Summer Shifter Days

by V. Vaughn

  “For the rest of our lives,” Will assured them. “Jen and the boys mean everything to me.”

  “Do they know, Cody and Jack?” Calista asked excitedly as she looked at the menu.

  “They do. Will proposed to me just before they left. Proposed to all of us, actually.” Jen took his hand. “They are very excited.”

  “That is so sweet,” Calista said. “What about Kelvin? Does he know?”

  “Yes, he does. One of the boys told him today. Apparently, he didn’t take it very well, and he and Sally-Ann have hit a bump in their relationship.” Jen tried to look sympathetic, but when her mom snorted it was difficult to hold that expression.

  “A bump in their relationship. Serves them right if that relationship goes right off the rails. The way they treated you was deplorable.” Meg’s voice rose, but then she let out a sigh. “Seeing you with Will puts me in a forgiving mood.”

  “Especially when she’s wearing his ring,” Tony added, earning himself a stern look from Meg.

  “Thaddeus, would you design my dress, for when we get married?” Jen asked. “If I can afford you.”

  Thaddeus was a fashion designer to the rich and famous. And if Jen wanted to wear one of his gowns, Will would pay for it. However, Thaddeus had no intention of charging a fee. “Of course, consider it my wedding gift to you. Call me in a couple of days and we can schedule an appointment.”

  “When is the wedding?” Meg asked.

  “We haven’t chosen a date yet,” Jen confessed. “I thought about a spring wedding…but I wondered if people might think it was too soon, as if I was marrying on the rebound.”

  “And since when do you care what people think?” Calista asked.

  “Yes, you survived Kelvin leaving, if that didn’t make people talk, I don’t know what would,” Meg added.

  “Thanks,” Jen said, looking flustered. “Shall we order now that we have that straight? I’m starving.”

  A murmur of agreement, and they all turned their attention to the menu. Will’s relief that Jen’s family had been so supportive allowed him to relax. Family gatherings weren’t really his thing, he was an only child, and his parents owned a large corporation. This meant Will spent more time in boardrooms and grown-up meetings than he did with is peers as he grew up. Not that he resented it one bit. Business was second nature to him, and he’d built his fortune.

  Which meant when they did get married and have a baby, he could be there, through the diaper changes and the sleepless nights. Unlike his father. And to some extent, his mother. Will had been raised by a steady stream of nannies.

  “Are you okay?” Jen asked. “We lost you there for a moment.”

  “I was just thinking what it’ll be like when we have a baby.”

  “Oh, are you pregnant?” Meg asked, her eyes wide, her look almost triumphant. “Is that why you’re engaged?”

  “No. It’s not.” Jen glared at her mom. “But we do want to have a child of our own.”

  Calista glanced at Thaddeus, who raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly. Jen watched the exchange, too, and if she guessed the news, she didn’t blurt it out. Calista took a deep breath and blushed. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  “Oh, my.” Meg put her hands over her mouth and then burst out laughing. “This is the night for announcements.”

  “Congratulations, both of you,” Tony said, hugging Calista.

  “Thanks, Dad. It looks as if we might all get our happy ever afters.” Calista beamed so brightly she outshone the stars.

  “You’re a lucky man, Thaddeus,” Will congratulated his friend.

  “I am.” Thaddeus looked from Calista to Jen. “We’re both lucky. It’ll be good for our children to grow up together.”

  “If you two have your way, we’ll have a big brood between us,” Calista told Thaddeus.

  “We already have two amazing boys in the family,” Will added, his hand on Jen’s thigh as he spoke.

  “Oh, yes, I bet you miss them,” Calista said to Jen.

  “I do, the house is too quiet. And too clean. I miss tripping over their shoes on the way out the front door. And it’s only been a day. How am I going to survive a whole week?” Jen asked. “Or is your surprise meant to take my mind off it?” She aimed her question at Will.

  He smothered a smile. “I thought you didn’t want to spoil it.”

  “I don’t.” Jen looked around the table, a mischievous expression on her face.

