Joey: The Whitfield Rancher – Tiger Shapeshifter Romance Read online

“No, I didn’t. I don’t usually have a mirror around me when I’m out in the woods.” She said she’d be his mirror from now on. “Good. Just don’t leave me out there alone. I want them to know, but I’m also afraid. Afraid they really will think of me as a monster.”

  “Like I said, they’re not as nice as you think they are if they do that. Which I don’t believe they will. They love you, Joey. And will no matter what comes along. Show them what you’ve become, and they’ll understand more than you can imagine. You also need to tell them why you have such magic. It wasn’t just the queen and Tanner. It was all of the world that changed you into what you are.” Joey asked her how she had come to that. “I’ve been speaking with the queen.”

  When she left him there, he laughed. Joey hadn’t laughed this much in a long time, and even to his ears, it was rusty sounding and harsh. He had a feeling he’d get more practice as time went on. Autumn was going to keep him on his toes.

  ~~~

  Blake didn’t know what to think about Joey. He loved him, there was never any doubt in that. But he seemed different now, even more so than he had before leaving them for the last two years. While they’d spoken to him in that time, they weren’t really conversations so much as him telling them he was still around and he’d be home sooner or later. Blake just knew they’d failed him, as Autumn had said.

  Aurora joined them just as Joey and Autumn came out of the house. She smiled at them both and explained that Joey had asked her to be there. And that Autumn had threatened her.

  “She’s quite the bossy little thing, isn’t she? She’ll be good for him. Take him to places he’s been too afraid to be before this. Not physical places, but places in your family. He’s quite right, Blake, when he says he would have hurt you before gaining control.” Blake said he would have helped. “I don’t believe you would have been able to. Not that you’d not try, but you would have been hurt in ways well beyond what he would have done to all of you physically. He’s very strong. The strongest being I’ve ever seen.”

  Chairs appeared for them to sit in. Autumn joined them and not only manufactured a chair for herself but also made a small table filled with fresh fruit and glasses of tea. Blake took one of the glasses to keep his hands from shaking. This, he thought, was going to be a test of his strength to remain still.

  Blake looked at his son. He’d taken his shirt off, and it hit him how grown up his boy had become. Also, he saw that he’d been marked all over his torso with sigils he’d never seen before. Magic. That was all he could think about. His son was covered in magic.

  “When I was five, before coming to live with you and Mom, I helped save a faerie. Her name was Flora. I know you know her. She’s one and the same that stayed with Tanner all these years. One of the neighborhood children had caught her and was in the process of tearing her wings off.” Blake glanced at Aurora and knew she’d been aware of this. “I saved her. Nursed her back to health with what I could and let her go as soon as she was able to fly again. This is what she granted me for saving her life.”

  Wings at his back spread out. Blake saw that not only did they tower above his head, but they also pooled along the ground. They were magnificent in color as well as size. Blake’s fingers itched to get up and touch them. When Joey moved them twice, he rose from the ground and stayed there for several seconds before he landed softly. The wings disappeared, but Blake knew for some reason that this was only a very little bit of what he was going to learn today.

  “Several weeks later, Flora brought me another faerie. She, too, left me a gift of magic. It was for me to produce food for myself. To keep me from starving when I was locked away.” He spread out his hands and a table laden with more food than he’d seen, even at Thanksgiving, was in front of them. Blake looked at Joey when he continued. “After a while, I was able to heal even the most harmed of creatures from the earth. I never told anyone of this ability, for I was afraid it was only a dream. That no one would believe me if I told them that faeries, tiny creatures, were brought to me when they’d been tortured by humans.”

  Blake looked at Aurora. “Did you know all of this?” Aurora shook her head. “Why didn’t someone tell you he was helping your people? I’m not upset, but I’d really like to know.”

