Page 21 of Stolen Mate

“She doesn’t know she’s a shifter.”

“You believe her?”

“I do. She is genuinely confused and a little bit afraid I think, but I kind of expected sobbing and pleading and maybe some cursing. But she’s kind of taking the whole collapsing in a meadow and waking up in a stranger’s bed with remarkable aplomb.”

“Are you worried she’s actually injured, or are you just looking for backup when you try to tell her about shifters?” Doc asked with some amusement in his voice. “Because I have to tell you, it’s probably better coming from you. If there’s more than one of us, she might feel threatened or at least ganged up on. You never know, she might be one of those people who likes reading those romance books with shifters in them. The concept might not seem so foreign.”

“You’re probably right. I’ll try telling her and see how it goes. But any chance someone can go by Trudy’s and get some of her things?”

“Sure. Your place isn’t too far off the beaten track for Betty. I’ll ask her to do it. Derek?”

“Yeah, Doc?”

“Keep in mind that when your fated mate learns about what she is, she may not be as accepting as you’d like. And do me a favor and don’t lead with the fated mate stuff.”

“Well, she is.”

“Yes, but even shifter females don’t always like being told that fate has decided on their mate.”

“You have a point. Thanks, Doc.”

“You’re welcome. Good luck, Derek, and you’ve got my cell phone number if you need it.”

Derek turned and walked back into the house. Tess was curled up in one of his old sweaters in the leather wingback his sister bought for his house. He’d bitched about the amount of money she spent on it, but she’d been right. It was the single most comfortable chair in the world. He could easily imagine sitting in the chair with Tess curled up in his lap.

She looked up to see him in the doorway. “I hope you don’t mind. I took you up on your offer and made myself at home. I left the kettle with water on the stove if you want to make a cup of tea for yourself. Does your sister sell this blend?”

“She does,” said Derek, making himself a cup and joining her in front of the fireplace.

“I’m sorry. This is probably your favorite chair. I know it would be mine.” She started to rise.

He put his hand on her shoulder, liking the way she didn’t struggle as he pushed gently down on it. “No, you stay there. You look comfortable. I talked to Doc, and he said he didn’t think it was urgent, but his nurse doesn’t pass too far by here on her way home. She’ll stop and get you some of your things. We can drive in and see Doc in the morning unless you feel a whole lot worse than you look.”

“How do I look to you, Deputy?” she asked with a saucy attitude.

“You look just fine to me, Ms. Dixon. In fact, I can’t remember a finer sight in my lifetime than you sitting curled up in my favorite chair with a cup of tea and only my sweater on.”

She grinned and settled herself. “You’re easy to talk to.”

Derek shrugged. “Sometimes when you meet someone, it’s like you’ve known them before—like in a past lifetime—and you just need to catch up with what’s been going on with them.”

“That makes sense. Living in the big city, you get to where you are really wary of strangers. I keep waiting to feel that, but I just don’t. It’s like I know deep in my core that I can trust you.”

“You can, Tess.”

“Why is it I feel like I can tell you about what really brought me here? I haven’t even told my sister for fear she’ll think I’m nuts.”

“Sometimes, it’s easier to tell someone that you barely know. I promise that whatever you tell me, I won’t make any judgments.”

“Okay, then. When my mom was dying, she made me promise I’d read some journals from around the time I was born. I thought they were hers, which did strike me as odd because my mom wasn’t a real journal-writing kind of person. I remember some from when I was really little, but I always thought after she had Lara and me—I’m adopted by the way—that having two kids under five years old left no time for introspection.”

Derek chuckled. “Probably not.” If she was adopted that could explain a lot. He hoped with every fiber of his being that she’d been born a shifter. If not, there would be a lot of anger and resistance.

“Exactly. But when I opened the journal that seemed to be around my birth date, it turned out the journal was by a woman I assume was my birth mother. She didn’t think much of my parents.”

“How did she meet your parents?”

“She was a wilderness guide up around these parts…”

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