Joey: Spring (Shifter Seasons Book 6)

by Harmony Raines

  “Isn’t it?” He grinned at her. “Let’s eat. You look as if you need coffee, too.”

  “Do I?” She smoothed her hands over her hair which she always wore pulled up in a bun while she was working.

  “Oh!” Joey’s eyes went wide. “I don’t mean that you look…” He paused. “You look incredible.” His forehead creased. “That was too much.”

  “A little.” She ducked her head and hid her smile as heat crept across her cheeks. “But thank you. It’s always nice to hear a compliment.”

  “I have plenty of them.” His smile widened and he stared at her for a couple of moments before he jerked his head as if waking from a dream. “Let’s eat.”

  “I am starving.” Perhaps it was the mountain air, but her stomach growled in response.

  “Delivering babies is hard work,” Joey blurted out as if he needed to fill the gaps in their conversation. He was nervous. Yet, from what Breeze had witnessed at the hospital, he found it easy to talk to women and was a good friend.

  Not something all men were capable of accomplishing. Yet here he was, one of the most handsome men she’d ever met, stumbling over his words.

  “It’s hugely satisfying,” Breeze admitted.

  “Satisfying?” Joey looked confused for a moment. “Oh, delivering babies.” He licked his lips and chuckled nervously.

  “What did you think I meant?” Breeze teased.

  “I don’t…” It was Joey’s turn to look embarrassed. “I’m so nervous my palms are sweaty.” He wiped them on his thighs.

  “Why?” Breeze stopped walking. They had reached the steps leading onto a deck area where tables and chairs were set out with enough room to afford everyone a little privacy. “Why do I make you nervous?”

  Joey swallowed hard. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

  “Now that is a cliché.” She arched an eyebrow.

  “I mean it.” He grinned nervously. “I don’t know if you felt it, but we have a connection.”

  She did feel it, but she wasn’t ready to admit it. “That’s because we were both there when a miracle happened.”

  “A miracle.” His eyes darkened and slipped from her eyes to her lips. She couldn’t help it, she ran her tongue along her lower lip, moistening it, ready for when he kissed her. Which would be any minute now.

  Too soon! No, maybe it would be good to get it out of the way and break the sexual tension that stretched out taut and rigid between them. Rigid. Her eyes flickered down over his toned chest, down lower to his crotch.

  “Polly’s baby.” She snatched her gaze away from his groin and fixed it on his face. “Sharing something so special makes people feel connected. A new life is such a precious thing. Shall we eat?”

  Her voice was squeaky and high. Joey sure did have an effect on her. One that was unexpected and for Breeze, completely unusual. All the relationships she’d had with men before had been more of the slow burn type.

  There was nothing slow about the fire Joey lit inside her.

  She closed her eyes and focused on the image of her nephew. His face. His tears of confusion over his parents’ behavior. She had to be there for him, and Joey would be a distraction. She’d agreed to lunch with Joey intending to put him off, pour cold water over any romantic notions he might have about the two of them.

  It was kinder to let him down gently now than wait until his feelings for her grew deeper.

  “I’ve seen animals give birth before, but never a baby.” His expression cleared and he walked up the steps to the deck area. “You’re right. It was as if a miracle happened right there before our eyes and we were all a part of it.” He grinned and looked at her over his shoulder. “I don’t mean to take credit for what you did. Helping a child into the world is an amazing thing.”

  “You had a part in that. Keeping Polly focused. Keeping her strong. That’s a tough thing to do. And you did it.” Breeze followed him to a table that looked over a forest. The leaves were a fresh vibrant green. As a cool breeze swept down from the mountain peaks, the leaves shimmered as if they were the scales of a huge animal that lay sleeping in the noon sun.

  “She was incredible.” A wistful look crossed Joey’s face but then he blinked, looked at Breeze, and it was gone. “Shall we order?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes widened as the smell of fresh coffee reached her. It was mixed with the scent of fries and the sizzle of a burger. The food here was freshly cooked to order, not soggy, been-sitting-on-the-counter-for-an-hour, fast food.

