Jaguar's Joy Read online

  “All right,” Misty found herself saying.

  This smile was slower. “Good.”

  ***

  Ty

  Ty drove away from the sheriff’s station with a lighter heart than he’d had in a long time.

  Which was a strange thing to come on the heels of one of the more violent encounters he’d experienced in the last several years.

  But everything had turned out all right, no one had been seriously injured, and he had a—a date? Dinner, at least, with a woman he found fascinating for reasons that he couldn’t quite explain.

  It wasn’t just that she was a tough, smart, capable woman. She was all of those things, but as a social worker, Ty worked alongside plenty of tough, smart, capable women. None of them had captured his attention like this.

  Misty seemed to have the same quality about her as the air up here in the Montana mountains. She was clean and sharp, like a refreshing wind blowing the fog out of his brain.

  A fog that had been there for a while. Just getting away from LA had started to reveal how right Sam had been. It was like he could stand straighter now, breathe more freely, and see past whatever was right in front of his nose.

  A vacation was a good idea.

  So he felt cheerful as all get-out as he pulled into the driveway of the big, rambling house where Nate and Ken now lived with their mates. A whole crowd piled out to meet him.

  “Hey now, hey, one at a time!” he chuckled, shaking hands and dispensing hugs. “Form an orderly line.”

  Ken punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Yeah, right. Everyone’s got to come get a look at the weird specimen—the last lone holdout, insisting on living down in the big city.”

  “Hey, my family’s down there,” Ty defended himself, letting the group herd him into the house. This was the first time he’d seen it, and it was like a charming old labyrinth. They all ended up in a room that looked like it was about a hundred years old, full of old books and a table that looked like a lady had used it to write her letters or something.

  “So are you tired from the trip? Do you want to take some time for yourself?” asked Pauline, Carlos’ mate.

  The two of them had ended up with three kids right off the bat, relatives of Pauline’s. The oldest one was a teenager, Ty knew, and he didn’t seem to be here, but there was a little boy playing with Hot Wheels in the corner, and a toddler girl peeking out from behind Pauline’s chair. Ty grinned down at her.

  “I’m ready for anything. Although I’ve got a date tonight.”

  He was anticipating a very satisfying reaction to that, and he wasn’t disappointed. Ken burst out laughing, Carlos raised his eyebrows, and Nate leaned forward and said, “You have a what now?”

  “A date,” Ty said, mock-innocent. “Surely you haven’t all been settled old men for long enough that you’ve forgotten what a date is.” He glanced at Stella, Nate’s mate. “Does he never take you on dates?”

  She laughed, bright and silvery. “Once in a while.”

  Nate caught her hand. “Excuse me, I seem to recall taking you to Marrakesh not too long ago.”

  Ty blinked. “Well, I’m just going to that diner, Oliver’s. I didn’t realize the game around here was so impressive.”

  “Ignore him,” Stella said, although she had a pleased smile and a blush lingering on her cheekbones. “Who are you going to Oliver’s with? Who have you even had time to meet since you got here?”

  “Oh,” Pauline said, in a tone of realization. “Is it Misty?”

  Ty laughed, startled. “How’d you guess?”

  “She called me,” Pauline said. “Letting us know where you were, I guess. Although maybe she also wanted to learn a thing or two about you.” She smiled a little.

  “You’re going out with the sheriff?” Nate shook his head. “She’s a tough one. I didn’t know she dated at all.”

  “She doesn’t, mostly,” Pauline said thoughtfully. “Not since she got back into town, anyway. Probably hard to find time to date when you work as hard as she does.”

  Ken nudged Ty’s arm. “You sure it’s a date and not just an opportunity for interrogation?”

  “I don’t think she usually interrogates suspects at Oliver’s, Ken,” said Ken’s mate Lynn. She and Stella were sisters, from what Ty remembered, and this house was theirs. Lynn was more severe-looking than Stella, but she gave Ty a small smile now. “Hope you guys hit it off. Misty could use a good time or two.”

