“You… You know what he is?”
I nodded. Landing was made up mostly of shifters and their partners. Everyone in Landing, for the most part, knew about shifters. “I do. How did you kids get here?”
Abby looked more relieved than anyone I’d ever seen. Tears filled her eyes and she hugged herself. “We walked. From the bigger road.”
“It’s okay, sweetie. We’ll get this sorted out.”
CHAPTER 2: Tucker
“You know it ain’t right to leave a man in jail on Christmas day, Tuck.” Jeremiah Hawthorn called from the holding cell behind my desk. “I barely did anything wrong.”
I kicked my feet up on my desk and sighed. “You know, I wouldn’t have to be here right now if you hadn’t decided to get drunk and show your bare ass to every woman at Sally Farm’s meeting.”
“Aw, come on, Tucker! You know how that lady is. She puts that red hat on and she thinks she’s the freaking queen of England. I was just joking around.”
I wanted to laugh, I did. I knew exactly what a pain in the ass Sally Farm could be. She called me to report anyone and everyone, sometimes daily. Someone’s music was too loud, someone else’s dog peed on the edge of her grass, so and so’s daughter looked suspicious. I still had a job to do, though. And Sally Farm hadn’t just seen Jeremiah’s ass. He’d bent over a little too far and she’d caught a glimpse of his dangling set.
“Well, your joking is costing me a day with my family. I could be at the ranch right now, sipping on Aunt Carolyn’s special egg nog. Next year, remember to keep it in your pants, would you?”
He grumbled some more, but eventually grew quiet. I figured I’d let him out in another hour or so, so he could go home and be with his family for dinner. Hell, his momma was going to punish him much more than I ever could.
The bell over the door tinkled and I looked up to see Lettie Jay hurrying my way. She’d shed her normal professional attire for a pair of dark jeans and a thick sweater that couldn’t hide her ample curves. Tall, beautiful, and smelling like the most delicious coconut cake I’d ever gotten a whiff of. Her normally sleek black hair was piled into a rumpled bun on top of her head and her green eyes were wide.
I stood up, worried that something had happened to her, and noticed the three rag-tag children shivering behind her. “Lettie?”
She gestured to the kids and then opened her mouth, only to have no sound come out. Finally, she clamped her lips shut and took a deep breath before trying again. “This is Abby, and her little brothers Joey and Bear.”
I smiled at the kids and rounded my desk. “Hey, guys. What are ya’ll doing out here on Christmas day?”
The kids moved closer together and looked up to Lettie. She twisted her hands together and frowned. “I think they were…abandoned.” She mouthed the last word silently.
My bear stirred inside, angry at the idea that someone would hurt the innocent looking children in front of me. “Walk me through it.”
She turned and knelt in front of the kids, a sweet look on her face that suddenly caused my bear to stir in another way. “Abby, I’m going to go to Sheriff Long’s office and tell him what you told me, okay? Why don’t ya’ll sit right here and try to let your toes thaw out some?”
I looked down at their feet and, sure enough, they were wearing house slippers. The fuzzy things were wet and dirty from the snow and I could only imagine how uncomfortable they were to wear. “I have a really awesome blanket you might like.”
I found the emergency kit I stored in the corner of the station and grabbed it. Inside, there was an emergency blanket that would work wonders to warm the kids up. I made a show of flipping it open, letting the silver foil-like material crinkle loudly as I did.
Joey and Bear’s eyes widened and they stared at it with a wary eagerness written on their faces. Abby looked more wary than either of them. She edged closer to Lettie and looked up at her, seeking advice on whether or not to trust me.
“It’s okay. It’ll be warmer than any jacket I could hope to find around here. Sit here on the bench and cuddle up.”
Abby cautiously took the blanket from me and the boys rushed to get into it. Lettie tore her eyes away from them and then looked at me. Being the focus of her attention was almost alarming, but I held her gaze and nodded towards my office.
“After you.”
She walked ahead of me and I had a hard time keeping my eyes off of the snug fit of her jeans. The woman had curves that made me want to drop to my knees for her.
Once we were in my office, she spun on me and grabbed my shirt. “Bear, the little one, is a bear shifter. He’s the only one. His mom saw him do it, and decided to leave them all at the highway on the edge of town. They’re not from anywhere around here, Tucker. They walked all the way here from the highway after their mom had them in the car for hours and hours. She just left them there to freeze to death. What kind of mother would do that to her children? They’re terrified and freezing. What do we do?”