Chapter 7 Lincoln
LINCOLN
I paced the living room floor as I waited for Bronson’s arrival.
Dale had left an hour ago to return to his dorm but had told me the only way to stay out of jail and to gain the trust of my mate was to be truthful. I’d also made him promise never to drag me to another bonfire, though he reacted by saying that was how I’d gotten in contact with Bronson.
“I’m the hero in this story.”
I doubted there were any, and at the end of the day, my life might be in tatters and I’d be surrounded by carnage caused by my lies.
My brother had printed out images of wild animals and told me to put them in frames.
But I was too jittery to dash out and buy any.
Instead, I stood on the back deck and congratulated myself, not for the first time, on buying this property.
It backed onto woods, making it private and secluded and the perfect place to shift.
But by this evening, it could be the place where my chance at happiness ended.
I couldn’t blow this, but perhaps I already had. The professional photographer fib couldn’t be undone by saying I was kidding.
Stop. Your jiggly tummy is making me sick.
The doorbell rang, and my heart made a thump-a-lump maneuver. It irritated my beast, as it was worse than what was going on in my belly.
After wiping my sweaty palms on my pants, I strode to the front door, telling myself not to be anxious but also to avoid being overconfident. I had to win Bronson’s trust, and based on my past behavior, that wouldn’t be easy.
My mate stood on the stairs with a thick folder under his arm.
“Hi.” I stepped back, inviting him to enter. “Thanks for coming.”
He stood on the threshold and hesitated as he eyed the inside of the house and the view of the woods at the back. I wished I’d taken Dale’s advice and framed those pics. It was too late now unless I told him to wait in the car while I ran an errand. Nah, that wasn’t happening.
We stood awkwardly in the entryway, and he fiddled with the folder until I offered him coffee. He agreed, and that gave us both a few minutes to adjust to the other’s presence and Bronson to suss out whether I had a panther squirreled away behind the TV.
“This is a nice place.” He sat on the edge of the sofa as if anticipating a quick getaway.
“Thanks. It took ages for me to find what I wanted, but I was glad I didn’t buy whatever was on the market just so I could have my own home.”
Bronson craned his neck toward the deck. “Looks as though you have a big garden.”
Now we were getting into dangerous territory, because his next comment or question might be about the location of my panther.
I sat opposite him and was glad of the coffee mug I was clutching because it gave me something to do with my hands.
“This is for you.” He handed me the folder but couldn’t hide his trembling hand.
My mind scrambled though possible reasons for the thick file. But other than a lengthy arrest warrant, I was at a loss.
“What is it?”
“It’s research.” He studied the contents of his mug rather than looking at me.
“It’s about panthers and the places they can be kept legally and the regulations for keeping wild animals on a domestic property.
Plus, there’s a list of places where you can surrender an animal without getting into trouble. ”
I’m not going anywhere.
Sometimes my beast had trouble understanding he and I couldn’t be separated.
I almost spat out my coffee, not because he was insistent on me being punished but he was helping me avoid the long arm of the law. A stranger who knew nothing about me except his suspicion I’d lied to him repeatedly.
“I understand you’re a wildlife photographer.”
He glanced around the room, and I grabbed the stack of printouts that were facedown on the coffee table. But I couldn’t bring myself to flip them over. What photographer would have printed out copies of images from a generic website?
“But if you really have a panther secreted away, I wanted to give you options.”
If I’d been sitting beside him, I wouldn’t have been able to resist hugging him, so it was better I was perched on an armchair.
Bronson gulped. “These are ways to fix your panther problem without repercussions.”
I’m not a problem. My beast was annoyed at the direction of the conversation.
The universe couldn’t have chosen a better mate for me than Bronson. He’d come up with ways to help me and get me out of trouble while protecting a wild animal.
“Thank you. I can’t believe you did all this. But I have to tell you something.”
He nodded as his knees gripped the edge of the sofa. “Please tell me you’re not going to confess to illegal animal trafficking. If you are, I should leave now.”
“I'd never engage in any activity that hurt animals.” Hmmm, except when my beast took down a deer or a rabbit. But that wasn’t for sport.
“Okay, I’m waiting for the truth.” He fiddled with a cushion tassel. “But I have a confession of my own.”
Gods, no. He’d called the cops. I jumped up and did what Dale had done. I peered through the curtains to see if we were surrounded. But there was nothing out of the ordinary in the street.
“You first.” Yeah, I was being gallant, because whatever Bronson had to say was nothing compared to my secret.
A stunning pink blush crept over his face, and I considered offering him a glass of water.
“My mom was bugging me about a blind date I went on.” He looked directly at me. “I don’t want to be matched with some random dude and expect it to be true love.” He sighed. “So I fibbed and said I had a boyfriend. And that’s being a huge-ass hypocrite because I accused you of lying.”
“I see.”
His face was now the color of cooked beets. “But I am kind of interested in someone but doubt that will work out.”
My head jerked up. Why did I get the sense he was talking about me? He was probably eyeing a guy at work or lusting over someone at the gym.
“Use me.”
“What?” His screech terrified birds nesting nearby, and they flew off.
“I’ll be your pretend boyfriend. You can even introduce me to your mom.”
Now his face was white, the blood draining to who knew where, while blood was being pumped into part of me, and I crossed my legs so he didn’t see my arousal.
“I want to help.”
He furrowed his brow. “That’s kind but a little odd.”
“I like you.” I wasn’t being completely honest because I was head over heels in love with him. “But before you answer, I have to show you the real me and the truth about the panther.”
Bronson put his head in his hands. “I knew you were lying.”
“No.” I leaped up and stood behind the armchair so as not to appear too intimidating. “Not about keeping a panther. I’m not and have never done that. But I’m not a photographer.”
My mate crossed his arms and his expression said, “Nothing you say can change my mind.”
I had to show and not tell, so I told him to stand on the back deck and watch. “You’ll be safe up there.” Hmmm, the safe part wasn’t going to put his mind at ease. “Or close the sliding doors and watch from inside.”
Not waiting for an answer, I took off and raced into the back garden. Flinging off my clothes, I made sure he could see me and told my panther to take his fur.
My beast was so proud to show himself to our mate, and he stood still with his head arched. Bronson walked backward—no, he staggered from the deck inside, and his face matched the white paint on the walls.
How had I expected this to go when he’d just been confronted with the impossible?
I took my skin and pulled on my jeans before racing to the front door as my mate was leaving. He reared away from me but didn’t lock himself in his car.
“You and the panther, you’re the same person.” He tugged at his hair. “I don’t understand how that’s possible, but I witnessed you changing into an animal.”
As best I could, I gave him a twenty-second rundown on shifters and our history.
He rubbed both eyes with his fists as if he were trying to unsee what I’d shown him.
“I gotta go.”
“Please stay, and we can discuss this over a meal… or something.” The something I’d envisioned had faded and was clinging on with little hope.
“Sorry, I can’t.” He headed for the car, holding his keys like a weapon. “I need to think about what this means for the world and humans.”
Oh gods, he was going to do what I feared more than him calling the authorities. He was going to reveal our existence to humans.
“But I’ll k-keep your s-secret.”
And then he was gone, and I was alone except for my beast, standing at the front gate as though I didn’t know where I belonged. And as Bronson had rejected me, I didn’t.