Heartland Shifters Box Set

by V. Vaughn

  “Yes. That’s a good idea.”

  I look at Daniel. “Hey, buddy.” I hold out my hand for him. “We’re going to go home now.”

  He’s aware something is wrong because he doesn’t beg to stay at the park the way he usually does. He grabs my hand, and we all walk to Griffin’s truck.

  When we get home, I put on a video for Daniel to watch and take Griffin to my bedroom to talk.

  “I thought you were going to make this go away, Griffin. The last thing I expected was to be blindsided by the mayor because you gave the press more information!” I realize I’m almost shouting and lower my voice to ask, “What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that if there wasn’t anything scandalous, the story would die down in a few days and we’d be all set.” He comes to me and reaches for my hand, but I step back. “I thought you’d like that I told everyone “One Love” was about you.”

  I let out a huff of frustration. “Don’t you get it? The press is going to find out about Daniel. They’ll come follow us around, take pictures, and thrust microphones in our faces while asking uncomfortable questions. It’s going to be horrible, and this is the last thing I’ve ever wanted. Especially for Daniel.”

  “Mandy, I’ve dealt with this before. It’s going to be fine.”

  The doorbell rings, and ice floods my veins. “If that’s a reporter, I—” I shake my head and walk out of the bedroom to see who is at the door.

  I glance over at my son on my way. Fortunately, Daniel is engrossed in his show and probably didn’t even hear the doorbell.

  I look out the window and notice there’s a news van for the local TV station parked outside. I draw the blinds before peeking out the window in the front door to find a reporter and a photographer on my doorstep.

  “I’ve got this.” Griffin opens the door.

  “Miss Waters!” The man cries out. “What’s it like to have your high school boyfriend claim you’re the girl “One Love” was written about?”

  Griffin blocks the guy’s view of me and says, “No comment. She’s not available for interviews.”

  “Maybe let her answer that,” the guy says.

  Griffin lets out low growl since the Heartland reporter is a shifter too. “I know you have questions, and I’m happy to schedule a time to talk, but right now I ask that you respect our privacy.”

  “Mommy,” Daniel says, and I look down to see he’s by my side.

  I take his hand. “It’s okay, bud.”

  The reporter leans around Griffin and leans down to ask, “Hey, little guy. Happy to have your dad around?”

  Griffin grabs the guy by the arms. “I said no questions!” He pushes the reporter back. “Now get out of here before I call the police and report you for trespassing.” He slams the door so hard it shakes and turns to me with a look of fear. “Mandy, I’m so—”

  “Are you my daddy?” Daniel asks as he lets go of my hand and steps toward Griffin.

  Griffin looks at me with panic, and I do what any good mother would do. I quickly accept that the truth is out and keep the situation as calm as it can be. “Yes, Daniel. Griffin is your Daddy.”

  “Cool.” He looks up at me, completely unfazed by the situation. “Is he going to live here now?”

  I am not quite so accepting of the fact Daniel knows who Griffin really is, but I do my best to hide it. “We’ll have to see about that. Why don’t you go back to your show so I can talk to Griffin?”

  He turns away from me and returns to the TV as if I just told him dinner will be ready in an hour. The moment he sits, tears fill my eyes and I look at the man who caused them. I shake my head as my heart breaks. “I trusted you.”

  “Mandy, I—”

  I grit my teeth and say, “Go. Just go so I can figure out how I’m going to deal with this. Because you are no longer calling the shots when it comes to my son.”

  Chapter 32

  GRIFFIN

  She’s angry, and I don’t blame her. Hell, I’m pissed off too. I didn’t expect the local reporter to show up, and that’s completely my fault. I should have thought about the fact this is definitely small-town news.

  “Mandy, we need to talk about what we’re going to do. You’ve never had to deal with the press before. It’s not as easy as you seem to think.”

  “No?” Her wolf flashes in her eyes and her hands are clenched as if she’s trying not to shift. “Seems simple enough to me. You just don’t tell anyone anything and lay low.”

