Justin (Fairplay Shifters Series Book 1)

by Serena Meadows

  It was time to go home and let Chloe grow up; he’d gotten the summer he’d wanted, taught her as much as he could about how her life was going to change in the next year. Now all he could do was hope that his daughter was up to riding out the changes that were going to happen to her. He’d also spent a lot of time thinking about Chloe’s mother that summer; seeing her in Chloe reminded him how much he’d loved her and how much it had hurt when he lost her. But what he’d discovered on some of those long nights sitting by the fire was that the pain and loss he’d felt had changed.

  He discovered that it no longer physically hurt when he thought about her; the pain had eased until all he felt was a slight pang deep inside. He still loved her, would always love her, but that love had changed as he’d learned to live with the knowledge that she was gone from his life forever. Now he felt oddly empty, like there was a part of himself missing and he wondered if in healing the wounds left from losing the love of his life, he’d given a piece of himself away.

  Just then Chloe came running up looking more like the little girl she used to be, her hair in pigtails, her clothes dirty. “Daddy, Uncle Steven says that you’re holding us all up. He wants to know if you’re getting too old for this,” she said, a big grin on her face.

  “Oh, he does? Well, you can tell him that I’ll still be faster than him when we’re eighty,” Justin said, grabbing her and giving her a big hug. “Now, since I’m so slow, maybe you’d like to help me.”

  ***Annabelle***

  Slipping out of her kitchen door, cup of coffee in hand, Annabelle headed straight for her favorite chair. She’d found it in a little antique store; over the past few weeks after she’d finished the patio and she’d made the cushions by hand with some help from the woman who ran the crafts shop in town. The cushions, along with the fresh coat of paint she’d given the wrought iron rocker, ensured it was where she spent most of her time.

  But this morning the air held a definite chill, so she reached down and turned on the little heater she’d splurged on to give herself just a bit more time to enjoy the beauty of the place she now called home. In the two months she’d been in Fairplay, she’d watched the landscape change from the lush green of the early summer to the crisp browns of late summer.

  She looked forward to her first glimpse of the mountains in the morning, always took the time to look for the subtle changes that had happened the day before. This morning the sight that greeted her nearly took her breath away, the sudden explosion of color so surprising that for a second her eyes couldn’t take it all in. Over the last few days, she’d noticed little bursts of color in the trees, flashes of red and orange, but this morning the forest looked like it was on fire. It seemed to her that overnight the forest had decided that it was fall, announcing it loudly with the brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds that only nature could create.

  Annabelle took a deep breath of the crisp early morning air, gave herself a few more minutes to enjoy the display in front of her, then reluctantly got to her feet. She didn’t have time to sit and enjoy the view this morning; today was the first day of her new job as the one and only third-grade teacher in the town of Fairplay. If she was honest with herself, she’d have to admit that she was more nervous this morning than she’d ever been in her entire life, but she wasn’t being honest this morning; she was being confident.

  She’d met the other teachers and they’d all been very nice to her, but she knew that she was still an outsider in town and would be for a while. Part of her could understand why; she’d swept into town, bought a church and then spent a small fortune renovating it. Her instincts told her that some of the women in town didn’t like her just because she was young and pretty, but she ignored them knowing that time would show them that she wasn’t after their men.

  Knowing that feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to help, she pushed those thoughts from her mind and thought about her classroom. She’d worked hard to create the kind of environment any third grader would love and was pleased with what she’d created. It was also exciting that she would have help from the middle school, a seventh grader who would come to her classroom for an hour each day. She hadn’t met her helper yet but had been told that she was a great student who had volunteered the year before.

  Plus, today was only the back-to-school barbeque: a chance to introduce herself to her new students and their parents. She knew that the students would be no problem, kids always liked her; it was the parents who worried her most. Some would worry that she was too young to teach their children, she’d had that problem before, and then there would be those mothers who automatically resented her for her youth. But by far the worst were the helicopter parents who seemed to constantly be hovering around, looking over her shoulder and making her question her every decision.

  Being a teacher was far harder than she’d understood when she’d declared her major, but it was also far more rewarding. The children gave her energy, filled her with amazement and most of all showed her that life could be simple if we just let it be. That’s why she liked working with the elementary kids; they still lived in a world that was simple, still believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. When she was teaching, she could block out all the rest of the world, live for those minutes in that simple world.

  Today, that’s what she was going to do: keep things simple, ignore the whispers behind her back, and do her best to become a member of the community that she’d chosen as her home.

  ***Justin***

  Shifting on the picnic table bench, Justin turned his attention to the woman sitting next to him. He’d been here an hour, and all he’d heard about was the new teacher at the elementary school, and the more he learned, the clearer it became that the woman they were talking about was his mystery woman. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out; he’d been able to smell her the second he got out of the truck. His reaction had been just as fierce, but he’d known that it was coming and used all his control to ignore feelings rocketing through him.

