The Bobcat's Tate

by Georgette St. Clair

  “Want to see me do a magic trick?” Schuyler asked her.

  Just then, Megan strolled up, hands shoved in the pockets of her jeans.

  “Epic fail,” she said to Felix. “Come on, quit pestering her and let’s go get ice cream. The ice cream cart’s parked over by the general store.”

  “Come with us.” Felix grabbed Lainey’s hand and dragged her along.

  Megan leaned in to Lainey and whispered in her ear. “You know they totally staged that because they wanted you to rescue Felix again.”

  “I kind of guessed, yeah,” Lainey said. “I don’t mind. They’re good kids. They’re just burning off a little energy.”

  “Actually, they’re all spawns of the devil, but whatever. And Tate, forget it. He’s driving me crazy. I don’t think he’ll ever accept that I am a grown-up. Sometimes, I just want to run away from home.”

  Lainey thought that when Megan said that, she sounded like a pouty two-year-old, especially the part about running away from home. However, it probably wouldn’t help to say that out loud.

  “He’d be worried out of his mind if you did that,” Lainey said. “And he really needs your help with these kids. How would he make it on his own? How would he run his business? I’m sure that you’re what’s holding it all together.”

  Megan looked pleased at that. “It’s true, even though he never recognizes it. Everything would fall apart without me.” Then she frowned. “So, I guess that means that I’m stuck there forever, or at least until Schuyler is eighteen and I can make her take over, but that’s eight more years. I’ll snap, I swear. I keep expecting him to put me in a chastity belt. He doesn’t know anything about love.”

  Lainey had to fight not to laugh at that; the worldly-wise teenager, so sure that she knew everything and the grown-ups were just big, stupid meany-butts.

  Megan looked at her hopefully. “Maybe you could start dating him? Then, I could dump all of the babysitting duties on you and run away without feeling guilty. I know that he’s crazy about you. How come you guys haven’t been out on a date yet?”

  Lainey’s heart skipped a beat at that. “He’s crazy about me? What makes you say that?”

  “It’s only totally obvious,” she said scornfully. “I’ve never seen him act like this about anybody. The way that he looked at you that time you caught Felix, the way he talks about you and the dorky look he gets on his face when the kids say your name.”

  “They say my name? He talks about me?” Lainey asked, a feeling of warmth spreading through her. She felt that dark cloud of gloom that had clung to her all day dissipating. Maybe she had overreacted when she saw the glass. She should have at least given him a chance to explain himself.

  Damn Miles for making me think that no decent man would want me. Am I going to let that jerk haunt my relationships forever?

  Megan snickered. “Now you’ve got the dorky look on your face. See, I know more than people think. I know plenty about love. It’s just that nobody gives me any credit for it because they all think I’m a child.” She had a very childish pout on her face. “Like, I would know if somebody was really in love with me, or faking it.” She shot Lainey a defiant look, as if daring her to challenge her.

  Lainey was tempted. She wanted to say, you know who’s great at tricking women into thinking they’re in love with them? Men. All of them. It’s what they do. She wanted to say, I know that better than anyone. She’d even have given Megan the details, if she thought it would smarten her up.

  But she didn’t bother, because she knew damned well that no infatuated eighteen-year-old was capable of listening to reason.

  Still, as she walked down the sunny street with Tate’s family crowding around her, she felt more cheerful then she had in days.

  So, Tate really did like her. Fine. She’d hear what he had to say about the glass.

  Megan led the kids over to an ice cream truck, and Lainey, spotting Tate, who was standing by his truck, walked over to talk to him.

  As she walked up with a big smile on her face, he didn’t look as if he liked her, and he certainly wasn’t delighted to see her, no matter what Megan thought. He was standing there sipping a cup of coffee, and he looked angry and hurt.

  “Tate?” she asked, puzzled. “What’s up?” If anyone should be mad, it was her. And there she was, all ready to be the bigger person and let him talk to her.

  His face was pale and angry, and he skewered her with a glare which stabbed her to the heart. She couldn’t stand Tate being angry at her, even if she had no idea why, she realized.