  I sigh. “Look. There’s always been press here. Heartland has a newspaper, and I’ve gotten a call or two from them for an exclusive. I just ignored them.”

  She pulls the blinds open to peek outside. “That’s not working out so well for us. They’re still out there, Griffin.” Mandy turns to me with tears in her eyes. “What about Daniel? How could they?”

  I reach for her, and she steps back as tears roll down her cheeks now. “How could you?”

  It occurs to me that Rachel was right. And it makes perfect sense the reporter figured out Daniel was my son. Heck, he probably frequents the diner and already knew Mandy had a child. All he had to do was ask an innocent kid a question and see Mandy’s reaction to get his confirmation.

  “I’ll get you security, and if we just let—”

  “No. This is all about you and your career without any concern for me or Daniel. You didn’t ask me or try to talk to me about telling everyone about us. You just made the decisions that benefited you the most.” She swipes a tear from her cheek. “What about Daniel? Did you even consider what going public would do to your son?”

  My chest tightens because the last thing I wanted was to hurt my son. “It wasn’t supposed to happen yet. Rachel promised to keep Daniel out of it.”

  “Who’s Rachel?”

  “My publicist. She thought it would be best to go with a press release about our relationship before speculation ran rampant. And we were going to come up with a plan about Daniel.”

  “Oh, you were, were you? Was I going to read about that on the mayor’s phone too?”

  “No. Of course not. I was going to tell you what I did after your shift, but it happened so fast.” I want to kick myself for being such a fool. I should have known Rachel would have the news out within the hour and that it would hit the internet sites soon after.

  “I thought I was doing the right thing releasing the news about us. I know more about being in the public eye than you do, and I thought I was better equipped to make the decision right there and then.”

  Mandy glares at me as her nostrils flare with anger. “You’re right. I’m not some big star. I’m just some small-town waitress, but this is my life you’ve just messed with. You come strutting into town, and the next thing I know your fame is swallowing me whole. This whole thing is too much, Griffin.” She turns away from me and walks over to the kitchen counter where she places her hands on it and bows her head.

  Her body shakes with her sobs, and I walk over to place a hand gently on her back. “Mandy, please. Let me fix this.” She’s letting me touch her, and I take it as a good sign. “We need to talk to Daniel.”

  She inhales deeply and turns to face me. “Yes. We do. He needs to know that you are not moving in here. That you will be part of his life because I’m not cruel, but you aren’t going to be part of mine, Griffin. Not now. Not ever.”

  Sharp pain slices through my heart like a knife. I gulp instead of fighting back. “If that’s what you want.”

  Fresh tears fall down her face, and she sniffs to try to control them. “It’s not what I want, Griffin. It’s what I have to do. You said you could trust me, and I thought that meant I could trust you too.” She hiccups and glances into the living room where Daniel is. “But…”

  Mandy looks up at the ceiling for a moment before gazing at me again. “I need a minute.” She walks away and into the bathroom.

  After the door shuts softly, I go to the living room to sit near Daniel and gauge how the news I’m his father is aff
ecting him. I plop down on the sofa as casually as I can.

  Daniel looks over at me. “Is Mommy mad at you?”

  “I think so, bud.”

  He reaches over and pats my hand. “Do you want a string cheese? That always make me feel better.”

  “Sure. I’d love one.” I’m touched by his empathy to my situation, and I wonder if that’s a trait your parents teach or if it’s innate. Either way, I have to credit it to Mandy.

  He goes to get the cheese, and when he returns, he climbs on the couch and wraps his arms around me. He pats my back the way I imagine Mandy does to him and says, “It’s going to be okay. She just needs to know you’re really sorry.”

  I don’t know what it is about his words or his actions, but my eyes tear up, and as he moves over to sit and watch his show, I say, “Thanks, bud.”

