Unexpected Mates (Red Moon Shifters Book 1) Read online

  “Hey,” he said, walking into the room. “What are you up to?”

  Parker looked up at him, a mischievous smile on her face. “I’m just sitting in my chair, doing approved activities.”

  “Smartass,” Tyler replied as his lips quirked up. “You know what I meant.”

  “I downloaded the photos I took of the farm. I’m just going through them, seeing if there’s anything I like or anything I need to reshoot.”

  Ty’s eyebrows raised. “You’ve already downloaded all of the pictures you took this morning?”

  “Well yeah. It doesn’t take that long.”

  He eyed her laptop, wondering how powerful it was. How new it was. She’d done what it would take hours for him to do on his computer, and she’d done it in the time it had taken his to just turn on. Impressive. And a little humbling. A lot of shit needed fixing or replaced on the farm, and his computer was high on the list. The farm had been in danger of going under for so long, though, that he hadn’t wanted to replace something that technically still worked. Their finances were slowly righting themselves now, and he was hopeful he would get off of the need list and onto the want list soon.

  Forcing his thoughts away from that rabbit hole, Ty cleared his throat. “That position doesn’t look very comfortable.”

  Parker smiled at him, and the sight struck him right in the chest, like it always did. “I sit like this at home, so it’s all good. This chair is actually pretty comfy.”

  “Alright then. If you’d like to join me in the office, though, you’re welcome to. My desk is huge. There’s plenty of room for you and your laptop.”

  Parker stilled for a moment before her smile widened. “Really? I wouldn’t be bothering you?”

  “Of course not. Besides, we wanted to get to know each other better, right? And you need to know stuff about the farm. You can ask me whatever you want as you need to.”

  She shut her laptop and stood up, stretching. She cringed a bit, and Ty made to rush forward but she waved him off. “It’s nothing. Just a twinge in my back. I get back spasms, have had them since I hurt my back when I was a teenager. They’ve become a little stronger and more frequent as I get further along, but they’re nothing, I promise.”

  Ty frowned but nodded and stepped back. Back spasms didn’t sound like nothing to him, but he was trying hard not to hover. He’d done so much of that already since she’d been there that he was surprised she hadn’t run all the way back to California by now.

  “I’m going to grab something to drink, and then I’ll meet you in the office. Do you want anything?”

  “A glass of sweet tea would be great,” she replied softly.

  He nodded as he turned and headed toward the kitchen. Quickly filling two glasses with ice, he poured the tea before rushing to head back, ignoring Leah’s knowing look as he did so. Leah always thought she knew everything, and knew everything best, but she’d been like a mother to him and Chase after their own mother died, so he let her have her moments. Besides, nine times out of ten, she was right.

  He walked into the office and his breath stalled in his chest when he saw Parker with a chair pulled up to a corner of the huge desk. She had her laptop open and she was intently studying what was probably the images she’d taken of the farm. With those black glasses, she definitely had the sexy librarian look down. Now he just needed to see her looking exactly as she did now but with a book in her hand. In his bed. Waiting on him.

  Shaking himself out of those thoughts, he sat her glass by her side before sitting down in his chair with his own. His spreadsheet was finally finished loading, but he found himself continually sneaking peeks at Parker instead of focusing on his work.

  He forced himself to concentrate, but it hadn’t been long before his eyes drifted over to her again. This time she caught him.

  “I know you’re busy, but do you want to see the images I have so far?”

  “I’d like that,” he replied, moving his chair around the side so he was sitting next to her.

  It took him a moment to focus on what she was showing him. He could feel the heat from her body seeping into his, smell the tangy lemon scent of her body wash, and the sound of her musical voice was washing over him, although he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what she was saying. He just loved the sound of her voice. Everything about her was invading his senses, and he lifted a hand to rub at the ache in his chest that being so close to her had brought on.

  “Ty? You okay?”

  Jerking his attention to the screen, Ty muttered, “Sorry. Go ahead.”

  Parker clicked on an icon of the farmhouse, and Tyler straightened in his seat. It was a stunning picture, with the angle of the sun hitting the house just right. He sat in silence as she clicked through several more pictures, each more eye catching than the last. She even had one of him walking in from the fields.

  She cleared her throat. “Well? You’re awfully quiet. It’s okay if you don’t like them, I can take others—.”

  Ty hushed her. “Parker, these are amazing. They look like they were done by a professional photographer.”

  “Thank you,” she said softly, a blush warming up the pale creaminess of her skin. “It’s been a hobby since I was a kid. I do it when I need to take a break or de-stress. Do you have any notes or anything you don’t want on the website?”

  He shook his head. “They’re all great. I completely trust your judgement, Parker. Use whichever ones you’d like, now and later.”

  Parker grinned and Ty’s chest tightened as his gaze dropped to her lips. Lush and full, they were an invitation that he was having a harder and harder time resisting. He felt himself leaning toward her, drawn like a magnet, before he caught himself. Pulling back, he tried to make it look like he was in the process of standing up. He knew he had confused her a few times, with his words and with his actions. He didn’t want to do that again, and he had to stand firm on not taking it to the next level again. Her safety, and the safety of the pup, always came first.

