“I take it your plan didn’t work,” Stephie said.
“Nope.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What plan?” Rose asked.
I sighed “The one to force him to believe in something you can’t prove in a laboratory.”
Rose’s eyes filled with tears. “He doesn’t understand you.”
“He doesn’t know me.” I dropped onto one of the stools at the counter. “I’m afraid to tell him I’m a shapeshifter.”
“Why?” Rose asked.
I looked into her innocent little face and smiled. “Because I’m afraid he’d freak. Or maybe just not believe his eyes. He seems to be very good at that denial thing.”
“Believing he saw a Bigfoot is one thing. I think it would be really hard to deny seeing a person shift into a dog.” She glanced toward Stephie. “You didn’t have any trouble believing, did you?”
Stephie’s lips pulled into a smile. “You were the puppy in the woods. I knew there was something familiar about you. And no, seeing is definitely believing.”
I was considering that, when the shop door opened and Ace rushed in with Shay right behind him. “We saw your car and thought you might be here.” He was breathing hard, as if he’d run.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re my cousin,” Shay grinned at Rose.
“Not exactly,” Rose said.
“Close enough!” Shay pulled Rose into her arms.
Ace had my arm and pulled me to one side. “I just saw Hunter.”
I nodded. “He came in here. He’s not happy that I don’t get my facts from a microscope slide like he does.”
“He’s leaving, Terri.”
A huge bolder dropped hard on the bottom of my stomach. “Leaving? What do you mean?”
“He told me his agent called him and that guy who hacked into six banks wants a ghostwriter—but Hunter would have to go to California now. Today”
“As in not even telling me?” Then I realized he probably was trying, in his own way.
“He said he’s crazy about you, but he doesn’t think the two of you have a chance.” Ace touched my arm. “He said it might be easier if he just left. I tried to tell him he’s an idiot, but he isn’t good at listening.”
The urge to beat Hunter into pulp was so strong I headed for the door.
Ace moved to block my way. “He’s gone to the B&B to pack.”
It took a moment for my brain to register what my friend was telling me, but when it did I wasted no time grabbing Ace’s arm and pulling him over to the others. “Shay, will you and Ace take care of Rose for a bit? I have something I need to do.”
Rose crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Of course not,” Shay said. “You need to be with family so we can get to know each other.”
I put a hand on either side of Rose’s face. “Please stay with them. I need to know you’ll be safe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Go,” she said. “You love him. You can’t just let him go without a fight.”
“Thanks.” I looked back toward the other three. “I’ll let you know something as soon as I can.”
I hugged everybody, Rose twice, and headed toward the door.
Chapter Seventeen
I didn’t really expect Hunter to answer, but he could at least let me know he’d received one of the texts or voice mails I’d sent him over the last two hours. I was standing in my living room at the moment, wishing for my phone to ring. My nerves danced on each other and I would go to him if I had to, but I really preferred to do this in private.
Fear that he would just go without talking to me finally convinced me to go to the B&B. I locked the doggie door to keep Scrappy inside while I was gone, and was ready to charge off on my mission when a knock all but scared the shoes off me. I swallowed hard, sent up a prayer, and pulled open the door. It was Hunter, and he did not look happy.
“Okay, I’m here. What’s so important that I need to know?”
“Come on in.”
He sighed and leaned against the door frame for a moment before he came into the living room.
“Have a seat.”
“No.”
Shock had me frozen in mid-movement. “Your choice,” I finally managed. “There’s something about me that you don’t know. Something I was afraid to tell you.”
“Are you sick?”
The concern in his expression assured me he still cared, but would caring be enough?
“No, I’m healthy. But there is something about me that I didn’t think you’d believe. I should have just told you, but I was hoping I could convince you to be a little more open-minded before I did.”
He sighed hard and long. “Let me guess, you’re psychic.”
I rolled my eyes. “If I was psychic, I would know how you’re going to react and I wouldn’t be so worried.”
“Just tell me what it is, okay? I have to be on a plane California in less than six hours.”
I wanted to scream. How could he just brush what we had off like that? Tears threatened, but I refused to allow them to leave my eyes. “I have to show you.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to prove you’re wrong not to believe in things beyond what is considered rational.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “We’ve already been through this.”
“There’s no way you can call this fake.”
Arms crossed over his chest, he stood waiting. “Bring it on.”
I backed up a step and pulled my T-shirt over my head. My jeans hit the floor and I reached around to unfasten my bra.
“I don’t know what you’re doing,” Hunter said. “But so far I like it.”
It hit me right in the belly. This was the point of no return. I could stop now, tell him I was teasing, let him finish undressing me, then apologize in bed. That was the kind of thing full-humans did. I doubted he’d question my motives. If I kept going, there would be no going back. I could lose him forever.
“Let me guess, your undies are going to disappear.”
I looked into his amazing eyes, and knew that if he wasn’t willing to take me the way I was, there was no hope for us anyway. My bra hit the floor, followed by my panties. I could smell the desire coming off him, and wished fervently that was the goal. “I love you,” I said, watching as his eyes widened and his forehead pulled into a frown.
