Ian: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I thank you for that.”

  She nodded, then stood up. When he went back to his desk, she went back to her workroom. Being a clothing designer wasn’t as glamorous as people saw on television and movies. It was difficult work trying to keep one step ahead of the people in the same industry. Not to mention having an idea what colors would be hot when the next season rolled around. Not that Joey put that much stock in the trends.

  Joey designed for the everyday woman. No puffy sleeves for her. Nothing made of taffeta or silk for this line. She did design clothing for evening wear, but her meat and potatoes were the things that women wore every day to work or even for shopping—sturdy clothing that stood up well to time, washing, and the seasons.

  “If you were to ask me if I’d wear that color, I’d have to tell you no. What is that called?” She looked over at her best friend and the woman that had given birth to her. Her mom was her partner too. Joey told her mom the color. “Pumpkin pie? You have got to be kidding me. If I had a pie of that color, I’d think it had turned. What are you going to mate it to?”

  “Purple.” When she picked up the paisley print she’d been searching for before the call came in, she hung it on the board in front of her next to the pumpkin pie. She knew it would work, but she still wanted her mom’s opinion. “What do you think? Too much?”

  “No. I think it works well. I can see this in a shirt and the pie in a pair of shorts, or even a nice pair of pants. I know you hate the word slacks, but that’s what I was thinking of when I saw it. I really do like it.” Nodding, she put the two colors on the plate with the design. “I have a feeling you’re avoiding telling me about the phone call.” Joey nodded but didn’t look at her mom. “What is it, baby? Does it have to do with Rebecca?”

  “She’s gone.” Mom nodded but didn’t say anything as the two of them spoke quietly. “Becky is all right. Staying with a family in Ohio. I can’t go there until they figure out what to do about Peter. I’m also not telling Margie.”

  “No. She’d be all over that. Crowing to the winds that she is going to be the next Mrs. Hightower. The two of them should have married, to begin with. Then it would have been over with for this family. You know as well as I do that she would have cut ties with us so quickly we’d need a birth certificate to prove she’s related to us.”

  It was nearly nine that night when she heard from Becky. They talked for over an hour, and Joey felt so much better for it. She was being watched and taken care of. Also, she’d turned over the book and all the other things she’d collected in her young life to be put in the family safe. Joey wasn’t sure how good of an idea that had been, but there was little she could do about it from here.

  After hanging up with her niece, she was ready for bed. But a call from her sister, of all people, kept her up for the rest of the night.

  “What happened today at work?” She asked Margie what she was talking about. “You. You got an important phone call that sent you to the floor. What is it? Rebecca again? If you know anything about her, you’d better be telling me, Joey. You know she’s run off again with his child.”

  “How would I know she’s run off? And the last time I remembered, Rebecca is a grown woman and can run off without people knowing about her whenever she wants. Are you having me spied on?” Margie said she was. “Why? What could you having me spied on do for you? I run a design shop, Margie. What on earth do you think you’re going to find out by doing that?”

  “You never know. I did find out you were upset, didn’t I? Were you going to call me and tell me about it? Doubtful. When did you become so secretive, Joey? It’s not a good look for you.” Joey asked her sister when she’d become so paranoid that she had to have her watched. “When you started not taking my side when it came to Peter. He’s a good man, you know. You should have more respect for him. All those things the paper is saying about him are lies, and you’d know that if you were to get to know him a little.”

  “I’m not even sure why you’d think I should care what his life is like. As for what the papers say, your little spy should have told you I don’t have a newspaper delivered, nor do I own a television.” Margie told her she told her that. “Goodbye, Margie. I don’t know where you got your information, but I’m not discussing my personal life with you. Call off your spy, or I will. And press charges.”

  It was a woman. Joey decided she was going to take measures she’d never thought she’d have to with her own family. Making two phone calls, she felt better for taking a stand. In the morning, only a few hours from now, she was going to do what she should have done long ago, start keeping an eye on those that worked for her. Joey had been slacking on a lot of things of late. Well, no more.

  Chapter 12

  Pierce decided he’d been gone from home long enough. Getting things set up for Demi had taken less time than he’d thought it would, so he’d put in for some vacation time. It was not only overdue but just what he needed.

  Being a cashier for most of his life, from the age of sixteen until Demi came into their lives, had given him a great understanding of people. He could tell, just with a glance, what sort of income they had, if they had children, and what sort of mood they were in. Twice, since working for Demi, as a people person, he’d been able to take what could very well have been a nasty situation and turned it around.

  Not even bothering with calling his family to tell them he was finally home, he made his way up to his bedroom and lay down on the bed. Who knew that being on a beach for a week could be so exhausting. Closing his eyes, Pierce let his body drift beyond where he was and settle into a nice comfortable sleep.

  Waking up to the smell of pancakes, his favorite, he wondered where the hell he was. Pierce had no staff, and he was sure no one would break into his home to cook for him. Getting up, he took a long hot shower and made his way down to the kitchen. He shouldn’t have been surprised to find his mom there flipping pancakes for him.