  A waitress came and took their order and brought fresh coffee while Breeze and Joey enjoyed the view and made small talk. It was as if they both had the desire to rein in their conversation and bring it back to easy. Things like the weather, the names of the mountain peaks and the forests, all safe topics. Distant.

  Had he tired of her already?

  “So, you were going to tell me why Bear Creek might not be your permanent home.” Joey struck up a conversation as soon as the waitress had brought their food and left them to eat.

  Breeze had taken a large bite of her burger when Joey brought the conversation right back to the hard stuff. She nodded and chewed self-consciously. Joey picked up a couple of fries and she was mesmerized by his lips as he ate them.

  Reminding herself to chew and that there was a question she had to answer, she tore her eyes away from his full lips and her desire to kiss them.

  “I was.” She swallowed loudly and his eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. “It’s complicated.”

  “Life often is.” Although, loving Joey would be easy.

  Breeze acknowledged that thought and knew it as truth. The connection Joey had spoken about wasn’t anything to do with them witnessing the miracle of birth. It was purely and simply a connection between Breeze and Joey.

  “I moved here for a fresh start.” She raised one eyebrow and wagged her finger at him. “Before you start thinking I must have a broken heart or that I have been wronged in any way, I want to state that it was purely a life choice. I’m not getting any younger and I wanted a slower pace of life. I wanted to find a place I could set down roots and make a home.” That was mostly true, but she left out the part her sister and Uri had played in this decision.

  “I can understand that.” He leaned back in his chair and studied her. “I wasn’t thinking you had a broken heart.”

  “That is the conclusion most people jump to. That a big life-changing move like this must be because of a man. Like that is the only thing that makes a woman tick.” She took a breath. “Sorry, that was not meant to be a rant. But most people think I am running from something or someone rather than running to something new.” Had she run away? Joey’s question was stirring up all kinds of doubts in her mind.

  He gave a lopsided smile. “I like that.” He nodded. “I like that you are trying to find something new. That you realized that you weren’t fulfilled and decided to do something about it.”

  Breeze nodded. “You make me sound braver than I feel. And it wasn’t a sudden awakening. It had been brewing for a while. A long while.” Yes, it had. The issue with Lisa had simply brought everything to a point where Breeze knew she had to move forward with her own life.

  Even if that forward move had now stalled.

  “Why here?” Joey asked as he went back to eating his lunch. He’d ordered a large burger and fries and a mug of coffee. The way he was demolishing his food, Breeze was certain he could eat the same meal twice over. Powering a body that size would take a chunk of calories.

  She blinked and brought herself back to the present. It was so easy to lose herself in thinking about Joey.

  “I’d been hunting for a job in a more rural area for a while. But jobs as midwives don’t come up too often. Then a friend gave me the heads-up that there was a job coming available in Bear Bluff. I jumped at it. There is an extremely healthy birth rate around these parts.” She shrugged. “I got the job.”

  “And so you packed everything up and moved here.” His eyes narrowed
as he looked at her. “You look happy. And you like the town and the people.” His hand swept out in an arc that encompassed the mountains and forest. “You can’t not like the view. So what changed?”

  “My nephew.” She looked down at her plate. The food was so delicious she’d demolished half her burger already despite all the talking. But her appetite faded as she recalled the tearful call from her nephew asking her to come to get him.

  “Oh. Is he in trouble?” Joey’s eyes darkened. “Did something happen to his parents?” Joey asked gently.

  “Aside from them reverting to acting like a couple of kids rather than mature parents?” Breeze replied a little too savagely. She ran a hand over her eyes, she wasn’t going to cry in front of Joey. He didn’t deserve to have a stranger blubbering across the table from him.

  Although, from the concern registering in his eyes, she doubted he’d care. Her stomach flipped as longing took a firm hold of her. She couldn’t shake off her desire for this man.

