ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) (112 page)

Heather retreated to her bedroom after Tanner and Chloe left. For the first time since she’d arrived at the ranch, she felt lonely. It wasn’t a novel emotion; she’d spent years of her relationship with Bertram feeling like she was a stranger in her own home, and when she ventured out onto the streets of New York it was as if she got lost, a nobody that faded more and more every day.

Would the same thing happen if she stayed here? Heather knew that Tanner would care for her, and they got on well – and that would only grow as they became more comfortable with one another. Last night had been amazing. She may not be his mate, his true love, but he certainly treated her that way in bed. And Chloe. She wanted to stay with her, watch her grow and help her along the way. She already loved her so much; it would be agony to leave her.

The doorbell of the front entrance rang. It surprised Heather; all the men used the back entrance. Maybe Tanner was expecting company and had forgotten to tell her. She made her way down the stairs, on hearing the doorbell ring again. Whoever was on the other side sounded impatient.

Heather opened the door, and had her senses assaulted by incredibly strong, sweet perfume.

“Oh.” Kellie Lane looked perplexed by Heather’s presence. “Tanner here?” She asked, looking Heather up and down as she did so.

“He’s just popped out with Chloe, they won’t be long.” Heather replied, wondering who the woman was. She had a mane of platinum blonde hair, and large breasts barely concealed by a neon pink halter-top.

“I’ll wait.” Kellie barged passed Heather, accidently-on-purpose hitting her with her handbag.

“Do you…know Tanner well?” Heather asked. She didn’t want to be impolite and ask the woman who the hell she was, but it was tempting to do so.

“We have a thing. We’re meant to be going out on a date this week; I’m here to see if I can tempt him out tonight. Who are you?” Kellie asked, flipping back her hair and taking a seat in the living room.

Heather felt sick. She paused for too long, and Kellie raised an eyebrow – clearly thinking Heather was some kind of mute idiot.

“I’m Heather. I’m staying with Tanner and Chloe.” She muttered, too embarrassed to tell her the truth. If she had been dating Tanner till recently then she’d know that a fiancé miraculously appearing out of the blue was suspect.

“Oh. Tanner didn’t mention that. Are you related?” Kellie asked.

“Um. No. I’m here to look after Chloe.” That was about the sum of it, thought Heather. She didn’t believe that Tanner had arranged to go on a date with Kellie this week – he wasn’t that kind of man. He’d probably arranged it before he had any idea that he’d have a mail-order bride delivered to his doorstep, but the idea that she’d got in the way of a budding romance on Tanner’s own terms, rather than Chloe’s, made her feel awful.

“I’m Kellie, by the way. That’s so cute that Tanner’s hired help. Chloe’s great – isn’t she?” Kellie had never actually met Chloe, but Wyatt had spoken about her. Despite what she said, Kellie was not keen on Tanner having a live-in sitter: that meant competition. 

“She is great.” Heather desperately wanted to end the conversation, but she was probably stuck here until Tanner returned.

“How long you thinking of staying then?” Kellie asked.

“I’m not sure.” Heather hesitated, “can I get you a drink or anything?”

“You got ice tea?” Kellie replied, snuggling back into the couch. Heather nodded and made her way through to the kitchen.

As she was adding ice to the pitcher, Josiah came through the back entrance. Heather had never been so happy to see anyone in her life.

“Hi Josiah! Can I get you some tea?” Heather asked the man brightly.

“Be lovely, thanks Heather. Tanner still in town?” He enquired.

“Yes. They are – but, err, Kellie’s through in the lounge. Do you know her?” Heather turned back to the tea so the old man wouldn’t see her expression. She’d tried to make her question breezy, but it had come out a little too high-pitched.

“What? Yeah, I know her. Works at Jake’s Place. Excuse me a second Heather.” Josiah stormed off through to the lounge. 

“Kellie Lane, what in God’s name you doing coming over to Tanner’s uninvited?” Josiah kept his voice down so that Heather wouldn’t overhear him. Kellie turned around in surprise at the man’s tone.

“He did invite me you old coot!” She stared daggers at Josiah, pursing her lips.

