The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) Read online

  THE SHIFTER

  ROMANCES

  THE WRITER

  Nocturne Falls, Book Six

  Kristen Painter

  For romance writer Roxy St. James, living in Nocturne Falls means a fresh start. And as soon as her unbearable ex signs the divorce papers, that new beginning will be a reality. Unfortunately, her ex doesn’t seem ready to let her go and the subtle threats he’s been making leave her no choice but to confide in her oh-so-handsome neighbor, who just happens to be a deputy with the sheriff’s department.

  But Officer Alex Cruz isn’t just the law. He’s also a panther shifter, a secret he’s sworn to keep (along with the truth about Nocturne Falls) from the very foxy Roxy. Humans aren’t supposed to know the town is filled with supernaturals. Then she starts seeing things she shouldn’t and thinks she’s losing her mind. His attraction—and concern—for her wars with the promise he’s made.

  Will his truth be more than she can handle? Or will it cause her to write him out of her life?

  Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year. The tourists think it’s all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better.

  Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all.

  THE SHIFTER ROMANCES THE WRITER:

  Nocturne Falls, Book Six

  Copyright © 2016 Kristen Painter

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  ISBN: 978-1-941695-18-0

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  Table of Contents

  About THE SHIFTER ROMANCES THE WRITER

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  About the Author

  Many Thanks

  This book is for Emily,

  my favorite teenage superfan.

  Now go do your laundry.

  April

  Buying a home on her own was the most wonderful, frightening thing Roxy St. James had ever done. Even publishing her first book hadn’t been this exhilarating. Or scary.

  Although it might have been just as difficult. Not as difficult as the divorce she was going through, but for today, she wanted to forget about that and focus on this next step in her life.

  As she parked behind her realtor’s car outside of the third house of the day, Roxy questioned if she’d ever find the right place. Realtor Pandora Williams got out and headed to the door, but Roxy sat for a moment, looking at the house. There was a charm about this house that the others hadn’t had. She hoped that carried through to the inside and that she could finally imagine herself living here.

  Because, more than anything, she wanted to be here in this town where she had a friend and a chance to start over.

  She nodded. This house absolutely could be the one. She got out of the car and inhaled. The air was different in Georgia than it was in New Jersey. Fresher, maybe. Or just new. And perhaps that’s all she was feeling. Just a sense of being somewhere different.

  So maybe it was the way the light filtered through the branches of the mature trees in the neighborhood or the way the breeze picked up as Roxy lifted her face to the sun, but this house, in this neighborhood, felt right.

  And Roxy needed things to feel right. The divorce had put a dark haze on things for too long. This town of Nocturne Falls—and the home she’d eventually make here—was going to be her fresh start. Her new beginning.

  Sure, Nocturne Falls was miles away from New Jersey and her life there, but a clean break was the only way she could come up with to shake off her past. Most importantly, her ex.

  Her awful, controlling, soul-crushing ex.

  Besides, New Jersey was his home state, not hers. She was a New York girl. And the Jersey neighborhood was filled with his family and friends. People he’d since poisoned against her. People she’d never liked that much anyway.

  At least here in Nocturne Falls, she had a real friend. Delaney James—no, it was Ellingham now. Her old college friend had married an amazing man and was a few months away from having a baby. Good for her. Love ought to work for someone.

  Roxy snorted at that thought. How ironic that she, Roxy St. James, a woman who made her living writing romance novels, could have gotten love so wrong. She sighed out a breath. Whatever. That was behind her now. Her fictional heroes were enough to keep her warm. And she didn’t need to believe in forever and soul mates and love without conditions in order to write books about those things.

  Fiction was fiction for a reason.

  Nope, no man for her. She would be happily single. Maybe she’d get a dog. Or a cat. But cats and romance writers were just such a cliché. Either way, she would definitely be getting an aquarium. Fish were peaceful. And she needed peaceful.

  Pandora opened the home’s front door then turned to look at Roxy. “What do you think? Cute, right?”

  Roxy left her mental wanderings behind and smiled as she headed up the walk. “Very cute. I really have a good feeling about this one. And this neighborhood is great.”

  “I told you I saved the best for last.” Pandora preened. “And I’m not just saying that because I live a few blocks away. Wait until you see the inside.”

  Roxy stepped through the front door and let out a happy sigh. “Oh, yeah, this is gorgeous.”

