His Reluctant Mate

in

text to my sister to let her know my plane had landed. I didn't make it

s the f

ho were barely moving before answering, "Long

rst class seat was worth

nough to drive all the way to Timber Ridge. Riggs had been understanding about me using some of my vacation days, but he'd still expected me to take care of a bunch of stuff before I headed out of town. When I'd complain

bad,

g headphones with me, and the family had been seated farther back in the economy section. "I'd be way more irritable if

e didn't pull herself together enough to speak until I'd made it to the back of the line at the car

was shocked when she told me that their options inclu

it, I'd bet that you just h

murmured as the line

tted softly. "What with being stuck on a plane for a co

left, trying to work out the kinks in my mus

other laugh. "There are more than fifty thousand people who live there

dle. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I thought about all

Tane asked you to go babysi

ard again. "But he made me an offer t

e making our baby brother sound

us Tane had gotten, Tab and I would always reme

ned, "I still can't believe you get to name our newest nephew

hievous. "Aww, poor Tab. Your career got in the way of this oppor

headed to Timber Ridge to help out with the kids if it had been possible since she didn't resent our brother's pack as much as I did. "I never thought I'd come to r

had instantly become a smash hit. She was one of the most sought-after costume designers working on Broadway. Between her innovative designs and killer work ethic, she received a continuous flow of offers from the best

ng you that's giving you FOMO

re upset about losing out on

sion made me g

ou could do is promise to let me help you brainstorm names. I'm the crea

the line. "I guess I can consider your oh-

rl, you could ju

e girls after her. Not that I could be upset with her for it since I had too. "Sorry, sis. If

e that, even though it'll be weird for one of Tane's daughte

but I didn't want to rub this in too much since I would have been feeling envious if o

an just sewing, so I knew my little jab would di

giving me the perfect excuse to end the call. "Sorry, Tab. I've got to

class I'd reserved, so that was exactly what had happened. I'd been looking forward to putting the top down on the convertible for my two-hour drive to Timber Ridge, but I was stuck with rolling the windows down on an economy car instead. By the t

heck my estimated time of arrival. "I shou

ere. I don't think I can handle al

New York." The second he saw me pull into their driveway, Tane would realize that I was bluffing since there was no way I'd

rowled. "The kids would n

it's your children that you're worried about me disappointing? Or are y

through the line. "When you're mated

night owl, it wasn't a welcome sight. One of the great things about living in New York City was that a ton of places stayed open late, some even around the clock. Not that it really mattered for this trip since I couldn't leave the kids home alo