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He set the mug down on the counter with athunk.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

Stephan stepped away. “No problem.” He went back to the stove, looking inordinately pleased with himself.

I fixed my coffee, then scurried out the kitchen without my breakfast. I needed to get my head on straight before I faced the rest of this day.

When I returned an hour later, showered and dressed in jeans and a tank top, I felt a lot more ready to handle being close to Stephan. He’d put a shirt on, too, and he and Dylan were cleaning the kitchen. Music blasted over the speakers. I could hardly believe Stephan had Dylan doing chores without complaint.

“Mom, there’s a plate for you in the oven,” Dylan said. “Dad said you ran off this morning.”

“Had a bit of a headache, but I feel a lot better now,” I said. “Thanks for saving me some breakfast.”

“Of course,” Stephan said.

Outside, tires crunched on the gravel driveway.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Mia’s stopping by,” Stephan said. Dylan perked up, and Stephen laughed. “Just Auntie Mia. Uncle Hawk’s coming by later.”

“I like Mia, too.”

Mia knocked on the front door, then stuck her head inside. Her blonde hair was tied back in a French braid, and she clutched a bag of groceries to her chest. “Morning, team.”

“Hi.” Dylan catapulted into the living room and gave Mia a hug so big it almost knocked her off balance.

“Oof! Hey, kiddo, why don’t you help me put these groceries away?”

Laughing, I grabbed my laptop and headed to my usual spot at the dining room table, where the morning sun streamed through the windows.

“Hey, before you get sucked into work stuff, can I ask you a question?” Stephen asked. He took a seat at the table next to me, while Dylan helped Mia put the groceries away.

As long as it’s not about this morning.“Sure, what’s up?”

“I want to introduce Dylan to my dragon,” he said. “Is that okay with you?”

I thought back to our first night here, when Dylan and I had seen the silhouette of Stephan’s dragon soaring high overhead.

“You think he’s ready for that?”

“More than,” Stephan said. “He’s got the partial shifting down. I think meeting my dragon will make his own dragon more comfortable and more willing to come out.”

“He won’t fully shift today, though, will he?”

“No. But I do want to take him flying.”

I propped my chin in my hand and gazed out the window. I remembered soaring over this same lake, banking over the edges of the mountains, laughing as the clouds broke across my face. It’d been both exhilarating and terrifying. “I don’t know…”

“Hawk agreed to ride with him. And we won’t go high, just over the lake a little. You know I wouldn’t do anything to endanger him, Harley.”

I turned back toward him. There was a small furrow in his brow. The teasing expression from earlier was gone, and now he looked serious and honest.

“Okay,” I said, before I even realized I was agreeing. He made it so easy to trust him.

Stephan’s expression brightened into a familiar, excited look I saw on Dylan’s face a lot. I’d never seen this particular resemblance before, and it made my heart warm. “He’ll love it.”

“I know he will,” I said. “I remember. There’s nothing like it.”