their own driveway. Shane took Montana and drove away in his Jeep while Cal and Cash climbed in the car with Gunner.
“This has to end,” Gunner said.
“They can't harass our mates like that and get away with it,” Cash said.
Gunner started the car, and they made their way home. The twins vowed they would get revenge, and as Gunner dropped them off and made his way back to his own house, he worried the only way it would end would be with bloodshed.
As he sat alone in his room at night, thinking back about his day at school, he remembered the feeling of wishing he had a mate.
He grabbed his phone and opened the app to Mate.com. He'd signed up about a year ago, but when he logged in, it was the same as always. No one-hundred-percent match for Gunner Wilde.
He sighed, turned off the light, and climbed into his bed to go to sleep. It was just as well. The situation with the McCoys was escalating, and he hated the idea of his mate being harassed by his family's rivals. But as he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder where his mate was right then.
3
Cassidy sipped her coffee, sitting on the back-porch swing and looking out over the McCoy ranch. In some ways, she had really missed home. Being in the city all those years had given her a sense of emptiness that she hadn't been quite able to place until then.
The truth was that Cassidy was a country girl through and through, and nothing could change that. She saw her brothers out in the fields, working with the cattle. She wished that things could be different, but she felt like her family was unredeemable. She could never accept some things about the way they lived. She felt the emptiness inside her, knowing it deep down in her gut, and she felt such a sharp pain that she grasped her stomach and groaned.
Her mother came out of the kitchen and sat beside her on the porch. “What's wrong, sweetheart?” her mother asked, nursing her own cup of coffee.
“It's just a shock to be home. That's all.”
Cassidy's mother patted her hand and gave her a sympathetic look.
“I know this is hard for you, sweetheart. But everything's going to turn out all right. I've been hoping that you would come home eventually, even though I felt it was best for you to get away from this town. I didn't know you would be gone for so long. I missed you so much.”
Her mother's eyes filled with tears, and Cassidy wrapped her arm around her mother's shoulders.
“I missed you, too, Mom.”
“Wouldn't it be nice if you found a nice young man to settle down with?” her mother asked wistfully. “If you got married and settled down in Fate Rock, I could see my grandbabies every day.”
“I didn't come home to stay,” Cassidy said. “Besides, you have Charlie and Bobby, and I'm sure they'll find their mates soon.”
“Those two aren't even on mate.com,” her mother said. “They're too busy philandering with human tourists.”
“You're kidding me,” Cassidy said.
“I am not. I'm dead serious. Twenty-nine and thirty-two, and they still haven't finished sowing their wild oats. I had hoped for so much more for my children.”
“I never wanted to disappoint you, Mom.”
“Believe me, Cassidy, you haven't disappointed me for one single day.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Cassidy said, beginning to feel emotional as well.
“I better go check on the bread in the oven.”
Cassidy's mother disappeared back inside, and Cassidy sighed, thinking about her mother's words. If she found her mate, it would be a way for her to start her life over with someone she loved.
She hadn't felt ready to find a mate back in New York, but maybe it had been because she'd never felt fully comfortable in New York. She wouldn't have believed it just a few days ago, but now that she was home, she knew a part of her had been missing all of that time in New York, though she hated to admit it.
Cassidy pulled out her phone and went to mate.com. She downloaded the app then looked around to make sure no one was watching. The last thing she needed was to get teased by her brothers. She quickly filled out the questionnaire and profile. A moment later, her mates began loading. She held her breath as the loading screen filled with her matches.
Her heart slammed in her chest as she scrolled down the page. She had been