Her Guardian Shifter

“Hello there, Garth,” she cooed, loving the way his bright blue eyes sparkled as he smiled up at her. Carefully, gently, she lifted him out of his portable crib, breathing in the sweet baby scent of him. Moving him to her shoulder, she murmured baby words and nonsense while swaying slightly. His tiny body nestled into her, relaxing in a way that let her know he trusted her to take care of him. She, who’d never even been able to keep a potted plant alive.

This would be her ideal job, taking care of this sweet baby while his daddy worked. Maybe once Eric got settled in and knew her better, he’d entrust her with his precious son for more than a few minutes.

Carrying the infant, she walked to the front window to check on Eric. He was still shoveling her sidewalk. Heart in her throat, she continued to watch him, holding the baby and pointing out his daddy. Even in his bulky parka, Eric’s movements were both strong and graceful, an intriguing combination. He left his parka unzipped and wore no hat, his long blond hair tied back in a sexy ponytail.

Baby Garth squirmed, making her realize he’d just dirtied his diaper. Since Eric had brought a diaper bag, she located the spares—disposables, thank goodness—without difficulty, along with baby wipes, and clumsily managed her first diaper change since she’d done babysitting as a teenager years ago.

Feeling pretty accomplished, she picked up the now clean and dry infant and went back to the window. Still holding his shovel, Eric had stopped shoveling snow. Instead, he stood on the freshly cleared sidewalk talking to her next-door neighbor. Rhonda and JJ had hit it off immediately and, according to Rhonda, were destined to become best friends. Like JJ, she was in her thirties and single, though unlike JJ, she was divorced and now actively searching for The One. The Right One, she often quipped, winking.

Judging from the way she was eyeing JJ’s new tenant, Rhonda considered him a viable possibility. She’d even ventured outside in a ski jacket and snow boots, shovel in hand, as if about to start shoveling her own driveway and sidewalk. Since it had snowed a couple times in the last few weeks, and JJ had yet to see her actually use her snow shovel, she knew exactly what Rhonda was up to.

Of course, a guy as nice as Eric would in no way stand around and watch a woman shovel snow, so when Eric began clearing Rhonda’s sidewalk, the satisfied look on Rhonda’s face told JJ she’d expected no less.

To her surprise, JJ felt a tiny twinge of jealously. With her long blond hair and perky upturned nose, Rhonda had the kind of looks and personality that attracted men like bees to a flower. From head to toe, she stood exactly five feet tall. Next to her, JJ felt like an ungainly giant. She and JJ were polar opposites, which was one of the reasons they got along so well, again according to Rhonda. JJ didn’t mind; she actually found it a relief to let someone else do all the talking.

While she’d known Rhonda only a couple weeks, the two of them had been to dinner twice and had coffee together a few times. JJ genuinely liked the other woman.

Eric finished quickly and handed the shovel to Rhonda. With a quick smile, he went back to clearing the snow away from his car. His projected fifteen minutes had turned into thirty and he wasn’t nearly done yet. JJ didn’t mind. She not only enjoyed watching him, but spending time with tiny Garth brought her joy.

Her phone rang. Rhonda’s number flashed up on the screen. Still holding the baby, JJ answered.

“Why didn’t you call and tell me you had such a gorgeous male specimen living in your house?” Rhonda shrieked.

Since JJ had no real answer for that, she didn’t say anything. As usual, her silence didn’t bother Rhonda in the slightest. “So what’s the story on him?” she asked. “I want details. All of them.”

“I don’t know very much,” JJ finally admitted. “He’s from California. Says he’s going to open his own business. And his baby is adorable.”

For once, she’d stunned her neighbor into silence. “Baby?” Rhonda finally said. She’d never made any secret of the fact that she didn’t like children. “He has a baby?”

“Yes. A son named Garth. I think he’s three or four months old. I’m watching him while Eric digs his vehicle out from under the snow.”

“Wow.” Again the silence. But Rhonda being Rhonda, she didn’t miss a beat. “Eric, huh? I didn’t catch his name. He was kind enough to clear my driveway and sidewalk for me.”

“So I saw,” JJ drawled, continuing to bounce the baby.

“Um, are you and he...?”

JJ pretended not to understand. “Listen, I’ve got to go.” As if on cue, little Garth let out a loud cry. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?” She ended the call without waiting for a response.

Garth squealed again, his bright blue eyes fixed on the doorway. She heard the clump of boots on the stairs, and eyed the baby thoughtfully. He seemed way too young to understand that the sound signaled his father’s return, but judging from the way he waved his tiny hands, he clearly was excited about something.

