Lacey stood as tall as her five feet, three inches took her and pulled down her T-shirt proclaiming “llamas are the new unicorns” before stomping over to confront him. “My name is Lacey St. Claire. Of the Raleigh St. Claires,” she announced.
Wayne frowned. “Do I know you?”
“No, but I think you know my friend, Kimber Bromstad.”
Kimber’s eyes opened wide as she realized she’d just been outed by her fiery friend. Taking a deep breath, Kimber stood up and turned to face Wayne.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “How did you find me?”
Wayne looked uneasy at the wall of angry femininity that surrounded him. He glanced at Mel, seeking an ally but was met with stony silence. He held up his cellphone. “Social media,” he said.
Kimber fumed. She’d been super careful not to talk about Anthony on any of her social media accounts. Someone must have tagged her in a post. “Why are you here?”
Wayne looked down at his pale, almost feminine hands. Kimber mentally shook her head. Love or lust must be blind. Had she really thought he was good looking at one point? He was barely a two.
“I missed you,” he said, his voice taking on a faintly whining tone.
“Oh, no you didn’t,” Lacey said, pushing up her sleeves. “I will personally smack the little weasel around.”
Kimber smiled at Lacey’s passionate defense. Kimber put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I got this,” she said, unsure which of them she was trying to convince.
Wayne waited until they were alone, cups of coffee in front of them as they faced off. “Have you missed me?”
“After having sex with you one time while you fumbled in the back of your mother’s car, I got pregnant. You told me to have an abortion and that if I didn’t, you would terminate your parental rights so you wouldn’t have to pay child support. Yeah, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you being gone!” Her breath huffed with her indignation. “What in the blazes would lead you to think I would miss you?”
His eyes scanned her body, and Kimber resisted the urge to hide her curves. Instead, she tilted her chin up proudly.
“You’ve put on weight.” His lip curled in disgust.
“And you’re still a dick.” When his eyes opened wide in surprise, she smiled. “We’re playing ‘let’s state the obvious’, right?”
“Did you have the child?”
“Not your problem, Wayne. I agreed to your terms. No child support. No parental rights.”
“You took my money,” he accused, jaw tight with anger. “I have every right to know what you did with it.”
Kimber shrugged with feigned nonchalance. It was only a few hundred, but perhaps he did have the right to know what she used it on. “I supported myself until I got settled.”
“I thought that freak brother of yours gave you plenty of money.”
Her temper was at the end of its tether, but she was also curious. It was obvious Wayne hadn’t missed her. Wasn’t curious about their baby. What did Wayne want?
“I’d be careful if I were you. The woman with the short blonde hair behind us? That’s my brother’s mate. She’s probably wondering if she can sharpen her butter knife well enough to stab you with it.” Kimber glanced over her shoulder at Hadley. Hadley lifted her butter knife in mock salute.
“I know you had the kid,” Wayne spat out, finally getting to the point. “I want to see it.”
Kimber’s foot began to tap against the worn linoleum floor. She needed some outlet for her fury. He didn’t even know Anthony’s gender. “You signed over your parental rights, Wayne. Refused to help support your own child. What possible reason could you have for wanting a baby in your life now?”
The bell over the door to Kimber’s back jangled, and awareness prickled her skin. Dan, Anthony, and the other males were back from house shopping.
Dan
Dan couldn’t wait to show off the house he wanted to put in an offer on. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and space for a pottery studio. The interior needed a little work, but between their collective skills, it was nothing they couldn’t put to rights.
The air in the diner felt wrong as it rushed over his skin. His sharp gaze took in the interior, dim compared to the brightly lit afternoon. The women sat in the corner booth, but they were too still. Too quiet. Watching.
Dan continued to scan the interior until he spotted Kimber sitting tensely across from a young guy in perfectly pressed khaki slacks and a pastel polo shirt. Wayne, he thought with derision.
He was good looking in that charming frat-boy way, Dan thought. Could probably be charming when he wanted to be. But why was he here now?
“I’m going to go find out what’s going on,” Dan said, leaving Quinn and Hunter in his wake.
“What’s going on?” Quinn asked as he and Hunter joined Hadley and Lacey at their table.
Dan was a man on a mission, which included staking his claim on both Anthony and Kimber.
“Hey, Babe,” he said easily as he approached their table.
Kimber looked over her shoulder, and Dan was blown away by both her strength and beauty. “Missing my two favorite guys,” she teased with a little nose wrinkle.
“This is Wayne,” she introduced once Dan stood close enough. Dan nodded once at the younger man. “And this is Anthony.”
“My son,” Wayne said.
Dan wanted to deny it. Everything within him wanted to protect the little family he’d claimed as his own. It nearly killed him, but he gave Kimber time to respond.