I reached into myself and let my body shift. Seconds later, I looked up at him from the eyes of a collie.
Hunter’s breath sucked in, and a sudden blast of the scent of fear hit me. He backed away. “What are you?” he gasped. He backed up and almost fell over the coffee table. Using his hands to feel his way, and without taking his gaze off me, he moved to the door, opened it, and ran across the porch.
I shifted back to human as fast as I could and rushed outside. He was already closing the door of his car. He met my gaze and the horror in his eyes tore at my heart. He backed out of the driveway, and I knew I had just lost the one man I would ever give my heart to, one of the handful of people who knew what I really was.
Which apparently was a monster, if his reaction was anything to go by.
I heard a noise, and saw Miz Carlisle, her eyes narrowed, glaring hard at me. “I’m calling the police,” she said.
She had no idea how little I cared at the moment. “Have at it,” I told her. She gasped as I went into the house.
There I stood, in a house belonging to my aunt. I had no place of my own, two close friends, including Shay—and she was family. A little sister I couldn’t even take care of. I wouldn’t even be able to take care of myself without the career I apparently had lost the talent for. I knew that wasn’t exactly true, but it felt true.
I went into my bedroom, or rather the bedroom my aunt had invited me to use, and pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. I sat on the side of the bed and tried to think. Mom and Shay both said I tended to be irresponsible, so I guessed I owed it to mys
elf to consider everything as carefully as I could.
A few minutes later, I pulled out my suitcase and stated throwing in clothes. By the time the sun was sliding behind those gorgeous Tennessee hills, I was ready to go. I took a look around. I had my clothes and personal items in my suitcase. I also had a bag with water bottles and snacks. My debit and credit cards were in my wallet, I had my keys. Phone and charger. I’d get a few dollars from the ATM on my way.
My gaze went to the laptop sitting on my desk. I should take that.
No. There was no reason. That part of my life was over, and the best thing I could do was let it go. Somewhere deep inside, my logic circuit argued that wasn’t true, that I was making a catastrophe out of a setback. I ignored that idea, because I couldn’t imagine ever writing again, it had been hard enough before. Now, without Hunter in my life, it seemed like counting the stars in the sky would be easier. So I left the laptop.
I grabbed my e-reader, and a few magazines I hadn’t taken the time to read. I stuffed those into a tote bag I’d gotten at a conference, picked everything up, told Scruffy I’d call Shay to take care of her, and headed for the door.
I locked my aunt’s house, got into my car and sat for a time looking at my old life. I had to have some time and space alone so I could figure out where I was going from there. I couldn’t think while I was knee-deep in the mess I’d made of my life.
I backed out and drove away from Ugly Creek toward the Interstate. I didn’t know what lay ahead of me, and I was seriously reluctant to find out. I stopped to get gas and took time to call Shay. “Would you mind feeding Scrappy and keeping an eye on Rose for a couple of days?”
“Of course I don’t mind. I take it things didn’t work out.”
“No.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie.”
“Just take care of my sister, okay. Don’t let her run away, and don’t let Daddy know where she is. Something is not right, and I want to know what it is before I let her go home.”
“You know you don’t have any legal rights to protect her.”
“I’ll worry about that when I find out what’s actually going on. Just keep her safe and tell her I love her, okay?”
“Okay. You be careful.”
“I will.”
I hung up and headed northeast.
Chapter Eighteen
I love the Smoky Mountains where the air is fresh and the views are breathtaking. In the summer, every little town is filled with vacationers. In the winter, snow skiers head to the few resorts. Right now, the place was packed with seekers of autumn color. Unfortunately, when I had the bright idea to come up here, I didn’t factor in the autumn-in-the-mountains deluge. Comes from living in Florida my whole life, I guess.
Instead of following the crowd to Gatlinburg, I kept driving across I-40 to Asheville, North Carolina. I’d never been there, but I’d seen pictures of the town years ago, and ever since then I’d wanted to visit.
The city, and the big mountains surrounding it, were more beautiful than I’d expected them to be. The sun was getting low in the sky, shooting light between trees and buildings. The bright colors of autumn leaves glowed and I caught myself wishing Hunter was with me to enjoy the show together.
I ignored the pain thinking about him provoked and drove around until I found a three-star chain hotel fairly close to the forest. I checked in, paced around in the room for a while, then gave in to my nature. There was forest everywhere, making my life easy. I drove to a parking area near a promising site and hiked a little way, scoping out the territory. Then I stashed my clothes and the car and room keys in a small bag, hid the bag under a rock, and let my body do its thing. Running through the thick expanse of trees was amazing. Fresh air blew gently over my fur while sun and shade created a living checkerboard. The scents were incredible. The warm, grounding smell of earth, the sweet aroma of late blooming flowers, the tangy smell of leaves as their colors shifted and they fell gracefully to the ground.
I gave chase to a tiny frog, but the game didn’t last long. I didn’t want to scare the poor thing. A squirrel offered a much more interesting hunt. There was no question of scaring that guy as we twisted and turned around trees, bushes, stumps, rocks. Sometimes I rushed after him, sometimes he went after me. Finally he climbed halfway up a tall oak and turned upside down to tell me he had a wife and baby to get home to. We thanked each other, and I headed out for more adventure before I turned back toward my human life.
