Lion Lost & Found, Paranormal Romance (Ghost Cat Shifters Book 2) (8 page)

When he spoke again, his voice was low and clear. “Back when I first kissed you, I meant what I said. I waited too damn long. I’m not after a fling. I’m after a lot more than that. I just didn’t want to push too far or too fast.”

Vivi thought her heart might pound its way out of her chest. Hope spun in circles inside, but she batted it back. She might have had a silly crush on Heath once upon a time, he might call to her like no other, but she wasn’t a silly girl anymore. She didn’t quite trust herself to know when she’d find the right mate for her. Because she’d been so wrong about Chris. She’d truly thought she’d found her mate in him—that shifter fantasy of another shifter who called to her like no other. In hindsight, what had blinded her were her own hopes and dreams and the need to prove to herself she could find another shifter who attracted her the way Heath did. Even though she’d tried to convince herself Chris did, it had never been the same.

To have Heath sitting here beside her now telling her he wanted a lot more than a fling, well, it flat out terrified her. Because what if she was wrong about him too? Oh, she trusted him to be good to her and not blow in and out of her life. She knew him to be a man and shifter of honor, but what if she didn’t turn out to be what he hoped for? What if this was just a passing blip of pure lust?

“Vivi?”

Heath’s voice nudged her out of her thoughts. She glanced over at him. His eyes never broke away. She couldn’t quite find her words.

He reached over and curled his hand around hers. The warmth and strength of his grip anchored her and soothed the unsettled feeling inside. “I’m not going to take off on you like Chris did. You have to know that,” he said, his words firm.

Her throat was tight. She swallowed against the feeling and took in a gulp of air. “I know you wouldn’t do that, but what if this doesn’t work out? I can’t really avoid you if things go wrong—it’ll be weird. It’s not simple being a single mother either. I have to think about Julianna. I don’t want to confuse her, or…” She paused and forced herself to take another breath. She didn’t quite know how to tell him she just couldn’t take it if it turned out he didn’t want to stay with her. She didn’t do casual, she never had.

“I know we have to think about Julianna. Even if I know precisely what I want, I have enough sense to know we have to take it one step at a time. Can you just try to trust me that I know what we have here?”

Tears pressed at the back of her eyes, but she held the feeling inside. She wasn’t going to fall apart right now. It would be far too mortifying for Heath to see just how vulnerable she felt with him. She glanced over. “Is this one of those things where you think you found your mate?” Her question was tinged with sarcasm.

Heath didn’t flinch. He nodded firmly. “Don’t make light of it. You didn’t with Sophia, so don’t do it with yourself. It’s not like we barely know each other. If last year hadn’t been such a mess for me, I’d have let you know how I felt a hell of a lot sooner. I had to know I could be the man you deserved before I did that. Can we just enjoy that we had an amazing night and have some breakfast? I thought you needed to know how I felt, so you didn’t start wondering what I wanted. I can wait until you’re ready though.”

His words hit her right in her center. He was so clear, so definite. While she was a muddle inside. Even though she knew she wanted him, she also knew it wouldn’t help to ruminate on her worries just now. She’d practice taking it one step at a time. She met his eyes and nodded. “How about we have breakfast here? I’ll cook.” At his grin, she kicked the covers free.

***

Heath pushed through the door at the bank and walked briskly to his truck. He tossed the folder of papers on the seat and closed the door. He paused on the sidewalk and glanced around. Painter was nestled in a valley with mountains surrounding it. Main Street was picturesque with quaint, colorful storefronts. A gust of wind sent leaves spinning in a swirl. He stepped off the sidewalk and looked both ways before striding across the street to Mile High Grounds. The bell jangled above the door when he entered. It was late afternoon and the coffee shop was quieter than at most hours. A few college students were nursing coffees while they studied and there was a knitting group in the corner. His sister glanced up from the counter.

“Hey Heath! How’s it going?”

He reached the counter. “It’s going pretty damn good. Just got the bank loan approved to get my construction business started. I thought the paperwork would never end, but it’s official as of a few minutes ago.”

Sophia squealed and clapped her hands. “Yippee! I know you wanted to get that taken care of. So what does it mean?”

“It means I’ve got seed money to invest in the heavier equipment I need. I’ve already been picking up jobs, but I had to keep it small. Now, I can take on bigger jobs and hire a team when I’ve got enough work to make it worthwhile.”

