She couldn’t get him out of her mind. His strong shoulders, the sharp line of his jaws. She shivered beneath her warm comforter despite the heat being on. Somehow, she’d gone back to being a nervous sixteen-year-old. No man...or being had ever made her feel this way.
- - - -
After dropping Jacob off with Lucy, Cheryl swung by the Java Spot earlier than nine the next morning. The barista greeted her. She ordered a large latte and a chocolate croissant, deciding on one of the tables in the back of the place. There were only a few people in the cafe.
Four minutes exactly before nine, she looked up from her mystery novel to see the towering figure at the counter. He brushed his light brown hair back from his eyes as he told the girl behind the counter something. The young woman was blushing, staring up at Lance from beneath her lashes.
Cheryl smirked as he walked over to join her, a simple black coffee in his hand.
He looked almost foolish with his powerful muscles stuffed beside a pleasant bookshelf with Christmas decorations. She stifled a giggle. He leaned his enormous forearms onto the table. She couldn't wrap a hand around his wrist. He could’ve wrapped his hand around her wrist twice. She held onto her coffee for dear life.
He’d brought a scent of pine needles and magnificent earth inside the shop. She breathed in the smell, mixed with the cinnamon and coffee scent of the cafe. He sipped his black coffee.
“I have the sequel in the car,” he said in a rumbling voice. She blinked. He gestured to the book she’d set down beside her coffee. “You like mystery?”
“Yes, I love Greg Mitchell’s writing,” she said and felt an annoyed shiver run through her. Her goal had been to go to battle for Jacob today, not be charmed by a gorgeous bearish man. “Do Shifters read much human writing?” She threw the question out with an edge. A corner of his lips turned upwards.
“Contrary to popular belief, we don’t just run through the forest all day.”
She steeled her shoulders. “It’s just a question.” There was a twinkle in his eyes. She relented. “Tell me more about your clan, please.”
“What’s there to tell?” he wondered aloud and took a swig of his coffee. “We are close-knit. We engage in mostly blue-collar work and focus on forestry efforts to preserve the Ozark Mountains’ natural beauty. Eddie’s actually an accomplished botanist. He makes sure our crops stay healthy all-year round.”
Eddie. The blade was driven through her heart. “Your brother couldn’t even be bothered to show up to the funeral. How could I trust your people with Jacob?” A nearby patron, as if sensing the electric tension rising off their table, ducked outside with a cigarette in hand.
Lance sighed. It was a heavy movement. One that transformed his handsome face into something close to sadness. She bit her lip, wondering how grief somehow made his broad face even more handsome.
“I know that Eddie’s actions must be...confusing from your perspective,” he said slowly. “Eddie and Beth discussed things when she became pregnant.”
A cold rush ran over Cheryl’s skin. Her sister had claimed that she hadn’t contacted the father at all. Had she lied? Why? She wrung her hands together under the table.
“Beth and Eddie had a relationship that wasn’t approved of by the clan. Not because Beth was human, but rather because they’d mated without declaring their intent to the elders before.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You have to announce that you’re going to have sex to your entire village?”
He smirked. “Not entirely...Just to the elders. Mating is a serious act for Shifters. You have to declare your intent to take a mate. Eddie didn’t do this. This is likely because their affair was a whirlwind. He marked Beth-”
“He what?” Her voice grew louder. The barista glanced over. Cheryl blushed. She leaned in closer across the table. “He marked her?” Her cheeks were burning.
“You must mark your mate on the neck.” He shrugged. “I don’t make the rules. Eddie marked her, but he’d never announced their companionship. The elders weren’t happy. Eddie discussed bringing Beth to the clan’s territory to live among us. Beth and Eddie agreed, but the Elders wanted them to have a proper ceremony to declare their alliance. They were discussing it before Beth’s accident.” At this, his gaze shifted to the table. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She gripped the edge of the table with shaking lips. “She never said anything.” He frowned.
