Page 32 of Shifters Unifying (Shifters Destiny: Willow Creek Shifters #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

logan

Vixen’s

Fuckity, fuck, fuck.

Sophia Carter.

I froze, unable to get my mouth to form words.

This wasn’t the way I’d wanted to meet Emma’s mother.

I didn’t know what she knew, what she didn’t know, and the woman was more than a little intimidating.

Probably because I’d never met a girlfriend’s mother in my whole fucking life. Relationships weren’t my forte.

“Mr. Blackwood, my Emma won’t answer her phone, and Riley and Shannon can’t—or won’t—tell me anything.

I believe you must know where she is,” Sophia continued.

With each word, the volume of her voice increased until she was practically yelling in my face.

Her eyes flashed, and her bottom lip quivered as though she was on the verge of tears.

Other lunch patrons turned to watch, unabashed in their curiosity.

Oh, hell and double hell.

Olivia jumped to her feet and put her arm around the older woman. “Now, Ms. Carter, it’s great to meet you. Why don’t you take a seat, so we can talk this thing through?”

Sophia slammed her hand on the surface of the table, rattling the silverware. “No, I will not sit down. I need my daughter.” Her voice broke. “She’s all I have left.”

“Logan, say something,” Olivia hissed at me. “Or we’re going to wind up on the front page of the newspaper.”

Her furious words dislodged my tongue, and I decided honesty was the best way out of the mess we were now in. I couldn’t tell her much, but I could tell her how much Emma meant to me.

Gingerly, I placed my hand on the older woman’s hand. “Ms. Carter, your daughter is more important to me than anything else in the world. Please sit, and I’ll tell you what I can.”

Sophia collapsed in the chair, her shoulders hunched. “Where is she?”

Settling in my own chair, I pulled it closer. “She’s safe.”

She studied me through her tear-laden lashes. “But she’s not with you.”

I winced as though she’d struck me. “No, not today. We’re building the new apartment complex over on Belvedere, and I had some business to take care of.”

“Then how do you know she’s safe?”

I touched the center of my chest. “We have a connection, and… I’d… just… know.”

Sophia nodded as though that made all the sense in the world. “I had the same kind of soul connection with her father. I knew when he… when he… passed.”

Sheila approached, carrying three Phillies. “Okay to set these down?”

“Fine by me,” I said.

“What do you think, Ms. Carter?” Olivia asked.

“Call me Sophia. Yes, that’s fine.” The older woman glanced at the sandwiches and then at Sheila’s arm as she placed the plates, one in front of each of us.

“Oh, Callie’s your daughter. I recognize your tattoos.

Emma told me about the aurora on your arms and stars on your cheeks.

She’s always wanted to see the aurora in Alaska. ”

Sheila beamed at the older woman. “We’re all pretty fond of Emma. She’s saved our Sully-Boy so many times I’ve lost count.” She grinned. “If Logan says she’s safe, then she is. Can I bring you something to drink?”

“Just water, please. No ice.”

“Sparkling or still?”

Sophia sniffed. “Still. Thank you.”

“I’ll be back.” Sheila hurried away.

Sophia frowned at the food on the table. “Three sandwiches? So, you knew I was coming?”

I didn’t know how to explain, so I said nothing.

“Something like that,” Olivia offered. “Since we have an extra sandwich, Ms. Carter, would you like to have lunch with us?”

“Is that another one of your powers?” Sophia whispered. “Can you read minds?”

“Powers?” I echoed, scanning the other patrons in Vixen’s. Thankfully, they’d all lost interest in what was happening at our table. “Our power are not something most regular people know about, and we don’t talk about them much in public. What did she tell you?”

“Emma didn’t tell me anything. Not until I caught her shifting last time she was in town. She was naked,” she rasped. “In the middle of God and everybody. The whole town might have seen her.”

I laughed, and Olivia joined me.

But Sophia gave us both a stern scowl. “Why is that funny?”

“You sound so much like Emma after she first learned about what we can do,” I answered. “She didn’t know what to think of all the…”

“Nakedness?” Sophia prompted. “She wasn’t raised that way.”

