Joss dragged down a deep breath and stared at the main house on Black Claw Ranch. The front porch stretched from one end to the other and held a handful of benches to sit on and reflect about the day. On the second floor, two doors opened out onto private decks for equally tempting spots to pass the time.

Her, though? She was out of time. And determination. The anger she’d clutched on her drive from Minnesota to Montana left her stranded with nothing but nerves and doubts.

She gulped down another breath of air and studied her reflection in the rearview mirror. Green eyes stared back at her, but that was as far as the recognition went. She’d lost herself in someone else’s shadow. Black Claw and Bearden were supposed to be the path to figuring herself out, but she couldn’t make herself take those first steps.

Behind her, two horses filed out of the unpainted barn and wandered close to the fence. One tossed his head and whickered at her, while the fatter one shoved her face into a trough to slurp up some water.

Her inspection served to delay actually stepping on the porch and knocking on the door. Nerves churned in her stomach and her badger slumped into a hissing ball in the back of her head. The beast had been nothing but a grump since Joss made her feet move away from the curious cowboy the day before.

Maybe coming to Bearden was a mistake. Cal certainly thought leaving Saint Paul for anywhere was a bad idea, as he’d stated repeatedly in the voicemails and texts she left unanswered. She was an out-of-work chef and registered shifter; who would want her?

Her badger hissed again and curled up into a tighter ball.

Maybe she should just swallow her pride and call up her mother. Things had been chilly between them for years, and Joss didn’t want to deal with the looks shouting ‘I told you so’ about Cal, but surely that was better than failing at her first job since she’d gotten married years ago.

“Joss?” a familiar voice called just as her fingers brushed against the keys still in the ignition. “I thought that was you. Stop staring and get up these steps!”

Caught between fleeing and proving Cal wrong, Joss grabbed the black-and-white prison-striped carton of cupcakes she’d promised to deliver, shoved open her car door, then hopped up the steps and into the open arms a friend she hadn’t seen in years.

So much had changed since they were prepping meals for country club events. She’d met and divorced one of the club’s members, and Tansey had found her way to a ranch and gotten herself a wolf under her skin. All that dropped away with shrill, excited squeals from both of their mouths.

“I’m so happy to see you!” Tansey exclaimed. “And fuck that fuckface for letting you go.”

“His peen was the size of a shrimp, so I’m not missing anything,” Joss laughed and snapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, that’s mean and uncalled for.”

Tansey shrugged. “If it makes you feel better, it’s exactly what’s needed. He won’t hear it from me. Come on in, let me show you around.” Tansey held open the door and ushered her inside, taking the box of cupcakes from her.

Joss took a cautious step through the door, not knowing what she’d find. The living room spread out in front of her, big fireplace demanding the attention of imaginary people gathered in the comfortable seats spaced around it. Books and movies were displayed for whatever entertainment a guest wanted on a quiet night.

The kitchen was homey and useful in one gorgeous package. The appliances were older, but still in good condition, exactly what she expected to find in a huge house with many mouths to feed.

Exposed beams ran from one end of the room to the other to give it a rustic feel, in case someone didn’t get the hint from the log cabin exterior of the house itself.

The Rhodes family would have hated it, but Joss instantly fell in love.

“You got here just as I was getting lunch ready for the clan,” Tansey said as she bustled forward. Piles of sandwiches were stacked on one counter, with the fixings for more spread out next to it. “Did you find us easily?”

“Yeah. The directions you gave were super helpful. My phone chirped at me to turn when I was already halfway up the driveway, like you said it would,” Joss answered, still swiveling her head to take in the details.

Stairs led upwards, with a landing in the middle. Carved bear heads terminated the railings. Above the living room was a loft, though she couldn’t see much more than the darkened openings for hallways on either side.

The feeling of coming home filled Joss with awe. She’d been diced up and burnt to a crisp, but stepping into the house smoothed over some of her raw edges. The home quietly celebrated shifter nature instead of packing it away and trying to forget it existed.

Magic. Every single part of Bearden was magic.

Joss finished her circuit and trailed into the kitchen to find Tansey adding another sandwich to the pile.

“Sit, sit. Have you had lunch yet?”

Joss slid into a seat on the breakfast bar side of the island. “Thank you again for giving me this opportunity. I know my resume has some massive gaps in it.”

Tansey waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll be doing me a favor in the kitchen and on any day trips the guests take. I can handle a few extra people and the clan, but eventually, there’s only one of me and a thousand mouths to feed. There’s already talk of an overnight trip in the nearby state park, which complicates matters since I’ve yet to find a way to clone myself.”

“Well, until you figure out the science, I’m here to help. We’ll call it job security.”

Tansey slid a legal pad across the island. “Good. Because here’s a list of menu ideas. The previous page has all the food limitations. Luckily we don’t have a gluten-free bride and a vegan-only groom, with a fair amount of nut allergies sprinkled in. They seem like pretty straightforward people, but I’m preparing for some bridezilla meltdown over something during their stay.”

