The Girl Nest Door (Green Valley Shifters Book 2) Read online

  “It’s like a plate,” Shaun explained.

  “But bigger,” Andrea added. She tore the end of the wrapper off her straw and carefully pushed the rest of the paper off, leaving a corrugated shell. She winked at Trevor, then used her straw to put a drop of her water onto it, making it squirm like a living thing as the folds of paper absorbed the liquid and expanded.

  “Woah!” Trevor exclaimed, and he immediately tried to follow her lead with his own straw wrapper.

  Shaun donated his straw to the cause after Trevor soaked his, and they laughed together... like a family, Andrea thought, watching him with warmth in her belly. Like they belonged together.

  She looked up from Trevor’s antics to find Shaun looking intensely across the table at her.

  Heat rose in her cheeks, but she made herself look back.

  “How’s the writing going?” he asked, while Trevor entertained himself soaking straw wrappers.

  “I actually got a chapter written last week,” Andrea confessed. “And I have most of the outline fixed up, so I have an idea where the plot is going to go.”

  “How’s it feel?”

  “It’s a little complicated,” Andrea said thoughtfully. “It’s harder work than I expect it to be. Hard to make myself do it, I mean. It feels like there are more important things I should be doing, like it’s just a hobby, and it’s hard to make myself focus. So I’ve been setting a timer, and that seems to work really well. Just 30 minutes at a time, and if I want to keep working I can. Usually I do.”

  Shaun nodded sagely. “Yeah, sometimes starting is that hardest bit,” he agreed, giving her an intense look.

  Andrea found it hard to breath around the hope in her throat. “I noticed you’d taken down the For Sale sign at your house,” she said, playing with her straw.

  “Trevor’s friends are here,” Shaun said, with a sidelong look at Trevor, who was now making the soggy straw wrappers act out some kind of epic adventure involving a firetruck on the laminated menu. “And Green Valley kind of grows on you after a while.”

  “Fungus grows on things, too,” Andrea said lightly. She was trying very hard not to take Shaun’s reason for staying personally.

  “I’ve always liked mushrooms,” Shaun said merrily. He was smiling across the table at her and then he added the words that Andrea hadn’t want to admit she was waiting for. “And this is where my mate is.”

  Andrea’s hawk gave a trill of triumph and when Shaun offered his hand across the table, she cautiously put her fingers in his.

  Almost at once, Devon was there with their order, and she had to pull her hand back as they moved Trevor’s menu and wrapper detritus to make room for their plates and condiments.

  “That’s not a platter of pancakes,” Trevor complained. “That’s just a plate.” But he fell into it with relish.

  “If you’re still hungry afterwards, we’ll get you a hot dog, too,” Shaun promised.

  Andrea put hot sauce on her gravy, and that led to a discussion of food tastes. “If you want really hot food, there’s a Thai menu at Harvey’s that is the closest thing you’ll find without driving to the Twin Cities,” Andrea told him.

  “Our next date,” Shaun said confidently. “Tomorrow night?”

  “Got a sitter lined up?” Andrea countered.

  Trevor looked from one of them to the other, his mouth full of syrupy pancakes, and Andrea tried not to squirm as he finally seemed to realize what was happening.

  “Are you going to leave me alone?” the little boy asked into the abruptly tense silence.

  “Never alone,” Shaun promised. “And never for long. I was thinking Miss Tawny might come hang out with you while Miss Andrea and I go out and eat super spicy food for dinner.”

  “I don’t like spicy food,” Trevor conceded with a shrug, and he returned to his pancakes like that was the end of the discussion.

  Andrea dared to look into Shaun’s face again, and saw a mirror of her own relief.

  It was the last piece of the puzzle slipping into place. Trevor had accepted sharing the two of them.

  One nest, her hawk said, deeply content.

  “If Tawny’s not available, I will gladly take a home-cooked meal instead,” Andrea said practically. “It’s honestly been torture smelling what comes out of your house some nights.”

  “Every night for the rest of your life, if you like,” Shaun said expansively. “And I am dying to make you my cinnamon rolls. You did say sugar helped with apologies. But they have to be eaten fresh, in the morning, after rising all night.”

