Blake: The Whitfield Rancher – Tiger Shapeshifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  Mr. Toliver spoke next. He had more to say about his Joey, telling them that they thought him to be a pervert, and explaining that the reason he’d been hurt the other day at school was because he’d been trying to look up another student’s dress.

  When they’d had their say, Shadow stood up and began pacing the room. The teachers looked at her all smug and stuff, and it was all Ollie could do not to get up and slap them three ways from Sunday.

  “I guess what you’re telling me is that he’s a bully. That there is nothing going on here that would make him want to protect himself. Is that it?” The three of them nodded like they’d won the battle. “I think you’re all full of fucking shit.”

  “Figures. When things don’t go your way, you start talking like you were born in a gutter. Does your husband know how you speak to your betters?” Shadow asked her what she meant. “Well, we’re educated and holding down a full time job. Here you are with a man old enough to be your grandfather, who you more than likely are two timing poor Blake with. Did she make promises to you, mister? Did she tell you that she has access to a great deal of money? Well, I’m betting that after today, they’ll be divorced so quickly you’re going to be long dead dust before she is able to give you anything.”

  Ollie laughed. He just couldn’t help himself. He was old enough to be her granddaddy because he was. When he was calm enough to look at Shadow, she nodded at him. Time to bring out the big guns. But first, he had something to say.

  “I love her.” The teachers only rolled their eyes at him, and he tried to think what their problem was. “You know, I just figured out that you don’t know who I am, do you?”

  “An old man that is being taken for a ride.” Ollie nodded and stood up. “You poor man. Did you meet her in a bar somewhere? I’m betting she was dancing on a pole or something. Oh, before I forget to tell you, Mrs. Whitfield. The cameras in this room have been turned off. We wouldn’t want any of this to get back to our boss, now would we? No one is going to believe you anyway. After the lies we told everyone about Joey, this place will have no trouble believing us when we tell them everything you said to us. How, as we said, you met this man. How you go to bars and pick up younger men too. No one will believe a word out of your mouth.”

  “What about the funding that comes to this school? I thought that everything that was going on here was taken care of months ago when they fired the librarian here.” Miss Mann said that had made it so they could all have raises. But nothing more. “You knew what he was doing to those children, what he did to the teachers? How could you?”

  “Easily. We don’t have to use our own money to pay for things that kids like Joey and those that came from where he came from never have. We have a lovely break room with everything that we need. And as soon as we get a few more teachers on board with us, we’ll be able to weed out the ones like Joey and Bennett and have the cream of the crop going here. Why do you think we put on faces when the Whitfields are around? For all this.” Mr. Toliver spoke again. “Not only do I have more money than I’ve had at any other teaching job I’ve had, but between the three of us here, we rule this place. And we’re not going to change that simply because you got something going with Blake and try to ruin this for us. It’s simply not going to happen.”

  “You think not? Well, I have news for the three of you. My name is Oliver James Whitfield. I am the patriarch of the Whitfield family.” Ollie grinned. “And if you’d care to have a gander behind you there, you’ll see that first and foremost, everything has been recorded and that there is the educational board.”

  “You can’t do this to us.” Shadow asked them why not. “Because we’re going to make this school the best there is. Why did you have to come here anyway? What did we hurt? Nothing. You tricked us.”

  Miss Mann stood up. “I don’t know what was going on here, but this was all funning around with Mrs. Whitfield. There is nothing on that recording that is true.” She smiled and looked at him. “Surely, Mr. Whitfield, you can see where this was a joke. We never meant a word of it.”

  Dylan pushed a television set in and plugged it in. Ollie knew that she was enjoying this. The girl loved to help people that needed it. And them boys, they needed it right about now. As soon as the video started to play, the police came up to the three teachers and cuffed them. It was the other two teachers that surprised him, and he looked at Dylan when she started reading them their rights.

  “Mr. Justice, Mr. Redding, you’re being charged with sexual misconduct on school property. Also, having alcohol on the premises.”

  As Dylan read off the charges to the other three, Ollie looked at Shadow as she talked to the board. He’d just bet they were asking her to be on the board with them. Couldn’t hurt them to have someone like her on the board. But when she shook her head, he knew that they’d have to do some fancy dancing to get her to come join them. When she sat down next to him, looking exhausted, he asked her what they’d wanted.

  “I’m shifting my boys to the pack schools. They’ll get a better education there, and they won’t have the stigma of having their mom being a troublemaker. I was thinking that they’d still be treated differently, but not in the same way. There is the added fact that they’ll be safer. That’s all I’d ever want for any child. Don’t you think?”

  Something that he’d not thought about. This girl was smart. “I do. You did a good job here, honey. Not only did you get the bad guys, but you also took care that a great many people knew about it.” She told him that Dylan was going to release it to the newspapers. “Good for her. She’ll have us the finest teachers around when this is done. And even though your kids don’t go here anymore, other kids will be better off with the simple fact that you showed them we don’t take prisoners here.”

