The Baby Shift- Minnesota Read online

  "Maybe I'll see you around this week," he said. His voice rumbled. She resisted the urge to rest her tired head on his chest. Her stomach flipped.

  "Maybe!" And she was off before he could get another word out. She scampered back to her house and slammed the door closed behind her.

  Russell couldn't be good news for her. She'd never been this way about anyone, not even her most serious boyfriends. She sucked in a deep breath. I'll keep my distance and everything will be fine.

  Everything would be fine. It had to be.

  ----

  Russell

  The smell hit him before the delicious aroma of the cake. He nearly drew back when she showed up on his doorstep with a baked good. That smell. There was no mistaking it. It was him. Part of him. Somewhere on her.

  As they talked and he got the coffee ready, he watched her carefully. He watched her part her mouth, could practically feel her dry throat as the muscles in her neck tightened and relaxed. Her scent was frantic and exhausted all at the same time. Modern human women were too complicated!

  Yet, she had his scent. Somehow, Karen was his next-door neighbor and she carried his distinct odor. How was that possible?

  "They're like my daughter's eyes."

  His chest tightened. So, that was it. He nodded along, made conversation, smelled her desire. It wasn't fair for him to know so much about her thoughts.

  When she practically slammed his own front door in his face, he hovered and stared at the closed door for a few speechless moments. There could be no doubt. He dragged a hand down over his face. The scent on her, her daughter…

  It wasn't him. Well, it was, and it wasn't. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling with wide eyes. It'd been a joke. A dare. Go to the sperm bank and make a donation. Humans never want Shifter DNA anyways.

  His friends have given him a bottle of whiskey on his departure. He cracked the bottle open with a crisp sound. He sighed and poured himself a glass.

  Life wasn't fair, for him or Karen. Should he tell her? He drained his glass and poured another, groaning as he exhaled and felt the burning sensation in his chest.

  Worse, he liked her. He couldn't get her out of his head. And she didn't like him...but she was attracted to him. His lips tugged upward in a dark smirk. He smelled it on her. He leaned his head back and counted the grain in the wooden beams in his new living room.

  He had a daughter. The mother was a gorgeous, accomplished business woman and his next-door neighbor! He shielded his eyes as if there was a heavy light hitting them. No matter how many times he wished it to be different, it wasn't.

  His father told him that the human world was a wild place, somehow even stranger than the confines of their Shifter community. Everything felt strange here...and he was alone.

  "Every wolf must run without his pack at one point," his father said. "He will be stronger for it."

  Russell furrowed his brow and considered this sage advice. Surely, his parents couldn't have imagined that he would've done something like that...Shifters rarely meddled in any human affairs and sperm banks didn't exist among Shifters. He rested his hands on his lap, flexing his long and powerful fingers. Power had always been in his grasp...and now? It escaped him. He had no control.

  Karen. He had to stay away from her. It would be better for her and her daughter. His daughter. "Shit," he muttered and shook his head, burying his face into his hand. Curiosity was running rampant through his mind. What did his daughter look like? What was Karen like behind all her business charades?

  He wanted to know and he hated himself for it. Damn. He crossed his arms and considered his options. Distance was wisest. Distance was necessary.

  ---

  There were errands on the outskirts of town that he had to run. He left early in the morning before Karen's SUV left her garage. Her cake sat on his counter. It was joined by a casserole brought over by a housewife from a few doors down. He grinned. She'd showed up in a plunging neckline last night after Karen left, not that he could think about much more than the redhead who was haunting his every thought.

  The housewife left disappointed. He shook his head and muttered, "Human women must get bored." He couldn't understand anyone, man or woman, choosing to stay at home only to rear children. Women from his pack worked and took care of children while the men pulled equal weight in childcare. He didn't like the disinterest that he'd seen from some human fathers as he observed humans more up close. If they were dealing with Shifter women, those ladies would've had those husbands and boyfriends by their throats while they begged for mercy.