  I catch Mandy’s movement out of the corner of my eye, and when I look at her, I wonder how long she’s been standing there. I think she may have seen the hug because she’s got her arms wrapped around herself as she silently cries.

  I don’t hold my tears back either because I unintentionally betrayed her trust, and I know exactly how that feels.

  Chapter 33

  MANDY

  I chop up cooked broccoli into small pieces and my spoon scrapes against the pot as I stir the florets into bowtie noodles with butter and parmesan cheese. It’s the only way to get some good vegetables into Daniel. He’d eat meat and cheese all day if I let him. Making dinner also keeps me busy so I don’t throttle Griffin for making us prisoners in my house. Besides, we have to eat.

  The reporter is still outside the house in his van waiting for one of us to come out, and Griffin refused to leave before he gets me some security. Because we’re in Heartland, it’s a little tricky. The guards need to be shifters, but he swears he can arrange it. I should probably be grateful he’s trying to fix things.

  My wolf growls at me. He made a mistake. Like we don’t know how those happen.

  I frown at the reminder of how I got pregnant with Daniel. I reply, This is different.

  Is it? Griffin didn’t think about all the consequences of his actions. He didn’t know what was going to happen. Just like you didn’t.

  Shut up, I say.

  Pasta plops on plates as I dish it out, and I bring our dinner over to the table. I call out, “Daniel. Griffin. Dinner time.”

  They both sit at the table, and Griffin says, “Looks great, Mandy.”

  “Thank you.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Daniel watching Griffin carefully. Griffin picks up his fork, spears a piece of broccoli and puts it into his mouth. “Mmm, delicious. I love broccoli.”

  Daniel frowns for a second but stabs his own small floret and puts it in his mouth. Figures all it takes is his dad to get him to eat vegetables willingly.

  As we eat, Daniel chats non-stop about the show he and Griffin were watching. After every fact about the show, he stops and looks at Griffin. “Isn’t that right?”

  Griffin nods. “Absolutely, buddy. You know it way better than I do.”

  This pleases Daniel, and he continues talking. At the end of the meal, Daniel looks at me. “Griffin should eat dinner with us every night, Mommy.”

  This morning I thought that could be the plan. I smile instead of making any promises.

  He looks at Griffin. “Are you going to sleep over again? We can have pancakes for breakfast. You do know how to make pancakes, right?”

  A noodle gets stuck in my throat, and I cough to clear it. Griffin looks at me with wide eyes. Since he hasn’t gotten a call from his shifter security friend, I have a feeling he is staying tonight, and I say, “Yes, Griffin is going to spend the night. He’s going to sleep on the couch.” Then quickly I add, “Again.”

  Griffin gives me a relieved smile and then looks at Daniel. “I make the best banana pancakes ever.”

  Daniel cheers. “Yeah!”

  My throat thickens, and I take another bite of my pasta to help ward off the tears that want to come. I had hopes we could become a family under one roof, and my heart is breaking that now we can’t. All because of the stupid press.

  I remember a scandal that happened after Griffin got famous. A video went viral of him on a tropical beach with another guy. They were sitting together on a blanket, heads together. It was a twenty second clip, and whoever posted it claimed that Griffin was gay and the guy he was with was his boyfriend. The press had a field day with it, and I remember seeing more videos of paparazzi following him everywhere, to the gym, to the store, to the studio, out for a meal, barraging him with non-stop questions about his sexuality.

  Griffin denied it but never engaged the press more to explain what they’d seen. Months later it came out that the other man in the video was a fan of his who had been recently diagnosed with brain cancer. Griffin had taken him, along with his wife and children, to a resort in the Bahamas. It was on the man’s bucket list. The truth came out after the man died and his wife leaked the story to the press.

  When we’re done with dinner, Daniel gets up to go to the bathroom and I stand to clear the table. “Hey,” Griffin says softly. “Sit for a minute.”

  I sit back down, expecting him to apologize more. He says, “Daniel doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact I’m his father. Do you think he’s handling it okay?”

