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  Ty shook his head. “No, Misty, this makes the most sense. And—it won’t be a sacrifice. I told you my boss insisted I take a vacation?”

  She nodded.

  “That insistence came with a side of implication that I might be wanting to leave soon,” he said.

  Misty frowned. “He’s thinking about firing you?” That seemed impossible.

  “Not exactly. He was just noticing—you know, the burnout rate for social workers is incredibly high.”

  Misty nodded. The turnover of the people she saw in the course of her own job was always surprisingly quick.

  “I’ve lasted much longer than the average. Much, much longer. I thought that meant I could stick it out forever, but apparently not. My boss is right—it’s gotten harder. I’m seeing more cynical people, less reason to find joy in the work. And the job hasn’t changed, so much—it’s just harder to see the bright side, these days.” He stroked a hand up her arm. “And it doesn’t help that I never get out of the city anymore, never have happy, healthy kids to play with like I used to. Iris and Steve are off to Hawaii for vacation, and I’m realizing that I poured my whole life into their family, and I didn’t know if I had the strength to keep standing when I was just by myself.”

  “You’re not by yourself anymore,” Misty said fiercely. “Still, I could try moving to Los Angeles—”

  He shook his head. “No, I want—Misty, I want to be here. Seeing all my old friends together like that, running in the woods like we did tonight...it’s been a total awakening to something I didn’t even know I needed.” He smiled. “And this new community center, helping troubled local kids—that’s exactly the sort of work I’m experienced with. Having me here isn’t just going to benefit me, you know.”

  Misty laughed. “What confidence.”

  “Confidence is supposed to be sexy, I’ve heard.”

  “Well,” she said, leaning in for a kiss. “You’ve heard right.”

  ***

  Ty

  Ty could hardly believe that this woman in his arms really belonged to him.

  More than that, he could hardly believe that everything had happened just today. When he thought back to the moment he’d first seen Misty, standing unafraid in front of her injured deputy as a wolf prepared to charge her human form, it seemed far away in the past. It was like he’d known her forever.

  And now she was his.

  Brave, beautiful, determined, achingly vulnerable, wanting nothing more than a pair of strong arms around her and a community to call home...Misty was everything he’d never known he wanted in a woman. In a partner. Because she wasn’t just someone to protect: she’d be out there working to keep the community safe, while he worked to build it up into something everyone could be proud of.

  Creating a future for them both.

  ***

  In the morning, of course, they had to face the music.

  Well, first, they had to wake up in each other’s arms, and make love slowly in the dawning light through the window. Ty made sure to appreciate every inch of Misty’s body, now that it was bright enough to see her properly. He thought his favorite part was the curve of her hip where it arced away from her stomach, a delicious rise of skin that he loved to stroke his hand over, to taste slowly while she squirmed.

  Or it might have been her eyes. Or the hint of teeth as she bit her lip when pleasure first started to overwhelm her.

  It was hard to choose.

  When they were both satiated, Ty kissed her forehead and said, “You stay here. I’ll brave the wild animals downstairs and bring us coffee.”

  “Mmm, coffee,” she sighed, and Ty grinned. He’d never known a police officer who didn’t mainline the stuff.

  He took a quick turn in the shower, threw on some clothes—pausing to appreciate the sight of Misty dozing amid the sheets, her long limbs stretched out, her hair a tangle on the pillow—and then made his way slowly and ruefully downstairs.

  It was Ken in the kitchen, of course, already holding a mug, giving him the eyebrow.

  “Okay,” Ty sighed. “Yes. Out with it.”

  “No, I didn’t have anything to say,” Ken said, mock-surprised. “I can’t imagine what you’d think I have to say.”

  Ty went to the cabinet to get two mugs. “Whatever you don’t have to say, you’ve got exactly one chance, because after this moment, it’s null and void. And if you say a single word to Misty—”

  “Whoa, whoa, I’d never say anything to her.” A beat. “You, on the other hand, I seem to recall saying something about being in LA for life—never once considering going crazy like we did and moving to the wilds of Montana—what’s in the water up there? you asked—”

  “You’re jumping right to moving?” Ty asked, in real surprise.

