Motley Crewed Shifters - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

“Would you believe me if I told you I’ve never even seen a rodeo, much less been entered to compete in one?” I asked Emmet who was tugging on a pair of thick work gloves.
“Figured that, Boss. That’s why you’re doing the bareback riding contest, and I am riding the bull,” he said with a wink.
Honestly, I didn’t even know why I bothered. If Grandmother Leeds took my fortune away, I supposed I’d just have to start from the bottom.
But this was about more than money. This was about proving to myself I could finish something.
I spotted Penelope in the stands sitting beside Avery and little Rosalie, and my heart started thudding harder. My inner Devil growled softly.
One of the side effects of being mated was I felt much more in sync with my darker side. My inner beast no longer wanted to tear me apart and take over. All thoughts were of her now. Of us.
And wasn’t that amazing?
The smell of hay and fur, of sweat and blood, was all around me, but it did nothing to tempt me, monster that I was. Oh no. I just wanted to compete in this thing. To make Penelope as proud of me as I was of her.
I hadn’t done much with my life. Squandered my fortune, played the field, and been a basically useless human being, er, Jersey Devil.
Hell, I supposed Grandmother was right.
“Of course I am right, dear boy. I am always right.”
I froze in place.
It couldn’t be. Not here.
“Wow, look at you, cousin! You look like a real cowboy!”
But I knew those voices. My inner Devil perked up.
I turned around slowly until I was facing my cousin and grandmother. I’d always had a healthy fear of the matron of our family, but not of my cousin.
And that asshole owed me.
Faster than was humanly possible, I popped that idiot in the nose with a right hook.
“Ouch! What the fuck, Max?” Avail grunted, holding his now bleeding nose.
“Language, Avail,” Grandmother said, handing him a handkerchief and smiling at me with something akin to pride shining in her eyes.
“This is Emmet, I take it?” Grandmother asked, and the Wolf dipped his head.
I hadn’t realized he was still standing there, waiting to see if I needed backup.
Good Wolf. Great Beta.
“Hi, Grandma,” I said, kissing her politely on the cheek. “Yeah, Emmet here is the foreman, and my Beta. I have a Crew now.”
“Yes, I see. A real found family, then. But don’t forget, Max, you have us, too,” she said, and right then something else clicked for me.
I’d always kind of resented the way Avail and Grandmother had seemed so close. Like I was on the outside with the other lesser important grandsons and cousins.
But looking at her now, I felt something I’d been missing my whole life. Acceptance.
Love.
Respect.
Maybe all three. And I was grateful she helped me find them. She helped me to appreciate my fortune and my life.
I might have been a little shit before this move, but I was different now. Forever changed. And Grandmother had been the one to start the ball rolling.
“I know, and I appreciate it. All of it, Grandma. Penelope is my true promised one, and she’s made everything better. All of this has been worthwhile,” I told her reverently.
“Yes, I understand you’ve found your mate. I expect a full introduction when you are finished here,” Grandmother said.
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.
“Sucks when she’s right, doesn’t it?” Avail grinned.
“No. Not at all, actually,” I replied, thinking about my sweet Sugarplum.
“Well, Stephanie and the kids are in the stands. We’re rooting for you, Max.”
“Thanks, Avail. Sorry about the,” I murmured and gestured to his now crooked nose.
“It’ll heal. Anyway, cowboy looks good on you,” Avail said, and he wasn’t even being rude.
“Ready to get out there, Boss?” Emmet asked as the announcer said my name.
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
PENELOPE
Meeting Max’s family right before he was about to get on the back of a bucking bronco was probably not ideal. I’d just shaken hands with Stephanie, his cousin Avail’s heavily pregnant wife, when they called his name.
I jumped up so hard, I knocked my entire forty ounce soda cup all over Avery, who’d been sitting in front of me in the stands.
Lucky for me, Avery always had spare clothes in her car.
I watched Rosie, who was playing with Avail and Stephanie’s twins, while Avery went to change.
I couldn’t blame her. The soda was sticky and cold, and today it had been chillier than the last few weekends.
“There he goes!” Avail said and pointed to the circle.
The entire arena seemed to fall silent, but I knew that was only inside my head. The Devil Max had given me was alert, aware, and entirely focused on my mate.
He looked so good.
A true Jersey boy, but decked out in tight denim, cowhide chaps on top of them, broken in boots, a blue, long-sleeved shirt, and his hat sitting atop his head.
He looked gorgeous. And his ride was going to be amazing.
The bronc they gave him was snorting angrily, dust punched up from the ground every time the enormous, powerful animal moved. It was a thing of beauty.
Pure, animalistic energy vibrated through the air.
I almost felt bad for the horse. Unleashed and wild, he was fierce.
But so was my Max. I overheard a couple of women in the stands gush over how good looking he was, and I had to work hard to control my Devil.
This was neither the time nor the place to have a jealous fit.
Besides, there was no need. Max was mine.
Mine, echoed my she-Devil.
I knew all about keeping the supernatural world a secret, and the Crew had told me how they wouldn’t be pulling first place in every event just because it would look suspicious.
Not that it would be easy to do that. Cowboying was hard work, and even though I was born in an area of New Jersey where we embraced cowboy culture, I knew fuck all about it.
But some of the Crew were seasoned cowboys and with their supernatural strength and reflexes it would be harder to lose.
Max was completely green, though. A real city boy.
