Blake: The Whitfield Rancher – Tiger Shapeshifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  Grannie left them then. She had done as much as she thought she could. As she was going down the stairs, she saw the front door open, and Evan come in. It seemed that Blake had wasted no time in getting to the bottom of this.

  Evan’s smile was tight when she greeted him. “Everything all right?” He told her that he’d been negligent in making sure the kids had their physicals for school. “They were all upstairs when I left them. You’re a good man for coming so quickly.”

  “You know.” She nodded at him. “I should have done this earlier and not let it go. But I had a clean bill of health from the adoption board that said there was nothing to worry about. I’m hoping that’s still true.”

  “I’m hoping so too. Just so you’re aware, I overheard the conversation, and Bennett was trying to get Joey to tell someone.” He nodded and looked up the stairs. Then he looked back at her. “It’ll be all right now, I’m sure. Once we figure out what this is, we’ll be able to take care of it, correct?”

  “Yes. That’s the good thing about being immortal, you don’t have to worry about nasty things like diseases and death.” As he walked away, she stopped him, asking him about immortality. “I shouldn’t have told you yet. I’m sure that Blake will get around to it. But as soon as you became a part of this family, you and Jaclyn, you became immortal. You won’t be killed.”

  “Are you sure?” This time his smile was wonderfully genuine. “What happens with Jaclyn? I mean, surely she’s not going to be spending the rest— I’ll talk to Blake. You go on ahead up and take care of— Well, take care of my great grandson for me. I need him around.”

  Evan came back down the stairs and kissed her on the cheek. After welcoming her to the family, he took the stairs three at a time to go up. Oh, to have that much energy again, she thought.

  Entering the kitchen to see how things were going in there, the foreman, Billy Cody, came to ask her about the specs on how the original building had been put together so he could replicate it. She told him that she had them in her luggage, which, as far as she knew, hadn’t arrived just yet.

  “It came a little bit ago. I had one of the men take it up to the yellow room. I don’t know what the flowers are that are on the walls, but that where it is. If you’d like to have a cup of tea with me and tell me some of what you know about it, then we’ll go and get them afterwards.” Grannie said she’d love to have a cup of tea with him. “This is hard work, remodeling a home. I try at least once a day to sit back and relax with some. Chills me right out.”

  The two of them sat and spoke for an hour before she headed up to get the information that she had. It was in her late husband’s handwriting, and she held it to her like a love note. He had designed the building that Jaclyn, then Shadow, used before she had. It was a wonderful tribute to Wayne to have had a building that he’d fixed up for them.

  When Evan came down after she handed the notes of the building over to Billy, she asked him if Joey was all right. She knew that it was bad because of the stiff way that he was holding himself.

  “He’s been abused, sexually. Not recently, thank goodness, but enough that he’s in so much pain that he can’t go to the bathroom. The children of a good friend of ours had the same trouble.” She asked him what he could do for the little boy. “I’ve given him a shot that should help him heal from the hemorrhoids. Blake is going to give him a bit of his blood to take care of the rest. Had you not heard them talking, I shudder to think what would have become of this. Thank you, Grannie. You might not have saved his life in this, but you certainly helped him be able to deal with the pain of it.”

  “And the person who did this to him? How will they pay?” This time when he smiled, she shivered. “I don’t think I want to know anymore. I’m just glad that you or someone is going to be taking care of it.”

  “You can bet on that.”

  With a quick kiss to her cheek, he was gone again. She watched him get into his car and drive out of the drive. Grannie decided that she’d had enough excitement for one day, and went to the library to look around.

  The shelves were filled with books and pictures, but it was the kind of books that caught her eye. There were books on about every kind of repair that she’d ever seen. Repairing a tractor, a fence line, as well as a computer. It seemed that Blake was not only talented but liked to take things apart to fix them.

  There were first editions too, alongside paper books with as large a variety of titles as the hardbacks. Romance novels and science fiction. She smiled when she saw a couple of the romance books that she’d read, and a few that she’d not. Grannie made a mental note to ask him if she could read them when she wanted to.

  “Miss?” She turned and smiled at Joey as he stood just in the doorway. “I lied to you. I mean, not really, but we knew that you were in the hallway. That’s why we talked so loud.”

  “I don’t mind, but why would you do that?” For an answer, he hung his head. “Come over here and sit with me, Joey. I think you and I have to come to an understanding.”

  “My dad used to say that when he wanted to hurt me.” She was shocked speechless. “I don’t think you’ll hurt me, but I’m sort of scared of all big people. You know what I mean?”

  “I do, and I’m terribly sorry for that. No child should ever be afraid of anyone that is related to them.” She patted the seat by her on the couch. “I only meant to tell you that you could come to me at any time and talk to me. Even if you don’t want me to tell your parents, I won’t, unless it’s important that they know. Like this thing with you hurting. I never want you to be hurt again.”

  “Can you give me a hug?” She had to hold back the tears as they filled her eyes. Nodding at Joey, she held out her arms, and he launched himself at her and hugged her like it was the last one he was ever going to get. “Can I call you Grannie too?”

