by Lola Kidd
LK Brides really knew how to match people. It was strange to know that there was someone out there who was probably more perfect for her than Don. She knew that she and her possibly soon-to-be-ex-husband weren’t perfect together, but she’d never really thought seriously about finding someone else. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t think it was possible anymore. She’d been married once and that hadn’t turned out well. Maybe she just wasn’t the marrying kind.
She wished she’d never even signed up on the site. And that Don had never shown up on her doorstep. She didn’t think Jack would give her a chance anymore—but no matter what she chose going forward with Don, she was always going to wonder about what could have been with Jack.
“I can’t believe you haven’t had any luck with finding a mate yet,” Macy said. “That’s so surprising. A shifter as handsome as you should have no trouble getting a date.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” Jack said wryly. “I don’t have trouble getting dates, but I haven’t found ‘the one’ yet.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone with LK Brides. I have no doubt that you’ll find a mate really quickly. I wish you the best of luck with your search.”
“Thanks. And I’m sure we’ll find you a job soon.”
“I’ll be back in to touch base with you every few days,” Macy said. She checked the time and finished her drink quickly. “I need to head out. My mom and daughter are expecting me.”
“Okay. See you again soon. If not, I’ll see you at that Easter egg hunt.” He hesitated for a moment, then told himself that he would make the event happen no matter what, if it meant a chance to spend time with Macy. “It’ll be downtown at the park with the gazebo.”
Macy smiled. “For sure. I’ll spread the word to all the moms at the park.”
“Thanks. I’m sure the turnout is going to be huge. People have been talking about bringing this thing back for years.”
“Great. See you.”
She left the bar and walked a few blocks down to where her car was parked.
All the way home, she felt terrible. She was so very attracted to Jack. If she was honest in her heart of hearts, even more attracted than she had ever been to Don.
Something about Jack was so comforting and calming. He knew his town had a problem, and he was helping to solve it. He was putting up his own money and was going to work to make something positive happen. Don would never think to do something like that.
He’d never even done anything like that for his own family. Macy was always the one who had had to go above and beyond to make sure they had what they needed. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be married to a man like Jack. What kind of father would he be?
She imagined he would be kind and generous and would enjoy spending time with his children. She knew shifters were very family-oriented and usually mated for life. That was the main thing that had attracted her to sign up with LK Brides in the first place. That, and the fact that shifters had a reputation for being beasts in the sack. After her marriage with Don had hit the rocks, Macy had thought about everything she would want in a dream man. All the rumors about shifters made them sound too good to be true.
But then she’d met Jack, and it all seemed to be true. Even alone in her car, Macy blushed at the thought of Jack in the bedroom.
This was wrong. So very wrong. She was never going to be able to go back to the bar again!
If she really wanted to try to make things work with Don, she couldn’t keep going to see Jack. Even though he’d offered to help her find a job, she couldn’t risk it.
“What’s wrong?” her mother asked as Macy was taking off her coat at home.
She’d barely gotten in the door and her mom was already asking her questions. “Nothing.”
“You went to the bar again,” her mom said.
Macy had no idea how her mother knew these things. “What? How could you tell?” She smiled to herself. “I know it’s not the alcohol smell. I didn’t even have any.”
Her mother laughed. “I didn’t know. I just guessed. But you did go to the bar, obviously.”
Macy nodded. “Where’s Jill?”
“She’s taking a nap. So, why’d you go to the bar?”
Macy shrugged. “I just wanted to have a drink and relax for a few minutes. Job hunting isn’t going well. Jack offered to help me out if he heard anything.”
“Of course he did. He’s a really great guy. Macy, are you sure you want to get back with Don again when you have a really great man standing right there in front of you waiting to be scooped up?”
“I know, Mom. I have to give this a shot for my family. It doesn’t matter if I’m attracted to someone or they’re the best man I’ve ever met. I have to do what’s best for Jill too.”
“The times have changed,” her mother said angrily. “Just because you have a baby with someone, you don’t have to be stuck with them for life. You can start again. Jack loves kids. I don’t think he’d mind having Jill around.”
“But it’s better if she’s with her father.”
“If her father wants to be there. What happened to your date?”
“He had to cancel, but it’s fine. The Easter egg hunt is coming up soon. I just found this out today, that there might be one in town. So, it’ll be easier for us to go together.”
“Really? Don said that?”
“No. I haven’t told him about it yet. Isn’t it great, though? Jack and the park district are helping fund it. They’re finally bringing a hunt back to Maple Creek, just like we talked about.”
“Of course Jack’s helping to fund it.” Her mother shook her head. “He’s such a great man. Just make sure you make the right choice, Macy. You don’t find a man like Jack every day.”
Macy was definitely going to try her best. As long as Don kept his word, it wouldn’t be hard at all. She just hoped she wouldn’t always feel so bad about never getting to know Jack.
Chapter Nine
Jack was headed to the park to check out the setting for the Easter egg hunt. He and Tanner were going to plan the setup together, then Tanner would give the plans to his department at City Hall to okay. Jack, Tanner, and their small crew of volunteers would set up everything together.