  Shadow laughed. It was hardy and made him think that he’d caught her off guard with it. When she kissed him on his cheek, he put his hand over it. Never in all his life had a kiss to his old cheek given him such warmth. It also brought a few tears.

  “Don’t be sad.” He told her he wasn’t at all. “I have to tell you something, Grandda. I love you very much. And from the stories that I heard about your wife, I think I would have loved her just as much. She was a good woman. And if this child is a little girl, which I’m hoping for a great deal, I’d be honored if you allowed Blake and me to name her after her.”

  This time he did sob a little. When she hugged him, it was all he could do to hang on to what little dignity that he had left. He’d not cried like this since his lady wife had passed away. Now here he was being given a second chance on being with her namesake again.

  “Her name was Rose March. Born in that month too.” Shadow told him that was about as perfect as could be, as she thought she was due then as well. “She’d be so pleased, Shadow. I bet you that little Rose will be watched over just a little extra with her grandma up there looking down on her.”

  “Of course she will.” With another hug, Shadow stood up. “I guess from what I’ve been told, it takes hours to get ready in a snazzier way. I would have been thrilled to just wear jeans and a T-shirt, but that guy Huff said that I should be the hit of the night.”

  “You’re going to shine.” She kissed him again, and Blake came to stand next to her. “You take care of this one, Blake. She’s on her way to being the belle of the ball. Shadow, there is my girl, and you’ll do well to keep on her good side. All right?”

  “I will, Grandda. Did she ask you about the baby’s name?” He nodded, still too tender to talk about that just yet. “Grandma would be pleased, don’t you think?”

  “She would at that, Blake. More than pleased, she’d be in her element, she would.” He thought of her knitting some booties and such. “I’ll have to look around. She might well have made up a few extra things when you boys were little. I’ll look in some of them boxes I got.”

  Blake invited him to have lunch with them, but he declined. He had a
hankering to go and talk to his wife for a little bit. Standing up, Ollie realized that he was feeling better than he had in a long while. Why he thought he’d just walk to the cemetery today. Might do him some good to get in better shape now before a lot of kids wanted to hang out with him.

  Life was much better than he’d thought it would be about now. He was going to tell his Rose all about it, too. He might not go as often as he usually did, but great grandchildren were coming, and he was sure that his wife would understand that better than anyone he knew. She surely did love them baby boys when they were tiny.

  ~*~

  Shadow refused to walk around the gallery. Blake could understand why—she was terrified. He’d yet to figure out why she was so afraid, but he was going to support her in this. When she had more of these kinds of things going on, he knew that she’d get better. But for now, she was getting her feet wet. Blake saw Huff coming toward them and told Shadow.

  “I thought I heard that you were here. What do you think?” Blake said that he thought things looked lovely. “Shadow? What do you think? I’ve had my crew working on the displays all day. Did you see the old ticket machine there? I found that a few years ago in my momma’s garage. Never thought I’d be able to use it. Did you—?”

  When Shadow took off, running as best she could in heels, Huff looked at him. Blake explained how nervous she was and that they were expecting. Nodding, the man looked so disappointed that Blake told him that Shadow was already working on other ideas.

  “Really? Well, that’s just wonderful. And that was very sweet of her to send me that fruit basket too. Never had anyone do that before.” Blake hadn’t been aware that she had done that but thought that Huff was right, it was a nice thing to do. “I know she’s ailing and all, but what do you think of the setups? I was ever so careful to make sure that nothing was broken. Oh my, some of those things are heavy, aren’t they?”

  “They are.” Huff took him to the carousel and showed him how he’d hooked it up. Blake had never seen it all put together before, and was excited to see. “The other horses, where have you put them?”

  “I’ve put them in the hall coming to this masterpiece here. She agreed to let me have some of her smaller pieces here too. Some of them are exquisite, you know.” He didn’t and told the man that. “You’ve not seen her work? My goodness, why, Blake? She’s something to be very proud of.”

  “She is at that, but we’ve only just gotten married, and we had a few bumps in the road to getting there.” He nodded and turned the mechanism on so that the carousel would move. “Holy Christ, that’s beautiful.”

  It was more than that, it was spectacular. The four horses were beautifully done, and the colors, all earth tones, shone brightly all around the room. Gem-like embellishments seemed to make them seem more like the fantasy that they were, and fun. Their manes looked so real that he had to touch his fingers to one of them just to see. The way they were done on the necks of the horses made him think that they were going very fast.

  The music coming from the thing was perfect for a child, whimsical and happy. Blake could swear he heard laughter as it moved in the circle. When he realized that Shadow had joined him, he hugged her, his happiness was so over bounding.

  “The lights from the top aren’t on.” With a few adjustments—Blake wanting to tell her it was perfect the way it was—colorful lights came on, enhancing the beauty of the entire thing. “There. Also, did you know that the music can be changed out? All you have to do is buy some of these little cartridges to use. I had this one in the shop, but I think it goes well with it, don’t you?”

