by Ava Walsh
“I make enough just to pay rent where I am now, along with some extras.” I protested, as I stared at the lovely cream siding on the beautiful house."I can't afford this place."
“You wouldn’t owe rent here. It’s paid off, and the property taxes come out of a trust every year. It’s been fixed up to be efficient with bills, and I think you’d like it,” he pushed, and I turned my head to look at him.
“Has it really only been a few days since we met?”
“I have been waiting for you for a lifetime, so I am not going to waste any more time. I just want a safe place for you, so you don’t have to keep that job.” My eyes flared up. "The apartment is in a bad part of town."
“I am not quitting my job because you want me to.” He held up his hands and gave me a stern look.
“You don't have to work at all with all of my money. However, I respect that you have a sister and need your space for now, so this is option B. At least come inside and take a look,” Remy said, as he opened the door and walked around to my side of the car. Of course it was a different car than before.
The house was beautiful inside as well as outside. It offered a good sized kitchen with an open setting for the living room and a small den. The bedrooms were all good sized with attached bathrooms, and I could find little wrong with it, especially once I looked outside. There was an enormous backyard with a pool and a wooded area that offered so much for Daisy. “Oh my God.”
“It was an investment property we bought, and the older siblings used it before everyone else went to Montana,” Remy said behind me, as I turned to look at him.
“Why did you stay behind?”
“I knew that my mate was here. I just went by my gut to stay so that I wouldn’t miss my chance, and now here you are.” Remy watched me walk up to him and throw myself into his arms for a deep kiss that led to us making our way to the living room where there was a couch. I couldn’t help but slip my dress over my head as he removed his clothes and took me right there on the sofa. There was never a lack of passion between us, even as the time passed we just got stronger.
I did let him convince me to move into the house two weeks later, after talking to Mrs. Mac and finding out that she could come with us. It would be ideal for Daisy to have her, and it seemed like Remy and I were spending more and more time together.
We stayed at his house making love all night in the weeks before he met Daisy a month into our relationship, and she adored him. They watched movies together and had tea parties and spent hours in the backyard. He was a natural father. She started asking for Remy to stay the night so that they could make French toast in the morning and go swimming, and I gently allowed it because I was falling in love with him as well. I had trouble sleeping without him and it felt as though I could never get enough of him after the house was quiet and it was just us.
I was cautious of him being around my little sister at first, because of what he was, but Remy clearly had a strong family gene, and I could quickly see that he would die for her. Mrs. Mac also loved the idea of us together and it was clear in the way that she often took Daisy out to do this or that and leave us time alone.
I quit the bar three months after we got together, just to be stubborn. I had wanted to do something else for a while, and I enrolled in the local college and worked part-time in the bookstore on campus. It was just a few hours a week away from the madness of our house with Daisy and her friends, some time that I could be by myself.
Remy asked me to move into his bigger house with Daisy almost a year into our relationship, once we found out about our baby. It offered us room for a nursery and for my sister to have our own room.
Mrs. Mac stayed in the smaller house rent free and completely taken care of by Remy as a thank you for all that she did for us.
Our room happened to be on the other side of the house. It was safe because like Remy had always assured me, we were never in danger. Apart from the top-of-the-line security system that he installed once we moved in, he had his brothers. He just used the alarm when we went out at night to shift, though Daisy just thought that he was out with friends on my nights off. That was a subject that we could approach later, but it wasn't one that scared me any longer.
Epilogue
The wedding was at the family property in Montana, and Mrs. Mac was right. His family was beautiful and warm and welcomed me with open arms. I was just five months along and still fit properly into a pretty white lace dress, so we took them up on their offer to have the wedding there. Our friends from Georgia were all there, and Daisy was my flower girl.
I had gotten to know his pack well over the last year. Once they spent a little time with me and Daisy, they just turned into big brothers that spent time with her much like the way that Remy did. I knew that they would always protect us.
It was a simple but wonderful ceremony, and I think our love filled every part of the air as we said our vows with shaking voices. You could feel the weight of the bond everywhere, and when I looked at his parents they looked like newlyweds. I knew that was how he and I were going to be.
We welcomed Avery Rose into the world in October, and she was all cries and arms and legs as she let the whole hospital know that she was here. I saw a lot of him in her face initially and the curls that she was born with, but he said she was as pretty as her mama. I knew all about the family gene, and it turns out that Mrs. Mac had known all along as well. From what his parents said, their kids had all been around twelve when it happened to them, so we had some time with Avery.
We used every bit of that time. I still went to school to fulfill my dream but quit the job to be a full-time mom when I wasn’t studying. Mrs. Mac insisted on helping out, and we had a happy little family life that Remy and I both cherished.
He was the perfect mix of alpha and sweet, and he showed me the benefits to both of those on a regular basis. I think my favorite was when the kids were asleep, and we proved that our lust would never fade, leading to another pregnancy when Avery was a year old.
