Strange Neighbors

by Ashlyn Chase

  Having only half shapeshifter blood made it harder to control his shifts. His brother had had much more practice since a demanding career hadn't consumed him. Plus he had the extra motivation of needing to make a normal life for his wife and kids. His sister-in-law knew about the family secret and almost didn't marry his brother as a result. That's why he had to be sure to pick the right moment to tell Merry.

  Their children would only have one-quarter shapeshifter blood, so might never shift at all, like his brother's kids—so far. Jason couldn't imagine his brother having that talk with them. Not only did he have to tell them about the birds and the bees, he had to tell them about the birds and humans.

  Jason thought surely his Uncle Ralph must have told Dottie about the Falco family secret, but now he realized his uncle, wisely, had not. His father, a typical Alpha male, was so self-disciplined that he could probably go years without shifting if he wanted to. Only extreme stress could make him shift against his will. He hadn't even shifted during his heart attack. Thank goodness, his mother had said. They were right in the middle of a dinner party.

  The full moon also contributed to the urge to shift at inopportune times. Merry had asked him to accompany her to her home on Thanksgiving, and having just been home for a week, he had accepted. That was stupid! He hadn't checked the calendar to see what phase the moon would be in. Since Thanksgiving came late this November, it landed right on the first day of the three days considered the full phase. He had feared shifting in front of her during the last full moon—at the bachelor auction! Only keeping his cool under fire had saved him.

  His "workouts" with Merry may have helped him relieve stress. He had been resisting his falcon shifts more easily. He flew high enough during orgasm to rival any falcon flight he'd ever tried, and he didn't even miss soaring above the city.

  Still, not only did he have to divulge to her his shapeshifter secret, but he also had to tell her what being a falcon shapeshifter meant. Once falcons chose a mate, they were completely monogamous. He had assumed he and Merry were exclusive, but he had to be certain. To find out otherwise could drive him into a jealous rage, in which case he'd probably shift and peck out the eyeballs of his rival.

  And just in case, she also needs to keep her bunny in its cage.

  So he had a lot on his mind. The woman he wanted to marry needed to know what she was getting into. He had to meet her family and impress the hell out of them so they would approve of him taking her so far away from home so soon—if she agreed to accompany him home for Christmas.

  What could happen during Thanksgiving, though? Her family seemed very supportive and loving. It would probably be a wonderful experience. That's the attitude, he told himself. He was worried for nothing—hopefully.

  Peering down over the city with his mind more settled, he glided joyously along the river to the ocean and back. He had found his one and only. It was time to celebrate, not ruin it with needless worry.

  ***

  They got an early start on Thanksgiving morning. Merry and Jason, all bundled up in layers to ward off the chill, climbed into his small sports car. He revved the engine and let it warm up.

  Merry glanced at his handsome face. "So, are you ready for this?"

  "As ready as I'll ever be."

  "Well, try not to worry. They're going to love you."

  "But they don't even know I'm coming. Are you sure it's fair to spring another guest on them?" He backed out of the alley and pulled onto the street.

  "I'm the one who does the cooking, so they won't care unless we can't find another place around the dinner table and someone has to eat sitting on the floor."

  "Are you serious?"

  She laughed. "Of course not, silly. Relax. Everything's going to be fine."

  Merry glanced at the other beautiful brownstones as they drove by.

  She had planned well. She had given her father the grocery list and had him buy everything she needed ahead of time. Now all she had to do was arrive by eight a.m. to season the turkey and get it cooking.

  "So what is Thanksgiving at your house usually like?"

  "Well, I don't have to get up early or anything. I usually have everything ready to go the night before and once I put the turkey in, there's plenty of time to prepare the extras. I make the stuffing separately, so the turkey won't take as long to cook. Potatoes will be peeled by my little brother, and that activity comes with the added bonus of keeping him out of trouble for a while."

  "Is he really apt to get into trouble without something to do every second?"

  "No, but structure is good for him."

  "You know him better than I do. So what's next? After you get the food prepared?"

  "My sisters-in-law will arrive by eleven with more side dishes to keep warm in the oven and pies for dessert." She had thought of everything, right? So why was she so nervous?

  Jason headed toward Storrow Drive, which would take them to the southeast expressway, then to route 95—and home to Rhode Island.

  Jason. He had to love her family, and they had to love him. Had to! They were all too significant to her for anyone to feel less than enthusiastic about her choice.

  Yes, she had made her decision. No more looking around. Even if she wasn't one hundred percent sure the timing was right, the man was. And that was more important, right?