  “You could have told us you were home. I might well have had dinner for you last night.” He told her that was exactly why he’d not told anyone. “Well, plan on it tomorrow night. Your father saw your car in the driveway and knew you were home. If you didn’t want us to know, you should have parked that thing in the garage. Here, take these. I have things to tell you.”

  Pierce didn’t care for syrup or fruit on or in his pancakes. He would take them, wrap them around his sausage, which his mom had made for him too, and eat them like a hot dog. Mom had finally given up on telling him what a heathen he was about it.

  He was finishing off his second pancake bun when she handed him a glass of juice, as well as setting a glass of tea down for herself. He knew it was serious when she squeezed a lemon in her tea, something she only did when she was stressed.

  “There is a young girl living with your brother and his new wife. Ian has those two sisters there too. I worry that this, having this girl there, will upset the wonderful life we have now.” He asked her what she meant. “She’s a cute little thing. Ten years old and loves Cybill. Her mother, who she was with when she died, has been taken to the mortuary under a false name, so her husband doesn’t find the little girl.”

  “Mom, you’re only giving me bits and pieces of this, and I’m more confused than I was before I knew anything. Why is her mother dead? And why are we harboring her daughter?” Mom hit him on the forehead. “Mom, you’re going to have to start from the beginning and tell me what’s gotten you so upset, or I’m going to have to go back to bed to nurse my headache.”

  She got up and dumped the glass of tea in the sink before bringing him the last of the pancakes and sausage. He was full now, so he played with his food while his mom got whatever was going on in her head into some kind of order. Once she told him everything, he was glad he’d not taken another bite.

  “I’ve spoken to him before. Working for Demi in Illinois. The man would come into one of the stores I was working with a
nd pick up a few things. There were always several men with him, all of them dressed in dark suits and sunglasses. I’ve never understood that. Why wear something that is going to make you stand out in a crowd?” She asked him if he was nice. “Not particularly. He was mad because we had no lobster tails to go with the steak he wanted for dinner. I had to tell him that while that did sound all right, the store wasn’t equipped to have a holding tank for an occasional sale of a lobster. He wanted fresh, you see.”

  “Did he threaten you or anything?” He told his mom what had happened. “You’re kidding me. He offered to pay for a tank to be put in just for him. What were you to do if someone else decided to have a lobster that night? Would you have had to kill them off or something?”

  “You’ve been watching too many of those cop dramas. But he did get more upset when I told him the store wouldn’t do it. There just weren’t enough sales for it.” The store was going to have to close down anyway, he told her. “The town is sort of going downhill. And no matter how many businesses Demi brings in to help the town, they don’t seem to want to work.”

  “That’s so sad. Will she lose a lot of money?” Pierce told her she was losing money anyway because very few people could afford to shop at a high-end grocery store like this one. “Why doesn’t she lower her cost by putting in a cheaper one? Never mind. I’ve gotten off track. This man, he’s looking for his wife and child. The book I told you about, it’s in some kind of code, just like my drama shows, but no one can break it yet.”

  “Where is the little girl now? Did you mean her when you were telling me about Ian having girls at his home?” She said that was what she meant. “Good. I mean, if anyone could handle having a lot of women around, it would be him.”

  Mom glared at him, but he kept a straight face while making fun of his brother. Mom brought him up to date on a couple of other things while she browned a roast he’d not had before he left, and put it in the oven to cook. She even put on some green beans—again, something he’d not had before—as she told him about the bakery and the magic that Ian and Lucy now had.

  “So they can dress themselves and see a little bit into the future. Those don’t sound like too bad of things to have.” Mom told him there were more, but they were only learning about what they had a little at a time. “I’d probably be doing it that way as well. Being overwhelmed isn’t good when you don’t know what you’re going to do if you point a loaded finger at someone.”

  “What is wrong with you?” Pierce couldn’t help it, he laughed. “I’m trying to be serious here, and you’re taking potshots at everything I tell you. Have you lost your ever loving mind?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. But I did just come back from the nicest vacation I’ve ever taken. Demi let me use one of her homes while I was working with the stores she had, and it was wonderful to have staff and people waiting on me. But getting to lay on a beach, her own private one, as a matter of fact, made me take a good look at my life. I realized I’m much too serious all the time. I need to take a step back and have some fun. Even if it’s something I’ve done.”

  “You were terribly serious all the time. The only time I ever saw you happy, it seemed, was when you were cooking. Do you still enjoy that?” He nodded at her. “Good. I just needed to talk to someone, really. I know you’ll be updated on the things going on around here, but I’m feeling a little lost lately. Like too much is going on, and I just don’t know what to worry about the most. To be honest with you, I’m a little afraid someone from that family is going to be one of my son’s mates. Whatever will we do with a mobster in our home?”

  “Love them. Try and see what the good is with them. You never know, Mom. They might well hate being with a mobster as much as you do having one in your home.” He kissed her on the cheek as he got up to wash up the dishes she’d used. “Are you really having everyone over for dinner tomorrow night? If so, I’m going to bake something. Unless Lucy is going to.”