“No he didn’t, Kellie. Trust me, whatever he said, you clearly misunderstood. That woman through there is with Tanner now, so you can get back to whatever it was you was doin’ before you came here.” Josiah folded his arms across his chest. He’d known Kellie for a long time, and she wasn’t Tanner’s sort by a long shot. God only knows what rubbish she’d been filling Heather’s head with, no wonder the woman looked so peaky.

“I’ll do no such thing – Tanner don’t want a woman like her.” Kellie spat out.

“Kellie Lane, if you don’t get out this minute I will call your mom and she will come drag you out.” Josiah threatened. He played cards with Kellie’s mother every Friday night, she was a good, honest woman – he had no idea how Kellie had come out as such a bad apple.

“Fine. But I’m telling Tanner how badly you treated a guest, and he will not be happy.” Kellie stood up, huffing and puffing as she flung her bag over her shoulder.

“Girlie, you’re delusional.” Josiah opened the front door, and as Kellie marched through, cheeks aflame, he shut it firmly behind her. That was enough of that, he thought.

Heather came through carrying the pitcher with three glasses. She looked around for Kellie, but all she could see was Josiah standing smugly by the front door.

“Kellie had to leave.” The man winked at her, smiling. Heather couldn’t return the smile; she placed the drinks down on the nearest table.

“Thanks for getting rid of her. I wasn’t prepared to deal with that.” Heather replied.

“Don’t you worry. You know she’s full of hot air, right?” Josiah clarified, “Tanner’s been trying to avoid her since forever.”

“Oh, well, I didn’t think he would date anyone while I was around, he’s not that kind of man. Would you mind if I went upstairs, Josiah? I’m feeling a bit tired, must be the sun.”

“No, he wouldn’t date anyone else.” Josiah emphasized the point before continuing, “sure, go on. – is there anything I can get for you?”

“No, really. I’m fine. Thanks Josiah. It’s been really lovely getting to know you.” Heather turned toward the staircase leading up to the bedrooms.

“Well, you too, Heather. Long may it continue.” The man watched her go, puzzled by the finality of the comment.

As soon as Heather was out of Josiah’s sight, she hurried to her room. There, she hurriedly packed her belongings, what little there was, into her suitcase. She needed to get out now, while she still had the courage.

She knew that Kellie was most likely making things up about her and Tanner, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t stomach being someone forced onto him, not when his heart would always belong to a dead woman, and the best she could hope for was a companionship. With any other man, she would have been happy. But knowing what an incredible man Tanner was, all that he’d been through, all that he’d become – well, she wanted that man’s heart in the same way she’d given hers to him. Anything less would be painful and humiliating.

Once packed she made her way through to the study, in search of pen and paper. She couldn’t face seeing Chloe or Tanner before she left, it would be too difficult to go through with her plan. But she owed them a goodbye in some form, and an explanation for her behavior to Tanner.

Hunting around in the bureau her eyes caught a piece of paper resting behind the computer. She recognized the handwriting as Chloe’s. At the top she’d written, “my new mom” and below was a list of all the attributes Chloe had dreamed Heather would have. 

              Must cook well.

              Must have nice eyes.

              Must smell nice, like sunshine and warm.

              Must like to hug.

              Needs to be nice to dad.

              Let’s me stay up sometimes to watch shows, if it’s a really important episode. 

              Must like to play games.

              Needs to know about women things, like periods. And hair.
Really important
.

              Most of all, must love me.

Heather thought she heard the sound of her own heart breaking. She felt the hot burn of tears escaping her eyes for the second time that morning. She couldn’t leave, she couldn’t turn her back on Chloe – she didn’t want her growing up without a mother, and missing out on all the love and care that Heather herself had been deprived of.

She was about to put the papers away when she glanced up and saw a photograph of a woman, smiling down at her from a plain gold frame. She could see the echoes of Chloe in that face, and knew immediately that it was her mother. Tanner’s one true love, the woman who he’d formed a bond with that couldn’t be broken.

No, it had to be done. Tanner was a good man, and an incredibly handsome one. He would find a replacement for Heather, and Chloe would get her mother. It just couldn’t be Heather. She scrawled them both letters, ensuring that her tears didn’t stain the paper, and sealed them. She took the letters and her luggage downstairs, relieved to see that Josiah had left. She would have a lot of explaining to do if he were still here.

