Page 20 of Stolen Mate

Derek turned and walked back to his kitchen area. “Honey it is. Is your sister older or younger?”

“Younger.”

“You said you lost your mom a few months ago. I’m very sorry.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“My mother’s been dead for years. My father and I—to put it politely—are estranged. I have an older brother who’s the sheriff of Otter Cove and an older sister who runs a kind of Gucci grocery and dry goods store. She and my sister-in-law are opening a coffee shop and are expanding it into a small restaurant.”

“You sound like you get along with your siblings. Me, too. Lara is probably my closest friend.”

Derek made her tea and brought it back to her. Her hand brushed his ever so slightly, but he could feel the spark between them connect. That should help with the pounding headache and general feeling of malaise.

“Let me go give Doc a call. Reception is better outside. Why don’t you just sit here and sip your tea. If you want to see if there’s anything in the walk-in closet, feel free to help yourself.”

Tess nodded, and he walked outside. He stepped down off the porch and dialed Doc’s clinic, hoping it would be open.

“Mystic River Clinic. This is Betty, can I help you?”

“Hey, Betty. It’s Derek. Is Doc handy?”

“You just caught him. We’re done with patients for the day, but he hasn’t left yet. Hang on.”

A few minutes passed. “What can I do for the deputy sheriff of Mystic River?” came the familiar, friendly voice.

“I found a young woman in the meadow out past Trudy’s place along the river.”

“The one that checked in this afternoon?”

“That’s the one.”

“If she was hurt, you should have brought her here,” the doctor scolded.

“She wasn’t hurt, and the thing is, Doc, I don’t think she knows she’s a shifter.”

“How can she not know that?”

“I haven’t a clue, but I don’t think she has any idea. And I don’t really know how to tell her. She was in her shifted form…”

“What kind?”

“Same as me, polar bear. But she doesn’t remember anything. She went into the meadow and passed out.”

“Does she know what caused that?”

“She said the buzzing in her head and sick feeling she had in her stomach got worse and she collapsed.”

“Buzzing and nausea? Was anybody around?”

“I was probably closest to her and getting closer all the time as Trudy sent me to look for her.”

There was a long pause. “So, tell me, Derek, how are you feeling?”

“About like you’d expect. My head is killing me. But I gave her a cup of tea. Our hands touched, and the pain and sensation of a swarm of angry bees is waning.”

“So you know.” It wasn’t a question.

“I know. Tess—that’s her name—is my fated mate. Not only doesn’t she know what that is, but like I said…”

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