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Jake wasn’t sure how to conduct himself in another attorney’s office. He’d been on the other end of the desk when dealing with people for a long time, but this was the first time that he could remember when he wasn’t in charge. He decided that this side wasn’t as nice as he’d thought it would be. When his grandma shifted on her seat, he looked over at her.

“You’ll like Forrest. He’s a good man and a better attorney. Did you know that he delivered the paperwork to Carol himself? Just so he could see her face? I wish I could have been there. I bet she was fit to be tied.” Jake said he’d told him when he spoke to him yesterday. “Good. I guess she made a call to her daddy too. He called me right after to ask me for a meeting. I think that there is something there too, but I told him to speak to my attorney. Carol isn’t right in the head; you’ve figured that out, haven’t you?”

“Yes. She called the house yesterday too. Demanded to speak to me about something. I told Harley to hang up on her if she calls back.” Grandma told him good for him, but he should get his number changed. “I will. I thought her dad would be pissed off, but I had no idea that he’d call you. What do you suppose he wants from you? Oh yeah, then Carol called the furniture store where I bought some of my things. I’m really glad you told me to make sure that everyone knew she wasn’t on my charge cards anymore. I think you might have saved me a great deal of money.”

“From what I’ve been able to find out, I think there was more to you marrying his daughter than was told. And I think perhaps your father knows a little about it as well. I also believe that at one point, he told her you were a good man and that you deserved better. But Carol usually gets her way.” Jake nodded. He was coming to figure that out as well. “I heard you got a few things delivered yesterday.”

“Oh yes. It’s great. I even called to get the rest of the set. The couch is as soft as butter and smells so good. I took a nap on it last night and swear I’ve never slept better. My bedroom set is coming tomorrow. And I’ve decided to hire Harley to come in and cook for me full time. It’s really nice to have someone there when I come home, and a hot meal as well. He’s is wonderful; thank you for telling me about him. I think I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

“It shows.” Jake grinned. “I’ve not seen you this happy in a long time, Jake. I’m so glad that you’re finally doing something for you.”

“I’m not saying that it’s been all roses and wine. I mean, for all the things that I find that make me feel good about myself and doing this, I find out more and more about Carol and her misdeeds. Forrest told me that Carol has had two abortions since we were married. And one of those in the last year. We don’t even reside on the same floor of the house, much less sleep together. It’s been a couple of years now since I’ve touched her. How did she think she was going to get away with this, Grandma?” He didn’t feel as embarrassed as he thought he should talking to her about this. Grandma was his rock. “I guess I’ve been a fool.”

“Not a fool. But a man that has been dealt a shitty hand. This will get better. See if it doesn’t.” He nodded and leaned back in his chair. “Jake, don’t let her talk you into letting her back in your life.”

“No. I won’t. She’s gone as far as I’m concerned. I can’t do her way of living again. I guess I realized how bad it was with her, but not how it was making me feel all the time. I was hurting, and I don’t mind telling you that I think she was making me sick as well. The stress of trying to guess what she was up to was taking its toll on me.” Jake looked at his grandma. “You were right about her all along, it appears. But I did have a learning experience. Not a nice one, but I did learn.”

When the door opened behind him he stood and looked at the man there. Christ, Jake thought, he was huge. But the longer the man stood there just staring at him, Jake began to feel uncomfortable. Well, that wasn’t all of it; he was feeling something odd as well.

“Forrest?” The man turned to look at his grandma when she spoke. “What is it? Are you unwell? Has Carol said or done something to harm you?”

“No. I’ve not seen her since.... Is this a joke?” Jake looked at his grandma to see what the man was talking about. He wasn’t sure even after glancing in her direction. “This can’t be right, Jenna. What have you done? Are you trying to make me feel better or something?”

“I don’t know what you mean. This is my grandson, Jake Winslow. Jake this is—” His grandma stood up then, her entire body stiff. And when she started laughing, Jake was more confused than before. “Oh Forrest. You’ve found him, haven’t you? This is wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

“Well I’m certainly not. You don’t understand, Jenna. This can’t happen to me.” Forrest moved into the room but walked as far from Jake as he could go, even pressing against the wall as he went. When he was seated in his chair, the man looked broken. “I don’t know what’s going on right now. This can’t be real…it’s surreal is what it is.”

