Jaguar's Joy (Veteran Shifters 5) - Page 13

That gave her an uncomfortable flush of warmth. On the job, Misty had always worn her utter lack of femininity with pride—it wouldn’t do for the sheriff to care if she broke a nail, after all. But in her personal life, it always seemed like kind of a handicap.

Not that she’d ever had that much of a personal life.

“But most of the time, that kind of intense feeling is something you only see in twenty-five-year-olds. At least in Los Angeles.”

“Well, out here it must be different, because my dad was waving his arms and yelling about tribalism and rule of law until the day he died,” Misty told him. Then she frowned. “You’re about my age. What about you?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Are you asking me if I’m cynical and jaded?”

“If you are, you hide it really well.”

She was expecting that big smile again, but he sobered instead. “I’ve always thought that it was important to keep that passion going. To care, because people can tell if you do. But it does get harder. My boss thinks I’m going to burn out if I keep it up.”

Ty was here on mandatory vacation, Misty remembered him saying. “And what do you think?”

He turned his hands up in an I-don’t-know. “I want to keep going. It’s hard for me to picture myself without that passion and drive. But...it’s been more of a struggle, lately. I didn’t even notice until my boss sat me down and made me, because it’s come on so gradually.”

Misty’s heart hurt to think of this sincere, joyful man slowly breaking down under the pressure of a horribly difficult job. “What are you going to do?”

Ty closed his eyes. “I don’t know yet. I hope I’ll know by the time my vacation’s over.”

Misty dared to reach out and cover one of his hands with her own. “I hope so, too.”

Ty closed his fingers around hers. His hands were big and warm, and she was startled by the shock that went through her at the touch.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said impulsively.

His fingers tightened. “Yeah?”

“Yes. I mean—that you chose to come to Glacier for your vacation. And not just because you saved my life today.”

“I’m very, very glad that I was there to help today,” he said. His voice was normally light, but it deepened with sincerity, and when she looked up, he met her eyes and held them. “I don’t want to think about what might have happened.”

Misty didn’t, either, but it was her job to think about that sort of thing. “I should have brought more backup,” she confessed. “Better weapons. I thought Eli was too much of a coward to fight like that. Next time, I’ll know better.”

“I hope there doesn’t have to be a next time. Are there more of that pack still out there?”

“Only the women and the kids,” Misty sighed. “And for better or for worse, the local wolves are pretty traditional. The women don’t tend to fight with claws, just with words.”

“And the kids?”

“Some of them are teens,” she admitted, “and I’m not sure what’s going to happen with them. I want them to see, to understand that if they take after their dads, it’s just going to go bad for them, but they don’t listen to me.”

“It’s hard to make a scared teenager listen,” Ty agreed.

“You probably have a lot of experience with that kind of thing, as a social worker.” Misty sighed. “Maybe I can emergency-deputize you again. Keep you human this time, use your words instead of your claws.”

“I’m at your service.” He squeezed her hand again.

Misty had been joking...but he didn’t sound like he was joking. She bit her lip, thinking about how much easier her job might be if she had someone like Ty around.

Then she shook the thought away. Ty was going home, and it wasn’t useful to fantasize about things that could never happen.

“I do wish I had a predatory shifter or two on the force,” she said, trying to generalize the fantasy into something useful. “Just your other form was very helpful today. A jaguar?”

He nodded confirmation. “We’re pretty unusual, so you’re probably not going to stumble across another one. Maybe one of your teenage wolves will grow up into law enforcement material.”

Misty tried to wrap her brain around that one, and it didn’t quite fit. “I wish.”

Tags: Zoe Chant Veteran Shifters Paranormal
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