  Even if resisting her was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

  They spent a couple of hours working together, mostly in an easy silence, only speaking occasionally. Even though things were quiet, Ty enjoyed it. He spent a lot of his afternoons locked away in here by himself, and having someone in the room with him was actually nice. The fact that it was Parker made all the difference, though.

  He was just finishing up payroll when Parker stood and stretched. He couldn’t help giving her a thorough once over, lingering on her generous curves. He’d never get enough of looking at her body.

  “I think I’m going to go walk around for a bit and stretch my back out before dinner.”

  “Do you need me to go with you? I can finish this later.”

  Parker waved a hand. “No, you finish up your work for the day, and we can maybe hang out after dinner? I don’t want you to interrupt your normal routine for me while I’m here. I promise I can walk around the house without hurting myself.”

  Ty smiled wryly at her. “I’m not sure of that, but we’ll see. I’ll see you at dinner.”

  Parker gave him another breathtaking smile before heading out of the room. He was still sitting motionless, staring after her and lost in thought, when his brother walked into the room.

  “Still mooning after Parker like a moon struck calf, I see,” Chase said as he pulled the chair Parker had been using back around the desk.

  “Go fuck yourself,” Ty muttered as he turned back to his computer.

  “That’s a physical impossibility, big brother,” Chase replied with a grin.

  “Then I guess you’ll stay a virgin forever, pup. What do you want?”

  “I just came in to tell you I won’t be at dinner tonight. You can make puppy eyes at Parker all night without worrying anyone will see you.”

  Ty looked up from his computer, narrowing his eyes at Chase. “You’re going over to the Anderson’s place again, aren’t you?’

  Chase rolled his eyes. “Don’t start wit
h me over this again, Ty. You know I go to support Ian.”

  “At fights. Shifter fights.”

  “What’s your point, Tyler?”

  “Something is going to go bad at one of those, Chase. I don’t want you in the crossfire.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen. They’re organized. I wish you would go with me to one, so you could see for yourself,” Chase replied, getting defensive.

  “No thanks. I don’t want anything to do with that shit, and neither should you. It’s basically shifter exploitation.”

  Chase tensed up. “Don’t be a dumbass, Ty. How can it be exploitation if no one but the fighters know they’re shifters? And you’ve always loved a good fight. At least you used to. When the hell did you turn into such a pussy?”

  Ty surged out of his chair and leaned across the desk. “Say that to me again, pup.”

  Chase got out of his own chair, mimicking Ty’s pose. “Don’t be a p--.”

  The sound of a throat clearing had them jerking away from each other. They both looked to see Leah standing in the doorway, hands propped on her hips.

  “Now, boys. There have been a lot of fights between y’all in this room. A lot of fights in this house. I can’t count the amount of furniture you two have broken over the years. I never minded it much because boys will be boys, and I know it’s how you two get your frustrations with each other out. But do you really want Parker to come in here and find you two brawling like teenagers, instead of the grown ass men you are?”

  Both of them shook their heads and Leah nodded, satisfied, before she left the room. Ty shifted for a moment, clenching his hands into fists and finally heaving a sigh.

  “Look, Chase. I don’t approve of these fights, and I would rather you didn’t go. But you’re a grown man. You can make your own choices. Just try to stay out of trouble.”

  Chase hooked his hands on his hips as he shook his head. “You’ll never understand it if you don’t give the fights a try. They’re not what you think they are. Yeah, they can get rowdy, but they’re controlled. And you’ll never bend on Ian if you don’t see it for yourself.”

  “I’ve always liked Ian. You know that. Still doesn’t mean I can let him and his fight club shifters stay here. Especially not with Parker here and expecting a baby. I can’t bring that kind of trouble around her.”

  “Then they don’t have to stay in the house. They can stay at the old place over across the river. It’s just sitting there empty anyhow, and this is a good, easy income. You’re always bitching about how we need to work harder to bring more money in. And I’m sure you could use more, with the pup and all.”

  Ty laughed but there was little amusement in it. “You call them your friends, yet you’d put them in that shit hole? It’s still a no, Chase. But I’ll think about going to one of the fights with you to see what it’s all about. If it all checks out, I’ll at least promise to stay off your ass about it.”

  Chase nodded before walking out, saying that he’d see him in the morning. Ty wearily rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He worried about his little brother, even about Ian. Eagle Creek wasn’t exactly a hotbed of crime, but they had some, and who knew what all the fighters were mixed up in?

  Ian had been a good kid, but time changed people. If Ian had gone dark, Ty didn’t want him taking Chase with him.

  He’d been weighed down with concerns before. They’d been just a few months away from losing Red Moon when their dad had finally done them all a favor and kicked the bucket. He’d been twenty, and he’d spent the last eight years working his ass off to save the farm and get them to where they were today.

  During that time, he’d dealt with losing Cassie. First to Jared, and then to death. Most of the time, he hadn’t thought he would make it long enough to leave the ranch in decent enough shape for Chase. Because after Cassie’s death, he’d been a breath away from needing put down.

