“Just call me Meg, and ignore him if he starts growling and getting all protective,” said Meg. She’d realized that Patrick had to be a shifter by the graceful way he walked and the easy way he had about him. He moved like Andrew and Luc.
“Nice to met you Meg. Ginny and I have been talking about how you saved Luc from being grizzly bait,” he said.
“Ah, no family secrets eh?” said Meg.
“No, none at all,” said Ginny.
“So, are you going to show him where Cal lives since Cal left about twenty minutes ago?” Luc asked.
“I guess I am,” said Ginny. “Sorry about dominating your afternoon Patrick,” she said to him.
“No problem. That was perhaps the best lamb burger I’ve had in ages,” said Patrick. “Plus, the conversation was delightful.”
Ginny smiled. “Shall we go?” she asked. “I promise to drive slow.”
“Okay. Just give me a minute to get the car started,” said Patrick as he headed off to his Subaru.
Luc headed for his car and Meg followed. Both of them buckled in and watched as the two cars left the parking lot.
“YES!” shouted Luc the moment the two cars disappeared out of sight.
“Good grief! Think you were loud enough?” Meg asked.
“Maybe,” Luc said with a smile. “I think that the cousin is going to work out,” he said as he leaned over and kissed Meg.
“You’re awfully certain after meeting the man for five minutes,” she said.
“Ah, but you see, I have a nose. A nose that smells all sorts of lovely things like pheromones. Ginny’s all said ‘YES’ and so did his. I’ll be surprised if Ginny makes it to work in the morning,” he said. “Plus, he drives a Subaru.”
“What?” asked Meg wondering where the kind of car a person drove fit into this mix.
“Yeah, a Subbie! Haven’t you noticed that most of us drive them?” Luc said with a smile.
Meg thought for a moment. She started counting cars on her fingers. “Am I the only one in this company that doesn’t drive a Subaru?” she asked.
“Yes, and that is why I said he was a good match too,” Luc said.
“But, is this a local phenomena? Or is it some planet wide conspiracy?” she asked.
“Just local, but it’s a good sign,” he said.
“So, you think they’ll jump each other that fast?” asked Meg changing the subject.
“Yes, I do. It all depends on how well Cal handles things this evening,” said Luc.
“Cal? Not Ginny or Patrick?” asked Meg.
“Yes. Cal has to make it easy for Patrick to be with Ginny without it looking like he asked his cousin to come by just for Ginny,” he said.
“Okay, I can see that,” she said. “Since we aren’t chaperoning them, how about we go home and see how some of that lingerie I have goes over with you tonight,” Meg said.
“I like that idea. Lamb burgers for dinner first?” he asked.
“Definitely!” said Meg.
Luc started the car and headed for their favorite burger joint.
*
Ginny drove away from Cal’s house as Patrick parked his car and headed inside. She pulled out into traffic and headed home feeling happier than she had in a month. “Damn he smells good and pushes all the right buttons,” she thought as she shifted in her seat. “Wonder if he’d be interested in sex?” Ginny’s thoughts were interrupted by a honk from the car behind her. She looked up to see that the light had turned green. She headed home.
Pulling into the driveway, she saw that George was there, but Sandy’s car was gone. She grabbed her stuff and headed inside. She dropped her bag by the coat rack and hung up her jacket. She could hear a little bit of noise, but no kids. Walking into the living room, she saw why. George was racked out on her couch covered in a mound of small children raptly watching a Pixar movie.
“Hey George,” she said softly.
“Hi Ginny. The kids and I are watching Cars,” said George. “Sandy went out with a friend and Ysabel went shopping with ‘Solda and Bitty.”
“Okay. Has everyone eaten?” she asked.
“Yahuh, Unky Gee made us sanwitses,” said Sara. Joe and Ivan nodded.
“Okay, then I’m going to go shower,” said Ginny.
“Enjoy,” said George as he and the kids turned back to the movie.
Ginny walked into her bedroom, gathered her sweat pants and a teeshirt and headed for the shower. Dropping her clothes in the hamper, she looked at herself in the mirror. A few wrinkles, gray hair, a little saggy around the breasts, but not bad. Ginny turned the shower on and stepped in when the water was hot.
The water felt wonderful, and as she brought her hand up to her face, she caught a faint whiff of Patrick’s scent. “Damn, that man smells good,” she thought. Grabbing the shampoo, she started washing her hair. Once that was finished, she turned the shower head to pulse and let it hit the tension spot between her shoulder blades. The knots slowly worked loose. The water began to cool off and she turned off the water and grabbed her towel as she got out. Ginny thought she heard the front door open and close as she got dressed. She wondered if it was Ysabel and the girls back from shopping or Sandy. She grabbed her comb and headed out to the living room to see who it was.
“You look comfortable,” said Patrick who was sitting on the end of the couch.
“I.. um… I,” Ginny stuttered. “George, why didn’t you tell me we had company?” she asked as she felt the blood rush to her face.
“You were in the shower,” said George. “Just relax, we’ve been having a nice conversation.”
“And Sara here has told me all the family secrets you forgot over lunch,” Patrick said with a smile.