Taking her glasses off, she began to explain. “Yesterday, one of your neighbors, Amy Travers, was coming home from work when she noticed Cassie wandering by herself on the lawn. She immediately went to her and asked where her mom was, and all Cassie said was that she woke up alone that morning. Ms. Travers called 911 and the police department called us.”
Mason’s jaw clenched thinking of how Cassie must have felt, waking to an empty house. His polar bear seethed and he was only barely able to leash it in. “Did you find Jenna?”
“Mr. Grimes, the police have a warrant of arrest for your ex-wife and her boyfriend, Mr. Doug Brown, for armed robbery. They hit several convenience stores over the past couple of days.”
“What. The. Fuck!” He clenched his fist. He knew Jenna and Doug were terrible people, but robbing convenience stores? “Have they caught them yet? What are the police doing? Why would they rob convenience stores?”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask the police those questions, Mr. Grimes.” Hill put her glasses back on.
Mason’s mouth pulled into a hard line. “What’s going to happen now? When can I take Cassie home?”
“Well, normally in this case as the parent we would release her to you, but I read in the files that you don’t have legal or physical custody.”
“The custody agreement is all bullshit and I had no choice,” he said, a snarl at his throat. “I don’t care what it takes, you can’t keep her away—”
“Mr. Grimes.” Hill’s voice was even, but firm. “I’m trying to help you here, so kindly don’t raise your voice at me.”
Mason’s shoulders sagged. “Please, Ms. Hill. I’ll do anything to keep her.”
“I understand. Now,” Hill looked around. “I noticed that CPS had made two previous visits to your home inside the base, but they found nothing out of the ordinary. But the fact that they had to make the visits concerned me. I suggest you file for emergency custody. Given the circumstances, a reasonable judge would grant it in a couple of hours.”
“I’ll do it now.” He could take Cassie home, maybe today.
“But—”
“But what? Jenna’s gone. She just abandoned Cassie. Who knows what could have happened to her while—”
“Mr. Grimes,” she warned.
“Sorry.” Goddammit. “Go on.”
“There is one more thing.” Hill looked around her and lowered her voice. “When I came across your custody agreement, it was mentioned that you were a shifter. Is that correct?”
His stomach soured, knowing where this was going. “Yes.”
“When I saw this, I thought we might need special assistance. I called in one of our other caseworkers. A wolf shifter. And she told me something odd.” Hill looked him straight in the eye when she said the next words. “Mr. Grimes, Cassie is fully human.”
“Yes.”
“But you’re a shifter.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not stupid, Mr. Grimes.” Hill’s expression was grave. “I know what that means.”
“Oh yeah?” Mason felt his animal’s hackles raise. “My name’s on the birth certificate. Jenna insisted on it.” The bitch threatened to have him dishonorably discharged if he didn’t sign it. But he had the last laugh now. “She’s my daughter.”
“But not biological—”
“She’s my daughter.” No ifs and buts. His bear agreed. “If Jenna wants her back, then she’ll have to come out of whatever hole she’s hiding in and take her away from my cold dead body. Now, tell me what I need to do to get my daughter home.”
Mason was finally exhausted. Dealing with CPS, the cops, and the courts would have turned anyone into a zombie, even a shifter. But, thirty-six hours later, he and Cassie were on the first flight back to Colorado.
She was fast asleep. She had thrown a fit when she woke up again and Mason wasn’t there, refusing to calm down until he came back from giving his statement to the cops. He had to pacify her by running back and forth from CPS to the courtroom.
But it was all over, for now at least. The police were still hunting down Jenna and Doug, but no one could find them. They had left the house in the middle of the night, and no one had seen or heard from them. They could be anywhere by now, and the police suspected they may have made a run for the border.
His polar bear was out for blood, urging him to find Jenna and Doug and kill them. Cassie could have gotten hurt or worse. No one hurt their cub and would get away with it. Soon, he said. But for now, we take care of Cassie.