“But to answer your other question, no, we can’t read minds,” Olivia interjected before I could fit my foot, or maybe my whole damn leg, into my mouth again. “Have you spoken with Shannon and Riley?” she asked.

Sophia nodded. “Almost every day.”

“And they’re okay?”

“Yeah, but they don’t know when they’re going back to work at the vet practice or what’s happened to Emma, so they’re not much help. Other than to listen to me going on about finding her.”

Sheila reappeared with Sophia’s water and placed it on the table. “Anything else I can get you?”

“Are you one of them?” Sophia asked, waving to the wolf tattoo on Sheila’s arm.

Sheila paled. “One of them?”

“With the changing into animals?”

“Oh, god.” Sheila took a step back. “I’m going to check on my other customers.” Then she spun and darted toward the table at the farthest side of the dining room.

“Sheila isn’t one of us, Ms. Carter—Sophia,” I added hastily. “But she’s my cousin, and she knows about… us.”

“So, where is my daughter, Mr. Blackwood?”

“Emma’s been staying at my place.” Not exactly the whole truth, but maybe it would be enough to set Sophia’s mind at ease. I brought my Chilton to my lips and took a drink.

“Your place? Is that so? What does she do there? Besides you, I mean, obviously.” Sophia’s cheeks pinked, but she glared at me as though she already knew every feral thing we’d done over the last month. “Well? What are your intentions with my daughter? Some kind of sex cult?”

At that, I nearly dropped my glass. Snorting Vodka hadn’t been on my long list of things to do today, but my drink refused to go down the right way.

I repeat: Fuckity, fuck, fuck.

I didn’t really want to discuss our sex life with Emma’s mother. For chrissake. Get ahold of yourself, and put the damn glass on the table, man. I slammed it down harder than I intended, swiped a paper napkin, and dabbed at my mouth.

She turned to Olivia. “Does at least have a house for all their… shenanigans?”

Olivia glanced at me. “You know, I think I like her.”

“You would,” I snapped.

“Reminds me of Emma.”

“That’s the best compliment I’ve heard all year,” Sophia said. “I think I like you, too, dear,” she added. The older woman shot me a look that practically screamed “but I do not like you.”

Holy shit. This was going sideways, and I hadn’t said much of anything.

Olivia snickered, clearly enjoying my discomfort. “Logan has a big manor house out in the country, lots of acres. We do most of our construction company staging from there.”

“I’d heard he’s successful.”

“That’s true.”

“Thanks to Olivia,” I said.

“Naturally,” Sophia answered. She studied the extra sandwich before picking it up off of the plate. She took a bite. “You two better eat.”

“Not sure I’m hungry,” I said.

“The woman said eat,” Olivia quipped. “You’d better eat.”

Arguing didn’t seem conducive to winning any points with Sophia, so I shoveled my sandwich into my face, barely tasting it. At least I couldn’t be expected to talk with food in my mouth.

“You know, last time I saw Emma, I also met Jasper,” she began. “He took those four young people to lunch. What were their names?”

Olivia frowned and then grinned. “Oh, then you must have met Blaze, Izzie, Oliver, and John.”

“That sounds right. Are they like you?”

“Newly,” Olivia said, around a bite of her own sandwich.

“I think there are some missing posters up around town for one of the teens. I think one of the boys. Their parents must be looking for them, also.”

“Good to know,” I said. “We’ll have to get them to reach out to their parents, let them know they’re okay.”

“You’re so good at that,” Sophia cooed. “Making sure kids update their parents.”

Olivia shook her head. “He tries, Sophia. He does try.”

“Now, when can I see Emma?”

“You’re welcome at Six-Mile manor anytime,” I offered. “We have plenty of room.”

“Maybe you can tuck me into a corner, then, some place where you’re not bedding my daughter? I don’t think I want to be anywhere near that. Her father must be rolling over in his grave.”

God. I can’t win with this woman. I shoved another bite of my cheesy sandwich into my mouth, glad for the meal. Couldn’t recall the last time I’d eaten anything other than Emma.