  “There are certain things you might want to tell a man before you get naked in the grass with him,” he bit out.

  “What are you talking about?” She was genuinely baffled.

  “Like the fact that you’re engaged? Did that slip your mind?” There was a world of pain in his blue eyes, and it ripped her in two to see it.

  “I’m not engaged,” she said slowly.

  “Miles Bauer? Name ring a bell? I met him downtown just a little while ago. Him and your mother. They showed me the newspaper clipping with your wedding announcement. Two weeks from now? Congratulations, Lainey Robinson.” Tate threw his coffee on the ground, then stomped off without a backward glance.

  Lainey felt the blood draining from her face.

  Miles was in town. Of course. How could she possibly have thought she could escape her family’s clutches?

  Tate hadn’t asked her side of the story. He clearly couldn’t wait to get away from her, and Miles had given him the perfect excuse.

  She felt numb and stunned, as if she’d gotten a full-body Novocain shot. She walked over to her car, pulled open the door, and climbed in.

  She drove back to the boarding house on autopilot, barely seeing the lush green woods that swept by.

  Tears burned her eyes. What would she do now? Her mother and Miles would spread lies about her, with smiling faces and oily charm. This town, which had so quickly begun to feel like more of a home than she’d ever known, would reject her. And worse, Tate thought that she’d lied to him, that she was the kind of person who’d cheat on her fiancé right before their wedding. He must loathe her night now.

  She felt nausea welling up inside her, and struggled not to vomit what little breakfast she’d eaten.

  To her dismay, she saw a rental Lexus in the parking lot in front of the boarding house.

  That had to be her mother and Milo.

  She had nowhere else to go. She could turn and drive away, but they’d just sit there and wait for her, and the longer they were there, the more poisonous lies they’d spread.

  Her knees were shaking as she climbed out of the car. As she forced herself to walk towards the front door, Marigold came rushing out, clambering down the steps. By her side was Henry, wearing a dirty T-shirt and dirty jeans, with work gloves hanging from his leather belt.

  “Oh my God, the most fake-ass woman I’ve ever seen in my life is in the living room, claiming she’s your mother, and some a-hole with twenty pounds of gel in his hair is pretending he’s your fiancé,” Marigold said. “Who are those douchebags?”

  Lainey nearly burst into tears. Marigold didn’t hate her, and she hadn’t bought their act.

  “Unfortunately, that is my mother and the jerk whom my parents wanted me to marry,” she said, her voice shaking. “I’m not engaged to him anymore. I broke it off, but my parents said that I was getting married to him no matter what, and so I packed up and left town. I just wanted to hide out here until our wedding date had passed.”

  “God, no wonder. He looks like he’d fight you for the best spot in front of the mirror. Was he awful in bed? He looks like he’d be awful in bed. Why do you look like you’re going to puke?”

  Lainey threw her arms around Marigold and hugged her. “I was afraid they’d make you hate me. Miles charms the pants off of everybody, and my mother usually intimidates people into doing whatever they want.”

  Marigold made a loud raspberry noise of disgust. “Th
at shit may work for them back where you come from, pardon my Français, but it doesn’t fly around here.”

  The front door flew open, and her mother clattered down the stairs, face pinched in a frown. She was dressed in a tailored pink linen suit and high-heeled pink pumps, and dripped chunky gold jewelry. With every step she took, she made a little grimace, as if afraid the very ground here would soil her. Miles followed behind her, handsome as a model, his wavy black hair glistening in the sun. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he forced a big, fake smile on his face.

  “How did you find me?” Lainey demanded.

  “Well, that’s a lovely greeting for your mother,” Renee said in an aggrieved tone. “We hired a private investigator and tracked your credit card purchases.”

  “Lainey. We were so worried about you. I’m sorry about our little tiff. It was all my fault.” Miles’ smile stretched wide, his big white teeth sparkling, as he stepped towards Lainey, who stepped back quickly.

  Henry strode forward, letting out a growl.

  “Tiff? Seriously? What the hell is this, ‘Downton Abby’?” Marigold actually laughed out loud, which earned her a withering glare from Lainey’s mother.