  Guilt pricked at Ty. “I hope she doesn’t mind I’m only in town for a couple of weeks.”

  Ken, Carlos, and Nate all exchanged glances. “That’s what you think,” Carlos said finally, while Pauline smiled to herself.

  ***

  Misty

  The rest of the day passed in a blur.

  She should’ve been savoring every moment, because this was what she’d been waiting on for months—the last of Ryan’s gang safe in the town jail, waiting for an airtight case to put him away for a long, long time.

  It all kept receding into the background, though, when she thought about what was waiting for her when she got off shift.

  Who was waiting for her.

  It made sense to be thinking about him so much, she defended herself. He was a big part of the case, after all. He’d saved her and Gene’s lives, and that was bound to leave a big impression. She was processing his statement as part of her job.

  And she was meeting him at Oliver’s when her shift was over.

  Had he meant to ask her on a date? Can we continue this conversation over dinner was a pretty date-like line, in Misty’s extremely limited experience. So...probably.

  He’d just delivered it so naturally. There hadn’t been any of that sleazy expectation she was used to from men. As a female sheriff, she got hit on a lot, usually as a defense mechanism from assholes she was arresting. Ooh, you gonna use those handcuffs on me? That sort of thing. They just wanted to pretend they were still in control of the situation.

  Ty hadn’t done any of that. He hadn’t acted like he was threatened by a female sheriff. He hadn’t been smug about rescuing her. He’d made sure she was all right, cheerfully answered her questions, and just...paid attention to her.

  And demonstrated that he was worthy of attention himself.

  Misty told herself firmly that it was okay to be looking forward to dinner, it was okay to be interested in this man, and it was okay to take things as they came. If it turned out it wasn’t a date at all—if he just wanted to learn more about the arrest he’d involuntarily participated in—that was fine.

  But if it was more than that...

  Watch out for people trying to get personally involved with you, Misty, her dad’s voice echoed in her head. Law enforcement has to be impartial. Your emotions can’t get a say.

  He’s not a local, Misty responded to the memory of her father. So it’s fine.

  Yes. It was fine.

  She kept telling herself it was fine all day, right up through the end of her shift, while she passed things off to her night deputy, while she drove to Oliver’s, and parked, and went inside.

  And then she saw Ty waiting for her at the hostess’ stand, and she realized that fine was absolutely, positively the wrong word to describe what was happening.

  Ty stood out from the crowd of people coming to Oliver’s for dinner on a Saturday night. It wasn’t just that he was African-American, unlike most people in northern Montana. It wasn’t even that he was huge, tall and broad and impressively muscular.

  It was that her eyes didn’t want to look at anyone else.

  When he saw her coming through the door, his face lit up into that impossibly bright smile. Misty almost reached for her sunglasses.

  He was too much to take in. Part of her wanted to break and run away.

  Although...weirdly, for once, that part wasn’t the deer shifter inside her.

  No, the deer was fascinated.

  Predators weren’t usually her inner doe’s favorite thing, although Misty had a lifet
ime of dealing with predatory shifter criminals under her belt, and her deer’s instincts had been honed into diamond-sharp observation and lightning-quick reaction.

  But still. There was usually some wariness.

  Not so with Ty. Her deer leaned eagerly forward.

  That’s a good cat, was the doe’s verdict. Protected us against the wolf.

  That he did, Misty had to agree, as she went up to say hello.

  “Misty,” Ty said. He reached out—Misty was suddenly immensely curious at what he was going to do.

  Shake her hand? That was professional. Kiss it? An indication that he hadn’t paid any kind of attention to what kind of woman he was out with. Hug her? Surely it was too early.

  But he didn’t do any of those things. He settled his hand on her shoulder and gripped it, half-comradely, half-caressing.

  “Thanks for coming out tonight,” he said. His eyes were warm and dark, filled with happiness. “I know it must have been a long day.”