  Part of her wanted to experience independence for longer than a few weeks before finding the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The other part of her couldn't get over the fact that she'd found the man of her dreams so quickly and easily. Not to say this euphoria was going to last. She knew the passion would someday become a simmer, but she couldn't imagine the fire going out—ever.

  "So, does Roz make an appearance? Since you two are from the same town, I imagine she'll be there for the holiday, too."

  "No. She doesn't usually come over. It's just family."

  Merry thought about how Roz had dated off and on, hoping that each new man was "the one." Sadly, none of her relationships had worked out. She was intelligent, successful, and despite being a little chunky, beautiful. Roz deserved no less than an amazing man who loved her completely. Yet Merry was the one who ended up with exactly what they'd both yearned for. True love.

  She couldn't help feeling a little guilty for barely setting foot in the dating waters and coming up with an incredible hottie. But Roz would understand and be happy for her—wouldn't she? Of course she would. That was probably the test of true friendship.

  Merry tried to shake off her insecurity and drag her mind back to the moment. Jason still seemed tentative. What was going on in that handsome head of his? She stared out the window and lapsed into silence.

  ***

  Jason's mind had whirled with questions all the way to Schooner, Rhode Island. One in particular. Should he pull the ring out of his pocket before, during, or after this visit? Before would give them the chance to announce it to her family if she said yes. But what if she said no? That was entirely possible, since they had only known each other for six weeks.

  Merry pointed out her family's driveway, so he had a split second to decide. Even if he decided not to decide right now, that was making a decision. Crap. Why couldn't it be as easy as knowing whether to throw a fastball or a changeup? Realizing that Merry might throw him one hell of a curveball if he did it in front of her family, he bypassed her driveway.

  "Hey! Where are you going?"

  "We're early," he said. "And there's something I want to tell you. Is there someplace we can park for a couple of minutes? Maybe someplace with a view?"

  She tilted her head and scrutinized him like she was trying to read his mind.

  "Uh, yeah. Keep going until you get to the stop sign and turn left. There's a view of the ocean down there."

  "Perfect."

  "Is something wrong? Do you want to back out? You can always drop me off and someone can drive me back…"

  "No! I mean, no—nothing's wrong."

  Her forehead wrinkle
d, but she didn't say anything more until he found the spot she must have had in mind and cut the engine. The harbor seemed deserted. Fishing boats floated nearby. The seagulls seemed disinterested and bored. He didn't care to hunt them as much as pigeons and mourning doves. The latter were delicious. Probably because in urban areas birds were fed by humans. Seagulls ate whatever they could scavenge and diarrhea made them poop on everything in sight. At least he had the decency to aim at a tree branch or rooftop.

  Maybe this was a bad idea. He still hadn't told her his little secret. Only she might not think it was so little.

  "Well? You wanted to talk to me about something?"

  "Uh, yeah." He removed his seat belt and faced her squarely. "I know we haven't known each other all that long…" he began and paused. Now what? He had rehearsed this in his mind, but the words seemed inadequate now.

  She nodded, then tilted her head, waiting for more.

  "Jesus. Words are failing me," he said, and took a deep breath.

  "Look, whatever it is, I love you. Nothing will change that."

  Deciding to just do it, he pulled the little turquoise box from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

  Her eyes widened in surprise.

  She really didn't expect this. Damn. Why didn't I wait? Well, it was too late now. The cat was out of the bag—or the box was out of his pocket, as it were.

  She opened the top and gasped at the sight of a twocarat diamond solitaire in a gold setting.

  "Holy crap!" she exclaimed. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled. "Sorry. That wasn't a very romantic response, was it?"

  He laughed, grateful that she'd broken the tension. "I was kind of hoping for a yes or no, but if you need time…"

  She shook her head but didn't say anything.

  He waited with his heart in his throat. If she said yes, he'd tell her. If she said no, there'd be no need to.

  She smiled. "Well, what I mean is, I don't need time to make up my mind. I don't want to put you through that. But I'd like time to get to know each other for a while before…" She stared at the ring, but didn't take it out of the box.

  "Is that a yes?"

  "Can it be a maybe?"

  "No."

  Her eyebrows arched.

  "The anticipation is killing me."

  He hadn't planned to push her, but as it turned out, he had to. A yes meant he had more to say before they told her family. A maybe meant he had to decide, again, whether or not to tell her the rest, and maybe shift in front of her if she didn't believe him. Although the decision could be made for him. He could feel the stress building and his hands gripped the steering wheel more tightly.

  "I guess if you're okay with a long engagement…"

  "I was hoping to take you to Florida with me in February when I go to spring training, and we'll have to be married to live together."

  She gasped.

