by Marie Harte
Once a curious, rebellious silver fox, she’d grown into a much more cautious, reserved Shifter who shied at anything resembling a serious relationship to keep their guardians happy. No thanks to Aunt Lynn and Uncle Harry, two frigid, snotty silver foxes masquerading as caring guardians. The whole clan wasn’t as bad as her aunt and uncle, but Julia refused to look beyond her carefully placed boundaries, worried about getting her sisters kicked out of town.
Ty had been sniffing around her sister for years, but Julia didn’t see it. Gabby had, and she’d subtly encouraged Ty whenever she could. Unfortunately, he had a head full of pride. Typical male. Still, he had a generous heart, standing in the community and the backbone to do the right thing even in the face of great opposition.
He’d been elected to sheriff a few years ago. The youngest one Cougar Falls had ever had. Gabby couldn’t fathom the degree of patience it took to keep the peace in their nutty little town.
Sitting across from them, she watched Julia whisper something in his ear that had him frowning. They were so perfect for each other. Both gorgeous, in man’s form and as foxes. Both responsible Ac-taw who cared for rules and the town as much as anything else. Ty’s levity and sexy charisma tempered Julia’s seriousness and her prudish mien when it came to sex. Personally, Gabby blamed Aunt Lynn for that.
Gabby could care less about what her relatives thought. But perhaps that was because she knew she’d never belong.
Unfortunately, silver foxes had a reputation for not tolerating differences. If one of her relatives had been a bear, she could have found solace with the Bear Clan. They accepted anyone with even a hint of bear in them. The Catamounts had several kinds of Shifter in their clan. But those other Ac-taw were good friends of Burke Chastell, men he’d known for years. Gabby didn’t know Burke well, and she wasn’t normal, even by Ac-taw standards. And neither were her sisters.
“What are you staring at?” Julia asked, defensive.
Gabby realized the table had grown silent while she gazed at her sister, woolgathering. “Oh, nothing. Just contemplating the glow of love between you two. Or should I say, you four?”
She ignored Julia’s scowl and Ty’s raised brow. Oh, the stubborn man could say what he wanted, but Gabby knew love when she saw it. Ty had it bad, he just hadn’t admitted it to himself. Maybe Gabby should help him. Hadn’t she convinced Meghan to follow her heart? Even if it was all the way out here to Nowhere?
“The one thing I don’t get, Jason, is how different you are from your family,” she said to diffuse the tension.
Everyone turned to Jason, who fidgeted. He was so cute. No wonder Meghan had fallen for him. Short blond hair, twinkling blue eyes and a warm smile he had specially for her little sister. Why couldn’t Julia see the way the two leaned into each other so naturally?
Jason laughed with self-deprecation. “Don’t think too badly of my family. I know they’re out there. Problem is, my dad’s a throwback. He’s a chauvinist and doesn’t care who knows it. I have no idea why, but Mom loves him.”
Meghan chimed in, “I like your mom. She’s been so nice to me.” Gabby noticed she didn’t mention his dad.
Jason grinned. “Mom is great, yeah. But Dad… Where do you think Ned gets his charm?” he asked with sarcasm. “In case any of you are wondering, Meghan and I are not going to live here. We’re just visiting this last time to please my mother. Then Meghan and I are settling down in Seattle. Trust me, it’s far enough away my family will never visit. They don’t leave Nowhere. Ever.”
“Good,” Julia muttered.
“Julia, that wasn’t nice,” Ty chided, teasing.
Jason looked at Meghan. “So, in Seattle, I was thinking we could find a house in Queen Anne. My business is really taking off.”
Meghan gave him a wide smile. “Queen Anne or Greenlake. Sounds perfect to me. What do you guys think?”
“Cougar Falls,” Julia and Ty said at the same time.
“I vote for home too, but that’s just my opinion. You know what they say, Meghan.” Gabby turned a toothy smile on Julia and Ty. “Home is where the heart is.”