  “They thought of him as their friend. Joey had asked them not to tell anyone, and they didn’t. They kept their secret from me because he’d helped them and then asked them to do so. It wasn’t until he met Flora some years ago that she told me. It was why I was so glad I could return his help when he was locked in the trunk of that car. He needed me, all of us, and we came to his aid.”

  “Over the years, living with you, I helped a great many creatures. They all were sworn to secrecy, and they kept that promise. I was terrified if you found out what I was doing behind your back, you’d tell me to stop. I wasn’t as secure in my love for the two of you as I am now.” Blake asked him if he’d healed a bear. “I did. You caught me helping him. I was so afraid you’d beat me then. I knew in my head you’d not, but my heart wasn’t as brave as my head was. You never confronted me on it. I did wonder why.”

  “I didn’t believe what I saw, to be honest with you.” Blake laughed. “I knew the bear was a wild animal, and I just wrote it off as being my mind playing tricks on me. My goodness. When I think back on some of the wounds you had as a child, you were helping them all along. Right?”

  “Yes.” Joey glanced at Autumn, then back at him. “I didn’t think you’d take this as well as you are. It’s like you think it’s funny or something.”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m ashamed of myself for not putting two and two together. But I’m about as proud of you as I could have ever been. You not only saved creatures with your magic, Joey, but you did it because you wanted to. Not for the praise or anything else that I, as well as your mom, would have lavished on you. That, my dear boy, makes it all the better for me to hear from you.” He nodded once, his emotions getting the better of him. “I love you, Joey. I have and will always love you.”

  Blake watched his son without any jealously in his heart. He had been, he knew that now, jealous of his grandda for having such a close bond with him. But now that he thought on it, Grandda wasn’t doing anything more than protecting Joey. Mostly, he’d bet, from himself. The magic on someone so young would be overwhelming, and he was also coping with his new life with them and terrified of being taken away again.

  “There are so many things I can do. I can heal the earth.” Autumn told them how he would sit outside in the yard, naked, and repair the earth in places where it was needed. “I need to be naked so all of the earth can speak to me. The world, in some cases, only needs a little help. Flowers planted in areas for animals. Trees grown faster for animals to hide in. Things I can do to give back to all those who helped me.”

  “When he was hurt, as I said, the earth, not just me, came to his aid. The markings on his body are the marks of friendship and magic. Each mark on him is another leader that thanked him by giving him what he would need to continue helping them.” Aurora smiled at him and Shadow. “He’s given back more than he’s ever taken from the earth. Joey can work with the earth, the wind, and water. Command it in ways that even astound me. He has been, I guess you would call it, created so the earth can be just a little safer with him around.”

  As minutes and hours went by, Joey showed them things that were outstanding to Blake. Blake never knew, he had no idea Joey was hiding such powers within his body. He understood more than ever why he’d left them to train himself. And Joey was correct too. There wasn’t any way he or any of the rest of them could have helped him with such magic. It was more than he’d ever, in all his life, seen on a single body.

  They ate from the feast Joey had prepared. It stayed hot the entire time it was out there for them. Plates were magically taken away when they were finished with them. Glasses refilled themselves. Rolls and butter would refill in the basket made for them. Blake could taste the recipes his mother had used all her life, such as the candied carrots he so loved to eat. Joey would know these things, favorites of theirs, and that was why they were in abundance on the table. It really was a feast for them.

  Whenever Joey paused for just a moment, Autumn would take him a glass of juice. He’d drink it down and kiss her. Blake had a feeling the kiss he was getting was helping him as much if not more than the juice was. Liking the young woman more and more, he was glad when she told Joey it was enough for the day.

  “You’re exhausted. You can show off again tomorrow, but for today, you need to rest.” Joey told her he wasn’t really that tired. “Well, I’m sure they are. They’ve been sitting in those chairs for over four hours. They need to rest their butts, even if you don’t.”

  She was a bossy little thing, as he’d been told. But there was more to her than being bossy. She was a caring individual that had brought their son home to them. As surely as he was sitting there, Blake knew Joey wouldn’t have come home again right now if it hadn’t been for her. He owed her a great debt of gratitude.