“What are you talking about? Maybe if I understood, I could help you.” Forrest started to laugh, then looked at him. It wasn’t a humorous laugh; more of a saddened one. Like he was too upset to cry and laughing was all he had. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

“You won’t after I tell you either. Or I don’t think you will. Not yet at any rate.” Jake sat back down but he wasn’t sure if he should stay or go. The man was upset about something, and he had a feeling that it was bad. “If you don’t mind, I’d just like to get this part with your divorce finished up. Then we’ll…I guess we can talk then if you’d like. Okay, so I talked to your soon to be ex-wife yesterday. She called here just as I was leaving. She told me to tell you that you’re not allowed to divorce her.”

“That sounds like something she’d say. She was forever telling me what I could and couldn’t do. I think that’s why I…are you sure you’re all right? We can do this some other time if you wish.” Jake wanted to…well, he wanted to hold the man. Tell him that things would be better. Whatever they were. And he didn’t understand that any more than he did what was going on. “Perhaps you should just tell us and then you’ll feel better.”

“I just don’t know if this…. You know what a shifter is?” Jake told Forrest that he knew several. “I would have thought so. And I’m assuming that you have no opinion about them either way.”

“If you mean that it doesn’t bother me what they are, then yes, you’d be correct. I don’t care what a person is, just how they treat those around them. Did Carol say something about one of them? She cannot stand the thought of…well, anything that is not what she wants.” Jake laughed slightly. “She’s a horrible person. I mean, I guess I knew that all along, but things are beginning to take shape in my head now. I’m very sorry if she insulted one of your friends. She is, as you said, not a nice person.”

“It wasn’t me or anyone that I know, but I thank you for that. I’m a cat, Jake. A tiger, as a matter of fact. Born one, even though my father is a human.” Jake nodded, not sure what he was supposed to say to that. “Do you know much about shifters? Other than what you read? What I mean is, have you talked with one of my kind? About anything?”

“Not much. A little. I know that they can shift when they need or when their other part thinks they need to. They mate for life and it’s usually a good relationship. Not all, but most of them are good. I’ve never taken a domestic violence nor a divorce case for any of them, so that’s all I have to go on.” Jake smiled at him. “I think there is more, but right now I’m more concerned with what is going on with you. Is there anything at all that I can do for you?”

“Let me tell you this first, then we’ll see what you want to do. Yes, we mate for life. And we don’t abuse or divorce for that very reason. I know there are bad relationships between mates…my father hated my mother and me too because of what we were. But for the most part, it’s a long and very loving relationship. Christ, this is harder than I thought it would be.” Jake waited for him to continue. “I’m homosexual. A gay shifter male that was without a mate until today.”

“Okay.” Jake glanced at his grandma then back at Forrest. “Perhaps you should just say whatever it is.”

“You’re my mate, Jake.” Whatever Jake had thought he was going to say, that would never have entered his mind. “I would like to know what you’re thinking right now, please.”

“To be honest, I don’t know. My mind is blank.” Forrest nodded. “I was married. To a woman. And she wasn’t…I wouldn’t have picked her, I don’t think. I shouldn’t have married her at all, but I was sort of pressured into it. Why, I have no idea, but.... I’m babbling, I’m sorry. But for me to be your mate, your male mate, I’m not…I don’t know what to think.”

“Yes, I’m aware that you’ve been married to a woman.” Jake’s mind suddenly filled with questions. And images. Then he was afraid. “I want to touch you. No, that’s not right, I need to touch you. But I won’t.”

“Why?” Jake felt his face heat. “I mean, why would you say that? Does it matter that you won’t touch me?”

“I don’t want to just touch you, Jake. I want a great deal more.” His body warmed, then heated. Jake was confused not just by his feelings, but the thoughts that were racing in his mind. “Maybe we should just get through this, like I said, then if you want to talk, we can.”

“Yes. All right.” When he was handed a file, he stared at it for several seconds before he spoke again. “I don’t know what to do. This is not anything that I’ve ever thought of in a long.... This is…I don’t mean to sound crass, but I’m just unsure of everything about this.”

“I understand. If you’d like, I can recommend someone else to take over your case. I know—” Jake told him no. “All right then. Let’s begin. As you can see from the folder you have, Carol had asked her parents to help her leave you. But under false pretenses. The furniture was removed because she told her father that there was a bug infestation in the house, and it was important that things were removed before the exterminators arrived. I’ve spoken to them both, and believe it or not, they’re willing to testify that she left you and the house you shared. Mr. Lane, I’m not sure what he has going on at the moment, but he sounds sort of resigned to the fact that this is beyond his control. And Mrs. Lane has told me that she wants this finished. Now.”

