Bane: Single Daddy Shifters #2 Read online

  “Let’s go home,” he told Ollie. “I think it’s going to start raining soon.”

  “Can we go to the library?” Ollie asked.

  “Sure,” Bane told him. “But let’s do that after I have my coffee.”

  “That’s a good compromise,” Ollie announced and stomped off toward the shop, looking down at his little feet every few steps to admire the lights on his sneakers.

  Bane thought about his plan for the day. BuzzLine was looking for top ten lists and he’d had one in mind to throw together today while Ollie was at school. He wondered if he could get it done during the nap.

  Freelance writing had been his first gig out of college - it put food on his table while he did an unpaid internship at Glacier City Press that led to getting on the acquisitions team. From there he’d made the connections that led to him acting as a literary agent to one rising star and then another.

  It was a little odd to be back to writing blog posts. But the beauty of it was that anyone could do it for quick money.

  He wrote them under a pen name, so no one had to know that Bane Wilson was completely out of the publishing game.

  Though he knew that as long as he was living in Tarker’s Hollow, it was unlikely he’d be working in publishing again.

  He had plenty of savings - his own, and Risa’s, which she had left to him.

  But it didn’t feel right to spend it. As far as he was concerned, that money really belonged to Ollie.

  Spending money on the apartment rental while they waited for the house to sell was one thing. The child psychologist had told him it would be ideal if Ollie could have a fresh start and didn’t have to think about new people coming into his house. The apartment would be a great place for them to transition into their new lives together.

  But beyond that, Bane liked working and wanted to add to their fortunes, not subtract from them.

  “You’re back,” Kelly exclaimed as Ollie threw open the door to the café, sending the bells above jangling.

  “Pre-school is closed,” Ollie said. “It’s Talk-Like-a-Dinosaur Day! Rawwrrr!”

  “That’s really awesome,” Kelly said. “Because I have a surprise for you.”

  “You do?” Ollie looked like he had won the lottery.

  “Well, it’s not just for you, it’s for any kids who come into the café with their grown-ups,” Kelly amended.

  Bane was grateful for the easy way she had said “with their grown-ups” not “with their parents.” Ollie was Bane’s son now by adoption, but he still remembered his daddy, and Bane never wanted that to change.

  Ollie followed Kelly over to the corner where a small wooden table with three chairs was set up.

  On the table was a deluxe set of crayons in a massive box, and beside it, a stack of coloring and activity books.

  The one on top had a picture of a roaring T-rex.

  “Wow,” Ollie cried, pulling out a chair and getting right down to business.

  Kelly smiled down at him fondly and Bane felt the flames licking at his heart.

  Mine, the wolf growled.

  “Thank you,” Bane said, ignoring the wolf. “That’s really nice of you.”

  “I figure this way maybe you can get a cup of coffee and relax for a minute,” Kelly said.

  “Coffee sounds great,” he said. “And maybe I can get a few minutes of work done.”

  “Go grab your laptop,” Kelly told him. “I’ll keep an eye on Ollie.”

  “Thank you,” he told her, heading for the stairs before they could make eye contact and send the wolf into a frenzy again.

  He didn’t know why his inner wolf had been so crazy around her lately, but if the beast had to lose its marbles, at least it was for someone nice like Kelly McDermott.

  3

  Kelly

  Kelly poured Bane a cup of coffee and put a bear claw on a plate for him while Ollie applied himself to the dinosaur activity book.

  She knew it wasn’t forever, but it was fun to spend time with the two guys, as if they were a family.

  The bells over the door jingled and she looked up hopefully. But her heart sank when she saw the rail-thin woman with the dark bob stride in.

  “Hello, Kelly. Namaste,” Whitney Ogden said breezily. “I see you’re packed as usual.”

  Whitney laughed. It was a fluttery sound, as high-pitched as it was false.

  Kelly felt her back straighten defensively.

