"Of course I did." Maria's sharp eyes swept over her daughter.
They moved back into the workshop together. Maria put the cloth bag into the refrigerator while Joy returned to her candles. The thermometer read perfect pouring temperature, but she stared at it anyway, unable to focus.
"You've been watching that thermometer for five minutes, mija."
Joy's hands stilled on the ladle. The lie rose automatically to her lips, some excuse about being tired, about the stress from the goat escape. But when she met her mother's knowing gaze, the truth spilled out instead.
"I found my mate."
The words hung in the air between them as Maria settled into a stool beside her. "Tell me."
Joy poured the story out while she poured candles into waiting mason jars. The mate.com notification that changed everything. Andre appearing at the farmers market like fate itself had arranged it. His overprotective intensity at their first coffee meeting.
"He's Bear Patrol." Her voice caught on the words. “Mom, can you not tell Aunt Rosa yet? You know how she is. She'll tell Uncle Heath, and then the whole department will know, and..." Joy trailed off, uncomfortable.
Understanding flickered across Maria's face. "And you want to figure out what this is before everyone starts watching," Maria finished. "I understand. Your secret's safe with me."
"This whole thing is still… a trial for me. He… he went through my property records. Made security plans without asking." Joy's hands trembled as she filled another jar. "But then the goats got out, and he was there. He helped me search all night. When he held that injured kid goat..."
The memory stole her words. Andre's massive hands so gentle on the small, bleeding animal. The way he'd wrapped it in his own shirt without hesitation. How he'd carried pregnant Clementine from the mud, muscles straining but voice soft with reassurance.
"I don't know which version of him is real."
Maria picked up a finished candle, breathing in the lavender honey scent. "They're both real. The question is, which one will he choose to be?"
She set the candle down with care. "You know what Alex Terry did to me." Maria's voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "How he gave me the changing bite without my consent."
Joy nodded. She'd grown up with this story, but something in her mother's tone made her listen with new attention.
"What I didn't understand then was how trauma makes you see danger everywhere." Maria's hands folded in her lap. "After your father found me, feral and lost in the woods, he helped me remember how to be human again. But in those early days, he'd hover. Check on me constantly. Walk me everywhere. He meant well."
"But one day I broke down. Told him his watching felt like Alex's control all over again." A sad smile touched her lips. "The look on his face... like I'd gutted him. He never hovered again."
Joy found herself gripping the ladle.
"That's how I knew he was different. He heard me. He changed." Maria reached across to touch her daughter's hand. "The next time he asked permission. Every time after, he asked first. A good mate learns. A bad one just finds new ways to control."
Joy thought back to the coffee shop, Andre's obvious frustration when she'd rejected his security plans. But he'd backed off. Hadn't he?
Maria's hand was warm against hers. "You're stronger than I was. You know your worth from the start. Trust your instincts. Both human and lion."
Joy's phone buzzed again. She glanced at the screen, then showed it to her mother.
"Would you like to have a picnic at Lake Fate this evening? I promise no security talk. Just... us?"
Joy typed her response before she could overthink it. "Yes. 6 o'clock?"
His answer came immediately. "I can’t wait!”
The rest of the day passed in a blur of familiar routine. Joy finished her candle batches, testing each scent with the focus of someone trying not to think about the evening ahead. Pine Forest with its sharp evergreen notes. Vanilla Bourbon, warm and comforting. Honeysuckle Bloom that captured summer in a jar.
She labeled each candle with careful strokes, the repetitive motion soothing her nerves. But as afternoon shadows lengthened, anticipation crept back in. Her mountain lion practically vibrated with eagerness.
Joy stood before her small wardrobe longer than necessary. She put on the blue flannel that brought out her eyes. She brushed her hair until it shone, then left it loose around her shoulders.
Fifteen minutes later, Lake Fate stretched silver in the evening light, its surface mirror-smooth. Andre was already there, of course, leaning against his truck. He straightened when he saw her, and something warm bloomed in her chest at his obvious nerves. A woven basket sat on the tailgate beside a checkered blanket.
"I brought dinner." He lifted the basket, suddenly shy. "Nothing fancy. Just sandwiches with some bread I made this morning. And cookies. Chocolate chip. Tommy's favorite recipe."
