Page 16 of Shifter For Hire (For Hire 2)

She laughed and took the bottle to set aside. He accepted the plate she gave him and piled his plate so full of food it was in danger of falling over the side.

She gaped at him. “Hungry?”

He reddened but didn’t deny it.

“I’m just teasing. Eat as much as you want. I like a healthy appetite. I made macaroni salad and pasta salad. Plus there’s a tossed salad. Overkill, I know, but I wasn’t sure what you would enjoy. It’s Skip’s fault for making me second guess myself.”

“I’m sorry, baby. You’re the best cook.”

He reached to hug her, but she ducked away and then chided herself. Before meeting Gerard she wouldn’t have done that. Annoyed at herself and Skip, she blurted out the question rolling through her mind.

“You think there’s such a thing as shape shifters, Skip?”

Gerard’s plate dipped sideways, and half his food fell on the table. At the same time, Skip answered her question without hesitation. “Who told you that? Your sister?”

Shoot, she’d approached it wrong. “Am I right? You seriously believe in that mess?”

A grin spread over his face, but he looked at Gerard. “What do you think, Gerry?”

“Gerard.”

“Do shape shifters exist?” Skip leaned forward as Gerard scooped up the spilled food and piled it back on his plate. “Dragon shape shifters?”

“What are you asking him for?” she interrupted. “You’re the one who wrote the story.”

Her boyfriend dropped into a seat at the table and tore off a bite from his hamburger. Ketchup and mustard oozed out from b

eneath the bun, and he wiped it with a finger. “There is such a thing as shape shifters, and you know what else? There’re hunters out there.”

A chill raced along her spine. “Hunters?”

“People who kill them.”

Her mouth went dry.

“You can’t have these beasts running around free, infecting others, eating them. They’re unnatural. So there’re humans putting an end to them, and I write about it.”

From the serious expression on his face, he believed this craziness. She thought he was a serious journalist with quirky interests. Weird hobbies, odd history, that sort of thing were what they had discussed up until now. Never once had he mentioned shape shifters, but maybe she shouldn’t be surprised.

The question tumbled out of her mouth before her brain could catch up. “And have you seen these so called shape shifters?”

“Yup.” He looked too self-satisfied. “And so has your sister.”

“What did you just say?” She was shocked to her core. The last thing she expected him to say was that her sister was in on his theory or that she would keep it from Lachelle. Anger surged in her belly.

Skip tried to reach for her hand. She snatched it away. He appeared regretful but not hurt. “Come on, baby. Is it so hard to imagine?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Well, it’s all true.”

“Is that why you’ve been after me constantly to visit her? Because you think she believes in your theories? Or are you trying to say she knows more about these people?”

Skip glanced at Gerard. “I don’t think anything. I just want to talk to her again. So, Gerard, what do you think? You never said. Think they’re real? Hiding in the shadows?”

Gerard busied himself eating his food, but Lachelle saw tension in his shoulders.

The fact that she brought up Skip’s apparent favorite subject excited him. “According to my research, they’re dragon shifters with magical healing abilities.”

---