When Mason came out of the airport, a small suitcase in one hand and Cassie in the other, Tim was already waiting for them just outside Arrivals. Since he didn’t have a car seat or even a car, he had no choice but to ask for help.
“Thanks for coming.”
Tim nodded, then his eyes landed on Cassie. The little girl’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened. If Tim noticed that Cassie wasn’t a polar bear like them, he didn’t show it. “Hello, Cassie,” he said. “I’m your great-uncle Tim.”
Cassie let out a squeak and buried her face in Mason’s shoulder. “It’s okay, baby.” He nuzzled at her temple. “Tim’s here to take us home.” But Cassie refused to look at Tim. “Sorry. It’s been a long flight.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tim said. “She’ll need some time to rest and adjust. Let’s go. I got things ready for you two.”
Much to his surprise, there was a car seat waiting in the back of Tim’s truck. His uncle explained that he had stopped by the fire station. They had several of them in the firehouse as one of the services they offered was to teach new parents how to install seats. The chief had said he could keep it for as long as he needed it.
The drive back to town was silent. Cassie was still exhausted and only fussed a bit when Mason put her in the seat. Soon, they were pulling up to his place.
The studio apartment was right on top of a hardware store and located across the road from The Den. It belonged to one of Tim’s friends, and he helped him rent it out to vacationers in the summer and whoever else needed it the rest of the year. Tim offered it to Mason for a huge discount, saying the owner owed him one. Mason didn’t have the luxury of keeping his pride, though he would work on finding a better place once he got a better-paying job.
“Thanks,” he said to Tim. He carried Cassie into the apartment while Tim brought in the small carry-on. Mason hadn’t had much time to pack up Cassie’s stuff, but he got the essentials. Much to his dismay, Cassie didn’t have a whole lot of clothes that fit her anyway, and they would have to go shopping. The good news was at least, the judge ordered the alimony payments stopped since Jenna was now a fugitive and Mason would be getting his retirement pay in full this month.
He placed Cassie down on the futon and pulled a blanket over her. After kissing her on the forehead, he stood up and faced Tim.
“Here.” Tim’s held out the keys to Mason.
“What?”
“You can’t bring her around on your bike,” he said. “You take my truck until you get it all settled.”
“I can’t—”
“Shut up and take it, boy,” Tim ordered.
Mason sighed. “You should at least keep my Harley then.” He fished in his pocket and handed the keys over. “Keep her safe until I find a buyer.”
“Right. Now”—he turned to the door—“let’s talk outside.”
Mason nodded and followed his uncle outside. As soon as the door closed, he turned to him. “I know what you’re going to say. Cassie—”
“Is safe here with you,” Tim interrupted. “But, are you going to get to keep her?”
“Kind of.” He filled him in on what had happened. “I was on the phone with Moynahan the whole time. He says he’s going to file the paperwork so I can get full custody. No way in hell Jenna’s getting near Cassie, even if she somehow wormed her way out of trouble.” With the charges of armed robbery, running from the law, and child abandonment, Jenna had basically dug her own grave.
“So, it’s don
e then? She’s yours?”
“Basically. But everything has to be done by the book. I’m getting the works—welfare checks, home visits, interviews—you name it.” He was cautiously hopeful, having been fucked over too many times. “The lady at CPS says she’ll try to delay sending the paperwork over to the welfare services office here in Blackstone so I can get the place ready before the first home visit. I’ll get her a bed, clothes, toys, whatever she needs. Then start looking at a bigger place.”
Tim’s face went stormy. “You do know who works at the social welfare office here in Blackstone, right?”
“No.”
“Sybil Lennox. It’s a small office, and knowing you’re a shifter, they’ll probably send her.”
Fuck.
“Sybil’s a good kid,” Tim assured him. “By the book. She won’t take anything personally. But you should probably sort everything out as soon as you can.”
