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And he wasn’t the only early shifter ever; they were just rare. I wouldn’t lie about it, but neither would I offer the information.
I was starting to confuse even myself, so I clickednannyandmateand didn’t give a lot of details. Then I went into the female bios, hoping to see someone who might be the right one for us. I reminded myself again the main purpose of our search was to bring someone here who could make our house a home, help Koby to have a happy life, and anything beyond that was just icing on the cake.
I bookmarked a few bios, ones that didn’t sound too bad, idly reading along until I stopped at one.
Single Female panther, helped raise lots of brothers, and likes children. Looking for a fresh start with someone who likes to eat at home most of the time, since I love to cook. Enjoy gardening, not a fan of television, and don’t think children need hours of screen time every day. Would prefer to live in a small town or out in the country where my panther can run free.
A click brought up her photo. Green eyes, long auburn hair with a little wave, and even from the shoulders up I could tell she was curvy, which was the opposite of Koby’s mom. But what drew me in was her smile. It looked tentative, as if she wasn’t so sure she’d be liked, when her bio had so much to like about it.
And she’d be perfect for our family. Even if we weren’t her perfect mates, I thought together we could build a home. A secure, happy place for Koby.
Sloan was at work, so I sent him a screen shot and asked his thoughts.
See what she says. It’s been a while since we’ve had a good meal, and she’s cute…and loves children.
All righty—I sent a message. She wasn’t a panda, but that would have been too much to ask for. I hoped she was telling the truth about the home cooking because it had been a while since we’d had a decent meal. Koby probably didn’t remember what pot roast tasted like.
We are a panda family. Two widowed dads and a toddler. You can get all that from our bio, but what we’d like to know is, do we sound like the family for you?
I almost mentioned our shifting toddler, feeling a twinge of guilt at not, then I hit send and sat back to wait.
Chapter Five
Livvy
I woke from a comatose state, both from mental exhaustion and from the sugar low. Somehow, in the night, I had crushed what was left of the box of cookies into my bedsheets. That made a lovely sight. Black-and-white crushed mush everywhere. Most people got alcohol wasted. Apparently, I had gotten Oreo-wasted.
The shower was the only thing that could get me clean. After that, I needed to check that blasted email again.
My job search was much like my bed. A mess.
Fresh from the shower, I threw my bedsheets into the washer and checked my phone. My heart thumped hard as I realized there was a mystery notification on it.
When I pulled down the screen, I gasped.
Livvy, you have a match.
My self-loathing internal voice kicked up immediately. It was some creeper who thought this was a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of app instead of what it clearly stated.
No one would want someone like me.
Except, as the app opened, I gasped. A flash of the night before pulsed in my mind. Beth and Jason had their marriage certificate notarized by me, along with the joining of their bank accounts and other things. He’d even taken out life insurance, so Beth would be taken care of should something happen to him.
The alpha told me, after it was all over, that he was proud of me. I had stayed stoic, calm, and aloof during the process.
He thought it was emotionally mature.
What he didn’t know was that it was simply an attempt to make some money and bolster my bank account a bit.
I didn’t give two shits if Beth and Jason surgically joined themselves to each other.
They could both go to hell.
“Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?” I chanted, my tummy full of butterflies. My panther came to attention as well. She and I both needed a new start. “Oh.”
The match was two widowed males. They had been part of a reverse harem, and their mate had died. Pandas. Pandas with a cub.
Since I was a match, I was able to click on their details and find out more. They were males, which I already knew. They made it clear they weren’t a couple. They had a three-year-old. A cute little thing with a bit of chaos in his eyes.
