by T. S. Joyce
His own server had left him alone after bringing him a beer and a burger basket. He’d been on empty with his beer for ten minutes, but she was busy talking to someone near the kiosk. He could hear her laughter from here. If Morgan was serving his table, he bet she would’ve had another beer out before he’d taken the last sip of the first one.
When Morgan bustled his way toward the bathroom that was near him, he leaned forward, rested his elbows on the table, and smiled when she saw him. Her green eyes went round as the moon, and she skidded to a stop. Just locked her legs and quit moving.
“H-hi,” she stammered.
“I got an interesting call this morning. Do you have a long enough break to chat?”
“Oh, no. I’m just taking a restroom break, and then it’s back to my tables. Took me half an hour to make sure they were all caught up so they don’t need anything…while…I…pee. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t talk about peeing with you.”
Liam chuckled. Funny girl and she got flustered easy. Cute. “It’s fine. Everybody pees. When do you get off work?”
She fidgeted, shifting her wait from one foot to the other. “Uuuuuh, why?”
He nodded once. “To talk.”
Morgan looked behind her quick and then came closer. “Look, mister, I can’t be seen with you.”
“You got a reputation to protect?” he teased.
“I got my safety to protect.”
Her answer ripped the smile right from his face, and he swallowed a growl down. “Who would hurt you?” he asked low.
“That’s not your problem. I gave my warning. I wish you luck.” And then she made her way into the bathroom, the door swinging closed behind her.
Well, hell, that hadn’t gone like he’d thought.
His phone buzzed with a text, so he pulled his attention away from where Morgan had disappeared to check the message from Holt.
Where are you?
Liam frowned. Hunting. Send.
Hunting what?
A girl. Send.
Leave that swamper girl alone. I need to talk to you.
Huh, he’d guessed about Morgan. Maybe Holt wasn’t as dumb as Liam thought he was. Talk to me about what? Send.
Man, I never ask you for anything. I need to talk to someone. I’m fucking asking for help with something. Stop being a prick and just meet me. I came up to the car lot but you aren’t here.
Holt Lachlan needed help with something? From Liam? He needed to invest in snowshoes because Hell was officially freezing over.
It’s my day off from the lot. Meet me at the gas station. Send.
What gas station?
The only one in town you fuckin’ idiot. Send.
Oh. Okay see you in ten.
Morgan bustled past him, and he lifted his finger to say something, but she ignored him completely. Huh. He wasn’t used to girls ignoring him. He didn’t know why, but it made him smile a little. Up until the point when he saw one of her tables emptying change out of their pockets for a tip. It couldn’t be more than $0.75 tip for four people. When Morgan saw it, she looked disappointed but still told them thank you as they walked out ignoring her.
Assholes.
She scooped the pennies and nickels off the table and put them into a change pouch she pulled from her apron, then she cleared off the table, a look of utter defeat etched onto her face. All four of the men had gotten big meals and talked filthy to her while leaning back in their chairs and staring at her ass. They’d ordered two drinks apiece so that ticket had to be big, yet they gave her the change and lint from their pockets? That’s all she got for putting up with them for an hour, running around getting them everything they asked for?
Fuck them. He didn’t know why it made him so mad, but it did. He stood up and pulled a twenty out of his wallet. He’d already paid and tipped on his meal, but as he walked by Morgan’s table, he tossed the money on the table and made his way out of the restaurant.
“Hey, assholes,” he called to the four roughnecks loading into a new Ford. “If you can’t afford to tip? Don’t go out to eat.” And this was the part where his dominant gator temper was going to get the best of him because one of them was dumb enough to turn around and square up. This was gonna be fun.
“Liam!”
His name on Morgan’s lips froze him in his tracks. What the hell? Liam tried to move toward the jackass glaring at him by the truck, but he couldn’t.
“Not even fuckin’ worth it,” the man yelled.
Liam didn’t swallow the rumble in his throat this time. Morgan stomped right around him like a tiny, furious tornado and held up his twenty. “What is this?”