  Ken paused. “Isn’t that what’s happening?”

  “Well—yes—but—”

  “Ha. I knew it. Just from how you were looking at her, man. I recognize that poleaxed expression. Like something hit you upside the head hard enough to knock you out, but somehow it felt good.”

  Ty had to admit that that was an accurate description of how he’d been feeling for the last twenty-four hours. “All right, yes, you got me. Misty’s my mate. I can’t believe you knew before I did.”

  Ken did a little victory dance, except he had to be careful not to spill his coffee, so it was more like a self-contained butt-wiggle. Ty rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you conducted yourself with grace and charm when you first met Lynn.”

  “Hell, no. She thought I was a total idiot.” Ken grinned, a flash of white teeth. “But we got there in the end.”

  Ty had to smile. “It didn’t take much getting there for us. From the second I saw Misty—”

  “In an armed standoff in the woods—”

  “I knew she was something. We connected right away.” Ty smiled, reminiscing, and then shook himself out of it and went to pour two mugs of coffee.

  “And then you connected—”

  Ty pointed at him. “Watch it.”

  Ken held up his hands. “I was just going to say, you know, on a mystical, metaphysical level. As mates.”

  “Sure you were.” Ty took the mugs and turned to leave the kitchen. “Hey, thank you for starting the coffee.”

  Ken slapped him on the shoulder. “My pleasure, man. Enjoy your coffee and your lady. I’m happy for you.”

  Ty smiled. “Thanks.”

  He took the coffee upstairs, and managed to maneuver the door open without spilling anything or burning himself. Misty was sitting up in bed, blinking sleepily, the sheets pulled up to just under her full, bare breasts. Ty drank in the sight.

  Then she made grabby hands, and he hastened over to hand her a mug.

  She took a long drink, not seeming to care that it was screamingly hot, and sighed in pleasure. “Oh, that’s the stuff. Thanks.”

  “No charge.” Ty settled in next to her. “Do you have to get to work?”

  She shook her head. “Day off.”

  Ty contemplated the entire day stretching out before them. A whole day to spend with his mate. Then he laughed.

  She looked at him over the top of her mug. “What?”

  “We get to double our total time together today.”

  Her brow wrinkled. Then she laughed too. “I guess we do. It seems like so much longer than that already.”

  “I know, I feel the same.” Ty wondered what they could do. Spend the day in bed? Shift and run some more? He felt a little restless, like he wanted to do something.

  “You want to go check out what they’re doing over at the new center today?” Misty asked.

  He smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

  Then an almost comical expression of dismay came over her face. “You ripped my shirt last night.”

  Ty felt a flush of heat as the sense-memory washed over him, of needing to get to Misty’s body so badly he couldn’t wait, grabbing her shirt and tearing it down the middle—

  Which meant that she didn’t have
a shirt. Oops.

  “You can wear one of mine,” he offered.

  Misty frowned. “It’ll be way too big.”

  Ty suddenly couldn’t get over the picture of Misty wearing his shirt. “I cannot think of anything more attractive,” he confessed.

  Misty blinked, and then started to laugh. “All right,” she said. “Lend me a shirt.”

  He kissed her. “My most definite pleasure.”

  ***

  Misty

  Misty hadn’t been expecting the number of people they found in the old Barbur building.

  “I called around this morning,” Pauline explained. “A lot of people have been interested in the project, and they were excited to come by and see what we’d done so far.” She smiled. “And we told everyone there’d be free doughnuts for breakfast and pizza for lunch. That brought out a whole crowd.”

  “I bet,” Misty said, looking around.

  They’d done quite a bit. The building had been painted, the broken-down porch fixed up, and the inside was clean and empty, just waiting for its new incarnation.