  “Are you serious about the idea of a bakery?” Andrea had to ask. The picture of Shaun in an apron, covered in flour, was so unexpectedly appealing. Almost as appealing as eating fresh cinnamon rolls with him in the morning.

  “I am,” Shaun said thoughtfully. “It’s not the direction I expected to take my life, but the more I think about it, the more I like it.”

  He glanced sideways at Trevor, who was dipping his last square of pancake in a puddle of syrup with intense concentration. “The first thing I’ll make, though, is a batch of cupcakes for Lee and Patricia.”

  Epilogue

  “Oh look, the lights work again,” Andrea said, giggling helplessly as she looked up at the ceiling.

  Shaun dropped beside her on the bed, panting and sweating, and gathered her up into his arms. “I’m seeing lights,” he gasped into her hair.

  “We’re going to have to get back to work,” Andrea said, making no motion to do so. “Patricia is going to quiz us about how much we got done when she drops Trevor off.”

  Shaun made lazy patterns on her arms, content for the moment simply to cradle her and enjoy the quiet house. “Good thing there was nobody in the house next door. We were probably quite disruptive. Maybe we shouldn’t sell it after all.”

  “We could let Trevor use it as a playhouse,” Andrea laughingly proposed. “Make him move there when he’s a teenager. We’ll call it the lion’s pride.” They had both been glad when Trevor continued not to remember being a lion, and he hadn’t shifted again, but they knew those days were in their future.

  Shaun sobered and propped himself up on one arm to gaze down at her.

  She was such a goddess, sprawled naked in his bed — his bed, not the guest bed, and not the creaking monstrosity that the house had come with. This was his house now, filled with his furniture, home to his mate.

  “What is it?” Andrea asked gently, looking up at him with sated golden eyes. “What are you thinking?”

  Shaun smiled. “It’s a secret,” he said. “I can’t tell you yet.”

  “Argh!” Andrea reached over to grab a pillow to hit him with and he pounced on her arm before she could wind up for it.

  As he kissed her from wrist to shoulder, he was sorely tempted to tell her early.

  Only knowing how much Trevor wanted to be a part of it kept him quiet.

  As he kissed his way up her neck, Andrea sighed regretfully. “If you keep doing that, we’re never going to get out of this bed,” she reminded him. “I’ll go get the crimp tool from my garage and we can get the bathroom water hooked back up.”

  Shaun smiled to watch her roll out of the bed and slip her clothes back on. “I’ll make us a snack,” he offered, not moving.

  “Excellent idea,” Andrea said in her best preschool teacher voice. “It’s hard to work hard with an empty tummy.”

  Shaun was chopping up an apple in the kitchen, still grinning over the anticipation of his surprise for her, when he heard her shriek.

  Dropping the apple but keeping the knife, he scrambled for the front door, and paused on the front porch.

  Andrea was standing at her front gate with her arms wrapped around Tawny. An open envelope was crumpled in one hand, a small stack of papers in the other. At the sight of Shaun, she released the dazed-looking Tawny.

  “I did it!” she cried, waving the papers. “I did it!!”

  As Tawny continued on her mail delivery route, Andrea scampered up
Shaun’s front walk, and threw her arms around him with no care for the knife he was holding. “I did it!!”

  Careful not to accidentally decapitate her, Shaun hugged her back. “Did you sell your book?” he guessed wildly.

  Andrea shook her head, dark hair spilling back from her happy face as she stepped back and hugged the papers to her chest. “Even better! I sent Midwestern House Living Magazine a few sample articles about home repair — the ones I wrote for you, actually — and they want me to do a monthly article! With illustrations! For money!”

  “You talented vixen!” Shaun said, unable to help laughing with her. “Were you going to tell me you submitted to them?”

  “I’d forgotten,” Andrea confessed. “I submitted them online months ago. When... when you told me you weren’t my mate and I was stupid enough to believe you.”

