Silver Fox

by Kristen Strassel

  “If I get the restaurant, I can do that there.” The Werewives needed something to do while the Bloodhounds were at practice. They were all away from home, their job to be professional daters. We were a month into the season, and the ladies were getting antsy. It probably made for good TV when they bickered, but like Fiona, I wanted to spread love through Holiday Falls the only way I knew how. By feeding them. “Do you want to come, too? The more the merrier?”

  “No, I’ll let the two of you have some mother-daughter time away from the compound. Take lots of pictures and tell me all about it when you get back. I’ve got to get ready for the big party this weekend, anyway.” Molly winked at us before leaving the room.

  We weren’t going alone. Tessa was in the backseat with her trusty camera. “What do you hope to accomplish today, Jenna?”

  Fiona turned in her seat, giving Tessa a thousand-watt grin. “Oh, is this like a confessional?”

  “Sort of,” Tessa said. In the rearview mirror, I watched her shift uncomfortably in the backseat.

  “I’m hoping that this restaurant space that’s for rent will fit in my business concept. I’m a farm to table chef, and I’m looking for a cozy place that feels like dinner at a friend’s house more than going out to eat.”

  “You’re so good at this, Mom.”

  Fiona was acting funny. A half hour ago, she hated the idea of me opening a new restaurant. Something was up.

  “I’m sold.” Tessa laughed, but it ended too soon. Shit, was she in on the fix? “Every time you talk about food, I get hungry. But there’s something else I have to talk to you about before we get to the restaurant.”

  Here it was. It took everything I had to concentrate on the road. “What’s that?”

  “The network has decided they’d like to offer Fiona a contract on The Real Werewives of Alaska, after her birthday, of course. We already know that she’ll be a viewer favorite, and that’s before we factored in her connection to Landon Fox.”

  “That’s the best news! Thank you so much.” Fiona leaned into the backseat and kissed Tessa. “Mom, aren’t you excited? I’m a Werewife, too! Mom. Mom! That car in front of us is stopped.”

  Fiona screamed and I braked at the last possible second. A piece of paper would barely fit between our car and the one in front of us. My heart was pounding, almost loud enough to drown out those fateful words. They’d like to offer Fiona a contract... “That’s how excited I am, sweetie.”

  “You didn’t have to go all psycho on us. My life shouldn’t flash before my eyes until I sign that contract.” Fiona chuckled nervously. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

  “You’ll be eighteen. You can do whatever you want.” I sounded like a zombie. This was the day I dreaded, on steroids. Fiona would always be my little girl, no matter how old she was. But she did whatever she wanted, no matter what I said. Now that she was an adult, I’d lose even more control.

  Traffic started moving again, and I had to put all my energy into getting us to the restaurant in one piece. “Like Tessa said, you’ll be a viewer favorite. I can’t wait to tell your father.”

  Fiona groaned.

  Tessa cleared her throat. It was getting hard to breathe in here. “We’ll make the official announcement this weekend at Fiona’s birthday party. She’ll be eighteen, and we’ll already be celebrating. Jenna, can I get some reaction on how you feel about Fiona becoming a Real Werewife?”

  There was no way we could blindside Landon with this kind of news. We had a date tonight, but he was busy getting his house ready to host a bunch of rowdy football players and their ambitious potential mates. Once they made that announcement, it would officially be Fiona Fox hunting season and the father of my child would be caught on video committing bodily harm against his teammates. Especially that sweet boy that asked permission to take her out. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

  The light turned red. I ripped a page out of my daughter’s book and fluffed out my hair before turning to Fiona. I kissed her cheek. She was beaming at me. Her excitement would’ve been contagious if I wasn’t so tempted to strangle her. “I trust you’ll make good choices.”

