Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Author’s Note
About the Author
Mixed bloodlines and a surprising urge to find a mate drive Scarlet into the arms of the one male in the Crossroads bar that isn’t looking.
Scarlet is content to be the product of two very different cultures and slightly oddball parents. She has her job, her home, and her family, so why would she want anything else?
The wild magic in her veins is looking for an outlet, and it wants to bring forward the next generation.
With no prospects in her area, the Crossroads is offered as a chance to find a mate, so Scarlet packs light and heads out to seek the man she hasn’t even thought about.
Hiro is an architect doing design work for the Crossroads as he has for years. When he sees the lady with brilliant hair dismissing an eager suitor with the deft twist of her wrist, bringing the idiot to his knees, Hiro knows that he wants to find out what brought her to the Crossroads, even if he can’t offer it to her.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Scarlet’s Dilemma
Copyright © 2017 Zenina Masters
ISBN: 978-1-4874-1738-3
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books Inc or
Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc
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Scarlet’s Dilemma
Shifting Crossroads Book 45
By
Zenina Masters
Chapter One
She flipped the cards over, one by one. They said the same thing no matter how many times she drew them. She was at a crossroads. Love at the crossroads.
Scarlet growled and pulled the cards back into a deck. She was going to be late for work, and nothing made folks who needed caffeine more aggressive than having to wait for it.
On her way to the front door, she paused to put her shoes on while her hand groped for her apron.
“Scarlet, you are going to be late,” her mother’s voice called it out from the kitchen.
“I will be on time if I leave now. Night, Mom.”
“Have a good shift, dear.” Her mom remained in the kitchen, working on dinner.
Scarlet smiled and closed the door behind her as she headed out of the house, down the path, and into the woods. It took her five minutes to make it through the thick shade, but she eventually came out in an area as wide open and bright as the path had been dim.
She pulled her apron on and was finished tying it when she walked through the door. The place was busy with hikers and locals. She stuck to the wall and made her way past the counter and into the back. “Hey, Dad.”
He smiled. “You are right on time, Scarlet. What is your mom up to?”
“Making your dinner. My guess is you have half an hour.” As she spoke, she started pulling the coffees that weren’t simply coffee. Her mouth may be moving, but her hands were busy. Her hands were always busy if she could manage it.
They cleared the backlog with Sara taking orders and Scarlet and her father filling them. They worked well together, not stumbling into each other, and soon, the shop was full of folks who were happily slurping their coffees.
Arthur Wilson cocked his head and left Sara at the counter for a moment while he went to the small office. Scarlet followed him.
“What’s up, Dad?”
“What did the cards say, darlin’?” He smiled slowly.
“They were weird. They kept saying that I was at a crossroads. That love would be in the crossroads. I have no idea what it was about, but six layouts later and it was the same. I am stumped.”
He sighed. “I will walk you back to the house tonight, and I will explain what it means then. Okay?”
She gave him a thumbs-up and headed back to work. Six hours of working the shop and closing up would drag by; she had the feeling that she was going to hear something important. She almost flubbed her next order just thinking about it.
She worked away from the front and just kept the coffee flowing. Their mix of locals, campers, hikers, and the occasional lost soul who could smell coffee were as lively as ever.
When they announced the closure of the shop, it was met with groans. The run for the last of the pastries made an intense ten minutes, but the happy faces that left the shop were a great way to end the night.
“I’ll take the shop if you take behind the counter?” Scarlet smiled.
“Of course. You keep it clean enough for surgery back here.” Sara grinned and started scrubbing.
Scarlet wiped down the tables, top and bottom, wiped off the chairs, and then went to get the broom.
As she swept, she hummed. There was nothing she liked better than a clean wood floor. Sara got the mop ready for her, and when all of the pastry, paper, and pebbles were cleared up, it was time to give it a good scrubbing.
Sara went through and put the chairs and stools on the tables, leaving a clear path for Scarlet to finish mopping up. The floors gleamed, and the smell of coffee and lemon oil filled the air.
“Okay, Sara. Have a good night. I’ll lock up.” Scarlet waved her off.
“See you later, Scarlet. Have a good night.”
Scarlet washed out and hung up the mop in the back. There was always a need for a clean mop, and keeping it ready for action was important.
The warm water felt good on her hands as she scrubbed up. The dishwasher was running, the washing machine for aprons and towels was whirring, and the moment that all the mechanicals were quiet, she hung up the wash in the back entryway where the staff came and went. It was open to the air and guarded with netting to keep out mosquitos.
A third check to make sure that the door was locked and she moved through the coffee shop toward the back, turning lights off as she went.