Joss was glad that Tansey only winced once over the mention of a wedding. She didn’t want to be treated with kid gloves, and she’d been well informed of the first round of guests due when she arrived. She’d be a bad house chef if she refused to work for certain types of parties. The guests were innocent of Cal’s wrongdoing.

She paged through Tansey’s menu ideas and dietary restrictions. Nothing popped out at her as completely wrong, but she had some ideas of where to improve. Tansey had valuable experience from her catering days, but Joss was the trained chef, after all.

“And, of course, your chief duty will be balancing out all the dick around here. Movie and manicure nights, my friend. Wolf agility is super nice, but I still can’t manage to paint my left hand without looking like I had a seizure. None of these animals will help out, either.”

A laugh bubbled out of Joss. She’d forgotten the sheer ridiculousness that could pour out of Tansey. The woman wasn’t afraid of anything, and that included sticking her foot in her mouth. “So, I take it things are going well with your mate?”

The word brought her badger to life and a flash of Hunter’s face to mind.

Tansey’s smile broadened. “Good. Really good. Though Ethan and I are kind of at a stalemate right now. We haven’t said ‘I love you’ yet.”

Joss’s concern must have shown on her face because Tansey rushed to explain.

“We agreed to see where this goes. Then, silly me, I got a wolf put in me and have some crazy instincts to sort out. But Ethan’s it. Number one, I’ll claw out the eyes of any girl that does more than look, future baby daddy, it for me. When you know, you know.” Her lips twitched up at the sides. “And I’ll be damned if that man out-stubborns me over three little words.”

Joss rolled her shoulders. Her skin felt too tight. Her inner animal pushed forward with the need for something… more. Joss couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, but the desire had lurked there for months and only grown stronger since arriving in town. At first, she thought it just a response to leaving familiarity behind. Now she wasn’t so sure.

A mate and a home and a clan to call her own. A shifter for a blink of her life, Tansey had everything Joss wanted.

Fate was being a real b-hole by putting her in the path of people with the life she craved.

“I wish I had your faith in your instincts. Maybe I could have avoided a whole lot of heartache.”

“You’re here and you don’t need to worry about hiding yourself away. Let your hair down and your inner critter go wild.” Tansey pursed her lips and quickly backtracked, “Not that I’m saying you’re crazy or a danger or anything.”

“They don’t know, do they?” Joss asked quietly. She’d been forced to register, fine. She even accepted petty pleasure at the memory of Mummy Rhodes taking off her shoe and chucking it like a fight between girls at a nightclub. She didn’t think she’d stand the mortification of the details spread around.

“Only Ethan. It didn’t feel right to keep it from him. He just sighed and said he’s got wild bears, so makes sense his chef would be, too. In rougher language.” Tansey opened a drawer and held up a triangle chime with a big, mischievous smile. “You ready to meet them?”

Joss pasted on a brave face. “No time like the present.”

“Atta girl.” Tansey pumped her fist in the air, then threw open the kitchen door. She clanged the chime in a furious beat, shouting the entire time. “Come and eat, you furballs! And you better have clothes on! No paws allowed in this kitchen!”

It didn’t take long for the first grumbling complainer to try snatching the chime from Tansey’s hands. She simply laughed and sidestepped the hulking cowboy, still clanging away. When he finally caught her, he pinned her hands behind her back and pressed a hard kiss to her lips.

“We have a guest, you brute,” Tansey said a little breathlessly. “Ethan, meet Joss. Joss, this is my mate and owner of the ranch, Ethan. Don’t let the frowny face he pulls worry you. He’s the poster child for getting your face stuck like our moms used to warn.”

Ethan frowned at Tansey, but extended his hand with a warm greeting. “Pleasure to meet you, Joss. I hope this one has behaved herself. Seems she never learned that every thought doesn’t need to be spoken. What can you expect from someone raised by wolves?”

Joss shook his hand as a smile spread across her face. They might not have said the words, but the love between them was glaringly obvious. She could almost feel it thawing the cold parts of her own heart.

Tansey turned as more footsteps approached. “And here are the rest of the animals.”

Joss looked up at the next broad-shouldered man to crowd through the doorway and gasped.

Holy shiitake mushrooms. Him. Hunter.

His eyes blew wide as soon as he caught sight of her. Tansey kept on saying names and tiny tidbits of information about each man that trailed in after, but they were utterly lost on Joss. The only one that had her attention was Hunter.

“You work here?” she blurted out.

“You’re the chef?” he asked over her words.

Joss drew finger guns on him and immediately felt silly. Stupid nerves. “You first.”

“Lady’s choice,” he grinned broadly. “I wrangle cows and tourists. And newspaper editors with bad connections on their phone lines.”

“What? She’s the one from the paper?” Tansey whisper-yelled to Ethan. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The instant attraction Joss had felt for Hunter outside the newspaper office surged back into being. Even the bad attitude of her badger melted away. The animal chattered excitedly, bouncing from one emotional impression to the next. There was no calming a creature that jumped from pure joy to hot need to growling possessiveness. Joss shoved her to the back of her head before that inner mania spread across her face.

“I reached out to Tansey when I needed a job and she told me to come on out here.” She gestured at herself. “So here I am.”

“Here you are,” he rumbled.

