Dax: Single Daddy Shifters #4 Read online

Ava hadn’t realized how much she had been holding back. But at that moment, it was like something inside of her just let go. She didn’t try to fight it. She just gave in to it and bawled in Carol’s arms.

  “Come on,” she heard Carol say. “Come on in, you need to get in here, too.”

  And then Dax’s big arms were around them both and they were all crying.

  But they were tears of happiness.

  And Ava couldn’t have been happier to feel these big emotions with these two wonderful people.

  “Dah?” a little voice said over the monitor.

  Ava smiled.

  “Oh, let me go get them,” Dax said, drying his eye with the back of his hand.

  “I’m coming too,” Ava told him.

  “And I’ve got to run,” Carol said. “I spent way too much time spoiling my grandkids this weekend, and not enough making brownies for the event tonight. Will I see you guys at the tree lighting?”

  “Yes,” Dax said, smiling over at Ava. “Yes, I think you will.”

  “Good,” Carol said. “And let me know if you need help planning a wedding. No pressure, but I love weddings.”

  Ava was mortified, but Dax only laughed.

  “We’ll need you for that soon, I’m sure,” he said as he walked her to the door.

  She placed a hand on his cheek and gave it a pinch of approval before heading out the door.

  “See you tonight,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Wow,” Ava said softly.

  “Are you really surprised?” Dax asked.

  She thought about it. “No, not really,” she admitted. “Carol’s always been wonderful.”

  “Yes, and speaking of wonderful, let’s go get our babies,” Dax said, his eyes twinkling.

  Our babies.

  The words felt like strong arms around her, lifting her heavenward.

  Ava had come to Tarker’s Hollow feeling barren and broken.

  Suddenly, she was whole again in so many ways.

  It felt good to dash up the stairs and into this noisy, happy, wonderful life.

  Her life.

  23

  Dax

  Dax breathed in the cool night air and cuddled Maddie close to his chest.

  Beside him, Ava held Mason, who clutched a hank of her hair in his chubby fist.

  The stars were bright in the Tarker’s Hollow sky above them. Below, in the little garden next to the public library, the community had gathered in the darkness.

  It was good to be together with his friends, and with Ava.

  It had been a wonderful season for the formerly single dads of the Tarker’s Hollow Community Center play group. Suddenly, they weren’t really single anymore. It was like there was something in the air. And it was really nice to have such good friends to share in each other’s joy.

  “Do you think they’ll get started soon?” Chase asked.

  His fiancée, Izzy, elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Ouch, you elbowed me,” he said.

  “Don’t be in a rush,” Izzy said with a smile. “The holidays are supposed to be a time for reflection.”

  “Are you sure?” Chase teased her. “I sort of thought they were the time for baking cookies until you passed out.”

  “Nope, that’s my department,” Kelly answered from her spot beside them.

  Dax laughed. “You own a bakery, Kelly,” he said. “It’s always time for you to bake cookies until you drop.”

  “Not always,” Kelly said. “Sometimes it’s time to bake muffins until you drop.”

  Dax laughed again and Kelly’s fiancé, Bane, pulled her in for a kiss.

  “We made it,” Axel called out as he and Delilah rushed over with baby Noah.

  “Noah,” little Ollie called out. Bane’s son loved his buddy, baby Noah.

  “Dax,” a woman behind him said quietly.

  He turned to see Rachel Delgado, the woman who owned the little jewelry store in town.

  “Hang on a sec, guys,” he said, handing Maddie to Chase and heading off to chat with her in private.

  “Ohhh, look out,” Chase chortled.

  Thankfully Ava didn’t know who Rachel was, and he hoped his friends weren’t about to tell her. He only needed a few more minutes to pull off this surprise.

  Rachel handed him a tiny box. “It’s done. Next time maybe give me a little more notice?”

  “Next time?” he asked in horror.

  “I assume you’ll be coming back to my shop for anniversaries and birthdays?” She was looking at him like he was from Mars.

  But he couldn’t be mad. Not today.

  “Thank you, Rachel,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

  “Uh, you’re welcome,” she replied, sounding very surprised.

  He let her go and gave her a big smile, which she returned with a smaller one that was still warm.

  Satisfied, he turned back to his friends.

  “This little girl’s getting heavy,” Chase said, handing Maddie back to him.

  Just then the mayor stepped forward and sat on a stool in front of the big evergreen in the library lawn.

  “Thank you all for coming,” he said. “It’s time for the lighting of the tree. But first, let’s sing Silent Night.”

  He strummed his fingers down the strings of his acoustic guitar and the crowd began to sing the words of the beloved carol.

  When the last notes were still hanging in the air, the lights on the big tree came on.

  Dozens of strands of lights adorned its branches.

  For a moment, Dax was reminded of the glimmer of the moonlight on the snow-covered branches of the trees near the cabin.

  Then he pulled the little box out of his pocket and got down on one knee, Maddie balanced on his hip.

  When Ava turned back to him to gauge his reaction to the tree, she saw him kneeling, saw that he was holding something in his hand.

