The Mane Attraction
Page 94
Dont be, she said good-naturedly, the fork poised in front of her mouth. I love your brother, but I was starting to crawl the walls. Besidesshe gestured to the feast in front of herpie.
Without another word, she took her first bite of pie. Jessies eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell back in her chair.
For the first time in hours, Sissy smiled. The girl did have something about her. Goofy in that mixed breed way. And not surprisingly, she wore the ID bracelet Sissy had given Bobby Ray at the wedding. She knew for a fact that Jessie Ann had a diamond bracelet that had probably cost Bobby Ray a small fortune. But it was that silver-plated ID bracelet purchased years ago by a teen Bobby Ray that meant the most to her. And that made Jessie Ann cooler than most people Sissy knewalthough shed never admit that out loud.
After several more bites and rapturous responses, Jessie asked, Have you guys thought about opening a shop in Manhattan?
Francine shook her head. Not really. Think wed sell well there?
Im relatively certain the wild dogs will keep you in business until the end of time.
Thats real sweet of you darlin
Really, Miss Francine, Im not just being sweet. Our Pack is always looking for new investments, and you and your sisters could start a pie chain. Kind of like the Van Holtz steak house, only not as snobby. The Van Holtz Pack was the wealthiest Pack in the States and Europe, and that was due to their family-owned and-run steak houses.
You really think so? And Francine actually sounded intrigued rather than just humoring.
Absolutely. Of course, your flagship store will have to be near our Pack house.
Momentarily forgetting this wasnt one of her She-wolves, Sissy automatically teased, Good thing my brother likes women with meat on their bones cause your ass is gonna be gettin wide.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back.
But without missing a beat, Jessie shot back, Cool. Now I can start wearing your jeans. I thought that was only going to be possible during the late stages of the pregnancy.
The milk Ronnie had just taken a big gulp of sprayed across the table, and Sissy almost choked on the piece of pie shed just swallowed. As Francine clucked her tongue and cleaned up the mess, Sissy and Ronnie howled in laughter, and Jessie grinned around her pie.
It was decided while the males sat out on the porch and drank beer that Gil Warren and his tiny Pack would be pushed out of town as soon as Gil could wheel himself out. It was obvious that the reasons behind the decision varied between brothers. Smitty and Sammy Ray felt Gil had crossed a line with their baby sister, and there would be no coming back from that. He didnt belong on Smith territory, end of story. For Travis Ray, Jackie Ray,anduhthe other RayMitch could never remember the mans namethe reasoning was much more wolflike. Gil Warren had proven he was weak and a bloodline they didnt want polluting their towns gene pool. The fact that their sister had almost been forced into a mating she didnt want didnt seem to faze them at all, and Mitch easily realized why Sissy stuck with Smitty. Hed ended his honeymoon early and had traveled from New York to Tennessee to check on her. When hed realized she was in trouble, hed gone to her aid the same way Mitch would have if it had been either of his sisters.
Travis had gone to Sissys aid because he didnt want Mitch too upset to play tomorrows game.
Well deal with all this after the game tomorrow. Travis looked at Smitty. You playing tomorrow?
Since you actually came to help your baby sister for once, yeah, Ill play.
Good. Travis didnt say anything elselike Congrats on your marriage or Sorry I missed your wedding, bruhand walked back into the house, his Pack of wolves following.
Sorry about your honeymoon, Smitty.
Smitty waved off Mitchs apology. Dont sweat it, son. Sissy did the right thing. She brought both of you some place safe.
Yeah. Mitch smiled, thinking about Sissy. I wasnt too happy about it at first, but Im glad she brought me here.
I bet you are. Then Smitty hit him. Hard.
Mitch stumbled back, trying to keep himself from blacking out.
My sister? My baby sister?
Brendon stepped between Mitch and Smitty. Whoa!
Its not what you think, Mitch said, shaking his head and trying to keep the blackness at bay.
Is that right? Then what is it?
Mitch didnt answer right away, and Smitty snarled. I trusted you, boy. And I come here and find out youre just using
I love her. Mitch said it quietly, but it might have been screamed the way everything went quiet. Even the night animals stopped whatever they were doing.
Smitty folded his arms across his chest, his sudden rage disappearing as quickly as it had come. Is that right?
Yeah, thats right. I love your sister.
Smitty watched Mitch for several seconds, then he pulled his fist back again. Bren tried to block him, but Mitch just sort of waited for the hit.
Youre just gonna let me hit you, arent you?
