by Leela Ash
And did he even really fall into the same category as the other men? Was it possible he didn’t actually have a fated mate of his own, and had been chosen by the universe to accompany them as support because nobody else would be able to do what he had done in helping them to settle?
Gavin sighed, for some reason, his mind wandered back to the woman that he had helped on the side of the road. Hopefully, he had been able to give her enough support that she was doing all right. It was hard to find your fated mate. Humans were especially prone to finding comfort and security in the wrong person. She had been an unfortunate victim of the same, and he couldn’t help but feel a strange twinge of … what was that? Jealousy?
Gavin shook his head. What a waste of emotion. He was getting tired and let out a low yawn. He would just have to worry about all of this later and do something he actually enjoyed doing. Maybe he would take a book out by the waterfront and have a relaxing read. Or dig out the archery set he had received as partial payment for helping a low income family move. It would be nice to go to the range and get some fresh air. Or hell, why not both?
Gavin pushed all thoughts of the strange woman out of his head. It would do him no good to fixate on things that were beyond his control. It wasn’t up to him to save every woman he found. It was up to him to learn how to relax and let things go. That way, he would be able to allow fate to do as it was meant to do without interfering with his negativity.
After all, the truth was, Gavin was lonely. Very lonely. He wanted the same type of companionship as he saw the others having. Everyone had known the love of a fated mate. And now, it was only Gavin left behind. Maybe if he could learn to let loose a little, he would finally be able to get what it was he was looking for.
6.
“What do you mean, you don’t care?”
Naomi frowned quietly at the bitter old man who had answered the door across the street from the building that was due to be torn down in just three days’ time.
“Ain’t my problem, that’s all,” the man said, frowning firmly at Naomi. “Just a couple of lousy strays. No point in getting your panties in a twist over it.”
Naomi’s stomach churned, and she shook her head, turning away and heading back down to the sidewalk. People like this weren’t worth her time.
She had been attempting to get some community support; local people who cared about the well-being of the cats that would be injured or killed when the building fell. Most people seemed to think it was none of their concern and wanted to turn their backs on the entire situation. It was unbelievably frustrating.
She thought again about calling Gavin. He hadn’t turned his back on her. Maybe he wouldn’t turn his back on the cats either. She felt a forbidden little thrill surge through her at the thought of hearing his voice on the other end of the phone. He was so ridiculously attractive. She was going to have to stop with the school girl crush and focus. She wouldn’t call him. Not unless she absolutely had to. It wouldn’t be right. She was vulnerable and couldn’t trust herself with him. Not only that, but she didn’t want to use him once more because she couldn’t handle things on her own. She wanted to be independent. That was the whole point in moving back to Brookside.
Some people even said the cats would know to get out of there on their own before any harm came to them, which she knew for certain wasn’t true. Gumbo wouldn’t run from his food bowl if the house was on fire. It was his security and that building was where the cats felt secure.
So, even if they did sense danger, they would only try to find comfort in the place they called home, not realizing it was the very thing that was endangering them. The thought nearly brought her to tears and she went on to the next house with determination and took a deep breath before knocking at the door.
“Who’s there?”
An assertive though not unkind woman’s voice barked from the other side of the door and Naomi pursed her lips.
“My name is Naomi and I have an important community matter to discuss with you.”
“A what?”
The door opened slowly, and an elderly woman was revealed. She was in a wheelchair and eyed Naomi suspiciously.
“Were you aware that there is a group of cats living in the building across the street from here? One that is scheduled to be torn down on Saturday?”
The woman looked horrified for a moment, then frowned. “But that’s where the cats live.”
Naomi could feel herself relaxing in relief. Finally. Somebody else who understood the plight of the cats. Someone who wasn’t going to laugh in her face for caring, because they cared too.
“I’m trying to raise awareness and petition for the demolition to be postponed until the cats in the building are able to find a better home. Or perhaps, indefinitely. Would you be willing to sign?”
“Of course. I love those cats,” the woman said, holding out an unsteady hand to take Naomi’s pen and clipboard. “I feed them every day. And if I’m not feeling well, I call my grandson and he will do it for me, so I don’t worry myself sick over them.”
“That’s very kind of both you and your grandson,” Naomi said. “Is he here? Perhaps, he would be able to sign the petition as well.”
“Oh, he lives on the other side of town, but I will let him know about it. Maybe he can find you.”
“All right,” Naomi said, digging into her purse for a spare sheet of paper and scrawling the address of her motel down on it. “Have him contact me here if he is interested in trying to help save the cats. But I am afraid this petition might not do much good. There has to be some other way for us to evacuate them if it doesn’t work in time. We can’t just let them die in there.”
“No, I absolutely agree,” the old woman said, shaking her head sadly. “They make me so happy. Sometimes, it’s the only company I have for weeks.”
