Lori was lounging on her bed with Nancy asleep next to her. It had been a difficult two days. Nancy was teething, and she’d been up most of the night crying. Lori so hated to see her daughter in pain and be unable to do anything about it. She’d barely slept during the last 48 hours, just napping here and there while Nancy was asleep. Andrea had very generously offered to take her for the night, but Lori was well aware that she had work in the morning. Now Nancy had fallen into a deep sleep. Her cheeks were flushed and she felt hot. Lori was beyond exhausted, but she wasn’t good at napping during the day. Feeling like her head was full of fog, she gazed aimlessly out of the window at the sunny afternoon.

There had been some good news in the midst of the teething drama. The money from the sale of her house had come through, and she now had $30,000 in the bank. It seemed like a crazy amount of money just for owning a house for a few years and then selling it on. She’d made a lot of improvements to it over the years though. The décor was a lot nicer than when she and Rob had bought it, and there had been some structural improvements too. Compared to what she might have earned from her business over the years if she hadn’t been bullied into giving it up, it wasn’t so much money. But hopefully it would be enough to buy her shop back. The thought of owning the shop again filled her with excitement. Ever since she’d talked to Bruno about it, it had been on her mind constantly. She’d like to get it looking exactly as it used to. There was a room out the back with enough space to have Nancy there during the day. Maybe she could get a part-time assistant as well, who could handle the shop floor, while she took care of the online side of the business. She’d look into it as soon as Nancy was better, and she’d had enough sleep to be able to think clearly.

Aimlessly, she picked up her phone and checked her emails and the news. The little orange Shiftr app kept catching her eye. She told herself she was too tired to look at it now, but somehow, her thumb tapped the paw print icon, and it opened up. She’d answered all of the matchmaking questions on the same day that the girls had showed her the app, but she hadn’t had time to look at it since.

An alert popped up immediately:

You’ve got mail! To activate your inbox, tap the icon below.

She tapped the icon and an inbox opened on the screen. Her heart jumped when she saw that she had a whole bunch of messages. And it jumped again when the thumbnail of the most recent one looked very familiar. Is it really him? Her heart pounding, she tapped the image and it enlarged. It’s Bruno! It was an action shot. He was chopping some wood, his lumberjack shirt tied around his waist, and his tanned torso gleaming with perspiration. He wasn’t looking at the camera, and she had the impression that he didn’t know the photo was being taken. The image was also a little skewed, as if the person taking it didn’t know much about framing a shot. It was Tad’s work, she guessed with a smile. Her heart lurched when she swiped to the left and saw his bear photo. This was the second time she’d seen him in his bear form. Of course, the first time had been very fleeting, and she hadn’t known which one he was. In his bear form, he was massive, with glossy, chocolate brown fur. It was intriguing seeing him like this, running at the head of his clan, full of animal strength and agility. She’d never thought of bears as attractive animal before, but she found herself having the urge to bury her fingers in his luxuriant fur. She wondered if his claws were sharp, and how his muzzle would feel pressing into her hand. Hold on, what’s that ‘100%’ at the top of the screen? She looked more closely. It was a compatibility rating. The app had deduced that she and Bruno were a 100% match! Her heart thudded triple time and her stomach was full of butterflies. This is crazy! I felt like we had a powerful connection, but this is even more than I’d dreamed of.

Wait – she’d been so excited to see that Bruno was on Shiftr that she’d temporarily forgotten that he’d sent her a message. What does it say? She scrolled back to the inbox, and tapped her thumb on his message. Her excitement quickly turned to misery. She read the message through three times.

‘Good luck in your search’. That only meant one thing. He wasn’t interested in dating her. Why has he even bothered to message me? To warn me off. It was obvious. He’d seen that they were apparently compatible, and felt the need to tell her that she shouldn’t bother entertaining any romantic ideas about him. He was essentially saying ‘Hey, I know Shiftr thinks we’re a match, but we’re not, so let’s forget about it.’

His message was like a needle to the tender red balloon of her heart. Blinking back tears, she slumped down further on the bed. She’d never before wanted a man like she wanted him. And he was such a great guy – so kind and caring. And they evidently had lots in common. But he didn’t want her. He didn’t think she was pretty enough. Or she was too fat. Maybe he didn’t even like curvy girls that much. Perhaps he’d only signed up to Shiftr because it was for shifters, and he hoped he’d find someone on the slim side of voluptuous.

She pressed the home button on her phone and the screen went black. Right now, she didn’t want to speak to him or hear from him again. He’d stirred something in her that she’d hadn’t know existed before, and now it was there, he didn’t want it.

