No Fox Given (Team Shifter 2)

Apparently, just being totally honest is the correct choice because it gets Henry’s attention.

“What happened?” He asks. This time, he turns to me, asking me directly. I’m a little uncomfortable, suddenly, about being put on the spot. I’m not used to this much attention from a guy: any guy. Henry is probably some type of cat shifter like Brendan is, and while I’m not attracted to him, he’s handsome. He’s big. He totally towers over me, and suddenly, formulating any sort of sentence seems quite impossible.

“I…”

“She met someone on Team Shifter,” Brendan says. “The guy turned out to be a creep. You think you can help us find out who it was?”

Henry doesn’t even have to think about it. He exudes total confidence as he nods. Then he turns to me, cocks his head, and thinks for a second. Finally, he speaks.

“I’m not against the app at all,” he tells me. “I met my wife on there, actually, but there are a lot of creeps who use it, too. Unfortunately, the app is designed in a way that makes it hard to track.” He shakes his head, as though he thinks it’s kind of ridiculous.

“Shit,” I groan. So we aren’t going to be able to find the guy?

“Don’t worry,” a happy grin crosses his face. “I’m very good at what I do.”

“I thought what you did was bake.”

“I’m good at that, too,” he points out. “But I moonlight as a tech guy, and I’m…well, I’m the best that Claw Valley has to offer.” He smiles, and this time, it seems like he’s genuinely happy. Oh, I know that he’s still not happy with me, but he’s happy he gets to play the hacker, and that’s good enough for now.

“Interesting,” I say. That’s pretty much what Brendan told me earlier. This guy, Henry, is someone that people tend to underestimate. I can see how it happens. He’s got a pretty ordinary job, even for a shifter. He probably flies under the radar. He doesn’t bring attention to himself. Even the way that he dresses is quite simple: in a simple button-down shirt with comfortable jeans. I bet his wife is the kind of sweet lady who loves to bake with him and brew him tea.

“You have any info?” Henry asks. “Depending on what you have, we can probably get started. The more you can give me to go off of, the better our chances of finding this guy are going to be.”

Brendan steps to the front of the bakery and flips the sign from “OPEN” to “CLOSED,” silently letting any passers-by know that they’re going to have to wait for the cupcake fixes today. I feel bad that they’re going to lose out on some business this morning because of me, but neither man seems

bothered by this.

“Yeah,” he says. “And it’s going to take us a little while. Let’s head to the back.”

I glance around quickly, trying to take it all in before we have to move. There’s a big, lovely counter up front that’s filled with freshly baked muffins, brownies, cookies, and cupcakes. There are seating places throughout the room, which is lovely since it ensures that every single person is going to have a nice place to sit while they enjoy their sweet treat.

The décor is homey and cute, just like the decorations at Brendan’s home, and for me, that says everything I think people need to know about Brendan. He always goes out of his way to make people feel at ease.

That’s probably one of the nicest things about him.

He always goes above and beyond.

“Come on,” Brendan urges me. “You can daydream later. I promise,” he smiles gently.

“It just looks so sweet,” I tell him.

“That’s the idea. I want people to feel comfortable here. I want them to think that it’s kind of a home-away-from-home so that they’ll enjoy themselves. People who feel comfortable not only buy more, but they come back over and over again.”

“So it’s a business strategy?” I ask.

“Partly.”

“He also just loves to decorate,” Henry calls over his shoulder.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Brendan shrugs. He takes my hand and tugs. Reluctantly, I allow myself to be led through a narrow doorway. To the right, there’s a kitchen. I only have time to just glance, but it looks like it’s totally modern with big steel appliances and tons and tons of counter space. Straight back, I can see a back door with a bright blinking EXIT sign over it. We go to the left, though, and enter a little office. There’s a huge computer set-up at the desk, and I gasp when I see the triple monitors and the huge tower. That is so not what I was expecting to find in the back of the bakery.

Cookie crumbs, maybe, but a computer rig like this?

Nope.

“Pretty, isn’t she?” Henry seems to find my reaction amusing. He watches me as I take it all in. I feel like all I’ve been doing today is staring. It’s like I’m suddenly discovering everything in the world for the very first time.

“Beautiful,” I whisper. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I use computers for teaching, but we don’t have anything like this at my school.”