Lucas: #3 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) by Madison Stevens Page A

how the people of the town could smile at one another and then talk about each other the moment their backs were turned.
    Even when he was a tool of the Group, he was still expected to support the other hybrids. All this back-biting and personal politics, what did it get any of these people? He pitied them in a way.
    An older woman loaded her groceries on the belt as she chatted with a teen girl behind the register.
    “I’m surprised they do business with them at all,” the old woman said. “What is Gracie thinking?”
    “She told me she doesn’t like being called Gracie. She wants to be called Grace.”
    The other woman snorted. “So sensitive.”
    The teen smacked her gum as she scanned the items.
    “I think she just feels bad for them,” the girl said. “She’s always buying way more than they need.”
    The old woman stopped loading the groceries and clucked her tongue.
    “Not helping them one bit,” she said. “My nephew says that Mills Ranch will be lucky to survive another month.”
    Lucas’s ears perked up at the mention of Taylor’s ranch.
    “No one wants to buy meat from them,” the woman said. “Doris says it’s rancid anyways. They keep the best cuts for themselves and sell the rest.”
    “Of course Doris is going to say that,” the teen said. “She’s Dave’s mother. Maybe she’s just telling stories.”
    The other woman sniffed disdainfully. “Her being Dave’s mother doesn’t change the truth. If what she was saying was a lie, then why are so many people avoiding Mills Ranch?”
    Dave’s mother. Lucas resisted the urge to scoff. That douchebag’s mother was poisoning the town against Taylor and her father?
    Though an angry flame burned in Lucas’s heart, there was a better way to deal with this situation. He’d protect his woman whenever and wherever she needed it, however she needed it.
    Lucas cleared his throat and smiled warmly at the two women.
    “We’ve had nothing but the best from them,” he said. “And we buy a lot of meat from them.”
    The old woman huffed, somewhat flustered at being caught gossiping, but the younger woman smiled back. A slight blush tinted her cheeks.
    At least he could change the opinion of one of them. The other, he suspected, was friends with that hag Doris and wouldn’t believe anything that didn’t come from that horrid woman.
    The woman opened her mouth to say something but stopped when the office door near the entrance opened, and Taylor emerged with another woman.
    Taylor smiled warmly at the other woman, and he could only assume she was Grace.
    She was a little thing. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and large glasses took up much of her face.
    Matronly was the only word that came to mind, and he instantly felt bad for thinking it. Grace was obviously a good friend to Taylor.
    Lucas hoped he would catch her attention, but Taylor seemed to be on a mission. He turned back to the checkout and was glad to see the hateful woman was already paying.
    He had an opportunity. If he hurried, he might be able to catch Taylor.
    Like they had all the time in the world, the cashier checked out his few items. Lucas strummed his fingers as he waited for her to make change.
    She smiled brightly as she placed it in his hand, with far more contact than necessary. While he appreciated the attention, there was only one woman for him, and he needed to catch up with her.
    Not interested in delaying, Lucas placed the items back in his cart and raced out the door. He unlocked his car and gathered everything quickly to shove in the back.
    When he glanced around, his eyes instantly found her soft strawberry blonde hair as it peeked out from the bed of the truck.
    He smiled widely as he stepped forward. Her tight ass was on display in her jeans as she leaned over in the truck bed.
    “Need some help?” he asked slightly closer than he needed to be.
    Taylor knocked her elbow against the side of the truck as she dropped back to the ground. She