She had a sneaking suspicion that made her run back to the bedroom. His clothes were gone. All that remained was her things. Running to the bathroom, she found his toiletries were also missing.
Tears filled her eyes. No, he would not do that to me! Not after last night. Not after giving him my heart.
There had to be an emergency. She ran and checked all the rooms, and finally found a short note on the table in the kitchen, unsure why she hadn't noticed it before.
It took her a few tries before she could make out the words. He had the worst handwriting she'd ever seen.
Dearest Kaitlyn, I could not wake you. I knew I could never say goodbye if I looked in your gorgeous eyes. I will return someday. Please forgive me, for I am yours, and you are mine. Jaxson.
"Someday?" she muttered to herself, feeling sick to her stomach. She sat down at the table and cried, her tears falling unchecked onto the 'Dear Kaitlyn' note.
Chapter Five
Kate sat in the back booth at Great Scotts, sipping at her chocolate milkshake. She could not stand to be alone anymore after Jaxson had left her, so she now spent her lunch at the restaurant on a daily basis. Fiona knew just how to make the milkshakes she craved, thick with extra chocolate, and two cherries on the giant mound of whipped cream.
Fiona slid into the other booth bench and grinned. "How are you today, Kate?"
"Feeling pretty good," Kate managed a smile. "The doctor says it's a boy." She splayed her hand over her growing belly.
"That's great! Do you have any names?"
"No, but it won't be Jaxson Jr," Kate grumbled, sucking up the rest of the milkshake through her straw.
"What about Michael? I have always loved that name." Fi reached over and patted Kate's hand. "Joshua is also nice."
"No 'J's," Kate said with a grimace. "And one day you'll have a child and you should name him Michael."
"I'd kind of need to have sex first," Fi admitted, her cheeks blushing as she glanced across the restaurant to Jace.
Kate turned to where Fiona was looking. "Oh, I see," she grinned. "He is an attractive young man. I would like to tell you that sex isn't all it is cracked up to be, but I'd be lying."
Fiona giggled and clasped her hand over her mouth when Jace looked her way. The door opened in the distance. "Can I get you anything else, Kate? I should seat those customers."
"No, sweetie, just the check." Kate gave her a brief smile as Fiona rushed to help the new patrons.
~*~*~*~
Stepping onto the first step of the house, Kate found a long white box. She squatted down using her knees since she could no longer touch her toes with the baby in the way. She picked up the box and took it inside, perching it on the arm of the couch as she pulled her coat, gloves, and boots off.
She opened the flue and lit a fire, finally turning her attention to the box. She untied the red bow, and pulled the lid off. A dozen roses greeted her, their fragrance a welcome change from the bland smells of winter. There was a single red rose amongst all the white. She found a small card with a pretty script of 'Kaitlyn' written across the front of the envelope.
She opened the envelope and slid out the card. "Motherfucker!" she yelled at the empty house. She never cursed, but it seemed appropriate given the name at the bottom of the card. Jaxson. Bastard! She almost ripped the card up to throw in the fire, but she was curious. After a deep breath, she read the words, knowing that someone at the flower shop had written it because it was legible.
Dearest Kaitlyn, I am sorry. There were complications. I promise I will be there as soon as I can. I am yours, and you are mine. Forever, Jaxson.
"This ain't Game of Thrones…I'm not your Khaleesi and you are definitely no Khal Drogo," she hissed. A flutter in her belly alarmed her. She'd never felt the baby move before. Was that good or bad? "Okay, they really said something about the moon and stars," she admitted, feeling calmer.
"You think I should forgive and forget, baby?" Kate rubbed at her belly a moment. "Fine, I may forgive him, but there will be no forgetting. I have the memory of an elephant."
Chapter Six
Kate was busy stringing popcorn to make garland for the tree. She had not celebrated Christmas, or any other holiday since Charlie died. But with the baby on the way, she wanted to at least do a little something.
The tree was small but fresh, so she would not have to deal with falling pine needles on the wooden floor. Since she had no idea where the decorations had been stored, and did not feel like climbing up to the second story of the shed, she used the ribbon from the box of traitor's roses as a topper to the tree, and the popcorn garland would be the only decoration. Better than nothing, she mused.
The sudden thought that her baby would be crawling the next time this holiday rolled around was equally exciting and terrifying.
The door burst open to her left and the traitor was suddenly standing there. "Get the fuck out of my house!" she snapped.
"Bloody hell, love, I have missed you!" He began to stomp the snow off his boots, placing the spare key left under the doormat on the small entrance table to the left of the door.
"Are you deaf? I said get out," she hissed in annoyance.
"I'm back for good! Tell me you missed me."
"Not on your life." She missed a kernel of popcorn and jabbed the needle into her skin, causing a drop of blood to bead up. She was on her way to sticking it in her mouth, when he got to her hand first.
Jaxson licked the blood off, moaning his enjoyment of the taste of her. He got down on his knees in front of her and peered up. "You are so beautiful, Kaitlyn."
Kate rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore him. She did notice he'd cute his hair short, though he had a few days' worth of stubble on his face.