“I was afraid of that,” he muttered. “But, it should’ve been Eddie who communicated with your family. He collapsed after hearing of Beth’s accident. He was inconsolable. He came down with his sickness shortly after. I’m afraid that he didn’t have the strength to tell you the truth. He’s been ashamed for his lack of strength and courage.” He bowed his head and flattened both hands on the table. “I apologize sincerely for my clan brother’s cowardice. His heartbreak can be no greater than yours.”
Tears pricked her eyes. She’d thought this entire time that these Shifters had been cold and apathetic towards her family’s suffering. She thought Eddie had abandoned Jacob. Lance took out a white handkerchief from his breast pocket of his flannel shirt and offered it to her. She dabbed her eyes and sniffed.
“Thank you, Lance. I needed to hear that.” She took a shaky breath. “My sister didn’t tell us about the marking or that she was still talking with Eddie. Maybe she was waiting to tell us, afraid of how we would react. It’s not every day that your human sister runs off with a Shifter. No offense.”
He shrugged. “Both our people have their own ways of dealing with things.”
“I want to ask you something,” she confessed. “Why are you worried for Jacob to grow up in the outside world? Outside of your Shifter clan?”
“There are dangers for a half-Shifter who grows up among humans. He won’t understand the extent of his powers. We won’t know his abilities until he’s grown to a certain age. It’s important to monitor him as he grows up. Half-Shifters can be unpredictable.”
She tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “Unpredictable?” It was hard to imagine Jacob’s soft handsome face ever becoming older. When Beth had brought him home from the hospital, Cheryl had been shaken by his serenity. How could a baby with such a peaceful face potentially grow into a Shifter?
“He has Beth’s eyes,” she said in a wavering tone. He nodded.
“But, there’s a shining light in them. A glimmer.”
She gnawed the inside of her cheek. He was right. Jacob’s eyes were a carbon-copy from Beth except for their slight glitter of gold in the sunlight.
“He may grow up in a better environment around his own kind,” Lance said slowly. “Humans may not understand Jacob.”
“I understand him,” she said. His handsome face was blank. “And he’s still half human, Lance.” A strange expression played upon his face. His name felt so foreign in her mouth, but she enjoyed it. His eyes flashed.
“He is, but you have to admit that there are things you won’t be able to teach him.” He sat back in his chair, as if he’d given her bad news. She crossed her arms and tossed a look at him.
“Explain.”
“Mating,” he said with a smirk.
“He’s under a year old!”
“Puberty’s going to hit him like a bag of bricks,” he said casually. She blanched and lifted a hand to her temple to rub it.
“You’re insufferable.”
He grinned. “Shifters are notoriously stubborn, especially bears.” He paused. “There’s no telling when and if Jacob will turn for the first time. Many young babies do it as cubs. Would you be prepared for that?”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t considered bear shifting happening any time soon. It was something that stretched in her mind as a possibility for the future. “When?”
“Could be two years old or twelve. We don’t know. Stress can aggravate it if he’s in an unstable environment.”
She cocked an eyebrow and asked, “Like living with me?”
He let out a dark
chuckle that tickled her ears. “You must make friends easily.” She snorted, unladylike and unconcerned with an eavesdropping patron sitting nearby them.
“I could say the same thing about you, Mr. Harrington.”
His face broke into a daring smirk. “Tell me about your dreams.”
She stopped and stared at him. “My dreams? Are you a life coach or motivational speaker now?”
“You had to adopt your sister’s son after she passed away,” he said firmly. “Was there anything you wanted to do before that?”
Her cheeks burned. “I wanted...I wanted to get my doctorate in nursing, so I could be a professor.”
“If you let me help you with Jacob, you could do that,” he said.
“By taking him away?” she asked in an accusing tone. She crossed her arms, feeling goosebumps erupt over her skin beneath her sweater. The coffee after-taste in her mouth was bitter.
“Maybe we can work something out,” he said. They sat together in silence. A light rain began to pour outside. His hand brushed hers by accident and she pulled it away quickly. Heat coursed through her.
Maybe we can work something out.