  “She is, but only bread, she told me. I’ve never seen such a neat baker before. She washes up as she goes, like I do, but when she’s putting the bread into the pan to rise, there isn’t a thing out of place. I think she has little faeries working around her.” They both laughed. “You come over around six, and we’ll have a nice dinner. Bring the dessert with you, and I’ll have a good time knowing that at least one of my sons likes to cook as much as I do.”

  After his mom left him, he made his way to the living room. It was a room that he spent the most time in, and he was glad for the fireplace. It was only just September, and it was already showing signs of being a hard winter. Not that it mattered to him. He could be in the cold weather all the time.

  Unpacking his laptop was the first thing he did. After looking over the reports he’d made on Demi and Lucian’s three stores, he sent them off to them. There were also notes he’d taken and sent to them daily, but they had the report now, and he was sure one or both of them would call him about his recommendations on what to do with them.

  Almost as if he’d summoned him, Lucian was at his door. “When did you get back?” He told him he’d gotten home last night, and had slept well. “Mom told me she’d been to see you and that you were getting the rod out of your ass. She didn’t actually say that, but she did tell us you were trying to be funny. And that she didn’t get it.”

  “She didn’t. Stress is what she blamed it on. I think she never gets jokes. Anyway, are you here about the paperwork or just to bust my chops for something?” Lucian told him both. “Oh, good. You know what? I didn’t miss that when I was working. I do have a question for you, however. It’s nothing big, but when is Demi going to pop that kid? I saw her on video calls, and she looks like she’s having fifty kids.”

  “Don’t say that to her, for Christ’s sake.” When Lucian looked around, he did as well. Pierce wondered if he was worried Demi was going to come out of the woodwork. “She has three more weeks to go. The doc told her she’s doing very well, but the baby is going to be big. Mom told her how much I weighed, and that worried her for days. So we don’t ask so we don’t upset her again. I think she beat a medicine bag to death that day. Anyway, I’m glad you’re home.”

  “Me too. Even with all the drama around here, I’m thrilled to be back.” They talked about the paperwork, and Pierce was impressed that Lucian was so up to date on all the things going on with the businesses he shared with Demi. “I’m recommending you close down Shepherds Wake. It’s a nice shop, but there aren’t enough people around there in the off months to make it worthwhile to even stock lettuce. If you close that one down, I think it will generate more business for the other store in the area.”

  “Demi told me last week that the store was losing money. Not from stealing this time, but simply because it was difficult to keep it stocked up the few weeks out of the year that people travel there, then to not stock it the other weeks out of the year. She told me she was thinking of changing it to simply an ice cream place.” This store was on Martha’s Vineyard, a touristy place to go.

  “That would work. The two on the boulevard have gone to soft serve. And there isn’t another one for about fifty miles. She could make a killing off just having cones. I can see it branching out to a quick burgers and fries kind of place, but specializing in ice cream.” Lucian asked him if he meant like that place Mom used to take them as children. “Yes. Youngs Jersey Dairy farm was just what I was thinking about when I thought of the ice cream place. They do a hell of a business year round too. And have special attractions for the kids and adults. Remember playing putt-putt there?”

  “Yes. Gosh, I’ve not thought of that place in years.” They talked about some memories they’d made as kids. Most of it, not surprisingly, had to do with doing a lot of free or inexpensive things. They’d been broke but never felt like it. “I’m going to take Mom and Dad there soon. I know they’d enjoy it.”

  “So would Ian’s girls and the rest of the grandchildren.�
� They planned a date to go, and Lucian told him he’d get back to him on it. “Mom is having dinner tomorrow night. It would be a great time to bring it up. I’m sure we can work on a date that everyone can go.”

  After his brother left, Pierce was feeling tired again. He set his timer for an hour, then lay on the couch. The fireplace was going, and he was nice and warm for the first time in a while. Closing his eyes, he wondered about what his mom had said. What if a mobster’s family member became a part of their family?

  “We’ll deal with it like we do everything else. Loudly and efficiently.” That brought a smile to his face, and he realized he didn’t care. “It will, or it won’t, that’s my new mantra.”

  Before You Go…

  Share your voice and help guide other readers to these wonderful books. Even if it’s only a line or two, your reviews help readers discover the author’s books so they can continue creating stories that you’ll love. Log in to your favorite retailer and leave a review. Thank you.

  Kathi Barton, a winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement award as well as a best-selling author on Amazon and All Romance books, lives in Nashport, Ohio, with her husband, Paul. When not creating new worlds and romance, Kathi and her husband enjoy camping and going to auctions. She can also be seen at county fairs with her husband, who is an artist and potter.

  Her muse, a cross between Jimmy Stewart and Hugh Jackman, brings her stories to life for her readers in a way that has them coming back time and again for more. Her favorite genre is paranormal romance, with a great deal of spice. You can visit Kathi on line and drop her an email if you’d like. She loves hearing from her fans. aaronskiss@gmail.com.

  Follow Kathi on her blog: http://kathisbartonauthor.blogspot.com/