Animal Prints: Sweet Small Town Contemporary Romance (Michigan Moonlight Book 1) by May Williams

that was that.”
    “Pictures? Of you?” Jade shrieked.
    “Of everything. He’s a photographer.”
    “Who’s a photographer?” Lexy flung open the exterior door and flew in. Colette’s older sister never stopped moving. She whirled in a constant spin, which created chaos nearly everywhere. In a kitchen, it created magic.
    “The man who spent the night at the cottage with Collie.”
    “What?” Lexy ducked down to plant a kiss on her mother’s cheek. “About time.”
    “What are you doing here in the middle of the day?” Colette growled at her sister over a roast beef sandwich.
    “I came to apologize about Jamie. Nate called me after he picked him up a little while ago. I don’t know what I’m going to do with the boy.”  
    “Lots of exercise might help,” Colette suggested.
    “He never stops moving as it is,” Lexy said about her middle child.
    “Can’t imagine where he gets that.” Jade grabbed her eldest daughter and yanked her to a sitting position on the bench beside her. “Don’t worry about Jamie. He’ll be fine in fifteen years. We need to know about this man.” She pinned Colette with her dark eyes. “‘Fess up!”
    “Who is he a photographer for?” Her sister asked.
    “Freelance, I think.”
    “Umm. That translates to unemployed in most circles.”
    “He’s not unemployed. He’s working for one of the resorts in Boyne taking photos and building a website.”
    “Websites!” Jade and Lexy said together, their expressions wordlessly critical.
    “And he plans to open a studio of his own soon,” Colette said, feeling defensive.
    “Where?” Lexy demanded.
    Colette chewed a piece of beef and reviewed her conversations with Ian. “He never said where. He’s just out of the army. Maybe he hasn’t decided yet.”
    “Unemployed and homeless ex-soldier.” Lexy broke off a piece of bread from her mother’s sandwich and popped it in her mouth. “Did he have a nice car at least?”
    “I don’t know. I didn’t notice what he drove.” Colette tried to bring up her last glimpse of Ian in the parking lot, but all she could see was his green sweatshirt and smoky expression. The car was a dark blur behind him.
    “Balding, round like Friar Tuck, past a certain age?” Lexy badgered her.
    “Lexy,” Jade said, “maybe he’s a perfectly nice—”
    “No,” Colette responded to her sister. ”I think he’s what they call Army Strong .”
    “Well! At least, he’s got a good body.” Lexy stole some chips from her mother’s bag and flashed her sister a grin that was pure dare. “That can work for a while in a relationship.”
    “He had thousands of dollars in camera equipment if that means anything to you. He’s not a bum.” Colette took a huge gulp of soda, crushed the can on the table and tossed it into the recycling bin. “Shit. I don’t know anything about him. What if he is a bum?” She looked appealingly at the two women who sat across from her.
    “Do your instincts say bum, dear?” Her mother asked, showing more sympathy now.
    “No, but my instincts suck when it comes to men. I’m a bum magnet, you know that,” she whined and slumped her head down on the table. “Damn, I agreed to have dinner with him tonight.” Her mother stroked her hair as she fought down the memory of her last disastrous relationship with the conniving Tyler. “Why can’t men be like dogs? Dogs are easy. I always understand them.”
    “They pee on your flowers though. Men, generally, don’t, although Jamie…”
    “It’s only dinner,” Jade interrupted. “Maybe you can get him talking about himself and his plans.”
    “Shouldn’t be hard,” Lexy pointed out. “Men like to talk about themselves. Where are you going?”
    “Eileen’s,” Colette moaned, not lifting her head.
    Her sister let out a low whistle. “Romantic. And she’s got a great wine cellar. Pour a bottle of Merlot in him and you should learn everything you need to know.”
    “We drank wine at the cottage. I