Hannah and Stella flanked Mac, each taking an arm.
“We made it.” Hannah wiped her eyes. “You all right?”
“I am.” Mac had finally made peace with his life. “Our lives were rough, but he prepared us. Got to give him that.”
Grant, Hannah, Mac, none of them would be alive without the skills their father had taught them.
Hannah snorted. “He did. If there’s ever a zombie apocalypse, we are so ready.”
One Week Later
Stella parked in front of Grant and Ellie’s farmhouse for a Fourth of July barbeque. The past week had her head spinning—in a good way. Sure, she’d had to type a thousand reports, but she’d been able to spend most of her free time with Mac.
In the passenger seat, he gestured toward the house with his splinted hand. “It might be nice to have a place like this someday.”
“Are you ready to emerge from the wild?”
He laughed. “Maybe you tamed me.”
“I seriously doubt you’ll ever be fully domesticated.” Stella reached for the door handle. “At least I hope not.” Remembering the night before, she glanced back at him, heat and humor filling her with happiness.
Flashing her a wicked grin, Mac opened his car door.
“But it is peaceful here.” Stepping out of the car, she breathed in the smell of freshly cut summer grass. The lawn surrounding the house was lush with green from the June rains. They’d just left her house, where Gianna was recuperating under the watchful eyes of Grandpa and Morgan.
“Uncle Mac! Uncle Mac!” Mac’s nephew raced around the side of the house and tore across the grass toward them. His large golden retriever loped at his side. The boy almost slammed into Mac’s legs. The dog slid to a stop and launched its body at Stella with a happy bark.
“Whoa, AnnaBelle.” Holding his splinted hand in the air, Mac caught the dog’s collar before she took Stella out at the knees. “Sit.”
Stella stroked the dog’s soft head. “Such a pretty girl.”
Wiry, tan, and covered in grass stains, Carson was a mini-Mac. Mud splattered the bare legs and feet that stuck out from under his black athletic shorts. A dinosaur, and something that might have been ketchup, decorated his T-shirt.
Carson squinted at her. “I know you. You work with Brody. You’ve been here before, and you were at my grandpa’s funeral.”
“I was,” Stella said.
“Look what I found!” He thrust his hand toward her. A small snake hissed in her face.
“Ah.” Stella started, falling backward and landing on her butt in the grass. She pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart protested the shock, and pain shot through her hip where she’d landed on a rock.
Mac extended a hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.
“Are you OK?” Concern—and humor—lit his eyes. He was pressing his lips together, as if trying not to laugh.
She rubbed her throbbing hip.
Carson’s smile dimmed, his gaze dropped to the ground, and he deflated. “I’m sorry, Uncle Mac. I didn’t know she was scared of snakes. Aunt Hannah isn’t.”
“It’s OK, buddy.” Mac squatted. “You didn’t know.”
“I’m fine,” Stella reassured him. “I’m not scared at all,” she lied. “Just surprised.”
“Let’s see that snake.” Mac reached out and took the creature. It was about two feet long, with a slender body decorated in orange and white stripes.
Instead of hissing at Mac, the snake wrapped its body around his tanned hand and forearm.
Smart snake.
“What a beauty,” Mac said.
Carson stroked the snake’s head. “He likes you.”
“He likes my body heat.” Mac held the snake toward Stella. “Want to pet him?”
She didn’t. Not. One. Bit. But the pride on Carson’s face made her feel like a slug for frightening him. This little boy had lost both his parents the year before. The least she could do was make him happy. And Mac’s grin was challenge enough.
“He’s not venomous,” Carson encouraged. “We only have three kinds of venomous snakes in New York: timber rattlers, copperheads, and the . . . What’s the other one, Uncle Mac?”
“Massasauga.”
“Right.” Carson repeated the name one syllable at a time. “This is a milk snake. He won’t bite.”
Stella plastered a smile on her face, clamped her teeth together, and lifted her hand. Where to touch it? Venomous or not, she wasn’t going anywhere near its mouth. She settled on the tail and touched it with just the tips of her fingers. The skin felt like bumpy plastic. It didn’t move, but she thought three strokes were enough to satisfy Carson. The snake hadn’t been moist or dirty, but she wiped her hand on her slacks anyway.