“What are you doing tonight?” Felix asked.
I shrugged. “Killian should be dropping Macie off soon. I honestly haven’t even decided what we’re having for dinner yet.”
Resa gasped. “Say it isn’t so.” She put her hand on my forehead like she was checking to see if I was sick.
“Ha, ha. You’re quite the comedian. It’s just been a super busy day around here.”
“Well, you are the hottest local gossip we’ve had in like, forever,” she pointed out.
“Kano’s keeping a tight seal on the whole part about your dad maybe being alive, so yeah, full focus is all on you, kiddo.”
“Gee, thanks, Felix.”
“Hey, sometimes you just have to take one for the team. At least Macie is keeping all the gossips busy.”
I groaned. “Thanks for that reminder.”
Tori shrugged. “She’s pretty proud of the fact Baine’s her father. That’s a good thing, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Well, he is banned from the Clan. Doesn’t that technically make her an outcast?”
My cousin looked worried for me.
I shook my head. “Kano already officially removed his banishment. He was reinstated this morning.”
“When did this happen?” she asked.
“Right after Baine left and Kano found out he was my one true mate. All traces of the banishment have been officially removed from Clan history. My brother made sure of that for Macie’s sake.”
“And yours,” Felix pointed out.
I nodded. I knew that was true. I also knew just how guilty Kano felt about everything that had happened. It was enough that he had tried hard to keep track of Baine all those years he was gone.
My mind started floating back to the what-ifs. What if he hadn’t left? What if Kano had stood up to Killian and Dad? I shook my head to clear it. No. I couldn’t go down that trail. The past was the past. All I could do was keep my eyes forward.
“How many more appointments do you have today?” Tori asked.
I checked my calendar. “None scheduled, so just taking walk ins this evening.”
“Good, then close up shop and let’s get out of here.”
“I can’t just do that.”
“Of course you can. You’re the boss.”
“Killian will be here soon with Macie. If you close up now, we can be ready to head out as soon as they get here,” Resa pointed out.
There was a knock on the backdoor before I even had a chance to make a decision.
“That’s weird. They never use the backdoor,” I mumbled to myself as I went to let them in. When I opened the door, I gasped. “Baine?”
“Mine,” he growled as his arms wrapped around my waist and his lips branded me his. He pulled back leaving my head spinning as he stared into my eyes. Only Baine Landry had ever made me feel equal parts beautiful and vulnerable at the same time.
“You’re back.”
He scowled. “You sound surprised. Where is Macie?”
I could feel his bear close to the edge. I wanted to ask him a million questions. Did he find my father? Did he expect me to leave the Clan and follow him? Where the heck had he come from anyway? I was nearly dizzy from all the thoughts filling my head, or perhaps it was that kiss. God that man could kiss.
“Olivia? Where’s our daughter?”
His claim on Macie warmed me all over and I smiled. “Killian picks her up from school. They should be along shortly.”
He was practically vibrating with energy.
“Baine, are you okay?” My own bear was stirring and becoming more agitated by the second.
“Better by the second,” he whispered crushing me to his hard chest and kissing the top of my head. “Just need to see my kid and maybe go for a run.”
“What happened out there?”
“Oh, nothing you need to worry about. I’m fine, really, it’s just, well, my bear did not like leaving the two of you behind. It made the mission hard, but I’m fine. The guys assured me it’s perfectly normal.”
“Will it get better with time?”
He shrugged. “They said it’ll ease up some after we seal our bond. I’ll admit, I’m having a really hard time not doing that right here right now.”
His eyes were a little wild as I looked up into them. They were also filled with passion and love that made me instantly wet and ready for him.
He smirked and took a sniff of the air. I smacked him. He didn’t say a word, but I knew he smelled my arousal and was very pleased with himself for it.
“What are you doing around here?” I heard Felix asked. “Weren’t you just at the backdoor?”
“No, why?” Killian demanded.
“Someone knocked and Olivia went to answer it. When she didn’t return, we just assumed she was talking to you guys,” Resa said.
“Olivia?” Tori yelled out. I could hear fear in her voice. They were the only ones in the Clan who knew the suspicions of my dad.
“I’m fine,” I yelled back to them.
The door into the salon room opened and we were greeted with an ear-piercing squeal before Macie leapt into the air. To Baine’s credit, he swooped her up with one arm never taking the other from around my waist. He held us both tight. I felt his body tremor.
“You’re squeezing me too hard,” Macie complained.
“Deal with it, short stuff,” Baine told her. He sighed. “Okay, everything’s okay now.”
Baine
Chapter 13
Olivia was staring at me like I was going insane, but I wasn’t going to explain it to her with all the eyes now watching us. I eased my grip on my girls. My bear was calming quickly. It was such a surreal feeling. It also scared me how it wasn’t just about my mate either. I needed our daughter just as badly.
“Oh, it’s you,” Killian said.
“We were just closing up shop for the day,” Resa said.
“Why?” Killian asked and I was wondering the same thing. I already knew the salon was open until five and it wasn’t even three o’clock yet. I didn’t know for certain, but I suspected Olivia took her business very seriously and from the surprise on Killian’s face it was easy to assume that this was out of character for her.
Olivia rolled her eyes. “They’re all babysitting me and were getting bored.”
“That’s not true. We were just worried about you and thought you could use some downtime away from prying eyes and all,” Tori argued.
I looked down at my mate feeling uneasy again.
“I’m fine,” she told me. “Better than fine now that you’re back.”
Killian sighed and his eyes widened. “Yeah, it’s gonna take me some time to adjust to all of this.”
“Well get used to it, Uncle Killian, because he’s here for keeps,” Macie said. It was the exact words I nearly spoke myself, but it gave me a sense of pride, and more than a little fear, hearing how much confidence she had in me.
I knew I couldn’t screw this up. This was my second chance and I wasn’t going to get a third.
“We already closed up and cleaned up if you still want to go,” Resa said.