Then, like a switch had been flipped, Dusty’s head popped up, she grinned from ear-to-ear, and asked, “So, what the hell was the deal with the blue plastic kiddie pool? I know there’s a story there. I heard you ask your girl, but I was stuck talkin’ to that lady agent and missed the answer.”
Deciding that his friend would tell him what was up when she was ready, Buck snorted as he nodded. "Seems that when Freddie was in school with Zenobia, there was an obstacle course in gym class for some kind of senior thing. Being who she is, Freddie tried her hardest to be the best, to win the race. So, doing that weird hippity-hopping kinda running thing anybody would have to do to get through the big tractor tires, she was neck and neck with Zenobia. Then she got a little ahead, about half a tire width, but not enough for her likin’.”
“Oh, my Great Goddess, she didn’t.” Dusty laughed.
“Yep, she did,” Buck nodded, snickering at the mental image he’d seen in Freddie’s mind. “Our girl here tried to hurdle the last tire. As she said, ‘I am, after all, part tree frog, figured I could give it a little extra hop without shifting.’” Stopping to laugh, he shook his head and continued, “Well, the toe of her tennis shoe got caught on the deep tread at the edge, she started falling, and in her effort not to faceplant, she reached for the only thing she could…”
"Zenobia," they both whisper-laughed in perfect unison.
"Yeah." Freddie's scratchy, sleepy giggle entered the conversation. "And wouldn't you just know it, the next obstacle was the water trap." One hand went limply in the air, making a half-hearted air quote before flopping back onto the seat. "As I'm sure you guessed, there was a line of those blasted kiddie pools, and Zenny and I landed ass over tea kettle in ours."
Yawning so wide and so long then going silent, Buck thought Freddie might have fallen back to sleep. He rubbed lazy circles up and down her arm, smiling when she finally finished with, “When she said that she’d make me pay for embarrassing her in front of the whole school, I thought she was just mad. Hell, teenage girls get mad all the time and get over it. Guess that shows you what I know.”
“Naw,” Dusty said. “How the hell were you supposed to know she was crazier than a pup in a hubcap factory?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Looking up at the hen, Freddie asked, “Buck says you built this jet.”
“Yes, ma’am, I did,” Dusty proudly answered. “I saw the one you built, too. Sorry, it went up in all that mess back there, but I bet you can build another, even better.”
“I was actually thinkin’ about that.”
Moving his arm as his mate pushed upright then placing it around her shoulders when she cuddled close, he wasn't surprised at all, actually proud as any man could ever be, when Freddie went on. "How about you come to work with me?" Holding up her hand as Dusty inhaled to speak, his mate hurriedly added, "Think about it. You and I together with my genius buddy, Willem? What the three of us don't know about aviation hasn't been discovered. And you're a shoo-in for the Academy. Heck, bet you beat Buck's record for the shortest time as a cadet."
“Hey.” Buck tried to act affronted but only ended up chuckling as he looked at his friend.
Smiling brighter than the day she beat Russell Wollingham—the wolverine they went to high school with—in the all-state wrestling finals, Dusty nodded with such gusto that her messy braids danced all around. "Yes. Yes. Yes, ma'am. I'm all in."
“Woooohooo,” Freddie whooped. “And I promise no one will ever tell you that you can’t fly your own plane ever again.”
"Hey, I heard that," Delilah hollered from the cockpit, the humor evident in her voice. "I'm only following protocol. Your man there said to get you to the swamp as soon as possible, and I thought this was quicker than giving each and every one of you the twenty-four-hour follow-up examination, which would've held us up for at least another twelve hours."
“I’m shutting up,” Freddie jokingly barked, complete with about half a salute.
"Yeah, that'll be the day." Dr. Weathersbee laughed out loud. "Buck, you better invest in noise-canceling headphones. Your mate tends to rant when she gets goin'."
Before he could answer, Dusty hooted and snorted, even slapping her leg. “So does the boss.” Both hands jabbing the air straight in front of her chest, all her fingers pointing at Buck and Freddie, she chortled. “A match made in heaven.”
Lowering his lips to Freddie’s, Buck stopped right before they touched, playfully ordering, “Dusty, don’t you think the doc could use your help in the cockpit?”
“Roger that, boss.” The Rhode Island red giggled. “Roger that.”
14
Buck’s home was amazing. Nestled in the best part of the swamp, built on stilts, the perfect little cabin in the trees, Freddie was sure she’d died and gone to heaven.
Unfortunately, they'd just made it across the threshold and closed the door when in walked his mom, two brothers, his sister, and the biggest friggin' dragon shifter she'd ever seen. He made Matt look like a runt, not that she'd ever tell him that.
Nervous, knowing she looked like something the cat dragged in and worried they wouldn't be thrilled with her lineage, tears literally filled her eyes when Buck's mom hugged Freddie without hesitation. The stunning, short, curvy, older woman with blonde hair and mischievous blue eyes wasted no time in announcing, "Welcome to the family. You are just the best-lookin' little thing I ever laid eyes on," and Freddie was overjoyed.
Then it got even better…
When Janice finally let go and stepped back, she added, "And I hear you're smart as a whip, tough as cob, and fierce as any honey badger around. I couldn't have picked better for Buck if I'd been asked." Leveling her gaze and furrowing her eyebrows, the matriarch of the Clan grumbled toward her son, "Treat Freddie right, or I'll jerk a knot in your tail, ya hear?"
And that was how the next hour went. Everybody in the Blackthorne Clan, as well as Shauna’s dragon mate, Abe, accepted Freddie with open arms and hearts, and the best leftover ribs she’d ever sunk her teeth into. They even made coffee, three pots of strong, black java with cinnamon, just the way she liked it. Everything was so much better than anything she'd ever imagined. She almost hated to see them go… but, just almost.
No sooner had the door shut and Janice hollered, “We’ll see ya tomorrow. Breakfast at nine,” from the ground below than Buck swept Freddie off her feet and made a beeline for the bedroom.
Thankful that she’d been able to shower in Dusty’s plane, and super glad her mate wasn’t expecting lacy underwear and a sexy bra, she was swept away as Buck had her naked on the bed and him down to just his boxers in a matter of seconds. Unwilling to miss the show and knowing firsthand how fast her mate could move, Freddie couldn’t take her eyes off her honey badger.
Watching him make a show out of losing his boxers had her heart racing and her pussy wet, and then he climbed onto the bed, crawling up her body, and all Freddie could do was gawk at his gorgeous body. She’d known he was built. Hell, his muscles had muscles, but to see it all right before her and know he was all hers was nothing short of mind-blowing. As his erection touched the top of her thigh, all thoughts of anything but consummating their union like bunnies getting ready for Easter Sunday fled from her brain.