Chapter Four
After lunch, Ivy took Lucy’s advice and walked with Bella to the lake. They stood on the shore, Ivy helping the little girl find rocks to throw into the water. Using the opportunity, at one point Ivy pulled the cell phone from her pocket, squatted down and pretended to pick up a rock. When she stood and threw, it was the cell phone flying from her hand, not the rock she’d palmed in her other hand.
“You’ve got a good arm,” came a deep, honey-smooth voice from behind her.
She jumped, turning to face the owner of that voice. “Deputy MacAvoy,” she said. “You startled me.” She put her hand behind her and let the rock fall, then bent and picked up Bella.
“Call me Cullen.” He spread one hand. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Figured you heard me. It’s kinda hard to sneak up on most folks around here.” His slate-blue gaze probed her face as if he were trying to suss out her secrets.
No way in hell. She did her best to plaster a pleasant, if vacant, look on her face. “I was focused on my daughter,” she responded. She shaded her eyes from the late afternoon sun. “Can I help you with something, deputy?”
“Cullen.” He hooked his thumbs in his beltloops and rocked back on his heels. “Just wanted to see if you needed anything.”
“Nope, we’re good. Thanks, though,” she added. She started walking along the trail that led back to the bed and breakfast, chagrined when he fell into step beside her.
How was she supposed to ignore the impossible man when he kept being so tall, dark, and handsome all up in her space?
“Oh,” he said, now walking beside her with his hands in the front pockets of his slacks, “Ronnie called and said he has to order a couple of parts for your car.”
She frowned and stared up at him. “Why would he call you? It’s my car.”
“Apparently he left a message with Lucy, which is how I knew you were at the lake.”
“Oh.”
“Hmm.” He studied her a moment then looked at Bella. Reaching out, he tucked dark strands of hair behind her ear. The little girl giggled and tucked her head into her shoulder, looking at the deputy from under her lashes. “Well, I can see you’re gonna be a real heartbreaker,” he said to the toddler.
“Har-ake-er,” she repeated, kicking her legs, thumping Ivy’s hips with her sandaled feet.
His grin flashed white teeth and brought out that devil dimple. “Yep, that’s right. Heartbreaker.” He shoved his hand back into his pocket and looked again at Ivy. “Ronnie told me it’s gonna be a couple of days for the parts to get in. You know what that means, right?”
What it meant was that she’d have to meet with the Itan because she’d be in town longer than twelve hours. Damn it. “Did he say what all’s wrong with my car?”
“Cracked radiator cap, which allowed the fluid to boil over, so the system had to draw from the expansion tank, which used up all the excess fluid you had. The cooling fan apparently isn’t working right, either, and a couple of the hoses are in iffy shape and should be replaced.” He shook his head, sending dark strands shifting against his skull, making her want to sift her fingers through his hair to see if it was as soft and as thick as it looked.
As he continued to speak, her gaze drifted to his mouth. She couldn’t take her eyes off those sexy lips. He said her name in a tone that made her think he’d repeated it a few times before she’d realized he was calling out to her. She forced her gaze up and caught the flash of heat in his eyes, irises darkening to black, showing his bear peeking through his humanity. Lust flared, and his nostrils widened with his indrawn breath.
Damn shifters and their sense of smell. There was no way she could deny her attraction to him, but there was also no way she could get involved with him and keep her secrets. So, she’d do what she ordinarily did in uncomfortable situations. Try to bulldoze her way through.
“I knew that POS was a POS when I bought it,” she muttered and quickened her pace toward the bed and breakfast.
“You haven’t had it long?” he asked, interest—that of a seasoned professional—rife in his tone.
Keeping her lies to a minimum would make it easier to remember what she needed to keep straight, especially around this man. “I just got it yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much money to get something more reliable.”
“Well, Ronnie’ll get you fixed up, no problem.” He followed her up the steps of the B & B, taking a few long strides to get ahead of her to open the door. “Ladies first,” he murmured with a devastating smile and a carnal glint in his eye.
He was gorgeous, and he looked at her like she was something he wanted to taste. All night long. She shivered, but knew that wasn’t going to happen. She had Bella to think of, after all.
“Well, thank you for the escort, deputy.”
“Cullen.”