Heather realized she really had absolutely no idea how to get out of Jackson Hole, and frantically searched around the kitchen for a local taxi number. Finding nothing, she decided that she would make her way down to the main road – she recalled seeing a bus station somewhere, and if she could get herself to the town center it would be easier to find someone to take her to the airport.

With a heavy heart she took one more look around the kitchen, a place that had already started to feel like home, and made her way through the back door.

Chloe couldn’t keep still the entirety of the ride back. Her stomach was churning with excitement, and she regretted demanding the ice cream at Moo’s Parlor.

Her hands were clutched together tightly; her dad had let her keep the ring safe. It was a beautiful, a sparkling diamond and sapphire design, bought from the best boutique jeweler in Jackson Hole. Dad had said, after they exited the shop, that he’d need to import one from the city – as this wasn’t quite special enough for Heather, but this would do in the meantime. That baffled Chloe, she couldn’t imagine anything more spectacular than the creation she held.

As soon as they parked up in the driveway, Chloe tore into the house, ignoring Tanner’s yells to help him with the groceries. She slipped the ring box into her pocket, her dad planned to propose later, when she wasn’t around. Even so, she still desperately wanted to see Heather.

The house felt quite though, and after yelling from downstairs Chloe raced up to the bedrooms. She froze as she came to Heather’s room. It was empty. Thinking that maybe she’d moved her stuff into Tanner’s room, Chloe barged in there too. But it didn’t look like her things were here. Opening up the closet, she just saw her father’s work gear hanging like always. Chloe started to panic. She was frightened something had happened to her. They shouldn’t have left her alone for so long, what if she’d let in a stranger?

Chloe raced back downstairs, her heart hammering in her chest.

“Dad! She’s not here…Her room’s empty! We need to call the cops…urgently. I think something’s happened.” The words came out a bit jumbled, and Chloe felt that this time the ice cream really
was
going to come out.

“She’s probably in the back yard, Chloe. Calm down – you’re making yourself sick.” Tanner came in carrying the bags, and dumped them on the kitchen table. Right next to two envelopes, one with his name on, and as he moved it over, another addressed to Chloe.

Chloe saw them at the same time. She dived forward and grabbed hers, tearing it open. She quickly scanned the letter, coming to rest on Heather’s signature. Going back to the top, she slowly read the letter in its entirety.

Dear Chloe,

              I’m so very, very sorry to do this. But I have to go. Please don’t think my leaving is in anyway a rejection of you. I love you more than I can say, you’re a wonderful, independent, perfect girl and if I could give birth to a daughter, I would want her to be exactly like you. I know you’re going to grow up to be a wonderful woman, and I’m just sorry I can’t be there to see that happen. I would love to keep in touch – at the bottom I’ve left you my sister’s address in California, that’s where I’ll be.

You will always have a very special place in my heart, and I will never forget you.

My love always,

Heather.

At the bottom was the address. Chloe felt her chest heaving, and strangled sobs wracked her body. She felt, as if from a distance, her father wrap his arms round her tightly, picking her up so her head rested on his shoulder. He stroked her back, and she could do nothing but cry into him.

“I’m going to get her back. This is all my fault, I’m so sorry Chloe, I’ll fix it, I promise.” Her dad could fix anything. She couldn’t speak but nodded into him, forcing her sobs to subside. Of course he could fix it.

“Tell Heather, please…that I’ll be really, really good. And I’m sorry I got paint all over her shirt, and I didn’t help you with the groceries, I’m sorry.” She burst into tears again, and her father put her down.

“Chloe, look at me,” Tanner forced her head up to meet his, “this is not your fault – this is me, it’s my fault, okay?”

Chloe nodded. “Aren’t you going to read your letter, she left one for you.” Chloe indicated toward the envelope and Tanner glanced at it, shaking his head.

“I don’t care what it says. I love that woman, and I’m going to get her back – for the both of us. Stay here, she can’t have gone far, call Josiah on his cell and get him to come over, okay?”

Chloe managed a small smile. “Yeah, go dad.” She ushered him out of the kitchen, but he didn’t need much persuading. He picked the truck keys off the table and raced out of the door.

