by Jane Jamison
“You’re not in any trouble, are you, honey?”
She cringed, yet had no choice but to lie again. She wasn’t in any real trouble. Not really. “Of course not, Mom. I’m fine. Will you please stop worrying?”
“Not until the day I die. I’m a mother, after all. One of these days, you’ll find out what I mean.”
I already do. Rachel peered at the babies in their makeshift bassinets. “I hope so.”
* * * *
“Too bad we don’t have time to stop in and grab a bite to eat.” Dylan looked longingly at Milly’s Coffee Spot. Everyone in Forever ended up at the diner sooner or later. He could almost taste the nearly raw burger and crisp fries that was his usual order.
“Me, too, but the less time we spend in town, the better.” Chance pressed on the accelerator while keeping it within the speed limit. A light snow fell, turning the picturesque town into a scene on a holiday card.
Dylan forced his attention away from the diner. “Make a right up here.”
The All-Night Pharmacy was doing a brisk business. Customers were plentiful during the daytime, but the pharmacy stayed open all night to accommodate the few vampires living in the area. Deacon Slater, its owner and a highly regarded vampire who was friendly with the werewolves of Forever, would come in after dark to take over for his human employees who ran the business during the day.
Chance snorted. “Don’t you think I know my way around? I’ve lived here all my life, just like you.”
“Yeah. I know.” His nerves were getting the better of him. Hanging out in their hometown was one thing. Coming in to see Miss Clara and round up supplies for babies no one knew existed and that their weretigress girlfriend was taking care of was another thing altogether.
Chance’s thoughts must’ve been running along the same lines. “It’s weird that we never met Rachel until a few months ago. We all grew up in the area.”
“True enough. Still, we didn’t hang out with weretigers.” If anything, they’d run into more werebears than weretigers when they were kids.
“Yeah, but we know almost everyone else. Even most of the fangsters.”
Dylan snickered. “Don’t let Deacon or William hear you calling them that. Deacon said it sounds too much like being called hipsters.”
“Shit. I don’t blame him.” Chance made the right turn and increased his speed again.
“Take it easy, cuz. We don’t want Jackson Carr yanking our chains for speeding.” Although Forever and the surrounding towns didn’t have an actual law enforcement agency, the leaders of each community filled the gap. Jackson Carr and his brothers were the go-to men in Forever.
“Maybe we should get Jackson in on this.”
Dylan understood where his cousin was coming from. Jackson was a reasonable man and would more than likely be helpful. “Rachel would skin us alive if we did.”
“But at least then our secret would be out. She’d have no more excuses and no way of turning back.”
Dylan had already unbuckled his seat belt by the time Chance pulled their pickup into the parking lot of the High Tide Market. If they were lucky, Miss Clara would be working today.
No one knew how old Miss Clara was, but she was well past retirement age by human or shifter standards. But Miss Clara liked being busy. If she wasn’t working at the market doing whatever the hell she felt inclined to do, then she was playing matriarch to the town and fielding questions from young and old shifters alike. He couldn’t imagine the town without her.
“Just keep cool, cuz,” urged Dylan.
“How? Miss Clara’s no fool. She’ll want to know everything. We can’t just walk up and ask her to help us find the stuff we need without saying more than ‘we found a couple of babies.’ She’s going to want to know who’s taking care of them.”
“You’re right. And she’s sure to know we’re not the ones babysitting until the mom comes home.”
Chance grabbed Dylan’s arm, keeping him inside the truck. “What about the mom? Do you really think she’s going to show back up and call dumping her kids a mistake? Even if that small miracle happened, Rachel’s going to go down fighting, fangs ripping and claws tearing.”
“She’s fallen in love with the babies.” Dylan had known it the second she’d raced off to take care of them, interrupting their passion. “She’s used to taking care of kids. I mean, sure, she loves all the children at the center, but she doesn’t get this wrapped up in them. No, this is different. It’s like she’s decided they’re hers.”
