by M. D. Grimm
A home he’d missed desperately when he left for university at eighteen. He’d never felt more like a country bumpkin than during those five years away. But it had helped expand his knowledge and his perception. He’d been able to breathe for the first time, to choose for himself. Of course, he’d double majored in criminal justice and law enforcement so his social life had been next to nonexistent. Yet that didn’t stop him from observing how folks outside of Haven lived. And it also didn’t mean he hadn’t had his fair share of relationships, all of various lengths and intensities. He certainly hadn’t wasted time away from parental influence.
Jack snorted and pulled on his gloves before crossing the street. He glanced into the window of Stan’s Café and smiled when he noticed Eddie and Tom sitting in their usual chairs, arguing about who was the better shifter, a hyena or a lion. Which was a purely rhetorical question, since they were fox shifters.
Jack nodded to them and both nodded back, never once breaking rhythm. It didn’t matter the weather or the time of day, for as long as Jack had lived in Haven, good ol’ Eddie and Tom had stuck with their routine. He honestly didn’t even know how old they were. Both had wrinkles and were a bit thick around the middle, but each had a full head of hair, and were youthful in their movements and activities. Jack knew them to be great skiers.
Jack waved at a small group of coyote shifters across the street who just exited Jenkin’s Market. Young and restless, the cubs still waved back respectfully and continued on their way. Jack knew from personal experience that large groups of youngsters usually spelled trouble if left alone too long. He would have to keep an eye out for them. Haven was normally a peaceful town, a community where people took care of each other. But he remembered what it was like to be young. He also remembered how many lectures from his father he’d endured when he was young and stupid. So he knew how to spot troublemakers.
Jack approached an adult shop, the only one of its kind in a town like this, when a big tabby came trotting out the door. Jack raised an eyebrow and quietly walked up behind the cat. Just when the cat realized someone was behind him, Jack snagged the tabby by the scruff of his neck and lifted him into the air. The cat let out a frightened meow and struggled for a few seconds before jerking his head around to see who had ahold of him. Then the cat settled down.
Jack tucked the cat against his side, slipping his arm underneath the feline, holding him securely.
“Morning, Todd,” Jack said, tipping down his shades with his free hand and gave the cat a stern look. “Considering this is the third time I’ve caught you here, I’d think you’d have gotten the message by now. Minors aren’t allowed in there.”
Todd, a sixteen-year-old cat shifter, hissed and made his fur stand on end, doubling his size.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Todd, please, I’ve squashed spiders I fear more than you right now.”
Todd subsided, his entire body slumping.
“Now,” Jack said, adopting a reasonable tone, “I told you last time that if this happened again, I was going to tell your parents.” He pushed his shades back up his nose. “So, now it’s time.”
Todd started struggling again, but Jack simply held him trapped and kept his hand firm on the cat’s neck. Todd knew better than to bite or scratch the sheriff, but he still struggled. Jack couldn’t blame him. Yet they’d made a deal and Todd hadn’t held up his end, so as far as Jack was concerned, this was justice.
Todd’s parents, as expected, weren’t happy with their son’s behavior, and Jack had to hold in a smile when they shoved Todd into a small cage. The young shifter let out a long, pitiful meow.
“Sheriff Ulger, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to do about him,” Todd’s mother began.
Jack held up a hand. “No need to explain, Marian. He wasn’t stealing, and he wasn’t selling or buying drugs. Be thankful he’s just acting like a normal sixteen-year-old.”
Marian didn’t look happy but nodded, and Jack was sure she was relieved he wasn’t charging her son.
“Thanks, Jack,” Dirk said.
Jack smiled slightly and nodded at his childhood friend. They’d grown apart significantly over the years but he was glad to see Dirk had matured a great deal. He knew Marian was the major reason.
He took his leave a few minutes later and turned to see young Jaime Johansson across the street, playing basketball by himself. He was a gawky fourteen-year-old, and even in a town like Haven, where shifters of every kind lived together alongside human allies, Jaime’s case was unique. He was a shifter with human parents. The Johanssons had found him as an infant and taken him in. Deb and Patrick, an older couple without children, had seen Jaime as a blessing. That was, until he’d shifted for the first time, at age thirteen, into a beaver.
Jack was still amazed the Johannsons didn’t take Jaime somewhere where scientists would poke him with a stick. Instead, they somehow researched, dug deep, and found their way to Haven with their son. That was real love. He considered Haven damn lucky to have such an open-minded and decent couple.
They were also lucky that Jack was acting sheriff by then. He very much doubted that his father or brother would have allowed them to stay. He loved them both but, by Phoenix, they were stuck in the mud of tradition, and it fogged their sight. Sure, his brother, who was mayor, had thrown a fit but Jack hadn’t given a shit. Next month would mark his fifth year of being sheriff. It was also his birthday month. Shit, he’d be thirty-six.
“You’re not old,” he told himself. His wolf huffed.
Not wanting to disturb Jaime’s play, Jack turned and began a leisurely stroll toward the residential area of town.
“Hey Sheriff!”