  Dad and Mom showed up just as they were entering the house. Mom burst into tears at seeing Joey there, and his dad hugged him as Mom scolded Joey for being gone so long. Dad sniffled a little as he introduced himself to Autumn.

  “Are you the young lady I have to thank for having my grandson come home?” Autumn, in her usual way, Blake thought, told his dad he didn’t have to thank her for anything. “Snippy thing, aren’t you? I don’t care. You and he, you’re here for good then? I’d like to tell you we all knew you’d be coming home. I’m gladder than I’ve been about anything that you’ve come here together.”

  “We are too. I have some issues with my sisters, bu
t I’m not really worried about them anymore like I used to be.” Autumn looked at Joey, and Blake could feel her love for him as if it were a tangible thing. “He saved me. Not just my life, though that is wonderful, but he saved me from being alone. I didn’t know I was until I met him.”

  Blake and his family hung out with the two of them till well past midnight, each telling something of their life. He learned Autumn was magical in her own right before meeting Joey. He also learned that Tanner had been granted the ability to stay in the sunlight. But Joey said he felt badly about doing that to him.

  “When I see him again, I’m going to take it back. He’s been more than helpful for me, and like Grandpa Ollie, he’s tired of this earth and wishes to move on.” There was a moment of sadness then. Thinking of his grandda’s last day still hurt him when he thought about it. Which he still did daily, but not every second of every hour. Grandda Ollie was a good man and was missed by all. But too, he’d been an old man when he’d been given immortality, and his body still ached with the age he’d been.

  On their way back to their home, he and Shadow talked about how good it was to have Joey home. They also spoke about how much they loved Autumn. They both realized she was going to be caring for Joey more than he would her. She had their son right where he needed to be. Home and accepted.

  “Autumn understands him on a level we would never have been able to achieve. He was right to go away to understand himself.” Blake said he knew that as well. “Had we forced him to, I think he would have stayed, but his heart would never have mended like it has now. We would have been too focused on keeping him the way we wanted him to be rather than allowing him to be what he is.”

  “You’re right.” He laughed when they pulled into the driveway of their home. “How did I get so very lucky in having such a brilliant mate?”

  “You were lucky. By now, you shouldn’t be surprised by my brilliance anymore.” She kissed him as they entered their house. “Oh, this house, it feels so much like a home again. My babies are here. I have a new daughter-in-law. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll be a grandmother again soon.”

  The first thing Blake thought of was being able to hold one of Joey’s children. Then it occurred to him that he didn’t know what sort of power the children would have. Being born of such beings would be something, he thought. Would it be as powerful as they were? More so? It bore thinking about. But he really did want to hold Joey’s child. To see the young man that had had so much happen to him become a father. Smiling as he followed his wife to bed, he wondered what sort of mother Autumn would make. Laughing when he entered the bedroom, he swallowed hard.

  “I thought I’d show you what a grandmother looked like.” She was naked. Not only that, but she was wearing heels, his favorite thing in the world to see Shadow in. He was glad she’d beaten him to the room. Closing the door and locking it behind him, Blake decided he’d show her how much strength a grandda had too.

  Chapter 3

  While May loved her sisters, with the exception of Autumn, she did hate to be caught someplace where they all were. Like today. They were eating in a restaurant she’d suggested, but they didn’t come alone. July had her infant, which she supposed was all right. Once a bottle was put in its mouth, it was just fine. July had her two children, the worst children she’d ever been around, May thought. They never ate anything unless they could smash it between their fingers first. Then after that, they covered the ungodly mess with a bottle of ketchup. Nasty stuff that.

  Today September told them that she was going to have another baby. Why she wanted to populate the world with more children was beyond her. She already had five of the little creatures. Having more was just too much for her to think about. May told her that too.

