One Night with the Shifter. Theresa Meyers

apart and warning him off of her.”

      Ty took back the canteen and placed his hand on Riley’s shoulder. “Got to respect them for protecting your sister. They just want somebody good enough for her.”

      Riley let out an irritated sigh. “Problem is, in their opinion, nobody’s good enough for her. It’s not fair to Jess.”

      “When you’re the youngest in the family, kid, nothing’s fair.”

      Riley nodded. “Ain’t that the truth.”

      “If we’re going to eat tonight, blue team needs to get firewood.”

      Riley saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

      Ty watched the kid jog back to his team. A few days out in the wilderness and a good hunt would do Ty good.

      * * *

      Monday came and went. So did Tuesday, followed by Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in a boring, predictable order that made Jess feel as though she were walking around with weights tied to her feet all week. She found herself daydreaming in the middle of class—more typical for one of her sixth graders than her.

      She’d felt off all week, had a low-grade fever. Maybe she was just coming down with the crud that always seemed to circulate around the school this time of year. Maybe she was just heartsick.

      “Miss Brierly, Evan won’t give me back my calculator.” Jess glanced at her student Mila. Evan did everything he could to get the girl’s attention, in the most irritating, stupid fashion. Pulling on her hair. Putting used chewing gum on her desk. Taking her things or shoving into her at recess. Boys really had no clue. Too bad most men didn’t, either.

      She’d waited for Ty to call. Something, anything to indicate he’d found their night together, well, more than just a fling. How hard could it be to get her number from Riley and find five minutes to call her?

      Obviously too hard, she answered herself. “Tell Evan to come see me.”

      Mila strode confidently back to the small collection of desks she had to share with Evan and four other students. Evan had a hangdog expression. He wasn’t a bad kid, he was just immature and the hormones had only just begun to make him stupid about girls.

      “Yes, Miss Brierly?”

      “Evan, did you take Mila’s calculator?”

      “I borrowed it.”

      Jess nodded, twisting her hair back on her head and shoving a pencil in it to hold the messy bun in place. “Here’s the thing, Evan. Borrow implies you mean to give it back. Are you going to?”

      He nodded, his hand brushing absently over the pocket of his jeans, as he glanced back over at Mila. Poor kid.

      “Look, I know it’s cool to have something of hers, but all it’s doing is making her angry and I don’t think that’s what you want, is it?”

      Evan shook his head.

      “Give it back to her. Next time, why don’t you try giving her something instead of taking it?” The kid shuffled back to the table and handed Mila back her calculator. Mila barely glanced at him.

      Jess knew that feeling and wondered if relationships ever got any easier. They sure didn’t seem to. She reassured herself she was being silly for expecting anything from Ty. She’d wanted a hot night to be free, without it impacting the rest of her life. She’d gotten exactly what she’d wanted. She should be happy. But if it had been just what she wanted, why did thinking about him still make her heart beat harder?

      Jess took a deep breath. Time to move on and quit daydreaming about what if. What if he really liked her? What if she wanted to get to know him better? She glanced at the clock and realized recess was in two minutes. “Okay everyone, put your math books away, please. I’m waiting to see which table will line up first for recess.”

      The minute she’d seen the last student out the door, she grabbed a can of air freshener and sprayed it around the room, replacing the odor of boy with that of Wildflower Spring. It was a saving grace when it came to keeping the air in the room breathable with so many boys. A trick she’d learned at home when she was younger.

      She plopped down at her desk, and her gaze flicked to the neat squares on her desk calendar, garbled with messy notations in several different colors of ink. Friday. Good.

      Wait.

      Jess frowned. It was the middle of the month? Already? She started counting. Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two. All the blood left her head in a rush, leaving her skin cold and clammy. She braced her hand on the desk, feeling numb from head to toe as she stared at the dates in horror.

      Damn. She was late.

      Chapter 5

      Stunning how she could still function when her heartbeat and breathing were stopped cold. Jess sat on the closed lid of the toilet in the powder room just off the kitchen and stared at the little clear window in the white plastic stick.

      She shook it.

      It was wrong, of course. Had to be.

      Picking up the box, she reread the directions. “Most accurate test on the market, my foot.”

      There was simply no way she could be pregnant.

      Not now.

      Not with him.

      She didn’t even know him. Not really.

      Jess flicked the plastic stick into the trash, a throbbing burn starting behind her eyes. She tried blinking rapidly and staring up at the ceiling as her nose began to run and the tears came anyway, then turned into a full-on crying jag.

      A few minutes later a knock at the bathroom door jarred her. Jess sniffled loudly, then grabbed some tissue and blew her nose.

      “You doing okay in there?” Edgar’s voice made the tears well up all over again.

      “Yes—no—I don’t know.”

      The door opened a sliver and he peeked in. “What’s wrong?”

      “Nothing. Everything.” Jess wiped her face with the backs of her hands, but the tears were still sliding down her cheeks. “It’s just all so silly. I should be happy, not crying, shouldn’t I?”

      He looked thoroughly puzzled. “Is this a female thing?” he asked cautiously.