Good gravy, he looked as good as he had before. A light sheen of sweat coated his brow and the smell of hard labor and farm animals tinged his scent. Joss planted her hands on the island to hold herself upright.

Curious quiet fell over the kitchen, save for the soft noise still rattling out of Hunter and the thundering beat of her heart.

Nearly every head cocked at once. Joss looked a question at Tansey, then spotted Hunter frowning in her direction. Her inner animal itched at the back of her mind.

Oh yeah. Shifter things.

“You expecting a delivery?” Ethan asked Tansey.

“No. Joss brought the cupcakes when she drove up. Guests aren’t due until tomorrow.”

A car door slammed, and a woman shouted, “Hunter!”

Around the kitchen, faces and scents soured.

“Fuck,” Hunter swore.

“Hunter Shaw, you better show your two-timing ass right now!”

Hunter passed a hand down his face. He looked sick when he edged toward the door. “Better go solve this,” he growled.

The rest of the clan were only a few steps behind him. Joss followed and took up a position at the window next to Tansey, who unabashedly twitched the curtain aside. She wasn’t the only one, either. All down the line, faces pressed to glass to catch the pre-lunch show.

Hunter stomped down the porch steps and stopped several feet from the woman. He crossed his arms over his chest. A thunderstorm played out over his features, but he didn’t say a word to her.

Joss wondered if any Western shootout had ever created the same intense breathless anticipation in the witnesses.

The woman flung her hair over her shoulder and sniffed. “What is this I hear about you getting married?”

“Oh, bold move,” someone inside muttered.

“Joyce, you need to get in your car and leave,” Hunter said calmly.

Joyce didn’t listen.

“Married! You. Who the fuck would ever put up with your shit?” Joyce planted her hands on his chest and shoved.

“You would know. You’re the one who can’t let this go. How much did that announcement set you back?” Hunter snagged up her hands before she could push him again. “Wasn’t that hard to figure out your little scheme.”

“What exactly are you accusing me of? Caring too much? Having my heart broken when I see your name paired off with someone else?”

“Caring too much?” Hunter laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You cared, Joyce, sure. For everyone but me.”

“I made mistakes! Is that what you want to hear? Should I whip myself through the streets over them?”

“No. You should get in your car and leave. I don’t care what you do with your life, just leave me out of it.”

Joss’s heart stuttered to a stop to hear that woman shouting at Hunter, and him to quietly convincing her to leave. There was no fight in him. The grim set of his jaw wanted nothing to do with the trouble that had interrupted his lunch. He refused to stoop to her level, which earned Joss’s respect.

But to be a spectacle? That cut her deep. While she and Cal hadn’t come to shouted words on their front lawn, he’d done nothing to quiet the rumors about her and neighborhood gossips watched her comings and goings with sharp eyes. She knew what it felt like to be someone’s sick idea of entertainment. Heck, the lawyers had to make him pay for the property damage after she’d been targeted off the shifter registration list.

With a growl, Joss shoved away from the window and yanked open the front door. She was halfway to Hunter by the time she realized what she’d done. The hitch in her step was her only hesitation before pulling up next to him.

Impulsive. Never thinking before she spoke. The things her in-laws hated about her pushed her into helping someone else.

“You must be Joyce,” Joss greeted as warmly as she could fake.

“And you are...?” Joyce flicked her from head to toe with a dismissive glance. “This ain’t your business.”

“Well, actually, it is.”

“What are you doing?” Hunter hissed.

Joss flashed him a winning smile and a look she hoped said she had a handle on the problem. Hunter had promised her a favor in getting the engagement announcement retracted. She would repay him by shooing off his unhinged ex.

She turned back to Joyce. “We really ought to be thanking you.”

Joyce narrowed her eyes. Suspicion rolled off her slumped shoulders. “What for?”

Joss looped her arm around Hunter’s and splayed a hand over his chest. Warmth spread through her palm and up her arm. She couldn’t help herself; she rubbed him lightly.

All for the role, she lied to herself. Her ovaries were singing her praises for the chance to be so close to the hot cowboy. Her badger, too, thought it a fantastic idea. The tiny groan that escaped Hunter’s lips only encouraged her.

Joss swallowed hard. “Hunter didn’t want to be rude, but we are getting married.”

“What?” Joyce and Hunter said at the same time. One came out as a screech and the other utter confusion.

You and me both, buddy.

“When you know, you know,” Joss said, echoing Tansey’s words. “It was an accident that brought us together, but now it feels like fate.”

Heat crawled across her cheeks as she trailed her eyes up the man’s solid chest. A light amount of scruff covered his cheeks, and she wondered what it’d feel like against her skin. The gold flecks in his eyes expanded until there wasn’t a hint of brown left.

Want.

Her thought or her badger’s, Joss didn’t know. She was entirely transfixed on Hunter’s mouth. Even Joyce’s shouted insults were just static to be brushed aside and ignored.

One little touch, and he had her feeling tipsy.

One taste, and she bet she’d be stumbling drunk.

Joss went against all the common sense that screamed at her to look, but don’t touch from the first moment she caught sight of Hunter outside the newspaper office.

She kissed him.