Lincoln was born in August and he looked just like his daddy. I knew that I would have more babies with my handsome husband and that they might all be shifters just like him, but I would love them all the same and so would their future mates.
It was destiny and I was in love with the future. I was in love with Remy and the way that he looked at me since the day we met.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 26: The Ghost's Deadly Secrets
By: T.S. Ryder
Description
What dark secrets is he hiding underneath the suit I want to rip off him?
Realtor Melody Zabat has a secret: she sees ghosts. Unfortunately, most of the ghosts she comes across are murder victims, and she inevitably ends up entangled in the investigation.
She's just happy that she can escape all of those ghostly complications in her little hometown of Blackcliff. It's her sanctuary, where she can pretend to be a normal person.
At least, it is until murder comes to town...
Suddenly Melody finds herself haunted yet again–this time by a rich city girl with secrets she doesn't want to share. Add into the mix the handsome billionaire with secrets of his own, and Melody finds herself faced with mystery on every side.
Oskar Freyson, Alpha of the wealthiest Shifter community in the country, doesn't need to work as an FBI agent, but he has his reasons for joining the agency. But he isn't in Blackcliff for company business; he's there for revenge. Unfortunately, this gives him motive for murder, and he soon finds himself being investigated by his own team.
With a ghost connected to the billionaire who is connected to a murder, can Melody discover the true killer… and maybe find love along the way?
Chapter One
There was a crisp mountain smell in the air that made Melody Zabat hate the sight of Blackcliff. Though the little town was clean and she generally loved the mix of Old West and modern aesthetic that the buildings exuded, it was one of those days wher
e she wished she could just blow off her responsibilities and run naked through the woods with a spear in hand and a wolf at her side. Or just go fishing.
Unfortunately, Melody had to be satisfied with a shot of coffee and a hot breakfast from her favorite café in town, Old Gossip. Houses weren't going to sell themselves, and ever since that handsome billionaire, Oskar Freyson, had taken an interest in their town, she felt like she was being run off her feet.
Freyson was the Alpha of the wealthiest community of Shifters in the country, and he had billions of dollars of his own personal wealth at his disposal. Some people in town were concerned that he was going to try to turn Blackcliff into a Shifter Sanctuary, but Melody wasn't worried about that. If anything, an influx of Shifters, especially wealthy Shifters, would do the town some good. The economy wasn't doing very well. If the town continued on the path it was on, it would be a ghost town in a few decades.
Ghost town. Melody couldn't help but chuckle at her own joke. Of course, it didn't hurt that Oskar Freyson was perhaps the most handsome person she had ever seen. All Shifters were hot, but he was exceptional. What was it about Shifters and their naturally good genes?
Jane Gardens, the owner of Old Gossip, beamed at her when she entered the café. The silver-haired woman was still as spry as she was when she was sixty, which was how old she had been claiming to be for the past decade. Melody took her usual spot on a barstool at the counter, beside Elisabeth Burgess, a young woman with curly hair.
"And then I saw Milly Braden and Russel Rickey standing on the corner, kissing." Jane leaned on the counter, her wide eyes fixed on Elisabeth.
"Oh, really?"
Elisabeth glanced at Melody from the corner of her eye, a slightly pained expression on her face, but she was far too shy and eager to please people to interrupt Jane. Her compassionate personality served her well at the daycare she ran, but when it came to busybodies like Jane Gardens, she was the unwilling recipient of hours' worth of gossip.
Melody debated whether she should come to Elisabeth's rescue, but she didn't want to end up hearing the whole story that led up to Milly Braden and Russel Rickey kissing, and she kept quiet.
"I don't know what's happening with young people these days. Imagine, kissing like that out in the middle of the day." Jane shook her head. "Back in my day, kissing was done sitting in parked cars out in the woods." Jane giggled suddenly, sounding like a woman much younger than she was. "And when I say kissing—"
"Too much information," Melody interrupted, miming covering her ears. "You're like a grandmother to us here, we don't need to hear that sort of thing."
Jane shrugged. "You want your usual, dear?"
Melody nodded. "Please."
"Salmon steak with fried eggs coming up," Jane trilled.
As the older woman moved away, Elisabeth let out a pent-up sigh of relief. "Thank you,"
"My pleasure. How are you and Bobby liking the new house?"
Elisabeth had moved to Blackcliff with her then-infant son ten years previously, but it was only now that her business was picking up that she had been able to afford to buy a house. Melody had worked closely with her to find the perfect fit for the two of them, and she was eager to know how they were settling in. It was the best part of selling houses, hearing how happy people were in their new homes. Almost as good as a whole day's fishing.
"It's wonderful, thank you." Elisabeth beamed. "The backyard is so big, we might even be able to get a dog. I think Bobby is old enough to start taking on a little more responsibility."
Melody nodded. "He's a bright boy. I'm sure you'd do well with a dog."
Jane bustled back towards them, refilling Elisabeth's coffee cup and giving some to Melody as well. "So, are either of you young ladies dating anybody yet?"
