Midnight Mate: A Paranormal Romance Standalone

by Heather Hildenbrand

  I blinked.

  She flushed. “I mean, that’s probably weird after all this—”

  “Yes.”

  My wolf practically snarled the word, but Cat didn’t flinch. She’d grown up around this stuff, had witnessed my beast rising more than once back in high school. Still. I took a deep breath to rein in my emotions. “Yes,” I said again, more calmly. “I’d appreciate that.”

  “I’ll come by in the morning.”

  “Perfect.”

  I smiled.

  She smiled.

  It took about two-point-four seconds for the friendliness to give way to something else. Tension. Heat. Then awkwardness descended.

  She rose slowly, nodding at the hall that led back to the waiting room. “You can let yourself out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Damn right she would.

  And every day forever after that if my wolf got its way.

  6

  Cat

  My hands shook as I watched Easton leave. At the sight of him walking away from me, my heart felt broken open all over again. It didn’t matter that ten years had passed. It didn’t matter I’d see him tomorrow or that he was only leaving an appointment and not our relationship. Standing there, watching him leave me felt like graduation all over again.

  The moment he was out of sight, I retreated to my office. For the first time in almost a year, I was grateful my father’s old corner office had become mine. And more grateful for the blinds that offered privacy from the rest of the staff. Finally, being the boss had its perks.

  I shut the door behind me with a soft click then sank into my chair. Dropping my face into my hands, I tried to decide whether I felt like crying or screaming or maybe even throwing a paperweight at the wall.

  All three seemed like a good way to go. So did day drinking, honestly.

  Before I could decide, my phone rang.

  I slid it out of my pocket, hands still shaky and clammy, then groaned.

  The name on the screen only sent me spiraling further.

  Travis was a shit-show I could not deal with right now.

  I ignored the call and then turned off the ringer. Closing my eyes, I tried not to see Easton’s ruggedly handsome face behind my lids. But it was useless.

  He was everywhere. No longer only alive in memory but here, now. In Midnight Falls and in my clinic. In my life.

  Rudy would probably call it fate. Or a test. Or some other weirdo woo-woo prophecy. But I knew it for what it was: I was terrible at picking men. And now my past choices were back to haunt me.

  “You didn’t finish your Moo Shu. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

  I could feel Rudy’s concern wash over me and did my best to school my features into something neutral. It had been hours, after all. You’d think I could have put this morning behind me.

  “I’m just not hungry,” I said. “Big lunch.”

  “Lies. You walked out with half a salad, and you’re too much of a workaholic to leave and get something.”

  “I ordered delivery.”

  He stared at me with narrowed eyes.

  I loved Rudy for his attentiveness. And I hated Rudy for his attentiveness.

  “You look sallow.”

  “Sallow?” I repeated. “Is that even a thing?”

  “Fine. Haunted. Like you’ve seen a ghost or some shit. You look disturbed.” He grabbed the remote and paused our movie. “You’re not even paying attention to Charlize breaking bad in her Mini Cooper. Spill.”

  His tone was firm like an order. And because it was Rudy, I gave in.

  “I had a new patient today,” I said.

  “And? Sorry, but that’s not exactly earth-shattering news.”

  “It was someone I knew.”

  Rudy turned so that he was fully facing me on the couch, his eyes wide. “Dear God, please tell me Travis didn’t hurt himself just so he could come to you for rehabilitation.”

  “No, although if he keeps blowing up my phone, I might injure him.”

  “Girlfriend, there’s a feature called block. You should try it.”

  “I did, I did. Today’s call was the last one.” I waved a hand dismissively. For the first time in weeks, Travis was not the problem.

  “Okay. So, this new patient . . . Is it someone terrible? Are you rehabilitating Stephanie Buchanan’s butt job gone wrong?”

  “What? Gross.” I wrinkled my nose.

