Her Guardian Shifter. Karen Whiddon
Snow always felt like a new beginning, a chance to start over.
She sighed, glad once again that she was alone, that she’d left Shawn and the hustle and bustle of New York City behind. Even before his true abusive nature came out, her ex-boyfriend had ridiculed her love of all things winter, one of her many character traits that he’d found distasteful and disgusting. Of course, he’d been a summer person, while heat and blazing sunshine had only depressed her. That had just been the beginning and she’d finally broken free. This blizzard, already being ominously forecasted as the storm of the century, brought her nothing but joy.
She felt sorry for her new tenant, though. When he’d rented out the bottom floor of her house, his Norwegian accent had intrigued her. Of course, she’d Googled him after getting his name, noting he’d immigrated to California. She’d been impressed by his academic credentials. A college professor on sabbatical, he’d said. With an infant son.
The last might have given other landlords pause. After all, babies cried, and even though he’d be on another floor entirely, sound drifted in older houses like hers.
But JJ had never been a landlord before—heck, she was a brand-new homeowner—and she adored babies, so she’d immediately granted Mr. Eric Mikkelson the lease. He’d paid for two months up front, along with a perfectly reasonable security deposit. He didn’t smoke or have pets, so she privately thought she might have actually managed to find the perfect tenant.
Even the few fuzzy photos of him she’d seen online jibed with his career. He looked the part, a stereotypical professor, round wire glasses and hair in a ponytail. She hadn’t been able to tell if his hair was blond or gray, but supposed it didn’t matter. He had a baby, which made up for a whole lot of other things, including any lingering intellectual snobbishness. Lord knew she’d had enough of that with Shawn and his Wall Street friends.
Again, she quickly put the thought from her mind. Enough time had passed that she ought to be able to relax, but she still jumped every time someone moved too fast or she heard a loud, unexpected noise. At least she’d retaught herself not to keep her gaze trained on the ground anymore lest she be accused of flirting.
And the nightmares featuring Shawn had finally stopped. The horrible, awful dreams had her questioning her own sanity.
Heaving a sigh, she walked to the window to watch the beautiful snow fall, knowing this would instantly put her in a better frame of mind.
Meanwhile, meeting her new tenant would have to wait until after the storm. Which meant she was free to putter around the house, put a pot of butternut squash soup to simmer on the stove and go out and play in the snow.
Until she’d moved in with Shawn, she’d lived all her life in an apartment in New York City with her parents. If she and her friends had wanted to make a snowman, they’d gone to the park. Now, thanks to a distant great-aunt she’d barely known leaving her this house upstate in Forestwood, New York, she could make a snowman in her own front yard. The prospect excited her, probably more than it should considering she’d just turned thirty-four. She’d have to wait to build it until after the snowfall stopped, but still wanted to go outside and check out the snow.
After bundling up—two pairs of socks inside her snow boots, scarf, and wearing a soft knit cap under her hood—she took a deep breath and stepped out into the swirling storm.
Wow. Stopping just outside the front door on her stoop, she stared. This was coming down fast and furious. She guesstimated already six to seven inches had fallen.
And so beautiful. Slowly she turned, squinting as she tried to see down the street to the other houses. Other houses! She’d lived her entire life surrounded by tall buildings, in the crowded city. She thought she could get used to this new life. Everything moved slower here. The pace suited her just fine.
One month and she’d unpacked nearly everything. Of course, she hadn’t had much to unpack. Luckily, all her great-aunt’s furniture had come with the house, since JJ had none of her own. When she’d moved in with Shawn, he’d convinced her to get rid of her own few eclectic pieces. After all, they’d clashed with his sleek, modern furniture. Bohemian, he’d called it, with the same disparaging intonation one would use with a curse word.
Shawn. She hated how her thoughts kept returning to him when they shouldn’t. That part of her life was over. He no longer had any hold on her. He would never find her here. Even her mother had been sworn to secrecy, though she hadn’t been told why. Pushing him and her former life out of her head, JJ returned her focus to the perfect snowstorm.
Unable to resist, she dropped to the ground and made a snow angel, even though fresh flakes would fill it in quickly. With her face lifted to the sky, she felt like a kid. The icy flakes stuck to her eyelashes and her lips, even her teeth, since she was grinning. The cold air hurt her skin, which meant she wouldn’t be able to stay outside much longer, but she planned to enjoy what time she had.
The sound of a car door slamming made her sit up and blink away the snowflakes stuck to her lashes. What the... Someone had pulled up to the curb in front of her house. Driving some sort of compact SUV that she’d never in a million years have believed could make it more than a mile in this snow without snow tires and chains.
A tall, bare-headed man came around from the driver’s side. As she stared, her first thought was of the mythological Norse god Thor. She forgot about the icy wind, the snowflakes swirling like dervishes. Because as he strode toward her, his long, wavy blond hair swirling around his shoulders, her entire body came alive. He moved with a confident, easy stride, as if the snow and ice didn’t exist for him.
Damn. Realizing she was still on the ground, she clambered to her feet, dusting as much snow off her as she could before she looked up at him. And she meant up. This guy had to be way over six feet tall. Shawn had been six-two, and she’d bet this man would tower over him. Norse god, she thought again. Odd that she hadn’t had a single dream of him. She’d bet she would from now on.
“Um, hi?” she squeaked.
“Ms. Jacobs?” he rumbled, his bright blue eyes sharp. Oh heck, his voice definitely suited him. Made her go weak in the knees. And that accent...
Belatedly she knew who this must be. “Eric Mikkelson?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief from showing.
“Yes.” He tilted his massive, unbelievably gorgeous head. “You weren’t expecting me? I believe I confirmed I’d be here this afternoon to pick up the keys.”
“I know, but...” She gestured helplessly at the storm raging around them. “You drove up here in this?”
“This?” Frowning, he didn’t appear to understand what she meant. Before she could elaborate, he turned back toward his car. “I need to get my son. Do you mind if we continue this discussion inside?”
His son. Struck dumb by both his recklessness and his masculine beauty, she nodded. Then, because she loved babies as much as she loved snow, she followed him over to the car and tried to peer around him as he unbuckled his son’s infant carrier.
She caught a glimpse of bright blue eyes peering out from a tiny, bundled up face. As she leaned in closer, her tenant, clearly not realizing she’d moved in so close, caught her with his elbow under the chin and sent her flying backward.
“Oof.” Down she went, right on her behind. Luckily, all her layers plus the several inches of fluffy snow provided lots of padding. Nothing got hurt except her pride.
Her tenant glanced back over his shoulder at her, clearly unaware what had happened. “Are you all right?” he asked, his cautious tone telling her he’d begun to consider the possibility that she might be nuts.
For a split second she debated telling him what had happened. Pushing to her feet, she once again dusted off snow, the cold dampness beginning to seep through her layers to her skin. And then she caught sight of Eric’s son, and completely forgot what she’d been about to say.
The instant the baby locked eyes with her, he grinned and wrinkled his cute little nose. All bundled up in his snowsuit, cap