  “Another child? Good Lord, September, you can barely keep up with the others. Why on earth didn’t you rid yourself of that thing before now? I have the perfect doctor that can do it for you if you want his number.” September told her she was just fine with having another child. “You would be. I have no idea how Roy even comes home with all the noise they make. You’re just stupid if you ask me.”

  “I didn’t. And I’ll thank you to keep your mouth shut about it, too. Besides, we’re not here to talk about my having a child. We’re here because you have a burr up your ass about Autumn. Why the hell don’t you leave her alone? What has she ever done to you that makes you want to kick her around so much?” May told her she’d gotten the house. “Uncle Ross’s home? You’re still having a fit about that? She can have it as far as I’m concerned. It’s nothing but a shack anyway. Not to mention too small for any of us to live in. With the exception of you, of course. You’re the only one that hasn’t had any children. You want to go and live there, May? Might do you some good to see how the other half lives.”

  If they only knew how close she was to living just like their sister was. After some bad investments, her spending habits, as well as a high mortgage payment, she was about as broke as she could be. Her husband had left her too. Not that any of them had liked him, but he’d had enough of her micromanaging him every day. He could have said something before deciding she was a pain in his ass and left her, she thought.

  She supposed left her wasn’t quite right. He’d waited until she’d gone out for the day, then had someone come in and change the locks on the place. When she’d returned, her key, of course, no longer working, a man leapt out at her and handed her a blue file. After telling her she’d been served, she opened it to find Harvey was divorcing her. He was divorcing her. Fucker.

  “What are your plans for her? Run her out of town? Do you want someone to kill her? Those might be all well and good for you, but since she’s not bothered me, I’m with September. Leave her alone.” May needed a few moments to remember what they’d been talking about and asked June how she could say something like that. “Easily. She’s got the house that was falling down around Uncle Ross’s ears before he died. I’m sure there is little left to make it worth anything. I don’t want anything from the place or her. Just leave her alone.”

  “Well, I, for one, am with you, May. I was out there recently to see if she’d died or something. For only having a month to live, she certainly has stretched it well out beyond what I would have thought.” She asked April what she’d done. “I did get in, but I’m sure she’s changed the locks again since then. But to be honest with you, I will never go back there. She had a large lion there. And don’t tell me I’ve got it wrong. I still have nightmares every time I think about how close he came to ripping my throat out.”

  May rolled her eyes. It might well have been a large cat, the domestic kind. That was something they all knew about April. She tended to overstate things. Even if one of them was there with her, she’d swear it was what she said.

  “I’m going out there as soon as we’re finished here. I have a few things I’d like to say to her myself.” May thought of the man that had been out there with her sister, who July had told her about. She was going to have a conversation with him as well. He was just some sort of servant or nurse, that was for sure. Christ knew what her sister was paying him. “If you want to go with me, then tell me now. I wanted all of us to go there, but it seems that some of you have been away from her for too long to remember what she did to us.”

  “What did she do to us? I’m the youngest, just below her. I don’t remember her doing anything other than trying to survive us.” June huffed before speaking again. “None of us were all that nice to her. Especially Mom and Dad.” February told her with good reason too. “What reason? I’d really like to know why you’ve held onto this grudge for so long.”

  “I don’t have time to go over her misdeeds. Isn’t it bad enough for you that she had all that magic and didn’t share it?” June asked her how that was supposed to work. None of them were the seventh in anything. “Okay, not share, but she could have done more for us. Like helping with the house. Did you know she could have cleaned the entire thing with just a snap of her fingers?”

  “As far back as I can remember, the house was forever cleaned up. I don’t remember having to take out the trash or even wash the dishes. I don’t think any of us had to.” June pretended to think on it. “Nope. None of us did a thing to help out around the house other than to leave without making our beds. We never picked up our clothing, and I don’t remember ever once having to put away our laundry. Now that you mention it, we didn’t do shit around there. Not even yard work. She did it, I’m betting.”