  It was something that she’d only thought of, these boys accepting her as their own. When she pulled him from holding her around the neck, she could see that he too had been crying. Hugging him quickly, she looked him in the face again.

  “I would be honored if you were to call me Grannie. Shadow is my granddaughter, so I’ll actually be your great-grannie, but Grannie is just fine and dandy with me.” He asked if Bennett could, as well. “Yes. But no pressure on either of you. I want you to know, Joey, that I’m going to be a good grandma to you both. You’re my very first great-grandchildren.”

  When he ran off, she leaned back on the couch. A great grandchild. Two of them, she thought. And the way that Blake was going, she’d have more before too much longer. It would be nice to see Shadow large with a child.

  Getting up, she decided she needed a job. Something for a little spending money for her and the kids to have fun on. Get an ice cream before dinner. A pair of shoes for the beach. Things that she’d done with Shadow when she was younger. Oh, Grannie thought, she was going to have fun getting into trouble with these two.

  ~*~

  Bryant stood up when Shadow and Blake entered the room. He felt horrible for staying with Blake’s brother until he got to talk to the young woman, but they had done nothing but make him feel welcome. But today, he had to leave. There was a gallery showing, and he had promised to be there for this one.

  “I’m so sorry to rush you like this.” Shadow said he’d not at all, and she appreciated him giving her time. “I’d do just about anything you wanted to tell you how blown away I was by your work.”

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” He could tell by the look on her face that she’d not expected him to like her work. “You’ve seen my work, correct? I mean, my granny’s and my mother’s things are in the building as well.”

  “You did the carousel horses, though?” Bryant was just a little afraid that he had the wrong impression who did what out there. However, when she nodded that she’d done those, he let out a long breath followed by a giggle. “You are quite talented, my dear. Ev
ery time I look at the pictures that I took of them, I find another spot of talent that I hadn’t seen before.”

  “The horses. The large, cumbersome horses that are made of glass. That’s what you’re referring to.” He laughed again. “Those are just fun for me. I thought you were talking about the other pieces. Those are smaller. Not by much, but easier to handle than—”

  “You have more horses?” Shadow shook her head then nodded, and told him that she’d made a carousel of unicorns from the smaller horses. “I must have missed that. Please tell me you have a picture of it?”

  Shadow pulled out her phone and answered him at the same time. “I did this for an order a long time ago. But before I had it completed, the people got a divorce and said that they’d no longer need it. I got paid the fee that I wanted for the cancellation. Also, I had them sign a paper saying that they were no longer interested in purchasing the piece, and didn’t care if I sold it. It was a lot more technical than that. I hired an attorney to write it up for me.” She handed him the phone. “It’s heavy. I mean, heavier than one of the single horses are. There is wiring to it that runs the horses in a circle, but they don’t bob up and down. Also, there is a light at the top of it that changes the color on the clear glass, so that it looks like the unicorns change color.”

  “Holy fuck.” He looked at them both. “I’m so sorry, but had I seen this piece, I wouldn’t have waited for you to have time for me. I would have barged right in on you. Do you know how much this would be worth for you?” She only shrugged and told him what she’d asked for it. “You were so undervaluing your work, my dear. And we’re going to put you on the map to being one of the most sought after artists in the world. If you’ll allow it.”

  “The world? Come on. It’s just a bunch of glass stuck on a frame. I don’t think anyone would pay anything more than what I asked before I put the lights and revolving mechanism on it.” He asked if he could show it to someone and sell it for her if they agreed to wait to pick it up. “Sure, I guess. I mean, it’s not like it’s doing me much good in the barn it’s stored in. But while I have no idea what you’re going to tell him its worth, Bryant, I don’t think it’s worth more than the three grand that I asked for in the first place.”

  Pulling out his phone, he asked her to send the pictures of the carousel to him. She asked if he wanted the video, too, and he nodded as his phone was being answered. Asking Jake, the most flamboyant man he knew, if he could put him on speakerphone, he laughingly agreed.

  “Jake, I think I have something for your new place. It’ll be perfect for your front lobby barroom.” Jake told him that he had something now, but was thankful that he’d kept looking for him. “You’re going to change your mind as soon as I send this to you. I’m sitting here with the artist and her husband. Shadow and Blake Whitfield, this is Jake Marsh. Jake runs a string of upscale restaurants across the country.”

  “Hello there, Blake and Shadow. My, what a pretty name. I might have to change up the names of the people working here.” Bryant explained that all the waitstaff wore the same name on their badges. It was a running joke for Jake. They both laughed. “Send me the picture, Bryant. If they laughed at that, I’m going to see what she’s done.”

  Sending the pictures Shadow had, he sent the video last. He could hear Jake talking to the contractors that were still working on the latest restaurant and waited for him to say something about the pictures.

  “Oh. My. God.” Jake squealed when he got the pictures. “Where is this person that made this, Bryant? I might need to go to her and worship her like the goddess that she is. Tell me it’s not one of those little bitty things, but big enough to take up space.”

  “With the canopy top, it’s about six feet tall. But it’s about twenty feet wide. Thank you for liking it, Jake. My mom used to love unicorns.” Bryant could tell that Shadow thought that was the end of things concerning the carousel. “I think it’s a little over the top, but I was having fun with it.”