  “Oh.” He looked relieved. “I was worried they’d been killed in a horrible accident or something.” His hand shook a little as he sipped his coffee.

  “No.” Her forehead creased. “Nothing as bad as that.” She paused, looking at him closely. “Did something like that affect you?”

  “No.” He placed his cup down on the table and ran his finger around the rim. “A friend of mine lost his mom when we were kids. He went off the rails for a while. I’d hate to see any child go through what he did.”

  “I’m sorry.” She tore her gaze from his face. Breeze longed to reach out to him and stroke his cheek, then press her lips against his and kiss away his pain. “Tristan’s parents are getting a divorce.” Her forehead creased some more. Her sister’s behavior was going to give her wrinkles. “At least they were. Now, I think they are getting back together. But who knows?”

  “Wow, a roller coaster for their kid.” Joey shook his head. “So he’s living with you?”

  “Yeah, he called me when they first decided to end the marriage. There was a lot of shouting and yelling and he said he couldn’t take it.” She looked out across the forest, finding calm in the movement of the leaves as they moved like a luminescent green wave.

  “That’s not something a child needs to hear.”

  “No, it’s not. Then his dad figured he needed to go and find himself, whatever that means. My sister chose to follow him rather than commit to being the parent Tristan needs. Which is even worse for a kid to hear.” Breeze ground her teeth together before she let go of her tension. “I’m sorry, you don’t need to hear all this.”

  “I do.” Joey reached out his hand and placed it over hers. “I want to help.”

  “Wait.” She pulled her hand away. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?” Joey genuinely looked confused. Then his eyes widened. “Oh, no. That is not what I was trying to do.”

  “You weren’t trying to be the sympathetic guy just to get on my good side?” Breeze was overreacting. She knew it but maybe it was a good thing. This would be the ideal time to push Joey away.

  “No. That’s not who I am.” His brow furrowed and he looked genuinely upset that she might think that of him. “I understand where Tristan is emotionally. I want to help. I want to help both of you.”

  “You think I need help?” Breeze was spoiling for a fight. A fight she didn’t really want.

  Joey’s expression relaxed. “It’s understandable that you are defensive, protective of Tristan. But I promise you, I am not the kind of guy who would use Tristan to get into your heart.” He smiled and her heart ached for him. Did she really want to throw away a relationship with a guy like Joey? “You’re trying to protect Tristan and you don’t want him to think you might choose me over him. You want him to feel safe and secure.” Joey nodded as he finished talking.

  “You’re good.” She sighed. “I think you are a really great guy…”

  “Oh, no. Don’t say the words that will wound my heart forever.” He clasped his hands to his chest as if she’d shot him through the heart. His tone was light but there was something in his eyes that resembled fear. He was scared of losing her.

  “You’re right.” She was crushingly honest. “I don’t want Tristan to worry that I’m going to desert him. That I might enter a relationship that would put his future in jeopardy. He’s already having a hard time adjusting. He’s scared and sometimes that means he exhibits bad behavior. We’re just coming out the other side of that phase and I can’t risk taking a step back.”

  “I understand,” Joey answered gruffly. “But here’s the thing…”

  “What thing?” Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Breeze wanted him to persuade her she was wrong. Because she wanted to explore her feelings for this guy.

  “Children learn from the people around them. They learn from the relationships they observe. Tristan has seen the worst of that. We could show him the flip side.” Joey was deadly serious.

  “That isn’t just a line, is it?” Breeze asked. “You absolutely think we have a connection.”

  “I don’t think it. I know it. Deep down in my soul and that means I know that I can help you and Tristan.” He held up his hand. “I am not saying that I can wave a magic wand and make your lives perfect. I’m also not saying you can’t do this on your own. I’ve seen enough in the last few hours to know you can absolutely handle it yourself.”

  “But you’re saying I don’t have to.” She let out a long breath. “That I could choose to accept help.”

  A smile played over his kissable lips. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. “That is exactly what I’m saying.”

