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After a long moment of silence, he exhaled heavily “You still should have told me”

She rolled her eyes “No, I shouldn’t have Let it go We’ve come out here to relax So relax”

Intent on doing just that, Tate inhaled deeply—taking in the scents of flowers, herbs, beer, and the combined scent of both he and his mate Music filtered out the openof a nearby house, , and pond water rippling Beneath all that was the soothing, steady beat of hishim more comfort

“Okay, that’s just weird,” she said

Tate frowned “What?”

“You can hear that song playing, right?”

“Pollyanna Yeah”

“Well, Aspen called Ashlynn ‘a regular Pollyanna’ earlier Then the Pollyanna movie was on TV this afternoon And now this”

“Okay,” he said carefully, unsure whether to laugh or just shake his head

“You don’t believe in signs, I know But I do And I’ to tell me yet, but there’s obviously a Pollyanna involved”

Tate went to point out that coincidences happened all the tiht Well, whatever”

A loud thump came from inside the house

Tate tensed “Stay here,” he said, even as he knew she wouldn’t He quickly but quietly slipped through the back door and followed the sounds of scuffling Coround his teeth

A bearcat had not only es for his fire, she’d flipped it over and was sitting on top of it The bucket was rattling and bopping and hissing Or, more to the point, whatever she’d trapped inside it was hissing

He rubbed at his teot back in here, I don’t even care I’et back inside, you’d both better be gone” Turning, he found his rabbed her hand and took her outside