“I heard you had quite the day,” Madison said as she shut the doorbehindher.
“That’s one way of putting it,”Abbysaid.
“Mind if I sit?” Madisonasked.
“No.”
Abby sat on the end of the bed while Madison settled into thechair.
“Cody said you’re upset,”Madisonsaid.
“Did he send you up to talk to me?” Abbyasked.
“Yes. He begged me to tell you that he’s not amonster.”
“You sure as hell could havefooledme.”
“I know what you’re going through,” Madison said. “When I found out Mack was a shifter, I almost had a heart attack. I ran and hid in his closet. It took him an hour to talk me outofit.”
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Abby said. “I thought shapeshifters were Native Americanmyths.”
“No. They’re very real. But being able to transform into a bear is only a small part of who Cody is,” Madison said. “Of all the brothers, I think he’s the sweetest, most level-headed.”
“He does seem like a good guy,” Abbyadmitted.
“Heis.”
“Cody said his entire family is made up ofshifters.”
“Almost everyone,” Madison said. “I’m not a shifter and neither isRachel.”
“What about Kate, Carol and Vicki?” Abbyasked.
“Kate and Carol are shifters, Vickiisnot.”
“How can Carol be a shifter, but her momisn’t?”
“Carol’s father was a shifter,” Madisonexplained.
“And everyone’s okay with this?” Abbyasked.
“After I got over the shock, I realized that it just made Mack even more special. The Grant brothers are incredible men. Their parents raised them to be good, honorable people. If there’s something going on between you and Cody, then it’s worthexploring.”
“Aren’t you afraid he’s going to turn into a bear in the middle of the night and maul you?” Abbyasked.
“He might try to lick me to death,” Madison grinned. “But he’d never hurt me. He can control whether or not he’s going to shift. Well, for themostpart.”
“What do you mean?” Abbyasked.
“When he gets really mad, he might not be able to stop his bear from coming out. That’s how I discovered his secret. My jackass ex-fiancé showed up at the ranch, trying to get me back. Mack’s bear is very protective, so when he thought I was in danger, he came out to defend me,” Madison said. “But that only happened because he was afraid formylife.”
“What happened to your ex?” Abby asked, fearing the worst. Did the bear tear him topieces?
“The sheriff came and took him away. He’s still locked up in a mental institution. We didn’t want him telling everyone about shifters, so we made sure he won’t evergetout.”
“That seems extreme,” Abby said with afrown.
“Trust me, Ben’s a huge jerk. He deserves to be locked up,”Madisonsaid.