“You didn’t want him, Wayne. Remember?”
Wayne eyed Dan up. Dan suspected the other man hated that Dan stood while he remained seated. But, judging by his stature, he wasn’t much taller than five foot six or seven. A height that would hardly intimidate Dan’s own six feet, six inches.
“I changed my mind. Move back to Raleigh. Let me make it up to you.”
Kimber’s shoulders stiffened. “I won’t deny you supervised visitation with him, but you haven’t earned anything more. I live in Silver Fells now. If you want to see our son, you can come here.”
Something ugly and petulant played over Wayne’s face. “He’s one of them, isn’t he?” he asked, chin jutting out at Dan. “A freak like your brother.”
Hunter’s growl echoed in the small dining room, making Wayne flinch.
Dan sighed. He was so tired of the bullshit of hate that came from citizens who enjoyed the freedoms the Shifter Forces helped protect while simultaneously hating their mixed DNA.
“Yep. A freak,” Dan challenged, raising one eyebrow.
“I could report you. My father says that shifters and full humans can’t be together.”
“You sure about that?” Dan asked. “I’d call the Bureau of Shifter Affairs if I were you. I’ve read my contract and all relevant laws. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
Realization shone in Wayne’s eyes when he became aware he wasn’t going to intimidate anyone. He picked up a napkin and pulled a pen out of his pocket. “Here’s my number. Call me when you can, and we can arrange visitation.”
Kimber’s jaw set. She pulled a pen and an old receipt out of her purse. “You call me when you are in the mountains again.”
“You moved away,” Wayne said. “Giving me access to our son is the least you can do.”
“I had no choice in the matter, Wayne. I had nowhere to live. It wasn’t like you or your parents wanted to help me.”
Wayne’s eyes narrowed in annoyance as he accepted the slip of paper she handed him. “This is a long way to drive,” he said.
Dan wondered if Wayne heard the testy whine in his voice. Probably not. His kind was rarely that self-aware.
“It is,” she agreed. “But not insurmountable.”
Wayne’s glare went from Kimber to Dan before settling briefly on the baby in Dan’s arms. “Fine,” he agreed. “Let me review my calendar, and I’ll call you next week.”
“I’ll be waiting for your call,” Kimber promised lightly.
/>
Wayne pushed away from the table, nodded to Dan, and left.
The entire diner seemed to take a sigh of relief as the last of Wayne’s cologne wafted out the door.
“You okay, Kimber?” Hunter asked from his spot next to Hadley.
Kimber nodded and stood. She put her arms around both Dan and Anthony and sighed. “You’re good with him,” she whispered.
Anthony let out a breathy little sigh as he dozed on Dan’s chest, and Kimber giggled at the picture they made. “Can we go home? I need to be with just my menfolk.”
Dan nodded. “Did you plan the wedding?”
Kimber shrugged. “I don’t care about any of that. We can get married on the porch at the resort and have a cookout. I’ll run to the mall tomorrow and pick up a dress.” She looked around Dan’s bulk. “Is that okay with you, Lacey? Quinn?”
Quinn nodded. “A Saturday morning ceremony would be nice. Maybe we can even get Creole and Tamara out of hiding.”
Dan grinned. The mountain lion shifter and his mate were notoriously private.
“Saturday good for you?” Kimber asked.
Dan brushed a kiss on her forehead. “Sounds perfect,” he agreed. He held his entire future within the span of his arms. Their future was as bright as the skies surrounding their world.
Epilogue
“I don’t want you to leave,” Lacey announced as she walked into the room.
Kimber glanced over at Lacey. “I’m pretty sure Quinn needs to actually rent out his own cabins. Not use them as pity residences for displaced family. Or not family.”
“You’re family,” Lacey said with a stubborn tilt to her chin. “And Quinn needs to worry about what I need. And I need you guys close.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’ll be close by. Dan and the boys have been working on the house as a surprise for me.”
“We’d better still plan on monthly lunches.”
“Always,” Tamara said. “You ladies are the sisters I always wished I’d had.”
“There,” Melody declared as she stepped back from the bride. “Your make-up is perfect.” She shot Lacey a bit of side-eye. “If Lacey can keep from crying, we might just be able to go through one ceremony without touchups.”
Lacey sniffled happily. “Our family is growing. I’m overjoyed.”
Hadley hugged her friend. “And when Lacey is happy she leaks,” she teased gently. “Now, all we need to do is get you to walk down the aisle.”
Kimber frowned. “You and Quinn didn’t have a ceremony? I figured you did that before I got here.”
Lacey blushed. “My parents want a full wedding. Church. Our pastor. The whole shooting match.”