  He could see Karen being that tough, though. She'd mentioned that she was single. Why? He frowned. She was beautiful and accomplished. Utterly unsatisfied. It was the aura she exuded. There was a hunger in her eyes. She must eat men for breakfast in her spare time.

  He liked it. It reminded him of his own hungry look. He caught his sharp face in his car mirror and brushed his rough hands through his hair. A flash of his father's face came up in the back of his mind. What would he have done? Russell snorted to himself. His father probably would've waxed poetically on about how it was important to learn to deal with humans.

  He shut his eyes and leaned his head against the headrest. The sound of the world outside whirled around him, but he could only hear the steady rush of blood in his ears. A weight settled on his shoulders.

  To tell her...or to keep it a secret?

  ----

  Karen

  Piper was a happy baby. Everyone said so and Karen had been approached once by a model agency to get Piper in some baby campaigns. No way, she thought to herself. Her daughter would make her way through her brains and charm, just as Karen had. She was sure of it. Piper's eyes brightened up when people talked, as if she understood every word that was being said.

  When they were returning from an afternoon visit with Aunt Becky, Karen pulled into her driveway to see Russell planting some new flowerbeds. She'd kept her distance over the last few days, fearful of watching his handsome back for too long outside of her kitchen window. He seemed to be purposefully avoiding her. Or maybe she'd gone as loony as her sister.

  Piper gurgled happily from the backseat and excitedly watched Russell from the backseat as Karen unloaded her from the car seat. She raised her eyebrows at her daughter. Piper was always social, but never quite so taken with strangers.

  Russell lifted his face as the baby's happy squeals broke through the quiet. His eyes flashed. Karen's stomach flipped. He seemed...nervous. She eased Piper into her arms, cooing at her lovingly. But, Piper's wide golden-flecked eyes were trained on the handsome neighbor.

  "Baaaaa," she murmured clumsily. Karen laughed to herself and catching Russell's eyes, decided to make light of it.

  "Why, Russell, I think my daughter likes you. Are you good with babies?" She made her voice as friendly and playful as possible. He stayed near his flower beds, but dusted the dirt off his gloves with a forceful pat onto his jeans. His half-smile struck her as awkward, something she didn't think possible for a man...being like him.

  "Can't say I'm very experienced," he said with a shrug. Piper moved her arms out in front of her, excitedly reaching for the man. Karen's eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs.

  Her daughter had never done this before expect with her own family members. She laughed in delight and gestured towards Russell. "Do you want to meet her? She seems quite taken with you."

  "The dirt," he said in a brittle, tight voice. His hands stretched out to show the crumbling soil falling. She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

  "You don't have to hold her." Her tone was annoyed and short. What was his problem? This rugged man was afraid of a baby? It was more annoying that she still felt oddly attracted to this weird rugged man living next to her. She frowned. "We'll see you later then."

  He hesitated, as if debating to speak about something. She wasn't going to stick around to hear it. With a swift turn of her sensible high heel, she shut the car door and collected Piper into the house without another word.

  * * *

  "Absolutely rude," she said into the phone a few minutes later. Aunt Becky had called to make sure they'd made it home safely and before she knew it, Karen had launched into a full-on rant about her new neighbor. "He's handsome like a model with a terrible attitude."

  "Handsome?" Aunt Becky echoed with interest. Karen snorted.

  "Auntie! He didn't even want to meet Piper. What kind of monster refuses to meet a baby?"

  "You said he's a Shifter," Becky mused in a dreamy voice. "Maybe he's afraid he'd crush her!" She said the last bit in an exciting way. This wasn't surprising, as Aunt Becky was more fond of white-water rafting and lunching with her adventurous old girlfriends than crocheting.

  "Becky," Karen said. "He was planting flowers. If he can handle roses, he can handle a baby."

  "Ah, fair enough."

  "Thank you! My friend Jessica thinks I'm absolutely crazy for thinking he's a jerk."

  "A handsome jerk," her aunt said in a sing-song voice. Karen sighed into the phone.