When Eric came through the door, JJ smiled. Little Garth made a chortling sound when he saw his father, continuing to wave his chubby fists. Eric grinned, his bright blue eyes sparkling the same as his son’s. “Hey there, little man,” he said. Cheeks reddened by exertion and cold, he seemed to have been energized by the exercise. After he peeled off his gloves and shrugged out of his coat, he reached for his son. “Come to Daddy, baby boy.”

Then and only then did she think to rush to the stove and put a kettle of water on. If she’d been paying more attention, she would have already done this and had a mug of hot cocoa waiting for him. As it was, he’d have to wait a minute or two for the kettle to whistle.

“Are you cold?” she asked, wincing at the unnecessary question. Of course he was cold. The wind-chill factor was in the teens.

Looking up from playing with his son, he shrugged. “It’s a little chilly out there, but I find it exhilarating.”

Stunned, she stared. He might be the only other person she’d ever met who’d described feeling that way in blowing snow.

The teakettle finally whistled, startling her out of her thoughts. She hurried to get it. “Hot cocoa?” she asked. Even though it was only instant, nothing beat hot chocolate after shoveling snow in the cold.

“Sounds great.”

She made them each a cup, adding a little whipped cream on top. When she turned back, he’d placed his son in his portable crib, where Garth happily played with the bright plastic keys.

With her heart hammering for no good reason, JJ brought Eric his hot drink. Her mouth went dry as he wrapped his long fingers around the mug, and she let her gaze follow the line of his throat as he took a sip and swallowed.

She couldn’t blame Rhonda for being excited. Eric looked like a movie star, or a comic book superhero come to life. Even better, the size of his aura indicated when he shape-shifted, it was into something large and magnificent. No doubt Rhonda had noticed that as well, since she, too, was a shifter.

On that, JJ agreed with her neighbor. Shifter to shifter, she couldn’t help but appreciate everything about her new tenant.

Artwork, she told herself. She’d decided to try and simply appreciate his amazingly rugged good looks the way she would enjoy a great painting. Like art.

And if she got a tingly feeling every once in a while, so be it. Some things couldn’t be helped. She was healing, learning to make her own way in the world, but she wasn’t dead.

He caught her watching him and cocked his head. “I think I like it here,” he said, taking another long drink of his cocoa. “California is nice, but they don’t have real winters. Something about the cold makes me feel alive.”

“Me, too.” Another flash of delight made her insides quiver. She looked down to hide her excitement. “Most everyone thinks I’m crazy because I love cold and snow.” Glancing at him through her lashes, she confessed, “No one likes winter as much as I do.”

“Except maybe me.” The easy smile he flashed made her catch her breath. “Thanks for the cocoa.” Draining the last of it, he set the cup down on her counter. “Garth and I need to drive into town. You’re welcome to come with us if you’d like. I could use someone familiar with the place to point me in the right direction.”

Her heart gave an entirely unnecessary leap. “I’d love to go,” she said, working to quash her enthusiasm so it didn’t show. “But I’ve only lived here one month. I do know where the stores are and some of the restaurants, but I’m in no way a native.” About to tell him asking Rhonda would be his best bet, she managed to bite back the comment.

“I forgot.” Tilting his head, he eyed her. “You said you were from Manhattan.”

“Right.”

He continued to watch her, clearly waiting for her to elaborate.

“I needed a fresh start,” she finally said, keeping her chin up. “Like you, I had some emotional stuff going on I needed to get away from.”

To her relief, he nodded. “I know the feeling.”

“It’s not easy, that’s for sure.”

“What about your parents?” he asked. “Do they live close by?”

Normal conversation, she told herself. Asking casual questions, like regular people do. Not everything was suspect. Shawn wasn’t his friend.

“My father died a year ago,” she said, her words bringing back the pain of his crossing as if it had happened yesterday. “And right after his funeral, my mom closed up their apartment and hopped a plane to Australia. Turns out she’d always wanted to live there.”

And her abandonment had felt like a second death, though JJ didn’t begrudge her mom her happiness. The two of them talked on the phone about once a month.

“Wow. Adventurous,” he said. “You have to admire that.”

Out of habit, she caught herself looking around, as if someone else might be listening. Shawn had been human, and she’d grown used to hiding her true nature. Ironic that. In her wolf form, she could have taken Shawn down permanently. He might never have hit her if he’d known that.