Naomi frowned, sighing quietly to herself. There was absolutely no way she could let anything happen to those cats. “We are going to find a way to make sure they’re okay. Maybe we can even find homes for them at some point.”
“Oh, that would be marvelous,” the woman said. “You can’t tame the older ones, but the kittens may still have a chance.”
“I will do my best to make sure they have as much opportunity as possible. If I have to go in there and remove every single one of them myself!”
The old woman chuckled. “Good luck, dear. It’s nice to see somebody with some initiative around here.”
“I do my best,” Naomi replied.
“Oh, I hope my grandson gets in touch with you. He could use a woman like you in his life.”
Naomi balked involuntarily, her mind instantly returning to the incident on the side of the road. She had been escaping Stu. She had wanted peace of mind and had found herself in trouble. She had met Gavin.
Her heart involuntarily skipped a beat. The last thing she needed was another man in her life. Not when she hadn’t even truly found herself yet. Needless complications would only make her frustrated. No, she would do her best to focus on doing everything she could to help those cats and get her feet back on the ground. She was tired of feeling like her entire life was a mess. She needed a chance to begin healing from her past mistakes and creating the future that she could be happy with and proud of.
She had spent so much time with the man who made her feel bad about herself that she had nearly forgotten what she was made of. She was never going to spend so much time with a negative influence again. If she thought somebody was being needlessly judgmental or cruel, she was going to cut them off right then and there. Nobody could ever tell her what she was made of or what she was worth. And she was never going to tolerate it again.
That being said, she wasn’t just going to date any random person that came her way. Even if he was a kind man who fed the local cats for his grandmother. She was wary of anybody at this point. The only person she had seemed comfortable with since she returned to Brookside was Gavin, and that was simply because he had gone out of his way to help the st
ranger, at least to the best of his ability.
Maybe he would be able to sign the petition. Or maybe he would know someone who would. She did have his phone number. But it seemed in poor taste to contact him for another selfish goal and for being helped again rather than by way of thanking him for what he had already done.
No, she would try and send him some sort of gift first. That way, he wouldn’t think she was simply trying to keep relying on his good will to serve her own purposes.
She was wary of anybody who was like that with her. At least after being with Stu. So, she wouldn’t blame him for feeling the same way about her if she ended up approaching him in that way.
With this new goal in mind, she started the car and decided to go to the mall. She would browse for a gift for Gavin. Not just because she wanted help with the cats, but because she genuinely wanted to show him her gratitude. She didn’t know what she would’ve done without him. Nobody seemed like they were planning on stopping anytime soon. She didn’t know whether or not that trucker would have been willing to help her if Gavin hadn’t been on the side of the road with her. He would probably just pass her by and laugh because he had seen it coming. Truckers, she knew, had strict deadlines and it was rare for them to take time out of their way to help people on the side of the road. Many of them worked in companies who would advise them not to do so. It was lucky that she had managed to run into two decent hearted men rather than those who might try and harm her or take advantage of the situation.
Although the trucker had managed to get away without leaving any contact information for her, she did have Gavin’s. And she would be able to send him a small token of gratitude. But what?
When she got to the mall, it was pretty bustling. She almost regretted stopping in. Crowds were not her favorite thing in the world to navigate. But she had come there with a purpose and she was determined to fulfill it. She held her head up high and walked inside, trying to figure out just what it was Gavin might benefit from. She knew virtually nothing about the man, except that maybe he worked for a moving company like the card he had given her indicated. But does he need some sort of supplies for his company? A label maker, maybe?
She was confounded and decided to simply browse until perhaps something of interest stood out. She hardly knew the man. What would he like?
She walked around for nearly an hour without any luck, and then suddenly passed by a toy store. In the window, there were little machines featured. You could see all of the gears working underneath a clear plastic casing, and she watched as a child turned one of the gears and the little machines spring to life. It was fascinating to watch, and somehow, in her heart of hearts, she knew she had found the gift for Gavin.
But this was not a child that she was shopping for. It was a grown man. An adult. Very much a man. Her heart fluttered involuntarily, and she walked inside the toy shop, browsing the area for the shelf where the toys were on display. When she found them, she saw there were several different types to choose from. She decided to go with a fairly large size model of a helicopter and smiled as she checked out, somehow simply knowing that this would make the man’s day.
At least, she hoped it would. Usually, these types of feelings were not wrong. Intuition was fairly good unless in regard to her own emotional safety, apparently.
Now, she had to decide whether to drop the gift off in person or to mail it. Mailing it would take some time, but it would be a nice surprise. Maybe she could pay to get it express shipped to Gavin. That would be such an exciting surprise for him. Despite the serious way he had been interacting with her, she knew there was a part of him that would light up like a little boy to receive this gift. Maybe she should deliver it in person, just to make sure that her intuition was correct. If nothing else, it would help to give her a boost of self-esteem and know she was well on the way to finding herself again.
