Jaguar's Joy (Veteran Shifters 5)

***

Ty

Ty drove away from the sheriff’s station with a lighter heart than he’d had in a long time.

Which was a strange thing to come on the heels of one of the more violent encounters he’d experienced in the last several years.

But everything had turned out all right, no one had been seriously injured, and he had a—a date? Dinner, at least, with a woman he found fascinating for reasons that he couldn’t quite explain.

It wasn’t just that she was a tough, smart, capable woman. She was all of those things, but as a social worker, Ty worked alongside plenty of tough, smart, capable women. None of them had captured his attention like this.

Misty seemed to have the same quality about her as the air up here in the Montana mountains. She was clean and sharp, like a refreshing wind blowing the fog out of his brain.

A fog that had been there for a while. Just getting away from LA had started to reveal how right Sam had been. It was like he could stand straighter now, breathe more freely, and see past whatever was right in front of his nose.

A vacation was a good idea.

So he felt cheerful as all get-out as he pulled into the driveway of the big, rambling house where Nate and Ken now lived with their mates. A whole crowd piled out to meet him.

“Hey now, hey, one at a time!” he chuckled, shaking hands and dispensing hugs. “Form an orderly line.”

Ken punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Yeah, right. Everyone’s got to come get a look at the weird specimen—the last lone holdout, insisting on living down in the big city.”

“Hey, my family’s down there,” Ty defended himself, letting the group herd him into the house. This was the first time he’d seen it, and it was like a charming old labyrinth. They all ended up in a room that looked like it was about a hundred years old, full of old books and a table that looked like a lady had used it to write her letters or something.

“So are you tired from the trip? Do you want to take some time for yourself?” asked Pauline, Carlos’ mate.

The two of them had ended up with three kids right off the bat, relatives of Pauline’s. The oldest one was a teenager, Ty knew, and he didn’t seem to be here, but there was a little boy playing with Hot Wheels in the corner, and a toddler girl peeking out from behind Pauline’s chair. Ty grinned down at her.

“I’m ready for anything. Although I’ve got a date tonight.”

He was anticipating a very satisfying reaction to that, and he wasn’t disappointed. Ken burst out laughing, Carlos raised his eyebrows, and Nate leaned forward and said, “You have a what now?”

“A date,” Ty said, mock-innocent. “Surely you haven’t all been settled old men for long enough that you’ve forgotten what a date is.” He glanced at Stella, Nate’s mate. “Does he never take you on dates?”

She laughed, bright and silvery. “Once in a while.”

Nate caught her hand. “Excuse me, I seem to recall taking you to Marrakesh not too long ago.”

Ty blinked. “Well, I’m just going to that diner, Oliver’s. I didn’t realize the game around here was so impressive.”

“Ignore him,” Stella said, although she had a pleased smile and a blush lingering on her cheekbones. “Who are you going to Oliver’s with? Who have you even had time to meet since you got here?”

“Oh,” Pauline said, in a tone of realization. “Is it Misty?”

Ty laughed, startled. “How’d you guess?”

“She called me,” Pauline said. “Letting us know where you were, I guess. Although maybe she also wanted to learn a thing or two about you.” She smiled a little.

“You’re going out with the sheriff?” Nate shook his head. “She’s a tough one. I didn’t know she dated at all.”

“She doesn’t, mostly,” Pauline said thoughtfully. “Not since she got back into town, anyway. Probably hard to find time to date when you work as hard as she does.”

Ken nudged Ty’s arm. “You sure it’s a date and not just an opportunity for interrogation?”

“I don’t think she usually interrogates suspects at Oliver’s, Ken,” said Ken’s mate Lynn. She and Stella were sisters, from what Ty remembered, and this house was theirs. Lynn was more severe-looking than Stella, but she gave Ty a small smile now. “Hope you guys hit it off. Misty could use a good time or two.”

Guilt pricked at Ty. “I hope she doesn’t mind I’m only in town for a couple of weeks.”