---
“He’s moving in?” Lucy asked as she bounced Jacob up and down. The baby babbled incessantly, trying to bat at his great-grandmother’s earrings.
“Not moving in,” Cheryl said in a strong voice. “Staying temporarily until we can work out a situation with Jacob. There are things we need to discuss. I don’t want Jacob to leave...but I’m afraid that Lance made some good points about Jacob being a half-Shifter…”
“Who’s a cute bear?” Lucy asked in a baby voice, wigging Jacob’s nose with her finger. Cheryl rolled her eyes.
“Enough with the bear jokes!”
“Don’t be rude,” Lucy said with a wink. “You seem to get along rather well with Lance.” Cheryl sensed the suggestion in her grandmother’s voice, but she refused to fight it.
Things were going to be fine. They had to be. She had to believe in the future. For Jacob, for Lucy, for herself.
Chapter 4
Lance paused. “Should I put my things up first?” Cheryl was arm-deep in a sink full of bubbles and water. She leaned back to glance at him from the kitchen.
“Do what you want!” she yelled. He nodded and went along the hallway with his suitcase. After telling her that he was currently living out of a local motel, she’d invited him to stay. They were going to discuss more about Jacob’s upbringing. He sucked in a deep breath as he set down his luggage in her guest bedroom. It was decorated in a modern style with lots of white and gray linen. A far cry from his log cabin in the mountains, but he wasn’t going to complain.
He inhaled the scent of the room. Somehow, every part of Cheryl’s house had managed to carry a part of her fragrance. He didn’t mind it. In fact, it felt strangely comforting. He rubbed his nose. Oddly comforting. He frowned. It must be that he wasn’t used to smelling human females this up close all the time.
What had Eddie seen in human women? Heat spread in his core. He steadied himself against a chair. Perhaps they were more tempting than he’d imagined. He needed to focus. The scent taunted him. He pushed down his longing.
He needed to gain her trust. Jacob had to be among his own kind. Lance ran a hand through his hair and glanced out the window at the serene view of the neighborhood street, decorated now with Christmas lights along the streetlights.
It felt wrong, him being there. He was a powerful beast in a suburb.
----
Cheryl walked in to the kitchen, Jacob in her arms. He was gurgling for his bottle, fighting her for it as she tried to tuck it into the tote bag over her shoulder. She stopped when she saw Lance.
“I thought I would cook,” he said with a shrug. He hovered over a cutting board filled with vegetables. A chicken was roasting in the oven. She glanced inside the oven and raised her eyebrows.
“Impressive,” she told him with a little smile. “Shall I make dessert?”
“If you want,” he said. She went to the other room and he heard a jingle. He watched her gently place Jacob in the baby bassinet in the living room. She clicked the electric mobile above the crib. Jacob cried out in joy as a soft trickle of music began.
They worked side by side. He was sautéing the vegetables and throwing pinched salt over the frying pan. She collected a stack of ingredients and several metal bowls.
“What’s on the menu, chef?” he asked in a playful tone. She smiled and tied an apron around herself. The fabric clung nicely to her curves.
“Chocolate cake,” she said. He noticed her lips were painted a cranberry color, smelling of cinnamon. A stab of longing struck him. He cleared his throat. She opened the container of flour and laughed when a white cloud flew upwards.
“You laugh like my mother,” he said with a chuckle. He felt her body warm up next to his and she grabbed for a measuring cup.
“Is she a Shifter too?” she asked.
“She was,” he told her with a stoic grimace. “She passed away a few years ago. Cancer unfortunately doesn’t discriminate with Shifters.”
“Oh,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It’s fine. It’s been years. The time makes it better,” he said with a shrug and stirred the vegetables in the pan. “Women tend to lose the Shifting ability earlier in life, around their fifties. Men lose it in their sixties. After that, Shifting takes an immense amount of energy. My mother had me later in life, but she actually didn’t stop Shifting until her cancer diagnosis. She was a real mama bear.”
She smiled with pink cheeks. “She sounded fun.”