  “What can I do for you, Whitney?” she asked, hoping her voice was calm and steady.

  “Oh, I’ll have a small tea,” Whitney said. “Do you have anything organic?”

  “The herbal teas are on the counter, feel free to take a look,” Kelly said, indicating the glass jars of teabags with labels affixed to the outside.

  They had gone through this exact conversation the last time Whitney visited.

  “Is this peppermint responsibly sourced?” Whitney asked.

  “I doubt it,” Kelly replied as politely as she could.

  “We need to be mindful of the things we let into our lives,” Whitney said primly, turning from the tea jars.

  Yeah, and the people we let into our stores, Kelly thought grumpily to herself.

  “Have you given any more thought to my proposal?” Whitney asked.

  Kelly heard Bane’s footsteps on the stairs.

  Great, he would be witness to her humiliation at Whitney’s hands.

  “Not really,” Kelly said.

  “Well, I just think it would be in your best interests to sell,” Whitney said as Bane appeared with his laptop and sat at his favorite table. “You’re obviously not doing well. And I’m offering you more than market value for the property.”

  “I’m doing fine,” Kelly said.

  “Let’s just say that you were doing fine,” Whitney said, with a sour look on her face. “Wouldn’t you rather see this building being put to its highest and best use? If I could open up a juice cleansing café here, my students would have a healthy option right across the street. The place would be busy night and day. And you’ve already got the zoning to serve food.”

  “I’m really not interested, Whitney,” Kelly said. “But thank you.”

  Whitney began to pivot on her heel, but stopped mid-turn.

  “Bane Wilson?” she asked.

  Bane looked up.

  Kelly tried not to watch as Whitney sashayed over to Bane’s table and bent over him with a wide, flirty smile.

  “Hey, Whitney,” he said.

  “I heard you were back in town,” she said. “How exciting.”

  Kelly realized what was coming and braced herself. Bane and Whitney had run in the popular crowd in high school. Soon Whitney would be whispering to him, covering her mouth giggling and looking back at Kelly. It was high school all over again.

  Kelly focused on cleaning the countertop.

  “It’s good to be home,” Bane said noncommittally.

  “So, I know you were in publishing,” Whitney went on. “Which means you have marketing know-how.”

  “I was,” he agreed.

  Whitney slid herself into the booth opposite him and smoothed her perfectly styled hair in a movement so graceful it looked studied.

  “I was wondering if maybe you would be interested in doing some freelance ad work for me,” she suggested. “Unlike this tired café, my yoga studio is ready to go to the next level.”

  A flash of something bright lit his features and then was gone before Kelly could be sure she’d seen it. It seemed like anger, but maybe he was just noticing how tight Whitney’s outfit was.

  “I’m a little out of your league, Whitney,” he said coolly. “But maybe you could look into getting yourself put on a local bench or a shopping cart?”

  Kelly had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing.

  Whitney scowled for a moment, and then put her bright smile back on.

  “Aren’t you too sweet,” she purred. “Wanting to see my face all over town.”

 
She slid out of the booth. “I’ve gotta run, I’ve got a class in ten minutes and I swear even the air in here is full of carbs. Namaste.”

  4

  Bane

  Bane pretended to watch Whitney go.

  In reality, he was studying Kelly out of the corner of his eye, enjoying the pleased look on her face.

  The idea that he had made her smile was gratifying on so many levels.

  Mine, the wolf said again.

  But Bane knew better.

  There were countless reasons why it would be a bad idea to fall for his landlady. Most of them centered around Oliver, and his determination to offer his child a stable and predictable environment.

  Right now, their housing, their favorite foods, and their downtime all centered around Kelly in one way or another.

  Bane wouldn’t risk messing that up. He couldn’t.

  And that didn’t even touch on the fact that he was a shifter.

  If Kelly knew he turned into a massive wolf and ran the woods of Tarker’s Hollow College every full moon, who knew what she would do?