  Most people wilted under her mother’s scornful gazes. Marigold was not most people.

  “You know, when you look down your nose job at me, it doesn’t intimidate me, it just pisses me off,” Marigold said in a bored voice.

  Her mother let out an outraged gasp.

  Miles scowled at Marigold. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with here.” He jerked his head at Lainey. “This woman is mentally ill. She hasn’t been taking her meds. She’s going to be a danger to all of you.” He forced a smile on his handsome face. “But I love her, and I’m willing to take care of her for the rest of her life. We need to get her back home where she’s safe. Where people care about her.”

  Lainey sucked in her breath, shocked at the utter falsehoods spilling from his lips. “You actually think that making up a pack of lies is going to make me come back to Philly and marry you? You’re the crazy one here.”

  “You’re also not taking into account the fact that here in Blue Moon Junction, we’re fond of crazy,” Marigold said. “The good kind of crazy. The eccentric, fun kind. Not the kind that thinks that you can force a woman to marry you.”

  Miles stepped toward Lainey, his hands clenched into fists. “You agreed to marry me, and you are going to marry me. You will not cost me my future. You will not embarrass me in front of everybody. I mean, me, rejected by somebody like you?” He looked her up and down, and sneered. “It’s never going to happen. Nobody back home knows that you decided to have this little temper tantrum, so we can just tell everyone you were on a vacation, and carry on the wedding as planned.”

  “I’d literally rather die,” Lainey snapped. “It’s not even a close contest. I’d rather be eaten alive by a pack of rabid wolverine shifters than have you ever touch me again.”

  Henry cleared his throat impatiently, and Miles and Renee turned to scowl at him.

  “You jackholes may be used to throwing your weight around where you’re from, but you’ve got zero pull here. She gave you her answer. You’re not welcome on this property. You can leave peacefully, or I can escort you off with as much physical violence as you’d like. I’m hoping you pick the second option.”

  Fur sprouted on Miles’ face, and his claws shot from his fingertips. His fangs descended, and he let out what was meant to be a menacing hiss. Lainey knew that he wouldn’t actually fully shift into bobcat form and start a fight. He hardly ever shifted; he hated ruining his clothes.

  Henry stood there, looking bored. In a show of utter contempt, he didn’t bother even partially shifting. After a minute, Miles retracted his claws and the hair faded.

  “This isn’t over, Lainey,” Miles said coldly..

  Renee turned and walked away, and Miles followed her, shooting dirty looks at Lainey over his shoulder.

  “Buh-bye, Chiclet teeth,” Marigold called after him.

  The Lexus squealed away in a cloud of dust.

  “So, your real name is Lainey?” she asked.

  “Yes. My friend made the reservation here a year ago, and when she couldn’t make it and I wanted to ditch my Momster and the fiancé from hell, I took her place. It was the most perfect timing.”

  “Oh, that’s because of the whole fated-mate thing,” Marigold said. “Of course you ended up here. That’s how it works. If you’re open to love, you’ll find yourself in the right place at the right time.”

  “I think Miles blew it for me,” Lainey said. “I was kind of starting to think my fated mate was Tate Calloway. He actually seemed to like me, amazingly enough.”

  “I know. Word gets around. And don’t sound so surprised that a good guy could like you, for God’s sake. Tate will come around, just wait. I’m still going to call you Kat, by the way. It suits you.”

  Chapter Seven

  The vast grounds of the Beaudreau estate swept out before Lainey, green splashed with the colors of thousands of flowers, bustling with activity as the wedding day grew ever closer. Marigold had insisted on dragging Lainey with her so she could do some sketches of the grounds now that all the flowers were planted, but then Marigold had run off to find Ginger, who was in the rehearsal hall with her family.

  Lainey still felt like a heavy slab of concrete rested in her chest, but she tried to put on a cheery face as she strolled the grounds. She’d spotted the Calloway truck at one end of the property and had seen Tate standing with his back to her in the middle of a knot of people in the distance. She’d promptly turned and headed the other way.