  “Dax,” she sighed.

  “Ava Sorensen, I love you,” he said.

  “Ay-uh,” Maddie added.

  “Will you marry me?” he asked her, suddenly worried that maybe he shouldn’t have put her on the spot in this way.

  She had accepted the role of mate for life. But marriage was different. It was more formal, more public. Maybe Ava would wish he had waited.

  But then she was smiling at him and crying a little and reaching her hand out to pull him back up on his feet.

  “Yes,” she cried. “Yes, yes, yes, of course.”

  “Es, es, es,” Mason said along with her, clapping his chubby hands. “Es, Ay-uh.”

  Dax pulled her in for a hug and for a moment the four of them were all alone in the world - a warm, happy family, ready for all the adventures still to come.

  Ready to face the future with no regrets.

  Together.

  Thanks for reading Dax!

  Ready for more red-hot shifter action?

  If you like wolves, magic, strong women and alphas with experience, you’re going to love Seasoned Shifters, set in the steamy shifter world of Tarker’s Hollow.

  You can start right now with Her Teacher Mate:

  A sizzling hot teacher burning for the one thing he can’t have, a student with a forbidden fantasy that’s more than just a crush, and an enemy determined to keep them apart…

  Keep reading for a sample, or grab your copy now!

  www.tashablack.com/seasonedshifters

  Her Teacher Mate (Sample)

  1

  Bianca

  Bianca Silver tiptoed through the darkened woods, the flashlight from her phone trained on the path, trying not to make too much noise or disrupt any creepy critters.

  Bianca was decidedly the indoorsy type. So far this evening she had managed to break every stick in the forest, ruin her suede, sheepskin-lined boots, and work herself to a fever pitch remembering the plots of every scary movie she and her college roommates had terrified themselves with over so many late-night “study” sessions.

  And she’d been in the woods fo
r less than ten minutes.

  If she turned back, and squinted into the distance, she could still see the outline of the Tarker's Hollow College library silhouetted against the moonlit sky.

  “Why are you doing this, Bianca?” she muttered to herself. “You could be home watching a nice movie where no one gets attacked by anything.”

  But Bianca was curious. Always had been.

  When she’d seen the note in the mail earlier today, a little shiver of delight had run through her. It was handwritten on cream colored stationary.

  Your presence is requested for the Full Moon Gathering. Meet by the waterfall behind Tarker's Hollow College this evening at 9pm. No RSVP required.

  The only events Bianca had been invited to since coming back to Tarker's Hollow were an endless string of “parties” where the hostess had someone there selling things like upscale brownie mixes or overpriced costume jewelry. Bianca figured from the name that this one must be for incense and hippie candles.

  But she loved the real-life invitation and the idea of it happening in the woods at night. It made her think of witches and fairies and all things Shakespeare.

  Way to go, mysterious saleswoman, Bianca is in.

  She’d even brought a check book so she could make a purchase in support of whoever was hosting. They should be rewarded for putting in this kind of effort.

  Sometimes it hurt to see that practically everyone she’d known since childhood seemed to be married with a little one in their lap or on the way. Two by two they’d all paired up and Bianca was still alone, same as always.

  Alone - except for her new grad school friends, of course. Thank God for the Sociology master’s program upstate. It was a relief to have a cheering squad of other unmarried women in their mid-twenties.

  Bianca had been kind of a nerd in school, back before being a nerd had suddenly become cool. Her nose was always in a book, her head in the clouds - she was the opposite of popular. It almost went without saying that she was a late bloomer when it came to guys. She’d had an awkward experience or two in college, but never a serious boyfriend.

  It probably hadn’t helped that she was planning on coming home once she had her degree. In a lot of ways, that knowledge made it feel like she never really left. She was already back in Tarker's Hollow now with her friends to work on a research project. The little apartment she had rented would be her home for good after graduation in the spring.

  She could have at least gone to a big city where she would have had a chance to meet someone more like herself.

  But Tarker's Hollow was home. Mom and Dad were still living in the little blue cedar shake house with the screened porch. The cost of living was low enough that she could afford her own apartment nearby, and the college library had a fantastic historical collection and a view over the woods. If Mister Right were out there somewhere in the big wide world, he would just have to come find her.

  Bianca had been making enough of a racket just trying to navigate the trees that she hadn’t heard any other sounds. But when she stopped to try and remember which way the waterfall was, she heard it.

  Something thrashing among the trees.

  Something big.

  And it was headed right for her.

  Panicked, and knowing she was not a fast runner, Bianca threw herself to the ground and crouched behind the nearest tree, fumbling to kill the light from her phone and saying a silent prayer that whatever it was would be open to negotiation.

  The mystery creature stopped short, just in front of her tree and inhaled deeply.

  She clung to the scratchy bark and begged herself not to peek.

  Bianca Marie Silver, you do NOT need to know what is on the other side of this tree.

  But it was no use, because she was already peeking.

  A massive, silvery wolf stood proudly, bathed in moonlight. His paws - she knew inherently the creature was masculine - were the size of dinner plates.