Were they his, too? Strangely, from the first day, he’d grown closer and closer to the little ones. The sensation he got almost felt like the connection he had with Rachel. The same, but different. Nonsexual. Even fatherly. Yet just as intense. He glanced at his cousin. Should he tell him?
“My thoughts exactly.” Chance bumped his shoulder against the door, forcing the old door to open. “Come on. Let’s hope Miss Clara can help out with more than just diapers.”
Chapter Four
“Chance and Dylan Rothman, what the blazes do you think you’re doing?” Miss Clara fisted her hands on her hips and gave the two cowboys a good, hard stare. If she were only a few years younger—say, about fifty—she’d give them a long ride out behind the market. They were as sexy as any men she’d ever met. And that was saying a lot.
Chance about jumped out of his skin while Dylan whirled around and went into a crouch, his inner wolf flaring to life. Snarls pulled their lips back as amber flecked their eyes. As soon as they saw her, however, they relaxed. Strangely enough, their relaxed nature was gone a moment later. Glancing furtively around, they waved her over.
She scowled, her hackles going up. They were up to something. “Since when do I follow the orders of young’uns like you two?” Nonetheless, she hurried over, her graceful movements defying her age. She could still howl with the best of them.
“Miss Clara, we were looking for you,” said Chance.
She arched an imperious eyebrow. “Is that so? And why did you think you’d find me in the baby aisle?” Her eyebrow shot even higher. “Are you thinking I wear diapers now?”
“What? No, ma’am.” Dylan’s eyes grew wide as he realized what she meant.
She wagged a finger in their faces. “Let me tell you. First of all, I’m not old enough to need anything covering my bum. Secondly, even if I did—and again, I don’t—these aren’t the kind of diapers I’d need.”
“Shoot, Miss Clara, we weren’t shopping for diapers for you.” Chance reared back, shaking his head.
“Then whose diapers are you searching for?” They looked as guilty as two pups who’d stuck their noses too close to a skunk. They stunk up the place with their guilt. The minute they glanced at each other, each hoping the other would answer, she knew she was right.
“Miss Clara, we need your help.”
She crossed her arms and regarded Dylan. Both men were as handsome as a young colt prancing alongside its mother, but she was especially partial for Dylan. Something about his easy smile and those big brown eyes reminded her of a past lover. She just couldn’t remember which one. After her mates had died far too early, making her a young widow, she’d taken several lovers, human and shifter, throughout the years. She figured her dearly departed mates wouldn’t have wanted her to waste the fine specimen of a woman that she was.
“Help with what? What’d you two get yourselves into?”
“First, we’ve got to ask you to keep this to yourself. No one, not even Jackson Carr, can know.”
Hmm. Things just went from interesting to downright intriguing.
“Chance Rothman, are you boys questioning my ability to keep my mouth shut?”
“No, ma’am, we’re not.” Dylan showered her with one of his you’ve-got-to-love-me grins. “We’re questioning your desire to keep your mouth shut.”
Cocky son of a bitch. She suppressed a smile. It wouldn’t do to let him know she enjoyed his flirting.
She also enjoyed a good piece of gossip as
much as the next person, but when she needed to keep silent, she did. “Are you going to tell me what you’re getting at, or are we going to stand here and wait for me to pass on to my just rewards? Because if that’s so, we’re going to be standing here staring at each other for a damn, long time. I’m not planning on going to see my Maker anytime soon.”
“Okay, then, here’s the thing.” Chance paused as though rethinking his decision to tell her.
She tilted her head to side and tapped her foot. “Go on. Don’t let a cat get your tongue.”
Did he just blanch?
“We need you to help us pick out some things for babies,” answered Dylan.
Babies. As in more than one. Hmm. Even more intriguing.
“Have you boys been up to more than I know of? Have you gotten a couple of girls in trouble?”