Olivia polished off her sandwich and pushed her plate away. “We have guest houses, little cabins not connected to the main house. Those could probably work.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.” This time, her stern look included both of us.

Olivia fished her cell phone out of her pocket and unlocked it. “If you give me your number, I can send you a location pin.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea? What if Emma isn’t there when she wants to come visit?”

“Better than letting a poor mother worry about her daughter,” Olivia said, handing her phone to Sophia so she could type her number into it.

“Shouldn’t we coordinate with Emma to work out an appropriate time for visiting?” I asked, weakly. This was turning into battle I wasn’t likely to win.

“Better than explaining everything or working it all out here in Willow Creek. Don’t you think, Logan?”

“We might be taking care of other business.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Blackwood. I’ll let Olivia know before I come out, and I won’t interrupt anything you might be doing… to my daughter.” She handed the phone back to Olivia. “You won’t even know I’m there.”

“Of course.” I’d been beaten, and I knew it. “Why don’t you call me Logan?”

Sophia didn’t answer. Instead, she waved to Sheila. When my cousin ventured closer, Sophia asked, “Can you bring a box, hon’? I’d like to take the rest of my sandwich to-go.”

Sheila flashed a thumbs up. “Will do. I’ll bring the check, too.”

After Sophia had packed her lunch away, she stood, no longer a woman on the edge of a breakdown. Instead, she was a woman with a plan. She hugged a still-seated Olivia, nodded to me, and made her way out of Vixen’s.

“See you soon,” she called over her shoulder.

After she’d gone, Sheila brought a card reader so I could settle the bill. “She’s a firecracker,” Sheila said. “Reminds me of Emma.”

“So, I’ve heard,” I muttered, signing the tiny screen. My cousin left, and I took a deep breath and released it. “What the fuck just happened?”

Olivia shrugged. “You got steamrolled, a mother got what she wanted, and we avoided a scene.”

“We just moved the scene from here to Six-Mile. There’s no way Sophia Carter is going to handle the news about Acheron well. There’s so much she’s not ready to know.”

“Better there than here. Regardless, it’s done now,” Olivia countered.

“At least, this way, maybe we won’t have the parish sheriff’s department breathing down our neck anytime soon.

Though, if I were you, I’d have those kids reach out to their parents as soon as possible, in the off chance any of them are minors. ”

“That’s probably a good idea. We should have had them do that before I took them over to Salali’s. Let’s handle that when we get back to Six-Mile. We can probably send Phil to take a message over.”

“Will do.”

“Any of them minors?” That could be a whole new can of worms.

Olivia covered a yawn. “Not sure. It’s not something any of us thought to ask.

Emma might not even know. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.

We’ll deal with the problem when it’s a problem.

” She stood. “We need to get coffee before we leave town. You want to check on Riley and Shannon before we head back to Six-Mile?”

“Sure. Might as well. Next time I see Emma, I’ll be able to tell her we’ve put eyeballs on everyone she asks about in Willow Creek. Have you ever met these two?”

“I don’t think so, but Jasper and Flynn both have.”

“I met them. Once. The last time Sheila’s daughter’s cat tried to murder himself while he was out chasing tail.”

Olivia laughed, and she opened to door to Vixen’s. The mid-day seemed too bright after the moody lighting in Vixen’s. “Well, nothing like chasing some good pussy across Louisiana. You know all about that, huh, Logan?”

“Shut up.” But her words already had me thinking about Emma and the next time we’d have a chance to be together.

We climbed into the SUV, Olivia in the driver’s seat, and I replayed the eventful lunch. We’d taken care of the problematic developer, met Emma’s mother, and managed to invite her out to Six-Mile. Hosting Sophia Carter at Six-Mile would probably invite a whole new set of problems.

The woman would come knocking, asking to check on her daughter, every damn time Emma had a grounds-shaking orgasm, and when we were together, Emma did that. A lot.

Motherf—

Nope. Not that word. I would never even be able to think that word again without thinking of Sophia glaring at me from across the table.

Fucking hell.