  “But we do,” Calista told him.

  “Oh, is that how you plan to get it out of me?” Will asked, a twinkle in his eye.

  “You can tell us. We won’t tell Jen,” Meg assured him.

  “Don’t believe them, Will,” Tony said. “These three women are the worst at keeping secrets from each other. I’m surprised Jen wasn’t on the phone as soon as that ring was on her finger.” He chuckled good-naturedly. “Ah, here’s the food.”

  The conversation turned to more mundane, everyday topics. Will listened and added his input when he could, but he was an outsider when it came to these family gatherings. He missed the boys, more than he thought he would. They were his friends, he could relate to them, because he’d been a boy, he’d gone through school and all that entailed. So when they talked about someone playing a joke on another pupil, he got it. But when Meg began discussing what Cousin Alfred said to Uncle George, he was lost.

  “I need to powder my nose,” Jen said, placing a hand on his shoulder as she got up from the table.

  “I’ll come, too,” Calista said, and Meg also got up.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them all so happy,” Tony admitted as the three ladies left the table. “I want to thank you both.”

  “For taking them off your hands?” Thaddeus joked, and Tony chuckled.

  “You aren’t wrong. There was a time last year, when Kelvin left, that I thought we’d have a houseful of children again. Not that I’d have minded. But I think it would have broken Jen to lose the house.” Tony’s expression hardened. “I won’t tell you what I dreamed about doing to Kelvin.”

  “No more than Jen would have liked to do to him herself,” Will told him.

  “They’d all have had to get in line. Calista talked about ripping him up into little pieces. Along with Sally-Ann. I’m glad she let that go, I didn’t want her to spend her life behind bars.” Thaddeus picked up his half-full glass. “Here’s to the ladies in our life.”

  “Here’s to the ladies,” Tony and Will chorused.

  “You must be proud,” Will said. “Raising two independent daughters.”

  “I am immensely proud. And of the two boys.” Tony sighed as he sipped his drink. “I know how excited Meg is about the baby, Thaddeus, but I can tell you, I’m overjoyed. I love being a dad, but now that I’m semi-retired, being a granddad is the best thing. I have more time to spend with my grandchildren than I did with my daughters.”

  “I’ll put you down for plenty of babysitting, Tony.” Thaddeus glanced at Will. “Here’s to our mates.”

  Will toasted with Thaddeus once more, his eyes drifting across the room to where Jen and the others had gone. He still hadn’t gotten used to being apart from Jen when they were out in company, and his lion stretched and sharpened his claws at the thought of anyone even daring to speak to her.

  It’s a good thing Jen can’t read our minds, Will told his lion.

  I’m doing my job, ready to pounce if anyone threatens her, his lion replied.

  Will smiled, his lion was just as protective over Jen’s two cubs. Jack and Cody held a part of his lion’s heart in their small hands. He would kill for them, just as readily as he would kill for Jen. Not that the chance was likely to arrive. This was London, not the savannah.

  A different kind of jungle, his lion replied.

  The women came back to the table and they ate dessert and drank coffee, until it was time to go home. Once they said goodnight, he opened the car door for Jen and she slipped inside.

  “That went well,” J
en said almost instantly.

  “I hope so,” Will replied, knowing there was more to come.

  “My mom really likes you. She suggested we get married as soon as we can.” Jen smiled to herself. “I think she’s worried I might let you slip through my fingers.”

  “Never going to happen.” Will glanced at her and then reached out for her hand as he waited at a stoplight. “This is forever.”

  “She still doesn’t get that part.” Jen nodded. “So let’s do it. I don’t care what anyone else has to say. It’s none of their business.”

  “So we’ll set the date?” Will asked hopefully.

  “Yes. April perhaps?” Jen asked.

  “That’s still a couple of months away.” Was he complaining? Yes, he was.

  “I want Thaddeus to make my dress. I can’t expect him to drop everything to get it done sooner.” She squeezed his hand. “But I can always tell him I’ve changed my mind. Since this is my second marriage, maybe I should wear something more suitable. A dress suit.”

