by J. L. Farey
“It would serve her right.”
She knew Aiden well enough that, even if his forehead hadn’t furrowed in that concerned way that almost gave him a unibrow, she would have known he’d picked up on her mood. But the bagel popped up in the toaster before he could say anything. Laurel watched Aiden as he slathered the bagel halves with butter, drizzled them with honey, then topped them off with a handful of fresh blueberries. Her stomach grumbled, and now she wished she’d had him make one for her.
Aiden settled in the seat beside her, picked up one half of the bagel, then slid the plate with the other half closer to her. “I know you want it.”
She smiled her thanks, telling herself it was ridiculous to doubt him. How bad could things be when her man shared his food with her?
Aiden waited until after they’d both eaten a few bites of breakfast before asking the question she expected. “What’s bothering you?”
To say, nothing, would be a bold-face lie, but she wasn’t ready to tackle the real answer. “What makes you think anything’s wrong?”
“Well, for a woman who’s getting married in two weeks, you’re pretty underwhelmed.”
“Or, am I overwhelmed? Maybe I’m short-circuiting under the pressure.”
“Are you short-circuiting?” His eyes softened with concern. “Because we can slow this whole thing down.”
“No,” she snapped, then went on more gently. “No, it’s not the wedding.”
One side of his mouth quirked up in an I-gotcha-grin. “But it is something. Should I keep asking questions, or do you want to cut to the chase?”
Laurel sighed. Why had she even tried to keep it from him? Not only were they soul-bound, he was a cop, for crying out loud. There was no way she could fool him.
“You can stop asking.” She put the last little piece of her bagel on the plate and paused to suck the honey from her thumb and forefinger. “Okay. I’ve been feeling like something’s been...off...for a few weeks.”
“Off how?”
She shrugged. “If I knew, I would have used a better word. I’ve been feeling weird, unsettled, and I have no idea why. Then yesterday—” She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Instead of a saved-by-the-bell feeling, a chill skittered across her shoulders and down both arms to her fingertips. “Are you expecting someone?”
“Nope.” Aiden wiped his hands, wadded up the napkin, and tossed it on the edge of the plate. “We’re not done talking.” He stood, and after dropping a kiss on top of her head, went for the door.
Wade was standing outside. “Hey,” said to his partner. Leaning through the doorway, he waved in Laurel’s direction. “Morning.”
“Morning, Wade,” she called back. “Are you here for Lola? I didn’t realize you had another mentor meeting today.”
He shook his head. “We don’t. I came for your husband.”
A surprised grunt rumbled through Aiden’s throat. “You couldn’t have waited until I got to the station? What’s the rush?”
Wade looked at Laurel, then back at Aiden. “Someone came looking for you at the station. It sounds important.”
That did it. Laurel stood up quickly, sending her chair squealing against the tile floor. She stalked across the room and stopped beside Aiden. Fists on her hips, she looked Wade right in his smoky glass lenses. “It’s Crystal, isn’t it?”
Wades chin lowered in surprise. “How did you know?”
Laurel looked up at Aiden. “She was at the nursery yesterday, and then I saw her at Howler’s. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”
From the look of genuine confusion on his face, Laurel knew he had no idea what was going on. Wade must have seen it, too, because he spoke up.
“She said she knew you in New York. When you were a detective.”
Aiden wasn’t confused anymore. At the mention of New York, recognition took over, followed by an expression of concern. “Why is she here? Did she say?”
“Not really.” Wade didn’t sound at all comfortable talking about it in front of Laurel, but he continued. “Just that there was something important she needed to tell you.”
The image of that little boy with the tousled hair and honeypot eyes danced through Laurel’s mind. At the same time, Aiden darted behind her and scooped up his keys and wallet from the table by the door.
“I’ll drive in with Wade.” He stepped out onto the porch, then turned and came back to Laurel. Wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug, he whispered in her ear. “I’ll explain everything tonight. Promise.” He hurried to the squad car where Wade was already waiting.