"I closed my bank accounts and credit cards. I sold the houses. The property in Wales took the longest. The economy isn't what it used to be." He rubbed his hands along her legs, ignoring the giant bowl of popcorn in her lap, his eyes never leaving her face.
"Houses? Plural?" She could not help but raise a brow, then silently chided herself that she'd even spoken to him again.
"Yes, I had three. But it's all taken care of, and what's left of my possessions is on the porch. I can't wait to begin our life together, love!" He stood, rushed outside, and began to carry in boxes and suitcases. "Shall I put these in the guest bedroom for now?"
"I never said you could move in!" she exclaimed.
"Where else would I live, Kaitlyn? My life is here with you now." Jaxson gave her that twinkling eyed look of his before leaning in for a kiss.
Kate turned her face away before his lips touched hers. "If you stay, you're sleeping on the couch."
He chuckled. "I can't even sleep in the guest bedroom, love?"
"It's no longer a guest bedroom."
"Really? What is it?" His brows drew together in thought.
"See for yourself." When he walked away to the bedroom, she pushed herself off the couch.
"Kaitlyn, there are children's things in here." He walked back into the living room and paused at seeing her.
"Wow, you're smarter than you act," she said, placing a hand on her belly. She had been thin all her life, and the second the baby started growing, he took up more and more space so that she looked further along than she actually was. At four months, she looked at least six months or more. Stretch marks were going to be a bitch!
"You…" he trailed off, his mouth left hanging open.
"Didn't I tell you? Oh, that's right, you knocked me up and then ran off in the middle of the night. No way to contact you, no way to know where you were. Anyway, this baby is mine. I will raise him, and nurture him, and you will never see him. This is the part where you disappear and I never see you again." She pointed to the door.
"We're having a son?" he whispered. He ran across the room and dropped to his knees in front of her, splaying his hands over the swell, kissing her belly.
"No, no," she tsk'd at him. "My son. You don't have a son…or maybe yo
u do, but it isn't this one." Kate put her hands on his forehead and attempted to push him away.
"Kaitlyn, please," he begged. "I didn't run away from you. I was just preparing to move here full time. You don't have a phone. And I knew if I tried to tell you in person I had to go away for a bit, that my resolve would crumble and I would wind up staying, delaying the start of our lives together."
"Yeah, sure. You think I will ever trust anything you say? Never again, Mr. Barnes." She managed to pull out of his hold and backed up, though he kept following her on his hands and knees. It seemed eerily like when he had followed her home the day they'd met, except he was on his feet that day. She backed against a wall, and his hands returned to her belly.
"I will spend the rest of our lives making this up to you and our son. I swear." He kissed her belly once more. He grabbed her left hand, fished the ring out of his pocket, and slid it on. "Marry me, Kaitlyn."
Kate looked down in utter shock at the large sapphire surrounded by diamonds. "N-"
He stood up and kissed her before she could say no.
She whimpered into his mouth, the addictive taste she had craved for so long was better than she remembered. Her inner horse whinnied, and she could swear she heard a soft purr too, inside her head. Our son.
Jaxson picked her up and carried her to their bed. "Merry Christmas, my love."
"And Happy New Year." Kate tugged him down on top of her.
EPILOGUE
Every day since Christmas, Kate always woke thinking that today would be the day her mate disappeared on her and the baby. Every day, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Jaxson was still there.
The addictive mating bond they shared, along with her rapidly expanding belly where their son grew, cemented their love.
Ian Jaxson Barnes was born on May 18th.
Kaitlyn Kalei became Mrs. Barnes on June 5th. And yes, she was Hawaiian, not Asian as her mate had once assumed.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
I hope you enjoyed my cute little shifter story. This was written after Healing A Shifter (book #2), so I called it a prequel.
The anthology in which it first appeared had length restrictions, so besides a few editing fixes, the story has not been lengthened or altered.
Kate and Jaxson appear in the Pepper Valley Shifters books going forward (as do all the other characters).
If you liked the story, I would love it if you left a short review wherever you purchased it.
About the Author
C.A. Tibbitts lives in Oklahoma, USA, with her husband of 18 years and a bossy parakeet. She has a degree as a paralegal and worked for the District Attorney's office, and before that, she worked as a travel agent.
Though she wrote for years as a hobby, her first published book was in August of 2014. Best known for her Pepper Valley Shifters series, she also has several short stories published with the Mystical Box Set Babes and in the Wickedly Exotic seasons series.
She loves to hear from her readers, and deeply appreciates honest reviews.