  Keeping shifter status a secret was the primary goal of every wolf in Tarker’s Hollow, drilled into them since adolescence when the gift first arrived for most wolves.

  If there was any chance his wolf really thought Kelly McDermott was his mate, he wasn’t sure if he could keep the secret from her.

  “Just so you know, that was epic.” Kelly said, startling him from his reverie. “I mean, shopping carts and benches? Can you even imagine?”

  He grinned up at her.

  She placed a plate with a bear claw in front of him and set down a mug of steaming coffee next to it. “On the house.”

  “No way,” he told her. “That was an experience worth paying for. And your bear claws are even more so.”

  Besides, Whitney hadn’t exactly been wrong about the lack of business in the café. Bane secretly worried that Kelly wasn’t making enough money to keep the doors open. He hoped his rent was a help. Dulcie Blanco had told him the owner was open to negotiation, but he hadn’t felt right about dickering over price when this was the only suitable apartment in town.

  Now he was glad he had left it alone. Kelly deserved a good price for a lovely apartment in such a great location.

  And she deserved not to worry over money.

  “Want to sit?” he asked.

  She surveyed the otherwise empty café. “Sure, I guess I can relax for a minute.”

  “So she’s trying to buy the building?” Bane asked.

  Kelly nodded.

  “But don’t worry, I won’t let it go. I bought it with an inheritance from my grandmother, so I don’t owe a mortgage.”

  “So you don’t really have a cash flow issue then?” Bane asked.

  “Well, the shop has never been a big moneymaker,” Kelly said with a shrug. “And it’s slowed down a little lately. But I’m brainstorming what to do about it.”

  Just then the bells over the door jingled.

  Kelly hopped up, leaving a soft echo of her alluring scent behind to drive Bane crazy.

  “How can I help you?” she asked.

  Bane saw it was his friend Axel’s mate, Delilah, with baby Noah on her hip.

  “It smells so good in here,” Delilah sighed happily.

  “Thank you,” Kelly replied.

  “Do you still have cinnamon buns?” Delilah asked.

  “Sure do.”

  Bane listened as Kelly packed up a box of treats for Delilah to take back to the shop to enjoy with Axel and his apprentice.

  He made a mental note to thank Axel for patronizing the café next time he saw him.

  Ollie was still coloring happily at his little table, so Bane got out his laptop and signed on.

  It was pleasant to work in this corner of the café, watching the daily buzz of Tarker’s Hollow go by out the window.

  The patter of female voices in the background reminded him of his childhood when his aunts were in the kitchen, drinking wine and cooking with his mother. It was a warm, soothing sound and he was glad Ollie had it in his life, even if they were only at the café.

  He had nearly finished his article on Top Ten Pennsylvania Weekend Getaways when Ollie trotted over, carrying his activity book and his favorite dinosaur, a plastic T-Rex with wheeled feet named Tyrone, that he must have pulled out of his backpack.

  “Look,” Ollie said. “I did it. Tyrone helped.”

  Bane scooted over and made room for the small, warm body to wiggle in next to him.

  They looked over the coloring page Ollie had just completed.

  The colors were bright and cheerful and mostly inside the lines. Ollie had colored every part of the big dinosaur.

  Bane was proud that his little boy had such focus at a very young age. It boded well for whatever he wanted to do in the future.

  “Can we go to the library now?” Ollie asked, peeking over the rim of Bane’s empty coffee mug.

  “We absolutely can,” Bane replied. “Let’s just run upstairs for a potty break and an umbrella, okay?”

  “Okay,” Ollie agreed.

  “Put the activity book back on the table, and the dinosaur in your backpack.” Bane told him.

  Ollie slid out of the booth and hurried to comply. He loved the library.

  Bane slipped a ten out of his wallet and put it under his coffee mug. That way he wouldn’t have to argue with Kelly about his meal being on the house.

  “We’re going to the library, Kelly,” Ollie called to her.

  “Have fun, Ollie,” she told him.