  Tears misted her eyes and she blinked rapidly. “You’re asking me to put my faith in a stranger.”

  “Why not?” He grinned, he had an infectious smile that lightened her heart. A heart that had been heavy since her sister and her husband decided to declare war on each other.

  “I don’t have a good answer to that,” she admitted.

  “Isn’t it what you expect your expectant moms and dads to do every day?”

  “You make such good points it’s hard to argue with them.” She shook her head slowly. “I can’t afford to mess up. For Tristan’s sake, I can’t afford to put my feelings or anyone else’s above his.”

  “Don’t let him know that,” Joey cautioned. “Tristan needs to know where he fits in. And giving him too much power over you won’t let him learn that.”

  “And you are not just saying that?” she asked bluntly.

  “No, I’m not just saying that. Your happiness means everything to me.” His sincerity took her breath away.

  “Why?” Fear prickled along Breeze’s spine. What if Joey had mental health problems and had latched on to her because she was new in town and didn’t have a core group of friends to watch out for her? “What is it that makes you so certain?”

  “That is going to take a little explaining.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “It’s something I’m going to need to show you. But not here and not now.”

  “Of course not.” She looked around. “You don’t want an audience.”

  “No, I do not.” He leaned forward, his eyes locked with hers. “Trust me. Please.”

  “Joey, I think it would be better if we left our relationship right here. I’ve had a great time but now I have to collect Tristan.” She drained her coffee cup but as she placed it down on the table, he reached out and covered her hand with his.

  A jolt of recognition coursed through her and her eyes widened. There was a connection between them. It was undeniable. Each time they touched, she felt it. When she was in his presence, it was like the sun shone brighter and the air smell sweeter.

  “Just give me a chance, Breeze. Please.” His sincerity shone brightly in his eyes and there was no denying him.

  “Okay.” There she was allowing her heart to contradict her head once more.

  But in her whole life, she had never felt something was so right.

&nbs
p; Chapter Seven – Joey

  He was in danger of losing her. The thought sliced through his heart, taking his breath away. She was too important to him. He needed her.

  Joey was fairly sure Breeze needed him, too. Needed someone to stand by her and help her in any way she needed.

  “I was thinking.” Joey walked Breeze to her car after they had finished their lunch. She was tense, he could see it in the way she walked and the tightness in her jaw. “Why don’t I take Tristan for a hike or something?”

  “A hike.” Breeze chuckled. “Tristan is more into computer games. He likes his adventures to be on a small screen.” She paused and pointed at Joey’s chest. “But maybe that’s something that needs to change.”

  “Okay. Tell me when and I’m there.” Breeze unlocked the car door and he opened it for her. “Tonight? Tomorrow?”

  “You are eager, aren’t you?” Breeze shielded her eyes against the sun as it dipped down toward the mountains.

  “Why put it off?” Joey asked. “Hey, why don’t we take a picnic? You could come along, too, and I can invite a couple of friends of mine. They’ve recently gotten together but my friend, Shawn, he has a daughter. She’s a good kid, about the same age as Tristan.”

  “Okay.” Breeze nodded. “It would be good to meet someone outside of the hospital.”

  “Oh.” Joey slapped his forehead. “I forgot, Shawn is a doctor. You might have already met him. Dr. Bradford.”

  “No, I haven’t met him.” She tilted her head to one side. “It would be great to meet some more people, especially a child of similar age. It would be good for Tristan.” She frowned. “At least, I think it will.”

  “Okay, tomorrow afternoon. I’ll swing by and pick you up.” He leaned on the door as she got in the car. “Shawn’s fiancée is named Joanna and his daughter is named Jane.”

  She held her hand out. “If you give me your phone, I’ll put my number in it then you can text me and I’ll text you back with my address.”

  “Here.” He handed her his phone and watched as she tapped the screen and entered her cell phone number.

  You could tell her we could probably track her to her front door by following her scent. But that might creep her out, his bear said.