“Is that important? That they testify, I mean?” Forrest explained. “But I don’t care that she’s gone from the house. I’m glad that she’s absent. Nor that she took all the furniture. It was repugnant anyway.” Forrest and his grandma laughed and Jake joined them. It was the first good laugh he’d had in a while. “I want this to happen; I want her out of my life for good. Whatever it takes, I’d very much like her not to be a part of my life from now on.”

“We’ll get you there. But as for them testifying, it goes to show that she didn’t want the house or she would have stayed and asked you to leave. Maybe she did, but by her own actions, she left you the house. And I’m hoping the courts will see it that way as well.” He told him how the house was in his grandma’s name. “Did Carol know this? I mean, was she aware that it was done and why?” Jake looked at his grandma when she laughed a little.

“Oh yes, she knows. And was not too happy about it either, let me tell you. I lent them the money for back taxes when she hadn’t been paying them. They were close to losing it all due to foreclosure. Carol, along with Jake, signed the deed over to me. Jake insisted on it once I paid it off for them. When he asked me for a loan, we agreed that the house was supposed to be in my name only until he paid me back, but it didn’t change.” Grandma looked at him. “I never brought it up to be switched back because I was afraid that Carol would do it again. With my name on the deed, then the bank would call me if there was a problem. I never meant for you to pay me back, Jake. I was glad I could help you.”

“He was smart to do that, Jenna. Both in paying you back and giving you the house as collateral. And the fact that she was well aware of it is perfect. She can’t claim that the house belongs to her. Who brokered the deal?” Jake told him the bank. “Good. That’s good. The bank will have had a vested interest in keeping things on the up and up.”

Jake watched Forrest make notes, using his computer to look up phone numbers when he didn’t know them. Jake did the same thing when he worked, not relying on someone else to gather information for him. He thought he’d like to work with him, be a partner in a law firm together. Jake didn’t know why; he’d just met the man, but he thought he’d be a good person to work with. Jake looked at his grandma when she poked him.

“Your phone is ringing.” Apologizing, he pulled out his phone and said it was Carol’s dad. Forrest asked him to answer it, and if he wouldn’t mind, put it on speaker phone. He nodded and did as requested.

“Jake?” It was Carol, not her dad. Forrest showed him a recording device. Jake nodded for him to turn it on. “Jake, I know that you’re there. I can hear you breathing. What the hell have you done to me?”

“To you? I’m not sure what you mean, Carol. You’re the one that left me, remember?” Forrest put a sheet of paper up, telling him to inform Carol that he was recording their conversation. “Carol, I want you to know that I’m recording this. I don’t want you to—”

“You think I give a shit what you record, Jake? I don’t. What I do care about is what you’re doing to my house. And what do you mean by sending me this paperwork thinking that you want a divorce? You don’t. I want you to make sure that whoever you’ve talked to knows that as well. You aren’t getting a divorce from me. Not unless I say so. I like things just the way they were before you got all this in your head. I was teaching you a lesson. One, I might add, that you’ve not gotten. You’re not being very nice to me, Jake. And I don’t care for it.” He started to explain to her how she’d left him no choice. “I left you plenty of choices. Like not to cut off my credit cards like you did. Not to take away my spending power. How am I supposed to be with my friends if you’re forever making me look bad? Giving me what I wanted when I wanted it was what you should have been doing. Not this…this divorce thing. I won’t stand for it, Jake. Make them stop this nonsense right now.”

“I’m not going to stop it. I like things the way they are now. Carol, we couldn’t afford you doing those things you were doing. I don’t have that kind of money to be tossing away whenever you wish. You’ve nearly bankrupted us as it is. And you left me, I didn’t leave you.” She made a noise, something like the sound of a raspberry on a child’s belly. “What was I supposed to think when you emptied the house of everything and even cut up my suits?”

“I did that to get you to see I mean business. You seemed to have forgotten that I’m the one that has to stay at home all day while you work to make money. What are you going to do now? And just so you know, I’m not going to allow you to leave that furniture in my home once I’m back there either.” He asked her what sort of business she meant to teach him. “That you cannot take things from me when I want them. Jake, why are you buying new things for the house? You know as well as I do that those things are not my taste. There is no color on them. Nothing to say power. I have that, Jake, all the power in the world, and I will not have you taking it from me.”