  He lifted his slender muzzle to the moon above and howled a song of aching loneliness.

  Every hair on Bianca’s body lifted at the haunting beauty of it.

  Unable to tear her eyes away, Bianca was still looking when the wolf lowered his muzzle and spotted her.

  He gazed back at her with golden eyes that seemed somehow… familiar.

  Her jaw dropped open as everything clicked into place, like finding the final piece of a puzzle you forgot you were even missing.

  She had suspected that there were wolf shifters in Tarker's Hollow. This was her proof.

  She held her breath and watched the creature, her mind spinning.

  Bianca and her friends had come here for exactly this reason. They’d told the university that they were there to study the socioeconomic impact of a highway coming to a small town. But secretly they were trying to learn more about the mysterious paranormal events that had been occurring over the last year.

  Mysterious paranormal events that all seemed to be happening in a radius centered on Bianca’s tiny hometown.

  Growing up in Tarker’s Hollow, Bianca sometimes got the sense that something was happening just off her radar. Adults could be odd and unpredictable from time to time, but their little cliques never bothered her the way it did her mother.

  Then in high school, a seemingly random group of students who had little in common on the surface were suddenly thick as thieves. One of them was Bianca’s former best friend, Wendy. They had gone from sleepover buddies to strangers in what felt like a week during one terrible teenaged year. Wendy had dumped her for that oddly standoffish collection of jocks, geeks, cheerleaders and band nerds. A group that wanted nothing to do with Bianca.

  And then there was the way the whole town seemed to shut down once a month when the moon was full.

  Bianca had always told herself she was imagining it.

  But right now she knew deep in her bones that she had been right. She’d spent most of her life in the shadows of the most interesting thing to ever happen to human-kind. Until this very moment, she’d never really known the truth of it.

  And now she was seeing living proof.

  The wolf began to shift into human form.

  But he didn’t need to. Bianca knew exactly who he was.

  A part of her had always known him.

  2

  Bianca Remembers

  It had been an overcast day - a younger Bianca sat in the high school library, lost in a book, when the snickering of a group of boys announced the approach of their leader, Zach Greenfield, the quarterback of the football team.

  “Hey, Bianca, do you have plans for prom?” he asked, hopping onto the soapstone table where she was studying.

  It just wasn’t fair. She knew he was only messing with her - she was too smart to fall for his prank, but he was so damned handsome. His dark hair slid across one blue eye before he pushed it back with a practiced motion, showing off the muscles of his upper arm.

  “Yeah, I’m washing my hair. Every night. For the rest of my life,” she shot back.

  Zach obviously wasn’t used to having girls talk to him that way. The guys behind him laughed, while his face grew ugly with resentment.

  “Fat cow like you better get used to staying in,” he said, hopping off the table and leaving the library, the others trailing along behind him like toilet paper sticking to the bottom of his shoe.

  Bianca found herself bemoaning the unfairness of life for the second time in less than a minute. Why were attractive guys such asshats? And why was the cheap shot about her weight such an easy out?

  Anger turned to hurt, and she bit her lip hard, determined not to cry.

  Then there was a hand on her shoulder.

  She turned to see who it was, readying another comeback, just in case.

  But her words, all of her words, right down to her own name, were forgotten when she spotted him.

  Bianca had suffered a soul-shattering crush on Mr. Anderson since he’d arrived at the school to teach tenth grade English during her junior year. She’
d missed having him as a teacher by a year, but just seeing him in the halls and school functions had been enough.

  Bianca had read about crushes. They were supposed to make you feel giggly and happy.

  But this was something different, something darker.

  She remembered the exact moment she’d first seen him, the way some folks recall their first kiss, or where they were when One Direction broke up.

  In a down to earth school where even a polo shirt qualified as dressed up, Bianca had noticed the young man in the tweed coat with suede elbow patches the moment he walked in the door. She’d been heading to the library, of course, having finished her end-of-year testing early.

  He had been silhouetted by afternoon sun, which gleamed in the blond highlights of his hair. He was looking around as if unsure of where he was headed.

  “Do you need help?” Bianca asked, polite and curious as ever.

  His unusual golden-hazel eyes had locked on hers and something had passed between them.

  Instantly, Bianca felt every cell in her seventeen-year-old body come to life, as if it were roll call time and this guy had the clipboard.

  This, this was what all the poems and the fuss were about - the movies and the romance novels, the gossip and the drama and the danger of it all. This was the reason to be alive.

  “Mr. Anderson,” a woman’s voice had cried from behind her, interrupting the spell.

  Bianca turned, breaking eye contact with the young man.

  “Bianca, what are you doing here?” Dr. Tilly asked kindly.

  “Oh, I-I was on my way to the library,” she stammered.

  “One of our brightest students,” Dr. Tilly smiled, gesturing at Bianca.

  Mr. Anderson blinked at Bianca and then wrenched his gaze from her.

  “Off you go, Bianca,” Dr. Tilly said firmly.

  Bianca had headed to the library, a different young woman than she’d been just moments before.