Jack’s biggest contribution, besides his money and time, was convincing a few of his business friends to donate. Now, they had more than enough money to set up a great Easter egg hunt with some awesome prizes. It was going even better than Jack had expected.
The city park was gorgeous. It was all green, and there was a gazebo at the center. The city had planted some new trees two years earlier, so there were small saplings dotted around the park. It had already been the setting for many of the town’s gatherings. The Christmas stroll and the tree lighting happened here in the winter, and the fireworks in the summer were here too.
Jack spotted Tanner waiting for him at the gazebo as they had planned. “Hey, buddy.”
“Hey.” Tanner walked up and shook his hand. “Thanks for helping us with all this. I know how valuable your time is. I want to thank you again for getting so many of your friends to donate.”
“Who would’ve thought that a bull shifter would be the most charming man in town?” Jack joked. “I guess nobody wanted to get on the wrong side of this bull’s horns.”
Tanner laughed. “I guess not, but I’m very glad I’m on the right side of your horns.”
“So, what were you thinking about doing?”
“I really want to do some throwbacks to some of the older hunts,” Tanner said. “Problem is, I wasn’t here, so I don’t remember any of them. You have any memories you can share to use?”
Jack rubbed his chin. It had been decades since he had gone on his last Easter egg hunt. He had stopped going before he turned ten. They were still going on then, but he was much too old for them. He tried to think back to anything memorable from when he was still going. Nothing came to mind except for the candies.
“
You know, there used to be maple candies hidden in some of the eggs. Whoever found the maples got a dollar prize. It doesn’t sound like much, but back when I was a kid, a dollar went a lot further.”
“That sounds great,” Tanner said excitedly. “There’s a candy shop in town that still sells maple candies. I bet we can team up with them and maybe convince them to donate a few if we let them set up a shop on site. I think a dollar prize is still good. A dollar is a lot to little kids. We’re capping the age at ten for this.”
“That sounds like a great plan. But I thought the candy shop in town closed some years back.”
“It did, but a new one just opened. They make really great stuff. It would be really great if we can help out another local business.”
Jack nodded. Before he could answer Tanner, he heard a girl laughing and turned to look. Macy and her daughter were nearby. Macy was pushing her daughter on the swings and the little girl was laughing.
Jack couldn’t get away from her. The universe hadn’t stopped putting her in front of his face since the moment they had met.
“Who’s that?” Tanner nodded in the direction of Macy and her daughter.
“No one. No one at all,” Jack said. “Just a customer from the bar. She recently moved back to town.”
“Okay,” Tanner said, and patted Jack on the arm. “She’s not nobody. You’re looking at her like she’s the last drink of water on a hot day.”
“It’s complicated,” Jack said with an air of finality. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
He wished he was over there with his family, playing. He imagined it would be nice watching as Macy pushed their daughter on the swing. Maybe after the meeting with Tanner, they would go out for lunch as a family.
He shook his head to get that notion out of it. That wasn’t going to happen for him.
Macy noticed them staring, and she caught his eye and waved. Her little girl hopped off the swing and looked in their direction. She took off running before Macy could grab her hand.
“Jill, you get back here!” Macy yelled across the park.
The little girl made a beeline straight for Tanner and Jack.
“You guys are really big,” the girl said as she reached them. She had run as fast as the wind, but she wasn’t even out of breath. Jack had forgotten how much energy small children had.
“Jill, that’s rude!” Macy looked at him apologetically. “I’m so sorry. This is my daughter, Jill. Jill, this is my friend, Jack.”
“Nice to meet you, Jill. Macy, this is my friend who works at City Hall. Tanner, this is Macy.”
Macy nodded at Tanner. “You two were doing something for the hunt here?”
“We sure are,” Tanner said. “And you two are coming to that, aren’t you?”
“You bet we are,” Macy said, smiling at Jill. “We love this park. You two picked a great location.”
“Yeah, but they’re still very tall,” Jill said, craning her neck to look up at Tanner and Jack.
“That’s because we’re shifters.” Jack knelt down to her eye level. “You know what a shifter is?”
Jill’s eyes got wide. “You turn into animals! Right? Can I see it?”
Jack laughed. “Maybe later.”
“Promise?” Jill held out her hand with her pinkie outstretched.
Her little face was scrunched up so earnestly that Jack almost laughed. He tried to keep a serious face as he linked his pinky with hers. “Promise. One day when you’re older and your mom says it’s okay.”
“We should leave you two alone to get to work.” Macy picked Jill up. “We have to get back to have lunch anyway. It was nice seeing you two.”
“It was great to meet you,” Tanner said.
“Bye!” Jill waved over Macy’s shoulder as they walked away.
Jack waved and smiled, but his heart was a little sad. He hoped he would have a family that nice one day.
Chapter Ten
There was a knock at the front door, and when she opened it, Macy was surprised to see Don standing on her mother’s doorstep again. It had been four days since he had said he would reschedule their date, and she hadn’t heard from him since. She was honestly surprised that he had the nerve to show up on her doorstep again.
