Chapter

Thirty

brIDGETTE

I could admit I was a bit nervous to be meeting Mac’s wife. I’d built her up in my head to be some formidable woman. When Logan asked about having them join us at the bar for dinner, I asked questions, of course. I wanted to know what to expect. All he’d really said was that she’d insisted on meeting me, but that she was a sweet woman and a great cook.Why that simple description would send me into an internal freak out, I had no idea.

Mac and his wife were already at the bar waiting for us when we pulled up in Logan’s truck, which I hadn’t even known was parked at the shop. I was relieved to see it. I figured that, in my condition, it was probably wise not to ride on a motorcycle. I needed to figure out a way to tell Logan after the mess with the killer was dealt with. Hell, I had a lot of people I needed to tell who were probably going to be livid I hadn’t spilled the news immediately.

Logan told me to sit and wait. I decided to graciously sit and wait as he walked around the hood of the large black truck. When he opened the door and offered his hand, I grinned at him.

“Why, thank you, kind sir.”

“Cute,” he grinned down at me, then gave me a swift kiss on the lips. “Ready?”

I nodded. “Do you think she’ll like me?”

He side-eyed me as we walked up to the door. “Babe, what isn’t there to like?”

I squeezed his hand. “Good answer.”

When we walked inside, Logan received the same treatment as last time, and he waved back while calling out a hello to the crowd. He led us over toward the same table we’d sat at before to see Mac and a pretty brunette with big blue eyes and an even bigger smile waiting for us there with drinks already in hand.

Logan pulled out the chair for me, and I could see Mac’s wife watching closely. Then, she nodded to herself as if in approval as Logan helped me scoot the chair in before taking his own.

Before anyone could begin the introductions, Mac’s wife stuck her hand out across the table. “You must be Bridgette. I’m Bobbi Jo. My real name is Barbara JoAnn, but it’s such a mouthful that everyone except my mother has been calling me Bobbi Jo since I was born.” She said all that without even taking a breath, her sweet southern accent as thick as buttermilk pie. “You’re so pretty! I absolutely adore your hair. Doesn’t she have beautiful hair, Logan Storm?”

She turned her sharp blue eyes to Logan, who was grinning widely. “Her hair is gorgeous, Bobbi Jo.”

She nodded her head again with a small smile playing across her lips.

“Bobbi Jo here has been dying to meet you ever since I told her that Logan found himself a new woman,” Mac interjected.

“I knew right from the start that Kristy girl was no good for Logan.” Bobbi Jo waved a hand, her wedding ring flashing under the lights.

“Bobbi Jo,” Mac said in warning, though he looked at his wife with an indulgent smile.

“I know, I know. I won’t talk bad about the woman,” she replied, then looked back at me. “What do you think about marriage and babies?”

I choked on a startled laugh and turned to look for Charlene, needing some water while wishing I could ask for something stronger. Bobbi Jo was sweet, I could tell. She was also intense and didn’t mince words. I sighed with relief when I saw Charlene walking over. Grateful for the short reprieve, I smiled up at her.

“Hey, Charlene. It’s good to see you again.”

Her shrewd gaze took me in as she smiled at me. “Bridgette, you look great. Glad you brought Storm back in so soon. Usually, we don’t see him twice in one month.”

“I love the burgers here,” I laughed. “I think I might be forcing him to come in a little more often.”

“Good,” she replied with a wink. “Since I already know what you want, does anyone else want something different?”

Everyone seemed to be of the same mind as me, all ordering their own burger and fries, with Bobbi Jo getting sweet potato fries instead. Just thinking about the food coming up had my mouth watering.

“Be right back, everyone.” Charlene turned to Logan and put her hand on his shoulder in a little pat. “I’ll bring you a beer, yeah?”

“That’d be great. Thanks, Char.”

With a nod, she was gone, and I was left to face the firing squad again. I looked at Bobbi Jo, who was sitting there with an expectant expression. Internally, I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t get out of her interrogation. “I never gave marriage and babies much thought, to be honest,” I admitted. “I, uh,” I glanced at Logan, who gave me a sympathetic smile, but didn’t jump in to help save me. The ass. “Kind of had poor role models of men growing up, so I had pretty much sworn off all men. Until Logan walked in asking me about murder.”

“Oh, my. That’s… I don’t know what that is. How sad,” Bobbi Jo patted her chest. “And now? Are you thinking about it now?”

“Bobbi Jo,” Mac said, that same warning tone in his voice that told me all I needed to know about how often his wife pried into some poor soul’s life in a well meaning manner. “Why don’t we let Storm and Bridgette figure out their own relationship?”

“But, I was just asking a simple question, honey.” She turned back to look at me. “I didn’t offend you, did I, Bridgette? I am so sorry if I pried too hard. It’s a curse. I always want the best for people, you know?”

I reached across the table because I could sense that she really was upsetting herself at the thought of offending me. Taking her hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze. “No, Bobbi Jo, I’m not offended. I understand that you care about Logan and want to make sure that I am a good fit for him. I appreciate that. Maybe one day I’ll tell you my story. Right now,I’ll say that Logan and I are very committed to each other. I plan to stay with him for a long, long time.”

I pulled my hand back as Charlene approached the table with our drinks, and Bobbi Jo sniffled delicately. “That’s so good to hear.”

Charlene was even more perceptive than I had expected her to be. Even knowing that she had incredible instincts based on her connection with the land, she seemed to take one good look at me and figured me out.