“A tip?”
“Take them sunglasses off so I can look at you directly while I light you up.”
“Not the best idea right now—”
“I’m not talking to a man who wears sunglasses inside like some cocky—”
Good and pissed off, Liam ripped off his sunglasses and let her see what he was hiding. His gator was riled up, and his eyes would be bright greenish gold with long reptile pupils.
She gasped and staggered back a few steps then held. She looked at an old Chevy truck in the parking lot as if she wanted to run. But then she lifted her chin, straightened her spine, and closed the gap between them. She wouldn’t meet his eyes—she was staring at her ratty sneakers—but she wasn’t using those sneakers to run either. She pressed the twenty dollar bill into his hand. “I ain’t no charity case. I only take what I earn.”
And that right there wasn’t the only thing he wanted to know about her. But right now, it was all he needed to know.
She left him speechless as she strode back inside, leaving him holding his money and his sunglasses, and equal parts pissed, baffled, and interested. She’d just come out here and clipped his legs out from under him and then walked away like it was nothing.
She’d yanked his monster to a stop with one word—his name. Maybe she wasn’t just a swamper’s daughter. Maybe she was a witch, too.
No woman had ever done that to him, and the man in him wanted to hate that control she had over him.
But the beast in him kinda liked it.
Chapter Three
Holt Lachlan was freaking out.
Liam could tell that much the second he pulled into the old gas station. The owner, Jasper Sutherland, was sitting outside in his lawn chair, making sure no one drove off without paying. He was drinking a beer and staring at Holt, who was parked to the side of the pumps, pacing in front of his old Bronco and talking to himself.
Liam parked beside him and counted to three on a steadying breath before he plastered a smile on his face like he cared about whatever-the-fuck was up with Holt. He shoved his door open and meant to say something in a concerned tone, but honestly, his animal didn’t do feelings, so it came out as a gruff, “What in Satan’s ballsack is wrong with you?”
“Ha!” Jasper laughed out across the parking lot. Old coot had good hearing.
“This wasn’t the plan,” Holt said, running his hands through his burred hair.
“Plans change?” Shit, Liam wasn’t good at this. Should he pat his shoulder?
He reached out to do so when Holt paced close to him, but Holt growled and snapped his teeth with an audible clack, so Liam dropped his hand to his side.
“Look, I’m not a mind-reader, so let’s cut out this weirdness and just tell me what’s—”
“Baby gatah.” Oooh, his accent was thick right now. Holt was really freaking out. “Baby gatah, she’s got a baby in her. My baby. I did that to her. Liam, what the fuck am I going to do?”
“Uuuuh, I think you already did it?” Liam avoided the urge to make a jerking off motion because Holt’s eyes looked psychotic right now, and big dominant alligator shifters like him didn’t need to be provoked. “Congratula—”
“Don’t you even fuckin’ say it.”
Liam cleared his throat and frowned. “Hey, Jasper?”
Sluuuuurp. Jasper stopped drinking at his can lo
ng enough to yell, “Whatever lover’s quarrel you freaks got goin’ on, I ain’t want no part of it.”
“Can I buy a beer?”
“Ten bucks,” he said without even a millisecond of hesitation.
“Aw, for fuck’s sake, Jasper, they’re two bucks inside!”
“But they ain’t this convenient and they ain’t this cold,” he said, gesturing to a Styrofoam cooler. His smile was missing three teeth.
Liam rolled his eyes closed and prayed for patience as he nodded.
“Incoming!”
Liam barely opened his eyes fast enough to catch the beer that wa launched at his face. Ice flung from the top when it made contact with his hands. “Dammit, Jasper, what if I hadn’t caught that?” Liam demanded.
“All-state fancy schmancy running back for this town, and we ain’t seen a season as close to state as when you two freaks were playing football for us.” Jasper sneered, but maybe it was his attempt at a genuine smile? “I trusted you to catch it.”
“Awesome,” Liam muttered, handing it over to Holt.