  “I’M THINKING OF CALLING it Ocho,” I said when I settled in at Landon’s condo. The island in the kitchen already felt like home. He’d slipped his arms around my waist, and his lips were on my neck. I’d quickly started to crave this feeling, the tickle of his beard, and the whisper of his hot breath against my skin. Nothing about Landon’s touch was clumsy or unsure like a new lover. And I had to fight getting lost in it. Focus. Business first, then pleasure. “It’s only got eight tables, which is exactly what I wanted. Something small. And it will be the eighth restaurant I’ve had a major role in. Are you listening to me?”

  Landon chuckled against my collarbone. “Eight tables. Eight restaurants. You’re making me hungry.”

  “Good.” Just how I liked him. “I’m happy to cook, if that’s what you want. It sounds like I have to add flatbread to the menu, if Fiona wasn’t exaggerating about the pizza situation.” Tonight we’d be relying on whatever we had in the fridge. For once, food hadn’t been part of my plan.

  “Call it pizza, babe.” Another kiss, and there was no mistaking what he wanted. “Nobody will brave these conditions for flatbread. Give them the basics, but put your own twist on them and they’ll be eating out of your hand.”

  “Ah, he’s a comedian, too.” I leaned against him. He made a really good point. “My thing in Santa Barbara was farm to table, but that’s not as easy here. I can always get meat and fish, but there’s not enough vegetables that can be consistently grown in season to put together the kind of menu I’m used to.”

  “This isn’t Santa Barbara. It’s a port city, and there’s a lot of people away from home. And it’s cold as the backside of a witch’s ass. Think about what you want when you’re in that situation.”

  “That’s why I wanted the cozy setting. All this snow makes me want to nest.”

  “Makes me want to stay in bed. With some company, of course.” His grip tightened on my tummy. My body was going crazy, knowing perfectly well where this conversation would lead. To us in bed. I’d put an overnight bag in the car, much to the approval of production, my Werewife roommates, and my daughter, who’d probably decided if her parents were happy, we’d let her get away with murder. Good thing Fiona was a lover, not a fighter.

  Landon turned the stool around so I faced him. He stood between my legs, heat radiating from his body as his hard cock bumped against the inside of my thigh. “It all sounds good. That kind of restaurant would do well here, and that’s before they taste your cooking. But I’m surprised.”

  I quirked a brow. “About what?”

  “That you’re ready to put down roots. I expected you to be here for the season and then move on.”

  My heart constricted in my chest, slamming a wall down between us. Maybe I’d misread what happened the other night. That post-orgasmic fog that made us share our dreams but not our reality. “I want to open a restaurant. This is what I do.”

  Landon grinned. “I’m not saying I don’t like it. I do. It’s a good place to call home. I’m surprised that was what you wanted.”

  “All you had to do was ask.” We had to be patient with each other. Communication had been our downfall for years.

  He lowered his gaze, lacing his fingers through mine and giving them a squeeze. “I was afraid the answer would’ve been no.”

  I closed my eyes, exhaling. I understood what it was like to offer my heart and soul to someone and have it not be enough. What it was like to be successful in every facet in my life but love. I’d put the same wall up around my heart, and this close to Landon, it threatened to all come crashing down.

  “How would you have convinced me to stay?” I whispered.

  He lifted our hands to his lips and kissed each of my knuckles. That ice blue gaze was frozen on me. He was so beautiful. The cockiness he displayed on the field faded to a raw vulnerability that
only came with experience. Knowing what it felt like to lose, even after doing everything right.

  I couldn’t breathe. My body belonged to him, and my hand fell into my lap when Landon let it go. He threaded his fingers into my hair, dragging an unruly curl or two with it as he went, and rested his forehead against mine. His lips moved like he had a confession to make, but he didn’t kiss me. Yet. Landon knew the value of savoring the moment. How to catch his opponent completely off-guard. That was what I came here as, the enemy. I’d never know what exactly changed when we walked into each other’s universe, but I’d be forever thankful that it did.