I barely slept that night. I missed Rose. I missed Hunter. I missed Shay. I even missed Ace and his teasing. I missed getting up before daylight to play make-believe with my computer. Writing fiction was a lot of fun, and the knowledge that my readers were able to share in my made-up world was amazing. I wanted that ability back.
****
To top off my sleepless night, just before five a.m. my phone buzzed its way across the nightstand. I grabbed at it, fear wrenching my heart as I did. Was something wrong with Rose? Had Daddy grabbed her? Or was it Shay? Had something happened to her?
I blinked the blur from my eyes, and it was Hunter’s name that lit up the display. Well, he was the very last person I wanted to talk to, so I sent him to voice mail, returned my phone to the nightstand, and closed my eyes. There was no real reason for me to get out of bed, so I’d just stay where I was.
I was dozing a bit when the thing vibrated again. I checked just to be sure, then sent him to voice mail again. “Leave me alone, Devereux.”
I knew he wouldn’t though. There was no way I was going to get any sleep, so I slid out of bed to get ready for whatever this day would bring. Not that I had a lot of interest in the possibilities, but my other choice would be to lie in bed and feel sorry for myself. That was not going to happen. My life as a writer might be over, but my body was used to getting up before daylight.
While I dressed and put on a bit of makeup, the phone did one vibrating dance after another over the surface of the table. By the time I was finished, there were fifteen voice messages, every single one of them from Hunter.
I was freaked out and a little worried about his trying so hard to get in touch with me. On the other hand, if something was truly wrong he could get in touch with Ace, and he or Shay could call me.
The probability was he was calling to beg me to explain how I did my “trick.” That realization blew hot coals through my body. I’d check in with Shay later to be sure, but I wasn’t going to let him know that I cared.
Right now I was starving. I stuck my annoying phone in my purse, grabbed it and my keys, and headed out to find breakfast.
I ate, drove around some, poked around a couple of stores, then eventually found my way back to my hotel. I was always complaining that I didn’t have time to read. Well, now I did. Sprawled across the big bed, I dove headfirst into the newest novel by my favorite writer.
Three hours later, I was thirsty enough to go looking for a drink machine. Hunter still haunted my thoughts, but the author had somehow managed to suck me into her fictional world and hold me there. Amazing.
My cola, my e-reader, and I settled into a chair on the large wooden balcony outside my room. The air was fresh, the breeze chilly, the leaves the warm shades of autumn, the mountains rose magnificently just a mile or so from the hotel. I’d go back there later. I’d shift and play and let the animal inside me shove aside the human worry and pain for a time. Or at least that was the plan.
With a sigh, I picked up my e-reader and slipped back into a time and place pulled not from reality, but from the mind of a writer just like me.
Well, not like me. This author’s ebooks were selling at an incredible pace. As I lost myself in her world, I contemplated why my work wasn’t nearly as good. Hunter had taken the time to read my stuff; he’d told me the hard facts, as he saw them, and I should at least consider what he’d said.
I couldn’t though, I couldn’t trust him. His mind was too unyielding. He literally couldn’t see beyond what he believed. Maybe someone could help me figure ou
t what went wrong with my work, but it was highly unlikely that person would be Dr. Hunter Devereux, professor of literature—and killer of young writers’ dreams.
With that, I swung my feet to the ground and went back into my room. It would be dark soon, and I could more easily go into the woods and run like the wild animal that lived in my DNA. All our DNAs actually, but it lived closer to the surface in shifters like me. Like Rose. I missed my sister, but I had to think things through. I had to decide what the best path for me was before I could be the kind of sister she needed me to be.
I grabbed my little “go shift” bag, locked up my room, and headed for my car. Maybe my canine mind would clear my human one enough I could see the problem more clearly. At the very least, maybe I could wear myself out enough to sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
I ran through the dark forest. With not even quite a half moon, it would be all but impossible for a human to see much of anything. Luckily, my dog half didn’t have that problem. I ran for hours, enjoying the fresh air, the plants I’d rarely—or never—seen before, communing with the wild animals who lived there. I thoroughly enjoyed being out there, and I decided a long vacation here would be a great way to relax.
Just a vacation, though. It didn’t really appeal to me, this life. Not long-term. I missed the conveniences of the twenty-first century. But most of all I missed my family. And Hunter.
Damn that man!
I sat on the soft ground and scratched my ear. I didn’t trust Hunter’s professor mind to be right about my work, but something about what he’d said had bothered me, made my muse twitch. Why couldn’t I remember what it was? Oh yeah, it was that same handsome professor and his stubborn inability to see what was right in front of him.
I ran around for a few more minutes, then headed back to where I’d hidden my clothes. After a fast food run for enough to feed a small army, or one hungry shapeshifter, I headed back to my hotel room.
When I pulled my phone out of my bag, I realized the battery was dead. Annoyed at myself for not charging the thing, I dug out the charger and plugged it in. I shoved in some much needed food while I gave the cell a moment to start charging. When I turned it on, I saw three calls from Shay. With a groan, I called her.
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