Taking a deep breath, she warned herself to handle Ty carefully. Now she just had to ignore Gabby’s smarmy attitude. Her younger sister always had to be right. She’d been saying for years how perfect Ty and Julia would be as a couple. Then to learn Julia had an unrequited longing for the man… And of course it had to be Gabby who’d walked in on them moments ago.
Talk about rotten luck. Julia joined the rest of the group eating dinner just as Ty knocked on the front door.
“I’ll get it,” Jason offered and moved to the door.
Gabby gave her a thumbs-up, whispered in Meghan’s ear, and the pair grinned at her like twin idiots.
“Oh hell,” she muttered, not pleased at all when Ty entered and made a beeline to her. He looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a quick kiss, one that had possession stamped all over it.
Gabby’s clear satisfaction annoyed her even more.
“What?” she snapped, daring her sister to say one word about what she’d seen.
“Nothing. Not a thing.” Gabby smiled at Ty. “Hungry, Ty?”
He winked at her. “Famished.” The bastard slid a sly look Julia’s way. “Nothing like a hard ride to work up an appetite.”
Gabby choked on her drink.
“Oh?” Jason asked.
“Friend of mine lives nearby. I borrowed his truck and made a sweep of the area, just to get acquainted with the town. You guys really need to pave your roads. I like a smooth ride,” he added with enough suggestion to turn Julia’s cheeks beet red. So he’d noticed she shaved regularly. Terrific.
Meghan smothered a giggle.
“Have some noodles, please.” And shut up before I hurt you. She dumped a pile of food on his plate, sighing with relief when he finally started eating.
“This is great. Thanks, Jason.”
Jason smiled and made small talk.
Julia couldn’t eat any more. She wanted a drink, preferably something stronger than a cola. Then again, the last time she’d had alcohol, she’d tried, unsuccessfully, to molest Ty. She had no head for booze. One beer and she grew tipsy.
“So, Gabby,” Ty said when Jason paused to engage Meghan in conversation. “I’d like to apologize for anything you saw earlier. Your sister makes me lose my head and I—”
Julia slapped a hand over his mouth and pointed at her sister. “Not one more word.”
Gabby shrugged in innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Exactly.”
Ty licked her hand and she hastily withdrew it. “Hmm, tasty.”
Meghan smiled. “Think of it this way, Julia. You’re not the cat lady anymore.” She laughed so hard she cried.
Gabby looked smug. Jason wanted to know what was so funny.
Julia couldn’t take any more. “Jason, did you drink all those beers you brought over the other day?”
“Nope. There are still a few in the fridge.”
“Good.”
Gabby watched her sister and Ty, pleased beyond measure Julia was finally living a little. She knew better than anyone how much Julia had sacrificed to keep their family together.
Meghan had been so young when their father left for good. He refused to stay where he wasn’t wanted, not that Gabby could blame him.
After Dad left, Mom struggled to keep it together, but her heart had been broken. When she’d left Cougar Falls, no one had been surprised to find her dead, shot and stripped of her luxurious pelt. Foxes didn’t live long by themselves outside the town. They’d all been devastated, but Julia had taken her death harder than any of them.
Once a curious, rebellious silver fox, she’d grown into a much more cautious, reserved Shifter who shied at anything resembling a serious relationship to keep their guardians happy. No thanks to Aunt Lynn and Uncle Harry, two frigid, snotty silver foxes masquerading as caring guardians. The whole clan wasn’t as bad as her aunt and uncle, but Julia refused to look beyond her carefully placed boundaries, worried about getting her sisters kicked out of town.
Ty had been sniffing around her sister for years, but Julia didn’t see it. Gabby had, and she’d subtly encouraged Ty whenever she could. Unfortunately, he had a head full of pride. Typical male. Still, he had a generous heart, standing in the community and the backbone to do the right thing even in the face of great opposition.
He’d been elected to sheriff a few years ago. The youngest one Cougar Falls had ever had. Gabby couldn’t fathom the degree of patience it took to keep the peace in their nutty little town.
Sitting across from them, she watched Julia whisper something in his ear that had him frowning. They were so perfect for each other. Both gorgeous, in man’s form and as foxes. Both responsible Ac-taw who cared for rules and the town as much as anything else. Ty’s levity and sexy charisma tempered Julia’s seriousness and her prudish mien when it came to sex. Personally, Gabby blamed Aunt Lynn for that.
Gabby could care less about what her relatives thought. But perhaps that was because she knew she’d never belong.
Unfortunately, silver foxes had a reputation for not tolerating differences. If one of her relatives had been a bear, she could have found solace with the Bear Clan. They accepted anyone with even a hint of bear in them. The Catamounts had several kinds of Shifter in their clan. But those other Ac-taw were good friends of Burke Chastell, men he’d known for years. Gabby didn’t know Burke well, and she wasn’t normal, even by Ac-taw standards. And neither were her sisters.
“What are you staring at?” Julia asked, defensive.
Gabby realized the table had grown silent while she gazed at her sister, woolgathering. “Oh, nothing. Just contemplating the glow of love between you two. Or should I say, you four?”
She ignored Julia’s scowl and Ty’s raised brow. Oh, the stubborn man could say what he wanted, but Gabby knew love when she saw it. Ty had it bad, he just hadn’t admitted it to himself. Maybe Gabby should help him. Hadn’t she convinced Meghan to follow her heart? Even if it was all the way out here to Nowhere?
“The one thing I don’t get, Jason, is how different you are from your family,” she said to diffuse the tension.
Everyone turned to Jason, who fidgeted. He was so cute. No wonder Meghan had fallen for him. Short blond hair, twinkling blue eyes and a warm smile he had specially for her little sister. Why couldn’t Julia see the way the two leaned into each other so naturally?
Jason laughed with self-deprecation. “Don’t think too badly of my family. I know they’re out there. Problem is, my dad’s a throwback. He’s a chauvinist and doesn’t care who knows it. I have no idea why, but Mom loves him.”
Meghan chimed in, “I like your mom. She’s been so nice to me.” Gabby noticed she didn’t mention his dad.
Jason grinned. “Mom is great, yeah. But Dad… Where do you think Ned gets his charm?” he asked with sarcasm. “In case any of you are wondering, Meghan and I are not going to live here. We’re just visiting this last time to please my mother. Then Meghan and I are settling down in Seattle. Trust me, it’s far enough away my family will never visit. They don’t leave Nowhere. Ever.”
“Good,” Julia muttered.
“Julia, that wasn’t nice,” Ty chided, teasing.
Jason looked at Meghan. “So, in Seattle, I was thinking we could find a house in Queen Anne. My business is really taking off.”
Meghan gave him a wide smile. “Queen Anne or Greenlake. Sounds perfect to me. What do you guys think?”
“Cougar Falls,” Julia and Ty said at the same time.
“I vote for home too, but that’s just my opinion. You know what they say, Meghan.” Gabby turned a toothy smile on Julia and Ty. “Home is where the heart is.”