by Reina Torres
Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Three Cats, LLC. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Grayslake: More than Mated remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Three Cats, LLC, or their affiliates or licensors.
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Beneath The Surface
The last thing Grace wanted to do was form attachments. Travis was looking for a new hometown, but the minute he met her… he knew that home wasn’t a place, it was her. He just had to convince her that what they have was worth sticking around for.
Grace Howard was excited to return to her childhood home in Grayslake, Georgia to visit her Aunt and Uncle. Living in the Arizona desert, watching her mom’s long line of boyfriends come and go, she has always dreamed of returning to the sultry days and balmy nights for one last visit before she sets off to see the world and forge her own future far away from relationships. Grace knows that forever doesn’t happen, not to her, and living in one place would be an exercise in frustration.
Travis Owen was looking for a home. Struggling with the clan politics in his hometown, he’s looking for somewhere to settle. Waiting to meet the Itan of Grayslake, he sees a curvy beauty get off the bus with a suitcase in tow. Both sides of him took notice, but he breaks a rule and there’s a price he’ll have to pay. Travis has to decide what’s more important to him, his instinctual need for this woman, or keeping his hide intact. With his bear riding him hard, he finds out that the dominant power in his life just might not be the command of an Itan, it just might be his heart.
Can Travis convince Grace that the adventure she craves is a life with him, or will she leave him when he needs her the most?
Beneath The Surface
Reina Torres
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Love my Readers
A Little About Reina Torres
Also by Reina Torres
Prologue
The door opened on the second knock. “Hey, Ty, didn’t expect to see you here.” Edward’s smile was friendly, but a little confused. “Something wrong?”
“Edward?”
At the sound of his wife’s voice echoing down the hall, the diner owner’s smile softened. “Yes, dear?”
“Who’s at the door?”
Edward stepped back and gestured for Ty to come inside while he called back to his wife. “Ty Abrams!”
“Well, don’t just stand there at the door bring him back!”
“Yes, dear!”
Edward closed the door and shook his head. “The queen has bellowed her order.”
Hearing the sweet indulgence in the man’s voice, Ty smiled. Nellie and Edward were fixtures in Grayslake, and they were also a study in a happy marriage. They worked together and had created a place where everyone in Grayslake was welcome. And as the Grayslake Itan, Ty took care of his own. That meant Nellie and Edward, even if they weren’t part of the clan.
The small house was tidy and cozy, with pictures on the wall that documented the years of their lives together. Ty grinned as he passed a picture of the couple behind the counter at the restaurant with matching grins on their faces. It warmed his heart to see their joy.
They entered the back bedroom to find Nellie struggling to sit up. Edward broke away from Ty to hustle his way to his wife’s side. “Woman, are you trying to kill me?”
Nellie rolled her eyes at the worry in his voice. “I have a visitor. I didn’t want to look like a bump on a log.”
Edward helped adjust her pillows and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “You fell, you crazy woman, that’s why you’re in bed. Do my heart a favor and rest up so you can get back on your feet and worry me that way.”
Giving her husband’s hand a gentle reassuring pat, she looked up at Ty. “Don’t mind him,” she let out a dreamy sigh, “when he’s all protective like this he growls just like a bear.”
Ty saw the quick wink that Nellie gave him and he felt his bear give an indulgent sigh. Nellie was unique. Humans weren’t allowed to know about the clan and shifters, unless they were family. While Nellie wasn’t family per se, she had nearly been mated to his grandfather and knew enough about the bears in Grayslake to get them all in trouble. He trusted her, even when she was walking the line as she was now, hinting at the truth.
“Then maybe you should listen to your bear, Nellie.” Ty wasn’t above hinting back.
She answered back with an eloquent eye roll. “Whatever. If I actually listened to Edward, he’d think something was wrong with me for sure.”
Edward nodded. “That’s true enough. I’d worry she’d lost hold of her senses.” That earned him a playful pinch on his arm. “Ow, woman. Be nice.”
Nellie smoothed her hand over his arm. “You’re lucky I didn’t scratch.”
“Ty didn’t come over to hear you threaten me, Nellie.”
Meeting Ty’s eyes, Nellie gave him a softer grin. “No, he didn’t. Is something wrong?”
“What’s wrong,” he assured her, “is that you’re hurt. I wanted to see if you needed any help at the café.” He saw moisture gather on her lashes and worried that she might start to cry. “Lauren said she’d come and lend a hand if you needed someone while you healed up. We don’t want you rushing things.”
At the mention of her former waitress, Nellie placed her hand over her heart and gave Ty a watery look. “That is so sweet, all of you. Lauren can’t help, but it means the world that she volunteered. She’s carrying and I can’t imagine that Van would want her on her feet for that many hours a day.”