She wasn’t worried about locals breaking into the shop. All the trouble they had had over the years were due to campers trying to get grabby. Her dad had sorted them out, but then, no one expected a big foot to come charging out of the woods when his daughter called.
Scarlet wrinkled her nose at the memory. For some reason, when confronted by eight feet of snarling and hairy furious father, they had all pissed themselves. It was definitely not dignified, nor was the high-pitched scream that came out of them afterward.
“You are amused by something.” Her father’s voice came out of the woods.
“Of course. I am a cheerful person by nature.” She grinned and followed the deep shadow into the unending midnight beneath the trees.
“It was not a cheerful smile.”
She snickered. “No, it
was not. Good catch.”
He turned and gave her a smile with his white fangs and red eyes glowing. “It was an easy guess. You are my blood, after all.”
“What did mom make for dinner?”
He sighed and continued toward their expansive cabin. “She got a new cookbook, so I think that kimchi was involved.”
Scarlet covered her mouth so that she didn’t let out the amused cackle. Biyu Wilson was a child of two worlds. Scarlet’s grandmother had a quick relationship with a member of the American military who happened to be a shifter with compatible bloodlines. Biyu could pass for full Chinese with a little makeup, but it meant a life outside her shifter circle. When she was an adult, she had an arranged marriage, but when her new husband’s family found out she was half-blooded, they shunned her and drove her away.
Arthur Wilson was a hiker, going on his round-the-world pilgrimage before he settled down in the mountains of his home and tried to decide whether he wanted to join the human world or shun it. This was big coming-of-age stuff for a sasquatch.
He found Biyu and settled her in a small home on the outskirts of the village at the edge of the Himalayas. Arthur spent weeks getting knowledge and insight from yetis, and when he returned, Biyu always had a meal waiting for him.
At one point, they decided to make their connection official, and the paperwork began to get Biyu and her soon-to-be child into North America.
Emery Bao Wilson was born one week after his mother arrived in the coldest winter that the locals could remember. Scarlet thought of her brother as she walked up the steps of the deck and took her shoes off at the edge of the landing before the deck itself.
The seat cushions were set evenly around the table, and there was always a spot set for Emery, even though he was halfway around the world running a food truck.
The cooking gene had all gone to Emery. By the time Scarlet had entered the kitchen, her fascination had gone to setting the table and making everything tidy. Her dad joked and said that she was more raccoon than red panda. Scarlet always pokered up and said that raccoons make a mess and she fixes it.
Arthur was pretty happy with the family he hadn’t planned for. When he was in his human form, it was all over his face.
Her mom smiled and said, “Sit, sit. We are just waiting for one more.”
Scarlet looked at the empty space. “Emery?”
“No, we need to explain something to you, and we weren’t sure how to do it, so Hanna is coming to help us get through the definition.”
Scarlet grinned as she took her seat. “Aunt Baby?”
Footsteps on the stairs caught her attention, and another dark-furred sasquatch came up and onto the deck.
Biyu brought robes from a hook inside, and soon, Arthur and Aunty Hanna were seated and ready for experimental dinner.
Hanna Wilson was two years younger than Scarlet, and she really got annoyed at the tag of Aunt Baby. It was accurate. She was a late addition to the Wilson family and had arrived two years after her niece.
Multi-generational families were fun.
They held hands before they picked up their flat metal chopsticks and began to dip into the bubbling cauldron of stew on the small burner in the centre of the table.
Biyu smiled and picked up a lettuce leaf. “You can either eat the stew with rice, or you can pile it up on the leaf, fold it, and eat it that way.”
Scarlet tried the leaf. “Asian taco, here I come.”
“Use some of the side dishes, Scarlet. They are supposed to add to the flavour.”
“I will try them. This looks promising.” She scooped up some shredded daikon covered in drizzled soy sauce and dropped it on the lettuce. She went fishing in the communal pot and snagged a chunk of beef that nearly fell apart as she extracted it. Once the meat was on the radish, all eyes were on her. She rolled and folded the leaf into a packet and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth.
Scarlet hung onto the edge of the table as she chewed and swallowed, her sinuses burned clear, and she was pretty sure she could see through time. “Mom, that is not daikon. That is wasabi.” The tablespoon she had taken was slowly making its way down to her stomach.
Her dad was staring at her in horror. “Wasabi?”
Biyu smiled. “It was on sale. The daikon was just too big. I used it in the stew and saved the other radish for the side. Is it tasty?”
She exhaled slowly. “That is a word for it.”
