“Nah.” Bas waved Leo off. “I’m headed into town to check things out.”
“You just want one of Dean’s cinnamon rolls,” Leo teased.
His friend wasn’t wrong. “His coffee’s not bad either.” Bas was totally going for a delicious cinnamon roll. Then maybe a nice long nap in the sunny park with the tall trees. There were perks to being in this town.
“I’ll let you know when we have a time set to check out the office, just in case you want to join us,” Leo said as he turned.
Bastian wanted to see whether he was staying or not. The council would send a top-notch security team to set up the office, but Bastian didn’t trust anyone’s work but his own. “I’ll make the time.”
Leo wandered toward the big house.
Bas stomped down the stairs heading toward his bike in the small clearing that had been paved for all the vehicles of the family. He threw his leg over the seat before running his palm across the shining chrome. Bastian and Gavin had bonded over bikes, and he felt good connecting with Leo’s brother.
There had been many long nights that the team had been out on a mission where the only thing they’d had to do was share their stories. Bastian felt like he knew Gavin because that was the person that Leo spoke about constantly.
Maybe Bas would take Gavin up on his offer and stop by the shop to look at having some custom work done. If he was going to stay for a little longer, he might as well take advantage of the connections he was making.
He turned the key and his bike rumbled to life.
With the vibration under him, Bastian waited for the urge to throttle up and take off. Still nothing. He wasn’t getting the urge to run quite yet.
One thing he had to admit was it was a beautiful view from the property along the state park to the small town where the businesses of the family were. Tall, healthy trees lined both sides of the road.
Of course, the tree called to his shifter side.
When Logan had learned that Bastian was a feline, he had been so excited he’d started to rip his clothes off to show off his lion. Apparently, the sweet boy loved shifting, especially with other felines, and there were many cat species in the family. If Bas shared his ancestry, he was pretty sure that Logan would lose his mind. Bastian would share that tidbit when the time was right.
Being a margay shifter, Bastian loved to climb trees. His species hailed from Mexico and Central and South America. His appearance in shifted form was closest to an ocelot because of the numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks. They were often called the tree ocelot, because climbing was that big of a deal for them. It was a matter of survivor for his species.
Margays remained in trees most of their lives, even being able to turn their ankles up to a hundred and eighty degrees to grasp branches equally well with their fore and hind paws, and were able to jump up to twelve feet horizontally. Although Bas would swear he’d leapt farther than that.
His long tail helped to maintain balance while climbing. Bas spent hours in trees when he was wandering around the country. It was also the perfect spot to people-watch, which was what Bastian planned after he got his morning treats.
His engine rumbled as Bastian let the throttle out.
He sped down the road leading him into town where there was no traffic.
Bas wore no helmet, letting the wind blow his chestnut-brown hair as he began to recognize the scents around him. He knew he was coming up on Main Street and lowered his speed.
Slowing to a stop, Bas sat at the intersection. Behind him and to the right was the state park. If he continued straight, he’d head to the next town where the university was located. The right would take him into town.
Bastian turned right.
There were obvious signs that the town had started to grow rapidly in recent years.
New construction of businesses was on every block.
Shawn’s company was responsible for turning the old, abandoned spaces into new businesses.
The new mayor was working on permits and business licenses along with Shawn’s team. From what Bastian had learned, the family was a big part of how prosperous the town had become.
Passing the bookstore owned by Shawn’s mate, he could see a couple of the boys inside. Drake’s restaurant was on the other side. The diner, Levi’s tattoo shop, and Gavin’s shop were close together. Finally, Bas pulled to a stop in front of Dean’s bakery. He turned off his bike and let the machine under him settle.
From his seat he could see the new park that Logan had designed for the town. Across from the park, the firefighters had an engine out while washing the giant vehicle. Mmm, eye candy!
“Hey, Bas!” Logan opened the bakery door and waved.
Chuckling, Bastian swung off his bike. Logan was quickly becoming one of his favorite people. The boy was just so happy and Bas wanted to use the word innocent although he’d heard some of the things the lion shifter had gone through. Logan hadn’t had an easy life but he still smiled at everyone he came into contact with. He also loved taking epic naps under the same tree that Bas liked to climb to watch over the boys when they played in the yard, which happened every evening before dinner.
