In the background, Alex heard his father yell, “Carmen, leave that boy alone.”

That would never happen. He took a breath. “Mom, I love you, but I have to go. I’m on duty. I’ll talk to you soon. Give my love to Dad. Bye.”

He hung up as she was still talking, but there was only so much he could take. Why couldn’t his mother understand that, to him, a wife wasn’t just a role to be filled? He wanted to love the woman he married so deeply, he couldn’t imagine life without her. He wanted her to be his best friend.

And he wanted her to be the one. His true love. His soul mate. Sadly, that wasn’t something he was sure existed, considering the women he’d dated. Yes, they were all nice and kind and attractive. But none of that mattered, because none of them had flipped that switch inside him that let him know they were meant to be.

Until that happened, he was content being alone.

Maybe not content, but he’d accepted being alone was better than spending time with the wrong person. Diego was proof of how awful that could be.

Alex leaned back in his chair as Deputy Blythe walked past again, paperwork in hand. She stopped at his desk. “You okay?”

He looked up. “Yeah, fine. Just…thinking.”

“Sounds dangerous.” She grinned. “You want to get a couple beers after shift at Howler’s?”

He shook his head. “Not tonight. I need to study.”

“Dude, you’ve got two months before that sergeant’s exam.”

“And I don’t want to waste them.”

She shrugged. “There’s going to be a lot of disappointed female tourists. You know how they love a uniform. And who am I going to hang out with?”

He laughed. “The female tourists have enough men in this town to drool over.” And he wasn’t interested in a human or a tourist, so what was the point? “If you need someone to hang out with, call some of the guys from the firehouse. Or just wait for them to show up. They’re always at Howler’s anyway.”

She nodded, smiling. “True. And those uniforms are awfully cute.” She snorted. “See you later.”

“Later.”

He finished his shift and headed home. The evening was perfect. He’d go for a run before dinner, then grill himself a steak. But when he got to the house, there was a car in his drive he hadn’t seen in a long time. He parked alongside it, got out and started toward the figure on his front porch.

The figure came out from the shadows, a hand raised in greeting.

Alex nodded. “Hey, Diego. What’s up?”

His brother shrugged. “You know, just thought I’d see how you were doing. Hang out for a bit.”

“Nice to see you.” Then Alex narrowed his eyes. “You just here for the weekend?”

Diego hesitated. “More like until I find somewhere else to stay. I hope that’s cool.”

Alex managed not to sigh, but this was pretty typical Diego. He never showed up just because. “Does that mean you and Nina are done?”

“I’m with Penny now. Or I was.” Diego shrugged and leaned against the porch railing. “Penny and I are sort of taking a break.”

And there it was. “You mean she threw you out?”

“Harsh.”

“But true, right?”

Diego frowned. “I just need a place to stay for a couple nights, tops.”

Alex loved his little brother, but the man was thirty. By now, he ought to have his business together. “Of course, you can stay. But more than a week and you have to start looking for a job because that’s when rent kicks in. Six hundred a month, plus utilities, your share of the chores and you buy your own food.”

Diego’s frown didn’t move. “What kind of job am I supposed to get?”

“The same kind you’ve had before. Bartending or mechanic. You’re good at both of those.” Diego had bartended on and off, but his real skills were with engines. That’s what he’d done in the Marines, and Alex was pretty sure there wasn’t an engine in existence his little brother couldn’t fix. The Camaro taking up the other space in his driveway was proof of that.

But Diego sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, man.”

Alex held firm. “You can always move back to Mom and Dad’s.”

“Like that’s really an option.”

Alex shrugged and said nothing.

“Yeah, all right.” Diego’s grumpy expression finally turned into a sly smile. “Is it true you can be yourself in this town? Like, full-on shifter?” His eyes gleamed feline gold.

“In a sense. Don’t go shifting in front of tourists or running through the streets in your panther form, but generally Nocturne Falls is wide open when it comes to supernaturals like us. Or any kind, really.”

Diego nodded. “Cool.”

“It is.” Alex rested his hand on his utility belt and tried to put a teasing tone in his voice. “Just don’t make me remind you I’m the law in this town. Or I’ll return you to Mom and Dad myself.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll behave. I’m a former Marine, you know.”

“I know.” He should have stayed in. “But in all seriousness, this is my town, Diego. I don’t want you causing trouble.”

“I won’t. I swear.”

“Good.” But Alex’s gut wasn’t so sure about that.

May

Roxy loved her house. Loved. Maybe more than she’d ever loved her ex-husband. And if she was going to be married to anything, it might as well be something this awesome.