  “That doesn’t make it a bad one,” Misty countered.

  His eyebrows went up. “Getting charged by a raging wolf isn’t a bad day in your book?”

  “Not if it ends as well as it did today. For which thanks, once again.”

  He waved it off. “It was my pleasure.”

  Misty raised her own eyebrows. “Getting charged by a raging wolf was your pleasure?”

  He laughed, big and expansive, and Misty saw a few heads turn. This was a man who wasn’t ashamed of enjoying himself.

  She admired that.

  “It is if it ends as well as it did today,” he admitted. He turned to the hostess’ stand and holding up two fingers. The woman nodded, her eyes lingering on Ty as she picked up two menus.

  Misty surprised herself with a flash of possessiveness. Mine.

  Ours, her deer agreed.

  Whoa, wait, no, she thought, as she followed the hostess, Ty behind her. No one is anyone’s. We just met him and he lives a thousand miles away in one of the biggest cities in the world.

  So what am I doing?

  Misty didn’t have an answer to that one.

  They were seated in a booth, and Ty picked up the menu with another one of his tireless grins. “What’s good here?”

  “Everything,” Misty said honestly. “For a local dive, it’s a good restaurant. Try the steak or the fish. Or the burgers are good.”

  “You eat here a lot?”

  Misty nodded. “Takeout, mostly. Call in an order while I’m out on patrol, pick it up and take it back to the station.”

  “Busy job,” he observed.

  “The busiest. We’re a bit understaffed, and when Gene retires it’s going to be worse. Trouble is, it’s hard to find good recruits.” Misty contemplated the menu and sighed.

  The waitress appeared to take their orders; Misty got a beer, and Ty followed suit.

  “So how’d you get into it, then?” he asked. “Are you local?”

  She nodded. “My dad’s family is all from here. He was the sheriff back when I was a kid, and he taught me everything I know.”

  Ty smiled. “It’s good to have family traditions. I bet he’s proud of you.”

  Misty looked away. “He was.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Ty said immediately. “I didn’t think.”

  “No, there’s no reason you would have known.” Misty took a steadying breath. “And sometimes I like to think of him here with me, watching over me. Saying, Misty, you could’ve been faster on the draw against that wolf. Don’t hesitate!”

  Ty chuckled. “He sounds tough.”

  Misty nodded emphatically, remembering the way everything had always seemed to go quiet whenever her father walked into a situation. Anyone who’d been misbehaving would instantly freeze.

  “He was really hard on crime, back when he was sheriff,” she said. “No one wanted to get on his bad side. I want to follow in his footsteps, but...it’s harder when you’re a woman.”

  “You seem plenty tough to me.” Ty’s voice was serious, and he kept steady eye contact—not buttering her up, but telling the truth as he saw it. “And I’ve seen you in action.”

  Misty couldn’t help smiling a little. “I try. You aren’t a typical man, though.”

  Ty’s eyebrows flew up. “Should I be flattered or offended?”

  She chuckled. “Flattered! Most men around here would’ve said something crude or insulting about a lady sheriff by now.”

  “Sounds like most men around here aren’t comfortable enough in their masculinity to handle a tough woman,” Ty said easily. Then he frowned a little. “Please tell me none of my friends have offended you.”

  “No, not at all!” Misty hastened to say. “They’re a cut above your average guy, every one of them. Pretty much the only thing I’ve got to say against them is that they have a tendency to try and take care of things themselves when the law would be the best place to turn.”

  “Well, that’s not a surprise,” Ty muttered. “I’m probably the only one of them who really learned how to work within the system. Maybe the Colonel, too.”

  “Interesting traits for Marines.”

  Ty flashed her a grin. “Just because we learned how to follow some orders doesn’t mean we wanted to follow anyone’s orders.”

  Misty sighed. “I—well, I can’t really say I understand, because I grew up with the system all around me. I just wish that so many people around here didn’t feel the same way.”