She pressed her lips together before saying, “Cullen.” She really, really didn’t want to use his first name. It leant an intimacy between them that was hard to fight. And she had to fight it. Her life, and Bella’s, was on the line.
“I actually came by to take you to meet the Itan,” he told her now. “Since you’ll be staying a couple of days. They’re having a barbeque, and you’re invited.”
She frowned. “They don’t even know me. Why would they invite me to a barbeque?”
He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “That’s the way they roll.” He stopped at the reception desk. “Do you need to change clothes or anything?”
She glanced down at herself. She was wearing her typical faded jeans with a fabulous belt, soft, cotton tee shirt, and comfortable sandals. “Do I need to change?” she asked him. “Is this barbeque…formal?” If so, that would be a first for her.
He grinned, flashing his dimple. “Nope. You look fine to me. I just never know when women feel like they need to be dressed in something different.” As he looked her over, blue-gray eyes darkened to all gray, with a hint of the black of the bear, while he studied her like a puzzle to be solved. She realized that his laidback manner and slow, smooth voice camouflaged a razor-sharp intelligence that could be detrimental to her health.
For now, though, she was stuck with him. It would arouse much more suspicion if she refused to let him take her to the Grayslake Itan.
~ * ~
Twenty minutes later, Cullen escorted his two guests into Ty and Mia Abrams’ house. The trip up the road to the clan’s den, where the Itan and Itana lived, was rutted and definitely one of those “not county maintained” roads. They had at least managed to add more gravel to the driveway, so his final approach to the house had been a smoother ride.
Now they were in the house, and the tension rolled off Ivy in pulsing waves. His bear reacted to her discomfort, and he put an arm around her and tugged her closer. “Ty’s a fair Itan, Ivy,” he told her. “You’ll see. Everything will be fine.”
“It’s just…” She frowned and looked around. “There are so many people here. I thought you said it was the Itan and Itana’s home.”
“Yes. They live here, but so do a lot of others. Mostly single bears. And anyone else can, and does, stop by whenever they want.” He gestured to a hallway. “This way,” he murmured.
He led her into Ty’s office, a large room lined with bookshelves packed to the gills with books old and new. A huge wooden desk was central to the room, with two plump chairs facing it and a single leather chair behind it. That chair was occupied by the Itan, who wore a welcoming smile. He stood and walked around the desk to greet her.
“You must be Ivy. And this is Bella, right?” Ty reached out, his smile widening when first Ivy and then Bella shook his hand. “I’m Ty Abrams, the Itan of the Grayslake clan.”
Just then, Mia Abrams, Ty’s wife and the clan’s Itana, walked into the room. “Are they here?” Her face lit up when she saw Ivy and Bella. “Oh, they are! Look at you, you little darling,” she cooed to the toddler. It was obvious the woman loved cubs. Babies of any species, really. “Hi,” she said to Ivy. “I’m Mia.”
Ty leaned one hip against the edge of his desk. “This is my wife, the Itana.”
Ivy did a cute little bobble of a curtsy, but he saw the way she tightened her arms around her daughter.
“They’re not going to hurt her,” he murmured.
She shot him a startled look. “Oh, no,” she said, her gaze darting to the others in the room. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s understandable. And commendable,” Ty responded. “Mama bears are fierce when it comes to protecting their cubs.”
An expression crossed her face, gone so quickly, Cullen would have missed it if he hadn't been watching her so closely. But it struck him as an odd reaction, almost one of…guilt?
He needed to keep this woman under surveillance, and not just because he was attracted to her. No, in some way she represented a threat to the clan. He wasn’t sure how, he wasn’t sure to what degree, but he was certain she was trouble.
“But Cullen’s right,” Ty said, motioning for her to take a seat. “We’re not going to hurt either of you.” As she perched on the edge of one of the chairs in front of his desk, balancing her toddler on her knees, he went on. “So, what brings you to Grayslake?”
She shot Cullen a look, one that plainly indicated she thought he would have told the Itan everything he already knew. Which he had. But Ty, in his “day job” as sheriff, also liked to ask questions even if he already knew the answers.
“I, uh, we’re just on our way through north Georgia, heading to South Carolina.”
“Ah. I see. You have family there? The cub’s clan, perhaps?”
