Devon watched the slim brunette walk away as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. Her long brown hair flirted around her waist, drawing his attention to her ass. The gentle sway of her slight curves beneath the dark gray suit peaked his interest. Damn, if he didn’t want to get a better look. The sight had his heart tripping a beat as arousal heated his blood.

That’s new. Devon rubbed the spot over his heart, as the foreign feelings coursed through him.

The further she got from him, the more a sense of familiarity tugged the back of his mind. It was just his damn luck he couldn’t figure out how he knew her. He noticed her hospital badge clipped onto the bottom of her jacket, unfortunately, he didn’t have the proper state of mind to catch the name on it before she flounced away. Asking Jack would only bring attention to his sudden interest in the woman. Something he was highly against doing at the moment.

“You know the accident was your fault, right?” Jack stated, amusement lacing his voice. It figured the man would find it amusing. He’d also probably pick up on the traces of lust oozing from him.

Jack Bennett was a college friend of Devon’s, a friend who he shared a few wild times with, who came to town on a surprise visit. It was out of character for him, and Devon welcomed the chance to try to lure him into joining the hospital. Jack was a damned good Beralih Surgeon, maybe even the best Devon had seen.

With all of the stress and strain shifters went through during a shift, there was a high probability they would need to see someone like Jack. He could repair and reconstruct ligaments or joints and have people back on their feet, human and animal, in no time at all. Jack wasn’t limited to joints and ligaments though. Bone reconstruction. Torn muscles. The guy could overhaul a person from head to toe if need be. Had done so on more than one occasion. He was the best specialist when it came to helping shifters who spent half their life walking on two feet.

If Devon were ever in need of a surgeon, he would definitely go to Jack. Maybe not right that second though. He could tell the guy was burned out just by looking at him. There were a multitude of reasons too. Overworked and underpaid at the county hospital where he was currently employed. A bad break-up with a human girlfriend. It all left the man Devon used to rely on a bit broken himself.

“How was it my fault she ran in to me?” He finally asked, his brain catching up to what his friend had said.

“You’re the one who stopped right there.”

“Only because you were flirting with a nurse. I was waiting for you to catch up.”

Jack shrugged and grinned. “Didn’t mean you needed to stop. You could have grabbed a table.”

“Excuse me for being polite.” Devon looked down at the lab coat in his hand. “Now I have to get another one. Grab your drink. I’ll be back. Think you can manage five minutes on your own?”

Jack looked around the cafeteria. Devon got the feeling he didn’t want to be there. “Nah. I’ll head back with you. We can talk on the way. I don’t really need coffee right now anyway. It was more of an excuse to escape that nurse lurking around your office. I don’t know how you deal with the unrequited pining I’ve seen.”

Devon grunted in response, more out of not knowing what Jack was on about and not wanting to know, and they headed out. Once they breached the cafeteria doors, he picked back up on the train of thought that hadn’t stopped since Jack appeared in his office doorway. “You want to tell me what’s going on? It isn’t like you to up and leave work on a whim. I know you had surgeries scheduled out through next month.”

Jack growled under his breath. “I needed a break. Don’t you ever want to get away from everything you know, everyone you know, and go someplace different?”

“Of course, I do. I can’t though. I have obligations. A family to care for.” He shook his head. The thought of having a break from everything was a far-off fantasy. Maybe once the kids were grown and moved out, he’d be able to carve out some time for himself. Jesus, that’s a long time from now. “I refuse to believe you came to visit me out of the blue, though. Definitely not your style.”

“I’m standing here, aren’t I? I can do what I want, you know. I make my schedule. I can break it. There wasn’t anything life-threatening on the table. No reason not to take off. Ferringer was there to pick up the slack. He’s been dying to do more. Why not let him?” Jack grunted. “Enough about my impromptu visit though. Why didn’t you tell me Carolline Greene worked here?”

“Carolline Greene?” Damn, why was that name familiar?

“Yeah, the tea lady. The sexy hybrid expert who worked out East and was a pretty big deal for quite a few years. Still is, actually. The woman who got scalding hot liquid dumped all over her hand thanks to your immovable body.”

“Shit. That’s how I know her.” Devon snorted at the irony and shook his head. It would figure the one woman he was attracted to had an unknowing history with him.

“Now that sounds like a story I want to hear.”

They’d moved through the hallways swiftly. Devon unlocked his office door, motioning Jack in, before following him. Jack plopped down in one of the oversized, plush leather chairs in front of Devon’s desk. Devon sat down behind the desk out of habit.

“Tell me all about it,” Jack chuckled, fingers steepled in front of his chest.

Devon wasn’t too sure he wanted to talk about it. It wasn’t like he was embarrassed or upset by the events, although, it still felt like a failure on his part.

“Devon, come on man. Whatever it is, it’s weighing on you. Have you talked about it at all?”

No. He hadn’t. Not to his parents, and definitely not with Mary Jane’s parents. Devon studied his friend sitting across from him.