  Stephanie Buchanan was the town’s gossip and, back in my mother’s day, had won Miss Midnight five years in a row. Nowadays, she could be found slinking out of the plastic surgeon’s office and maintaining that her youthful look was “completely natural” and the result of good genes.

  “It’s nothing like that. It’s . . . someone I know. Or used to. His name’s Easton, and we—”

  “Easton Raines? The hunky snowboarder?” Rudy’s eyes bulged.

  “How do you even know who he is?”

  “Your mom might have shown me his Facebook profile once.”

  “My mom was Facebook friends with East?”

  “Well, at first.” He hesitated. “I might have asked her to friend him and then show me a photo.”

  I groaned. “You taught my mom how to Facebook stalk someone?”

  “What did you expect? You refused to tell me his name, but you still have his letterman jacket. And whenever you mention your high school boyfriend, your face does this weird thing. I needed to know what I was dealing with.”

  “My face does not do a weird thing.”

  “It does too, although I can’t blame you. Boy is fine. Ooh, introduce me.”

  “No.”

  “Fine. Bring me a pair of his underwear.”

  “What? No.”

  “Fine. Find out what cologne he wears.”

  “I’m not talking about this anymore.”

  I started to get up, but Rudy grabbed my arm, pulling me back down. “Okay, okay. I’ll shut up. What happened with Easton the Beaston?”

  My brows lifted, and Rudy grinned then mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key.

  “First, never call him that again. Second, he doesn’t wear cologne. And third,” Rudy’s face was turning red from holding in his responses, so I finished quickly, “I think I might still have a thing for him.”

  Rudy’s lips fell apart, and he sucked in air, obviously on a breath held that entire time.

  “You didn’t have to hold your breath.”

  “Yes, I did,” he said. “Trust me.”

  After a few more gulps of air, he said, “I can’t believe he let you go. What the hell was that idiot thinking?”

  A soft spot pinged in my heart. “Thanks,” I said. “But it wasn’t really about me.” I sighed. “I mean, even then, I could see East had some demons to battle. Not that he told me what they were. He was closed off. Secretive. But I knew there were things he was running from that had nothing to do with me.”

  Things like him being a werewolf—which I felt mildly bad for not telling Rudy now, but I’d made a promise once. And I intended to keep it.

  Rudy propped his chin in his hand, his eyes glazed. “How romantic.”

  I glared. “Or heartbreaking. Depending.”

  He straightened. “Right. That’s what I meant.”

  “Anyway, he probably has no idea how hard I’d fallen for him because then we graduated, and he just vanished. No calls. No letters. No decency to end things officially.”

  “Seriously? He ghosted you?”

  I sighed, hating how I could still feel the sting of his rejection even after all these years. “The night of graduation, he was supposed to pick me up so we could go to our friend’s party. But he never showed. When I called, it went straight to voice mail. A couple of days later, the phone number was disconnected altogether. When I checked his social media, he’d moved out of state. I got the message loud and clear.”

  “Your mom told me he had some bigshot career as a snowboard instructor for a fancy resort in Breckenridge,” Rudy said.
<
br />   “Apparently, the resort was sponsoring him to compete, too.”

  Rudy was silent for a minute. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing I was: that East’s life back in Colorado sounded a hell of a lot better than the life he’d have here. I couldn’t blame him for leaving. And yet, I couldn’t seem to stop my heart from aching over it either. He’d taken the coward’s way out. No amount of apologies or excuses could excuse that—not that he’d offered me either one.

  “Do you think he’s going to stay in town long?” Rudy asked.

  “Probably not. Up until now, he’s had zero trips home.”

  “Doesn’t his family still live here?”

  “Parents. No siblings. Why?”

  “And he didn’t come back to visit them even once?”

  I shrugged. “Not that I heard.”

  “Wow. Yeah, sounds like there are definitely issues.”

  I didn’t tell him what I’d figured out about East’s dad over the years. It wasn’t my secret to tell.