  But Ollie got interested in the activity book again.

  Unfortunately, he was doing the squirmy little dance that told Bane Ollie had to pee.

  “Time to head upstairs, Ollie,” Bane told him gently.

  “But one more minute,” Ollie said, wiggling.

  “No, I think we need to go now,” Bane told him.

  “No, no, one more minute,” Ollie whined.

  “I’m going upstairs now, bye-bye,” Bane said, heading for the steps. He knew Ollie would follow.

  Sure enough, he’d only gotten partway up when he heard little footsteps on the stairs.

  “Here I come,” Ollie announced.

  He had almost caught up to Bane when there was a small thump.

  “What was that?” Bane asked.

  “I have to go potty,” Ollie wailed at his top volume.

  “Okay, come on, come on,” Bane told him. “I’ll get whatever it was once you get to the bathroom.”

  They made it into the apartment and all the way to the bathroom just in time.

  5

  Kelly

  Kelly smiled when she saw her helper arrive. Jeb Harkness looked cheerful and well-rested.

  “Ready for a break, Kelly?” he asked, hanging his umbrella on the coat tree near the front door.

  After the first few months of getting up before five and staying in the shop until she closed in the evening, Kelly was worn thin. She had indulged in hiring a part-time helper so she could have a few hours to nap or relax in the middle of the day.

  Jeb was on sabbatical from a teaching position and happy to have a small income from a few hours of work each day. It was a perfect arrangement.

  “Very ready,” she agreed. “It’s been quiet, so I did most of the tidying up already, but feel free to wipe down the glass again if you want.”

  “On it,” Jeb agreed, heading for the counter.

  Kelly waved to him and headed into the dim stairwell that led up to her apartment.

  Ollie was wailing from the top of the steps.

  “Don’t worry, buddy, I’ll find Tyrone,” Bane told him.

  She didn’t have time for the words to register before her foot hit something hard on the next step.

  There was a tinny dinosaur roar from below as her foot slipped and then she was falling, falling.

  A rush of air lifted the loose tendrils that had escaped her ponytail and then strong arms were around her waist.
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  “Kelly,” Bane murmured. “Are you okay?”

  He surrounded her, filling her senses with his big, warm presence. The scent of him embraced her, like a pine forest at twilight.

  “I-I fell,” she said stupidly.

  “I know, I’m so sorry,” he told her.

  Pain blossomed in her right ankle, so intense it made her feel nauseous.

  “My ankle,” she said softly.

  “Kelly, did you fall down?” Ollie called from above, his voice frightened.

  “I’m okay,” she called back to him.

  “It’s swollen already,” Bane said, looking at her ankle. “We’ve got to get you to the hospital. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “I’ll just put some ice on it.”

  Tyrone was still on the stair above. She bent to pick him up, hoping she hadn’t broken the t-rex.

  The pain burst again in her ankle and she cried out.

  “Put your arm around my shoulder,” Bane told her. “Ollie, come down carefully, hold the railing. Tyrone is right here. We’re going to the hospital with Kelly.”

  “So they can fix her leg?” Ollie asked.

  “Yes, exactly,” Bane said.

  “I don’t need the hospital,” Kelly said, but her voice was still shaky with pain.

  “We’re going anyway,” Bane told her firmly.

  Kelly waited until Ollie had reached them and retrieved his toy. Then she put an arm over Bane’s broad shoulder and allowed him to help her down the stairs and past her confused assistant.

  “What happened?” Jeb asked. “You were only gone a minute.”

  “I fell on the stairs,” Kelly admitted, feeling really embarrassed.

  “You’re supposed to hold the railing, Kelly,” Ollie told her solemnly. “Then if you start to fall you can just hold on.”

  “That is so smart, Ollie,” she told him, unable to contain a smile, despite the pain. “I’ll remember that from now on.”

  They made their way out to the rear alley.

  Bane opened his car door and helped her inside.