Jack had been there for him when Sasha died. He had jumped on the next available plane and come to help out with the practice. He took care of all of the things, the outside stuff, that didn’t have to do with Devon and his family. At night, he would sit up with Devon, saying nothing, just being there if he was needed. He could trust Jack with this. Trust he wouldn’t tell others or spread it around. It wasn’t as if people didn’t already know; nevertheless, he’d reluctantly admit, it still hurt his pride a bit.

“You remember when I told you I was looking to get remarried?”

“Yeah, and I told you it was a stupid, crazy ass idea. I thought you should find a great nanny for the kids and a woman on the side to fuck. I’m pretty sure there were, and still are, tons of women who would like to play the starring role.”

“Until being fuck buddies isn’t enough and they demand more. Marrying Mary Jane was supposed to solve both issues, then it didn’t happen.” He shook his head sadly. “I should have taken your advice.”

“I’m never wrong when it comes to keeping it casual. Marrying someone to fill a void isn’t a good reason to get married. Your life would be a lot easier if you’d listened to me in the first place.” He paused and gave Devon a considering look. “What did happen? You never told me.”

“Dr. Carolline Greene happened.” Devon leaned back in his chair to get comfortable.

Jack had the audacity to laugh. “That sweet woman stopped you from getting remarried? Remind me to buy her a drink.”

“I don’t think she’s as sweet as you think she is.” And I don’t know why I’m excited by the thought of finding out.

“You’re just annoyed she didn’t kowtow to you a couple minutes ago.”

Devon decided not to respond to Jack’s bait. There was a bit of him that was horribly annoyed by that fact, and unbelievably turned-on. He didn’t think he was God’s gift to women, but he wasn’t blind to his appeal either. “She didn’t stop it…directly. Mary Jane is a hybrid. Her parents did a good job of convincing her she would never have a mate. Someone told Mary Jane she should chat with Dr. Greene. One heart-to-heart later, things were ending. Carolline was able to explain some of her hybrid nature, then told her she had a mate and she only needed to listen to her heart. Further expounding, that because of her hybrid nature, and possessing a gamut of recessive genes, it was more difficult for Mary Jane to feel who her mate was, and that basing what she should feel off a normal shifter was ridiculous. Turned out, the man she was in love with, and who loved her, was her true mate. She ditched me, took off for a couple weeks to Steamboat to find herself, and then made up with him.”

“No shit?” Jack shook his head like he couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “She was going to marry you even though she loved someone else?”

“Yeah. Crazy, isn’t it? Mary Jane is a nice woman. She puts others before herself. She had this insane notion she owed it to her parents, my family, and me. My dad and her mom used to have a thing. Then her mom found her true mate, a lion shifter, and she moved away. When the Pride shunned Mary Jane’s family, my parents championed them moving to Garden. Smoothed a bunch of political and community roads for them and, in turn, changed the make-up of Garden altogether.”

Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, a serious look overtaking his face. His brow furrowed, lips thinned, and his jaw clenched tight. There was something else going through his head that had nothing to do with Devon. “Please tell me you didn’t know all of this going into the arranged marriage?”

“No. I didn’t know any of it until Mary Jane and I had a talk. She was doing everything she could to make everyone around her happy. Even the guy she was in love with. She thought she was setting him free to find his true mate.” That’s when Devon realized how much better Mary Jane was than him. How much he didn’t deserve a woman like her.

When Devon found Sasha, he had to have her, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to be with him. Oh, she liked him well enough to date. She just wasn’t sold on the idea of being a shifter’s mate.

He hadn’t even hit Dewasa when they’d met. He hadn’t started the transition, which would take him into adulthood. Devon didn’t care. He didn’t want to let her go, and swayed her into marrying him. It didn’t hurt his case when she found out she was pregnant. Her parents disowned her, wanting nothing to do with shifters, and she had nowhere else to go.

Devon basically backed her into a corner with his selfish actions, and look how that turned out. He was a widower, a single father of three young children, and had a demanding work schedule he’d yet to figure out how to pare down. He was barely getting through each day.

“That’s no way to go through life.”

Jack’s words broke Devon out of his stupor. Jack didn’t know how right he was.

“You both would have ended up hating each other, so I say it’s a good thing. Carolline isn’t the bad guy in this situation,” Jack stated as a matter of fact.

Jack was right about that too. “I don’t see her as a bad guy, but her role in breaking up the agreed-upon engagement is all I know of her. Whether she knew it or not, she put things into motion that impacted my life.”

“For the better, if you ask me. It would have been a disastrous marriage. At least you hadn’t made your intentions known, right? Things would have gotten really messy then.” Jack leaned back and kicked his feet out in front of him.

“The people closest to the situation knew.” And, as much as he hated to admit it, Jack deserved to know. “You’re right, though. It would have been a horrible marriage.”

“It’s about time I got something right. Now that you’ve finally admitted it and stroked my ego properly, I’m ready to hear your reasons why I should move here.” A grin kicked up the corner of Jack’s mouth, and Devon knew it wouldn’t take much to get his friend on board with moving his practice. Whatever was eating away at the man had done a damn good job of breaking him down.