  Shaun was grateful to see that the humor and joy didn’t leave her face. She had forgiven him the unforgivable. He had to bite his tongue from the impulse again to tell her what he and Trevor had planned and was grateful when Patricia pulled up in the car and got out to open the door and unstrap Trevor from the back seat.

  “Is it now?” Trevor asked eagerly, pelting up the front walk. “Is it now?”

  “Is what now?” Andrea asked, still bouncing on her toes and hugging the contract to her chest.

  “Hang on,” Shaun told Trevor. “I don’t want to do this wielding a kitchen knife at her.”

  Trevor giggled.

  Andrea gave him a curious look, then looked down the walk to where Patricia and Clara were standing by the car, not leaving, but no offering to walk up to the house. “What’s up your sleeve?”

  Trevor chortled and made a show of looking up his short sleeves. “Nothing here!” he said, and he looked at Shaun expectantly.

  “Be right back,” Shaun said. He took the knife to the kitchen and put it down with a deep breath. Then he reached into his pocket, where the small box had been burning a hole since the morning and took a deep breath. Several times, Andrea had nearly discovered it, one of several reasons he had rushed out of his pants earlier.

  In the quiet house alone for a brief moment, he paused and looked around.

  He had walked into this place ready to hate it, ready to hate everything about this small town and his too-close neighbor.

  The uncomfortable furniture was all gone now, the space waiting for the new pieces he had ordered — with Andrea’s input. He knew more now about how a house was built and put together than he had ever expected, thanks to her.

  And it wasn’t just a house anymore, it was a home.

  His home, and Trevor’s, and Andrea’s.

  He curled his fingers around the box and walked back out onto the porch to make it official.

  ANDREA EYED TREVOR suspiciously. “You are your dad are up to something,” she accused. “And you told Clara.” She glared down the walkway at Patricia, who grinned and waved, but didn’t approach.

  But she also didn’t leave.

  Trevor squirmed. “It’s a secret!” he protested, much as Shaun had earlier.

  Then the front screen door squeaked and Shaun came out onto the porch. He filled up the space, his height not just impressive in comparison to Andrea’s short stature.

  He is a fine mate, her hawk said smugly.

  We could have done worse, Andrea agreed.

  Then Shaun smiled at her, and, as it always did, her heart lifted in anticipation. She wasn’t sure what they were up to, but she had a suspicion.

  It was a suspicion that was confirmed when Shaun knelt at her feet and opened a tiny box with a sparkling ring inside. “Will you marry m—” he started.

  Before he could finish, Trevor was throwing his arms around her. “Will you be my mom?” he demanded.

  There was sometimes a moment in flight when a gust of wind caught under Andrea’s wings, when all she had to do was glide and all the air beneath her lifted her straight for the sun.

  This was like that moment: all the love she had ever wanted concentrated in a shot of joy so intense it brought tears to her eyes.

  “Oh,” she said helplessly. “Oh.”

  Her faint suspicion had not prepared her for how it would feel, Shaun looking up at her with love, Trevor pressing himself into her side.

  “Is she going to say yes?” Trevor asked anxiously.

  “I’m hoping so,” Shaun told him.

  “Why hasn’t she yet?”

  “I’m getting there,” Andrea said, choked. “Give me a minute.”

  Trevor’s voice was thin and uncertain. “Doesn’t she want to be my mom?”

  “I’m right here,” Andrea reminded him. “And yes, I want to be your mom. Yes, I will marry your dad.”

  Trevor released her to go to the edge of the porch and holler down the walkway. “She said yes!”

  As Patricia and Clara exclaimed and applauded, Shaun stood, gathering her into his arms as he kissed her. He lifted her easily up onto the railing of the porch and bruised her lips with his demanding mouth.

  It didn’t matter who saw them, it didn’t matter who else was there.

  Only his arms mattered, and his love, and the fact that she had come home at last.

  Right next door.

  A Note from Zoe Chant

  It’s been a long time since I last had a chance to visit Green Valley in Dancing Bearfoot, and I hope you enjoyed Andrea and Shaun’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have already started the next book in the series, tentatively titled Dandelion Spring, and I will tell you that you’ve met both the people who will star in it. :)

  If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list. You can also visit my webpage for a printable list of all my books, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter. You are also invited to join my VIP Readers Group on Facebook for sneak previews and chats.

