by J. L. Farey
If things went the way she hoped they would, she’d simply add Aurora to her ever-growing list of things to tell Aiden.
2
“Morning, Birdie!” Aiden called as he walked into the sheriff’s station. He was surprised when Birdie’s usual, enthusiastic greeting didn’t sound out in response. “Birdie?”
He found Birdie at her desk, staring intently at her computer monitor.
“Birdie.” This time, he brought the word up from his diaphragm, producing such a loud, deep rumble that it made her jump.
“Heavens, you startled me.” Birdie pressed her palm against her chest, as if trying to stop her heart from escaping.
“Sorry. I called out twice before, but I guess you didn’t hear me.”
After taking in a long, slow breath, she waved away his apology. “I’ve been glued to this story all morning. Have you seen it?”
“I haven’t checked the internet yet today, so no, probably not.”
She shifted the monitor sideways, and Aiden leaned on the edge of her desk for a better look. The headline read, Country Music Star Questioned After Death of Former Partner. Below that was a picture of Rye Randall crooning into a microphone.
“Isn’t it awful? That poor man.”
Aiden snorted. “That poor man makes more in a year than you or I will see in a lifetime.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Maybe not than you, now that you’re soul-bound to a nymph. Who knows how long the two of you will keep kicking? But that’s not what I meant.”
“I know. My point, had you let me finish, is that he has enough money to hire excellent lawyers. If he’s innocent, he shouldn’t have any problem proving it.”
“I hope you’re right.” With a sigh, Birdie readjusted her monitor and smiled up at Aiden. “Good morning, Sugar.”
“That’s better. Now the work day can officially begin.” Aiden grinned and ambled toward his desk.
“Wait. I have a message for you.”
He stopped and pivoted. “I have a message?” Usually, if someone wanted to get ahold of him, they just called his cell. He couldn’t remember the last time he got a call at the station.
Birdie waved a piece of scrap paper in the air. “Kind of. A woman called asking about you. Specifically, she wanted to know if Aiden Morris worked in Nocturne Falls. Well, let me tell you, after that nasty business last month with Dillon, I wasn’t about to tell that woman anything about you, especially when she wouldn’t give me her name and contact information. But I wrote it all down, what few details there are, in case you need it later.”
With a frown, Aiden plucked the slip of paper from Birdie’s fingers and looked it over. “Huh. I have no idea who this could be.”
“No old girlfriends who might pop up?”
“Not a one. You were right not to tell her anything. Thanks.”
She lifted two fingers to her eyebrow and gave him a sassy salute. “No one gets by me. Well, except for that one time.”
Aiden winked at her. “Birdie, you’re a peach.”
A laugh boomed from out in the hall, and then deputy Wade Dalton swaggered into the room. “A peach? Can’t stand the things! No, Birdie, you’re a hot fudge sundae, no doubt about it.”
Birdie laughed and swiped at him with one hand. “You charmer. Go on, take those sun glasses off and show me your baby blues.”
Wade complied, revealing the startlingly blue cat eyes of a snow leopard. Due to a genetic quirk, his eyes were always that way, whether he shifted or not. In order to avoid the inevitable questions from non-supernaturals (most often, where did you get those wicked contacts) he’d taken to always wearing sunglasses. Aiden held back a smile. Birdie was one of the few people Wade would indulge by taking his glasses off.
“Glad you could make it in, partner.” Aiden made a show of looking at the clock on the wall.
“I considered staying home, but then I thought, if a real emergency happened, you’d have to handle it on your own.” Wade made a sad face and shook his head. “I couldn’t do that to you, or to Nocturne Falls.”
“How self-sacrificing of you.” Aiden barked out a laugh. “More likely you just wanted a good excuse to drop in on The Hallowed Bean and visit the new barista. What’s her name again? Polly?”
“Patty,” Bertie piped up.
“Very funny.” Wade slipped his glasses back on. “I’m dedicated to my job, and you know it. But speaking of the Bean, I could use some coffee.”