  He glanced at my nearly untouched takeout. “And something tells me seeing him again wasn’t the fairytale reunion you’d hoped for?”

  “Depends on which body part you ask,” I admitted.

  Rudy grinned at that.

  “It’s not funny,” I moaned. “Ugh. Maybe I’m doing this all wrong,” I said, tipping my head back against the couch and staring at the ceiling. “Maybe I should take a cue from you and just play for my same team.”

  Rudy snorted. “Girl, it’s not about same team. It’s the fact that men are too irresistible for their own good. And judging from the photos I saw, Easton Raines is in a league of his own.”

  “I think it’s just more proof I’m bad at picking men.”

  Rudy glowered, and I knew he was about to start spouting some next-level mindset advice at me. I braced myself, ready to head him off even if it meant divulging my plans to hang with East tomorrow.

  A knock interrupted us both.

  “You expecting someone?” I asked hopefully. “A repairman to adjust the water heater, maybe?”

  He stood and hurried to answer the door, silent enough that I had my answer about that.

  Damn.

  I rose and rounded the corner into the foyer just as Rudy pulled the door open and his reaction registered.

  One look at his curled lip, and I knew who stood on the other side of the threshold.

  “Is Cat home?” asked a familiar voice.

  “No, she died. You should give up and never call or come by again,” Rudy said.

  “What?” Travis sounded more confused than upset.

  I sighed and nudged Rudy out of the way. Bracing a hand on the door for strength, I looked at my ex. He held a bouquet of roses out, but I made no move to take them. Or invite him in.

  “Hello, Travis.” My stomach lurched at the sight of him. At my own fear. And nerves. And fury.

  “Cat.” His expression sagged in silent apology. “I’ve been calling.”

  “I’ve been not answering.”

  “I wanted to apologize.”

  Rudy muttered some curse words that shouldn’t have made sense together but seemed to fit. Something about douche-canoes and shitbags.

  “Go ahead,” I said, resigned to this moment even as my pulse raced.

  I hated that I was afraid.

  “What?” Travis said.

  “She said you should apologize,” Rudy snapped.

  Travis frowned. He slid a look at Rudy then back to me as if to cue me in that he wanted us to be alone. I ignored it and waited.

  “Right.” Travis looked back at me. “I’m so sorry, Cat. I never meant to hurt you.”

  “Are you saying you weren’t aiming for my head when you threw that vase?”

  He had the grace to look slightly cowed by my words. But his quick recovery reminded me this was all an act.

  “I lost my temper. It happens to all of us.”

  “You accused me of cheating and nearly shifted in my office.”

  “Nearly, but I caught myself,” he said as if clawing at the walls of the break room didn’t count against him as long as he’d remained on two legs.

  “I had staff in the building, Travis. Someone could have been killed.”

  “But they’re fine. Everyone’s fine.”

  “You’re not fine,” I shot back. Anger had begun to boil underneath my skin. I could already feel the flush creeping into my face. “I’m not sure what you’re hoping to get from me by showing up here.”

  “I was hoping we could start over.” The sincerity in his tone made me want to throw something, too.

  “That’s a fantastic idea,” I said, my hand gripping the door even tighter.

  Travis’s expression brightened. “See, this is all going to be—”

  “Let’s start over right now by pretending we never even met. And then, let’s keep it that way.” I swung the door shut in his face, satisfied by the hard click.

  Rudy rushed forward and slid the lock into place.

  A second later, Travis knocked. “Cat, c’mon. We can get past this.”

  Rudy met my eyes.

  I hesitated, wondering if Travis was going to be a problem or if I’d somehow just made things worse.

  But then, Rudy grinned. “Up top, girlfriend.” He raised his hand, palm out.

  A slow smile spread across my lips. I high-fived him. “How’d I do?”

  “You fucking nailed it. Come on. Let’s finish our movie and then never think of that raging asshole again.”