  “I do. I was just thinking about how I could hear a child’s laughter.” She told him that he did, it was part of the cartridge that she had in. Blake was disappointed in that. “Don’t tell anyone that. The illusion of thinking you’re hearing it is much more fun. Has the man who purchased it seen it yet? I’m sort of hoping that he’ll change his mind. I’d love this. I have no idea where we’d put it when you start working, but it’s a wonderful piece of art, honey.”

  Shadow pointed out the grass that was glass as well. The lights around the carousel were fake, of course, but it didn’t matter. The pictures in the panels had been painted by her too.

  “They’re drawings that I did as a child. Playing around under my mom’s feet when she was working.” Huff asked her if that was where she got her name. “It is, as a matter of fact. My grannie called me her little shadow. I don’t think Mom enjoyed working out there as much as Grannie and I do. But she does still come out and keep me company when I’m out there.”

  “Oh my, how I wish I’d known that before. I could have printed up a whole story about it.” Huff left them there, and Shadow leaned back on him as the working carousel went round and round.

  “How are you feeling now?” She shrugged, and he kissed the top of her head. “Huff will drive you crazy, but the setup is really nice, don’t you think?”

  “I do. And I meant to tell him that. Did you see any of the other pieces? I know you saw the horses, but the smaller pieces are in the other room.” He said that this one was all he’d seen. “Come on. I want to bounce ideas off you while we look at them. Also, I wanted to thank you for the cooler in my office. I don’t usually get cold things to drink while I’m working. I’m terrified that a drip of condensation will hit a piece, and it will shatter. With it in my office, I won’t have to worry about that. Grannie already filled the freezer with candy bars too. Those mini ones are my favorite. I can suck on them until they melt and get a boost of energy from them. I tend to forget meals when I’m into something.”

  Blake hadn’t thought of that. He’d only put it in her office area because he didn’t know her flow of working and didn’t want it in the way. But now that he knew that, he’d make sure that it was filled up daily for her.

  The smaller pieces, only because they were smaller than the carousel, were just as magnificent. Again, the colors were beautifully blended and well put together. He fell in love with the pitcher and glasses set. The curves of each glass were just slightly different but still looked like a matching set.

  In addition to the glassware set, there were vases with flowers in them—amazing colors and fanciful flowers. There were birds and butterflies around them, hanging from the petals with the barest of wire. He stopped in front of a hummingbird that looked as if it were contemplating whether or not to go to the feeder in front of it. When Shadow joined him again, having been called away by Huff, he told her what he thought of it.

  “My grandma used to feed the hummingbirds when I was a child. I think she even did it when I was older too. She would take pictures of each one that came by and name them. I haven’t thought of that in decades.” Blake was disappointed to see a sold sign on it. “I was thinking how much Grandda would love this. I could see him putting it by Grandma’s grave.”

  “He bought it. Yesterday when he came by to have a look-see, he told Huff. I have no idea what he got it for it, but Huff was afraid I’d be upset because he’d paid for it. I guess Ollie told Huff that it meant more to him that he had paid for it rather than me just giving it to him. Ollie said that he loved it. Instead of me giving it to him after it was made. I think I love that old man more than I do you sometimes. He makes my heart feel like it’s full to the top.”

  Blake wasn’t even upset that she loved his grandda. Blake had noticed that the two of them were very close. And after she’d told him what Grandda had said about them naming a daughter for Grandma, Blake knew that Grandda would move mountains for her. It was fitting, Blake thought, that they were so close. When he’d been a child, the baby of the family, he and his grandma had been like that. Two green beans in a pot, as Grandda would say.

  When his family showed up to show their support, he was amazed at how great his parents looked all dressed up. Dad was rarely in anything but jeans and an old shirt—Mom wore jeans too. But to see them looking so
dapper, Blake had to hug them. It was then that he noticed that Grandda was wearing a tux.

  “I wanted to make her proud of this old man. And did you know she gave me a rundown on all the pieces so that I could act as a guide? I have to tell you, Blake, she sure is a pistol, that one.” Confused, he asked him why he’d say that about being a guide. Grandda handed him the cheat sheets. “Put in curse words like I was actually going to be able to repeat them. And those little notes at the bottom of each of them nearly had me giggle myself into a mess.”

  They were funny and not appropriate for strangers. One of them that struck him as particularly funny was for Grandda to tell people to fuck off when they asked why the prices were so high. Blake didn’t even wonder if that was going to be a problem. Everything would sell or not. Neither of them cared. But deep down, Blake hoped that it all sold. It would be a major boost to Shadow’s self-esteem. He knew that it would be for him if he were in her shoes.

  Grannie came with the rest of his family. Jaclyn was at the pack house enjoying movie night. They’d been taking her over there so she’d be used to them and not be afraid of them being strangers. Since she knew who Nate was, it made things much easier as a place she could go and be safe. And safe was all she really needed from now on.

  People started coming in a little while later. Jake Marsh was so excited about his piece that he told everyone that came near it he’d purchased it and had gotten a great deal on it. Blake didn’t know exactly what he’d paid for it, only that it was several million. Now that Blake could see it in person, he did think the man had gotten a great price.