She’d asked the question, but she doubted they had. If they’d gotten a couple of women pregnant, she would’ve heard about it. Not only were they not the kind of men who would cause trouble they also weren’t the kind of men who would leave the women in a lurch to handle the consequences on their own. The Rothman cousins were good men, true and brave, and a sure bet for any woman who shared their hearts.
The only rumors she’d heard of were that they boys might have a preference for a sexy little kitten shifter. At least, that’s what she and Lena Fortran thought. Of course, they’d never voiced the rumors to anyone else.
“No, ma’am,” answered Chance. “But we do need your help.”
“Then you’d better tell me what’s going on. Why do you want baby things? And it sounds like there’s more than one young’un involved.”
Their guilty expressions changed into ones of acceptance. They had to tell her the truth, even if they didn’t want to.
“We found a couple of babies.” Dylan lowered his voice. “Two. A boy and a girl.”
“You found them? How do two cowboys just up and find two babes?”
Chance motioned for Dylan to continue. He kept glancing over his shoulder then hers as though he was on sentry duty.
“We were at William Dunston’s place—”
“Now why were you at a vampire’s house?” She didn’t have anything against vampires as long as they didn’t use her people as food. William was one of the better ones.
“I’d rather not say.”
“Oh. You’d rather not say, would you?” She didn’t have much patience for those who wanted help without telling her everything she needed to know. She took hold of Dylan’s ear and gave it a quick twist.
He cringed but kept from yelping. Bending over, he lifted his hands, palms out. “Damn it. Let me go, Miss Clara.”
“Then you quit wasting my time and tell me everything.” If they really wanted her help, they’d spill their guts and quick.
“Okay, okay.” Dylan jerked away as soon as she turned his ear loose. “We’ve been meeting a friend out at William’s place.”
“A friend? And are those two babes your friend’s?”
“No. We were at William’s when we heard them crying in the barn. Someone just up and left them there.”
She couldn’t help but let her jaw drop. What kind of lowlife scoundrel left two defenseless babies in a barn? Especially a vampire’s barn? Anger flared, bringing her wolf close to the surface. “Go on.”
“That’s about it. We found them, and we’re taking care of them,” added Chance. He seemed more ready to talk now that his cousin had paved the way.
“You and your friend, you mean.” Should she tell them she suspected who their friend was? Or wait until they had the sense to tell her?
“Yes, ma’am. She’s with them now.”
Chance slapped Dylan’s arm for letting the cat out of the bag by using the word she.
“Who is she?” She stared at them long and hard. If she really wanted them to tell her, she could force the issue. Yet, sometimes, it was better to let a werewolf take his time. Otherwise, all hell could break out. The woman—she suspected it was the Woods girl—had to be their mate. If they wanted to protect her, even she wouldn’t be able to get them to talk. Werewolves would go to extremes to keep their mate safe.
Two werewolves and a weretigress. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen it before. But when it did, it usually meant trouble for those involved. Trouble that, as far as she was concerned, was unnecessary. Why couldn’t shifters accept another kind of shifter as their mate? Granted, there were complications, but they were all still human, after all.
“I asked you, boy, who she is.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Clara, but I’m not going to tell you.”
She met Chance’s gaze, gauged his determination, and knew she didn’t want to go there. “Fine. I can respect that. So you don’t have any idea who the birth mother is or where she’s gone?”
“No. We’re kind of hoping she’ll come back.”
Renewed anger flashed. “Shit. She’s not coming back. And besides, any woman who can leave her poor babies in a barn doesn’t deserve them. Now don’t get me wrong. I understand how some women make a choice to give up their baby so the child can have a good life, but leaving them alone in a damn vampire’s barn? That’s just plain lowdown no-good, if you ask me.”
“We think maybe the mother had more than she could handle. That maybe she got caught in something she couldn’t wrap her head around.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means the kids are part human.” Dylan shrugged. “Worse yet, one’s part werewolf and one’s part weretiger.”
They’d surprised her again. “I’ve heard of it happening. Makes it harder on the kids, even when their parents are still around. No guess about who the fathers are?”
