The Tigers Shared Mate

by Bonnie Burrows

  She doubted that anyone cared about him.

  When Ms. Engle finished, Sadler’s lawyer stood. The minute the man began speaking, Lydia disliked him. He put on a show, making his words feel like those of a ringleader in a circus and the courtroom feel like the big top. The only thing that was missing was the elephants and the cotton candy.

  There were already plenty of tigers in the courtroom. And snakes.

  How fitting that the man’s name was Barker. That’s exactly how his words sounded to Lydia’s ear, like an angry seal, flopping around in the sand without a shred of grace or dignity, trying to steal fish from everyone around him without bothering to get off his ass and catch his own.

  Lydia loathed the man and hoped that Sadler would get nothing. She was certain that Mr. Barker was working for a percentage of the ruling, counting on a big payday from the money that was rightfully Lydia’s.

  Ms. Engle objected now and then to the lies spilling forth from Mr. Barker’s mouth, but she otherwise let the man continue. Pressed for time, Sadler’s lawyer had obviously taken Sadler’s word for everything without doing his own research. The smile on Ms. Engle’s face said she was enjoying Mr. Barker burying himself and his client.

  When the statements were finished, the Judge sat quietly for a moment before he began. Lydia held her breath, simultaneously terrified and excited for what he was about to say.

  “It’s obvious to me, Mr. Blunt that you never really cared for your niece. You were entrusted with her care and you collected your money and gave her the bare minimum a human being needs to live.”

  “She’s a dirty shifter! She didn’t deserve my brother! Did he even know that Lily was one of them? A filthy tiger, an animal. If Silas had known, he never would have married that thing!”

  The Judge raised his hand and the bailiff stepped forward threateningly. Sadler closed his mouth quickly, but he was still seething.

  “I’m not done. Not only do I find that the fifty million that Lydia ‘stole’ according to you is not stolen and was always hers, but I find that you did not have any right to the stipend left for her care through the life insurance and, minus the small amount that you actually spent on her, you will pay back the amount of the life insurance policy in full to Ms. Blunt.”

  “That money is gone! I don’t have half a million dollars to give this filth! I won’t do it.”

  “If you refuse, Mr. Blunt, then you’ll be held in contempt and face jail time.”

  Sadler’s face turned red and he opened his mouth to protest, but Mr. Barker stopped him.

  “Your Honor,” Mr. Barker began, “my client is a frail old man with no job and a limited income. He has no family and no property to sell to repay the money he mistakenly thought was left for him. Can I propose a payment plan to be placed in a holding account for Ms. Blunt?”

  The judge looked to Ms. Engle.

  “Would that be alright with your client?”

  “I need a moment to confer.”

  The Judge nodded and Ms. Engle pulled Lydia aside and whispered in her ear.

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t want his money. I just want him out of my life.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I have fifty million. What he stole is chump change and he looks like a chump to me.”

  Lydia eyed her uncle over Ms. Engle’s shoulder.

  “Besides. As far as I’m concerned, my uncle lost everything that matters in life and has already punished himself enough. There’s nothing I can do to him that’s worse than what he’s already done to himself.”

  “That’s very kind of you.”

  “Well, one of us has to act like a decent human being. It might as well be the one that’s half tiger, right?”

  Ms. Engle chuckled.

  “Fair enough.”

  They moved back to the plaintiff’s desk and Ms. Engle addressed the judge.

  “Your Honor, we move to drop the monetary damages under the condition that the defendant never contact, harass, or otherwise affect Mrs. Blunt again.”

  “You’re married? Who would marry a filthy heathen like you?”

  “Mr. Barker, I suggest you get your client under control.”

  Mr. Barker shot Sadler a look that shut the old man up instantly before turning to the judge.

  “Your Honor, we accept the offer and thank Mrs. Blunt for her kindness in this matter.”

  And just like that, the judge banged his gavel and the case was over. The bailiff held back Sadler and his lawyer, letting Martin and Lydia leave the courtroom well ahead of the old man and his red-faced lawyer.

  Lydia spoke with Ms. Engle briefly before getting into the car with Martin. He put the car in gear, patting Lydia’s hand and grinning broadly.

  “You were great, Lydia. Where to now?”

  “The airport.”

  Martin squeezed her hand, his grin still spread from ear to ear.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Jareth was sitting on the deck outside his bedroom that Saturday, letting the afternoon sun warm his skin, when he saw a familiar blue car coming down the winding drive. Grabbing his cane and standing slowly, he hurried into the house to let Carter know she was finally here. The last two weeks had felt like hell without her, and both men were eager to welcome her home. Jareth was starting to feel like himself again, and seeing Lydia would definitely give him that boost that he’d been needing.

  “Carter!”

  Carter came rushing out of the office, face a little frantic.

  “What’s wrong? Do I need to call Doc?”

  “No. Lydia’s here.”

  Jareth’s smile was so wide it hid the twinge of pain he felt, rushing out of the room like that and standing for so long.

  “You’re pale. You need to sit down.”

  “No way. I’m never going to get back to my old self if I don’t push a little.” He winked at Carter. “I’m not going to sit back and let you have all the fun with our wife.”

