Jobe laughed. “Okay, then make two. One for me and one for Maggie.”
“Jobe’s got a girlfriend,” Barron sing-songed.
“You making us marshmallows or you just gonna sing?” Jobe asked.
“Yup! Marshmallows coming,” Barron said, happily threading marshmallows onto a pointed stick.
“Thank you so much for letting me hold her, Avaleigh,” Maggie said, handing Angelle back to her.
“You’re very welcome, Maggie. Welcome to the family,” Avaleigh said.
“Thank you. I appreciate the warm welcome,” Maggie said.
Avaleigh smiled as Maggie made her way over to Jobe who placed his arm around her waist and pulled her in to him while they waited for Barron to roast their marshmallows.
“So,” Maggie said, while holding Jobe the same way he was holding her, “we’re gold, but not as gold as everybody else since we’re just human?” she said softly, smirking at Jobe.
“It’s just talk. I’ll explain it later,” Jobe said.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me everybody here is some kind of magical creature, like a Dragon or a unicorn,” she teased.
“Not me,” Barron said. “I’m a Bear. But I can spit fire like my Mama when I get mad. But it burns my whiskers, so I don’t like to do it a lot. We don’t got no unicorns, but we got Lions, and Dragons, and Wolves,” he said, counting off the different types of shifters on his little fingers, “Oh, man! I dropped the marshmallows,” he said as they plopped in the dirt. “I’ll have to start all over,” he said with a grin.
Maggie watched the little boy as he finished his statement, then she faced Jobe.
“I thought you were Batman,” Jobe said, trying to make the statement look like a child’s imagination.
Barron threaded their new marshmallows on his pointed stick and didn’t even look at them. “That’s just tonight. Tomorrow I’ll just be me again. Bear like my Daddy and Dragon like my Mama.”
Jobe looked nervously at Maggie. Maggie grinned at him. “I think there’s a whole lot about your family you have yet to tell me.”
“Let me explain it to you the same way Mama-Sadie explained it to me. They are all just people. They’re just like us. But with a little something extra inside. They love like we do, they hurt like we do, and they protect those they love like we do. They are my family, and took me in with no questions asked. They were certainly luckier than we were in the DNA lottery. I love every single one of them.”
“Wow,” Maggie said, looking around the fire at all the families gathered to celebrate Halloween with their children. Most were laughing and talking, but several looked back at her and she’d have sworn she saw a flicker in their eyes that was not a reflection of the fire.
“Say something,” Jobe said, worried about her response.
Maggie smiled at Delilah, who offered her a smile and slight inclination of her head, then she turned and looked into Jobe’s eyes. “Where exactly will our house go? Here, in this area or further down by Bam’s and Bane’s homes?”
Jobe’s smile grew wide. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Maggie said.
“Boy! Kiss the girl so we can get to the fireworks!” Maverik called out.
“Fireworks?” Maggie asked.
“Yay!” Havoc and Hellen shouted, running behind Maverik as he went inside to get an empty two liter Coke bottle to fill with water so he could shoot bottle rockets out of it.
“Never gets dull around here,” Jobe said, hugging her tightly. “Not for one single minute.”
From The Author
Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope that my stories make you smile and give you a small escape from the daily same ole/same ole. I write for me, simply for the joy of it, but if someone else also smiles as a result, even better. Your support is greatly appreciated. If you liked this story, please remember to leave a review wherever you bought it, so that more people can find my books. Each review is important, no matter how short or long it may be.
See you in the pages of the next one!
Sandra R Neeley
Other books by this author:
Avaleigh’s Boys series
I’m Not A Dragon’s Mate!, Book 1
Bane’s Heart, Book 2
Kaid’s Queen, Book 3
Maverik’s Ashes, Book 4
Bam’s Ever, Book 5
Vince’s Place, Book 6
Whispers From the Bayou series
Carnage, Book 1
Destroy, Book 2
Enthrall, Book 3
Lore, Book 4
Murder, Book 5
Haven series
Haven 1: Ascend
Haven 2: Redemption
Haven 3: Transcend
Riley’s Pride
Riley’s Pride, Book 1
Richie’s Promise, Book 2
Travis’s Gift, Book 3, coming soon
Variant
Beginnings, Variant 1, Coming Soon
Standalone Novels
WINGS
Short Stories and Novella’s
CAT
Only Fools Walk Free
Safe On Base: A Howls Romance
Blessed Curse
(Released as part of the E.V.I.E. anthology)
About the Author
My name is Sandra R Neeley. I write Paranormal, SciFi, and Fantasy Romances. Why? Because normal is highly overrated. I’m 56, I have two kids, one 34 and one 14(yes, God does have a sense of humor), one grandchild, one husband and a menagerie of animals. I love to cook, and was a voracious reader, though since I started writing, I don’t get as much time to read as I once did. I’m a homebody and prefer my writing/reading time to a crowd. I have had stories and fictional characters wandering around in my head for as long as I can remember. I’m a self-published author and I like it that way because I can decide what and when to write. I tend to follow my muse — the louder the voice, the greater the chance that voice’s story is next.
I am by no means a formal, polished, properly structured individual and neither are my stories. But people seem to love the easy emotion and passion that flow from them. A bit of a warning though, there are some “triggers” in them that certain people should avoid. I’m a firm believer that you cannot have light without the dark. You cannot fully embrace the joy and elation that my people eventually find if you do not bear witness to their darkest hours as well. So please read the warnings supplied with each of the synopsis about my books before you buy them. I’ve got four series published at this time, Avaleigh’s Boys - PNR, Whispers From the Bayou - Fantasy PNR, Haven - SciFi Romance, and Riley’s Pride - PNR, a couple of standalone novels, several short stories, and much, much more to come. I’m always glad to hear from my readers, so feel free to look me up and say hello.
You can find me at any of these places:
[email protected]
https://www.sneeleywrites.com
https://www.sneeleywrites.com/contact
https://www.sneeleywrites.com/blog
https://www.facebook.com/authorsandrarneeley/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/755782837922866/
https://www.amazon.com/Sandra-R-Neeley/e/B01M65OZ1J/
https://twitter.com/sneeleywrites
https://www.instagram.com/sneeleywrites/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15986167.Sandra_R_Neeley
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sandra-r-neeley
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