  The night he met Parker had felt like the first time he could take a deep breath in years. He’d still been sure that it was just a matter of time before his wolf needed ending, but he’d felt like Parker had given him more time to get the farm in order.

  That’s around the time that the worry started, too. First it was worry over Chase, because Ian had come back to town with his fighters. Ty had been handling that, though.

  Then Parker blew back into his life, shaking his cool with her pregnancy, and now it felt like all he did was worry. And he didn’t know how to handle it. How to handle any of this.

  Before, his biggest concern had been for a piece of property, and the money to keep and run it. Now, his concerns were people. Chase, Parker… the pup. They were so much more important than this land or money. How was he going to keep them all safe? His wolf wouldn’t be able to handle another loss.

  He needed to find some time to shift, to go wolf for a bit and work through some of his emotions. And his wolf didn’t seem particularly concerned about any of this, so even if he worked through nothing, he would at least get some much needed peace.

  Chapter Ten

  Parker took a deep breath as she pulled onto the street her parents lived on. She’d been putting this off for months, but she needed to tell them about the pregnancy. Especially since she was back in town. They’d be concerned and hurt if they found out she was back and hadn’t told them. Eagle Creek was a small town. There was no hope that they wouldn’t find out.

  Yesterday had been her first full day at Red Moon, and she’d enjoyed herself. The farm was beautiful, and everyone was friendly, even though Tyler, Chase, and Leah were the only ones she could be around so far without her shyness kicking in. She’d worried when Chase hadn’t come to dinner last night, but Ty had said he was out with friends. Parker didn’t want to run Chase out of his home.

  Her time with Ty had been a bit of a revelation, too. They’d worked in ease with each other yesterday afternoon and then enjoyed a peaceful dinner before sitting down to watch a movie. Very little movie watching had happened though, because they’d spent the whole time talking. They got along really well, and had a surprising amount in common.

  Even if their relationship never progressed past this point, she felt like they would be great friends. And that was what mattered, for the baby. Having parents who were good friends was the next best thing to having parents that were truly together. Everything was looking up.

  She pulled into her parent’s driveway and stared at the modest home she’d grown up in. It was a Sunday, and both cars were here, so she wouldn’t be able to put this off anymore. Her parents had always been supportive, but who could say how they’d react to her news?

  Blowing out a breath, she shoved her car door open and walked to the door before knocking on it. A few moments later, her mom opened the door with a polite smile that froze when she saw it was Parker at the door.

  “Parker? Honey, what are you doing here? Did we know you were coming? What am I saying, of course we didn’t. That’s not something we’d forget. Robert, Parker’s here!” She hollered as she pulled Parker into the house.

  Her mom pulled her into a hug, enveloping Parker in her arms and a cloud of Chanel. For a moment, Parker fought tears as she was instantly transported back to her childhood again, when everything was simple and uncomplicated. She was pulled back into the present when her father walked into the hallway.

  “Parker? What are you doing here? Did we know you were coming?”

  “Of course not, Robert. We wouldn’t forget something like that,” Janelle scolded, disregarding the fact that she’d just asked the same thing moments before. “Come on, dear, let’s go sit in the living room and talk. I’m sure you didn’t come all the way from California just to catch up.”

  A few minutes later, they were all sitting in the living room, glasses of tea her mom had fetched in their hands. The silence stretched out and Parker felt herself getting more uncomfortable as she fought with how and where to start.

  “Do you have luggage you need me to bring in,” her dad said, startin
g to put his glass down so he could rise.

  “No, no. Don’t worry about it,” Parker said, omitting that all of her luggage was at Tyler’s farm. “Mom, Dad… I need to tell you something.”

  Her mom instantly jumped up. “I knew it! You’re sick. Why else would you show up here without a phone call first? Don’t worry honey, whatever it is, we’ll get you well again,” she said, pacing in front of her chair. “Tell us straight. How bad is it?”

  “Mom!” Parker said loudly, interrupting her. “I’m not sick! I swear. Not sick, not dying. I’m perfectly healthy. Calm down.”

  Her mom sank back down in her chair with a puzzled frown. “Then what else would bring you all the way out here, that you couldn’t tell us on the phone?”

  “Are you gay, Parker? It’s okay, you can tell us. I’ve always suspected you were. There won’t be judgements here,” her dad asked.

  “Now that’s a horrible thing to say, Robert,” her mom scolded. “Not about the judgements. Of course we wouldn’t judge. We’d love Parker no matter what. But you suspected? How did you suspect something like that and not tell me?”

  Parker sighed and rubbed her forehead as her parents went back and forth. Her dad had always thought she was gay? How had he come to that conclusion? She’d never had boyfriends, true, but she’d hardly ever brought friends that were girls over, either.

  She exhaled heavily and looked up at her parents. She had to get this out before they came up with more craziness.

  “Mom. Dad.” Taking a deep breath, she blurted, “I’m pregnant.”

  Silence reigned over the room. Her mom was frozen and her dad had a deeply surprised look on his face.

  Her dad was the first to break the silence. “So you’re not gay, then?” He asked, a wealth of shock in his voice. “Although I suppose you don’t have to be straight to have a baby. You and your partner could have found a sperm donor.”