“But Aiden,” she called after him, “there’s something—”
“I’ll meet you at the nursery later,” he called back. “I love you!”
Before she knew it he was gone, leaving nothing behind but a thin cloud of dust from the car racing up the dirt road that led to the highway. Laurel bit her lip and blinked against the sudden stinging in her eyes. A weight pressed against the side of her leg, and she looked down to find Bailey gazing up at her.
“He does love you,” Bailey said. “Trust that.”
She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. If it was only an old girlfriend, trust wouldn’t be an issue. But the child... Did he know? She couldn’t imagine him abandoning his own flesh and blood. Which meant he didn’t know. What would happen when he found out?
Kneeling down, she put her arm around Bailey and pressed her cheek against the top of his head. “You’re right. And we’re soul-bound. Nothing’s stronger than that.”
At least, she hoped nothing was.
CRYSTAL WAS IN NOCTURNE Falls. The fact played over and over in Aiden’s head like a snippet of an old song that refused to shut up. How had she found him? Why had she even tried? What in the world could she want?
“Want to talk about it?” Wade broke the silence but kept his eyes on the road.
“No.”
They didn’t make it a minute before Wade was talking again. “I get it. This is a lousy situation, and I know you want your privacy. But if you do want to talk, you know, later, I’m available.”
The sincerity in his partner’s voice made Aiden sorry he’d snapped at him. “Thanks.”
“I know what you’re going through. It’s always awkward when an old girlfriend comes back into the picture.”
“A girlfriend? Is that what she told you?”
“No, but she didn’t have to.” Wade shrugged one shoulder. “It’s pretty obvious.”
This was getting worse and worse. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I was never involved with Crystal. She was only seventeen when I knew her.”
Wade frowned and shot a sideways look at Aiden. “Seventeen? That’s crossing a line, dude.”
His fingers curling into fists, Aiden growled back. “Yeah, it would be if I’d done anything, but I didn’t.”
“Then where’d the kid come from?”
“What kid?”
“She’s got a kid,” Wade said, his tone hard and cold. “He looks a lot like you. You don’t end up with a boy cub from being platonic friends.”
A growl rumbled in Aiden’s throat and he held back the urge to shift right there in the car’s bucket seat. There was zero chance he could be the father of that boy, but if the rest of the town was like Wade, it wouldn’t matter. Was that why Crystal tracked him down? To spread lies about him? Maybe she needed money and figured this was a good way to get it.
The two of them kept quiet until Wade slid the cruiser into a parking spot behind the station. “Is Crystal here?” Aiden asked.
Wade shook his head. “No. She went back to the hotel. I told her to come back here around noon.”
He checked the dash board time display just before Wade cut the engine. 9:26. He’d go nuts if he had to wait that long. “I’m going to talk to her now. Thanks for the lift.”
Aiden hopped out before Wade could make another unappreciated comment. That didn’t keep his partner from yelling after him.
“Good
luck!”
Shoulders hunched and hands stuffed into his pants pockets, Aiden grunted at the idea of luck, good or otherwise. He’d always believed that his destiny was shaped by the choices he made. But nothing he’d done explained this current development. Maybe there was something to that luck thing, after all.
It was a short walk to the hotel, but it seemed like he passed everyone he knew in Nocturne Falls along the way. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt sure they looked at him with either pity or judgment. His pace quickened. He was only steps away from the front door of the hotel when a hand grasped his shoulder.
Aiden spun around, then sighed in relief when he saw Jason Raza’s friendly, smiling face. “Jason. Hi.”
Jason returned the greeting with a nod. “Hey, man, what’s the rush? I was trying to get your attention for half a block.”
“Sorry. I’m on my way to meet someone. Guess I’m a little distracted.” A little. What an understatement that was.
With the slow nod of someone who knew exactly what was going on, Jason glanced at the hotel. “Well sure. Seeing your girlfriend might be kinda awkward.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Of course. I mean, Laurel’s your girlfriend, obviously. I meant she’s an old girlfriend.”