And Holt, that classy gator, bit a hole in the side of that beer, pulled the tab, and shot-gunned the whole thing in three gulps.
“It’s noon,” Liam said.
Holt made the aaaaaah sound and chucked the empty against the wall of the gas station. It bounced off and into the trashcan beside it.
“It was sure fun watchin’ y’all play basketball, too!” Jasper called out.
Damn small towns, nobody forgot anything.
“Are you okay?” Liam asked. He didn’t really care, but he’d heard humans ask questions like that.
Holt closed the gap between them and lowered his voice. “Liam, I didn’t want babies. I thought Bre couldn’t even have them, and that was part of the deal.”
“Okaaaaay. Why don’t you want babies?” His voice sounded robotic, but again, he didn’t care about any of this. Morgan’s face flashed across his mind. She had feelings. Maybe he should practice on Holt. With a bit of emotion behind it, he tried to sound like he cared as he asked again, “Why don’t you want babies?”
“She’s gonna leave, man. She’s gonna see how hard this is and leave.”
“Not if she has a girl,” Liam pointed out. “She’ll be human.”
“Oh, you know damn well she’s carryin’ a boy. Lachlans always have boys. She’s carryin’ a shifter. A monster.”
“You ain’t a monster, and I’m not a monster, so watch where you’re tossing that word.”
“Yes, you are,” Holt hissed out. “Do you remember how hard it was raising us? On Gram? On your parents? Where are they, Liam? Huh? Where did your parents go? Where did mine go?”
Anger sizzled through his veins, and he lowered his voice. “Your dad died, Holt. He didn’t quit on you.”
“And my mom? Your mom? How long did it take them to figure out they can’t raise gator boys?”
“Chhhh,” Liam spat out, giving Holt his back. He shook his head at the woods beside the station. He didn’t like scratching at those memories. “Bre’s different.”
“How can you be sure?” Holt’s voice was hoarse, and now Liam got it. He’d never seen Holt scared before. This is what fear looked like in a creature that had been groomed for loneliness but let himself fall in love.
Love? Had he ever thought of that word before?
This awful feeling snaked through his gut, and Liam swallowed hard, trying to get it to stop. This empty…longing. What the hell was happening to him?
He and Holt hadn’t been friends since they were boys. Mostly, their animals fought if they Changed too close together in the swamps, so they kept clear of each other, but he didn’t want Holt to… Fuck, he didn’t even know. He didn’t want Holt to…feel? Feel bad?
Liam leaned against the fender of his old mustang and crossed his arms. “Look, I’m gonna be shitty at this, Holt, but I’m gonna try. This whole feeling shit thing you’re making me do is uncomfortable, and I don’t want to do it again after today. But here’s my honest thoughts. Bre is fuckin’ awesome, and anyone who watched her news story could tell she’s sure devoted to you. And hell if I know why. You’re terrible. But she sees something in you that made her loyal. How did she tell you she was pregnant?”
“I caught her crying in the bathroom. I don’t know what to do with the tears. I just sat on the floor and pulled her into my lap. She curled up in my arms and blurted it out.”
What would it be like to have a woman feel so safe that she would curl up in Liam’s arms? He couldn’t imagine it. “Was it sad tears or happy tears? Because I think with humans they can do both.”
“It was…worried tears?”
“Worried,” Liam repeated. Oh good, there was a third option. He was having so much fun with this rocket science.
“She said she was scared I was going to be mad.”
“Okay. Okay, that’s good. She wasn’t sad, just nervous you would be disappointed.”
“Wait, what?”
“She didn’t want you to be disappointed that she was pregnant. Right?”
Holt’s eyes went big. “I don’t fuckin’ know,” he said on a breath.
Liam frowned. “Well, how did you react?”
“I went to the car lot, and then I called you.”
“Youuu…left her there? While she was crying?”