Jack turned around and kept walking, only backward, when Bao, one of his deputies, pulled her patrol car closer to the curb and coasted along. Bao had only been with him a few months but she was priceless. She intimated like no one’s business and often cowered their unruly population into submission with only a look.
“What’s up?” he asked.
Bao was an enormous Asian bear shifter with a tough mind and no sense of humor. He was lucky to have her in his employ.
“You covering this sector? If so I can swing by City Hall and make sure the graffiti artists aren’t at it again.”
“In broad daylight? Even they aren’t that bold.”
Bao narrowed her eyes, golden skin stretching as she grimaced. Her resting face was quite fierce, so when she was trying? Beyond frightening. “I hope they are, the little assholes. I’d love to crack some skulls.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Deputy Bao, we’ve talked about this. No crushing the skulls of minors. Bad for business.”
Bao grumbled darkly. She wasn’t necessarily violent but her patience and tolerance meters were quite low.
“I got this sector,” Jack said. “Go on. Call me if the idiots are stupid enough to get caught.”
Bao grunted. “I keep telling the council they gotta put fucking cameras on the hall if they don’t want it vandalized. Then they moan and gripe about cost. Useless bunch of….” Then she spat out a short rant in Mandarin he didn’t understand at all.
He continued to walk backward and watch with helpless amusement.
“Feel better?” he asked when she finished.
Bao glared at him. “Yes. I do.” Then she pulled away from the curb, executed a flawless U-turn, and drove away.
Jack chuckled and spun around to continue his stroll. He loved that woman. Jena and Bao had butted heads at first, hating each other, but eventually they found a rhythm that worked, mostly when ganging up on him. He had a handful of part-time deputies that worked erratic schedules that Rae, his main dispatcher, coordinated. He enjoyed his crew and appreciated all they brought to the table.
Several minutes later, he grinned wide when he recognized the large figure walking ahead of him. Jack jogged up to his friend. Travis stopped and turned, a smile on his broad face. The sun glinted off his shades, and Jack had to tip his head back, considering Travis
was a good five inches taller.
“Morning, Sheriff,” Travis said.
“And a good morning it is,” Jack said. At least, he considered it a good morning, now that he was in Travis’s company. Jack noticed the two bags of groceries in the crook of Travis's left elbow while Travis held the cane out before him in his right.
“One of these days I’m going to wear different cologne and try to trick you,” Jack said. “Your sense of smell is just too damn good in this form.”
Travis chuckled. “I’ve told you before, it’s not your scent. Or not just. Your gait also gives you away. And besides, who else would be crazy enough to take a stroll in this cold?”
Jack laughed. “Let me take those.” He grabbed the bags from Travis before his friend could protest. He continued down the sidewalk, Travis beside him. A few citizens were outside, starting their cars and shoveling out their driveways.
“You could have just taken one,” Travis said. But he didn’t make any attempt to get them back.
“I know,” Jack said, amused at the difference of reaction from years ago. He’d learned quickly that Travis’s initial hostility wasn’t anything personal. It mostly Travis trying to keep up barriers so he wouldn’t be hurt, as well as resisting any hint of pity. So Jack had done everything in his power to prove that he was trustworthy.
Then the mill incident on Halloween night and the aftermath. Jack swallowed hard. After that day, he’d done what his father told him and stepped away. The strangest part was, Travis didn’t seem the least bit surprised. Whenever they encountered each other, they were cordial, respectful, the banter easy without hostility, but it was a distant friendliness. Jack had hated it since he not only missed his friend but he’d developed a crush. Yet he wanted to make his father proud, and he believed the future he wanted could only be his if he listened to the old wolf.
“Todd get caught in the adult shop again?” Travis asked.
Jack shook himself back to the present. “How’d you know that was why I was here?”
“You came from the general direction of his house. Lucky guess.”
Jack knew it was more than a guess. Despite being blind, Travis “saw” better than anyone Jack had ever known.
“Yep, had to tell his parents this time. Cheeky cat.”
Travis chuckled. “Don’t tell me you never did something like that when you were a young wolf.”
Jack snorted. “Of course, I did. I just never got caught. Have you met my dad?”
They both laughed.
Jack lengthened his strides to match Travis’s. The guy was elegantly thick and tall, and yet he was the gentlest shifter Jack had ever met. Travis had a deep voice yet was soft-spoken. The children of the neighborhood adored Travis, and when he was younger, he used to happily babysit. He was so gentle and sweet, the kids called him their teddy bear, despite the fact he was a cougar shifter. Jack always wondered where all that gentleness came from, considering how biting Travis could be. Also, since cougars, more than any other feline shifter, weren’t known for being warm and fuzzy. Especially since most of the male cougars he’d met were smug assholes. Though the same could be said for wolves. Cougars were exquisitely efficient killing machines, built for sneaking up on their prey with enviable stealth and grace and taking it down in a way that minimized any chance of injury to themselves. Jack knew about prowling and predation, but he still could admire the particular beauty of a feline predator.
Feathered soft blond hair framed Travis’s face, and he had a sexy dusting of hair covering his chin. Jack knew Travis’s eyes used to be blue but the first and last time he’d seen them, they’d been disfigured. Travis never spoke of his blindness or the events surrounding it. Jack had his guesses, puzzle pieces picked up through the years. Yet he knew better than to pry.