~ ~ ~
The bells over the door of Pandora Williams’ real estate office jingled as Laurel walked out. They’d had a productive meeting, resulting in several promising prospects. She looked down at the print outs in her hand. Pandora had wanted to show her the properties, but Laurel chose to look at them herself first. She hadn’t been in Nocturne Falls long, but she’d lived in enough small towns to expect there to be an active community grapevine. She didn’t want it to get back to Aiden that Pandora was showing her commercial properties, especially when she hadn’t told him about it yet.
She lifted her face to the warmth of the sun and took in a deep breath. It was a beautiful day, the kind that didn’t make her miss having a car. As she walked she folded the papers carefully and looked down as she slid them into her purse. When she looked up, she barely had time to get out of the way of a woman who was hurrying in her direction. The woman passed, stopped short, and turned around.
“Laurel?” She squinted, looking intently at her. “You are Laurel Barker, aren’t you?”
“Well, um, yes. But how do you...” Wait a minute. Laurel squinted back. The woman in front of her was older, slender, with a sleek, silver bob. Laurel had only seen one picture of the woman, when she was much younger, but still... “Danielle?”
“Yes!”
“What are you doing here?”
Danielle blinked in confusion. “I thought you wanted me here. Isn’t that why you got in touch with me?’
“Yes, of course.” Laurel sighed. “I just wasn’t expecting you to pop up in the middle of the sidewalk with no warning.”
Danielle frowned. This wasn’t going well at all.
“What I mean is, I wanted to plan your visit so it would be special. But, now you’re here, so we can plan the rest of it together.”
Danielle’s lips relaxed, turning her frown into a thin, unamused line. “I’m sorry, but there wasn’t time to send emails back and forth as we consulted each other’s calendars. Something’s happened that made it imperative for me to come now.”
“Well, you’re here now and that’s all that matters.” Laurel forced a smile as she mentally crumpled up her To-Do-List for the day. “Would you like to get some coffee?”
“I prefer tea.”
Of course she did. “No problem. The Hallowed Bean has both. Shall we?”
Laurel almost cheered when Danielle nodded, showing a glimmer of a smile. She’d count that as a victory.
As the two women made their way to the coffee shop, Danielle took in all the sights. “This place is amazing. Is everyone in on the joke?”
“It’s not a joke. The tourists think the supernaturals are actors. For them, it’s like stepping onto a movie set, or into an alternate reality. But for a lot of the people who’ve made Nocturne Falls home, it’s their first opportunity to live as they really are.”
“They can be themselves.” Danielle cleared her throat. “I wish I’d known about this town a long time ago.”
When they reached The Hallowed Bean, Laurel held the door open and let Danielle enter first.
“This place must be good if there’s such a crowd.” At last, Danielle sounded pleased about something. So it was too bad Laurel was about to ruin it.
She saw Wade leaning against the counter, talking to a ponytailed barista who seemed to end every sentence with a giggle. If Wade was there, then Aiden must be close by. She had to get Danielle out of there.
Laurel put her hand on Danielle’s back and tried to steer her around. “On second t
hought, I know of a lovely sidewalk café with an excellent tea selection. Let’s go there.”
Before they could start back for the door, Wade called out. “Hey, Laurel. Aiden’s at a table over there.”
She thanked Wade with a smile, then saw Aiden rise from his seat. He grinned. Then he looked past Laurel, and his eyes flashed like someone had set fire to two pots of dark, golden honey. For a second, she saw the shifter he was, the huge golden bear who stood eight feet tall when he rose on his hind legs. And he was not happy.
He stalked across the small space, weaving his way around tables, chairs, and standing customers. When he reached them, he didn’t say a word. Just stared.
“Hi, Honey.” Even to Laurel’s own ears, her voice came out artificially bright and loud.
After a moment of non-response, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. Then, he turned to the woman beside her. “What are you doing here?”