AUTHOR LINKS
http://www.catibbitts.com
https://www.facebook.com/C.A.Tibbitts
https://twitter.com/catibbitts
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8431484.C_A_Tibbitts
https://www.tsu.co/C_A_Tibbitts
https://www.pinterest.com/catibbitts/
http://google.com/+CATibbitts
OTHER BOOKS BY C.A. TIBBITTS
PEPPER VALLEY SHIFTERS
A Shifter Christmas, Pepper Valley Shifters #0 (contained within Mystical Xmas Box Set)
Shifter In Training, Pepper Valley Shifters #0.5 - Forrest Scott prequel (contained within Wicked After Dark - coming Oct. 2015)
Shifted For Love, Pepper Valley Shifters #1 (ebook & paperback)
Healing A Shifter, Pepper Valley Shifters #2 (ebook & paperback)
Twice Fated Shifter, Pepper Valley Shifters #2.5 (contained within Mystical New Love Box Set)
Shifter Under Cover, Pepper Valley Shifters #3 (ebook & paperback)
Star Crossed Shifters, Pepper Valley Shifters #4
~~Pepper Valley Shifters #5 - coming soon
ROYALTY OF VEZUL
Prince Of Vezul: Tallen, volume 1 (contained within Mystical Royal Love Box Set)
Prince Of Vezul: Brayden, volume 2 --coming soon
STANDALONE SHORT STORIES
Christmas In D.C. (contained within Wickedly Exotic Winter Erotic Wonderland Box Set)
Ghost Of A Chance (contained within Wickedly Exotic Spring Erotic Wonderland Box Set)
SEALed by Fate (contained within Mystical Hot Military Box Set - coming July 2015)
BOOK EXCERPTS
SHIFTED FOR LOVE, Pepper Valley Shifters #1
"One kiss, Jace. Just one," she begged, turning her face to meet his. Her hands slid over his as he still cupped her face delicately.
"One," he breathed into her mouth for a moment as if deciding their future, and then his mouth claimed hers, hard and fast. His fingers slid into her curls and he tugged her head closer.
Fiona’s lips opened with an excited gasp, and as their tongues touched, it was like a spark of electricity coursed through her entire body, curling her toes. He went deeper, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, tasting him, savoring him. His tongue slid along the side of hers and her nipples pebbled under her bra. She moaned, her fingertips gripping the back of his neck.
He pushed her back against the dinette wall, his hands sliding over her breasts as the kiss continued. She ran her leg that wasn’t pinned down by his body along his thigh. She gasped as he forced her pinned leg out to wrap around his waist, and he settled his hips between her thighs, her dress riding up dangerously high. Modesty flew out the window as she locked her legs around his waist and her panties dampened as his hard groin pressed against her.
"Fiona," he murmured, as he kissed the corner of her mouth and squeezed her breasts, his thumbs rubbing circles around and around her hard nipples on top of her clothing.
Her fingers moved to his shirt buttons as their eyes met. When his shirt was finally open, she slid her hands along his chest and he closed his eyes with a moan.
HEALING A SHIFTER, Pepper Valley Shifters #2 (available everywhere)
Damn, he was sexy as hell! He was a head taller than her, she knew from briefly transferring him twice, and she was 5'10". That would make him 6'5" at least, and built like a freaking tank. His black t-shirt hugged his chest, and even when sort of slumped down, there was a visible six-pack of abs. And his arms, those large arms covered in various black-shaded tattoos, would be the envy of any bodybuilder. His naturally jet-black hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, but went past his shoulders and had a slight curl to it. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but shifters aged at a much slower rate after getting past the hormonal teenage years.
She watched him strong arm himself of out the wheelchair and onto the couch. She quickly sat down beside him, placing the beer bottle aside, and shifted her body toward him. She breathed in the scent of him. His smell was so unique, the earthy scent of the woods, and all man. One of those manly men that could fix an engine motor, and tell a woman exactly what he wanted done to him in bed.
"What are you doing here, Dani? With me?" His eyes seemed to stare through her as though he could hear her thoughts.
"I think you're hot, Griffin." Was he blushing? She felt a grin tug at the sides of her mouth.
"And I want to fuck you until you don't remember your own name," his eyes lowered as he looked at her lips. "But that doesn't explain what you're doing here. Did someone put you up to this, or do you get off on handicapped men?"
"Neither of those. Let's explore that first suggestion of me forgetting my name." She met those incredible hazel eyes of his.
One large hand grabbed the back of her head and yanked her forward, then his lips were on hers. Her mouth opened and his tongue met hers. He didn't bother with a polite probing, he conquered her mouth, angling his head sideways to go de
eper. Her body recognized the taste of him before her mind did. At 48 years old, she had found her mate.
SHIFTER UNDER COVER, Pepper Valley Shifters #3
"Forrest, I-" he silenced her as his mouth found hers again. The bed was at her back and he was over her, tasting, tempting, drawing her further into his promises of pleasure. Before she knew it, she'd unbuttoned his suit jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. He shrugged out of it, his lips never leaving hers. She wrenched at his tie and started on his shirt buttons.
Forrest yanked at the tie, managing to undo the knot. She was undressing him, and he knew if he stopped kissing her, she would protest. Besides, now that he'd had a taste of her, he did not know how to stop. Her hands splayed across his bare chest, and he slid his hands under her back, pressing those full breasts against him. He broke away first, needing to breathe for a short moment, but kept his hold on her. Her eyes were closed and he pressed kisses along her jaw, down her neck, and further still, his tongue grazing where her dress barely contained her breasts. "Addie, my Addie," he murmured, licking at her skin. She tasted like the purest clover honey.
A Shifter Christmas Page 3
