she stood up, a movement in the darkness outside the light of the bonfire caught her eye.
She turned as two wolves came running up to the clearing behind the Brigham clanhouse, their silvery fur turning gold in the firelight.
The first one paused just short of the flames and reverted to his human form, the lupine features and pointy ears falling away to reveal the dark brown hair and blue eyes of Pierce Westbrook.
They were surrounded by shifters. Carol knew that, and she’d even had a few rather spicy months with a lion shifter back in the seventies, but it still threw her off when they morphed so casually in front of her.
That was something she’d have to get used to living there.
Carol shrugged it off as best she could and was ready to head home.
Until the other wolf changed. He shared some of the same features as Pierce, though the dark blue eyes had seen a few more years.
His silvery hair was cut short and combed neatly, and his smile was broad as he greeted some of the others around the fire.
Carol’s eyes traced his face, so full of life and excitement.
His shoulders were broad, but they hadn’t taken on that melted butter quality she’d seen on so many men her age when they’d spent too much time slumped in a recliner.
His simple gray t-shirt fit well, and it showed he hadn’t earned the beer belly senior men often joked or even bragged about.
Stacey pounced on the moment. She looped her arm through Carol’s and steered her around the fire. “Hi, Pierce. How’s it going?”
Very casual. Carol would’ve rolled her eyes, but they were glued to the newcomer.
“Oh, just fine. It was a rough day at work, though. Call after call, so we figured we’d get out and de-stress a bit.” Pierce reached into a nearby cooler for a couple of beers and handed one to his father.
The grin on Stacey’s face couldn’t have gotten any wider.
Carol was roped into this now, and she couldn’t exactly run away just to spite her daughter’s plans.
Fine. She would meet the man. Hell, she might even flirt with him.
He was certainly handsome enough to be worth a few minutes of her time.
But that was as far as it needed to go, and then she could tell Stacey to shut up about the whole thing.
“Rick, I was just talking about you. I don’t think you’ve met my mother yet,” Stacey said. “Rick Westbrook, this is Carol Donovan.”
“Very nice to meet you.” Rick extended his hand.
Carol took it. Small callouses roughened his fingers and palms, and they sent jolts of energy racing up her wrist and into her chest. His grip was strong but gentle.
Even after a long day at work, the ocean breeze wrapped her in the enticing scent of his cologne. Those deep blue eyes looked into hers.
Her throat spasmed as she tried to come up with all the typical pleasantries one usually spit out when being introduced to someone new, all the nice-to-meet-yous and the we-should-get-together-sometimes, but they’d completely vanished from her mind.
For the first time in memorable history, Carol was speechless.