The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) (14 page)

Agnes had a short, chic silver-gray bob with baby bangs and a few streaks of teal and purple. Her big round black-rimmed glasses framed bright blue eyes and her wrists sported multitudes of bracelets in a rainbow of colors that matched her patchwork skirt. She looked like a real character. Roxy adored her already.

She held out the two packages. “I brought you a little something. One’s edible, one’s not.”

“Oh my!” Agnes took the bags and peeked into both of them. More shrieking followed. “I see bookmarks, pens, and magnets. How fabulous! I love them. I’m going to put them out on the counter right now. The magnets I’m going to put behind the counter for special customers. If that’s okay with you.”

“That’s perfectly fine. You can do whatever you like with them.”

Agnes patted the bag from Delaney’s. “As for these lovelies, they’ll be going home with me.” She slid the box of chocolates out, then held out the bag to Roxy. “But you keep the bag. It’ll make it easier to carry yours.”

“Mine?” Roxy took the bag. It still had weight to it. She glanced inside. A smaller box with an R on it in black marker made her shake her head. “How on earth did Delaney get that in there without me seeing?”

Agnes laughed. “Never look a chocolate gift horse in the mouth.”

“That’s for sure.” Roxy slipped the shopping bag handle over her arm. Even if it meant an extra round or three of sun salutations, whatever was in that little box was getting eaten tonight. “So. Let’s talk signing.”

Grocery shopping hadn’t been any big deal. Alex knew his way around the Shop-n-Save, and despite being stopped by several people to chat, he was in and out with everything on his list in about thirty minutes.

Getting the groceries unpacked and put away, however, became a much longer task due to the phone call from his mother. It was more of the same.
When are you getting married? Have you met anyone? I want to see my grandchildren before I die.

He braced the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he stacked family-sized cans of tuna in the pantry. He could probably record his side of the conversation and play it back without his mother even noticing. Fortunately, he had a secret weapon. When his mother took a breath, he slipped in the five magic words sure to change the topic. “Diego finally got a job.”

“Where? When? I hope he’s not working too hard. Is he working too hard? My poor baby.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “He’s bartending at a local place. He just got the job. Tonight’s his second shift. And no, he’s not working too hard. He’s never worked too hard.”

“Now, Alex, your brother was in the service. In the desert! That’s not an easy job. You need to cut him some slack.”

“Slack? Mom, he’s lived in my house for almost a month rent-free, utility-free, everything free. How much more slack can I give him?”

“Just be kind to your brother. He’s had a hard road.”

Alex couldn’t stop the growl that built up in his throat. “I’m sorry, a hard road? In what way?”

“Well, he can’t seem to find a woman who appreciates him.”

The snort of laughter that Alex answered with earned him a long sigh. “Yes, Mom, that’s Diego’s problem. He can’t find a woman. I think he’s found too many women, frankly.” Alex really didn’t want to participate in this conversation. Diego was the baby of the family and always would be where their mother was concerned. He could do no wrong in her eyes. “I love you, Mom, but I need to get ready for –”

“Speaking of women, I understand you’ve met someone.”

She’d obviously been saving that one up, testing him with the initial barrage of questions to see if he’d say something, then yanking that out as a last resort when he didn’t. “I suppose Diego told you that.” Probably as his own out when the conversation went in a direction he didn’t like.

“What’s she like, this new chica?”

“She’s my neighbor. She’s very nice. And I only told Diego I liked her so he would leave her alone.”

“That wasn’t very nice. What if she’s the right woman for him?”

“She’s not.” But she could be the right woman for Alex. If only she were a shifter too. He sighed.

“What was that sigh? You do like her, don’t you?”

“Yes, but not like that. Just as a friend.” Because that’s all he could be. “She’s not a shifter, Mom.”

“So? Witch, vampire, whatever she is. No one gets hung up on labels like that anymore.”

“Really? Not even the label
human
?”

His mother went silent, a rare and curious moment for both of them. After a long break, Carmen finally spoke. “That’s not what your father and I would want for you. A mixed marriage can be very difficult.”

Alex doubted his father cared half as much as his mother did. “Slow down with the M word. This isn’t even in the same zip code of that ballpark.”

“Does she know what you are?”

“No. And it’s going to stay that way.” At least until Delaney decided otherwise.

“But I thought everyone in your town was some kind of supernatural.”

“Not everyone. Most. But there are still plenty of regular humans who live here too.”

More silence, but this time the pause didn’t last as long. “Do you think she’d understand? If you told her the truth?”

“Not happening.”

“But if you like her—”

“I really need to get ready for work.”

“I just want you to be happy, Alex. You deserve that. You’re a good man, you work hard, you’ve earned the right to be happy and have a family. I want that for you. Unlike Diego, you’ve never given me a reason to worry or lose sleep, but my heart aches for you to find the kind of happiness that your father and I have.”