There flashed that look again. Cullen caught the glance Ty sent his way, so he knew his Itan saw it, also.
“Er, yes. Yes, there’s a clan waiting for us.”
Interesting. That smelled like the truth. Lies had a bitter, acrid smell, like rotted meat. But truth… Ah, truth was like a mountain meadow after a rain. Clean and fresh.
“So how long do you plan on staying in Grayslake?” Ty asked.
She met his gaze. “Just until my car is fixed.” She paused, then said, “My sister Presley is meeting us here, day after tomorrow.” A hint of a lie, but mostly the truth. “We’re going to South Carolina together.” Truth again.
Ty lifted his chin in acknowledgment. His gaze transferred to Bella and softened. “Has your little one had her first shift yet?”
“No.” She bounced Bella on her knee and smiled at the little girl’s giggles. “I don’t know if she’ll be able to. I mean, shouldn’t she have already if she could?” She lifted worried eyes to Cullen then looked back at the Itan.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Ty said.
“Because she’s not a hundred percent shifter,” Cullen added quietly. “Sometimes that makes a first shift unpredictable.”
Her dark brown eyes came back to him as she nodded. “We grew up in foster care, me and Presley. She’s really my half-sister,” she added hurriedly. “I didn’t even know what I was until long after she was adopted. It made me sad that she was leaving, and I felt emotions that didn’t seem to be mine. It was scary. It wasn’t until later I understood that those emotions were from my bear.”
“The family didn’t adopt you both?” Mia asked, her lips curved down, brows drawn between her eyes. The Itan drew her to his side, arm curving around her, holding her close. He murmured something in her ear that Ivy couldn’t hear, but it made Mia’s expression lighten.
Ivy paused, her expression confused like she wasn’t used to seeing bears treat their mates with such affection. Seeing that they waited for her answer to Mia’s question, she blushed and shook her head. “It’s not…” She glanced around the room and then hugged Bella close. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
Mia opened her mouth, but Ty spoke up. “Of course. That has no bearing on today, at any rate.” He gave his mate a narrow-eyed look, and she clamped her mouth shut. Glancing back at Ivy, he said, “Well, I hope your visit to Grayslake is a pleasant one for you and your daughter. If there’s anything we can do for either of you, please don’t hesitate to ask. Stay, enjoy the barbeque, meet some of our clan.” He straightened, signaling the meeting was at an end.
“Thank you.” She stood, as did Cullen.
“I know Sophie would love to play with your little Bella. Our daughter is five going on thirty, but she’s a good kid.” Mia smiled and clasped her hands together, looking for all the world like she was having to restrain herself from snatching the child out of her mother’s arms.
Cullen bit back a grin. Ty shook his head and walked to the door. Swinging it open, he instructed, “Go. Eat. Have fun.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, Cullen,” Mia called.
Ivy and Cullen both stopped and looked at the Itana.
She gestured to a life-like carving of an eight-inch-tall grizzly bear situated on one corner of Ty’s desk. “Thank you so much for the bear. We love it.”
Cullen lifted his chin in acknowledgment. Before he could nudge Ivy to get a move on, Mia spoke again, this time her words directed to Ivy. “Cullen is a master carpenter,” she said, pride brightening her tone. “He makes furniture but can make the most awesome statues, small like this one—” she gestured to the bear on the desk “—to carving them out of tree trunks using nothing but a chain saw.”
“Wow.” Ivy looked at him, brows lifted. “That’s so cool.”
“I know, right?” Mia grinned at Cullen’s discomfort with the effusive praise. “He’s only a deputy part-time. The rest of the time he keeps Grayslake furniture needs taken care of.”
Finally, Ty took pity on him. Grabbing his mate around the waist, he pulled her back against his front, wrapping his arms around her. With a grin on his face, he repeated, “Go. Eat. Have fun.”
Cullen nodded and put a hand at the small of Ivy’s back, guiding her down the hallway. His bear lumbered inside him, nudging against the mental bonds he, and all shifters, kept in place to keep the animal locked inside. They entered the large communal area that was packed with clan members.
Ivy drew in a breath and scuttled closer to him. He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her to his side while his bear roared with approval. It seemed his animal clearly knew what he wanted to do with Ivy Fitzhugh.
Cullen wasn’t far behind.