  After an hour, he’d learned that she’d come back to town and announced that she was staying, that she’d be one of the new teachers at the school. Then she’d bought an old church, spent a fortune on renovations, and was happily living there, completely at ease with the fact that the old graveyard was only feet from her front door. Some people thought that it was strange, that she was hiding something, but many others were simply curious about their new neighbor. It was the same kind of small town talk that he’d grown used to, but this time he found himself more interested, more willing to listen to the gossip.

  It was clear that he and this woman were meant to meet, that fate had decided to intervene in their lives and throw them together. His attraction to her was fierce and primal; he knew that he’d never be able to ignore it, and if she felt the same way then what would follow would be impossible to stop. But he had to proceed carefully, had to make sure that he wasn’t acting only on instinct; that could get them both hurt. It had happened before, and it could happen again, and he refused to be responsible for another woman’s death.

  Pushing those dark thoughts aside, he concentrated on what the woman was saying, trying not to grimace when she said, “If you ask me, she’s got something to hide or she’s running from someone; it’s just not normal for someone that young to have that kind of money.”

  Justin was quickly getting tired of the conversation and began looking for a way out, luckily Chloe came running up just then giving him the excuse he needed. “Daddy, come meet the new teacher. I’m her student volunteer this year,” she said, pulling him to his feet.

  He shrugged at the woman. “Excuse me, duty calls.”

  ***Annabelle***

  “Wait right here. I want you to meet my dad,” Chloe ordered Annabelle, then jumped up and ran across the park.

  She’d been entertaining Annabelle with stories about her summer herding cattle in the high country, when she’d jumped up all of a sudden, given her order, then disappeared into the crowd. Smiling at h
er enthusiasm, Annabelle got to her feet and put a smile on her face, something that always seemed to break the ice, but she really wasn’t feeling it. After almost two hours of meeting new people, she used up all her energy just trying to remember everyone’s name; now she’d have a new one to add to the list.

  She saw Chloe first, her hand firmly holding onto a much larger one. When her eyes followed that large hand up the arm, she found herself looking at the cowboy who’d stared at her so intensely earlier that summer. Her heart practically stopped when his green eyes met hers, and what she could describe only as desire filled them. It was exciting and frightening all at the same time to have a man who didn’t even know her look at her that way.

  Then, before she could collect herself, he was standing in front of her, and she couldn’t manage anything more than the smile that was stuck on her face. He reached out to shake her hand, and for a moment all she could do was stare at it, knowing that the moment she touched him, her entire world would change. She couldn’t explain how she knew that, but she did; something deep inside her told her that this man was going to change her life forever.

  Chapter Five

  ***Annabelle***

  As fall turned to winter, Annabelle found that life in Fairplay was becoming easier, that she was beginning to feel like less of an outsider. People had stopped whispering behind her back as they got to know her, and several of the teachers had warmed up to her enough that she’d been included in coffee mornings on Saturday. She went to her first high school football game in September and discovered just how much fun it was to sit in the stands and cheer on the home team.

  With each passing day, she knew that she’d made the right choice: that this little town was where she was supposed to be right now. Only one thing still bothered her; Chloe’s father, Justin, was like a spirit hovering over her happiness. No matter how much she loved having Chloe in her classroom ever day, it meant that she could never quite forget the blond-haired, green-eyed man who made her feel so many things she didn’t want to feel.

  When they’d met at the barbeque, she was sure that he was as attracted to her as she was to him, but he only shook her hand, made some polite conversation and walked away. Since then she’d seen him around town a few times and at the football games but he seemed to go out of his way to avoid her, crossing the street, or ducking into a crowd when he saw her coming. That was fine with her; romance was the last thing on her mind, and she could already hear the talk around town if she became involved with one of the most sought-after men around. At least that’s what she kept telling herself when she’d see him in town or at one of the football games and her heart would do a flip-flop at just the sight of him.

  With Halloween just around the corner, the whole town was buzzing with activity; decorations were appearing on every building in town and preparations for the big party at the recreation center were already underway. Annabelle had let herself get pulled into the excitement after she’d been nominated to play one of the witches in the haunted house. She knew that someone had done it as a cruel joke, but she didn’t care. Instead she embraced the role, went all out on her costume and decorated her house.

  The fact that she really was a witch only added to her enjoyment; of course, no one had the slightest clue about that, as she’d been much too careful. They didn’t know that underneath the woman they saw every day there were powers that would blow their minds, that she could, if she wished, control their minds. Only a few people knew how truly gifted she was, and although at times it had felt more like a curse than a gift; she’d finally managed to learn how to control it, how to live like a normal person.