Mitch shrugged. She cares about you, so Id rather not start a caged deathmatch with you, if thats possible. He raised his hands. You know how mighty my fists of fury are.
Without another word, she took her first bite of pie. Jessies eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell back in her chair.
For the first time in hours, Sissy smiled. The girl did have something about her. Goofy in that mixed breed way. And not surprisingly, she wore the ID bracelet Sissy had given Bobby Ray at the wedding. She knew for a fact that Jessie Ann had a diamond bracelet that had probably cost Bobby Ray a small fortune. But it was that silver-plated ID bracelet purchased years ago by a teen Bobby Ray that meant the most to her. And that made Jessie Ann cooler than most people Sissy knewalthough shed never admit that out loud.
After several more bites and rapturous responses, Jessie asked, Have you guys thought about opening a shop in Manhattan?
Francine shook her head. Not really. Think wed sell well there?
Im relatively certain the wild dogs will keep you in business until the end of time.
Thats real sweet of you darlin
Really, Miss Francine, Im not just being sweet. Our Pack is always looking for new investments, and you and your sisters could start a pie chain. Kind of like the Van Holtz steak house, only not as snobby. The Van Holtz Pack was the wealthiest Pack in the States and Europe, and that was due to their family-owned and-run steak houses.
You really think so? And Francine actually sounded intrigued rather than just humoring.
Absolutely. Of course, your flagship store will have to be near our Pack house.
Momentarily forgetting this wasnt one of her She-wolves, Sissy automatically teased, Good thing my brother likes women with meat on their bones cause your ass is gonna be gettin wide.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back.
But without missing a beat, Jessie shot back, Cool. Now I can start wearing your jeans. I thought that was only going to be possible during the late stages of the pregnancy.
The milk Ronnie had just taken a big gulp of sprayed across the table, and Sissy almost choked on the piece of pie shed just swallowed. As Francine clucked her tongue and cleaned up the mess, Sissy and Ronnie howled in laughter, and Jessie grinned around her pie.
It was decided while the males sat out on the porch and drank beer that Gil Warren and his tiny Pack would be pushed out of town as soon as Gil could wheel himself out. It was obvious that the reasons behind the decision varied between brothers. Smitty and Sammy Ray felt Gil had crossed a line with their baby sister, and there would be no coming back from that. He didnt belong on Smith territory, end of story. For Travis Ray, Jackie Ray,anduhthe other RayMitch could never remember the mans namethe reasoning was much more wolflike. Gil Warren had proven he was weak and a bloodline they didnt want polluting their towns gene pool. The fact that their sister had almost been forced into a mating she didnt want didnt seem to faze them at all, and Mitch easily realized why Sissy stuck with Smitty. Hed ended his honeymoon early and had traveled from New York to Tennessee to check on her. When hed realized she was in trouble, hed gone to her aid the same way Mitch would have if it had been either of his sisters.
Travis had gone to Sissys aid because he didnt want Mitch too upset to play tomorrows game.
Well deal with all this after the game tomorrow. Travis looked at Smitty. You playing tomorrow?
Since you actually came to help your baby sister for once, yeah, Ill play.
Good. Travis didnt say anything elselike Congrats on your marriage or Sorry I missed your wedding, bruhand walked back into the house, his Pack of wolves following.
Sorry about your honeymoon, Smitty.
Smitty waved off Mitchs apology. Dont sweat it, son. Sissy did the right thing. She brought both of you some place safe.
Yeah. Mitch smiled, thinking about Sissy. I wasnt too happy about it at first, but Im glad she brought me here.
I bet you are. Then Smitty hit him. Hard.
Mitch stumbled back, trying to keep himself from blacking out.
My sister? My baby sister?
Brendon stepped between Mitch and Smitty. Whoa!
Its not what you think, Mitch said, shaking his head and trying to keep the blackness at bay.
Is that right? Then what is it?
Mitch didnt answer right away, and Smitty snarled. I trusted you, boy. And I come here and find out youre just using
I love her. Mitch said it quietly, but it might have been screamed the way everything went quiet. Even the night animals stopped whatever they were doing.
Smitty folded his arms across his chest, his sudden rage disappearing as quickly as it had come. Is that right?
Yeah, thats right. I love your sister.
Smitty watched Mitch for several seconds, then he pulled his fist back again. Bren tried to block him, but Mitch just sort of waited for the hit.
Youre just gonna let me hit you, arent you?
Mitch shrugged. She cares about you, so Id rather not start a caged deathmatch with you, if thats possible. He raised his hands. You know how mighty my fists of fury are.
