Chapter EIGHTEEN-DANTE&AVERY

DANTE

A few minutes earlier.

The second I got the text from Avery, I bolted out of her old house on Willow Lane like my life depended on it.

I’d been spending my afternoons there all week packing up Avery and Rosie’s things. The plan was simple.

Move them out of this place and into my cabin permanently.

It was a good plan, solid, and I’d been sticking to it. Mornings on the ranch, afternoons here, evenings with my girls.

Winter had slowed things down at the ranch, anyway. The animals were snug in their barns and milking parlors, well-fed and cozy. The construction projects we’d planned were on hold thanks to the seasonal deep freeze that had settled over Dry Creek.

Mother Nature could be a fickle old bat, for sure.

At her best, she was unpredictable.

At her worst, some Dark Witch’s scapegoat.

Not that I kept up with magical politics.

Bear Shifters didn’t meddle in those things. We had enough on our plates without worrying about who was messing with the climate.