Luna Junction 1 Feasts with Wolves (W) Read Online Free PDF

that.”
    Cade was silent for a moment. Then he
eased closer, one step at a time. Startled, I backed into a wall as
his chest grazed the alert tips of my breasts. He placed a hand on
the wall on either side of me and stared into my eyes. “Good,” he
said.
    A split second later he
backed away and I almost moaned with frustration. Was this a game to him ?
He glanced around the room and I realized I had left the corset
peeking out of my backpack. I hoped it would give him some ideas.
But when he spoke his voice was merely curious. “Why didn’t you go
home for the holidays?”
    “ Home, yeah, I don’t really
have one of those anymore.”
    “ No family?”
    “ None that cares about
seeing me for the holidays.” I had a sudden flash of long ago happy
days of childhood, full of pleasant smells and happy expectancy.
The memory made me lonely. “You’re lucky,” I said
softly.
    “ Pardon?”
    I took a deep breath. “You have one. A
family.” Then I remembered something. “I’m sorry, this time of year
is probably hard for you with the terrible loss of your wife and
all.”
    Cade sighed. “Yes, Anna is missed. But
it was a long time ago and I’m grateful every day for my
boys.”
    “ I miss being part of a
family.” It was an admission I had never spoken aloud. Of course,
my parents were still alive but those precious concepts of home and
unconditional love seemed increasingly lost to me.
    Cade Landon’s dark sympathetic eyes
seemed to stroke the depths of my soul. “Tatum, there’s nothing on
earth more important.”
    We stared at one another for a long
moment. I heard the happy bustle of the boys out in the yard doing
whatever what was involved in pit-making. Cade seemed to be waiting
for me to do or say something but I’d be damned if I knew what.
Finally he took a deep breath and headed for the door. He paused
before exiting and spoke briskly. “Lots of prep to do outside
before the Yule tomorrow. Help is appreciated but not required. I
see you didn’t bring a coat so you can have mine. It was a gift
from someone who didn’t know any better but it’s pretty much
unused. I’ll leave it in the foyer.”
    “ Won’t you be
cold?”
    Cade grinned sardonically. “We don’t
get cold.”
    “ Right,” I muttered. I
remembered Claire’s earlier remark about being thick-skinned or
whatever. Must be something in the dense blood of these country
people.

Chapter 5
    The temperature had grown even colder
and I was glad to be wrapped in Cade’s warm jacket. The younger
boys were dutifully shoveling up dirt to form a series of shallow
pits about fifty yards away from the house. Matthew and Claire were
sorting through large piles of stones and lining the fresh pits.
Their companionable ease and playful touches illustrated their
affection for one another and I wasn’t resentful, only slightly
sad. Cade himself was nowhere to be seen.
    I pulled the jacket closer and
shivered. No one else wore so much as a pair of gloves. They were
out there all happy and comfortable as if it were the middle of May
instead of a frigid twenty Fahrenheit winter afternoon. Claire
noticed me and nudged Matthew. He glanced at her and sighed,
dropping a pair of rocks.
    He approached me with almost pained
slowness and I realized he was dreading speaking to me. I had every
right to be hurt and angry. But I wasn’t. “Hey,” I nodded to
him.
    “ Hey.” His face showed his
relief that I wasn’t apt to create a blubbering scene. “Look, I’m
sorry, Tatum. Not just about Claire but because I knew it wouldn’t
be right bringing you up here. I guess I did it to make him see…ah
shit, it doesn’t matter. My dad said you don’t want to go back to
Phoenix but it’s really no trouble to take you.” He coughed. “I
wouldn’t expect that you’d want to stay.” Claire pretended to
continue lining the pits but I knew she listened to every
word.
    I shook my head. “It’s all right,
Matt. And I’d like to stay. If it’s okay with