  Before Ty could respond to that, the waitress reappeared with their beers, and took their food orders. Ty got the steak, and after a moment of consideration, Misty did, too. She usually got a burger or a sandwich, something that would be easy to eat with her hands back at the station, and it was a nice luxury to get a meal that required a knife and fork.

  Ty took a long drink of his beer, and sighed. “That’s good. What do you mean about people around here feeling the same way?”

  It took Misty a second to remember what she’d been talking about. “Just—well, shifters. There’s this whole pack mentality. It drives me crazy. It made my dad furious.” She could remember his enraged rants about it word-for-word. “The way they close ranks, the way they don’t want to bring in law enforcement, the way they respond to violence with violence. Feuds, almost open warfare at times—it hurts the community.”

  Ty looked down at his beer. “Like those wolves who were bothering Stella and Pauline.”

  “Exactly like. Although they’re the worst the town has seen in a while. Most people around here believe in minding their own business. It’s the only reason a town like this, with so many different shifter types on top of each other, has survived this long.” She took pride in that. There weren’t a lot of places in the country where deer and squirrels lived peacefully side-by-side with wolves and lynxes.

  Mostly peacefully.

  “Things have been better lately, to be honest. But every so often there’s a problem, like with the wolves, and it always spirals out of control fast. And no one ever calls the police, because they think it’s pack business and they want to take care of it themselves!” She clenched her fists.

  “And that doesn’t go well,” Ty said in a low voice.

  “No. I just—I’m supposed to be here to protect these people. To keep the community safe. But I can’t do that if none of them cooperate with me.”

  Ty leaned back in the booth, looking at her thoughtfully. “You’re really passionate about this.”

  “Of course I am,” said Misty, surprised that he’d say so. “What is there to be more passionate about than keeping people safe?”

  He held up a hand. “No, no, you’re right—it’s just that in the city, most of the time people’s passion gets burned out by the time they’re your age. I mean—not that you’re old—”

  “Don’t bother backpedaling, I’m not vain about my age,” Misty said dryly. “I’m forty-four and I don’t care who knows it.”

  “Good. I hate it when women feel like being older and wiser makes them l
ess, somehow.”

  That gave her an uncomfortable flush of warmth. On the job, Misty had always worn her utter lack of femininity with pride—it wouldn’t do for the sheriff to care if she broke a nail, after all. But in her personal life, it always seemed like kind of a handicap.

  Not that she’d ever had that much of a personal life.

  “But most of the time, that kind of intense feeling is something you only see in twenty-five-year-olds. At least in Los Angeles.”

  “Well, out here it must be different, because my dad was waving his arms and yelling about tribalism and rule of law until the day he died,” Misty told him. Then she frowned. “You’re about my age. What about you?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Are you asking me if I’m cynical and jaded?”

  “If you are, you hide it really well.”

  She was expecting that big smile again, but he sobered instead. “I’ve always thought that it was important to keep that passion going. To care, because people can tell if you do. But it does get harder. My boss thinks I’m going to burn out if I keep it up.”

  Ty was here on mandatory vacation, Misty remembered him saying. “And what do you think?”

  He turned his hands up in an I-don’t-know. “I want to keep going. It’s hard for me to picture myself without that passion and drive. But...it’s been more of a struggle, lately. I didn’t even notice until my boss sat me down and made me, because it’s come on so gradually.”

  Misty’s heart hurt to think of this sincere, joyful man slowly breaking down under the pressure of a horribly difficult job. “What are you going to do?”

  Ty closed his eyes. “I don’t know yet. I hope I’ll know by the time my vacation’s over.”

  Misty dared to reach out and cover one of his hands with her own. “I hope so, too.”

  Ty closed his fingers around hers. His hands were big and warm, and she was startled by the shock that went through her at the touch.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” she said impulsively.

  His fingers tightened. “Yeah?”

  “Yes. I mean—that you chose to come to Glacier for your vacation. And not just because you saved my life today.”