Inferno by Cara Bristol

 

Epilogue

 

Two weeks later

“He’s just sitting there.” Geneva peeked out the kitchen window at Tigre morosely nursing a beer.

“This is an improvement,” Meadow whispered, although he couldn’t hear them. “When he’s not moping around, holding a pity party for one, he’s snarling at people. Psy suggested he phone Kat, and Tigre almost bit his head off.”

“His behavior is out of character,” Kevanne agreed. “Tigre has always been the calmest, most levelheaded one. That’s why they chose him as leader of the Castaway when they came to Earth, Chameleon told me.”

“Pain makes people grouchy. Inferno said swollen mating glands are uncomfortable,” Geneva said.

“I hear they are, but Tigre has an antidote. He just won’t take it,” Meadow said.

“Men! They’re so stubborn.”

The women nodded in agreement.

“Are we ready to barbecue?” Geneva asked.

“I think so,” said Meadow, who was in charge of the meal prep.

“I’ll cue Inferno, then.”

She poked her head into the great room where the men—sans Tigre—watched a game on TV. “We’re ready!”

“Okay!” Inferno jumped up and trotted off to the patio. The other men followed him out.

Geneva and the women watched through the kitchen window as he shot flames from his fingertips. When the briquettes began to burn, he doused his flame and flashed a thumbs-up.

“That is so amazing,” Mandy gushed. “I got such a clear vision of you two together, but I never had an inkling he could do that.”

“All the ’Topians are amazing,” Geneva agreed, although she thought Inferno was the most amazing. In the past couple of weeks, she’d gotten to know the castaways and their genmates quite well. She and Inferno had grown so close, it seemed like they had been together forever, but the bond worked that way, the women had explained.

As Meadow’s beans bubbled on the stove and pies baked in the oven, the women worked on the rest of the meal, chopping vegetables for the salad, shucking corn, and mixing up a batch of potato salad. Outside, Wingman and Psy pushed two picnic tables together to form a long one then covered it with a colorful plastic tablecloth.

“They’re probably ready for the meat now.” Geneva retrieved the huge platter from the fridge and carried it outside, setting it on the table beside the barbecue. Inferno grabbed her in a lingering kiss. Giggling, she swatted his behind and dashed to the kitchen.

He slapped the burgers on the grill, and, after Psy had tossed each man a beer from the cooler, the men stood around and tended the barbecue.

After the burgers were cooked, the men brought them in. Everyone served themselves and carried their plates outside to eat on the picnic table. Geneva relished the loud, boisterous conversation and the sense of family.

“When are you moving into the farmhouse?” Delia asked.

“The end of next month,” she replied. “I had to give my landlord a month’s notice.” Since she and Inferno had become inseparable, living together had been the natural next step, and it seemed more practical for her to move into the roomy farmhouse than for him to squeeze into her tiny bungalow. She and Inferno planned to get married next year and had booked the gazebo at Kevanne’s lavender farm. Inferno had given her a rose quartz engagement ring. It wasn’t a traditional betrothal symbol, but then they weren’t a traditional couple. Uncle Mike had agreed to perform the ceremony—insisted, actually. Geneva doubted he would have allowed anyone else to marry them.

“When you’re ready, we’ll all help move you,” Psy said.

“Thank you. It should be a light load. I don’t have that much to pack.” Geneva looked at Kevanne. “How did my uncle’s service go this morning?”

“He got quite a crowd. He preached from the gazebo,” she said. “I think his parishioners enjoyed having the service outdoors on such a beautiful spring day.”

“From the house, we could hear them singing,” Chameleon said.

“You’re so nice for letting him use the lavender farm for Sunday services while the church is being rebuilt.”

“My pleasure.” She winked. “Besides, it’s good for business. Quite a few parishioners stopped in the gift shop after the service.”

“What will they do if it rains?” Meadow asked.

“Pastor Mike worked out a deal with my boss to use the Whitetail Saloon,” Delia explained.

After the men did the dishes, the women cut and served the pie, and they reconvened outside, settling into comfortable lawn chairs around the fire pit. Dusk cast a rosy glow over the tree line. Wingman stacked some wood in the pit, and Inferno once again did the honors and lit it on fire.

