Technical Threat (Westin Force #4) - Julie Trettel Page 0,37

a cute kid, and I had no doubts she was going to be a stunning woman someday, but despite the obvious concerns of my grandmother, I was not at all interested in Sage as anything more than a little sister.

My fox signaled his approval. He felt protective of the girl in a familial way. I never had sisters or siblings of any kind. Taylor was about the closest I had to one in my life, until now. It was strange how quickly I was accepting this twist of fate.

I didn’t know much about them, but I considered myself a great judge of character and I knew I would be proud to call Susan my mate. She was strong, a little defiant, stubborn, protective, caring, and clearly a great role model for Sage. They were all attributes I admired.

“I’m seventeen. I wasn’t feeling well so Susan sprung me from school early,” Sage rattled on.

So that’s where she’d run off to. I was slowly piecing together her morning.

Sage and Nonna talked for a while. I had no doubt there were many questions and inquiries from them both. When Nonna started sharing old stories about me, I decided to tune them out and get back to work.

My fox was more settled than he had been all day. I knew it was that kiss. I might not have claimed her in the way I desperately needed to, but I had seared her in a similar way with that kiss.

I grew hard and twitched in my pants at the memories. That was the last thing I needed in front of Nonna and Sage.

A memory of looking down at Susan on her knees before me made things even more uncomfortable, but my fox delighted in my pain. He took sick pleasure from reminding me of that sight.

“Caleb, the child is trying to ask you a question,” Nonna said.

“Sorry.” I looked up from my laptop where I had been staring at a black screen. They didn’t need to know that though. “What did you ask?”

“Are you taking Susan home with you tonight? She really doesn’t have anywhere to go,” Sage said. “All her stuff is packed in her car. I don’t want her sleeping here or in her car.”

“What’s this?” Nonna said.

“My sister.” Susan was just visible through the window to the kitchen. “That one, in the kitchen with brown hair tied up in a messy bun.”

“Your girl?” Nonna asked me.

My instinct was to say, “She’s not my girl, Nonna,” but when I opened my mouth to speak those weren’t the words that tumbled out. “Yeah, that one.”

My jaw dropped open, and my eyes widened. I had her full attention now. There was no way she was going to let this go.

“That one,” she repeated slowly. “And that’s your sister, Sage?”

“Yup. That’s Susan.”

“What’s this about her not having anywhere to go?”

“Our mother. They had a disagreement and she kicked her out this morning. I’m just so worried about her.”

“Caleb, you have to do something.”

“Caleb? I thought your name was Tarron,” Sage said.

“It is,” I told her. “Caleb Tarron. Everyone calls me Tarron, well, except her.”

“Caleb is a perfectly good name,” Nonna insisted just as she always did.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”

“You don’t really look like a Caleb though,” Sage assessed.

“Exactly,” I agreed.

“Regardless, what are we going to do about Susan?” Nonna asked.

I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my lips. She didn’t even know for certain that Susan was my mate, but she was already accepting and maybe even feeling a little protective of her.

“She can stay with us tonight. There’s plenty of room at the hotel.”

Nonna scrunched up her nose. “I’ll get my own room for the night.”

“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” I told her, “but if it makes you more comfortable then I’ll see what I can do.”

“I’m not so sure about that. He’s never acted like this for any girl before. Trust me, I’ve tried, too,” she whispered to Sage who just giggled again.

“Are you sure?” Sage asked me.

“Of course. It’s no problem. We’ll likely be here a couple of nights. We’ll figure out what to do after that, okay?”

Susan came out of the kitchen and it looked like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Much to my surprise, she slid into the booth beside me until our legs were touching.

It didn’t take long before Sapphire made her way over with a fresh pitcher of water and a Coke for Sage.

“How did it go in there?” she asked Susan, looking a little