  “Is this some kind of reverse psychology?” Will asked.

  “No. I’m not trying to manipulate you.” Her voice was sincere. “I have done the whole white wedding thing. I don’t mind if we just have an informal ceremony somewhere. Just you and me, Mom and Dad, plus Thaddeus and Calista. And your parents, of course.”

  He glanced at her sideways. “You don’t know my parents very well. I am their only son. This wedding is going to be big whether we like it or not.”

  “And they don’t care that I’ve been married before?” Jen asked.

  Will parked the car on the street outside Jen’s small suburban house. “You are my mate. It wouldn’t matter to them if you’d been married twenty times. You are mine.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her, his hand cupping her face. She was the most perfect thing in the world. He sometimes wished she could see herself through his eyes. He didn’t see a woman with a failed marriage, he didn’t see a single mother. He saw a courageous woman who had picked herself up, and not let the past taint her joy in life.

  She was the woman for him. And his lion would fight anyone who said otherwise.

  5

  Jen

  Another day over, Jen unlocked the front door and let herself in. The house was too quiet. Usually, when Jen got home, Cody and Jack were with her, instantly filling the house with noise. Voices chatting and singing, the TV playing a cartoon, a video game blaring at her.

  She missed them. But they needed to have a good relationship with their father, too. So she’d have to suck it up and get on with it. At least she’d spoken to them last night, and then again this morning as they set off for the final destination, a cabin tucked into the French countryside. Surrounded by a shallow stream and forests, Cody and Jack would be able to run and explore for hours. Even Kelvin and Sally-Ann might enjoy themselves and get over their lover’s tiff.

  Jen went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea, picked up a package of cookies, and headed for the living room. Sitting down on the sofa, Jen tucked her feet beneath her and picked up her book. Time to indulge in an hour of reading. Total bliss. No interruptions, no demands for food, or to go to the park.

  Maybe a week of peace and quiet would be good. Especially since Will would be here soon. With his surprise.

  She’d turned that thought over and over in her head all day. What could it be? She didn’t like him spending his money on her, despite the fact he had a lot of it. She smiled at the thought of him, and how he’d insisted on paying her mortgage since Calista moved out to live with Thaddeus when they got married.

  If it had been any other man, or any other relationship, she would have said no, politely but firmly. She wasn’t about to be bought by any man. But Will was a shifter. Which made life, and the rules she lived that life by, a whole lot different.

  Putting her book down, Jen headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Perhaps she might even lay the table with the best dinnerware and put candles in the center. She was musing over what might happen after, and whether that was her surprise…new lingerie for her to put on and Will to take off, when her cell phone rang.

  “Jack,” Jen answered the phone. “Everything okay?” Jen wasn’t expecting another call from her son until later this evening when they reached the cabin.

  “Sally-Ann wanted me to call you and tell you Dad has been called back to the office.” Jack’s voice seemed normal, but that didn’t waylay the sense of unease that filled Jen.

  “I thought he’d arranged a whole week off?” Jen asked, keeping her voice even, she wasn’t sure if she was on speakerphone and didn’t want to upset Sally-Ann anymore, not if she was solely responsible for the boys.

  “He did. But something happened. He said he’d try to come and join us in a day or two.” Cody’s voice sounded in the background. At least they were together, they would survive Sally-Ann as long as they had each other. Her mood swings were nothing they couldn’t handle.

  “Couldn’t Sally-Ann have gone?” Jen asked, going to the fridge to retrieve the cheese and placing it down on the counter. “They work in the same department.” As Jen knew only too well, since that was where they had met and begun having an affair.

  “No.” Jack’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I think he did something wrong. The man who called Dad sounded like you do when we play video games and don’t go to sleep.”

  Her heart rate increased and her unease grew. “Why didn’t you all come home?”

  “Sally-Ann said it was a pity for him to spoil the vacation for us all.” Jack’s voice brightened. “She said the forest is really dense and there are wolves in it.”

