Second Chance Mates Read Online Free Page A

wound up he was.
What had started out as a buddy road trip had descended into a
tight jaw, an expression that could wilt flowers, and white
knuckles gripping the wheel. Cade was nervous. Possibly the first
time Luke had ever seen him so.
    "Are you sure you want to do
this?"
    Cade took his eyes off the road for a
moment to glance at his friend. "That's the third time you asked
that. And yes, I wouldn't come if I didn't want to."
    "You don't look happy about
it."
    "Hate to admit it, but I'm anxious. The
last time we saw each other wasn't exactly pleasant."
    Luke had the full story after a couple
more beers the previous evening. "Your brother's
funeral?"
    "His wake."
    Luke shook his head. Young deaths in
the shifter community, much like the lycans, were rare and they
often had a hard time adjusting to sudden and tragic loss. It was
hardly surprising, now he thought about it, that the she-wolf had
been angry. Even so, it didn't take away from the fact that she'd
already rejected the man fated to be her mate. He didn't comprehend
it. Couldn't comprehend it.
    But it would do Cade no good if they
rolled up on her doorstep like two angry men with chips on their
shoulders.
    "Maybe we should have called ahead,"
Luke suggested.
    "Her mom didn't think it would be a
good idea."
    "Why? Did Rose think she'd do a
runner?"
    A smile crept onto Cade's face.
"Probably. Clara is the most stubborn woman I've ever met. Thinks
she's invincible. When her and Colton took on the farm, I thought
it was a lot to handle but now she's doing the whole lot by
herself. She's not the type to ask for help or even take it. When
she finds out her family interfered..."
    "I get the picture." Luke was also
starting to build up a strange mental picture of her. Was she some
kind of straw chewin', dungaree wearing woman who swung lump
hammers all day long? He was pretty certain Cade liked them petite
and feminine through and through. "Actually, I don't. You got a
photo?"
    Luke's forehead furrowed in thought.
"Maybe in my wallet but it's in the back. You'll meet her soon
anyway. That's the turning for the farm ahead."
    "Just how pissed is she likely to
be?"
    "Well, she slapped me at the wake but
she's not the violent type. And it was her husband's funeral so
that I don't even need to forgive her for, especially seeing as I
might have overstepped the mark."
    "You think?"
    Cade cut a glance at him and raised his
eyebrows. "Okay. I completely overstepped the mark. I don't know
what I was thinking telling her that she would never have to be
alone, that she would always have me, whenever she was ready. She
probably thought I was trying to replace Colton or get in her pants
the same night or something.” He shook his head at the memory, at
his pathetic attempt to make her feel less heartbroken. “I just
didn't want her to be alone. I think she's going to be angry and
upset and I just hope she stays calm long enough for me to talk to
her."
    "You want me to talk to her
first?"
    "While I hide in the truck? No thanks,
man."
    "I'll be right behind you." Luke
glanced down, remembered his balls. They didn't deserve to get in
the middle of this. "About two feet behind you," he
added.
    Cade laughed and made the turn, the
farmhouse appearing at the end of the gravel driveway. It could use
a few extra sacks but it looked neatly raked. "Who knows? Maybe
she'll be pleased to have company?"
    It didn't escape Luke that Cade gulped,
the worried look reappearing on his face. Well, here goes
nothing , he thought. And I finally get some answers about the
woman who broke Cade's heart.

Chapter Three
     
    Clara looked up at the sound of
pounding on the front door and frowned. Barely anyone came out
here. Well, except those damn property developers and surely they
wouldn't come twice in a week? Part of her was miffed that she
didn't notice the sound of their truck traverse the driveway,
probably a sign that the gravel was too thin. Normally, she'd have
heard or spotted them before they got to set