  This kiss was different than the one that kicked off our night in the hot tub. It was much slower, like he didn’t want to miss the way my lips moved against his or the way my breath caught in my throat when he went deeper. He pulled away, just enough to catch his breath, and ran his finger along the collar of my sweater. Hooking my fingers into the bottom, that thing was gone, the chill only temporary as Landon followed suit with his own sweater. As a shifter, he ran hot. I’d never appreciated it until I reconnected with him in the cold Alaskan winter.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said, his voice strained with need. Tracing the scalloped edge of my lacy bra, he concentrated on each swirl, coming ever closer to my aching nipples. I arched my back, letting my hair fall over my shoulders, relishing the moan that came from Landon. It rumbled over my body like thunder. An impending storm. Sensation prickled my skin as he lowered his lips to the lace.

  I wondered if this was all we were. Incredible physical chemistry only lasted so long. I sat up, steadying myself with my hand in his hair, pulling him away from me with a groan.

  “Why don’t want me to open a restaurant?” I let go of him, and I felt like I was in freefall.

  He sighed, rising to his feet and shaking out his hair like he had to erase my touch. “What? I never said I didn’t want you to open a restaurant. I said I was surprised you were willing to settle in so fast.”

  Touché. “Do you want me to open a restaurant here?” I did love that little spot, with views of both the bay and the mountains. Mother Nature had tucked Holiday Falls in her pocket and couldn’t have made it more cozy and adorable if she tried.

  “I want you to do whatever makes you happy.” His hands were on my thighs, and it was a relief because I wanted him to touch me. “I thought you’d stay for the season, or until Fiona’s birthday, and go.”

  “But the other night, you said...” I was a fool. I’d read too much into something so simple.

  “We’re together? Yeah, we are.” He took a deep breath, squeezing denim and flesh and doing unspeakable things to my insides. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, Jenna. Everything’s great with the Bloodhounds this season, but things change fast in the CFA. They might decide they’re paying me too much money or someone else will want to pay me more money next year. I could get hurt. Anything could happen. I have to go where I can play.”

  And I thought things had changed. Nothing had. This was an updated version of the same argument we had eighteen years ago. Except this time, one of us was willing to commit. And it hurt even worse. “Don’t you ever put down roots anywhere?”

  “As much as I can.” He dipped his head. “I get a place to live and get involved in the community. I connect with my team.”

  “That’s what I’m doing. The restaurant is my way of connecting. I can always sell it, or contract it out if we go to another city.”

  He picked up his head, quirking a brow at me. “You’d come with me?”

  “Yes, I would.” The answer surprised me more than anyone, but the reward was sweet. Landon slanted his lips over mine, our tongues tangled, and for the first time, we were truly one.

  But all good things had to come to an end. I pulled away from him. “That’s not the only thing that happened today,” I added.

  “Oh yeah? Tell me about it.” He was still close, ready to get back to the business of kissing.

  A chill swept over my bare skin. “As of Sunday, Fiona Fox is a Real Werewife of Alaska.”

  Landon pulled away from me, pacing back and forth with his fist balled like he wanted to hit something. He paused a few times, and I braced myself for his fist to go through a wall or window. He’d been conditioned to organized, regulated violence through his job. I was never in danger, but I had to remind myself this was how he processed threats. This was a big fucking threat. His jaw clenched, and rage swirled in his eyes like one of the storms I’d seen out in the bay.

  He shook his head. “I begged Tessa not to let this happen.”

  Had I done the same? Did I even try to stop the Fiona freight train anymore or did I just accept at some point it was going to run me over? “She said it was the network’s decision.”

  “It’s her fucking show,” he snarled. “Fuck. This party was going to be hard enough as it was. Rumors are spreading through the locker room like wildfire. I’m pretty much expecting strippers to show up here on Sunday night. A keg. Who knows what else. That’s fine, nothing unusual for a bunch of rowdy single guys on a football team, but not when my daughter’s involved.”

  His fist slammed down on the marble, sending a shatter through it like an electrical current.

  “Welcome to the front lines of parenting.” I slipped off the stool and looked in the freezer for anything that would soothe his hand. I handed him a bag of peas. “I don’t exactly want to say I told you so, but this is the type of thing I’ve been trying to bring to your attention for quite some time.”