  “It’s perfect. How much do you want for it? I want it badly, my dear.” When Shadow started to speak, Bryant shook his head. This was why he was so good at his job. “I know that I’ve given you an edge, Bryant, so you have to know right up front I won’t pay any more than three million for it. If I had seen this before spending my budget on the other piece, I would have been able to pay more.”

  Shadow looked shell shocked. Blake was laughing and holding his hand over Shadow’s mouth. The look on her face was simply priceless. He spoke to Jake when he said his name again.

  “I’m negotiating the price now, Jake. Just give me a moment or two while I put you on hold.” Jake upped his price to five million. “Give me a moment.”

  As soon as he put the man on mute, Shadow leaped off the couch and began pacing the floor. When she didn’t say anything, Bryant looked at Blake. He was as calm as he’d ever seen anyone before, and Bryant was slightly worried about him and what he was about to say.

  “You’ll get a commission off this, correct? How much, if you do?” Bryant had to think fast but didn’t do it quickly enough. “I’m assuming that since you’re a critic and not a promoter, you don’t normally do this sort of dealing.”

  “No, you’re right. I was only hoping to get him to like it. It never really occurred to me that he’d want it that badly. I was trying to prove a point to Shadow.” Blake looked at Shadow, who was still pacing. “I don’t think she is impressed as much as I thought she’d be.”

  “Neither do I. She’ll need a promoter, as well as someone she can trust to handle the moving and the packing of her things. I can do both of those. I used to promote luxury cars when I was in college. It was fun, and I was good at it.” He asked about the packing and moving. “I’ll hire who I can from the pack or the leap that we’re in. They’ll have to be there to move and take care of the setup. I’ll pay to have them do that. You’ll have to tell your friend that he’ll need to wait until after her first showing, which I’m going to work on to make it happen soon so that she can have a broader range of her things.”

  Glad for his help in this, Shadow sat down beside Blake. “This is too fast for me. You are making plans while I’m sitting right here. Don’t you think I should have some input in all this?” Blake kissed her on the mouth and said sure, so long as she didn’t tell him she wasn’t going to do this. “That is precisely what I’m going to say. How do you know this man is really going to buy it? He just might be in on this with Bryant.”

  Bryant laughed. “I didn’t know about the carousel before I came here, so there is no way we could have planned this.” She told him she was sorry. “Don’t be. It’s natural to assume that I might be shafting you. However, I know what your husband and his family are. I might be a stupid person, but I’m not that stupid.”

  “I’ve never let anyone see my stuff before. It was just my way of dealing with the stress with everything.” Bryant felt sorry for her and took her hand into his. But first, he looked at Blake to see if he might be pissy about it. “You really think that he’ll buy this from me? I don’t want him to change his mind. I’ve had that happen before with this piece.”

  “I promise you if he doesn’t buy it, I will. I’m that sure that he’ll pay for it as well.” Bryant asked if it was all right if he spoke to Jake again. “He’s more than likely having the other piece taken out as we wait on him.”

  “Yes. Sell it to him. But wait until I’m out of the room. If he’s changed his mind, don’t tell me. Not today, anyway.” She stood up, and so did he and Blake. It was nice to see the younger generation still doing that when a lady stood up.

  “Are you all right with the sale too? I don’t want to step on toes here.”

  “It’s her piece, but I think I’ll be the one taking over your duties for her. We both know that you’re a better critic than most people give you credit for.” Bryant thanked him for that. “It’s my pleasure and the truth. You sell this piece, and I
’ll figure out the rest for us. I’m going to figure out what the going rate is for commissions on such pieces, and you and I, we’ll work out a small partnership with this deal. Is that all right with you?”

  “It is, and more than fair. As I said, it wasn’t my intention to have him buy this piece. But I have to tell you, it sure made my heart beat a little faster.” Blake said it did his too.

  Right then, Bryant knew that he’d never bet against or play any betting games with this man. He was much too cool and calm to read. As soon as he got back on the phone with Jake, he knew that this was going to be his last commissioned sale. He liked this family much too much for that.

  “Seven mill, Bryant, and that is the limit I can go. I’m willing to wait on the piece so long as it’s not too long. But I want it as soon as she can release it to me.” Blake nodded when Blake looked at him. Bryant told Jake he had it for seven million. “Good. Now, let’s talk, you and me, to see when we can settle up.”

  “Blake will be taking over from this point, I’m afraid. It was amazing to do business with you.” Leaning back on the couch, he watched young Blake as he spoke to Jake. Yes, sir. He’d never play against this man in any setting.

  Chapter 5

  Shadow didn’t want to talk about the piece. Instead of hanging around and listening to them talk, she went outside to stand on the lovely deck. There was a pool in front of her that only been finished a few days ago. Also, there was a new pool house, as well as what looked like a garden.

  Making her way to where she heard some noise, she watched in awe as the walls to a very large building were going up. One of the men spotted her and came over to where she was standing. “What do you think of it so far?” She asked what it was going to be. “Your studio. I was to ask you before it was finished if you wished to have windows in the place. Your timing could not have been more perfect. Do you?”