The next night, sitting in the backseat of Jason’s truck with Ty and Gabby, Julia grimaced as they drew closer to the Williams’ homestead. On twenty acres of land surrounded by extended family property, Ned Sr. and Matilda Williams might as well have started their own town. Visions of a compound run by rednecks and Shifter killers haunted her, until Ty slid his finger along her cheek.
“Relax, honey. No one there’s going to eat you. Now me, on the other hand…”
She huffed and shook her head, but she felt better all the same.
“Don’t worry, Julia. Tilda’s really nice. And you have Ty to protect you from Ned,” Meghan offered from the front seat, sitting next to Jason.
“Great,” Julia muttered.
She would have preferred to drive her own vehicle, or at least ridden with Ty in his. But as she’d expected, Nowhere had suddenly run dry of rubber. No tires to be found for her SUV or Ty’s truck, not until after next week. After the reunion Ned had insisted she attend.
Not liking his bullying any more now than she had before, she responded to Meghan with bite. “I don’t need Ty’s protection. I’ve been handling Ned just fine by myself.”
Jason cleared his throat. “Ah, Julia, I hate to say it, but Meghan’s right. Ned’s been telling people left and right that you’re his.”
“That’s crazy. Does he really think he can force me to be his girlfriend?”
“I think so.”
“How? By threatening my sisters?” Ned had no idea what he was getting into if he did. Julia possessed very sharp teeth she didn’t mind using.
“Not at all,” Jason answered, but he didn’t sound so sure. “I’d never let him hurt Meghan or any of you.”
“If you could stop him,” Ty added. “No offense, Jason. But your brother’s an asshole. Soon as this little side trip tonight is done, we’re leaving.”
Julia bristled at him speaking for her, but Gabby grabbed her arm and tightened her fingers. “Fine. But only because I’m more than ready to leave.”
Jason sighed. “That might be for the best. Meghan and I’ll head back to Seattle too. I’ll talk to Mom about it. She’ll understand.”
Julia mumbled under her breath, “I wish Meghan understood. She needs to come home with us.” Meghan, predictably, didn’t turn around. Like Ned, her youngest sister tended to hear only what she wanted to.
They reached the house all too soon. Ned and his brothers greeted them on the porch.
Bob scratched his shoulder, and she saw Gabby smile at the motion. “Itchy” was so appropriate.
“Hell, Jason. Nice to see you could join us, finally.” Snitchy—Dave—grinned and put Jason in a headlock. “Hey, Meghan. Ned’s been pining for your sister.” He leered at Gabby. “Mama wants to meet the girls who’ve put her sons in such a dither. Her word, not mine.”
Julia hadn’t realized Snitchy could clean up so well. He wore pressed jeans and an unwrinkled shirt. When he winked at her, she almost wanted to smile back at him. And Itchy, despite his constant scratching, looked and acted presentable. Had she made a mistake condemning Jason’s family because of Ned?
“’Bout fucking time,” Ned muttered and glared at Ty.
“Guess her boyfriend held them up,” Snitchy sneered.
No, not a mistake. Ned was still an ass. His brothers were still lemmings at heart.
Though his lips curled in pleasure when he looked at her, anger shone in his eyes. “Nice to see you again, Julia.” Ned’s fake smile annoyed her. As did the meaty hand he reached out for her.
Ty slid effortlessly between her and Ned, caging her in a strong arm as he guided her up the steps. “Williams.” He deliberately knocked into Ned when the larger man refused to back away from the front door. “We’ll talk later about you paying for our tires. Now, Jason, why don’t you introduce us to your mother.”
Julia hated to admit it, but she felt a wh
ole lot safer in Ty’s arms than she would have arriving alone. Ty possessed an air of invincibility that encouraged others to believe in him. The strength and integrity inherent in the shifty but stubborn fox lent itself to trust. She’d seen more Ac-taw back down from a fight simply because of the way he looked at them. Like he could see into a body’s very soul.
Kind of the way he’d looked at her yesterday.
His hand tightened around her shoulder, and he kissed her on the head as they entered the house. Instead of calming her, his innocent kiss aroused her.