  I nod. “He is. I might as well have told him it’s going to rain. That’s the thing about kids his age. They accept what we tell them and don’t ponder the strings that are attached.”

  Griffin let’s out a sigh. “Good. At least I didn’t ruin his life too.”

  I sigh too because I realize I’m being a little hard on Griffin over this. “You didn’t ruin my life. It’s just—”

  “You don’t trust me now. I get it, Mandy. I know how you feel.”

  See? My wolf pipes in. He knows what he did and feels bad. They say forgiveness is good for the soul.

  Hmpf. And our sex life.

  My wolf chuckles. True. Very true.

  My wolf communicating with me makes me remember what she said earlier. I made a very big mistake by not telling Griffin about Daniel and he’s found a way to move past it. I may not want a romantic relationship with Griffin now, but I know in my heart if I’m going to co-parent with him then I need to try to do the same.

  Chapter 34

  GRIFFIN

  When Daniel returns from using the bathroom after dinner I say, “C’mon bud, the rule in my house when I was growing up was that the cook doesn’t clean the kitchen. That leaves us. Ready to help me?”

  I wash and he dries. My son is so cute standing on a chair at the sink with a dishtowel in his hand ready and able to dry whatever dish I hand him. I only hand him the small, light things and tell him that it’s better to leave the big heavy things to dry in the dish rack. He seems to think that’s a great idea. I love this little man.

  Mandy and I need to talk more, and I’m relieved she’s agreed to let me stay the night. But I don’t want to have our conversation until after Daniel is asleep. I initiate a fun game with him that will tire him out quickly.

  With Mandy’s permission, I set up an obstacle course through the house. At each checkpoint stop, we have to do something like jumping jacks, or hop from one foot to another. After about an hour, my plan has worked, and Daniel is exhausted.

  “Time for bed,” Mandy says.

  Daniel pouts, but I think he’s too tired to whine. “Fine.” He walks reluctantly down the hall before coming back to say, “Good night Griffin.”

  I smile, wondering when we’ll transition to dad. “Night, bud.”

  While Mandy tucks him in, I take a breather and go outside in the backyard. The reporter is still here, but I don’t think he’ll approach me on the back deck, and I make my way out there to enjoy the evening air. A camera flashes, and I’m tempted to flip the guy off, but with my luck it would make the news. Besides, I expected it.

  It occurs to me that since I’m used to the
reporters and photographers, this whole thing might not seem like as big a deal to me as it does to Mandy. I remember now how unsettling the first few times I was hounded felt. And I didn’t have a small child to protect.

  But we can make the best of this situation with Rachel’s help if I can convince Mandy to do it. Once we satisfy the public with information about our version of a family, they’ll tire of us. There are too many other scandals to take its place.

  I wave to the photographer before I go back into the house. Dude’s just doing his job, and I respect that, even if I don’t like that it’s Mandy and Daniel he wants to capture on film.

  I find Mandy sitting on the sofa with two glasses of red wine and a bottle on the coffee table. I take a glass and sit. “Did you have to read him a story or anything else?”

  She smiles. “No, he was practically out before his head hit the pillow. Your game was ingenious.”

  I lift my glass to her. “Beginner’s luck.” I take a sip.

  She runs her finger over the rim of her glass. “I’m still mad at you.”

  “You should be. I get it. I didn’t consider all the angles, and you’re paying the price for my mistake. Whatever we do from here is your call.”

  “Thank you.” She takes a sip of her wine and studies me for a moment. “How do you suggest we deal with the press and telling them about Daniel? My guess is we don’t have much time.”

  “We don’t. Once you tell me what you want to do, I’ll call Rachel. She can have something out by the end of the day.”

  Mandy lets out a big sigh. “What should we say? I mean, I can handle the fact I kept it a secret from you, but that sounds scandalous to me. They can turn that into something juicy easily.”

  “You’re right, but I’ve learned you don’t want to lie. That’ll come back to bite you in the ass. But we can leave that part out.”