“I appreciate that. I’ll talk to you soon.” He hung up, a small knot in his throat. It was nice to hear his mother say those sorts of things. And to hear her admit that she understood more about Diego than she let on.

Alex knew he deserved to be happy. Everyone deserved that.

Roxy wasn’t that happiness, though. And that wasn’t a gray area, it was black and white. At least to him. Beyond the fact that she wasn’t interested, beyond the fact that she wasn’t a shifter or any kind of supernatural, she also wasn’t his soul mate.

He’d thought he’d felt that
thing
that he’d expected to feel, but the more he mulled it over, the less sure he was. He needed to have that sense of absolutely knowing the person across from him was his one true match. And so far, he didn’t. Maybe if Roxy hadn’t been his neighbor, maybe he would have pursued a fling anyway, had some fun and been okay with that.

Except flings weren’t his style and she really had become a friend to him. And while the surge of excitement and interest he felt when she was around was fun, infatuation—or whatever he was feeling—wasn’t something to build a future on.

With an odd sense of disappointment curling through him, he put the last of the groceries away, then went to get dressed.

He might not have a soul mate, but he had his job. And if no woman needed him, the town of Nocturne Falls did.

For now, that had to be enough.

He got to work a few minutes early, so he headed for the sheriff’s office to check in. Birdie was already packing up and getting ready to go home since her day was over.

“Night, Alex.” She hoisted her big floral purse over one shoulder. She had the biggest, brightest smile on her face that he’d seen in a long time. And that was saying something, because Birdie was generally one of the happiest people he knew.

“Something going on?”

She giggled.
Giggled
. “Oh, yes, but it’s not my place to tell. Everyone will know soon enough, though. No hiding a thing like that.”

All right, then. “Well, you have a good night, Birdie.” He jerked his thumb toward the sheriff’s door. “He in?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Alex knocked. “Sheriff?”

“Come in,” Hank called out.

Alex opened the door. “Anything going on?”

The sheriff broke into a rare smile. “Sure enough. Ivy’s pregnant.”

“Hey, congratulations! No wonder Birdie was grinning like that. I thought maybe she’d hit happy hour early. You must be thrilled.”

Hank laughed. “Yeah, we’re pretty excited.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t imagine that’s what you came in here for, though.”

“Just wanted to check in before my shift started, see if anything was going on.”

“Nothing much. Quiet day. That’ll change soon enough with the parade coming this weekend.”

“That’s for sure.” Alex hesitated. “You mind if I ask you something?”

Hank tipped his head at the chairs across from his desk. “Have a seat.”

Alex closed the door and took the chair closest.

Hank leaned forward. “What’s on your mind?”

Alex took a breath. “How did you know that you and Ivy were meant to be?”

Hank snorted. “Our marriage was arranged. You know that. We didn’t have much say in the matter.”

“Yeah, but you’re obviously in love with each other now.”

“True.” He took a moment. “It happened over time, as we got to know each other.”

“Would you say she’s your soul mate?”

Hank nodded. “Sure, I’d say that. We’re bonded. I suppose you cats can do that the same way us wolves can.”

“Yes. Doesn’t happen to all of us, though.”

“Doesn’t happen to all of us either.” Hank’s gaze narrowed. “What’s all this about?”

Alex sighed. “What would you have done if Ivy hadn’t been a wolf shifter? Would you have been able to stay away from her after you fell for her?”

Hank frowned. “That didn’t happen, so what’s the point of speculating?”

“I just want to know if it would have been a deal breaker.”

Hank seemed to mull that over briefly. “No. Once I fell for her, that was that. She could have been anything—human, bird, mountain lion—and I would have chased her to the ends of the earth. That’s what love is.”

“I guess.”

Hank’s face screwed up in disbelief. “You’ve been in love, haven’t you?”

Alex sat back. “I don’t know.”

Hank snorted. “Then you haven’t been. Because when you are, you’ll know it. She’ll be all you think about and all you want to think about. You’ll be happy when she’s around and miserable when she’s not.” He tapped a finger on the desk. “Love is not a feeling you can ignore.”

“Good to know.”

Hank tilted his head. “This about someone in particular?”

Alex shook his head. “Not really. Maybe. I don’t know.”

Hank laughed softly. “Sounds like you’re off to a good start.”

“Thanks for your time, boss.” Alex stood, the feeling that everyone around him knew more than he did still clinging to him. Maybe he was overthinking this way too much.

It was time to focus on his job and his upcoming exam and put Roxy, and his feelings for her, out of his head.

Pages done, house buttoned up for the night and light beer in hand, Roxy headed to the couch for some downtime and to catch up on
The Bachelorette
, a guilty pleasure she liked to consider research. (Much like its sister show,
The Bachelor
.)

She was just about to plop down and get comfy when she saw her purse on the kitchen counter, which reminded her about the check she’d meant to send to her narrator for the last audiobook.