“Come join the party!” Psy waved at Tigre who’d set his chair apart from the rest of them.

The Saberian glowered but inched his chair closer.

“Where’s Izzy tonight?” Kevanne inquired of Delia’s daughter.

“She’s spending the night at Molly’s. Those two are like conjoined twins,” Delia replied.

“Molly?” Geneva asked.

“Her best friend whose family owns a horse ranch. Izzy is crazy about horses. There’s no way I can compete with her bestie and a horse,” she chuckled, and then sobered. “I’m so glad Izzy is thriving.”

It’s what any parent would want, Geneva thought.

“I didn’t get to hear the whole story of what happened with the church burning,” Meadow said. “I heard your ex-husband did it?”

“Yeah.” She shook her head, still shocked. “Trenton had been stalking me for months. I had no idea it had been going on that long. He’d been fired from his job, his girlfriend broke up with him, and his life in general fell apart, so he got it into his head that we should hook up again. He guessed I wouldn’t want to see him, so he devised a story about having sold some property he’d purchased when we were married and faked some escrow documents. When Inferno and I started to get serious, he got desperate. He intended to start a small fire, plant Inferno’s rose quartz, and then report it to the fire department. However, the fire spread faster than he expected and got out of control.” She rested her hand on Inferno’s knee. “Fortunately, the cops figured out pretty fast Inferno was innocent and arrested Trenton.”

“How did they determine he was the culprit?” Kevanne asked.

“Gus from the bait shop was out walking his dog and remembered seeing Trenton’s car parked outside the church. He got a partial license plate number, and the cops traced it to Trenton’s apartment. They got a warrant and searched his car. The idiot had the gas can in the trunk! As it happened, Gus’s dog had peed on Trenton’s car. They took a swab, got a urine sample from the dog, and were able to put Trenton at the scene of the crime. When they confronted him with the evidence, he broke down and confessed.”

Geneva continued, “Kat Kelley said—”

Tigre growled at the mention of the name.

“Kat Kelley—” He growled again, popped a beer can tab and knocked back a swig.

“The sergeant who took Inferno into custody came and told us what happened.” Kat had turned out to be quite apologetic, very nice, actually—until Geneva made the mistake of mentioning Tigre’s name. Then she’d bristled just like Tigre. The two were cut from the same cloth. Kat and Tigre. She chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Tigre’s amber eyes narrowed.

“Kat and Tigre?”

“I do not want that disagreeable woman as my genmate!”

His ’Topian brothers laughed. “Too late. Your genetics have already chosen her,” Shadow said.

“I am the master of me. We might share a mating gene, but I do not have to accept her.”

“If it’s any consolation, Kat doesn’t like you, either,” Geneva said.

With a roar, Tigre leaped out of his chair. “I would make a fine mate! But she will never know!” Tail swishing, he stalked into the house and slammed the door.

“And I thought I was the grouchy one,” Wingman commented.

“He’s got it bad,” Inferno said.

“Yep,” Shadow said. “Looks like we’ll be welcoming another genmate into the fold soon.”

“To Kat!” Inferno raised his glass, and they toasted Tigre’s future genmate.

 

* * * *

Thank you for reading Inferno. As you can tell from the epilogue, Tigre’s story will be the next book, coming in August 2021 Here’s a sneak peek at the blurb:

When the feral fever strikes, more than tempers get hot…

During an investigation, small town cop Kat Kelley encounters the most arresting man she’s ever seen. But before she can make her move, the soul-stirring, saber-toothed alien with topaz eyes growls at her. Who does that? This potential relationship is DOA, case closed. She’s confident her heart will fall in line once she immerses herself in the upcoming law enforcement training conference in Vegas.

Tigre, a Saberian from planet ’Topia, instantly recognizes Kat as his genmate, so he doesn’t hesitate to let her know. That’s when everything goes wrong. By the disdainful curl of her lips, the stunning human lets him know she finds him lacking as a mate. Fine, then. Somehow, he will extinguish the feral fever’s burn—a little trip to Las Vegas ought to do it.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Unless you wake up married to an alien.

 

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