Better Late Than Leopard (A BBW Shifter Romance) (Sunset Valley Book 2) by Alannah Blacke Page B
Authors: Alannah Blacke
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perhaps she had never known all along. Then, when he had shifted in front of her, she had found out in the worst possible way. Their entire relationship might be over now, all because of one misunderstanding.
"She didn't take it well, did she?"
Max may not do so well with society, Jake thought, but he had no problems with sharpness, immediately picking up on the problem at hand. It was one of the reasons why the two of them got along so well. They simply understood each other, needing to speak as few words as possible.
"She left, without even giving me the chance to talk. I thought it was because of what had happened, but now I wonder if she's scared."
"How did she find out?"
"Her ex, that Charlie guy, was drunk and showed up at my door. I was going to just scare him off, but he had a knife and was yelling about making sure she could never run away from him again. So I tried to get rid of him without harming him." A silence hung for a moment there while they both drained some of their beer, Jake gathering his thoughts while Max simply waited.
"I guess I thought the leopard was the best bet to keep her safe."
"Looks like you guessed wrong."
Jake snorted. "Thanks Max, you're such a good friend. I wouldn't have shifted in front of her like that if I had known she was in the dark about it. I would have raced off, then returned and told her about it in person."
Still, he had to admit that he had almost cracked a smile at the comment. Sometimes he wondered how much Max said off the cuff, and just how much of it was well thought through. His friend would never answer though, it was just part of who he was.
He sat back and watched while Max returned his attention to the log in front of them. It was a long time before he left for his house, the moon already high in the sky. The morning would come soon, so he wanted to get as much sleep as possible. Although his heart ached at the sight of the covers still rumpled from earlier, sleep came easily to him. Shifting so often along with all the running he had done had left him exhausted.
***
He barely waited until it was a decent hour in the morning before he called Ella. Jake wasn't expecting her to pick it up and she didn't surprise him. After leaving a brief voicemail, saying only that he wanted to talk, to explain things, he hung up. She hadn't been to the store yet, but she knew where it was if she wanted to see him.
The shop was booming again, with one of his regular clients displaying their new wolf collection and a brand new shifter trying his services. There hadn't been a slow day since he had returned almost a month ago, nor was today going to buck the trend. Max was there shortly after he was to help him prepare. Due to the extra traffic in the store, Jake had been forced to practically hire Max on full time.
Thankfully his friend didn't care, going about it with his customary cheerfulness. If anything, Jake thought, this was actually helping Max, forcing him to interact with people on a regular basis. Perhaps, one day, he might be able to turn the store over to him.
On his lunch break, with the store closed down momentarily, he tried calling Ella again. This one didn't even make it to her answering machine, indicating that she had ended the call once she saw it coming. Dejected, he went to throw his phone back into his locker. Just as he was closing it, he heard the phone go off. Someone was calling him!
"Hello, Ella?" he said hurriedly into the phone, not even glancing at the number. He didn't get too many calls and he assumed it was her finally calling back.
"Hello? Is Jake Masterson there please?" The voice was male and most definitely not Ella. His heart sank and he didn't respond for a moment.
"Speaking," he replied in a dull, monotone voice.
"Jake this is Doug over at Aerodyne Construction & Design. I've got a project for you."
"I'm not interested." The last thing he wanted now was to accept another design contract somewhere out of Sunset Valley. He
"She didn't take it well, did she?"
Max may not do so well with society, Jake thought, but he had no problems with sharpness, immediately picking up on the problem at hand. It was one of the reasons why the two of them got along so well. They simply understood each other, needing to speak as few words as possible.
"She left, without even giving me the chance to talk. I thought it was because of what had happened, but now I wonder if she's scared."
"How did she find out?"
"Her ex, that Charlie guy, was drunk and showed up at my door. I was going to just scare him off, but he had a knife and was yelling about making sure she could never run away from him again. So I tried to get rid of him without harming him." A silence hung for a moment there while they both drained some of their beer, Jake gathering his thoughts while Max simply waited.
"I guess I thought the leopard was the best bet to keep her safe."
"Looks like you guessed wrong."
Jake snorted. "Thanks Max, you're such a good friend. I wouldn't have shifted in front of her like that if I had known she was in the dark about it. I would have raced off, then returned and told her about it in person."
Still, he had to admit that he had almost cracked a smile at the comment. Sometimes he wondered how much Max said off the cuff, and just how much of it was well thought through. His friend would never answer though, it was just part of who he was.
He sat back and watched while Max returned his attention to the log in front of them. It was a long time before he left for his house, the moon already high in the sky. The morning would come soon, so he wanted to get as much sleep as possible. Although his heart ached at the sight of the covers still rumpled from earlier, sleep came easily to him. Shifting so often along with all the running he had done had left him exhausted.
***
He barely waited until it was a decent hour in the morning before he called Ella. Jake wasn't expecting her to pick it up and she didn't surprise him. After leaving a brief voicemail, saying only that he wanted to talk, to explain things, he hung up. She hadn't been to the store yet, but she knew where it was if she wanted to see him.
The shop was booming again, with one of his regular clients displaying their new wolf collection and a brand new shifter trying his services. There hadn't been a slow day since he had returned almost a month ago, nor was today going to buck the trend. Max was there shortly after he was to help him prepare. Due to the extra traffic in the store, Jake had been forced to practically hire Max on full time.
Thankfully his friend didn't care, going about it with his customary cheerfulness. If anything, Jake thought, this was actually helping Max, forcing him to interact with people on a regular basis. Perhaps, one day, he might be able to turn the store over to him.
On his lunch break, with the store closed down momentarily, he tried calling Ella again. This one didn't even make it to her answering machine, indicating that she had ended the call once she saw it coming. Dejected, he went to throw his phone back into his locker. Just as he was closing it, he heard the phone go off. Someone was calling him!
"Hello, Ella?" he said hurriedly into the phone, not even glancing at the number. He didn't get too many calls and he assumed it was her finally calling back.
"Hello? Is Jake Masterson there please?" The voice was male and most definitely not Ella. His heart sank and he didn't respond for a moment.
"Speaking," he replied in a dull, monotone voice.
"Jake this is Doug over at Aerodyne Construction & Design. I've got a project for you."
"I'm not interested." The last thing he wanted now was to accept another design contract somewhere out of Sunset Valley. He
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