  Pandora smiled like a proud mama. “They redid the house last year. New floors, new cabinets, new countertops, the whole thing. Of course, I don’t think they counted on getting transferred, but their loss is your gain.”

  The house looked magazine-worthy, all shades of gray and white and brushed chrome but still warm and welcoming. It was far more sophisticated than anything Roxy had imagined she’d find in this little Georgia town. Frankly, it was far more sophisticated than anything she’d pictured herself living in.

  “C’mon,” Pandora said. “Let me show you the rest.”

  Roxy followed her through the house, oohing and aahing at the kitchen (tons nicer than the kitchen she’d had in New Jersey, which was a real plus since cooking was a great way to procrastinate instead of writing), and the master bedroom and bathroom were so perfect they were like a spa retreat.

  She turned slowly, taking it all in. “I could live here. Like, really live here. That big walk-in shower? I might never get out of that thing.�
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  “Pretty impressive, huh?” Pandora took her into one of the smaller bedrooms. “Any one of these other bedrooms would make a great office, but this one is the closest to the master.”

  “It’s a good size and just what I need.” Roxy bit her lip. “I could finally have that big saltwater fish tank I’ve always wanted.”

  “Hey, if you want a fish tank, we have a company in town that I can hook you up with. No pun intended.” Pandora grinned. “They set them up and maintain them.”

  “Really? That would be awesome.”

  “I’ll get you Undrea’s card. She’s a total expert on all things fishy. She custom-builds tanks in her shop, so she can do anything you can dream up.” Pandora put her hand on the door. “Let’s go look at the other two bedrooms and the second bath.”

  They turned out to be just as perfect as the rest of the house. Roxy stood in the living room with Pandora. “Okay, I love it. But I’m almost afraid to ask how much.”

  “It’s at the top end of your budget, but it is four bedrooms, completely remodeled, has a two-car garage, and I haven’t even shown you the bonus part yet.”

  “There’s a bonus?” Roxy couldn’t imagine what else there could be. “Wait. Is there a pool? A hot tub? A koi pond?”

  Pandora just crooked her finger. “Follow me.”

  Roxy did. Right out the rear sliding doors onto a big bricked patio, which definitely had enough space for a hot tub if she ever decided to pull the trigger on that purchase. The entire backyard was fenced in, like a lot of the yards in the neighborhood, and was a large, lovely green space.

  But she saw immediately what Pandora had been talking about. A two-story outbuilding sat at the rear corner of the property. It had cedar shingles, round windows, gingerbread trim and an exaggerated peaked door to match its roof. Roxy tipped her head. “Okay, that’s interesting. And cute. But what is it exactly?”

  Pandora looked up at the structure. “The owners had two girls who desperately wanted a tree house, but as you can see the two trees in this yard wouldn’t support that sort of building. So their dad had this designed for them as a playhouse, but it’s really so much more. It has electric and its own heat and air unit. I thought it might be something you could use as a writer’s retreat. Or even a guest room if you had some of your writing friends visit like you said you might.”

  “Can I go in?”

  “Absolutely.” Pandora handed her a key. “Take a look. See what you think.”

  Roxy walked back to the building on the flagstone path, unlocked the door and stepped inside. Her first thought was fairy house. Sunlight spilled through the portal windows and a large skylight overhead. There was plenty of space for a pull-out sofa, an easy chair, a small fridge and coffee maker—all the comforts a writer might need.

  A spiral staircase led to the second floor. She went up and had a look. Long transom windows on either side opened to let in light and air. She could stand up at the peak of the roof with about a foot of space overhead. It wouldn’t be too hard to get one of those memory foam mattresses up here and turn this loft into a sleeping area. That would be pretty cool.

  She could totally see herself writing in this magical little place when the confines of her office got to be too monotonous. And possibly napping in this loft.

  And it could definitely serve as another place to house a guest when she invited her writer friends in for a retreat, something she’d been desperate to do but her ex had never allowed. She could hang some light strings, stock the fridge with wine and snacks. It would be perfect.

  Pandora had knocked it out of the park with this house.

  Roxy came down from the loft and walked back to Pandora on the patio, smiling the whole way. “I love it.”

  “I thought you would. There’s still the garage to look at. Not that exciting, but you should have a look at the whole place before you make an offer. Sound good?”

  “Yes.” But Roxy didn’t need to see any more to know she’d finally found home.

  “Mom. Mom. Mom.” Alex Cruz sighed and flattened his hand over his forehead. His mother continued on in a mix of English and Spanish, but he didn’t need to hear every word to know what she was talking about. Because it was the same conversation they’d been having for the last five years.