But if she didn’t reply to him, he’d think she was sulking. Sighing, she picked up her phone again. She’d just compose a polite, adult message. She typed:

Hi Bruno,

Yes, the girls signed me up to it. It’s a whole new world to me!

Thanks again for helping me the other day, and for the chat. Nancy has been having a hard time teething for the past couple of days, but she seems to be over the worst of it now.

Good luck in your search too. I hope you find the one for you.

I’m sure I’ll see you around some time,

Lori.

She killed the app and dropped her phone on the comforter. She had no right to expect any more from him. He’d put his life on the line to rescue her, but not because of anything personal – he’d just been doing his job to its fullest extent. And then he’d taken care of her again at the ball. As a friend. But here she was getting emotional about him, acting like she had a right to demand more, as if he’d kissed her, or they’d slept together. She had a one-year-old baby, for heaven’s sake. She began to feel stupid, and angry at herself for feeling stupid. She needed to forget about him. And the first step would be to remove him from her feed. What had Dina said about swiping to the right? She opened the app again. He was right at the top of her feed, and there were now some little hearts and stars around his photo. Shiftr was obviously very keen to promote him as her perfect match. Her stomach lurched. She tapped his photo, and, as it enlarged, she right-swiped it. And he was gone, just like Dina said.

She let out a long breath. That was that. All those ideas she’d been harboring for the past days were dead now. Oh well. At least she knew. Instead of continuing to obsess over them like a fool. She felt flat, and suddenly, very sleepy. She picked Nancy up very carefully and put her in her crib. Unfortunately, the movement woke her up and she started screaming again. Sighing, Lori brought her back to the bed and began to nurse her. Her first duty was as a mother, and she needed to remember that. Maybe she’d come back to Shiftr in a few weeks. Now was obviously not the right time.

* * *

Lori woke the next day to sunlight streaming in between her half-open curtains. She looked around, disoriented. She dimly remembered feeding Nancy for a long time and putting her in her crib before passing out on the bed, fully clothed. She was still lying on her comforter, as if she’d barely moved during the night. Her stomach was rumbling with a fierce hunger. She looked at the time. It was 8am. She’d slept right through the night, and she hadn’t eaten for almost 24 hours, but she felt so much better for having had a long sleep. She’d been exhausted yesterday, and over-emotional. Today she was going to go and visit her old shop and see what kind of shape it was in. Being rejected by Bruno had hurt a lot, but it had shaken her up, and made her determined to move on with her life.

Lori took a shower and bathed Nancy, who seemed better this morning, her cheeks back to their usual shade and her eyes clear and bright again. She chatted to Magnus and Andrea while they had breakfast together, all sitting at the breakfast bar, with Nancy in her new wooden high chair. Magnus volunteered to feed her, and Lori was touched beyond belief to watch him patiently spooning porridge into her little mouth, scooping up the mess when it missed its target, and trying again. She got a lump in her throat thinking that Nancy should have a father to do that, to love her and take care of her, and to share the joys and strains of parenting with her mom. Magnus had a good technique, doing funny animal impressions that made Nancy squeal with excitement, and then turning the spoon into an airplane and putting the food into her mouth before she had a chance to refuse it. Lori caught Andrea’s eye. Her sister’s eyes were sparkling as she watched her mate. Magnus would be a good father to their child, Lori knew it, and she knew that Andrea was thinking the same thing.

“What are you going to do today, Lori?” Andrea said, turning to her with a smile.

“I thought I’d go for a walk in town, maybe check out my old store,” she replied. “Bruno says he thinks it’s owned by some shady characters, so I’m not sure if it’ll be possible to get the premises back, but I just wanted to see it, and reminisce, I guess.”

“I think it’s great that you want to get it back,” Andrea said. “I used to love your shop so much. It was so pretty, and had this really nice, homey scent. I remember I’d go in sometimes just to get a little fix from the ambience!”

“You owned a store?” Magnus asked, dragging his concentration away from Nancy.

“Yes, it was a home furnishings and design boutique. Just a little one, but I really liked it. I had to shut it down when I moved away, of course.”

“That sounds cool. Let me know if you want any help to get it going again, I’ve got plenty of time on my hands these days,” Magnus said.

“That’s really kind of you, thank you!” Lori replied.

“Anything to help my sister in law,” he said, with a lazy wink.

“So, anything happening on Shiftr?” Andrea asked.

“Not really… What would you think if someone you knew a little sent you a message saying ‘Good luck in your search’?”