Elisabeth's face went beet red, but Melody laughed to draw Jane's attention to her.
"No dating for me. I like where I am right now. Selling houses, building up my real estate company. Besides, I know everybody who lives here too well to find them interesting. I need somebody with a little more mystery." She took a sip of her coffee.
It was mostly true. Melody wasn’t interested in any of the locals. If Oskar Freyson showed any interest in her, however, it would be another story.
A tall, leggy blonde suddenly appeared behind Jane. Melody's eyes widened. The blonde's form was wavering, translucent, like an image projected onto the surface of a lake. Her hair was turned up with flowers in it, and she wore a tight-fitting white dress that looked halfway between something a bride would wear and something to go clubbing in.
"You," the blonde said, pointing at her. "They told me to find you."
Melody ducked her head. Not now! Not here!
Jane tapped her hand. "Hello? Dear, you really need to stop spacing out on me."
"Sorry." Melody shook her head and forced herself to look at the older woman.
The blonde stood right behind Jane, her form growing more solid, blue eyes flashing. "Don't you dare ignore me!"
"I asked you how you plan on having a lasting relationship with a mystery man," Jane said. "The mystery will wear off, and then what?"
The blonde vanished, only to reappear right beside Melody. "Hello? I know you can see me. I do not take kindly to being ignored!"
She actually stomped her foot.
Melody tried to repress a groan, but she didn't quite make it. Jane's brows furrowed. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I might be a little queasy," Melody said, grabbing her stomach for emphasis. "I've been going pretty hard since Freyson came to town. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for the work, but it's been almost two weeks since I've had a day off and I think it's catching up with me."
Jane's eyes flashed and her mouth turned down. "I have nothing against Shifters, but that man can't just waltz in here and take over everything. We ought to have a say in what goes on in our own town!"
The blonde appeared right in front of Melody, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you deaf or blind? I need your help and I'm not going anywhere until you help me."
"Can I get that salmon to go?" Melody blurted. "I just remembered I have things to do at the office."
Jane looked surprised, but soon handed Melody a container with her breakfast in it. Melody threw down some money and raced from the café, trying her best not to glare at the blonde, who was following after her. Stupid, pushy ghost.
Melody hurried to her car, tossing her breakfast onto the passenger seat. It slipped through the blonde already sitting there, who made a face and folded her arms. Melody whipped out her phone and held it to her ear. She learned long ago the tricks of preventing people from looking at her strangely as she talked to ghosts.
"Let's make this quick," Melody said, fixing her hair as she looked at the blonde in the rearview mirror. "I don't have time to deal with pushy ghosts today. I have a meeting with a very important client."
"Oskar Freyson," the blonde said. "That's who you are meeting?"
The way she said it had Melody frowning. "You know him?"
The blonde sighed. "I suppose you can't tell, but I'm a Shifter. And these shoes? They cost five thousand dollars."
"You're a member of his pack," Melody realized, her eyes widening.
"Yes. Although I never liked the word 'pack'. It's not like we're wolves. We're all different animals. I happen to be able to Shift into a dolphin. Not that I had much chance to do it, seeing as we're so far from the ocean. Well, Oskar had a pool for us marine Shifters, but it's just not the same. What are you wearing, anyway? Are you going to a costume party for homeless people?"
Great. A rich, preppy, pushy ghost. Melody ground her teeth together.
Hopefully, this one hadn't been murdered like the last one. That had been a mess. It was only because of her father's best friend, Uncle Todd, that she had avoided too much public attention. Knowing somebody in the FBI really had its perks, even if Melody would like one year to go by when she wasn't involved in somebody's murder.
"So you soug
ht me out for a reason. What do you want?"
"You'll see when I show you."
Melody groaned. "I don't have time for games."
The blonde folded her arms. "I'm not playing games. It's too complicated to just explain."
Ghosts!
They were all the same. Melody was willing to bet dollars to donuts that, in the end, a simple conversation would solve the whole issue. Hopefully, this one wouldn't take two months to resolve like the last one–they had wanted Melody to make sure their dog's ashes were buried with them. Why they couldn't just tell her that, she didn't know.
But then, ghosts were often are too self-conscious to say what they actually wanted, and so made her run around in circles trying to solve the mystery. She hated mysteries more than she hated losing her favorite fishing lure.
"Where are we going?" Melody asked.
"There's a bridge just outside of town."
Melody nodded. She knew where it was, a popular fishing hole. She'd caught a ten-pound trout there two years ago, a real beauty.
"I better not find your body there," she warned her passenger, reaching through the ghost for her breakfast.
The ghost made a disgusted noise as Melody broke off a piece of salmon and popped it into her mouth. "Must you put your hand through me?"
"Honey, you're not there," Melody replied. "And I'm hungry."
"Okay, let's get one thing straight. Anybody who calls me honey gets their face slapped. I don't care if I'm dead, it's condescending, and I will find some way to make you pay if you ever call me that again. My name is Cindy."