His father never even wrote down whatever Trixie had told him all those years ago when Travis first arrived. Jack had searched every single file, both physical and digital and came up with nothing. If he wanted to learn about Travis’s past, he’d have to ask the source.
Travis turned left at exactly the right spot in front of his house. Jack would always marvel and appreciate how easily his friend navigated the world.
“You working on a new book?”
“Yeah. Delilah just returned from vacation so we’ll hopefully meet up in the next few days.” He took off his glove to pull his keys out of his pocket. He fingered the different keys before finding the right one.
“I still miss a step when I go up my own stairs,” Jack said. “You do it so smoothly.”
Travis snorted. “Not always. The second day after I bought the place was a delight. Splat, right there in front of everyone helping me move. But memory’s all I got, right?”
His tone was light, but Jack heard the dark undertone to Travis’s words.
“Must have been before I swung by.”
“Yeah, about thirty minutes. Surprised no one told you.”
“Del must have threatened them.”
“She’s good at that.”
They stepped inside, and Jack shut the door with his boot. He walked into the kitchen and set the bags on the counter. Travis’s house was small and comfortable. The front door opened into the modest living room that held a couch, two chairs, and a little-used TV. A large bookshelf was in the corner and contained not only braille books but small cougar figurines. There were no pictures, for obvious reasons. To the right of the living room was the kitchen. It was probably the biggest room in the house, and Travis kept it exceptionally clean. The bedroom was straight across from the front door, and its door was currently shut. Jack had never been in there, much to his frustration.
Many of the books were ones Travis had published. He co-authored with Delilah, both using a single pen name. He’d record his thoughts, notes, and sections of the books, and Delilah would type everything up and add her own flare. They made a good team and made piles of money from their bestselling mystery and suspense thrillers. Jack also suspected that he was the inspiration for one of the latest novels, though he kept his thoughts to himself. Didn’t want to appear too egotistical.
He had signed copies in his apartment. He owned all of them.
“Thanks,” Travis said, coming in behind him. He immediately started to unload the bags, moving gracefully around the chairs, counter, and table with the ease of someone who could see exactly where everything was. The jars and boxes of food in the cabinets were marked with braille labels to indicate what they were. Then Jack noticed that the food containers Travis was taking out of his bags had braille labels already on them.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “The shopkeepers provide you with those labels?”
Travis smiled. “No, I brought them. I always bring labels now. It makes everything easier when I get home.”
“You put them on yourself at the shop?”
“No, Billy, Mr. Allocott's son does it for me.”
“I'm shocked!” Jack said. “You let them help you?”
Travis laughed. “Oh, shut up.”
Jack grinned, watching. Then his smile slipped. The side effect of college was that the pedestal he’d placed his father upon had fallen hard. He still loved and respected him but the truth of his flaws had glared brightly. Whether right or wrong, Jeffrey Ulger’s path didn’t have to be his son’s path. Jack wasn’t his father. And that was okay.
Five years, mostly spent away from home. During the summers he’d return only to work as a deputy, gaining field experience, his desire to be sheriff never flagging. He barely saw Travis during all that time, since Travis was getting his own education, with Delilah’s help, and working on his first novel.
Then Jack graduated and returned home. The first time running into Travis after all that time had been eye-opening. The crush became deeper. He’d rekindled the closer friendship of their younger years, keeping it quieter lest his father or brother stick their nose in. So he couldn’t act on it, not then. Now he was sheriff, with a good reputation, and his own man.
/>
So there he stood, in Travis’s kitchen, about to try once again to change everything between them. He’d been subtly flirting with Travis for months and kept being kindly rebuffed. He scented arousal, detected interest, and that kept hope alive. Though he was still scared. He stuck his hands into his coat pockets and told himself they were sweating because he still had on gloves.
“Hey Travis, I’d like to ask you, do you want to have dinner with me sometime this week?”
His friend turned from the cabinets and frowned at him. “I don’t know.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, you ‘don’t know’?”
Travis shrugged. Jack wanted to sink his teeth into his friend’s broad shoulders. He always did have a weakness for men with broad shoulders.
“I mean, if it’s between friends then sure but….” Travis lowered his head and fingered the jar in his hand.
“Look, it can be between friends if that’s what you’re comfortable with.” Jack hoped to Phoenix it wasn’t. “But I like spending time with you, and so I’m asking you to dinner. Okay?”
Travis nodded. “Okay. Sorry for sounding… I don’t know.”
Jack did his best to ignore the jab to his heart and walked up Travis. He decided to speak a bit plainer and started to fidget, happy that Travis couldn’t see him. “Look, no pressure, okay? I like you. I respect you. And I also like looking at you.”
Travis smiled. “Wish I could say the same.”
Jack laid his hand on Travis’s shoulder and felt him draw back slightly. But he didn’t let go. “I think you can. Sometimes, Travis, I think you do see me, and everyone else, somehow better than anyone.”
Travis lifted his head, and Jack saw his own reflection in those shades. “I was such a dick to you. For over a year. Yet you were also so nice, always there for me. Why?”