7.
Gavin had to admit, he was very relaxed after spending the day at the archery range and choosing only to do things that made him happy. He had completely neglected work, turning off his phone and all of the random inquiries made by the other shifters as to how to properly conduct themselves in human society. He was just as clueless as they were. They could learn to research something just as easily as he could. It was getting ridiculous the way they relied on him. If they were going to live here with their families, they were going to have to learn how to function on their own. There was no guarantee that Gavin would be around forever. Today had been a small experiment. A step in the right direction for them all to be a little bit more independent.
But just in case things are falling apart, Gavin decided to drop by the office headquarters. He still didn’t feel like turning his phone back on yet. He knew he would receive a barrage of text messages and questions from the others about this or that. It wasn’t that he resented his role. He just needed a break today. He could at least handle whatever was going on in person at the headquarters, if nothing else. Simple business. That was all he had time for today.
“Gavin! Where have you been?”
Carter was standing behind the counter struggling with the phone and appointment book. He glared at him accusingly. “It was my turn to do breakfast today and I messed it up because I couldn’t get a hold of you.”
“I can’t make your breakfast for you, Carter,” Gavin said, shaking his head ruefully. “You’re going to have to learn what to do on your own. I have my own life to worry about right now.”
Carter seemed surprised to hear this and then nodded. “Right. Sorry, man. You know how stressed out I get, though. These human grocery stores drive me crazy!”
“You’re just going to have to learn how to navigate them,” Gavin said with a slight shrug. “How is the business going?”
“Oh, same as usual, I guess. I don’t know. Usually, you are around all day, so who knows what’s going on. This has not been my day, though, I can tell you that much.”
Carter sighed, with self-pity, and then went back to the appointment book.
Gavin shook his head and headed to the other side of the room to check inventory. The door suddenly opened, and Gavin felt a strange electrical pulse surge through him. He turned to see who had walked in and was shocked to find Naomi standing awkwardly in the middle of the room holding a small gift.
“Oh, hello,” he said, gazing at her in surprise. She somehow looked even more captivating than when he had first seen her. What the hell was wrong with him? He needed to focus on finding his fated mate, not wasting his time on shallow attractions. But god, she was beautiful.
“Oh, Gavin! Good. I was afraid you weren’t going to be here. Hi.”
Carter paused what he was doing and eyed the two of them curiously. When Gavin caught his eye, he gave him an encouraging wink. Gavin frowned at him and shook his head subtly, then turned back to Naomi.
“Naomi. I didn’t expect to see you.”
Her face flushed pink and she looked down briefly at the ground. Gavin couldn’t help but smile. She was exceptionally cute for a human. It was strange. But he couldn’t allow himself to think that way. He had to save himself for his fated one.
“I know. I’m sorry. Am I imposing?”
“No!” Gavin spoke quickly, alarmed by the thought that she might consider herself an issue. He was surprisingly happy to see her. She had crept up in his mind time and again, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. Now that she was here, he hated the thought of her leaving, and when she seemed to relax Gavin felt a strange sense of relief. He hadn’t been sure whether or not he would get to see her again, and he hadn’t exactly left her in the greatest state. He had been worried. “How are you doing? Have you gotten back on your feet a little?”
“Oh, I’m doing fine,” Naomi said quickly, almost dismissively. She didn’t seem very eager to talk about herself. “I just … I wanted to give this to you. To thank you for helping me out the other day. It meant a lot to me, and still does. So … thank you.”
She offered the gift out in fro
nt of her, holding her breath as if to brace herself. Gavin smiled subtly, taking the little package from her hands. It was wrapped in golden paper with shiny blue ribbon. It was exquisite.
“Thank you, but you really didn’t have to do that. I was happy to help. You don’t owe me anything.”
“It’s really nothing. Please, just open it.”
She looked on the verge of being unforgivably disappointed in him if he refused her, so he quickly began to unwrap the little package.
What he saw made him light up from the inside out. It was a little human-made contraption, clear, with its inner workings on display. He took it out of the box quickly and immediately began to analyze it. “This flies,” he stated, turning the little machine around in his hands. He looked up at Naomi, a spark in his eyes. “Let’s go!”
He didn’t think twice before gripping her small hand in his and pulling her through the back of the building. Naomi laughed as he led her through until they made it to the back door, which opened out to a large, green yard. It was very open, with a lush green lawn, and surrounded by trees.
“Look,” Gavin said, pointing to one of the little propellers. “Isn’t it incredible how primitive little machines can master something as complex as flight?”
He fiddled with the little helicopter until it was wound up and ready to take off. “If it crashes, that’s okay. It came with spare parts!”