“She was,” he said. “But, she was distrusting of humans. One of her siblings was shot by a hunter while in Shifter form. It was in her childhood, back before we had more laws and regulations.”
He watched a sad frown form on her pretty face. “Oh...is that why you’re so distrustful of humans?”
“To be fair,” he said with a mischievous look, “couldn’t I say the same thing about you and Shifters?”
“I suppose you can,” she muttered and began stirring her cake batter in the bowl. “Maybe there are a lot of things that we don’t understand about each other.” She cast a glance towards the crib in the living room. “I want to know more about your kind for Jacob...but I’m worried that you think humans are all evil.”
He leaned against the counter, listening to the sizzle of the food on the pan. “We can learn more about each other. I think that would help.” A pleasant chill ran down his spine. The heat in the kitchen ticked upward.
He looked at her, long brown hair swept neatly into a clip and the red apron around her. The women from his clan cooked alongside the men. Everything was equal. There was love in their kitchens, but they had rugged wood-burning stoves and furniture crafted from the fallen trees outside. Being in Cheryl’s kitchen was like stepping into the holiday movies he’d seen as a child. He eyed the magnificent wreath hung above her dining table in the kitchen.
“Do all humans decorate for Christmas?”
Her tense face melted. “Most do, I think. Beth and I used to decorate in November, right after Thanksgiving.”
“With Grandma Lucy?” he asked with a playful voice. She laughed and nodded.
“Yes, Grams. Beth and our parents didn’t get along after she told them about her pregnancy with Jacob...she moved out of their place to live with Grandma Lucy. She’s always been the most open one in the family, Grams. She doesn’t give a damn if you’re a human or a Shifter.” She cocked her head to the side. “She’s always been that way. I suspect she may have had a fling in her younger days with a wolf Shifter, but that stays between us.” At this, she winked. His stomach jumped. He laughed at the surprise of it.
The smell of chocolate rose into the air, mixing with the scent of roasted chicken. Something about her house made everything smell stronger...more pleasant. His stomach growled. She grinned and flashed him pearly whites.
“Let’s
get this cake in the oven, Mr. Harrington, and eat some dinner.”
Chapter 5
Beth’s grave was positioned in the sunniest spot of the St. Mary’s Churchyard. Their parents were staunch Catholics even though Beth and Cheryl hadn’t been to church in years. Cheryl suspected it was their guilt over shunning Beth that made them pay a ridiculous amount of money for this prime resting plot at their family church. From the cemetery, Cheryl could look out as see the Ozark Mountains that Beth loved so much.
Jacob was off with Grandma Lucy for errands today. They were going to do the last bit of Christmas shopping before the stores became too packed. Cheryl had a shift scheduled this afternoon, but she couldn’t get Beth out of her mind. This was the first Christmas without her sister. A heavy weight settled over her heart. She gripped the bouquet of flowers that she’d purchased at the local market and marched towards the polished black grave marker.
“Merry Christmas,” she said and placed the flowers in front of her sister’s name. “I miss
you. Everyone does.” Salty tears sprung into her eyes. She dabbed them away with the edge of her coat. “Someone from Jacob’s clan has stopped by...they want him to live with them.” A breeze passed through the churchyard. She wrapped her coat closed around her. “What should I do, Beth?”
The sun warmed her face as she stared down at her sister’s grave. What would Beth have done? Could she trust this Shifter? She sucked in a cold breath of air and exhaled, watching her breath fog up in the air. Her heart was beating wildly. She pressed a hand on her chest. Lance’s face swam to the forefront of her mind.
Work. She had to get to work. After taking one last look at Beth’s headstone, Cheryl turned around and made the trek back to her car. There was a long work day ahead. She thought of her cranky patient and groaned as she got into the car. She’d run by the Java Spot for an extra-large coffee to-go for her shift. As she pulled into the coffee shop parking lot, she spotted a familiar red truck. Lance. Her heart flipped. She walked inside, willing her nerves to calm down.
The Baby Shift- Missouri Page 2