Mason liked his hide un-burnt, so he decided to go out and go to the store as soon as Cassie woke up. But, speaking of Sybil Lennox … “Wait, Tim. Before you go, there’s something I need to ask you.” The question had been in the back of his mind the entire time. Now that he had Cassie, he could finally focus.
“What is it?”
“It’s about … mates. Do shifters really have mates?”
“Some don’t, but others do. No one really knows for sure how it works. You don’t know anything about mates?”
This was embarrassing, but he had thought it over. Tim was the only other shifter he knew in town who could get him the answers he needed. “No.”
“No one talked to you about it? Not even your dad when he was alive?”
Mason shook his head. “After the funeral, you know my mom took me to Tennessee. There were no other shifters in town. And then you know how she was …” He gritted his teeth but didn’t continue. That was all ancient history, and he was over it. He wasn’t the first kid to get beat-up by his parents. Things came to a head when he was seventeen and he shifted and nearly killed his step-dad. His mother had been furious and called the cops on him, and that was when he decided to run away to Blackstone.
“That mother of yours is a piece of work. You know it was because of her your dad stopped speaking to me.” Tim rubbed his jaw with his meaty hand. “I always thought she hated the fact that your dad was a shifter, but he was the only guy in a uniform who managed to get her pregnant.”
Mason grimaced, knowing that was probably true. His mother had been a base bunny, looking to get knocked up by a serviceman and live the good life of a navy wife. The irony wasn’t lost on him. “So, what can you tell me about mates? I’d only ever heard about them from my team.”
“Shifters are private about stuff like that, which is why you don’t exactly find stuff like this in books or the Internet. Besides, who’d want scientists poking their noses into their business and studying them like animals?” Tim huffed. “I don’t know much, just from what I’ve seen and heard myself. When your animal finds the one you’re fated for, it tells you.”
Mason felt the blood drain from his face. That’s what his bear had been telling him. Amelia was his fated mate. “And … what about the mating bond?”
“Apparently, it just happens, not right away of course. You’ll accept her as your mate and she’ll accept you and you form the bond. It brings you closer together and …” He frowned. “I don’t really know the rest of it.” He raised a brow at Mason. “Anything you need to tell me? Why are you asking me?”
A soft cry from inside the apartment made them both turn their heads. “Sorry. I’ll explain later.”
“Go take care of your daughter,” Tim urged. “Call me if you need anything. And take the time you need.”
“Thanks, Tim.” With one last wave, he turned and hurried into the apartment. Cassie was sitting up in bed, looking around her. Mason quickly went to her side. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy’s here. I’ll be right here. I won’t ever leave you.” Cassie blinked sleepily and nodded, then laid back down and closed her eyes.
Mason took a deep breath. Cassie was here. Finally. He hated the circumstances, and his blood still boiled thinking of Jenna and Doug, but their loss was his gain. As he watched over Cassie, Tim’s words rang in his brain.
So apparently, he and Amelia had bonded while they were together for those twelve nights. Each of those nights were still crystal clear in his mind, and he could probably pinpoint when it changed. He thought Amelia had been sleeping and he was so tired himself. He told her he loved her and it happened.
She said the bond was broken. How could she tell? Were there signs? He’d been caught up in the whole situation with Jenna that he didn’t even notice. Fuck, he really was a bastard.
Somehow, he knew he had to make it up to her. Amelia would never take him back, especially not with the baggage he carried. He imagined that Cassie would forever be the reminder of what he’d done to her and there was no way he was giving up Cassie for anyone. Still, his sense of honor told him that he had to make things right with Amelia, no matter what it took.
Cassie stirred, jarring him out of his thoughts. But first things first.
Chapter Seven
Amelia walked down the aisle of the curtains section, stopping to take a look at the display of sheer fabric. She already had the decorative curtains picked out, but she just needed the sheers for privacy. After finding the right type and length, she got the package from the shelf, and then placed it inside her half-full shopping cart.