Ty grimaced. That had been Van’s exact argument with his mate, but Lauren had made the offer and stood by it.
“And I love Lauren for it, but tell her and her grumbling mate that everything is taken care of.” Edward took her hand and she gave it a squeeze. “I have a niece who lives in Tucson. She’s going to come and help Eddie out until I’m back on my feet. She was already headed here for a visit before she heads off to Europe.”
‘Europe?” Ty gave her a smile.
She shrugged. “She finished college and wants to see a bit of the world before she decides where she’s going to call home. She has one of those rail passes so as long as she can change her flight to London, she’s going to be here with us until I’m cleared to work.”
Ty nodded. “That will be a relief for all of us.”
“She should be here this afternoon on the bus heading east.” She looked up at Edward. “You should head on over to meet the bus and get the diner open.”
Edward’s suspicious look melted when she pulled him closer to give him a peck on his cheek.
“You’ll rest?”
“Yes, dear,” she settled back against the cushions and waved as the men left the room.
Picking up an old weathered photo from her nightstand, Nellie smiled at the ear to ear grin on the round face that looked back at her. She was fairly sure Ty didn’t remember her niece, not really. Grace had been a little younger than Ty when her family lived in Graysl
ake.
Nellie remembered only too well the tears streaming down Grace’s face when her mother packed the car. When the last box was stored in the back of the station wagon, the little girl had sobbed so loud that Nellie was sure folks heard it deep into the mountains.
Nellie had caught the little girl trying to tiptoe out of the back door, with a pillowcase full of snacks and her favorite stuffed animal, Paddington Bear.
Sitting Grace down on the back porch, Nellie had gathered her tight against her side. “Don’t you think your mom would miss you if you ran away?”
A quick shake of her head changed to a weary nod. “I’d miss her too,” reasoned the young girl, “but I wanna stay here!”
Brushing a kiss on Grace’s dark hair, she’d sighed and given the girl a one armed hug. “Maybe your uncle and I can come visit you when you get settled.”
Grace played with the fuzzy ear peeking out of her makeshift bag. The bear she’d squished in with the rest of her treasures had been squeezed nearly to bursting in the little girl’s arms over the years. “Sure,” she sighed, “but I’m going to miss Grayslake, Auntie. It’s my home.”
That’s when the tears started again, and Nellie pulled the little girl into her lap.
“Hey… hey… no more tears, Gracie. If there’s one thing I know for sure, with absolute certainty, it’s this,” Nellie waited until Grace tipped her chin up and looked into her eyes, “you will come back here one day, sweetheart. You’ll come back to Grayslake.”
With her lips quivering, Grace wiped at her eyes with the head of her teddy bear, and nodded at her aunt. “I’ll come back,” she promised,” and when I do, I’m never leaving again.” With a forced smile on her lips, Grace wrapped her little arms around Nellie’s neck.
Setting the picture back on the nightstand, Nellie let her eyes drift closed on a satisfied sigh. Grace said she was only staying to help until she was back on her feet, but Nellie had a feeling that once she returned and took her first real breath of air in Grayslake, all bets were off.
Maybe, just maybe, her niece was truly coming home.
All that was left to do was wait and see.
Chapter One
The storefronts in Grayslake were similar to his home in Arcadia. False fronts and clapboard. Brick and old stone. For most people it would be like stepping back into a bygone era where road trips and small town USA made anyone King of the Road. Setting his truck brake, Travis Owen left the truck running to listen to the last chorus of the song that was playing through his speakers and let out a long pent-up breath.
Once his lungs were empty he took in a deep breath, scenting the world around him through the open window of his truck. It was clean, woodsy, enough humans to give him pause, but he didn’t feel the tension pinching between his shoulder blades. He didn’t flinch when a man walked around the corner of the nearest building.
He didn’t have to look over his shoulder.
The feeling should have been relaxing, but all it did was point out how bad things were at home. Why he was so determined to find a new place to live. Why he wanted to make a better future for himself, and one day his own family. A mate and cubs were everything he wanted in life, but he wanted them safe and happy. That wasn’t too much to ask.
Make no mistake, he loved his hometown, loved the memories he’d made there with his family, but his family was crumbling around him and he wanted to settle down, find his mate, have a home full of cubs. He just didn’t want to worry that a turf war would sweep in and take it all from him.
He was determined to find a place run by the right kind of people, and from what he’d heard in a number of places, Grayslake was just that. And Ty Abrams was that kind of a leader.
A quick glance at the clock on his dashboard had him reaching for his seatbelt. He had a half an hour before he had to meet Ty. Reaching for the folded up paper on the passenger side of the seat he read the instructions.
Wait outside the diner. 1 PM.
