Free ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) by C.J. Ayers Page B

that smell?”
    Amber sniffed, and scrambled for the stove. She turned off the heat under the green beans and to the oven. When she lifted the lid off the pan, black smoke poured out. “Oh, no! It was going so perfectly!” Amber wailed.
    The shriek of the fire-detector startled them both. Amber put the lid back down on the pan and picked up the whole mess. Over the noise of the alarm, she called to Ryder, “Would you take the potatoes out, please? I hope they aren’t burned to a crisp as well.” She rushed to the door, intending to take the smoking mess out to the trashcans. At the door, she met her sister charging in.
    “What’s on fire?” Jade, wild-eyed, asked. “Are you okay? What’s burning?”
    “I’m okay. It’s just the beans.” Amber pushed past her sisters, mortified that they’d come to her rescue, and continued outside.
    “Hello, cousin dear,” Iris greeted Ryder. “How was supper going?”
    Ryder pulled the potatoes from the oven. They looked a bit crisp, but edible and still smelled great. “Well, I think, Iris. I distracted her; she had everything well in hand.”
    “Distracted her, huh?” Iris began rubbing Jade’s back in small slow circles. Jade was trembling; the thought of her baby sister in a fire had sent her into a panic she’d never experienced before. Iris spoke in low and soothing tones, but didn’t address the obvious just yet. “I wonder how.”
    “Not the way you’re thinking. I told her she was beautiful.” Ryder set down the oven mitt and leaned back against the kitchen counter. He crossed his arms across his broad chest.
    Iris’s eyes softened and melted just a bit. “Did you hear that, Jade love? He distracted her by telling her she’s beautiful.”
    Jade struggled to pull herself to calm, “She’s always been beautiful.”
    “Yes, love, we know this, but she hasn’t always thought so. Ryder, would you make my mate here a glass of water? I think she needs it.” Iris used her rubbing hand to push Jade over to the table where she collapsed into a chair. Her eyes were still wide and wild.
    Ryder raised an eyebrow at Iris and tilted his head in question. She shook her head slightly in reply and they both turned at the sound of the door.
    Amber clumped back into the apartment with the now empty pan. Her grumbles weren’t loud enough for anyone but Ryder to decipher. His grin suggested that her curses were highly inventive. Disgruntled at the way her supper had turned out, she snapped at the three faces staring at her.
    “What?”
    Iris and Ryder both shook their heads silently. Jade, however, chose that moment to burst into tears.
    “Oh, no.” Amber hurried across the intervening space and set her burdens on the table. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. It was rude of me. You’ve been nothing but welcoming, and I’m a bitch. I’m so sorry.”
    “No no no.” Jade waved away Amber’s apologies. “Not the snappy. Just so glad you’re okay. “She threw her arms around Amber’s neck and squeezed tight.
    Amber was completely confused. She patted Jade’s back and looked over at Iris. “I don’t understand. I just ruined a dinner. Of course I’m okay. Just a bruised ego.”
    “No, dear.” Understanding had dawned for Iris. “For insurance purposes, the fire detector in here is wired into the house’s alarm system. When it goes off, we know it. The alarm in the house sounded, and Jade panicked.  She thought the apartment was on fire, and you were inside.”
    Amber was getting really tired of crying. This time her tears were for her sister. “I’m okay, Jade. I’m okay. No fire. See? No fire.”
    Jade’s only reply was to squeeze harder. “You left right after the fire and the funerals. You were gone for so long. Then you came back to me. The thought of losing you to a fire just…”
    “I would’ve done the same, Jade. I would’ve done the same.” The two ladies sat and held each other for a few minutes.
    Iris walked over to where her cousin