Is everything making you irritable, girl?
The answer was yes. It’d been two weeks since losing her mom and her unborn cubs, and all the joy and light had left Heather’s world.
Having stopped at the coffee shop for much-needed caffeine, Heather walked down the sidewalk toward her offices.
The mid-August sun was already hot, intensifying the petroleum fumes hanging in the air. Located outside of Rainier Territory and an hour’s drive from her cabin near Ailill Ridge, Cle Elum was a small human town with far too many cars.
She watched a woman drive two blocks before parking again. Really, humans depended too much on their automobiles.
“Fucking thieves!” Across the street, a man chased a couple of boys. The youngsters dodged, sped up, and disappeared around the corner.
Heather frowned. Why wasn’t someone looking after those lads? They couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen. She’d never have let her…
Closing her eyes, she pulled in a slow grief-stricken breath. After a moment, she shook her head.
Leaves in the stream; nothing is forever. Time to move on.
Across the street, the shopkeeper returned to his electronics store, still swearing a blue streak.
She pursed her lips. Thankfully, Ailill Ridge, with a mostly Daonain population, didn’t have gangs or thieves, at least as far as she knew. Of course, a badly run shifter territory like Rainier had its own problems—the growing animosity between werecats and wolves, the disregard for the Laws, and the poor condition of clan properties.
The whole clan suffered from a general malaise.
It hurt. Her ancestors were some of the founders of the town. They’d built her little cabin in the forest. She loved it…but she was starting to wonder if she wanted to stay in Rainier Territory.
Should she pack up her cat and wander the country?
She snorted. Considering what a homebody she was, her journeys might not last long, but maybe she’d find a welcoming new territory. It could happen.
Then again, she had a business to run.
Forgot about that little detail, did you, girl? Adjusting the shoulder strap of her laptop case, she grinned and continued down the street. She’d have to settle for a short vacation. One of these days.
A block down, she walked into the software company she and a friend owned. It was time to redo the advertising for the winter season. And she had to find a new cleaning company. And…
With a smile, she walked past the receptionist who was on the phone. In the beehive-like main room, cubicles lined the perimeter. Employees were intent on their work—although a few looked up with smiles of greeting. The far end of the room held the private offices.
“Heather, finally.” Shaquana stepped out of her office. She wore a screaming red suit. Her black hair was in a perfect bun, her makeup impeccable. Her dark eyebrows drew together. “Woman, your bags have bags. Didn’t anyone tell you sleep is a good thing?”
Heather managed a smile for her human partner. “I stayed up way too late last night. Maybe I had too much coffee yesterday.”
Not…exactly…a lie. Was one cup too much?
Honestly, she thought she’d done well to get cleaned up and into her usual business attire of khaki pants, white button-up shirt, and navy blazer. It was a shame business owners had to look respectable. Really, the only dressing up she’d ever enjoyed was getting sexy for Gatherings.
“Stay awake for a while. We need to talk—and then maybe you should take the rest of the day off like you never do.”
“We’ll see.” Heather glanced at the discussion table in the center of the room. “Is this an everyone meeting or an owner meeting.”
“Just us. About the offer we got.”
“What about it?” Over the years, their accounting software for small businesses had acquired an excellent percentage of the market. But, as often happened with software companies, bigger corporations wanted to buy their company to get the rights to the app. With previous offers, they’d simply refused.
So what was there to talk about?
Inside her white office with its sleek lines and burnished metal, Shaquana settled into one of the three black chairs.
Joining her, Heather took a sip of her coffee and waited. Her friend never took long to get to the point.
Until today.
“Spit it out, Shaq. What’s wrong?”
Shaquana took in a long, slow breath. “I want to accept the offer. To sell.”
Heather choked, feeling as if an elk had kicked her in the chest. Carefully, she set her coffee on an end table. “Sell. Our company.”
“I’m sorry, Heather.” Shaquana swallowed. “But we’ve been doing this for fifteen years—and I’m in my forties. I’m ready for something else.”
“Girl, you can’t possibly want to retire and sit around.”
“No. John wants to move to Florida. His parents are there, and they’re getting old. I plan to take a few months and travel, then see what’s next. Florida seems like it’d be a total vacation.”
Heather shook her head. Sell their company? No!
But Shaquana was so excited…
“You, uh, could buy me out.” Shaquana bit her lip.
“I might—” Wait. Had they really started the company fifteen years ago?
Oh cat-scat.
Daonain aged much slower than humans. Despite being years older than Shaquana, Heather still looked around thirty. Everyone believed they were the same age.
Cat-scat. A shifter in the human world had to be careful.
She rose and tried to even out the shakiness in her voice. Her company—she was going to lose this too. “All right. Let’s look at the offer again.”
With a whoop, Shaquana jumped up and hugged her.
Heather hugged her back and tried to think of what she’d do.
She recalled the fleeting thought of packing up Greystoke and heading out. Okay then. I will.
Much as she loved her Rainier Territory, it was time to see the country and find a new home.