“They know Quinn is a shifter?” Melody asked. She arched her back, stretching out sore muscles. Her baby bump was becoming more pronounced.
“They know. Daddy is talking to the governor. Seeing what he can do to get the laws changed. Insisting there is no earthly reason the Equal Protection Clause shouldn’t apply to shifters, too.” Lacey tucked her head shyly. “I didn’t want to tell ya’ll until I knew more.”
Hadley, Kimber, and Tamara looked at each other as they recognized what Mr. St. Claire was doing.
“That’s a pretty big step,” Kimber said softly. She stood up and allowed her white eyelet dress to float around her hips and thighs. Paired with worn leather cowboy boots, she was the picture of a country bride.
“We’re worth it,” Lacey said and winked mischievously. “Never underestimate the power of friends in the state capitol.”
Flo knocked and entered Little Yellow carrying the baby. Anthony watched the world from her arms with bright, curious eyes. “The groom is getting restless,” she announced with a grin.
Just outside of Little Yellow was the strum of music, letting the women know it was nearing the time for the ceremony. “It’s time,” Kimber agreed. She accepted a bouquet of daisies and baby’s breath from Hadley. “Y'all ready?”
They lined up one by one to walk down the aisle for the ceremony. Quinn stood tall and proud, ready to declare them mates. Dan was ready to make her his spouse while Hunter watched with careful eyes.
And if anyone noticed Melody and Rafe’s long, meaningful glance at each other during the ceremony, no one commented on it.
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Other books by Summer Donnelly
Shifter Special Forces
An all new shifter romance series!
Her Lonely Mastiff
Her Broken Bear
Her Mountain Lion’s Mate
A Home for her Hawk
Having her Jaguar’s Baby (Coming soon!)
An Interview with her Bear (Coming soon!)
Witches of Warren County books
Where magical realism meets happily ever after
(in suggested reading order, but each book is a standalone in the series)
Cupid’s Bow Anthology – Dear Kitty
Hummingbird Dreams
Hummingbird Lost
Fae and Frost, a Christmas Romance
Dandelion Wishes
Releasing Sloane Harper (part of the Creek Corner sub-series)
Loved by Beauty (part of the Creek Corner sub-series)
Honeysuckle and Roses
The Failed Ex-periment
Earth Angel
The Three Wish Mermaid
CyberWar: Digital Battlefield Anthology (CyberPrime) – Stronger Together
Haunted Hearts I – Broomstick Breakdown
Under the Mistletoe
Harper’s Mill Historical
Dear Kitty
Harper’s Mill YA universe
Autumn Kisses
A Snowball’s Chance
Spring’s Promise
He Loves me, He Loves Me Not
Seasons of Love (collection)
Creek Corner Road stories
(Related stories set in the Harper’s Mill Universe)
Phoenix Romance Anthology – Adventures in Bobby-sitting
Holiday Heartwarmers Anthology– One Dollar and Eighty-Seven Cents
Releasing Sloane Harper
Loved by Beauty
Apple Blossom, NC books
Sweet contemporary romance
(In suggested reading order)
Haunted Hearts 1 – Make room for Jimothy
Phoenix Romance Anthology - Waiting for Poppy
Midnight Honey
Mysterious Hearts Anthology - Girls just Want to Solve Crime
By Any Other Name – Shortshanks and Sweet Porridge
Let Down Your Hair - Anthousa, Xanthousa, Chrisamalousa (Primed Fairy Tale)
The Grifter Sisters
The adventures of two runaway sisters making their way the only way they know how. Is it their fault that’s more than the law allows?
Here Come the Grifter Sisters
Back to School with the Grifter Sisters
A Dose of Medicine for the Grifter Sister
Finding Trouble with the Grifter Sisters (coming May, 2018!)
The Art of the Grift (coming June, 2018!)
A Home for the Grifter Sisters (coming July, 2018!)
Standalone Anthologies
Prime Fiction (Phoenix Prime Anthology)
Prime Fantasy (Prime Tales)
Journal With a View: July - August - September (Phoenix Journals)
Belle-Belle and Geirald the Coward (Primed Fairy Tales Book 6)
Bluebeard (Primed Fairy Tales Book 7
Fairy Ointment (Primed Fairy Tales B
ook 8)
Hearts in the Sky - Can I be Your Hero?
The Klondike Bride Series (with Mildred B. Lewis)
A sweet mail order bride series
Sweet Charity
A Touch of Grace
New Series Thistle Grove Tales
Where fairytales meet real life
Red
Snow
Standalone Young Adult Fantasy book
A girl. A sword. A kingdom worth fighting for
Adela of Stone Keep
A Home for her Hawk Page 7