Page 42 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I sighed. “Harley, I’m getting myself food anyway. I’m going to take it home to eat, and I live like a hundred feet from you. It is literally no trouble. In fact, it will be more trouble if I don’t bring you dinner. I’ll be over at my house eating a delicious meal, thinking about you sitting by yourself eating grilled cheese. Now, what are you hungry for?”

She laughed. “Pasta. I want carbs. All the carbs. Please and thank you. Garlic bread, too.”

I laughed, happy that she was letting me do this little thing for her. “Okay, cool. I’ll call it in and be there in a little bit.”

I called in an order to the little Italian place in town. I liked the place. The little old man who ran it was a funny character and made great food. When I pulled in, I was surprised to see Mariah and Jordyn sitting inside with some other kids. Harley had told me they went out for pizza. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see them here since this was the only Italian place in the whole town. There were a few boys sitting with them, and mydragon gave an irritated growl at the way the boys were looking at them.

I got that under control, and went inside to pick up my food. As soon as I walked in, Jordyn spotted me and waved at me like a crazy person. Her arm swung back and forth so madly that she almost elbowed the boy next to her in the nose. I chuckled as she got up and ran to me. It was funny but also made me feel really good. To be wanted and needed was something I wasn’t used to. I thought I could maybe get used to it.

Mariah followed Jordyn over. “What are you doing here?”

I nodded toward the counter. “I stopped by to pick up dinner for me and your mom.”

The girls locked eyes, mischievous grins blooming on their faces. Jordyn turned back to me. “So, do you like our mom? I mean, do youlikeher?” she said, drawing the word out dramatically.

I rolled my eyes at them and walked toward the counter. “You girls have a fun night, now.”

Jordyn shrugged. “Fine. See you later.”

She went back to the table with her new friends, but Mariah hung around while I paid for the food. I looked at her questioningly.

She seemed nervous. “I know you’re the dad of Mom’s baby, I mean. I heard you say it to her while the guys were installing the security system.”

“Well, shit,” I muttered.

Mariah waved that off. “It’s okay. Adults make mistakes, too. I mean, it’s not a big deal as long as it’s a happy mistake, right? It is a happy mistake, isn’t it?”

I studied her, then I said, “I think it might be, yeah.”

She nodded. “Good.” She then turned serious and lowered her voice. “You know, it’s been a long time since we felt safe or protected. Basically since Dad’s been gone. Plus, ever since hedied, Jordyn and I have thought Mom seems so lonely. She’s really alone, and we’re always worried about her. When she first met Luis, we thought maybe she’d found someone, but we never really liked him. There was always something about him that seemed… fake.” She looked at me with eyes far too old for her age. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m glad you’re the father of the baby. I have no idea how that happened, but I don’t really care. I just want my mom to be happy.”

The seriousness evaporated as she walked backwards to her table. “Enjoy your night together,” she said with a smile, then turned and joined her friends and sister again.

I watched her go, and my connection to the girls clicked into place. Almost like there was a switch inside my chest that had been teetering on being flipped, and it had just been switched over.

The owner of the shop appeared from the back, carrying packaged meals. “Ah, Mr. Mills. Here is your order. Good to see you again. Everything good?”

I smiled at him. “Yeah, I think they are.”

When I got to Harley’s house a few minutes later, I could tell she’d been thinking about my earlier proposal. She had a hard time looking me in the eye, and kept twisting her hands together like she was nervous. It was weird. We’d spent hours together earlier in the day talking, but now it had gone back to being awkward. At first, I wondered if I’d done something wrong. I assumed that she was still trying to figure out how to act around me.

I was pulling the containers out of the paper bag in the kitchen when I asked, “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, why?”

I leaned against the counter. “You know, this whole shy, unsure, timid thing you’ve got going on is cute.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

I nodded at her hands. She was twisting and untwisting the hem of her T-shirt. She glanced down and immediately stopped fiddling with it.

“The thing is, I’ve seen you naked, Harley. I know what your moans sound like. After all that, I don’t know why I still make you nervous.”

Her face went scarlet, and her jaw dropped slightly. She finally grinned. “I was drunk, okay.”

I laughed. “You weren’t that drunk. But if that’s the excuse you want to use for all the dirty things you did, then I’ll let you have it.”

Harley gasped but was smiling when she did it; her face grew even redder. “What a jerk.”

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