“You know all we know now.” Chance held up a package of large-size diapers. “Is this the kind we need?”
“How big are the kiddies?”
Chance and Dylan both held out their hands approximately two feet apart. “Just over a couple of feet, I think. He’s a little longer, but not by much,” offered Chance.
“We have a list of things we need.” Dylan handed her a note.
“Fine. Stand out of the way while I get down to business.” She went to work, pulling out small diapers as well as a package or two of the larger ones. Mentally checking off things one at a time, she added bottles, formula, and washcloths to their shopping cart. Fortunately, the store stocked a few items of baby clothing, and she tossed them into the cart as well.
She finished, filling the cart to half its capacity. “You two should get hold of Jackson. Put him on the track of the mother.”
“I don’t think we can.”
The tone in Dylan’s voice said it all. “The woman you’ve got watching over them. She’s already attached to them, isn’t she?”
She searched their faces and got her answer. The woman wasn’t just attached. She was holding on to the children. Many years before, a werewolf woman had found a baby and had experienced the connection with it. Then, not too long ago, a couple of weretigers and their human mate had gone through the same thing. The human female had found the niece and nephew of one of the weretigers who lived on a ranch near Twisted. She’d been drawn to the children because of the connection.
The connection was meant to bring mates together, but sometimes, it brought entire families together. Some didn’t believe it was possible, but she’d seen too many unlikely events in her lifetime to doubt that anything could happen.
“Miss Clara, I just can’t tell you.”
She waved her hand, dismissing Chance. “All right, all right. Never mind. That’s why you haven’t taken them to someone here or in Twisted, right? Because there’s one of each? You’re afraid they’ll get separated. And if you take them to the humans, then people might find out what they are.” And because your woman, your mate, won’t let you take them away from her.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re going to give it a few days and see what happens.”
She resisted the urge to pat Dylan on the cheek. M
en were so damn gullible sometimes. “You two better get moving. Those babies need their food.”
“Can you check us out? We don’t want anyone else seeing us go through the line with baby stuff.”
“Don’t bother, Chance. Take everything and go out the side entrance.”
“But how will we pay for it?”
“You let me handle the money part.” She slapped him on the butt, enjoying the feel of his firm, round bottom. It had been far too long since she’d felt a nice ass. She’d have to do something about her lack of sex soon. “Now get going.”
* * * *
“What the fuck are they doing?” Jarrod Woods, the oldest of Rachel’s brothers, ducked behind a display of peanut butter. He scowled at Richman, her other brother, then eased around the edge again to peek at the Rothman cousins and Miss Clara.
“Looks like they’re getting a bunch of baby crap.”
He shot his brother an exasperated look. “No shit, man, but why? What are those two dogs up to?”
“Better not be for Rachel.”
Sometimes he had to wonder if their parents had dropped Richman on his head. His brother was super smart with technology, but he lacked common sense at times. Still, he couldn’t have asked for a more loyal and courageous brother.
“Rachel isn’t, wasn’t, pregnant.” Then why the baby things? The realization of what must be going on hit him. “Damn them. They’re hanging around with our sister after knocking up some other girl. I’m going to reach up their asses and tear off their fucking tails.”
“We don’t know for sure that they’re with our sis.”
“Come on, man. We’ve been trailing her for a while now. Just because we haven’t caught her in their bed doesn’t mean she’s not with them. We’ve seen them near secluded places between Forever and Twisted.”
“But the rest is only a rumor. We never saw them together.”
As much as he’d like to think his brother was right, his gut wouldn’t let him. “Which means we’ve got to catch them this time. No, brother, I hate like hell to say it, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Our sister’s gotten herself mixed up with a couple of werewolves.” He could barely get the word werewolf out. Sure, some of them were okay, like Jackson Carr, but he didn’t like getting near them. As far as he and his brother were concerned, no werewolves could be trusted. Not with anything, and especially not with their sister.