She still couldn’t believe she’d had almost-sex with Ty Roderick. And he wanted to do it again, to come inside of her. God willing, she could resist another tryst, because where Ty was concerned, Julia had little sense. Her only defense against him for so many years had been to remain aloof, to act as if she didn’t see him, when in reality he was all she ever saw.
Every time he came into the office to talk to Gerald, when she saw him around town, or when he spoke at the Silver Fox Clan meetings, her animal soul cried out for his. The fox inside her knew she’d found something special in the male, but Julia couldn’t afford to trust him. Not when her family’s existence in Cougar Falls depended upon keeping the deep, dark family secret. Sometimes she really hated her parents for falling in love. She snorted. More like an unfathomable lust and selfish need for pleasure.
“Um, Julia?” Ty stared down at her. “You okay? I’m sensing some real distress, baby.”
“You can smell that?” she whispered, conscious of all the men coming out of the woodwork. A lot of relatives joined them in the large living room.
“That, and your nails are digging into my forearm,” he whispered back.
She immediately released him.
“That’s better. Now we can hold hands.” He gave her a smug smile and tugged her after him.
Ned stood with his brothers and father, glaring at Ty. Jason’s mother seemed to be a sweetheart, and his uncles and cousins had manners the younger Williams men sorely lacked. Apparently, Ned Sr. was the hardhead in his generation, and most of his progeny took after him.
Hell, every family had a black sheep. She glanced at Meghan and exhaled with frustration.
One of Jason’s uncles on his mother’s side said, “Don’t mind the Neds, as we call them. Bunch of stubborn morons. We’re pleased as punch to have Jason and Meghan for a visit. And it’s right nice of your sisters to visit as well, Meghan.”
Meghan blushed and sat next to Tilda, Jason’s mom. “Well, I haven’t been home much since college. And Jason and I are planning to live in Seattle far away from all of you, so it’s nice to be with family again.” She dared Julia to contradict her with a sharp smile.
“So you’re not going to go live back home?” Tilda asked.
“No.”
Ned and his brothers joined them. “Where is it you’re from again?” he asked. He kept his attention on Julia while he spoke. “I don’t remember Meghan or Jason saying.”
“It’s a small town near Glacier Falls National Park. You wouldn’t believe how cold it gets out there,” Ty said with a smile at Tilda. He blatantly ignored Ned, who didn’t like that one bit.
Julia bit her lip to keep from grinning. Ty had a subtle way of letting someone know his displeasure. Trust a fox to be sneaky.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Tilda said. “Last year we had a record low of thirteen degrees.”
Gabby chimed in and soon everyone smiled and laughed, sharing stories ranging from the weather to Jason’s antics as a young child, which had Tilda and her brothers vying to outdo one another. Ned Sr. remained conspicuously mute.
Throughout dinner, Julia enjoyed herself. Ned and his brothers remained distant. His father outright ignored them all in favor of the television and some stupid basketball game in the other room.
“Would you excuse me, please?” Ty asked Tilda.
“Bathroom’s down the hall on the right,” one of the uncles offered and threw himself into another story, this one involving Tilda and his youngest brother.
After Ty disappeared from the dining table big enough to seat sixteen comfortably, Gabby leaned in to say, “Not what you were expecting, huh?”
“Well, I can see now where Jason gets his disposition. The family’s actually quite nice, if you ignore Ned Sr. and three of his four sons.”
Gabby nodded. “Ned’s been staring at you since you arrived. You’re going to have to talk to him at some point.”
“I know. No time like the present.”
Tilda and Meghan stood to gather plates. Though the men didn’t offer to help, they did compliment her for the meal. Gabby and Julia rose as well and helped clear the table.
Julia reached for Ned’s plate. “Ned, can we talk?”
Chapter Five
Ned pushed back his chair and stood faster than she could blink. “Been waiting all night to talk to you.” He glanced in the direction Ty had gone and nodded to himself.
Julia sighed, handed Gabby the plate, then motioned to the back door. “How about on the porch?” In private. She looked pointedly at his brothers.
Itchy quickly said, “We’ll go with you.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to miss this,” Snitchy added with an evil grin.
