Page 2

“This is it. Did you want to change your destination?”

The driver had been warm, and the car was comfortable. Both of which I appreciated after a long flight and an even longer time away from home.

“No. I haven’t been home in a long time. Everything seems new.”

“My husband and I have been here a couple of times for the food truck festivals. They happen monthly. Dragon’s Breath Smokehouse, owned by a dragon and his mate, is something else. I dream about their brisket.”

Chuckling, I pressed my nose against the window and noticed all the changes. “The last time I was home, the diner was about to close down, and now…there’s a market even?”

“Looks like it. I heard the diner is owned by a kangaroo shifter of all things. Serves Australian and American classic menus. All this talk of food is making me hungry.”

“Do me a favor and take the long way through town, will ya? I would like to see all the new things.”

“Sure thing.”

Darren, the driver, took a left at the next corner. Some things in Oliver Creek were the same on that first street. The newspaper office was still there, even though the lights were off. I wondered if they even produced a paper anymore. The last time I was here, it was not much more than a two-page newsletter with mostly fluff pieces on the local residents. And, ina town like ours, the gossip was a bullet train in comparison to the paper.

City hall looked the same but with better landscaping.

But the next turn revealed so much. A new fancy restaurant. Signs directing tourists to the wildlife preserve and the vineyard.

A peanut butter and jelly restaurant?

A smoothie truck?

A bakery?

“No wonder you come here to eat,” I said, chuckling.

“I’m telling you. It’s the best place. You’re lucky to be from here. My husband and I have been watching the real estate market, hoping someone wants to sell, but as soon as one goes up for sale, someone grabs it up.”

Interesting. The businessman in me wondered if building some housing might be a good investment.

“What in the world is that?” I asked as we came to a stop near a store with a grand opening sign in the front window.

“Oh! I’m excited about that one. That’s the Trash Panda. He’s a former server in one of the restaurants who has opened a thrift store. If you’re having a baby, you go in there and he will give you a new baby setup with everything you need. In these times, we all need to help each other. Having babies is an expensive venture.”

“Mmm. Do you have children, Darren?”

I had to admit, I’d wanted children for a long time. But having children required an omega. While everything in my life was black and white, numbers and figures, that part of my life was left to Fate. She would either let me meet my soul mate or she wouldn’t. Clearly, the odds hadn’t been so good thus far.

“I do. Two of them. Two daughters. They are spoiled rotten, I’ll tell ya.”

“What a blessing.”

We drove around the town a bit more, and I absorbed everything I could. The friend I had staying in my house while I was gone had moved out a few days before, so I would have the place all to myself.

I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. There was a time when I relished solitude. The silence. The freedom to do as I pleased without answering to anyone. As those years went by, I began to hunger for connection.

Glances across the room.

Smiles and laughs shared over a movie.

Someone to cook for and cook with.

While I was glad to be in my own space, I wasn’t looking forward to the only voice in my home being mine.

My bear wasn’t pleased about it, either. He had needs as well. My alpha animal wanted someone to take care of. Love. Needed someone to lean on and feel safe and secure with while they were in my arms.