  With a sigh, she found a stone bench and settled on to it, pulling out her sketch pad and capturing the beauty of the Beaudreau mansion in flowing strokes. The sun warmed her skin and the perfumed breezes caressed her, and she started to relax a little as the bright trills of songbirds spilled from the trees.

  Then childish shouts pierced the air, and she looked up to see the Calloway gang swarming towards her with Megan trailing behind. Apparently they had a Lainey-GPS, which always pointed in her direction. The idea made her smile.

  “What are you drawing?” Valerie asked. “Oh, that’s pretty. Draw me, please?”

  “Kids, she’s busy,” Megan scolded.

  “Please?” Valerie repeated, ignoring her older sister.

  “Pleeease?” Schuyler joined in. She drew out the word in a pitiful moan, and widened her big blue eyes so they were like saucers.

  “Wow, she’s good,” Lainey laughed, glancing at Megan.

  Megan scowled. “Only when she wants to be, which isn’t often.”

  “All right, I could do a quick sketch,” Lainey said.

  “Draw me, too!” Ashley said. “I’m prettier.” She stuck her tongue out at Schuyler, who let out an outraged squawk and shoved her.

  “Knock it off,” Lainey said in her best dealing-with-juvenile-delinquents voice, and both kids stopped in their tracks.

  “You’re all beautiful,” Lainey said firmly.

  “But who’s the most beautifulest?” Valerie asked.

  “You’re all equally beautiful.”

  “Ugh, grownups always say that,” Ashley complained.

  “Smart kid. All right, group portrait. Everybody, sit in the grass in a row. No squirming.”

  “Oooh, this will take a little while, right?” Megan asked. “I’m going to go use the bathroom.”

  Lainey nodded and began to sketch. It was challenging, because the Calloway kids were as squirmy as a basketful of rabbits, but after twenty minutes, she’d produced a pretty picture that the kids all admired and almost tore into pieces as they yanked at it.

  Lainey glanced around. Where was Megan? How long could it take to pee? Megan had probably headed over the border and was halfway to Mexico by now, she thought. Maybe she should have put a tracking device on her before she went.

  “Well, hello. You didn’t bring your fiancé today?”

&n
bsp; Lainey started. It was Tate, and his tone was still hurt and angry.

  Despite the fact that she was furious at him, Lainey still got a serious case of the tinglies every time he came close to her. Damn the man. If only there were some kind of inoculation that would make her immune.

  “You’re engaged?” Schuyler sounded horrified. “Like, to a man? And you’re going to marry him?”

  “Who is he? I don’t like him.” Ashley scowled and put her hands on her hips.

  Lainey couldn’t help but smile at that. “I didn’t like him, either, once I got to know him. That’s why I broke up with him a week ago. I’m not engaged to him anymore.”

  She heard Tate draw in his breath. He looked shocked, chagrinned, and embarrassed, all at the same time.

  Ha, she thought angrily. It stung that he didn’t trust her at all, even though she knew she hadn’t really given him a reason to. Feelings weren’t always logical.

  “Why didn’t you like him?” Ashley demanded, with childish curiosity.

  “Ashley, that’s hardly your business,” Tate scolded. But he glanced at Lainey, as if hoping for an answer.

  “I’m afraid he told some big ol’ lies,” Lainey said to Ashley. “Who’d want to marry a liar-pants?”

  Ashley giggled. “Not me.”

  Megan was walking across the lawn towards them, finally.

  “Where were you?” Tate asked her.

  “Taking a walk, and going to the bathroom. Stop being such a freak.” Megan glared at him.

  He was staring at her critically.

  “No, my lipstick’s not messed up,” she added. “Seriously, dude. Get a life and stop trying to run mine.”

  “We told Frank Sinclair to leave town yesterday,” Tate said. “This morning, Kyle saw him near his pickup truck, and chased him off. Now there’s an APB out for him. You are not to speak to him.”

  “So you’ve told me,” Megan said, icicles dripping from her voice. “And I already agreed that I would not speak to him again. Are you having fun ruining my damned life? I hope so.”