“I never bought it with you in mind.” He heard her sharp intake of breath and felt empowered by it. “As for your power over me? That’s gone as well. I’ve enjoyed you being gone, as a matter of fact. It’s been enlightening. And freeing. I’ve never slept better or felt so wonderful in my entire life. No, I think I like things just the way they’re headed. The divorce is going ahead. I’m glad I’m getting it done.”

“No, you’re not, Jake. I want you to listen to me and stop this drivel right now.” He asked her what drivel that would be. “You thinking that you know what it is you want or need. You know you don’t want this. You’re just acting out. Or you’re depressed that I’m not there. That’s all. I’ll come home and bring my things back, and you’ll see. It’ll be just like it was before. You’ll give me back my credit cards and I won’t have to do this to you again.” The second note went up and he nodded.

“Can you tell me about the abortions, Carol?” The silence on the other end was laughable to him. “There were two that I know of. The more I find out about you the more I think you’ve never been faithful to me, nor did you have any intentions of being so. I know that at least the last one wasn’t mine. Who was it? Did you know him?”

“Who told you? James? Did he call you? I told him you’d not care. But now that it’s out, yes, I had three as a matter of fact. None of them were yours. What does it matter? I’m willing to forgive you.” He asked her what he had to be forgiven for. “You treated me badly, Jake. You know that. When I asked you for things, you said no. What sort of person does that to the person he’s supposed to love? Where did you find out these terrible things, anyway? Was it James or Tayler? I’m telling you right now, they’re not going to be getting into my bed after this. But that’s water under the bridge. You’re going to give me what I want, aren’t you, Jake?”

“No. I think I’ve given you enough. I’ve filed for divorce and I’m going to leave it the way things are. The fact that you have no shame in what you’ve done and just expect me to act like it never happened shows just what sort of person you are.” He felt like a failure in that moment. Not for not loving his wife…because in that moment, he knew that he never had. But he’d let the woman he married take everything from him. “Carol, I don’t know what your plans are, but I would suggest you get yourself a good attorney. Or a bad one, I don’t care. But I am proceeding with this. I’ve had enough.”

“Damn it, Jake, what is wrong with you? You will not treat me this way, do you hear me? I want you to get that crap out of my house and pay for my things to be brought back home, my home. Now, this is what you’re going to do; I’ll meet you there in the morning. After you’ve had time to think of what you’ve done to me and put my house back the way I had it. There wasn’t any reason whatsoever for you to go out and try to shame me by putting that tasteless couch in there.” He told her that he’d changed the locks. “Jake, you’re starting to piss me off. I’m not going to take this from you.”

“Good. I’m glad that you are pissed. And I’m not going to take you back. I’m not going to get rid of the things that I bought. Nor am I going to do a damned thing for you again.” He laughed, feeling lighter for it; his failure, he only just realized, was not on him but her. “Goodbye, Carol. I’ll see you in court.”

When he closed the connection, he sat there for several minutes. He heard them talking, his grandma and Forrest. But what they said, he had no idea. Jake was getting a divorce. He was actually going to leave his wife by the curb. When he stood up, Forrest did as well.