  He pressed the bag to his skin, wincing—but it was more in anger than pain. “I need to shift.”

  “Okay.” He’d never shifted in front of me before. “What can I do?”

  He shook his head, and was out the front door without saying anything else.

  I stood in the open doorway, watching him get smaller, ripping out of his jeans as red and white fur broke through his skin. It was the scariest, most awesome thing I’d ever witnessed. I wished I could run with him.

  I wished I could fix this.

  When he got back, I’d be here. It was all I could do, and I hoped it was enough.

  Chapter Ten

  LANDON

  Every time the going got tough, I ran away. I’d called it many things—traded to a new team, claimed off waivers, seeing other people, joint custody—but it always turned out the same. I went on to the next thing that made me look like a hero and left everyone else to clean up the mess I’d left behind.

  That wasn’t an option anymore. If I had any say in my career, the Alaska Bloodhounds would be the last team I’d ever play for, and I had a real opportunity to go out on top—if I could keep the guys focused on and off the field and get us into the playoffs. For once, football was the least of my worries.

  Fiona hadn’t shifted yet, but she would. My daughter was all fox, cunning and smart. But one day, her luck would run out. It would be painful as hell to watch happen, and futile to try and stop. Willfulness and blind determination had been passed down from both sides of the family.

  I’d left Jenna bewildered, hurt, and angry. Again. I was a first-class fuckup tonight. It wasn’t a feeling I was familiar with. When guys on the team couldn’t get something through their thick skulls, it pissed me off. Finally, I was getting a taste of my own medicine. She’d given me another chance and there was a really good possibility I wasn’t the only one running tonight.

  I should’ve told her to sign that lease. Open that restaurant. Anything to make her stay this time.

  Damn it, I wanted her. More than I wanted to play football, and it scared me. I’d never put anything before football, and I didn’t know how to handle it.

  That was why I shifted. My animal always knew what to do.

  It had snowed that day and my fox loved running through the fresh powder. In the wild, fox had many predators. But in the woods that surrounded the Bloodhounds’ facility, I was safe. Anyone who would hunt me knew better than to fuck with me. I
was their leader on the field. There was freedom to that. But the threat wasn’t coming directly from the other animals this time. It was coming from inside my own house.

  Mountains kissed the edge of the town and the elevation rose quickly. I ran until I was above the horizon. Holiday Falls was blanketed with night. Street and houselights twinkled below me. My breath fogged the scene, putting a barrier between me and it. Protecting me.

  I ran. Not away this time. Back down the hill, my paws sliding on the ice under the snow. For once, I didn’t have control of the situation and adrenaline pumped through my veins like it did the first time I stepped on the field as a professional football player. The first time I started a game. Played in the championship. All things I wanted but that scared the hell out of me. I wanted a future with Jenna and Fiona. Even if I had no idea how to make it work.

  It was a blessing, being able to shift at will. Foxes were slaves to their emotions. I’d manipulated mine to my advantage, or so I thought. I didn’t know how to love. Not unconditionally. I hoped the two most important ladies in my life knew more about that than I did, and that they’d be willing me to give a lesson or two.

  After a lap around the condos, with some of my teammates cheering to me in their human form from their decks, I was ready to be human again. Ready to try.

  “I had a feeling you’d come back naked.” Jenna greeted me at the door with a blanket she’d ripped it off one of the beds. She wrapped it around my shoulders. “I’ve never seen you shift before.”

  I couldn’t look her in the eye. “I always made sure I didn’t do it in front of you.”

  “Why?”

  I wasn’t ashamed of who I was—I’d used being a shifter to my advantage, especially when there weren’t many of us in the league. We hadn’t always been allowed to play, because humans argued we had a physical advantage, and they were right. But when ticket sales slumped, the CFA decided a shifter or two on a team would make things more interesting. Then the fans demanded more, and we were becoming the norm.