That’s when I saw someone unexpected. Ben stood in the hall outside the kitchen, watching with a rueful expression. Just as Wheeler caught the direction of my gaze and began to turn, Ben walked out of sight.

“What are you looking at?” Wheeler asked.

“Nothing, my love.”

I held hope that the two brothers would one day mend the rift between them. God knows they had plenty of centuries to figure it out, and who knows, maybe someday Ben would redeem himself. Perhaps he needed this time away so he could stop depending on others to believe in him and learn to believe in himself.

“Got something else for you,” Wheeler said, turning to face me.

“I’m afraid to ask. I’m already on the verge of a fainting spell on your kitchen floor.”

He reached down and peeled off his shirt.

“Now?” I asked with a seductive purr in my voice. “Here? If this is part of the mating ceremony for wolves, then I might have an objection.”

I watched him smile beneath his scruffy beard, and then I noticed it. My eyes traveled down to his tatted arms and then crossed his chest to the scar from the bullet. I reactively reached out and rubbed my finger on the ink.

“Is this real?”

“Yeah, Naya. This is as real as it gets.”

On his right pec near the shoulder, a tattoo of a black panther encircled his scar. Its head was turned with a fierce growl, displaying its sharp teeth. Of all the scars Wheeler had covered, this was one he used his ink to draw attention to.

I looked up into his brown eyes, the color of sweet tea in the morning sun. “I thought you said it was bad luck to get another animal on your body.”

He cupped my cheeks in his hands. “Maybe it is when it’s something that doesn’t matter. You matter.”

“Let’s eat,” Lynn said. “Before everything gets cold. I have three breakfast casseroles in the oven to celebrate.”

“Oh, and I made croissants!” Lexi said excitedly, hopping off the bench and scurrying to the kitchen.

“Music to my ears,” Denver said, straddling the bench. “Come here, Peanut. Did you think that was fun?”

“It’s not like the weddings on TV,” she said.

Denver shook his head. “All that stuff doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t tell her that,” I scolded. “Maizy, someday you’ll find a prince who will sweep you off your feet and give you the dreamiest wedding you’ve ever imagined. Your mama will be so proud, and you can make your big sister your bridesmaid!”

“I think you can only be one of those when you’re single,” Lexi pointed out, setting a casserole dish on the table.

I reached over and pinched off a piece of the cheese, taking a nibble. “Rules were always meant to be broken.”

“Well, I don’t want one of those,” Maizy declared, nodding her head toward Wheeler’s tattoo. She put her knees on the bench and leaned forward on the table, peering at the large bowl of biscuits.