“Ooh, that looked painful,” Stephanie squeaked as the bronc bucked and twisted, making Max turn his back in a way that did not look humanly possible.
I clapped my hands together, jumping up and down in the stands. My heart was working so hard, and I forgot to breathe a time or two.
It was a wonder I didn’t pass out.
I bit my lip and squealed as he made his ride. It was only eight seconds. But it felt like years by the time the buzzer sounded.
He’d hung on.
Max had hung on!
“YASSSSSSSSS!”
“He did it!”
“Go Max!”
Our little section of the crowd went wild, and I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled loudly for him.
He turned his head, his electric blue eyes finding mine immediately and I swear, my heart felt so tight right then.
“I love him,” I said aloud as the realization struck.
He’d mentioned loving me once or twice over the past week. But honestly, between my new senses and trying to get my Devil under control, I guess I’d been putting off thinking about this.
“I LOVE HIM!” I yelled.
Max’s eyes widened and before I knew it, he was headed right towards me instead of standing by to wait for the winner announcements in the circle with the other cowboys.
Stephanie looked at me and laughed.
“Just found that out, did you?” she asked with a knowing grin.
Avery returned then, checking on Rosie before she looked at me and Stephanie.
“Found what out?”
“She loves him,” Stephanie said.
“Duh. He asked her to marry him, and she said yes,” Avery replied and rolled her eyes.
But I didn’t care what they were talking about. My mate had just jumped the fence and was striding towards me. I ran down the bleachers to meet him, saying sorry to the people I pushed out of my way or accidentally stepped on.
“My bad!”
Then I was on the ground, and he was just inches away.
“I love you,” I said, looking up at Max.
Sweat dotted his brow, and he smelled of horse, and man, and other. The spicy familiar scent of my mate filled me, made my pulse race, and my heart pound.
“Come here,” he growled and pulled me to him, wrapping me up in his embrace.
“I love you too, Sugarplum,” he growled and then his lips were slamming into mine.
I knew we had to wait until the entire Crew finished their events to go home. But this right here, this was what made it all worthwhile.
“You know you’re never getting rid of me, right?” I asked Max seriously a few hours later.
We were eating some really good barbecue, and the guys had all collected their awards. The cool thing about this rodeo was the local farm stands and contests. There were small competitions for foods and goods.
Max wound up winning second place, which was awesome. Emmet had come in first for bull riding. Dante was first for steer wrestling. Zeke came in third for roping.
But Jed took the cake. The Prairie Dog Shifter had actually won the most today, bringing in three separate blue ribbons for the Motley Crewd Ranch goat cheeses.
Overall, it was an excellent day. And my heart never felt so full.
Later on, we walked Avery to her car, which didn’t start.
“I can get you home. I’ll come back for the car later,” Dante said, offering to take Avery and Rosalie back to their place.
It was a nice gesture. I knew it was only because Rosie was sleeping that Avery took him up on it. But I had an inkling about those two.
Next, we accompanied Max’s grandmother and his cousins to where their limousine was waiting. The kids were asleep, and Stephanie looked ready to nap as well.
“Well, this was a delightful surprise, cousin. It was very nice to meet you, Penelope,” Avail said with a wink, ignoring Max’s growl.
I loved it when he got all possessive with me.
“Penelope!” an unwelcome voice hissed my name.
I turned around to see Burt the Dirtbag and a woman who was not his wife with their arms around each other. He seemed to realize his mistake when not one, but five hulking males turned to stare at him, their expressions angry and grim.
I patted Max’s chest and moved in front of him. Ever since Max claimed me, I was more comfortable in my skin than I’d ever been before.
“What are you wearing?”
Burt’s eyes were practically bulging out of his head, and it was likely due to the tight jeans and low-cut blouse I had on.
He was forever telling me to be modest when we were married. But I wasn’t his wife anymore. And his opinion did not matter to me one bit.
“None of your business, Burt. Does your wife know you’re here with another woman?” I asked, and the woman he was with gasped and pushed away from him.
“Wait! We’re splitting up—dammit!”
“You’re still the same pathetic loser you always were. Get out of here, Burt. And don’t come back,” I said softly.
I couldn’t be sure if it was the warning note in my voice or the snarling men who flanked me, but Burt looked ready to shit himself. He hightailed it out of there, and I turned to say my final goodbyes to Max’s family.
Then I turned to the rest of the boys.
“Ready to go home?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Emmet said with a grin.
He and the boys had loaded up all the animals and the stuff for Jed’s stand. The rodeo would be back next month, and we were all signed up. I even planned to bring a little Devil’s Food Bakery with me.
As it was, I couldn’t wait to get back to work. My senses were so heightened now, smell and taste especially, I could only imagine what it was going to be like to bake.
“Mm. Well, when you do, bring us home a couple dozen cupcakes, Sugarplum, The boys and I sure appreciate it,” Max said, reading my mind.
I was still getting used to the telepathy part of our bond. We all were, actually. Max was coming into his Alpha powers, and he had managed to shut it down with the Crew. He still didn’t want them to hear naughty things between us until I could control it more.
Speaking of naughty things, I bit my lip and slid my hand into the crux of Max’s arm, smiling at him as we headed towards the truck.
“Come on, Sugar. I got plans for tonight.”
My blood sizzled and shivers ran down my spine.
“I can’t wait.”
Lucky for me, I didn’t have to.