  Please consider reviewing The Girl Nest Door, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

  Read on for an excerpt of Tropical Tiger Spy!

  This cover was done by Ellen Million. (Visit her site for coloring pages of some of my characters!)

  Start the series with savings!

  Escape to Adventure and Romance at Shifting Sands Resort

  Shifting Sands Resort is a (clothing optional!) luxury resort for shifters only. Come to find love and tasty treats of all kinds—but prepare for heart-pounding adventure and layers of puzzling secrets. Warm up to the eclectic staff and get to know some of the resort regulars as tough shifters meet their fated mates.

  Combining sizzling romance with laugh-out-loud humor and plenty of mystery, the Shifting Sands Resort series is a must-read for fans of T. S. Joyce, Terry Bolryder, and Lisa Ladew.

  Now you can save 30% on the first three books with this convenient box set. Relax on the sands with a tropical drink and a taste of adventure. Includes Tropical Tiger Spy, Tropical Wounded Wolf, and Tropical Bartender Bear. No cliffhangers!

  Buy now on Amazon

  More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant

  A Werewolf’s Valentine. A BBW cat shifter who's turned her back on love + a handsome werewolf stranger who comes to town + a very special Valentine's Day = a hot and heart-warming romance!

  The Bear’s Christmas Bride. A BBW who's alone at Christmas + a lonely bear shifter searching for his mate + a crowded house full of relatives = a snowy yet sizzling holiday romance!

  Alpha Lion. A frightened but determined BBW + a sexy lion shifter martial artist + a dangerous enemy = one unforgettable romance!

  Guarding His Honey. A BBW in danger + the hot bear shifter who'll do anything to protect her + a dangerous fight with the mafia = one thrilling romance!

  Hero Bear. A wounded Marine who lost his bear + a BBW physical therapist with a secret + a small town full of gossips = a hot and healing romance!

  In the Billionbear’s Den. A stressed-out BBW in need of a break + a sexy billionaire bear shifter in ne
ed of a mate to share his home + the remote woodland house he built himself = one steamy romance!

  The Bear With No Name. A BBW park ranger + a sexy bear shifter with amnesia + a town that needs their help = one unforgettable romance!

  Bearing Your Soul. A shy BBW who’s been burned by love + a sexy veteran bear shifter + a family code of silence = one sizzling hot romance that defies all odds!

  And many more!

  Zoe Chant writing under other names

  Rails, by Elva Birch. Bai knows better than to dream about his gorgeous Head of Files, Ressa, but when they become pawns in a mad conspiracy, they have nowhere to turn but to each other. A dark, tangled tale of murder, sex, unrequited love, drugs, prostitution, blackmail, and betrayal, set in a world steeped in flavors of steampunk and fantasy.

  Laura’s Wolf, by Lia Silver. Werewolf Marine Roy Farrell, scarred in body and mind, thinks he has no future. Curvy con artist Laura Kaplan, running from danger and her own guilt, is desperate to escape her past. But together, they have all that they need to heal. A full-length novel.

  Prisoner, by Lia Silver. Werewolf Marine DJ Torres is a born rebel. Genetically engineered assassin Echo was created to be a weapon. When DJ is captured by the agency that made Echo, the two misfits find that they fit together perfectly. A full-length novel.

  Mated to the Meerkat, by Lia Silver. Jasmine Jones, a curvy tabloid reporter, meets her match in notorious paparazzi and secret meerkat Chance Marcotte. A romantic comedy novelette.

  The Christmas Tree Bear, by Rosie Lynne. Bear shifter Willis Barnett meets his fated match in Charlotte Caldwell when she hopes to earn extra money as Santa Helper’s on Willis’ family farm turned Christmas Tree Town for the holidays. A romantic comedy novella.

  The Strength of the Pack, by Jorrie Spencer. Seth Kolski, a werewolf, hides his heritage and passes for normal. Until he meets Jamie.