Danielle didn’t blink. “Hello, Aiden.”
“Hello. Mother.”
Laurel flinched. She hadn’t thought it possible to make the word mother sound so ugly. “Now that we’re all here, maybe we should sit down. I bet you two want to catch up.”
They both looked at her like she’d grown another head. Laurel shook it off. She’d already made a fool of herself, so why stop now?
“I’ve got a table.” Aiden turned and went back the way he came.
Danielle stood a little straighter, pulled her shoulders back a little farther. “I expect that’s the closest thing to an invitation I’ll get.”
Behind her cold, stiff-upper-lip demeanor, Laurel could see Danielle’s disappointment. But for the first time in over fifteen years, she and her son were in the same room. That was progress.
Laurel patted the woman on the shoulder. “You knew this wouldn’t be easy. Let’s go.”
Once they were all seated at the same table, it seemed neither Danielle or Aiden wanted to be the first to speak. Maybe they wanted to be alone.
“We never got to order our drinks. How about I go get us some tea and–”
“No.”
Laurel had only gotten halfway out of her seat when they ordered her not to go. Slowly, she sank back down. Obviously, they wanted her there. As what? An impartial observer? A referee? Someone to break up the fight before it got out of hand? What had ever possessed her to get ahold of Aiden’s mother? In The Big Book of Bad Ideas, this one was right up there with the worst of them. Now it was her responsibility to fix it.
“Let me explain.” Laurel put her hand on top of Aiden’s. His body stiffened, but she was relieved that he didn’t pull away. “I’m the one that got in touch with your mother.”
Now his hand slipped away from hers. “Why? Why would you do that without telling me?”
“She was worried about you.” Danielle’s hands were clasped together on the table, her perfectly manicured fingers intertwined. “And so am I.”
Aiden cocked his head to the side. “You’re worried about me? That’s funny. You weren’t worried about me all those years you denied what I really am. Did you ever stop to think about the effect that would have on me?”
“Of course I did. I only wanted to do what was best for you, but I had no idea what that was.” Danielle leaned forward, dropping the volume of her voice. “I didn’t even know such things as shifters existed until...”
“Until you saw me shift.”
Danielle leaned back with a huff. “Yes.”
Aiden turned to Laurel. “I know you meant well, but why would you think she could help me with anything?”
Her mouth had gone so dry, she really wished she’d insisted on getting that tea. “You’ve been having those nightmares. You don’t want to talk about them, and you never talk about what happened in New York. I thought your mother could fill in some blank spots.”
Aiden looked away, probably doing that pause-and-deep-breath thing he did when frustrated, then looked back at her. “She doesn’t know anything about that time.”
“Just what I read in the papers,” Danielle said.
Oh boy. Where was a tree when you needed to hug it? “I didn’t know that. But look, she’s here!” She motioned at Danielle like she was selling her on one of the shopping channels. “She just showed up, on her own. That must mean something.”
Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “Not necessarily something good.” He looked at his mother. “Why don’t you save us all some time and just spill it?”
“All right.” Danielle began fidgeting with a silver ring on her right hand. “When Laurel contacted me, I thought getting you and I together might not be a good idea because, well, because of exactly what happened. But over the last week, something happened to a close friend of mine and I knew right away that I had to see you.”
“You came because you need my help for someone else.” Aiden’s body seemed to relax a bit. “At least that makes sense. Tell me about your friend.”
“He was accused of a crime. He didn’t do it, but he can’t prove that.”
“He doesn’t have an alibi?”
“He does, he just can’t use it. No one would believe it, and if they did believe it, things would probably be worse than they are now.”
Laurel shook her head in confusion. This wasn’t what she’d expected to happen. Not even close.
“Let me take a wild guess,” Aiden said. “He can’t use his alibi because he’s a supernatural.”
Danielle’s eyes widened a bit. “Yes. A shifter. Like you. And he’s quite well known.”
“Who is this person?” Laurel spoke up.