“Uh, what did the entire message say?” Lori relayed it word for word, and Andrea’s eyes widened as she discovered it was from Bruno.

“It sounds a little cold, I guess. What do you think, Magnus, from a shifter’s perspective?” Magnus frowned.

“Shifters are usually pretty direct when they like someone, so it does sound like he’s warning you off. Sounds weird though. I saw you two dancing at the ball. He wasn’t acting like somebody who wasn’t interested.”

“I know,” Lori said miserably. “I guess that’s just his way though.”

“Forget him,” Andrea said. “There are plenty more fish in the sea, and bears in the forest.”

“I’m trying. I right-swiped him out of my feed, and that’s it,” Lori said firmly.

“Good girl. If you waste your time thinking about the wrong one, you won’t be ready when the right one comes along.”

“Exactly.”

“Hey, I’m not working till 3 today. You can take my car to drive to the store, and would you like me to watch Nancy for you?” Andrea offered. “I know the last couple of days haven’t been easy for you.”

“Yes please,” Lori said, with a rush of gratitude. “That would be amazing. I could do with a couple of hours just to be, you know?”

“My pleasure,” Andrea said looking at Nancy like she couldn’t wait to play with her.

* * *

An hour later, Lori was walking around downtown Hope Valley, heading northwest. The sun was out and there was still that special, new day feel in the air. Lori didn’t get people who said they weren’t ‘morning people’. Being out and about when the day was beginning made her feel like anything was possible. Eastman Street where her store was located was a little out of the way. When she’d first started it up, she’d been worried that there wouldn’t be enough people passing by to generate a sustainable business, but word of mouth had been fast, and the place was always busy. A couple of other businesses had also started up on the same street on the back of her success, benefiting from the increased footfall.

As she reached the street, anticipation turned to shock, as she saw that those other businesses were no longer there. One of them was boarded up, and the other had turned into a dingy-looking convenience store. But why? They’d been thriving businesses. One had been an organic produce store and the other had been a fashion boutique. As she passed them, her shock turned to horror. Her beloved little store was unrecognizable. The outside was painted in flaking black paint, and there was a security mesh over the windows, still padlocked shut. The door was metal, like a nightclub door, and it was battered, as if someone had tried to kick it in at some point. She pulled her phone out and snapped a photo, then pressed her face up to the dirty glass, trying to peer inside. Bruno had said he thought it sold vintage clothes. There was a dim light coming from the back of the store, and she could just make out a couple of racks of miserable-looking clothes, suspended limply from hangers. The contrast with her old place couldn’t have been sharper.

Suddenly, there was the screech of grating metal, and the door flew open. She stepped back from the window and was greeted by the sight of a tall, burly man with a huge potbelly filling the doorway. He had a straggly gray beard, and he was wearing a black Jack Daniels t-shirt, torn black pants and sunglasses, and he had a grubby bandana over his hair.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded. Lori’s voice caught in her throat. This was the last thing she’d been expecting.

“Uh, just shopping. I guess you’re not open yet though?”

“No, we’re not,” he said and took a step towards her. His voice was cold, with a hint of menace. She took a step back, and somehow became wedged between him and the window. “That should’ve been obvious from the fact that the shutters are closed. In fact, we haven’t been open for a while.”

“Oh, I see – ” she started to say, but then he came even closer. She could smell his breath, the acrid stench of a heavy smoker, and the hint of stale sweat radiating from his body. She was disgusted to feel his belly brushing against her own.

“What are you really doing snooping around here, taking photos?” he demanded. Her thoughts swirled around. She had no idea why he was being aggressive, but she had the very real sense that the situation could turn violent. Honesty was the only thing she could think of.

“I used to have a store here, years ago. I’ve just come back to the town, and I wanted to see it, for old time’s sake,” she said in a panicked voice. The man gave her an unpleasant grin.

“It must’ve been quite a few years ago, because this has been our place for a while. I hope you don’t have any ideas about getting your hands on it. Because I’m telling you right now, that’s not going to happen.” He bared yellow, half-rotten teeth. She repressed the urge to scream. Abruptly he stepped back and she shuffled away so that her back was no longer to the window.

“I was just looking, that’s all,” she whimpered. His yellow eyes bored into hers, assessing her words.

“Good. Get away from here now, and don’t come back!” he said loudly.

She turned on her heel and scuttled away from the shop. As she turned the corner onto a broader street, she looked back, and he was still watching her, rubbing his hairy belly where his smelly T-shirt had ridden up. She kept going until the shop and the awful man were far away.

