Page 58 of Secret Shifters Next Door

The boy and I stepped outside and turned the grill on. “How do you like your steak cooked?”

“Medium rare, a little closer to the rare side.”

I pointed at him with the spatula. “Kid, I think there’s hope for you yet. If you’d said well done, I’d have thrown you out on your ass right then and there.”

He laughed at that, and I decided I actually liked him. Grudgingly, but I did. He seemed like a good kid. He was brave, too. I didn’t know whether I would have gone out on the back porch with a guy that looked like me at that age.

“What do you do at school? Any clubs or sports or anything?” I asked.

He nodded as he handed me the plate of steaks. “I play baseball. Love baseball, actually.”

I frowned, something tickling my memory. Had I heard this kid’s name before?

“Are you the kid that had the walk-off homer in the state finals last year? Won Lilly Valley High the state championship? Didn’t you guys upset the reigning champs?”

He reddened a bit. “They were the four-year running champs. It was a lucky pitch, though. The pitcher had a dead arm. His coach should have pulled him at least an inning before. It was just luck.”

Modest, too? Well, shit. The guy was fucking Prince Charming. “What are your plans for life after school? College? Work?”

His eyes lit up. “I like baseball, and I’m pretty good. There are several pretty big schools offering me scholarships, I want to go to one that has a really good veterinary program. I want to be a vet. That’s the first thing Mariah and I found out we had in common.”

I had no idea Mariah wanted to be a vet. My mind began to spin through scenarios, doing math with my savings accounts and investments I’d made. Both girls would need college funds. I was sure Harley had plans for that. There’d probably been life insurance from when their dad passed. All well and good, but if Iwas going to be around, I would make sure the girls didn’t want for anything.

Kayden went on. “Upstairs, all Mariah could talk about was you. Mr. Mills, she really likes you. I thought you should know that. All she could talk about was how happy she was that her mom found you, and that she wasn’t alone anymore.”

Son of a bitch, this kid was freaking awesome. That sealed it. He was all right with me. In fact, I didn’t think Mariah could have done any better. I smiled wryly to myself and thought,they still needed to leave the door open when they were in her room.

Once the steaks were done, I handed the plate to Kayden to take in. Inside, I closed the door and walked over to Mariah, then kissed the top of her head. She looked at me in surprise, but then smiled when she looked into my eyes. I had a family again. I’d already known it, but looking into Mariah’s eyes really pushed it home. It would take all the hosts of heaven and all the demons of hell to pry me away from these women.

Hours later, after dinner, after Kayden went home, and after the girls were asleep, Harley and I lay in bed, panting and sweaty after another mind-blowing evening of sexual adventures. Teenagers tended to sleep like the dead, but we’d still done our best to be quiet. I wasn’t sure how successful we’d been.

“So?” Harley asked. “Did you and Kayden have a good talk outside? I assume you did, since he looked much less like he was going to piss himself when he came back in.”

I laughed. “I have to say, he’s a good kid. Smart, athletic, polite, the whole nine yards. I’m pretty sure that he knows he’s found a prize with Mariah. We’re good buddies now.”

Harley wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “Good,” before slipping into sleep.

I held her and listened to her gentle breathing. Over and over again, the same words played on repeat in my head.Love,family, mate, love, family, mate.It was strange, but in the best damned way. I fell asleep smiling.

TWENTY-FOUR

HARLEY

Even after Tate had explained that he didn’t trust Emily, I still had a hard time not thinking of her as a friend. A friend who was acting weird as hell, but a friend, nonetheless. I wasn’t concerned exactly, but I needed to know what was going on. It had been over a week since I’d heard from her, and despite everything, I was worried about her. She said she’d see me again before she left, so I knew she hadn’t left town.

It was early September, and a beautiful day, so I decided to see if she was home. I knew it shouldn’t have bothered me, but the curiosity was almost overwhelming. One way or another, I had to figure out what the hell was going on.

Emily had told me where her grandmother’s house was. I’d always meant to go out and see it, but life had kept me occupied. I got into my car and headed out. The chance of her being there was pretty small, but I had nothing better to do, and there was still a chance. She would probably be there, doing some gardening to spruce it up before it got listed. Improving the curb appeal or whatever.

I turned the radio up and rolled the windows down, enjoying the cool late-summer air. One thing about Colorado: it was a much different climate compared to New York. It was warmerbut less humid. It felt cooler than it should, and I loved it. My body was already going through hot flashes with the pregnancy, so any respite was welcome.

Finding the street Emily had mentioned was easy, but I had no idea which house was the one she’d talked about. When I turned onto the street, the choices were pretty simple. It wasn’t really aneighborhoodper se. It was just a dead-end street with three houses and an empty lot where an old house had once stood. All that was left there was a crumbling chimney.

Frowning, I cruised down the street, checking each house to see which one was correct. The first house was a small one-story ranch-style. A middle-aged man was out mowing the lawn, and there were toys scattered around the porch. That couldn’t be it. The second house was similar to the first but a little bigger. There was a small car and a minivan sitting in the driveway, neither of which was Emily’s car. Sitting on a porch swing was a younger couple having a conversation. It had to be the third house. When I pulled up to it, confusion swept over me.

It was abandoned––not just that it was obvious that no one lived there. The yard was overgrown, the windows were dusty and dirty, and the paint around the windows was peeling and faded. This didn’t look like a house someone had spent weeks getting ready to sell. It also didn’t look like a home that had been lived in. Not for a very long time.

I sat there trying to figure out what was going on. Was Emily having financial trouble? Maybe she didn’t have the money to fix the place up on the outside. Was that it? Had she used what money she had to fix up the inside instead? Doubtful, but wanting to know for sure, I pulled into the driveway. A quick walk up to the first window and a peek in told me that wasnotwhat was going on. The inside was caked in dust. Cobwebs hung freely from the ceiling, and it looked like some type of black mold was growing on a wall in the living room.

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