Sophia grinned and leaned a hip against the counter. “You can use my accountant if you want.”

Heath chuckled and kicked his toe against the floor. “I’ll probably take you up on that.”

“It’s Sara Willis. Her office is just a few doors down the street. She’s awesome and so picky it’s annoying. I figure picky’s good when it comes to accounting. Anyway, coffee?”

“Of course. Just something dark today. Nothing sweet.”

“Got it!” Tommy called out from behind the espresso machine.

Heath glanced around the room, half hoping to see Vivi walk through the door. He’d barely been able to keep her out of his mind since last night and this morning. A few hours of hard work on a small decking job kept him from spinning circles inside. He’d been distracted at the bank meeting, but fortunately all the details had already been hammered out.

“Looking for Vivi?”

He whipped his head back to Sophia to find her grinning.

“No, I…” He paused with a shake of his head. “Actually, yes. I thought she might be by this afternoon.”

“Logical guess, seeing as she stops by here most afternoons.”

Tommy stepped to the counter and slid Heath’s coffee across. He glanced between them. “Yeah, we both noticed you can hardly keep your eyes off Vivi lately.”

Heath almost choked on his sip of coffee. Sophia started to laugh and immediately covered her mouth when he glared at her. Tommy turned away and headed to the back room, but not before tossing a sly grin over his shoulder. “Gotta play those cards closer to your chest if you don’t want anyone to notice.”

When Tommy disappeared through the door into the back, Sophia’s expression sobered. “So, you and Vivi?”

Heath wasn’t ready to tell his little sister about last night, but he wasn’t going to hide his feelings. He nodded and took a gulp of his coffee, savoring the rich flavor.

Sophia looked at him for a long moment, her eyes searching and considering. “She means a lot to you.”

“She does.” His heart tightened. Last night had taken the hints of his feelings and ratcheted up their intensity.

Sophia watched him for another moment. Her breath came out on a sigh. “Oh. Does she know how you feel?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I tried to let her know, but I’m not so sure how much she’s ready to hear.”

Sophia was quiet for several beats. “Give her time.”

“That’s it? Give her time?”

Sophia gave him a small smile and shrugged. “That’s it. It may not sound like much, but she’s been on her own for years. After the way things went with Chris, she’s wary. If you don’t give her time, she’ll get in her own way.”
 

At that moment, another customer approached the counter and Heath stepped out of the way. “I’ll probably be by again soon,” he said with a lift of his coffee cup.

“I’ll be here. Maybe you can meet Daniel and I for dinner tomorrow.”

“Just tell me where.”

At that, he turned and left. As he was walking back across the street, Daniel’s truck passed by. He came to a quick stop and waved to Heath as he rolled down his window.

“What’s up?” Heath said when he reached Daniel’s truck.

“I was just about to call you. Roger wants us to stop by. They’ve caught a few leads north of town.”

“You got it. I’ll meet you there.”

A short while later, Heath leaned against the wall in Roger Shaw’s office. Roger was the lead investigator on the various cases associated with the smuggling network. He and a few other officers were shifters, which came in quite handy during the months of searching for Nelson.

“To keep it short, we’ve been revisiting the properties around town, and we’re pretty sure someone’s living in the old buildings on the main property where your grandfather’s offices were. It’s one of the first places we checked out. I figured all along Nelson and anyone helping him would wait it out and loop back this way.”

“What now?” Daniel asked.

“Since you guys have been searching, I thought it’d be best if we made sure we’re covering different areas. I’d prefer if we planned a rotation. I also followed up on that shifter you saw last week. My best guess is it’s Chris Barnett. He’s…”

“Vivi’s ex,” Heath interjected. “Why do you think it’s him?” Heath had never even met Chris. Vivi had dated Chris and had Julianna while Heath was away in the military. He’d come home on leave during that time, but he’d never actually met Chris.

“One of the guys we’re holding on charges for dealing thinks it’s him. The guy said Chris handled some of the pick ups in this area. After he moved away from Painter, he got picked up for dealing in Boulder. He bounced back here and a buddy of mine on the force there gave us a heads up to keep an eye on him when things heated up with the smuggling network,” Roger explained.

Heath shifted his shoulders against the wall, considering what it might mean to Vivi to learn Julianna’s father was involved in the smuggling network. “Are you gonna try to bring him in?” Heath asked.