The diner was across the street and from this vantage point, he could see a good part of what folks would call ‘downtown.’ Groceries. Tackle and Sporting equipment. Nothing too fancy, but nothing really missing. He’d heard there was a decent pizza place and a Chinese restaurant that had a good cook.
A loud rumble had him sitting up, leaning his forearms on the steering wheel.
A bus pulled in across the street in front of the diner, one of those Cross-Country contraptions that were more about affordability than comfort. The wide blue stripes emblazoned along the side of the antiquated transport were just visible under the layers of road dust and the hydraulic controls on the door hissed loud enough to drown out the rest of the ambient noise around him. A bunch of people piled out, headed for the front door of the diner. A couple in loud tropical shirts and white knee-length socks looked like they were on their way to Orlando for vacation. Two men wore the short-cropped hair cuts, tight dark t-shirts and camouflage pants that marked them either heading for base or home. And there was a young couple in love. They needed no other description. Arms wrapped around each other, kisses peppered on each other’s faces, hands slipping into the back pockets of each other’s jeans.
Travis felt the muscle in his jaw tick. Love. It was so easy for some.
Then again, he mused, some people didn’t have to worry about someone trying to kill you in your sleep.
Yeah, life in Arcadia was pretty messed up at the moment, and Travis was in agreement with his bear on one thing. He wanted a mate and cubs. To get both and keep them, he had to live somewhere that they didn’t have to worry about the kind of ridiculousness that amounted to a shifter civil war in his hometown.
There was some sort of commotion out in front of the diner. Some of the people from the bus were cupping their hands over their eyes looking into the darkened interior. One of the soldiers banged on the door and got no reply.
What caught Travis’ eye was a hand pointing at the sign taped to the inside of the glass on the door. Curious eyes turned to look and there was a sharp drop in noise as one of the men read the words. “Closed until One.”
A collective sigh got the group headed back to the bus, grumbling about their hunger. He agreed. He was hoping to grab a cup of coffee before his meeting with the Itan.
As the group cleared the front of the diner, Travis realized that one of them had stayed.
She stood just beside the door, a small travel suitcase that looked like it came straight out of a different era, was set down on the asphalt. As she stood, Travis was riveted to the sight. Her vintage case was only one part of her look and every piece that was revealed to him had him more entranced than the piece before. She wore those patent leather buckled shoes on her feet and colored tights that cupped her calves like a second skin. A pleated skirt was next, and even though he only got the slightest glimpse of her knees under the hem his hands itched to touch her. He liked the look on a woman, but especially on her. Her curves alone could bring him to his knees, but it was the bowling shirt she wore that got him hot. Yeah, one look at the purple and pink bowling shirt with an embroidered name on the left front had his mind thinking of her bending over a bowling ball return and the sweet curve of her backside lifting the hem of that pleated skirt.
A truck rattled up to the side of the diner and she turned to see who it was drawing his gaze to her face. “Damnit all to hell,” he mumbled under his breath. She looked like a vintage pin up, with blunt-cut bangs that brushed the tops of her eyebrows and a thick jet-black ponytail high on the back of her head.
With a big mega-watt smile she dropped her purse from her shoulder and ran into the waiting embrace of the man who slid down from the cab.
Travis gnashed his teeth together as his bear growled low and deep in his chest.
Mine.
His bear didn’t usually say much, but when it did, it got to the point.
Thankful for his hearing, Travis managed to pick up her words over the loud vibrations of sound in his ears, she offered a greeting to
her, “uncle.”
That was enough to settle the bear’s possessive instinct, but in the next heartbeat his bear was aroused for another reason altogether.
As her uncle fitted his keys into the lock to open the diner, she reached down and took hold of the hem of her shirt and pulled it up to tie it into a knot at her waist. His eyes feasted, not only on the sweet curve of her skirt clad backside, but the peaches and cream perfection of her stomach.
Hungry.
Oh yeah. He was hungry too. He’d been on the road for the better part of the day and he was ready to put something into his mouth.
Twisting the key in the ignition, his truck went silent a moment before he threw open the door. His bear got up on all four paws and nodded his head.
Go.
Sliding from the cab, Travis enjoyed the twinge of pain when his boots hit the asphalt, bringing him to a sudden stop.
Inside the diner he saw her step up to the window. Gorgeous. He’d seen her from the back and enjoyed every curve, he’d seen her from the side and admired the sway of her lower back that swept into the sweet curve of her backside. And her face. A second look had him shaking. Silken skin. Dark hair. Lips so pink and kissable he had to-
The unmistakable sound of a police siren broke through his thoughts and Travis looked to the left and saw the broad predatory grin visible above the steering wheel and below the mirrored sunglasses in a Grayslake patrol car.
His bear dug his claws into their connection. He didn’t seem to care that they might end up behind bars. Nope, they were both jonesing for up-close-and-personal with the gorgeous woman in the diner.