Aiden squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to breath slowly. Had the whole town lost their minds? Maybe this was just one of his nightmares. That would explain everything. But when he opened his eyes, Jason was still standing there with an unnecessarily understanding look on his face. Nope, it was real. “Where did you hear about it?”
“I don’t know,” Jason said sheepishly. “Around.”
Aiden knew right away he was protecting Wade. His partner was a bigger blabbermouth than an online gossip blogger. But he and Jason were good friends, so Aiden didn’t see the point in making things more awkward for the young man.
“It doesn’t matter how you heard,” Aiden said. “What matters is that you don’t keep the rumor going. Crystal is an old friend. That’s all.” Friend was pushing it, but it was the best description he could give at the moment.
Jason looked as if he were considering the possibilities. “In that case, you probably don’t want to meet in her hotel room.”
“Good point.” Why hadn’t he thought of that himself? He should have waited at the sheriff’s station instead of letting impatience get the best of him. “I guess I’ll go back to work.”
“Or, you could try plan B.”
“This was plan B.”
“Okay, plan C.”
“I don’t have a plan C.”
“I do,” Jason said with an easy smile. “Want to hear it?”
Aiden wasn’t sure he did, but it couldn’t hurt to listen. “Shoot.”
“You should meet her in the park.”
“The park? In the middle of town where everybody can see us?”
“Yes.” Crossing his arms, Jason’s expression became serious. “It’s the perfect spot. It’ll show everyone you have nothing to hide. And it’ll give the kid a chance to play and run around while the two of you talk. See? Perfect.”
Aiden was impressed. All the years of mentoring may not have helped Jason get any closer to figuring out what his supernatural ability was, but it had sure honed his counseling skills.
“Just one problem,” Aiden said. “How do I get Crystal to the park if I don’t go inside the hotel?”
Jason shooed the question away with a wave of his hand. “That’s easy. I’ll get her for you.”
“Good thinking.”
“You might even say junior deputy level thinking, hmm?”
Aiden laughed as Jason’s eyebrows raised in expectation. “That’s not even a real thing.”
“It should be. See how cutting edge I am? I just created a whole new position.”
“One thing at a time,” Aiden said, steering him back to the task at hand. “I’ll head to the park and wait for you there.”
After a mock salute, Jason ducked into the hotel, and Aiden walked in the opposite direction. He’d be getting his answers soon. Whether he liked them or not.
4
The day had started out lousy and it wasn’t getting any better.
After Aiden’s sudden departure, Laurel thought about going back to bed, burrowing under the covers, and not coming out until hunger or nature demanded. Instead, she made herself presentable, loaded Bailey and Lola in the SUV, and drove to work.
A busy day at the nursery should have been a welcome distraction. But the fact that Jason hadn’t shown up to work darkened her mood, especially after helping one customer load ten 25 pound bags of mulch into the back of her pickup truck.
“Hello, darling sister.” A voice sung out as Aurora breezed into the nursery.
“Hello,” Laurel said.
“Isn’t it a lovely day?”
“I guess.”
“What’s eating you?” Aurora asked with a frown.
“What’s eating me? I’ll tell you. It turns out my fiancé has a former girlfriend I didn’t know about who came to town yesterday—with their love child, by the way—and he’s with her right now doing who-knows-what while I’m here schlepping mulch and telling customers that, yes, there is a difference between nursery-grade fertilizer and dog poop.” Laurel gulped a breath which she then exhaled with a snort. “That’s what is eating me.”
Aurora tilted her head, silently accessing the situation. “Then I guess this isn’t a good time to talk about wedding plans, huh?”
Laurel glared at her sister. “Not really, no.”
“I see.” Lifting one hand in the air, Aurora trilled a series of notes. A moment later, a plump, brown and white sparrow perched on her finger. She lowered her hand so the bird was even with her nose. “Cancel the doves,” she said, then whistled a short tune. The bird bounced up and down, chirped back, and off it flew.