“Dude, she’s going to leave! Did you miss that part? I panicked, man. I just kissed her on her face sixteen times like a psychopath and carried her to our bedroom. I set her on the bed and, I dunno, drove to the car lot. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Cool. Cool, cool, cool, this is the moment I realize I’m the smartest out of the two of us.”
“Liam, stop joking, I’m freaking out!”
Liam reared back and punched him. Just blasted him across the jaw. As hard as he could, he aimed for a knockout. Holt went down but caught himself on one arm and then stood back up, the dust of the gravel parking lot stirring up around them. The rumble in Holt’s chest and the color of his eyes said he was nice and pissed. “What—the fuck—did you do that for?” he asked, rubbing his jaw.
“Well, do you feel better?”
“No! I’d feel better if I hit you back!”
Liam let off a sigh-growl. He stood to his full height and lifted his chin. “One shot, make it count.”
Boom! Holt clocked him. Liam flew backward and hit the rear end of his mustang. Pain, pain, pain! Fuck, he had a mean right hook. Liam spat blood that was seeping into his mouth from a split lip. Panting, he stood up straight again. “Now do you feel better?”
“A little.”
“Y’all are fuckin’ weird,” Jasper enlightened them.
“Holt, you’re going to make a great dad,” Liam said suddenly.
“W-what?”
Liam wiped his bloody mouth. “When we were kids, you always stuck up for me. You defended me if anyone messed with me, and I looked at you like an older brother instead of just a cousin, you know? I know you’ll protect Bre. Your gator won’t let anything happen to her. I see y’all when you’re out. The way you move around her? The way she moves around you? That woman knows she’s safe. She’s gonna give you a boy, and he’ll grow a Lachlan gator inside of him. There’s nothing you can do about that. But do you want to know the most important part of your son? I’ll give you a hint, it ain’t the gator.”
Holt shook his head and shrugged one shoulder slightly. “What’s the most important part of him?”
“The man you teach him to be.”
Holt bit his lip and frowned down at the pavement for a few seconds before he said, “I have an admission.”
“Well lets fuckin’ hear it since it’s therapy day.”
“I hope he looks like Bre.”
Liam scrunched up his face. “Don’t we all. Nobody wants your ugly mini-me running around town.”
When Holt shoved him in the arm, Liam didn’t even growl.
“You know what I mean,” Holt said. “I never wanted to pu
t the Lachlan curse in a kid, and now I sure don’t want to lose Bre if things get too hard. But maybe, sometimes, it’s not so bad to think about having a kid with her. She’s special.”
“She ain’t gonna leave you,” Liam predicted. “I’m calling it. She’s different, man. Now it’s your job to mentally prepare her and have her back and help her raise that gator boy. Help her be the best Lachlan mate since your Gram. Here’s what you need to do—humans are sensitive and I don’t think you should’ve left Bre alone, thinkin’ you’re disappointed in her because of that baby in her. You get her some flowers or something, and you say you’re sorry for walking out like that. You support her, and you wrap your head around being a dad, and you never stop working on being a good mate for her because that woman deserves the effort. We’re gonna have a baby in the Lachlan house.” Liam smiled. “That in itself is pretty cool.”
“Yeah?” Holt asked, his eyes hopeful.
Liam nodded. “Yeah, man. You’re lucky. Not all shifters find what you did.” Geez, why did his voice sound all sad and mopey when he said that? Get it together, self.
“You can keep your ten bucks,” Jasper called. “This is the best show I’ve ever seen.”
Holt snorted. He hooked his hands on his hips and looked at Liam. “Thanks, man.”
“Don’t mention it. Seriously. Ever. This was terrible.”
“Should we hug now?”
“Fuck off, never call me again.”
“I’m gonna be a dad,” Holt muttered under his breath as he got inside his Bronco. But this time, he didn’t sound so freaked out. More like…awed.
As Holt drove away, Liam bit back a smile so his cousin wouldn’t see it in his rearview. Liam had made someone feel better. And it was Holt. He would never admit it, but deep, deeeeeeep, down inside…he still thought of him as a big brother.