“I need a drink.” Forrest nodded and smiled. “I don’t know what this thing is that you have going on, this other part of you, but if you’d come have a drink with me, I’d appreciate it. You and Grandma both.”

~~~

Forrest watched Jake. He was calm, much too calm for a man who had just had his entire life turned upside down. Or maybe this was just him, the way he was. Calm and thoughtful before speaking. Forrest asked him twice if he was all right before he finally looked at him.

“My wife had affairs. Aborted children as if they were nothing more than an inconvenience to her. Spent money, the money I worked hard to earn, as if there was a limitless supply of it and no penalties if something else was set aside, just so that she could have things the way she wanted them.” Forrest nodded. “But you want to know something really strange? I’m so relieved that I can hardly contain myself. Not about the abortions or the money, but that she’s out of my life.”

“I can understand that. The few minutes that you spoke to her on the phone, all I could think about was how you’d put up with her for ten years. And that I think she’s a manipulative person who is finally getting her retribution.” Jake nodded. “Are you all right, Jake?”

“Yes, I think I am. I mean, I have my moments, but all in all, I feel pretty good. Tell me about this mate thing.” Forrest wasn’t sure that now was the time and said as much. He was glad now that Jenna had begged off, saying she’d had enough for one day, and had left them to their own dinner and drinks. “What I mean is, I need something to distract me and I think that’ll do it. Tell me. I need…I think I need to know.”

“Jake, you don’t have to do this. I’m sure we can find other things to talk about.” Jake nodded but said nothing. “I’m thinking that the divorce will go off without a hitch. Once we file—”

“How does that work? Sex, I mean.” Forrest shifted on his seat; this wasn’t what he wanted to do. Not now. The man was very overawed right now. “You think that I’m off my rocker, don’t you? That I’m only asking you these things because of Carol. I guess in a way I am, but you brought this up and I’d very much like to understand why you think I’m your other half. That’s what it’s called, right? Your other half?”

“Yes. And I don’t think you’re off your rocker. What I think is that you’re overwhelmed. You’re also stressed out and not thinking right. This is not something that I can take lightly with you. We have to.... This isn’t something that you can just step into without thought.” He asked him if it was because he was human. “That’s part of it. The other part is that—and it’s a big part—you’re not a homosexual.”

“How do you know? I don’t.” He asked him what he meant. “I mean, some of the things that are going through my head aren’t anything that I’ve ever thought of before. But you want to know something? I’m not sickened by it. Nor am I afraid of you.”

“But you might be.” Jake shook his head. “I want you to think about this. About how you think it will feel if I take you home and to my bed.”

“All right.” Forrest wanted to scream. He wasn’t making this easy for him. “Look, you think that I’m only doing this because…well, I’m not really sure what you’re thinking. But I have been doing a lot of thinking. About a lot of things. One of them is the fact that I seem to be drawn to you. I’m not turned on; I don’t think. But I feel…I feel something for you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do. And I’m drawn to you as well. But you can’t just do this on a whim, Jake. If I take you to my bed, you will belong to me. None other but me. And if you decide that this is something you can’t handle, it’ll be too late for me.” He asked him what that meant. “You’re my mate. My other half. And if I commit to you, I can never go back. I’ll die if I can’t have you. I’ll go rogue, and in that I mean I’ll go insane. More so than I think I’m feeling right now.”

“That’s being really dramatic, don’t you think?” Forrest said nothing. “You’re serious. You’ll literally die if I don’t stay with you after one night?”

“Yes. I will either be killed by the pride leader because I can no longer handle me or my cat, or—and this is what normally happens—I will end my life. Because once you and I are together, life for me will never be the same. We either do this all the way or nothing. There is no in-between for me. You? Yes, but not for me.” Forrest could see his struggle. Hell, he had his own struggles right now. The man was perfect for him. “Look. Let’s just get through this divorce and you can figure things out.”

“Is there a book?” Forrest told him sadly there was not. “So other men, they’ve gone through this before, I’m assuming. What do they do for answers?”

“Jake, I’m trying to tell you, I don’t think there are a lot of gay shifters out there. Especially with a human counterpart.” Jake said nothing, just sat there staring into his beer. “Like I said, we should just get you divorced. Carol is not going to go away nicely; I think you know that. This other? Nothing may come of this, and then you and I can go our separate ways.”

“Does it work like that?” Forrest told him he didn’t know. “I have a lot to think about. I don’t know a great deal about any of this, including what I’m going to do in the long term about my life. Not just anything that might happen between us—and I’m not saying it will—but with Carol, her parents.... Everything.”

“I understand.” He did too. It was a great deal to throw at someone. “I’m starved. How about we get some pizza or wings and then call it a night after we eat? It’s been a rollercoaster day for both of us.”

After they left the bar, going their separate ways, Forrest went to the edge of the property near his home and let his cat take him. He hadn’t been out much lately, not since Thomas, and it felt really good to be free. Well, as free as a big tiger in a small town could be. As he roamed the woods, doing nothing more than chasing scents, he paused by the large lake at the back of his property.

Forrest thought about Jake. Not just him, he supposed, but what having him as a mate would be like. They’d be happy, of this he had no doubt. But they’d have trouble too. Not between the two of them, but with the world in general. He knew personally what a gay man in this world had to deal with, and not a lot of it was pretty or easy. And being a shifter on top of that just compounded those troubles tenfold.

The noise behind him had him lying low on the ground. He sniffed the air around him, even lifted his head up a little to see if he could locate the noise. There wasn’t anything that he could see or smell, but he was still very cautious. As he lay there, his heart pounding in his chest, he thought of Jake and that maybe he’d come to see him. But the laughter, the soft laughter, had his heart skipping several beats. Then nothing.