After setting down Logan’s beer, she placed a glass down in front of me. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at when she first slid it over. It was pale yellow on top and red at the bottom of the glass, with several cherries floating in with all the ice. But after taking the first hesitant sip, just in case I was wrong about her intuition, I was delighted to find the refreshing taste of cherries mixed with the light fizz of the ginger ale.

“That looks interesting,” Logan had commented after watching me hum in approval.

“Just a little something I thought my new friend here would appreciate,” Charlene replied with a wink shot my way.

“Thank you,” I mouthed, and she nodded knowingly.

“What is it? That looks delicious,” Bobbi Jo said as she took her own sip of wine.

“It’s my own concoction,” Charlene replied evasively, and I could have jumped up and hugged her. “Your food is about ready. Bobbi Jo, would you like another glass of Moscato?”

She looked down at her glass, which was mostly empty, then shrugged one shoulder. “Heavens, why not. Thanks, hun,” she replied.

“You still good with your beer?” Charlene took in Mac. He asked for one more, then she walked away, yelling at someone to hold their horses when they shouted for another drink from across the bar.

Once we’d gotten our food, the conversation turned less intense as Mac and Bobbi Jo told me stories of their three girls, who were all teenagers and, as Mac swore, the cause of his hair turning gray. We were all sitting there with our table cleared of our empty plates, laughing at a story of their antics, when Logan’s phone dinged with an incoming message. We all turned to watch as he pulled it out to check what had been sent.

When he looked up at me with a grin, I got a flutter of butterfly wings in my belly at the reminder of how handsome he was.

“Kristy is ready to bring Samantha to the shop. Are you ready to go?” he asked as he tucked his phone away.

“That’s great!” I picked up the glass with what was left of my second drink and sucked on the straw until there was nothing left but ice cubes. “Yes! Let’s go. I can’t wait to meet her.”

We stood together as Mac and Bobbi Jo did the same. “We should be going too. It was so good to meet you, Bridgette,” Bobbi Jo stepped forward and pulled me into a big hug. I froze for half a second before wrapping my own arms around her. It felt nice and made me miss my mother terribly. Bobbi Jo may not have been old enough to be my mom, but she radiated motherly vibes. “You are perfect for Logan,” she whispered in my ear. “I’m so glad he found you.”

Her words brought moisture to my eyes, which I quickly blinked away. “He’s the perfect one,” I whispered back.

“No, sweetheart. He’s a good man, but he needed you more than you’ll ever know.” With those words echoing in my mind, we said goodbye and promised to get together again soon. There had been no talk of police work or the murders during our conversations. Other than the beginning when Bobbi Jo had been prying for information, the evening had been lighthearted and fun. It was just what Logan and I had both needed.

When we got back to the shop, I left Logan to wait outside for Kristy and ran upstairs to make room for Sammy. I looked around the small apartment space and sighed. It would have to do. She wasn’t a huge dog, but the space just wouldn’t do for long. She would need room to play and run around. I looked out the window to see headlights pull up toward the back door. Logan and I would need to have a discussion soon about getting a larger space. From what he’d told me, his own apartment wasn’t much bigger than mine.

I rearranged the couch and chair by pushing them over a little to allow for a dog bed to fit by the window. Then I took the throw blankets out of the basket on the floor for something to put her toys in. While I was getting the space ready, Mortimer strolled in, his tail twitching.

“You’re going to have a new roommate,” I warned. “I need you to be nice to her.”

Mortimer sniffed haughtily, then jumped onto the coffee table and sat, his long, fluffy tail wrapping around his feet. Then he just stared at the door as if waiting for a show to start. I rolled my eyes, then turned to the door when I heard footsteps heading towards us.

Samantha walked in, her head moving quickly back and forth, trying to take in everything as she seemed to be smiling with her tongue hanging out. It was probably a grand adventure to her. That, and she was likely extremely happy to be with Logan.

“Oh my Goddess, you’re so pretty!” I gushed as she walked into the living room. We both froze when I heard my words echoing in my head, but not from my voice. “Samantha?” I asked hesitantly.

“What’s going on?” Logan asked, holding a large dog pillow and a canvas bag that seemed to be filled with all manner of dog items.

“Mine!” Samantha said in a thrilled tone, then barked.

“Holy shit!” I gasped, then dropped to my knees. Samantha didn’t hesitate. She launched herself into my arms as I laughed, and we both hugged each other as well as a human and a dog could. I looked up at Logan, who was smiling but still looked slightly confused.

“Samantha is my familiar,” I grinned up at my mate, then looked back down at his dog. “I can’t believe it. All these years, I wondered if I’d ever find my familiar, and you belonged to my mate.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Logan chuckled and shook his head, all while looking too smug for his own good. “See, I told you we belonged together. It was Fate.”

“Well, yeah. What else would it be?” I deadpanned.

“Smartass. What does this mean for Samantha?” Logan dropped the pillow on the floor under the window and set the bag down. As he dug out the contents, pulling out dog bowls and a small bag of food, Samantha got up and began to explore while Mortimer watched her with his yellow eyes and feigned disinterest by cleaning his paws.

“It means she will live as long as I do. Familiars that are bonded to their witches join their lifelines together.” I stood to my feet and smiled down at Logan’s dog, my familiar. I grinned as I looked back at Logan. “I guess this makes her more mine than yours,” I teased.

He walked over to me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me into him. “I don’t care, as long as both of my girls are happy.” He kissed me, and we both looked down to see Samantha sitting in front of us, her tail wagging happily as she took us both in.

“ Are you my mommy, too? Like mommy Kristy?” she asked.

I stifled a laugh. “I guess you could say that.”

“Yay!”