  “Did she?” Jen sighed. If the boys had nightmares, she wouldn’t be there to comfort them. “I don’t think there are wolves in France.” Were there?

  “Oh, she’s here. She says she wants to talk to you.” Another voice in the background, belonging to Jen’s ex-husband’s girlfriend. “I’ll give her my phone. Bye, Mom. I love you. Don’t worry.”

  “Bye, Jack, tell Cody I love him, too.” She waited for Sally-Ann to speak. In the distance, she could hear the boys talking and then their voice grew fainter. “Sally-Ann?”

  “Hello, Jennifer. It’s not often I get to speak to you.” Her voice sounded distinctly smug.

  “Hi, Sally-Ann. How are you?” Jen kept her voice friendly and even, despite the rising bile in her throat.

  “Good. Very good. The boys are enjoying themselves.” A pause. “Jack told you Kelvin had to go back to England.”

  “Yes, something to do with work.” Jen closed her eyes, trying to push back her rising panic.

  “Yes. He’s being accused of suspicious activity.” Sally-Ann left the words hanging with no further explanation.

  “I’m sure he’ll clear everything up and be back with you before you know it,” Jen replied optimistically.

  “I doubt it.”

  “What’s going on, Sally-Ann?” Jen asked at last. There was no use running around and around in circles. Something was off, and Jen needed to know what.

  “I have your children. You have money. I think we could organize a trade, don’t you?”

  Jen reached out and grabbed hold of the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Only two days ago, Jack had sat in it doing his homework before they set off on their trip with their father. What if he never sat there again?

  Jen swept those irrational thoughts away. There had to be some kind of misunderstanding. She must have misheard Sally-Ann, or the other woman was simply trying to frighten Jen.

  “Are you still there?” Sally-Ann asked down the phone.

  “Yes. I’m still here.” Jen’s voice hardened. “What are you doing, Sally-Ann?”

  “What am I doing?” Sally-Ann gave a hollow laugh. “I’m doing what’s best for me. Do you know what it’s like living in your shadow?”

  “Shadow? Wait, Kelvin left me for you.” Jen pulled out the chair and sat down heavily.

  “And everything was fine, until
you shacked up with that rich guy.” Sally-Ann hissed, “And then to get engaged!”

  “You would have been happy if I had stayed miserable?” Jen asked.

  “Something like that.” Sally-Ann sniffed. “Anyway. If you want to see your children again, I want a million in used bills. No police.”

  “A million?” Jen asked horrified.

  “It’s a drop in the ocean for that man of yours,” Sally-Ann called to the boys. “They don’t know a thing. Get me the money, and they never need to know. I’ll be in touch.” A muffled sound and then two voices called, “Love you, Mommy.”

  The line went dead before Jen had a chance to answer.

  The phone clattered across the kitchen table as it fell out of her hand. What the hell was going on? Was Kelvin in on this? Was his returning to work some kind of alibi?

  Jen leaned forward and breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. Falling apart was not an option, she had to hold it together. She had to get her boys back.

  Her phone rang again, vibrating on the table as she reached for it. “Jack!”

  “No, it’s Mom.” Her mom’s voice on the phone sounded so normal, Jen could almost believe that the conversation with Sally-Ann had never happened. But it had happened.

  “Hi, Mom.” Jen tried to keep her voice level, she needed time to think before she told anyone about this. If Sally-Ann was telling the truth, Jack and Cody were in danger, especially if the police were informed. Just how desperate was Sally-Ann, or how crazy?

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” Jen rubbed her temples. “Long day, and I miss the boys.”

  “I can believe it, nothing like a houseful of children.” Her mom chuckled. “Calista will soon learn that.”

  “She will.” Jen’s voice wavered, but she steadied herself. “I’m so pleased for her and Thaddeus.”

  “And I’m so pleased for you, Jen. I never got the chance to say last night just how much I like Will. He’s done wonders for you and the boys, and I don’t just mean taking the weight of your financial troubles off your shoulders.”