  “What sort of things are you looking to do here, exactly?” Misty asked her.

  “We want it focused on kids,” Pauline said. “So we’re going to have a playroom for little kids, a library, an activity room, a couple of basketball hoops outside, maybe a place where teenagers can come play video games and hang out, a kitchen so kids who might not get enough food at home can have snacks or lunches here—things like that.”

  “That all sounds fantastic,” said Ty. “I want to go talk to Carlos about staffing—see you in a bit?”

  Misty nodded, and Ty leaned in to give her a quick kiss. She closed her eyes in the brief moment of warmth and connection, and watched him leave. His movements were so graceful, even when he was just walking down a hallway.

  When she looked back, Pauline was giving her a knowing look. “So, you and Ty,” she said.

  Misty could feel herself blush; it was very annoying. “We’re mates,” she admitted.

  “We guessed,” said Pauline, smiling. “From how you were last night.”

  Her blush intensified. “I’m sorry we—we shouldn’t have—”

  “Oh, no, no, not that!” Pauline laughed. “I meant when you were sitting together, by the fire. It was clear there was a connection, a close one. And when you’d only known each other for a few hours—well, the rest of us have all felt it. We know what it’s like, and that made it easier to recognize in you.”

  “Oh.” Misty took a calming breath. “I wasn’t expecting anything like this.”

  “Neither was I, when it happened to me.” Pauline looked fond, reminiscent. “Carlos appeared in my life when I had a lot going on, and I didn’t think I had any room for a man. The kids were in trouble, and I was trying to figure out how to handle it alone—and then this man asked me on a date, and I couldn’t say no. I told myself it was silly to date a tourist, that going to a nice restaurant when I was worried Drew didn’t have enough food was frivolous...and then it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.”

  Misty wondered how she might tell the story of Ty coming into her life, someday. The best decision I ever made didn’t seem quite right, for her, because everything had just happened all at once, no decisions apparently necessary. She hadn’t chosen Ty so much as she’d realized he was there, and there was no reason to separate.

  None at all.

  “Anyway,” Pauline said with a smile, “you want the tour?”

  “Of course,” Misty said with some relief. There was only so much examination of her feelings she could do all at once.

  Pauline took her through the building. It was empty, and clearly hadn’t been in use for some time, but the bones of it were strong. The wood floors gleamed in the light coming through the dusty windows, and Misty could see the potential in every room. Could they fill this with people? With kids and teenagers, spending time together and learning that they could do things with their lives, better things than their parents had done?

  “We want to have events here, too,” Pauline murmured. “Wedding receptions, holiday celebrations, that sort of thing. There’s never been a good big space for that in town before, not so everyone could come and all fit.”

  There hadn’t, it was true. People either held celebrations in their homes, or if they had enough money, rented out the diner for the evening. Or just stayed outdoors, but that wasn’t an option for a lot of the year, here in the north. Even for shifters.

  They came back into the main room, which was plenty big enough for a wedding reception—Misty could tell that this place had been built to be a pack house, not a private home. Private homes didn’t have rooms this big unless they were the sort of place that had a name and a noble family attached.

  The small crowd of people were talking to Ty and Carlos, and as they approached, Misty could hear a conversation about organizing a drive for donating furniture, books, and toys, and about today’s project for cleaning the place, which was to wash all of the many windows.

  “I wanna wash windows!” piped a tiny voice, and Misty looked down to see a little girl, maybe six or seven, hopping around the room, looking at each of the windows. She stopped when she saw Misty looking at her and came over. “I want to wash the windows,” she said sincerely.

  “Looks like you’re going to get the chance,” Misty said, trying to place her. She looked familiar, but Misty wasn’t personally acquainted with all of the kids in town. “Is your mom here?”

  The girl nodded and pointed to the crowd, which didn’t help. “She said we better come and make ourselves useful.”

  “That’s a good philosophy,” Misty approved.

  The tiny forehead wrinkled. “What’s a—phisoly?”