At last, she stopped, leaning against the side of a building. She was gasping for breath, and her head was swimming. What the hell had just happened? She’d expected seeing her old store to tug at her emotions, but not like that at all. She’d never been so terrified by another human being in her life. And especially not in Hope Valley. Who was that guy? And why had he been so hostile to her? This didn’t make any sense at all. Thank goodness he’d believed what she’d told him though. She couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened otherwise. She lifted her hand to wipe away a tear, and discovered that it was shaking badly. She needed sugar or something. Or a drink. This was the first time she’d felt like drinking since was found out she was pregnant.

She pushed herself off the wall and began walking aimlessly back into town. She stopped at a café. She used to hang out with her friends there when they were in high school, gossiping and ordering milkshakes and pastries. Gino’s had been updated for the times, but it hadn’t changed all that much over the years. As she opened the door, the familiar, well-loved smell hit her nostrils.

“Lori!” Gino himself called as she walked in. “Is that you, darling?”

“Gino! It’s so great to see you,” she said, walking towards him, and she was soon enveloped in a floury hug. Gino had to be in his 70s now, but his bright, black eyes still sparkled with the good humor that she recalled from years back. Laughter lines were etched into his skin and he had an impressive white moustache that had turned from gray to pure white since she’d last seen him.

“Are you just visiting Hope Valley?”

“No, I’m back for good,” she replied. “I’ve come home.” He clapped his hands together.

“That’s fantastic news! I hope we’ll be seeing you very often!”

“You can count on it.”

“Now what would you like, darling? Anything you want, on the house.”

“Thank you, but that’s ok. I’ll just have a Danish pastry and a hot chocolate, but I’m paying,” she said.

She took a seat by the window, and soon Gino brought her order over himself.

“There you go, darling. We’re so glad to have you back here. I told Norma, and she was so excited. She’ll come out of the kitchen and say hello to you in a minute.”

“That’d be great, thanks, Gino,” she said, trying, but failing to sound enthusiastic. His customary broad grin dropped, and concern showed in his eyes.

“What is it, cherry bun? You don’t look like your old self. Has something happened?”

“Oh.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I just had a bit of a shock. I went to see my old store – you know, the boutique I used to own?” He smiled and nodded.

“Of course I do, I used to buy treats for Norma from there.”

“Well I went back to see it today. I’ve been thinking of getting it back, but the current owners weren’t very nice. They told me to stay away.”

“No! They scared you, didn’t they?” she nodded.

“A little.”

“I don’t know anything about them myself. But I know that they don’t own the property. That whole street is owned by Hope Valley Property Services.”

“Really?” That sounds familiar, actually. She took her phone out and looked at the photo she’d snapped. There was a brass plate on the upper left-hand corner of the store, listing the owner’s name, just like there had always been.

“You should speak to them if you want to get your shop back,” Gino said. She frowned.

“I guess. As long as I don’t have to deal with them personally again.” Just then, Norma came over. She’d aged quite a lot since Lori had seen her last, her long plait more gray than brown these days, but her eyes had the same warmth and vitality as Gino’s. She gave Lori a big hug and asked her a hundred questions about what she was doing back in Hope Valley.

Lori spent a happy half hour with the couple, while they took turns at going back into the kitchen and preparing food, before leaving with promises to bring Nancy in next time she was in town.

Out on the street again, she felt a lot calmer. The incident already seemed unreal, as if she’d dreamed the whole thing. Except that the stench of the guy’s fetid breath still seemed to be caught in her nostrils. She looked up Hope Valley Property Services on her phone and found the address. She’d stop by and ask them about the property.

“We own that store, as well as most of the stores on the street,” the real estate agent said, confirming what Gino had told her. “Between you and me, the current tenants have been troublesome, restricting access to the property, and we suspect that it’s in a state of disrepair. Unfortunately, they still have another year left on their lease.”

“Would you be open to selling it instead?” she asked.

“Yes, potentially. The properties on the street have lost a lot of their value since the current tenants have been there, so we’d be happy to sell, in order to raise some capital to carry out renovations etc.”

“And you’d be able to evict the tenants in these circumstances?”

“Yes, I believe so. I need to review the contracts, but it should be possible. Can you leave it with me, and I’ll get back to you soon?”

“Of course, thank you. But can you please not mention me to the tenants. They were quite threatening today when they saw me looking through the window?” The agent looked appalled.

“Of course I won’t,” he said hurriedly. Lori shook his hand and left. This seemed to be good news, but was it?