As he started up the truck Tanner prayed she hadn’t got a cab, she’d already be at the airport by now. But considering he’d seen Paul Moore, the only taxi driver in Jackson Hole, standing outside of Bubba’s Barbeque earlier clutching a brown paper bag, it wasn’t likely.

He pulled out of the drive and made his way down the road toward the main town – there were a couple of bus stations along the way, and he hoped to find Heather at one of them.

The first station he came to looked deserted, but as he slowed down he could just make out a figure sitting at the far end of the shelter.

“Heather?” Tanner jumped out of the truck, leaving it idling by the side of the road. Her face turned toward his, startled. He could see that her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and she looked so small and lost.

“Jesus, Heather – what are you doing?” He walked swiftly towards her, taking her frame into his arms, just as he’d done a moment ago with Chloe. She didn’t hug him back, but he just held on, feeling her body shudder with sobs.

“Tanner – stop.” She broke away from his grasp, hastily wiping her tears away as she did so. “I can’t do this. I’m so sorry – I wish I could stay, but I can’t.”

Tanner looked down at her, confusion written clearly across his face. “Heather, help me to understand – what’s going on?” His voice was gentle, and Heather was too fraught to hear the pain that simmered below the surface.

“I just…I can’t do it again.” Heather mumbled. She had covered her face with her hands, so ashamed at the dramatic state of events. She hadn’t meant for him to chase her here, causing a scene, disrupting the beautiful peace of his life.

“Do what again? Heather, sit down.” Tanner commanded her. He wasn’t getting any sense out of her like this.  He ushered her back onto the station bench and sat quietly beside her. “Breathe, and then start again – I want to know what’s going on.” 

Heather took a breath and tried to calm herself. She looked into his eyes, seeing nothing there but reassurance and compassion. “I know that you want a companion, and when I came here – I was happy with that. Really, I was.” Heather hesitated, Tanner’s eyes had narrowed and his lips were pulled into a thin line of displeasure. She continued, “but now, now that I know…you, who you really are – I can’t. I just can’t.”

“Is this about the bear, about my past?”

“Yes.” Heather replied, “it’s about all of you. I’m completely in love with you, Tanner. Completely and utterly head over heels in love with you, and I can’t be your companion. It’s not fair to me, not the way I feel.”

Tanner smiled at her words, he couldn’t help it. His entire body had heated on hearing that she loved him, some of the tension he’d been carrying since seeing the envelopes on the table, left.

“Then I don’t understand. I feel exactly the same way about you, Heather.”

“But you’re bonded with someone else,” Heather cried out, exasperated, “you told me – once you bond, you bond for life.”

“What are you talking about? Who am I bonded with?” Tanner was utterly baffled by the exchange; he thought he’d made his feeling clear earlier that morning.

“Chloe’s mother.” Heather whispered. She was less sure of her theory now.

“No! How did you reach that conclusion? I’d only known Chloe’s mother for a week! We had sex, but it didn’t mean anything. She was a dancer – I was about twenty-five, young and reckless. She was just traveling through, and we hooked up – then she moved on. About seven months later she turns up at my door, saying that she’s pregnant I was about to send her off, knowing I’m sterile, but she collapsed on my front step. She wasn’t the one, it’s you Heather. I’ve bonded with you. I’m in love with you. We’re the forever, Heather – you and I.”

Heather was stunned. She’d made such a huge mistake. “Oh Tanner, I didn’t realize…I thought… I assumed…” She trailed off as a huge grin spread across her face; she blushed bright red and looked down at the ground. “I’ve been so stupid.”

Tanner barked out a laugh, “yeah, you have – you can’t leave me, Heather.” His tone turned somber and he covered her shoulders with his hands, “I get it. I get why, after Bertram, you would think that way, but Heather; you’re what I’ve wanted all my life, the missing piece of me. I promise you, if you come home with me now, I won’t ever let you doubt that again. I will spend the rest of my life showing you how loved you are.” 

Tanner bent his head down, not waiting for a response. His lips sought hers, and the answering kiss was sweet and salty all at the same time. Heather wound her hands into his hair, flooded with lust and a warm, tranquil contentment. She was home.