  When the big night finally rolled around, she delivered the cookies she’d promised, then slipped over to the haunted house down the road from the recreation center. Taking her place behind a curtain, she waited for the first visitor thinking that she’d never had more fun in her life. The smallest kids would come first so their scare would be easier; it was the high school kids who were going to be difficult, but Annabelle knew that her size would give her the advantage.

  ***Justin***

  Justin hated haunted houses, they made him nervous, worried what he might do if someone really did scare him, but Chloe had insisted that they go. In previous years, he’d always managed to talk her out of it by telling her that he was too scared, but this year she’d told him to face his fears and led him by the hand down the street. They’d stood in front of the old house looking up at the windows, and for a minute he hoped that Chloe had chickened out, but then she gave his hand a squeeze and pulled them forward.

  “Just remember that it’s not real and you’ll be fine,” she said, as much to herself as to him. “Ms. Simmons is one of the witches so it can’t be that scary.” Then she took a deep breath and climbed the steps.

  It wasn’t that scary inside, they’d clearly planned for the smaller kids, but he could tell that Chloe was still a little scared so he put on a big show for her. Every time something scary happened, he wrapped his arms around her and pretended to need her to protect him so by the time they were halfway through, she was laughing instead of screaming. After that, she seemed to enjoy the scares, but when they climbed to the second floor, he instantly picked up the familiar scent of Annabelle Simons and his senses went wild.

  He was prepared for the clown that popped out at them when they got to the top of the stairs, but Chloe wasn’t; she screamed and threw herself into his arms, propelling them down the hall. His senses battered by the intoxicating scent, he tried desperately to right them, but their momentum carried them several feet, where they bumped into a figure standing in the moonlight. It took him only an instant to realize that the figure was dressed as a witch and that it was Annabelle before they collided with her, ending up in a heap on the floor.

  Chloe was wedged between them, but that didn’t stop him from feeling her firm body under his, and his blood began to boil with desire. Before he knew it, Chloe had scrambled to her feet, the look of shock on her face quickly turning to one of pleasure when she recognized Annabelle.

  “I thought you were a real witch,” Chole said, then jumped to her feet. “This is fun; let’s keep going.”

  Justin and Annabelle still lay on the floor where they’d fallen tangled together; they looked up at the girl and then at each other. When their eyes met, a wave of electricity shot through Annabelle, and she inhaled a shocked breath as her whole body began to tingle. Justin was very aware of Annabelle’s body crushed beneath his, could feel every luscious curve pressed up against him, and knew that if Chloe hadn’t been standing there, he would have acted on the impulses that throbbed inside him.

  Instead, he reluctantly got to his feet and pulled her to hers, his eyes never leaving hers. Now that he was finally face to face with her again, he suddenly felt unsure of himself: a feeling he hadn’t had in many years.

  “I’m sorry,” he stammered, then noticing the dust on her costume, he reached out to brush it off. “You’re all dirty.”

  When Justin’s fingers brushed across her skin, Annabelle felt warmth spread through her followed by a tingling deep inside and the ridiculous urge to kiss him. “Oh, that’s okay,” Annabelle said, forcing herself to break eye contact; she turned to Chloe. “Clowns scare me too.”

  “I thought I wouldn’t like being scared, but it’s fun. Come on, dad, let’s keep going,” Chloe said, pulling on his hand.

  Justin smiled at Annabelle. “It was nice bumping into you,” he said, feeling stupid but unable to think of anything better to say.

  “You too,” Annabelle said, sorry to see him go.

  Justin turned to go, but then turned back and on impulse asked, “Are you going to be at the dance later?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, we’re not going to be done here until late,” Annabelle stuttered shocked by the question.

  Justin felt a stab of disappointment; he’d been dreading the dance, hated the stupid things, but the prospect of seeing Annabelle there had suddenly appe
aled to him. “Things don’t get good until later, if you decide to go save me a dance,” he said, then let Chloe pull him down the hall.

  ***Annabelle***

  Walking into the gym at the high school alone felt a little strange to Annabelle; she knew that there would be people there that she knew, but sometimes it was hard being alone all the time. She’d had no plans to come to the dance, was afraid that it might send a message she wasn’t ready to send but knowing that Justin was there had made it impossible to go home. He was leaning up against the wall across the room watching the door when she came in, and as soon as he spotted her, he began walking toward her.

  Annabelle watched him walk across the floor, his movements so fluid he reminded her of a cat: a big, sleek mountain lion. A shiver went through her when his eyes met hers, but then he smiled, and goosebumps broke out over her skin. The answering smile that blossomed across her face was as involuntary as the feeling of happiness that made her feel slightly too warm. When he reached her, he let his eyes roam over her costume, appreciating how the long black dress seemed to only accentuate her ample curves.

  “You look even better in that costume in the light,” he said, making her blush.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said, thinking that he made the perfect vampire, except that he looked much alive.