  "Well, if we want to keep my image squeaky clean. You know how role models have to avoid controversy. It's a, you know, kind of moral thing to some people." Jesus, Jason. You're babbling. Get a grip.

  "Oh." Now she seemed even more stunned. "I, um… That's so fast. Are you sure? I mean, how long is spring training? A couple of weeks?"

  "No. A couple of months."

  She groaned. "Damn. That's a long time to be apart. I'd miss you like crazy."

  "Tell me about it."

  She shrugged. "I don't know what to say."

  "Say yes."

  She giggled, but it sounded like a nervous giggle. Now what should he do? Maybe it was a sign. If she couldn't handle a fast wedding, maybe she wasn't ready for the rest of it.

  "I guess you need time to think, after all." He reached for the ring.

  She swiveled away from him, holding the box out of reach.

  "Oh, no you don't. No Indian gimmees."

  He laughed. "Well, are we going to sit in this car all day, or are you going to put it on?"

  She sighed. "If I put this on, we'll have a lot of questions to answer. Can you handle that?"

  He nodded. If she puts it on, I'll have a lot of explaining to do. Why the hell didn't I wait?

  "I love you, Merry."

  She plucked the ring from the box and slid it onto her ring finger. Stretching her arm out in front of her, she admired it and grinned. "It's gorgeous."

  Relief washed over him, but it didn't last long. Now he should tell her the rest.

  She leaned over and kissed him. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her back for a longer, deeper kiss that he hoped would convince her she'd made the right choice—no matter what.

  "I love you," she whispered.

  "Good. Hold that thought, because I have to tell you something about myself that you deserve to know if you're going to be my wife."

  "Oh? What is it?"

  "How much time do we have?"

  Her expression turned to concern and she checked her watch. "We're supposed to arrive in five minutes."

  "Five minutes? I thought we had longer than that. When did you say we'd get there?"

  "Eight o'clock."

  "Oh. I thought it was eight-thirty for some reason."

  "Well, it was, but I decided to move it up a bit. I thought I'd try a new recipe and wanted to give myself extra time."

  "In that case, the rest of this conversation will have to wait."

  "You're kidding!"

  "No, I think it's best."

  "Wait a minute. You ask me to marry you. I accept. Then you tell me there's something I have to know about you. And now you won't tell me what it is?"

  Jason leaned back against the seat and frowned. Damn. She's right. She'd probably go crazy all day if he didn't tell her something.

  "What is it? You owe the Mafia money? You murdered your ex-girlfriend? Your AIDS test was negative, but you have syphilis? What?"

  "Look, it's nothing bad, all right? Think of it like this: I'm really Superman, and you only know the Clark Kent version of me."

  After a long pregnant pause, she burst out laughing. Between Jason's extreme embarrassment, her waffling, and the prior stress of proposing taking its toll on his emotions, he felt himself beginning to shift. No, no! Not now!

  The next thing he knew, his talons gripped the steering wheel and his wings flapped wildly.

  Merry screamed, jumped out of the car, and darted between the buildings, out of sight.

  Fuck! If only he were out of the car. Peregrine falcons could fly up to two hundred miles an hour, and he could track her down before she reached her family. But try as he might, he couldn't shift back.

  Chapter 11

  "MERRY!" JASON'S VOICE YELLED FROM OUTSIDE AS HE pounded on her father's front door for the third time. "Merry, come to the door. We have to talk."

  She held onto her younger brother's arm in a death grip. "No. Don't answer it."

  "But it's Jason. Your boyfriend. Remember him?"

  Do I? Not really.

  He pounded again. "I'm not going away until you talk to me, Merry."

  Matt strained to reach the doorknob. "Just because you had a fight doesn't mean—"

  "I'm not opening that door until you're gone," she said to her brother.

  Jason knocked again. "At least let me give you your purse. You might need your inhaler."

  "See, Merry? He's trying to be nice. At least talk to him."

  She hissed in her brother's ear, "I will not speak to him with an audience. Leave or I'll never open it." She waited an anxious, silent minute. At last, Matt skulked out of the living room. Whew.

  Opening the door, Merry snuck around it and stood on the stoop, lost for words. Jason leaned against her doorframe with the saddest, most pathetic expression she'd ever seen. The nurturer in her wanted to rush into his arms and comfort him. Then she remembered she didn't know this man—if he was a man. Never having been exposed to anything so bizarre in her life—except a vampire father and a haunted apartment building—all she could think of to do was protect herself. Protect her family
. How could she expose them to… what? A magician? Shaman? Some kind of weird animal spirit possession?

  He reached out to her. She hesitated, then walked into his arms and started to shake.

  "Are you okay, sweetheart?"