Above them, gulls were circling, their cries filling the air. The breeze smelled like salt water, and the sun was warm on her skin.
It was absolutely quiet and peaceful. There wasn’t the sound of a single car to be heard. It was completely unlike the constant chaos of traffic and noise that she was used to. It felt a little as if Timothy had carried her straight to a tropical paradise.
“It’s not all that warm,” he said, as if he knew what she’d been thinking. “I wouldn’t suggest taking a swim in winter. But during the rest of the year, you’d be surprised by how nice the water is...”
“I wonder who’s behind that,” Braeden said, rolling his eyes at Timothy.
Timothy shrugged. “The ocean loves me. It’s just a gentle little nudge. No harm done. Just means that we get more time to enjoy the beaches here than most places. But then, there aren’t many other beaches where shifters can play and shift, so it all works out.”
“You’re far too proud of yourself,” Braeden said grimly.
Timothy smirked. “So would you be, if you’d actually managed to create a community where people want to live.”
“So you’ve got lots of shifters here?” Liana stared up at the gulls circling above.
Timothy followed her gaze, then raised a hand to wave to them.
“Nice weather today,” Timothy shouted into the wind.
As one, the gulls lifted their left wings, dipping down a little before soaring back up.
“That’s Mrs. Adkins and her brood,” he said. “Not all are her kids, of course. But the gull shifters love it here. She’s got so many nieces and nephews and distant cousins around by now that I’ve lost count.”
“Oh,” Liana said a little weakly, staring up at the gulls again. “I guess that makes sense...”
“We’ve got the shifters you’d expect to see in a shifter town,” Timothy continued as he led them into his house. “Werewolves, lion shifters—no bear shifters right now. Tim the grizzly found his mate and moved back with her into the mountains last month. I was sad to see him go. He was our dentist.”
“Oh,” Liana said again, suddenly imagining herself opening her mouth wide while a bear inspected her teeth with a tiny mirror. “That’s... nice for him.”
“Got another dentist planning to move here next month, though,” Timothy continued happily. “Snake shifter. Seems like the sort of profession they’d pick, doesn’t it?”
Liana nodded, feeling overwhelmed when the bear in her mind warped into a giant snake hissing at her as it held up a drill.
“Uh, anyway. You got any...” She searched desperately for something that would take her mind off that image. “Any coffee shops around here?”
“The best coffee,” Timothy promptly said. “Chameleon Coffee. Well, their latest barista is a coyote girl—honestly, I still think they hired her mostly because she fit the requirement of animal starting with a C. But she’s fitting in nicely with the chameleon kids, you wouldn’t believe it. Probably also helps that she isn’t scared when one of the werewolves wanders into town.”
Liana blinked, imagining a werewolf standing on its hind legs at the coffee counter.
She still wasn’t quite certain if Timothy was just making fun of her, or if it was all true...
“Anyway, the wolves keep to themselves. They’ve got a little house by the water, just behind that bend. They don’t really disturb anyone. It’s just two old guys who wanted to retire by the ocean. A bit taciturn—sometimes there’s howling on the full moon, but honestly, it’s not like I go to bed early myself, so I don’t mind.”
“Okay,” Liana said, raising a hand. “Stop. I really need some coffee before I can listen to any more of this.”
In the background, Braeden snickered quietly.
Timothy gave her a concerned look. “Sorry. It’s all a bit much, isn’t it? How about I show you your room and you get settled down, and then we have coffee on the deck.”
Liana sighed in relief. “Sounds great. Thanks.”
Timothy took hold of her gym bag to carry it into her room for her.
Heat rose inside Liana once more when his hand brushed hers, but she forced herself to ignore it. Even now, she could feel the warmth and softness of his lips against hers, and the way her body had ached for him when he’d drawn her into his arms...
“Here we are,” he said cheerfully, pulling back the curtains to reveal a perfect view of the ocean stretching out beneath her, all the way to the horizon.
Through the open window, she could hear the gentle sound of the waves. There was a light breeze that made the curtains shift gently.