Home For The Holidays (Dirt Track Dogs #6) by P. Jameson Page A

back to the kitchen so he could look her over and make sure she was alright, he rumbled out, “Angel? What is it?”
    She startled, dropping the glittery card to the floor with a little yelp. “Baby,” she hissed, her hand fluttering to her chest. “You scared the living daylights outta me! What are you doing here?”
    She bent to retrieve the card, holding her lower back and squatting at a weird angle.
    Blister frowned, feeling the web of scars on the left side of his face twist with the motion. She hadn’t even noticed he was in the room. He didn’t like that at all.
    Not. At. All.
    “I got your text.”
    Annie’s full lips turned down and her short blond ringlets swayed as she shook her head. “My text?” Then her eyes went big. “Ohhh! I sent that hours ago. But then I knew you were busy so thought I’d just wait to tell you when I got home.”
    The fuck?
    “I just got it five minutes ago,” he spoke low, trying to temper his frustration. “You said it was urgent. Get to Red Cap now, and then you didn’t answer when I asked if you were okay. I raced down here because… because…”
    Her brow furrowed as she likely felt the fear he’d experienced through their mating bond—the link that connected them, making two into one, and allowing them to know each other more intimately than a human pairing could.
    Annie’s small hand came up to gently caress his scarred up cheek. She always touched his flaw as if it was the most beautiful part of him. It was one of the things that broke him for her in the beginning, that she didn’t see him as damaged. She saw him as spectacular. As no one else did.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You know that cell tower was down last week and all the phones have been wonky. It must’ve just now went through. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    His shuddered sigh left him feeling ragged. Adrenaline still pumped through his body and his wolf wanted to shift to dispel it.
    “Come here,” she said, sweetly. “Come to the back with me. Stephanie can take care of the customers.”
    She waited for him to work his way around the bar, and then he followed her through the swinging door, past the kitchen area to the supply room. Turning, she lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips firmly to his.
    Mine . His wolf roared to life as the taste of his mate flooded his senses. Her belly kept her from getting closer, so he leaned down, taking her face between his palms to kiss her deeper. Tongue sweeping her sweet mouth, he let the fear go. His Annie was okay. The text had been a misunderstanding. She was safe and sound. Their growing young was safe.
    His world was still okay.
    The monsters of his past, the regret and loss, it wasn’t coming back to haunt him in his new life.
    He broke their kiss, pressing his forehead against hers. “I was so fucking worried,” he breathed. “All these changes with you, these risks we’ve taken, how are they worth it, Annie? If I lose you, I lose everything.”
    With his words, the sadness rolled off her in a wave that felt like a punch in the face. There’d been a lot of that lately. Making her sad, when he used to make her so happy. Saying the wrong thing when he used to never be afraid to tell her anything.
    For four years they’d been happy. Until he’d gotten her with young. Now there was so much worry and misunderstanding between them. He just wanted to make it all right again. Quit saying the wrong things. Quit making her eyes look like blue pools of sadness.
    “Blister…” She pulled away until they weren’t touching at all. Her hands went to her belly instead. “Don’t you think this is worth it? Having a young of our own to love and raise? A family of our own? And the risks aren’t great. Women were made to have babies. It’s kind of our thing. We can handle this stuff.”
    He stared at the round protrusion not trusting it at all. The young inside her was half wolf shifter. His mate was all human. Sure, Beast’s mate,