“Doves?”
“Yes, for the wedding. I wanted to fly an idea by you, but, now is not the time.” She stepped up to the low front counter and gracefully hopped up to sit beside the register. “Now is the time to straighten out Aiden.”
“What do you mean?”
Aurora wrinkled her nose and made a face as if she’d been slapped with a week-old dead fish. “Oh, come on. You’re not going to let him get away with this, are you?”
What could she do? There was no way to change the past, or the fact that it had shown up with a wide-eyed little boy in tow. The anger she’d felt a moment earlier melted into despondence, and her shoulders sagged under the weight. “I don’t have much choice.”
“Of course you do! You have all the choices.” Aurora bent her fingers back as she rattled them off. “You can fight for him. You can tell that woman she’s not welcome in this town. You can tell Aiden you don’t need him. You can let me at him. You can call in the big guns—”
“No!” Laurel snapped. “Don’t you dare say a word to him.”
Aurora rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of having a daddy like Zeus if you can’t take advantage of the lighting bolts every now and then?”
“Absolutely not. He’d just make it worse, and you know it.”
“All right, no Zeus. But you’ve got to pull yourself together.” She hopped down from the counter and pulled Laurel to her in a side hug.
At the simple act of affection, Laurel almost came undone. Aurora was right. She wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and play dead when things got tough. She wasn’t an emotionally fragile flower. Why did she feel like the life had been sucked out of her?
“Something’s wrong,” Laurel said, her voice shaking. “Not just with Aiden. I’ve felt it for a few weeks. I’ve been seeing trouble where there isn’t any, and now that there is some, I feel like I can’t move. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“I think I do.” Aurora grasped her shoulders and held her at arm’s length while staring into her eyes. “You need to be properly soul-bound.”
“I am. To Aiden.”
Aurora shook her head. “No. You’ve been soul-bound to a human for far too long. You need to be connected to a tree, and soon.”
“You can’t be serious. How can it make such a big difference?.”
“Think about it. You’ve been emotionally unbalanced. And when did it start?” Aurora was on a roll now, and didn’t wait for an answer. “After you were bound to Aiden. Because now, you feel his moods.”
Laurel shook her head, refusing to believe what her sister was saying. “That doesn’t make sense. Aiden isn’t overly emotional. If anything, he’s overly mellow.”
“It doesn’t matter. Look, it’s not Aiden, per se, it’s any human.”
“But Aiden’s not really human, he’s a shifter.”
“That’s even worse! And don’t think there’s something wrong with you. I doubt any nymph could hold up being bound to a human, but when you add the animal dynamic of a shifter...Wow.” Aurora pursed her lips as she considered what she’d said. “Except for our cousin Vesta, but then she’s a totally different kind of nymph. Which reminds me, I need to remember to let her know about the wedding. That is, if there still is a wedding.”
“Aurora!” Laurel snapped her fingers as if bringing her sister out of a trance. “Focus, will ya?”
“Sorry. Back to you. You’re a wood nymph. You need the stability, the roots, of a tree. It literally grounds you emotionally. Shifter emotions are mercurial. No matter how hard you try, a nymph/shifter binding will always create this kind of conflict.”
Feeling slightly dizzy from all the new information battling for space in her brain, Laurel leaned against the counter in a sort of standing sit. “If you knew all this, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Hey, I’ve never known a wood nymph who wasn’t soul-bound to a tree. I was hoping I was wrong and it would work. I should have known better.” Aurora studied her perfect cuticles on one perfectly manicured hand. “It’s a burden being right all the time.”
“Yeah. Sucks to be you.”
“Sometimes,” Aurora agreed, not seeming to catch the sarcasm which dripped from Laurel’s words. “But good thing for you I helped Aiden find another tree. All you need to do now is break the bind with Aiden, bind with Brittney, and everything should be back to normal.”