Checking the paper in her hand, she saw that next on the list was throw pillows. Thank God for big box stores. She would be able to furnish and decorate the house she was renting. She’d thought of moving into one of those fancy new apartments in South Blackstone, but the thought of being in a box didn’t appeal to her. No, she had wanted something with space and a garden. Just her luck, she saw an ad in the Blackstone Community website about a house for rent that fit the bill—it was a spacious three-bedroom at the edge of town with a small front lawn and a spacious backyard. Now, she only had to fill the inside to make it a real home.
It’s not that she didn’t want to support the local stores in Blackstone, but she just loved the convenience of having everything in one place. This particular brand was well-known for having stylish and affordable pieces, and since they didn’t have one in Blackstone, Amelia drove all the way to the Verona Mills Commons strip mall so she could do her shopping. Her place was looking bare as she didn’t have time to shop with the move and the new job. Finally, it was Sunday and she decided it was time to get things together.
Should I get plain or printed? Amelia looked at the designs on the pillows. Maybe I should take a picture and send it to Mom. Laura and James Walker were still on their round-the-world retirement trip, but her parents always made time for her and Ben if they wanted to talk. Since she got back to Blackstone, she’d found herself missing them so much more and taking them up on their offer when she could. Just this week, she’d video-chatted with them twice.
As she was deciding between the stripes and the houndstooth print, a loud, ear-splitting scream pierced the air. Amelia frowned. This was the one downside of shopping at a big-box store. With a deep sigh, she put the striped pillows in her cart. She still needed bed sheets, so she pushed the cart to the next aisle. As she turned the corner, the wails became louder and she saw two figures in the middle of the aisle. The smaller one, a little girl, was obviously throwing a fit, while the larger figure was bent down, trying to calm her down.
Amelia rolled her eyes and stopped, ready to back out of the aisle and call it a day, when the larger figure stood up and turned to face her. Light blue eyes grew wide with surprise. Well, this was awkward.
“Amelia?” Mason asked. He didn’t move, and instead continued to stare at her.
Amelia forced herself to look at the little girl next to him. She wasn’t stupid; she knew who it was. Sometimes, when she simply couldn’t help herself, she’d imagine what Mason’s kid would look like,
the one he had abandoned her for.
The little girl was probably no more than three or four, with long dark curls down her shoulders. She was wearing a pink dress, sandals, and leggings that were a tad too short for her. Her face was all red and blotchy, with snot coming out of her nose and tear streaks down her smooth, chubby cheeks.
Amelia always thought that if she ever found herself face-to-face with Mason’s family, she wouldn’t be able to stand it. That she would cowardly walk away, or run and hide. Instead, something inside her made her want to go over and see what was wrong with the little girl. As if on instinct, she left her cart behind and walked over, kneeling beside the girl.
“Hello,” she said. “What’s your name?”
The girl looked up at Mason, and then at her. “Cassie.”
“Cassie,” she repeated. “What a pretty name.” She reached over to tuck a stray lock of hair from the girl’s cheek. Then, Amelia froze. Her eyes searched Cassie’s face.
While her own bear was no more, Amelia still retained the enhanced strength, healing, and more importantly, senses of a shifter. And her senses were telling her one thing: Cassie was definitely a human. She smelled like a human and felt like a human. I don’t understand. Who was this girl with Mason?
“Cassie,” Mason said, clearing his throat. “Say hello to Amelia.”
“Daddy, who is she?” Cassie asked, her face drawing into a look of suspicion.
Well, that made her even more confused, but she composed herself. “I’m your daddy’s … friend.” She took a handkerchief from her purse. “Can I help you get cleaned up?” Cassie hesitated, but then nodded. Amelia gave her a reassuring smile and wiped the tears and snot from her face. “There, don’t you look pretty! Now, what’s the matter, sweetheart?”
“I want to go home,” she said, her bottom lip trembling. “I just want to go home. To my own bed and my toys and Mommy.”
The Blackstone She-Bear: Blackstone Mountain Book 7 Page 7
