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Movement to my right startled me, and I whirled, heart racing, to see Mara coming from the direction of the stables. All the adrenaline left me. I was way too fucking jumpy.

Resting Warrior was safe. And I felt safe here. But it was hard not to be jumpy when things were quiet. Too quiet. Like there was something you’d missed and it was about to jump up and bite you.

She smiled and waved.

I waved back. “Hey, Mara.”

I’d met her a couple of times now. She lived on the property and took care of some small tasks. When there were clients in residence, sometimes she cooked for them. She cleaned the guest cabins and did gardening when it wasn’t snowy.

“It’s nice to see you,” Mara said.

“You too.”

Not once had I heard her talk, which Noah said was normal. But she had a pretty, musical voice, and her presence was soothing. It was easy to tell she had a good soul.

“Kate!” Liam jogged down the road toward the two of us.

Mara looked down. “I’ll see you later.” She continued on her way to wherever she was going.

“Bye!” I called after her.

Liam caught up with me but was looking after Mara. Naked longing rested there. Sharp and true.

He caught me looking, and his face shifted through embarrassment and vulnerability to begging me not to say anything.

I smiled. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.” He grinned. “You have some visitors.”

“I do?”

“Yup,” he said, popping the p.

I followed him. “Am I going to like these visitors?”

He laughed. “Hopefully. Either way, they’re going to suck you in and not let you go.”

Tonight, there was what Noah called a “family dinner.” All the Resting Warrior guys, their partners, and their friends gathered in the main lodge for a big meal. Apparently, it was a thing they tried to do weekly. And if that couldn’t happen, then every month. This time, I was included.

There were people on the lodge porch. Not people—women. And as soon as they saw Liam and me walking over, they waved. “Do I know them?”

Liam only laughed as a petite, curvy woman with colored streaks in her hair bounced down the stairs to meet us. “You’re Kate, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, bewildered.

“I’m Lena Mitchell,” she said. “And that’s Evelyn, Grace, and Cori. We’re here to rescue you from this nest of testosterone and let you have some girl time. With sugar.”

My face must have looked ridiculous. Mouth open in shock, unsure what to do with these women who were all smiling at me. I knew the three women on the porch by name. They were the wives and partners of a few of the other Resting Warrior men. Evelyn was Lucas’s fiancée, Grace was Harlan’s wife, and Cori was engaged to Grant. Lena, however, I didn’t know. “Okay.”

“Great!”

I looked at Liam. “Does Noah know?”

Lena cocked a hip. “Girl, you don’t need his permission.”

The sheer attitude in her pose drew a laugh from me. A real one. Okay, I liked her. “I know,” I said, still laughing. “But I’d rather him know where I’m going instead of causing him to panic.”

Lena’s face darkened. “Why?”