  “Or maybe just my wife. She hasn’t made her choice yet.”

  “Pfft. As if she needs to choose. I’m the obvious choice.”

  The two laughed together, Carter measuring his steps so that Jareth didn’t notice that he was letting him keep up. He’d made great progress in the last two weeks, but with so many broken bones and a blood transfusion, it was going to be another few weeks before he started to really recover.

  The car stopped outside the front entrance and the doorbell rang.

  Carter hurried ahead to answer it.

  “We’ll have to remind her that she owns thirty-three percent of the house and doesn’t need to knock,” Carter quipped.

  He opened the door, looking beyond Martin to the car behind him.

  “She’s not here, Son. I came to return the car at her request.”

  Carter felt like he’d been gut shot. The wind rushed out of his body and his heart ached.

  “She’s not with you?”

  “No. She took me to the airport yesterday and we said our goodbyes. My flight got into Atlanta so late last night I decided to spend the night in a hotel and drive here today.”

  “So that’s it then? She just said goodbye to you and walked away? Did she say anything else?”

  “She asked me to tell you both that she was sorry and that she would miss you.”

  “That’s it? She didn’t say if she was ever coming back?”

  Martin shrugged.

  “I’m sorry Carter. That’s all I know. That girl’s got to bury her demons, and that’s something she needs to do on her own terms. I’m really sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?” Jareth said, finally making it all the way to the foyer.

  The smile slipped off his face when Carter turned to Jareth.

  “She’s not coming back, is she?” Jareth asked.

  “Apparently not. She didn’t really say.”

  Carter’s tone was sarcastic.

  “Now, Carter. You’re clearly hur
t, but you know that she loves you both. This isn’t about you two. When you are able to see that, maybe you won’t feel so butt hurt about it.”

  Carter stormed off, leaving Martin and Jareth alone in the foyer. Jareth moved to the closest chair, leaning heavily on his cane while lowering himself into it.

  “That’s not like him to get hateful like that. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright, Jareth. We all love Lydia. He’s in pain now, but he’ll see that she’s doing the right thing.”

  “I’m usually the one to lose my temper, but I understand how she feels. I’m sad she didn’t come home, but I’m not angry about it.”

  “Nearly dying changes a man. You almost gave your life to protect her freedom from tyranny. It would be foolish to turn around and force her to live here after that.”

  “The funny thing about it was, all she had to do was tell Gavin she was a silver tiger. He wouldn’t have been thrilled that she was from an interspecies mating, but it would have fixed everything. I don’t understand why she didn’t just tell him. All this could have been avoided.”

  “Did you ever stop to think that having to share something so personal to her might have seemed worse than death? She spent her entire childhood hearing about how awful she was for something that she couldn’t control. Having that kind of hatred directed at you by a loved one can really affect a person.”

  “I can see that. I guess I don’t blame her. I’m just disappointed. I was naïve enough to think our love could cure that pain for her.”

  “Maybe it did. Maybe that’s why she was strong enough to go back and fight her demons.”

  “You’re right. It’s just hard not knowing what she’s up to. This would be so much easier if we just knew where she was and what she was doing right now.”

  ***

  Lydia wiped the sweat away from her brow, taking a moment to look around at the progress being made at the old house. It was unseasonably warm for winter, but Lydia didn’t mind. It had taken her almost the entire week exploring with Martin to find it, but she’d finally found the house she’d shared with her parents. Located just outside of town, it sat on just over ten acres of land.

  Sadler Blunt hadn’t been the most organized man, and Lydia wondered if he’d gotten so caught up in his pursuit of her money that he’d overlooked the property entirely. After dropping Martin off at the airport, Lydia had met with a real estate agent, inquiring about the house.

  To her delight, it had never been sold, but instead, sat vacant since their death.

  Unfortunately, that meant a lot of work for her, but it was a welcome thing. She needed to do something good to counteract the bad in her life, and the house that Silas Blunt had purchased for Lily would be the perfect place.

  Time hadn’t destroyed the house as badly as she’d expected it would, and most of the issues were easily fixed in that first week with the help of a few contractors. Only the outside showed the ravages of time. The entire property had been overgrown with weeds and garbage blown in from the highway over the years. A small crew of landscapers had rid the property of the majority of that, leaving the job of planting flowers and painting the large wrap-around porch to Lydia.

  A small child ran up to Lydia, tiny gloved hands proudly showing off a tomato horned worm she’d found.

  “Miss Lydia. I found this butterfly. Well, it’s not a butterfly yet, but it will be.”

  “That’s amazing, Trinity. What an awesome find.”

  “What should I do with it?”

  “I would definitely put it in that plant over there, away from where everyone is digging up weeds.”

  The little girl flashed a grin filled with an endearing mix of baby and adult teeth and bounded off through the yard.

  When Lydia had first approached Hope’s Home for Children about moving the tiny orphanage from the humble four bedroom house in town to her parent’s house, she’d been surprised by how easily the woman had said yes after first being very suspicious.

  “You know these are shifter and interspecies orphans, right?”