“He’s a musician. Rye Randall.”
“Of course,” Laurel said. “I love his stuff.”
“I just heard about his situation today. Birdie showed it to me.” In an uncharacteristically rude move, he didn’t bother explaining to his mother who Birdie was. “How do you know this guy?”
Danielle stopped spinning her ring and looked Aiden straight in the eye. “He’s your father.”
~ ~ ~
The door of The Hallowed Bean flew open and Aiden barreled outside. He needed air. How could a day that started out so well turn into a great, steaming pile of horse manure in a matter of minutes?
He wanted to shift, to run until he couldn’t run anymore, but he was in the middle of town, surrounded by tourists. Even though the unexpected was expected in Nocturne Falls, seeing a deputy sheriff transform into an angry golden bear would undoubtedly push the fantasy way too far.
Running footsteps behind him were followed by Laurel calling out for him to stop. Which he did, but not until he’d reached the Gargoyle Fountain. He sat on the edge and looked up at the huge stone man in the middle. “Hey Bob.”
“Hey Aiden.” The gargoyle made a few jerky movements, making it appear he was animatronic. “You look like hell.”
Aiden nodded. “Feel like it, too.”
“Bummer.” Bob froze, ending the conversation as a group of camera-wielding visitors started taking pictures.
“There you are.” Laurel hurried up and sat next to him. His mother, still wanting to keep her distance, sat beside Laurel.
Aiden wasn’t about to give anyone time to get comfortable. “You lied to me.”
“No, I didn’t,” Danielle said.
“You told me you didn’t know who my father was.”
“I never said any such thing.”
“You said it was a one night stand, and in the morning, he was gone. Was that a lie?”
She flushed. “No. But a one-night-stand doesn’t mean I didn’t know who he was. What kind of a woman do you think I am?”
Aiden didn’t want to go near that question. Even dancing around the topic of his mother’s sex life was uncomfortable enough.
“Rye and I were friends. We grew up together. That night, he was singing at a club and we both had too much to drink and...you know the rest.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me his name?”
“I was protecting you. And myself.” She st
arted spinning her ring again. “He really was gone in the morning and we didn’t talk after that. Not until recently.”
“When you found out he was in trouble?”
“No, about a year ago, actually. I went to see one of his shows and we...reconnected.”
Silence descended over the three of them.
“Wow,” Laurel finally said. “That’s a lot of information to process.”
“Yes, it is.” Aiden slapped his palms on his knees and stood up. “Mother, I need a little time to think this through. Have you made hotel arrangements in town?”
“Yes. I’m already checked in.”
“Good. We’ll get in touch again tomorrow. I’m going back to the office now.”
He was already walking away when a hand on his arm stopped him. Laurel looked up at him with a sadness he hadn’t seen since her tree died.
“I’m so sorry, Aiden.”
He hugged her to his side and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll get through it. Right now, I just want to go home.” The crime rate in Nocturne Falls was so low, it wouldn’t be a problem cutting his shift short.
“Me too. I’m going to walk Danielle to the hotel and then I’ll meet you at the Sheriff’s office. Okay?”
“Okay.”
After a quick kiss, they went their separate ways. Even though he was upset with the outcome, Aiden couldn’t be angry with Laurel for what she tried to do. It was about time he told her what had happened in New York. But not today. Now, he had the mess with his mother to think about. He needed a little peace and quiet. He didn’t think he could take one more surprise.
3
They didn’t say much on the ride home. Aiden asked if Laurel had found a car, and she told him she hadn’t even had a chance to look. Laurel almost turned on the radio, but she was afraid a Rye Randall song would come on, or worse, a report about his case.
Laurel looked out the side window and let her thoughts wander. Rye Randall was Aiden’s father. She still couldn’t wrap her brain around that. Which meant that Rye had to be a shifter, too. It was hard enough to hide your supernatural side when you lived a quiet life, but she couldn’t imagine keeping that secret while living in the public eye.