  "Don't start!"

  "When's the last time you went on a date?" Becky asked innocently. "Just a little fun. You can invite him over for a quick dinner. As neighbors. Friendly neighbors."

  Karen hummed with hesitation. "I don't know, Auntie..."

  "You catch more flies with honey," the old woman fired back. "It pays to be friendly. He could provide you with more networking opportunities among the Shifter community for business!"

  Karen stopped. She hadn't thought of that. Normally, when she met people, she was chomping at the bit to discuss their work and how they could collaborate. Her cheeks burned. Russell really was different. A shiver came over her. Piper babbled happily from her high chair, expectant of the apple sauce that Karen was preparing while on the phone.

  "I'll call you tomorrow, Auntie."

  If she admitted to herself that Russell was different...if she didn't invite him over to discuss like she usually would with people...She straightened. Somehow that handsome man had won a victory over her without her noticing. In the large golden mirror hanging above the dining table, her reflection challenged her. Are you going to let a man win? She threw her shoulders back. She'd never let a man win against her in her life.

  And she wasn’t going to let him be the first.

  -----

  A dinner invitation with a neighbor was a tricky thing. You had to wait long enough since their new arrival to not overwhelm them, but not too long after they've arrived or else you miss your window. She smoothed down her high ponytail and admired the expert arch she'd drawn in her eyebrows today.

  "Alright, Russell," she muttered to herself and adjusted her blouse, a sensible and conservative leftover from her day at work. "Prepare yourself."

  She marched over with all the will-power that she brought along in the boardroom. Her heels clicked in a determined fashion up his walkway. She rang the doorbell. He answered after only a few moments.

  "I'd like to invite you to a friendly neighbor dinner," she said in a neutral tone. His handsome eyebrows knitted together. She kicked herself for finding him attractive even beneath his flickering porch lamp. "Tonight if you're interested."

  He scratched the back of his neck. "I actually was going to run out to get takeout..."

  She shook her head fiercely, nearly whipping him in the face with her ponytail. "No need. Come over and have a pot roast with Piper and I." She made sure to emphasize her daughter's name. He leaned a broad shoulder against his doorway and looked down at her, biting his lip.

  "Okay," he said after a painful moment of anticipation. "Okay. I'll bring a bottle of wine I have around."

  "Come over in an hour, if you'd still like," she said and swept back over to her house. Although it pained her to admit, she'd spent an hour preparing to start the dinner without knowing if he'd accept or not. Piper giggled happily in her crib in the living room. Karen had turned on cartoons for her and began chopping her vegetables.

  In a few minutes, the roast's bubbling smell started in the oven. Piper babbled happily and Karen nodded along to her daughter's delightful shrieks as she nursed a glass of wine, checking over her recipe and work notes at the same time.

  She thought of Russell: his reluctant eyes, his piercing gaze, his hiding of something. His lips, twisted into a snarky smirk at their first meeting, came to her mind. She found herself running her fingers along her own lips. A fire sparked in her chest. She tried to soothe her nerves, the excitement growing and cascading over her tense shoulders. How would it be to kiss him? She sucked in a breath, surprised at her own thought.

  Piper let out a disgruntled wail as the timer went off. Karen dashed over to adjust the oven's heat and set a new timer as her daughter's cries began reaching new volumes.

  "Coming, baby," Karen cried to her and ran over to scoop her up. A diaper change was needed. So much for the elegance of her wine glass. She abandoned it for the changing station in Piper's room. After a few moments, with a fresh diaper, she carried the refreshed baby back to her cartoon haven. Piper settled down and she checked the roast.

  Not burnt. Everything according to plan. She kicked herself. Why was she so worried?

  Russell came over as she pulling the roast, smelling of balsamic vinegar sauce and the roasted potatoes with onions alongside it. He inhaled greedily as she greeted him at the door. A lustful flame struck her full-force watching his rugged face take in the smell of her cooking.