“So, I see you’re back in town.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Nice of you to think about coming to talk to your family.”
“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. Things got a little out of hand.”
“Daddy!”
Jill ran out before Macy could stop her and hugged Don around the legs. She looked up at him with a big, innocent smile. She was so happy to see her father that it softened Macy’s heart a little. It was hard to be so mad when her daughter was so happy.
“Hey, honey. Nice to see you.”
“Daddy, I met a man who could turn into a bull.”
The excitement in her daughter’s voice made Macy smile. She wasn’t sure if Jack was going to transform for Jill, but if he ever did, her little girl was going to be over the moon.
“What?” Don looked confused. He pushed Jill off his leg.
“The Easter egg hunt is this weekend. You think we’ll get to see the bull then?”
“Yeah, whatever.” He pushed Jill toward the door. “Your mommy and me need to talk. Why don’t you go inside?”
“But, Daddy, do you think we’re going to see the bull this weekend? And what time are you coming?” Jill asked as her father pushed her inside
All of a sudden, Macy’s mother was there too. Shirley put her hand on Don’s chest to stop him from taking one step farther, then picked up Jill and took her inside. “Don’t worry, honey,” she told the little girl. “You can go to the hunt, Daddy or not. Your mommy and I can take you if he can’t come.”
Jill looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she bit her bottom lip and nodded stoically. “Bye, Daddy.”
Rage filled Macy’s chest. He was already making her daughter cry. This was too much for her to bear.
“What are you doing here, Don?”
“I need to borrow a thousand dollars.”
“What?” Macy couldn’t believe her ears. Of all the things to say at this moment, he’d chosen to ask to borrow a large sum of money. He wasn’t apologizing for treating their daughter badly. He wasn’t apologizing for standing her up. He wasn’t apologizing for not calling for four days. Nope, none of that. He’d asked to borrow money. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I promise I’ll pay you back. I’ve got a business opportunity, but I’m a little cash poor right now. Let me borrow it, and I swear I can get it back to you in, say, a week or two.”
Macy laughed bitterly. “You haven’t changed one bit, have you? I can’t believe I was so stupid. Just go. I’m not going to lend you any money. I don’t even have it, Don. Why do you think I’m living with my mother?”
“What do you mean, you can’t lend me anything? I’m only asking to borrow it for a week. I’m your husband. You know I’m good for it.”
“No. You were my husband. In a few days, you won’t even be that. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I’m not going to lend you money or let you back in our lives again. My mother was right—you’re a terrible man.”
“I told you, I’m a new man. I’ve changed. Let me borrow the money and you’ll see that. I’ll pay you back. With interest! And we can use the money to get a place of our own.”
“I don’t have the money, and I wouldn’t give it to you if I did. I don’t want to live with you again. I don’t want you disappointing our daughter like you’ve disappointed me.”
“Is this about that stupid Easter egg hunt? This is serious, Macy. This is a genuine opportunity. These don’t come along every minute. I need to make money for us so we can live together again.”
Macy shook her head. “I know something about missing out on a good opportunity. Sorry, Don, I don’t have it.”
“I’m sure you have something. Let me tell you about the job. I’m sure
you’ll understand why I need the money. My buddy and I go in with a truck and we break up some driveways. Then we haul away the old material and put in new cement. This is a good, solid job. I just need to put up some seed money to get the truck.”
Macy rolled her eyes. “You aren’t listening to me, Don. I’m not giving you anything. This was my mistake, but I won’t make it again.”
“Just let me borrow five hundred, then. That’s enough to get a good-faith loan from my boys for the rest.”
“Have a nice life, Don. Don’t come back here ever again. I’ll call the police and let them deal with you next time.”
As she shut the door in his face, Don, ever the gentleman, had to have the last word.
“I see you’re still batshit crazy!” he yelled from the other side of the door.
Macy hoped Jill hadn’t heard that, but she was very glad of the decision she’d just made. She had almost made a massive mistake. She had almost given a loser like Don a second chance.
She would never be this dumb again. She knew she had no shot with Jack anymore, but she still had a chance to give her daughter a good life. It might be a long while before she met anyone as good as Jack, but at least she knew for sure that she and Don weren’t going to work. She would never feel bad for keeping Don out of his daughter’s life. He didn’t care about her or Jill. He only cared about what he could get from them.
Macy leaned her head back against the door. She wished she knew what she was going to do next.
Jill came in from the kitchen. “Where’s Daddy?”
“Your daddy’s gone away.”
“Do you know when’s he’s gonna be back?”
Macy shook her head. “I don’t know. But he’s probably not coming back for a very long while. I know you might be sad about this, and that’s okay. It’s not your fault. Your daddy makes mistakes sometimes, and he needs some time to sort himself out.”
“Like when I do something bad and I have to have a timeout?”
“Exactly like that.”
“Good,” Jill said sagely. “He called you a bad name. So he should have a very long timeout.”
