Kade glowered at him and turned to Jessie. “I’m sorry we couldn’t end this the easy way.”
Jessie saw past the angry set of his jaw to the sincerity in his pale eyes. “It’s okay, Kade. No way you could have known Braden would have all those goons.”
The eyes flared gold. “It’s not okay.” He glanced at Cara, and his mouth worked, as though he searched for the words. “The old woman usually knows what she’s doing. You’re in good hands.”
“I know,” Jessie said. “Thanks for the blood.”
Kade snorted. “Never a shortage of that, it seems.”
Zach pushed off the counter. “He does bleed a lot,” he agreed.
“Some of us don’t bleed at all,” Kade growled.
“Hey, noses count,” Zach protested, his eyes snapping fire. “Can we go?”
The two men glared at each other. Each seemed determined to make the other leave first. The tension in the room was thick enough to smell.
Jessie thought shecouldsmell it. Heavy, musky. She looked between them. What was going on?
Finally, Kade gestured to Zach, inviting him to step out ahead of him.
Zach met Jessie’s gaze. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. “Do you want the penthouse suite?”
“Do you have a penthouse suite?”
“No. More like a pint-sized spare bedroom,” he admitted.
“That will be fine.” Jessie smiled.
“You have a spare bedroom?” Kade demanded as Zach finally stepped out of the kitchen and headed for the door. “How come I got the couch?”
“There are two spare bedrooms and an office.” Zach avoided the hulking Were’s glare.
“And you gave me the couch,” Kade repeated, incredulous.
“There’s always the barn.” Zach opened the door.
“You could walk home,” Kade countered.
“Don’t tempt me.” The reply came as Kade closed the door behind them.
Jessie met Cara’s eyes as the argument faded through the garden. “Was it just me or was there a lot of testosterone flying around?”
“Definite strutting,” Cara agreed.
Jessie grimaced. “Those two hate each other.”
“They have more in common than they know.” Cara shook her head, making the crystals chime.
In common? They couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. Jessie sighed. “Are they going to survive the drive to the farm? Kade wants to eat Zach.”
“They need a good fist fight to sort it,” Cara agreed, putting dishes in the sink.
“Except Kade has claws,” Jessie pointed out.
“Claws do not maketh the man.” The older woman smiled. “My money’s on Zach.”
* * *