Roger nodded. “Of course. I was actually hoping you guys could help with that. Since he didn’t seem to know who you were, he got flushed out. He definitely knows who we are. I was thinking you guys could keep scouting over on that side of town and we’ll focus on the other side and north.”

Daniel was nodding along and asking questions, while Heath considered how to talk to Vivi about this. He didn’t want her to find out some other way, but he worried about how she’d react. He’d gathered enough threads of information to understand things didn’t go well between her and Chris. Chris’s complete absence from Julianna’s life had led Heath to conclude Chris wasn’t worth much, but he could only guess how Vivi felt about that. It infuriated him Chris had been so careless toward Vivi and Julianna.

“Heath?”

Daniel’s voice cut into his thoughts. “Sorry. What?”

“I was just telling Roger we’d plan to scout in that area once every few days. That works for you, right?”

“Oh yeah. No problem.”

A few minutes later, Heath walked at Daniel’s side out to the parking lot. “So, uh, I’m thinking I need to give Vivi a heads up about Chris.”

Daniel leaned against his truck. “I’d say so. If she hears about it from someone else, she’ll be pissed we didn’t tell her. There’s that and the fact he might show up around town.”

Heath nodded. “Right.”

Daniel arched a brow. “I’m leaving this one up to you. I could let Sophia know and she’d tell Vivi, but then…”

Heath finished his sentence for him. “Vivi will wonder why the hell I didn’t say something.”

Chapter 8

A remote powered toy car zoomed past Vivi’s foot, buzzing as it rolled around the room. Vivi’s mother, Evelyn Sheldon, stood by the sink in her kitchen and glanced over at Vivi.

“She can’t get enough of that car. It makes babysitting easy. All we do is hand her the remote and she’s off,” Evelyn said with a smile. She shook the water from her hands and snagged a towel to dry them.

“I know. I promised her we’d get one for home.” Vivi glanced through the archway into the living room where Julianna stood by the windows, grinning as she guided the remote car around the legs of the coffee table. Vivi turned back at the sound of her mother’s footsteps. Her mother stepped over to the kitchen table. Evelyn was tall and elegant and moved with fluid grace. Vivi had inherited her mother’s almost black hair and blue eyes, but she wasn’t quite as tall. Evelyn sat down across from her. Vivi had stopped by to pick Julianna up after school. She’d gotten tied up longer than usual at a landscaping job, so she’d called the school and asked them to make sure Julianna was dropped off at her parents’ house.

Her mother leaned back in her chair. “So, how is Heath doing these days?”

It wasn’t unusual for her mother to ask about Heath. With Vivi and Sophia practically joined at the hip growing up, their families had become close. Yet, her mother had no clue Vivi had spent a mind-blowing, body-melting, heart-spinning night with Heath. If her mother had ever picked up on Vivi’s youthful crush on Heath years ago, she’d never let on. Just hearing Heath’s name sent a hot rush through Vivi, her body immediately recalling the feel of him against her and within her. Vivi mentally shook herself. She couldn’t get all moony and ridiculous over Heath simply because her mother asked how he was doing.

She fiddled with her bracelet. “He seems to be doing great. He’s helping Daniel a lot out at his grandparents’ old farmhouse. Daniel wants to have it ready for him and Sophia to move in by winter.”

“That’s a lovely old place. I’m glad to hear Heath’s staying strong. It’s been a rough year since his car accident.”

Vivi switched from fiddling with her bracelet to picking up an apple from the bowl of fruit on the table and rolling it back and forth between her hands. “Yeah, I’d say he’s completely back on his feet.”

Vivi felt her mother’s assessing eyes on her. “You know, it’s nice to see Sophia find someone. I don’t suppose finding someone is on your radar?”

Vivi focused on the apple rolling back and forth in her palms. “What do you mean?” she finally asked, although she knew perfectly well what her mother was asking. For a while after she had Julianna, her mother stayed quiet about any possibility of a relationship for Vivi. But the past year or so, she’d bring it up occasionally and ask why Vivi didn’t even date anyone. Vivi’s parents had married young and loved each other deeply. Her father was away a lot for work as a commercial airline pilot, yet his absences seemed to only tighten the bonds between them. Vivi wasn’t quite up for a discussion about her mother’s hopes and dreams for Vivi to find her own meant-to-be love.