Page 26 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs
I cross my legs at the hooves. “I don’t have a plan, Bishop. I’m on b?—”
“Break, I know,” he interrupts. “Listen, I’ve got a situation here with some cattle rustling and your godsdamned nephew.”
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face at the Pine Gulch sheriff’s comment. This shit seems to come up when I don’t get home frequently enough.
“I’ve got plans the next couple of weeks, but I can get home for a quick visit.”
“Gotta be a week or two,” he snipes. “You know how it is. You don’t come take care of it, and I’ll be forced to. I don’t think either of us want me to hafta do that.”
It’s not a threat, per se. But we both know if he has to deal with my knucklehead nephew, it’ll go poorly for said nephew. Bishop is a broken, bruised soul who doesn’t give a fuck about Alarion’s comfort.
“Gimme a couple of days. I’ll make time early next week, okay?”
“See that you do, Longhorn.” That’s all I get before he signs off.
Resting my head against the Annabelle’s siding, I don’t notice Catherine standing there with a wry look on her elegant features.
“Everything okay, Nor?”
I turn toward her, leaning my shoulder against the siding. “Better now if you’re gonna start using that old nickname with me.” I resist the urge to reach out and tuck her gray waves over one shoulder, just to see if they’re still impossibly soft. “You’re the only one who’s ever called me that.”
She laughs, the sound joyous and tinkling. “Well, it doesn’t hurt that you always demanded everyone else call you by your full name.”
I join her in laughter. “If I could force everyone to address me by the full Manorin Longhorn, I’d do it.”
Wrinkles form at the edges of her eyes. “I know there’s a lot of pride in your name; it’s one of the things I really admire about minotaurs. That shared pride ineveryonewith the Longhorn name is really unique.”
A memory of her declining to accept my mating tattoo flits through my mind. That tattoo would’ve magically added her name to the historical list of Longhorn family members.
“Well,” I run a hand along my horn, “I wish I could say I wasfeeling pride at the moment, but you walked in on a conversation about my nephew.”
She waves toward the street. “Shall we walk and talk?”
I nod and hold my arm out for her to take.
She slips her much smaller hand through the crook of my elbow, fingers curling around the muscles of my forearm. “What’s going on with Alarion? Or do you have other nephews at this point? I’m embarrassed to admit I haven’t kept up with your family since…” she trails off.
I wink at her. “Well, you did shatter my heart into a few hundred pieces. Don’t know that they’d have wanted to keep up with you, Sunshine. I can’t say my mother ever forgave you, if I’m being honest.”
She blanches, her earlier blush returning. “That was a long time ago.”
And I’d moved past it, I really had. But it’s hard not to remember how badly I wanted her to be mine…once upon a time.
“Mhm.” I sigh as I consider Alarion. “My nephew’s always been wired a little differently than my brother. He’s brash and confident when he shouldn’t be. There’s a kind soulsomewhereinside of him, but he’s easily led astray.” I glance down at her. “You’ve never been to Pine Gulch, right? Still?”
She shakes her head.
“Well,” I glance up Sycamore where the diner comes into view, “there’s a den of ophiotaurii that settled in the northwestern corner of the haven, and they’re mostly bad news. They cause a disturbance in town; they steal cattle. They’re a general nuisance, and Alarion’s gotten involved with them.” I sigh. “I’ve heard they’ve even ventured outside the haven into the human world a time or two. To what end, I’m not really sure, but they’re dragging Alarion into it with them.” I rub her fingers gently. “That call was from Bishop Rygold, our sheriff, reminding me that if I don’t come home and deal with Alarion,he will. We still don’t have a keeper, so it’s Rygold or nothin’ keeping the peace.”
Catherine frowns up at me. “What about your brother?”
I shake my head. “He can’t handle Alarion, not since his mate passed. He’s lost to the pain and grief of her death, and most times I call, he’s drunk or doesn’t answer.”
Catherine clutches my forearm a little tighter. “Sounds like you need to take a trip home?”
I nod, then smile down at her. “Well, it doesn’t have to be all bullshit. Why don’t you come with me this upcoming weekend? Pine Gulch is beautiful, Alarion’s nonsense aside.” I waggle my brows at her. “Let me show you a good time in a place that’s a little more country than this.” I dip low. “It’ll be easier to keep me a dirty little secret if we’re away from prying eyes.”
Catherine laughs. “What am I going to do about Annabelle?”
