attention to her. His focus was nearly entirely on the location of his mate. He couldn’t see her, but he knew she was still in the far corner of Morton’s in the vicinity of the produce.
“Caleb?”
He jerked his attention back to Annabelle to find her staring at him strangely. No wonder. The groceries were completely bagged and in his cart. She nodded at the credit card machine.
“Oh, sorry. Guess my mind is still at work.”
She chuckled. “You and Hunter. Do either of you ever stop working?”
“Not often.” He gave her a wry smile before putting his card away and then setting his hands on the cart. “Thanks. See you next week.”
“Or the following week if you get too lazy to shop,” she teased.
He forced a fake laugh and pushed the cart toward the exit. It didn’t matter that the blonde was still shopping. He would stall in the parking lot long enough to get another look at her. And then he was going to have to let her go. For the time being anyway. Until he could figure out who she was and how he should go about approaching her.
There were so many unknowns. He couldn’t be certain this mate of his even knew about shifters. It was pretty likely since she was in Canyon Springs for some reason and half the town was comprised of shifters. Whoever she was visiting either was a shifter or knew a shifter.
And then there was the next hurdle. Always a crap shoot in these situations. He’d watched dozens of his acquaintances go through the process of informing their unsuspecting mate of her fate. Sometimes it went well. Other times… He shuddered.
After loading his groceries in the back of his Ford Ranger, he climbed into the driver’s seat and pretended to use his phone. People did it all the time. No one would think it was weird. Maybe he had a work call to make or email to answer or something. At least he was being safe and not texting and driving.
The next ten minutes took forever, but finally the ethereal woman exited the grocery store. She held a bag in each hand, and she glanced around for a few moments as though not remembering where her car was.
Caleb took the opportunity to snap her picture. Perhaps a little invasive but relatively harmless. He wanted to be able to look at it later to remind himself she was real.
He watched as she climbed into a white Toyota Camry. The urge to follow her was strong. The urge to jump out of his truck and approach her was stronger. But he gripped the steering wheel and let her go. He needed to find Hunter and do some research. Find out who she was. Where she was staying. Make a plan. The woman he would spend the rest of his life with wasn’t leaving town anytime soon, he reasoned. She just bought groceries.
Chapter 3
September 10, 1964
Dear Mabel,
I’m loving my job. The kids are so sweet. I’m so glad I chose to become a teacher. I hope you’re happy with yours too. Mom says it’s been a challenge. Maybe you need to try a different grade?
Josiah has been working long hours for the logging company. It’s a scary job, but he’s good at it and it pays well. Even without my teaching salary, he makes enough to pay for all our needs and stash some savings away.
One of these days, we’ll have a baby, and then we’ll need to tap into that savings! Apparently, tiny humans are expensive.
I miss seeing you every day. Somedays I wonder if you still look the same. Did you cut your hair or get a tattoo or something? Ha ha. I’d probably hunt you down and demand to see it if you got a tattoo!
Please write back?
Love, Marge
Elena was sticking the last of the groceries she’d picked up in Aunt Marge’s refrigerator when she heard the front screen door slam. She smiled as a voice she’d know anywhere in the world called out, “Elle?”
“In the kitchen,” she yelled before rounding the corner to find her sister coming across the living room. Layla was the only person Elena knew who could go for a run and not look winded or sweaty. “I can’t believe the first damn thing you wanted to do as soon as we arrived was go for a run.” The two of them had landed in Denver at nearly the same time, picked up their rental car, and made the