  “I’m not getting any younger, Alex. I want grandbabies while I can enjoy them. I want to know that my only son has found a good woman to take care of him when I die.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Mom. I’m not your only son. Remember my brother, Diego? Your other son?” Granted, Diego as a father was a sobering thought, but if either of them was going to give Carmen Cruz grandchildren, it was probably Diego. And sadly, those grandchildren would probably not be planned.

  Sort of shocking that Diego hadn’t ended up with a few kids already.

  “Eh, Diego will never settle down.”

  “He is living with a girl.”

  “At least he’s doing that much.” Carmen Cruz made an exhausted noise. “But the only time he hasn’t lived with a girl is when he was in the Marines. That means nothing.”

  “True.” Diego went through women like a frat boy went through shots. “Also, you’re fifty-nine. Death is a long way off.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Deputy Blythe walked past Alex and crinkled up her face as she mouthed the question, “Mom?”

  He nodded at his fellow officer, and she shook her head in sympathy. Everyone he worked with at the station knew what this conversation was about.

  “I do know that, Mom. We’re shifters. We live a long time.”

  “Then what if something happens to you? Your job is very dangerous.”

  “Besides the fact that we heal faster than humans and are much harder to kill, Nocturne Falls is about the least dangerous place a cop can work. Nothing is going to happen to me in this town. I give a few tickets, I arrest the occasional drunk and disorderly. Sometimes I divert parade traffic. Nothing remotely dangerous.”

  “You could be shot.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment. “Yes, I could be. I could also be swept up in a tornado or get food poisoning. My chances of any of those are all about the same.” Which was unfortunate, because either one would be preferable to this conversation.

  “Now you’re just mocking me. Why are you such a bad son? Why do you want me to be unhappy? Wolfgang Blackborne would never treat his mother this way. If he had a mother. Which he doesn’t because she was burned at the stake for being a witch.”

  Alex squeezed his eyes shut harder. Ever since his mother’s favorite telenovela had been canceled, she’d gotten hooked on romance novels. She talked about the characters like they were real. He was glad she’d found something to be passionate about, but he couldn’t keep up. “Pretty sure that guy is fictional, Mom.”

  In the background, Alex heard his father yell, “Carmen, leave that boy alone.”

  That would never happen. He took a breath. “Mom, I love you, but I have to go. I’m on duty. I’ll talk to you soon. Give my love to Dad. Bye.”

  He hung up as she was still talking, but there was only so much he could take. Why couldn’t his mother understand that, to him, a wife wasn’t just a role to be filled? He wanted to love the woman he married so deeply, he couldn’t imagine life without her. He wanted her to be his best friend.

  And he wanted her to be the one. His true love. His soul mate. Sadly, that wasn’t something he was sure existed, considering the women he’d dated. Yes, they were all nice and kind and attractive. But none of that mattered, because none of them had flipped that switch inside him that let him know they were meant to be.

  Until that happened, he was content being alone.

  Maybe not content, but he’d accepted being alone was better than spending time with the wrong person. Diego was proof of how awful that could be.

  Alex leaned back in his chair as Deputy Blythe walked past again, paperwork in hand. She stopped at his desk. “You okay?”

  He
looked up. “Yeah, fine. Just…thinking.”

  “Sounds dangerous.” She grinned. “You want to get a couple beers after shift at Howler’s?”

  He shook his head. “Not tonight. I need to study.”

  “Dude, you’ve got two months before that sergeant’s exam.”

  “And I don’t want to waste them.”

  She shrugged. “There’s going to be a lot of disappointed female tourists. You know how they love a uniform. And who am I going to hang out with?”

  He laughed. “The female tourists have enough men in this town to drool over.” And he wasn’t interested in a human or a tourist, so what was the point? “If you need someone to hang out with, call some of the guys from the firehouse. Or just wait for them to show up. They’re always at Howler’s anyway.”

  She nodded, smiling. “True. And those uniforms are awfully cute.” She snorted. “See you later.”

  “Later.”

  He finished his shift and headed home. The evening was perfect. He’d go for a run before dinner, then grill himself a steak. But when he got to the house, there was a car in his drive he hadn’t seen in a long time. He parked alongside it, got out and started toward the figure on his front porch.

  The figure came out from the shadows, a hand raised in greeting.

  Alex nodded. “Hey, Diego. What’s up?”