  He linked his arm through mine and led the way back to the couch.

  7

  Easton

  The moment I stepped inside The Bearded Barrel, I realized my mistake. The place was crowded for a weeknight, thanks to tourists, but my awareness cut through them all. My eyes landed immediately on the hunched set of shoulders at the end of the bar. In the next breath, my wolf had scented him, confirming it.

  Shit.

  I hesitated, debating whether to turn around and walk out again. But leaving town was one thing. Running from the old man was another.

  I slid onto the stool, two seats over from him, and focused on the bartender.

  “What’ll you have?”

  I didn’t recognize the hipster in flannel behind the bar, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know me. I kept my hat pulled low.

  “Dirty Dog,” I said, naming one of the brewery’s signature beers.

  “Comin’ up.”

  The bartender moved off, and my senses prickled as I realized I’d been spotted.

  “Easton, my boy, how the hell are ya?”

  I braced myself as I turned and looked into the sparkling—glassy—eyes of my old man.

  “Dad.”

  “Well, it’s been a minute or two since you been home. Lemme look at ya.” He gave me a once-over that made me tense. “Handsome as ever, ain’t ya?” He winked. “Lookin’ like your old man more every day.”

  Ten years had taken its toll on him. Dark bags under his eyes. A beer gut. But his ability to pretend like he wasn’t a shitbag was clearly as strong as ever.

  The bartender returned with my beer. I grabbed for it, a little desperate.

  My knee twinged.

  I ignored it and drank deeply.

  By the time I came up for air, Dad was chatting again. He was always chatty at this stage of the night.

  “Didn’t see your truck at the house last night. Or this morning.”

  “I’m not staying at the house.”

  His brows crinkled. “Why the hell not? Your old room is still made up.”

  “I’m staying at Nicole’s.”

  Dad grunted and reached for his beer.

  Fuck, why was he even here? My entire life, I’d known his usual haunts as well as I’d known my own name. Luna Sea was his go-to. Maybe the occasional stop at Cheetah’s to mix things up. I’d driven halfway to the next town because I thought I could avoid him. Of course, I wasn’t that lucky.

  “You still tea
ching little rugrats how to ski up at that fancy resort?”

  My stomach clenched with a temper that never quite cooled where he was concerned. “Snowboarding. And yes.”

  The front door opened behind us.

  My nose twitched with a familiar scent. I turned and spotted a face that actually made me smile.

  “Angus.”

  I pushed to my feet, turning to face my old friend, and Angus’s eyes went wide.

  “East? Holy shit. Is that you, man?” He pulled me into a hug complete with a slap on the back. “How the hell are you?”

  “Falling apart,” I said with a grin.

  “That’s what I hear.”

  “Did you? Well. At least they’re still talking about me.”

  Angus laughed and held up a hand to signal the bartender. “Usual,” Angus told him, and the guy went to work on pouring a beer.

  “Leslie told Jake she saw you earlier.”

  “Jake Bradford?”

  “Yep, they’re married now with three kids.”

  “That’s great to hear.”

  Jake had been a good guy who’d wanted nothing more than a family to raise in the Falls. I was glad Leslie had ended up with him.

  “How you been?” Angus asked.

  I could feel my father’s eyes on us, but I ignored him. Finally, I’d found someone I could actually call “friend” in this town.

  “Great until I busted my knee.” I patted my leg.

  “Damn. That’s a bummer.” His tone was light. Unconcerned. And even though I knew it was because he assumed I was already mending thanks to my wolf healing, his lack of sympathy was comforting somehow.

  Like my injury didn’t define me.

  In every other area of my life, it sure had.

  Angus glanced over and finally noticed my dad. “Mr. Raines. How are ya?”

  Angus extended a hand, his behavior more formal than it had been with me.

  My dad’s lip curled, and he turned away. Angus lowered his hand.

  My back stiffened.

  “Dad. This is Angus, an old friend.”