  He presented a bottle of wine, a fine one at that. It was a 2014 from a winery she was familiar with in Napa Valley from an old bachelorette trip with her sister. She told him as much as she poured them two glasses.

  "Is your sister a spitfire like you?" he asked with a grin. She let out a dark laugh as she scooped Piper up from the crib and settled her in the highchair.

  "She's a hunter of rich men if that gives you any idea," she said with a snort. The doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" He watched Piper with glittering eyes. The baby couldn't take her eyes off of him as she wriggled in her high chair. He looked less uncomfortable before, but she didn't have time to consider that as the doorbell rang again. "Coming!"

  Aunt Becky's beaming face greeted her. Karen gave her a sharp look. "Auntie. What are you doing here?"

  Aunt Becky placed a quick kiss on her cheek and sailed into the room. "Oh, I happened to remember you mentioning having the neighbor for dinner and thought that I'd take Piper off your hands for the night! Two adults can't possibly discuss new neighborhoods and business with such a cute child in the room." With a practiced look of surprise, she opened her eyes wide at the sight of Russell. "Oh, hello, you must be the handsome new neighbor!"

  Karen aimed daggers at the back of her aunt's head, but it was useless. Everything Aunt Becky did, all her meddling and suggestive schemes, came from a place of love.

  "Becky," she said with an elegant extension of her hand. Russell shook it with an amused smirk. His button-up shirt advertised all of the hard-earned muscles underneath the fabric and Karen could see that Aunt Becky was taking it all in without any shame.

  "Russell Austin," he said and then shot a sneaky look to Karen. "The handsome new neighbor."

  She could've died right there. "Auntie, you don't need to take Piper tonight!"

  Aunt Becky waved her hands, decorated with heavy silver rings of various hippie gemstones. "Oh, nonsense, darling! You need a good adult dinner without worrying about chopping up roast for your baby. I already have all of Piper's stuff packed up from the other day in my car. It'd be a cinch to watch her tonight and the girls will be over for poker, you know."

  Karen pressed two fingers to her temple. "Fine, fine, fine. You can take Piper. I changed her a moment ago."

  "Fresh baby!" Aunt Becky said with a wink at Russell as she collected the squirming child in her arms. Piper was more than happy to see Aunt Becky, but her eyes were stealing away at Russell still. Karen felt a surge of annoyance. Everyone in her family had defected to Russell's side. "I'll leave you two young things alone now!" And with only her sage perfume to remind them that she'd been there, Aunt Becky left with Piper in her arms.

  The door shut with a deft sound. An awkward silence washed over them. Karen gulped down some wine and cleared her throat.

  "My aunt likes to meddle," she said.

  The corner of his mouth turned upward. "Does she often make up lies, too? About the handsome neighbor part..." She could've punched him!

  She coughed. "I'm sure women have told you before about your looks."

  "And if I want to hear it from you?" he asked. She nearly dropped the knife and fork she'd picked up to carve the roast.

  "I may have mentioned you were handsome," she said casually and stabbed the roast. "But, I assure you that I invited you under friendly circumstances. To talk about neighborly things, business, life." He watched her saw at the meat. She could feel his amusement from the other side of the table. Why hadn't she sat their placemats farther apart? She was too aware of the weight of his golden eyes.

  "Karen," he said. Her stomach flipped at his tone. Serious. Grave. She lifted her head to stare at him.

  "I have to tell you something."

  ------

  Russell

  He was familiar with the look of fear. It was an emotion he'd seen many times before. In his clan brothers during heated fights, in his own father and mother…

  Nothing good could come from secrets. He'd decided that when he agreed to come over. Gone was the usual casual attitude that he carried around, the easiness which he could let things slide off his broad shoulders.

  "We're attracted to each other," he said simply. Her eyebrows shot up as she reeled backwards, but the fear turned to excitement. He could feel it. His nostrils flared. It was becoming hard to tame the beast inside him, the animal that yelled out for carnal desires to be satisfied. If there was a willing mate, why not?