Biyu settled happily, and everyone else kept eating. Scarlet looked at her mom and fought the urge to strangle her. As long as the food had flavour, Biyu was happy. If the flavours didn’t match, who cared?
After a few minutes of silent eating, Hanna cleared her throat. “Arthur says you have been seeing the Crossroads in your readings.”
“I have been seeing the definition of crossroads, followed by love, in all my readings for the last two weeks. Do you know what it means?”
“It means that you need to learn how you came into this world via two different shifter species. It shouldn’t have been possible, but here you are.”
Scarlet ate a hot pepper that wasn’t even close to the wasabi from earlier. “So, how am I here?”
“The Crossroads. It is an interdimensional space where folks can get together, and their families and magic are connected so that children are possible. You were born out of that possibility. Arthur and Biyu went to the Crossroads for a few days after Emery was born. They came back a legally bonded pair, and you appeared nine months later.”
“Well, heck. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?”
Arthur ducked his head and kept fishing for his favourite parts of the stew. “We thought you would find a nice human and settle down. Maybe a raccoon or something.”
“Why does everyone say raccoon? I only dated him once, and he was a jerk.” She sighed. “Okay, so what is the deal with the Crossroads? How do I get there, and do I need a mate before I go?”
Hanna flipped a business card out of thin air. “Here you go. You call, she or he will schedule a departure, and you head out there and stay until you find a mate.”
“How much does it cost?”
“The stuff that you buy there is usually applied to your credit card. Food, clothing, lodging, it is all available.”
Scarlet paused. “So, there are guys there just milling around?”
Hanna waved her chopsticks in the air. “There are always folks there. Some come, some go, and I have even heard that they are letting the fey in now. You can sign a contract for a few days or weeks. I think you have to get clearance for that, though.”
“Why is this happening all of a sudden?”
Biyu smiled. “You are probably about to go into heat. Your beast wants a mate.”
Scarlet’s consciousness went numb as the rest of her family chatted and made plans for the meal they would have when Scarlet brought her new mate home. It was inevitable. Her beast wanted a mate, so she would have to go and get one.
Chapter Two
Scarlet stepped out of the light and into the open-roofed building that was the Meditation Centre.
The Asian touches of zen-styled garden and a small pool were cute and oddly soothing.
A woman with white hair came toward her with her brow furrowed. “Scarlet Wilson?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You are... I thought you would be... you are a panda, right?”
Scarlet smiled. “Red panda. Like a red raccoon, only with a better reputation.”
“Oh. Right. Well, you have opted to stay at the bed and breakfast, so we will just finish your registration, and then, I will take you over.”
“Sounds good.” Scarlet shifted her pack.
She followed the woman toward a desk when the woman stopped short and whirled, stretching out her hand. “I am so sorry. I am Teal. I am one of the guardians of the Crossroads.”
Scarlet took her hand in an even grip. “Scarlet. Child of a red panda and a sasquatch.”
Teal’s eyes widened. “Not Biyu and
Arthur.”
Now, it was Scarlet’s turn to be surprised. “Yeah. Is there a record book or something with their names in it?”
Teal grinned. “There is, but I met your mother and your father when they demanded that they be allowed a formal union. Your mom is scary when she is angry.”
Scarlet stared at Teal. “You can’t be old enough.”
“Oh, I can. The position of Crossroads guardian carries a lot of perks, including spending more time with my mate than most sane women would like.” Teal chuckled and gestured for Scarlet to join her at the desk.
“Now, we have fey running around here, but if you—”
“No. Not interested. The sasquatch have enough wild magic working its way in. Taking on an enchanted mate is more than I am interested in doing.”
“Right. Fair enough. Don’t want to tinker with sleeping genetics.” Teal grabbed a bracelet with a small charm on it, and she double checked it for something before she tied it on Scarlet’s wrist.
“Here we go. Plain old shifter band. You can use that to buy anything here from dinner to shoes. Your bed and breakfast is run by a fey, but she’s married to a shifter. Teebie is an excellent hostess, but she is completely blue.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“No problem. Do you want a tour?”
Scarlet smiled. “Can Teebie give me tips?”
“Of course. Okay, you have your bag, so come this way. I will give you what information I can think of on the way.”
Teebie was wonderful, friendly, and exceedingly blue. By the time Scarlet made it to her room, she had consumed three cookies and two glasses of lemonade, along with the history of the Crossroads.
With a heavy sigh and a glance toward the reddening light outside, she set down her pack and pulled out her clothing. She selected a black cocktail dress with a flirty skirt for her first foray into the dating scene at the Crossroads.
Her heels were modest by her mother’s standards and nearly scandalous by her father’s. It was a happy medium.
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