  “Philosophy. A way of thinking about things. What you think about how stuff should go.”

  “Phisolophy.”

  “Philosophy.”

  “Philosophy,” she repeated successfully, and grinned. “Philosophy. My philosophy is cookies for breakfast.”

  “That one you’re definitely going to have to take up with your mom,” Misty said. “What’s your name?”

  “Tina.”

  A kid named Tina. Misty half-remembered noting someone with a child named Tina somewhere, but she still couldn’t place the family.

  “What’s your name?” Tina asked.

  “I’m Misty. I’m the sheriff.”

  Tina’s eyes went wide, and she took a step back. Oh, no.

  “You arrested my daddy,” she said in a tiny voice.

  Oh, no.

  “Well,” Misty said, and didn’t know what to say. She remembered where she knew the name Tina, now. Tina was Diane and Ryan Bigelow’s daughter, Zeke’s little sister.

  “Why did you arrest my daddy?” Tina asked. She came back forward, her surprise over, looking like she was ready to do battle.

  Misty took a deep breath. She wanted to help the local kids grow up to be law-abiding citizens, better than their parents? Well, here was her first shot. She squatted down, bringing her eyes to Tina’s level.

  “You know how sometimes, when kids misbehave, they need a time-out?” she asked softly.

  Tina nodded.

  “Sometimes grownups do, too. Your daddy could be kind of scary, sometimes.”

  Tina looked away. Then she nodded.

  “Well,” Misty said, “I wanted him to learn how to behave better. It’s not good for people to run around being scary like that. I’m sorry he had to go away, though.”

  And she was—not so much that she’d arrested Ryan, who’d deserved it ten times over, but that this little girl would be growing up without the father she deserved.

  Tina scrunched up her face. “I want him back.”

  “We all want our dads to be around,” Misty said. “I wish my dad was still here, sometimes.”

  Tina’s eyes went wide. “Was your daddy scary?”

  Misty thought about that. “Well—sometimes he was, I suppose. He’s not in
time-out, though. He died a long time ago.”

  Tina hesitated. Then she came forward and hugged Misty. “That’s sad.”

  Startled, Misty hugged back.

  And that was when Diane came hurrying out of the crowd. “Tina!”

  Tina jumped back. “Hi, Mommy.” She sounded a little guilty.

  Diane looked like she didn’t know what to make of the scene in front of her.

  Misty stood up. “Hello, Diane,” she said, trying to figure out how to handle this situation. Finally, she just went with the truth. “Tina and I were just talking about how we both miss our dads.”

  Diane’s brows came together. “Tina, go find Rachel and Marie and play,” she said.

  Tina’s face lit up, and she went off running without a backwards glance, finding a couple of families who had just come in the door.

  Diane straightened and turned to Misty. “What were you telling my daughter?”

  Misty’s instinct was to fight fire with fire, to step forward and tell Diane to back off. She made herself take a deep breath instead. What would Ty do?

  He’d be kind and empathetic, she thought, without being weak.

  “I was telling her that I was sorry,” Misty said. “That I missed my dad, too.”

  “Your father arrested Ryan for the first time when Ryan was fourteen years old,” Diane ground out. “He never gave him one chance. Ryan had no chance, growing up with that asshole as sheriff.”

  Breathe, Misty told herself. Don’t get mad. What would Ty say?

  “Well, I want different things for these kids,” she managed, pushing down any anger she felt about hearing this woman talk about her father like that.

  And she did want different things. Maybe it didn’t matter what had happened in the past, if they could all manage to focus on the future.

  “I don’t want to arrest Ryan’s kids,” she said. “I haven’t charged Zeke with anything yet, because I want him growing up into a good man, not a criminal. I want this place to be somewhere Tina can go after school, and I want them both to get good jobs and have families of their own.”

  Diane stared at her suspiciously.

  “That’s what I want,” Misty said on a sigh. “And so today I’m going to wash some windows.”