Julia held back a growl. “Ned? I want to talk to you. Alone.”
He glanced from Itchy and Snitchy to her. “Good idea.” He shoved his brothers back and herded her toward the back door.
From the other room, Julia heard Ty and Ned’s father swearing over the muted sound of the television. What the hell was he doing with Ned Sr.?
The pair of them bemoaned Gonzaga and cheered Syracuse. Good Lord. He was bonding with that odious man over basketball?
Ned prodded her outside, past the surprised faces of his mother and her sister, and she shivered at the brisk wind slapping her face.
“Nice weather, huh?” He leaned against the porch rail and crossed his arms. “See, I can make small talk.”
“Ah, okay. Ned, I just wanted you to understand—”
“I cut my hair. Had Mama iron my jeans.”
She stared at him in bemusement. “Right. So I just thought we should clear the air. You don’t—”
“Don’t need fancy manners to impress a woman. I drive a big rig, did you know that? An International.”
“International?”
“Yeah. I drive a flatbed from the mill to lumber factories around the state. It’s my own rig.”
“Rig?”
“My own truck,” he said with pride. “I’m an independent contractor, Julia. Make a good living.”
“Er, okay.”
“So about Saturday—”
This time she interrupted him. “Ned, you won’t take no for an answer. You shot out the tires on my SUV!” Not to mention Ty’s tires, but she didn’t think it prudent to mention Ty just now.
He frowned. “I got angry. What the hell did you expect me to do when you’re parading around with that jackass? What do you see in a guy like that?”
Besides smarts, a sexy body and a wily fox? “I’ve known Ty since we were young. We grew up together. He’s the love of my life.” All so true, and so devastating to a young woman who had nothing to offer a prodigal son from one of the finest fox families in town.
“Love.” He snorted. “That’s not real. Hell, look around you. You really think Jason and Meghan are going to last?”
She didn’t, and the notion suddenly depressed her. She sighed. “Ned, I don’t love you. I don’t even like you half the time. The only things I know about you are that you’re a bully and you’re stubborn. You live here, right?”
He scowled. “You like me fine enough. Yeah, I live here. Nowhere is my home.”
“Well, mine is in Montana, and I don’t ever plan on leaving it.”
“You’re here now.”
Like talking to a brick wall. “I’m here for Meghan. She’s only here because of Jason. She’s leaving for Seattle in a few days.” The soone
r the better. Julia preferred Seattle to this place. For all that Ned’s relatives seemed friendlier than she’d expected, there were still way too many Williamses in the area for comfort.
“Look, Julia, I know this is sudden for you. But I like you. I really like you.” He sounded so earnest.
She felt her first stirring of sympathy for the big guy. Though a bully with a temper, he had feelings. And then he finished his thought, and her empathy vanished.
“You’re fuckin’ hot. I’m the town catch. You and me together? Perfect. I’ll give it to you good, baby. And hell, things work out, maybe we’ll make a go of it. A kid would make Mama happy. I don’t see the problem.”
“You wouldn’t. Sorry to break it to you, Ned, but we—you and me—are not happening.”
The meanness returned to his gaze. Danger threatened. Flight or fight for Julia meant flight. On four feet, no one had ever managed to catch her. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the freedom to turn at random in Nowhere. She was really starting to hate this place.
“I’m sick of asking. So now I’m telling you. No one says no to Ned Williams. You’re mine.” The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Think of it this way. I can take care of you and your sisters. Nothing bad can happen to Gabby and Meghan if I’m with you, you get me?”
His obstinacy she’d tolerated. Threats against her family ended it. Rage swelled, and the careful control she exercised at all times started to slip.
“You don’t like to be told no. I get it. But I don’t like to be told what to do either.” He’d hurt her family if she refused him? She gave her fury full reign. Stubborn men. A sister who wouldn’t listen. Relatives who hated her. Responsibilities for everything thanks to a foolish mother and an irresponsible father. No longer keeping her attitude in check, Julia railed at Ned, heaping her frustrations and indignities upon him.