  “I do. That’s why I want to help. I was orphaned myself, and I was treated horribly by my only living relative when he found out my secret. I want to make sure that no child goes through that again.”

  Tears had welled in the woman’s eyes then.

  “I’ve been wishing and hoping for something to turn this around. Our building is about to be foreclosed on and we don’t get state funding like the other homes. There’s really nowhere for us to turn for help, and this area isn’t known for being shifter-friendly. Even the churches that will help anyone have turned us away.”

  “I can take care of that. All of that.”

  Not long after, the three girls and five boys who called the ramshackle house on Tenth Street home, walked into Lydia’s house filled with awe. Lily and Silas had always planned on having a large family. The house had ten rooms on the upper floor and a master bedroom and office on the first floor. The large kitchen and expansive dinner room were perfect for a home that would house the eight children for now, but could hold up to twenty easily.

  Hope Barns had been in tears as the children scattered throughout the house, finding the doors with their names on them and jumping on the new beds that Lydia had had delivered and assembled just that morning.

  “This is like a dream come true, Lydia. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”

  “Just make sure these kids know that they’re loved and there’s nothing wrong with who and what they are.”

  “I will. You can bet your life on that.”

  Trinity, the boldest of the bunch, had come carefully down the stairs, tiny eight year old hands holding tight to the railing like she’d been taught.

  “Miss Lydia. Why do I have two beds in my room?”

  “Everyone has two beds. When there are more kids that will need a safe place to call home, they’ll need someone to help them figure stuff out. Since you’ve been here the longest, you’ll be the one to help your roommate adjust to her new life.”

  Trinity nodded, her face suddenly serious.

  “I’ll be like a big sister.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’ll be the best big sister anyone has ever had. Except for Violet. Violet doesn’t talk much, but I think she’ll be a better big sister because she’s taller than me.”

  Trinity turned and ran back up the stairs, shouting for Violet and the others before Hope and Lydia had a chance to start giggling at the sweet and silly innocence of the child.

  “I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful this will be for them.”

  “You don’t have to. I would have given my millions to have a home like this when my parents died.”

  Lydia was overcome with emotion. She fought back the tears but found herself too overwhelmed to keep her composure. Happy tears spilled over her cheeks unchecked. She swiped at them, embarrassed by their sudden appearance.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve become quite a softy lately I guess.”

  “Don’t think anything about it. I’m embarrassed by how much I cried the night after I first met you. If you could see exactly how much your gifts have improved the life of these children and many to come, you would never be able to stop crying.”

  Lydia laughed and choked on a fresh sob. She covered her face, trying to regain her composure before one of the children saw her, but they were still running around upstairs, oblivious to the goings on around them.

  Hope put her arm around Lydia as the pair watched the children flow from room to room, excitedly chattering about their furniture and the personal touches Lydia had added to each room.

  “Wait until they open the closets. There’s enough clothing in each one to clothe a small army.”

  Lydia set up an expense account for Hope, linking the checking account to a high-yield savings account that would automatically replenish money spent each month. She moved ten million to the account, making sure that the money would be there and available when Hope needed
it for the children.

  When she’d opened the account and signed Hope on as an authorized user, she hadn’t shared with the woman exactly how much the funding would be. She wished that she could see the woman’s face when she found out how much there was, but Lydia had a lot of work to do, and it was time to deal with something she’d been putting off for a while.

  She made a few calls then grabbed the keys to the car she’d bought that Saturday after court. It was a far cry from the BMW X5, but it was all hers.

  The drive across town took her longer than expected, even when she accounted for the stop at the bank. When she arrived at the rundown shack that barely passed for a house, the ambulance was already parked and idling at the curb a few houses down.

  Lydia stopped, rolling down her window.

  “You guys ready?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’ll go in first, but I don’t think this is going to go easy.”

  “It never is.” The paramedic flashed her a grin and got out, leaving the engine idling and meeting his partner in the back to get the stretcher and other supplies they might need.

  Lydia walked to the door, fear and foul memories gripping her more tightly with each step. She rapped on the door, knowing that she was opening a window to her past that she’d rather leave shut.

  She knocked three more times before the familiar bump and scrape of an elderly person walking with the aid of a walker came from the other side of the door. The locked tumbled in the door and Sadler Blunt opened the door without bothering to ask who it was.

  “I knew it was you,” he spat on the ground in front of her.

  Lydia didn’t say anything. The smell from inside the house floated on the breeze, nearly gagging Lydia. She looked over his shoulder at the house beyond. As she’d suspected, Sadler was living in filth that wasn’t fit for swine.

  “Uncle Sadler, you’re not well.”

  “So? What do you care?”

  “I really don’t. You don’t deserve what I’m about to do. But if I let you waste away in this filth and starve to death, I’d be no better than you.”

  Sadler turned, eyes falling onto the two men moving up the walkway with the stretcher between them. His eyes grew big and he slapped Lydia. She didn’t move. Even with all that hatred behind the blow, the slap barely registered. Sadler was weak and probably going to die if he was left to his own devices. Lydia wouldn’t mourn his loss, but she wasn’t about to stand by and let her only live relative die like that.