Yearning: Enchanting the Shifter (Legacy: A Paranormal Series Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  C I A N A S T O N E

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  C I A N A S T O N E

  Copyright 2017, Ciana Stone

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, businesses, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 Ciana Stone

  Cover by Syneca Featherstone

  All rights reserved.

  Yearning

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Yearning Copyright © 2017 Ciana Stone

  Cover art by Syneca

  Edited by Mary Harris

  Electronic book publication May 2017

  Print book publication May 2017

  This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Syneca Featherstone.

  [email protected]

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Dedication:

  For my honeyman – you are still the one.

  And for Michelle – daughter and friend –

  I am so blessed to have you in my life.

  Chapter One

  “How long ‘till those burgers are ready, Ben?” Grace asked over her shoulder as she opened the back screen door.

  “Five minutes, ten tops.”

  “Okay.” Grace stepped into the kitchen, and all the chatter stopped. She looked around at her friends, confused by the sudden silence and the furtive glances being cast her way.

  “What’s going on?” Grace looked at her best friend, Amy.

  Amy’s gaze slid away, and she turned, ostensibly busy with loading the dishwasher.

  “Trish?” Grace looked at another woman she’d known ever since she and Tad moved into the neighborhood.

  “Grace, I—“ Trish cut a look at Amy and then back at Grace. “I don’t—what I mean is—“

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” One of the newest women of the circle of friends, Vivian, a brash blonde, tossed back a shot of liquor and slammed the glass on the table. “What everyone here is too chickenshit to tell you is that Amy’s fucking your husband.”

  Grace started to laugh, as her first reaction was that it was some kind of ugly prank. But the sound never grew beyond an expulsion of air because Amy turned and looked at her. The expression on Amy’s face delivered a truth that carried a punch with as much power as a Mac truck.

  Grace’s peripheral vision swam, and sound suddenly seemed to be pulsing from soft to loud, oddly timed to her heartbeat. She felt a wave of nausea sweep through her and reached for a chair back for support. This couldn’t be happening.

  “Amy?”

  Tears poured down her friend’s face. “I’m sorry, Grace. Honest to god, I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—“

  “Yeah, that makes it all better, doesn’t it?” Grace cut her off.

  “Well, at least now you know,” Vivian said.

  Grace turned her attention to Vivian. “And just how long have you known, Vivian?”

  Vivian shrugged. “I don’t know. Six months? When did you tell me, Trish?”

  “What?” Grace looked at Trish. “You knew?”

  “Well, yeah, I mean, we all knew.”

  “You all…” Grace was completely flabbergasted. “You all knew? You all knew she was screwing my husband and no one thought I should be told?”

  “Well, we just didn’t feel that it was our place,” Trish said.

  “Right,” Madeline, the hostess of the gathering, added. “I mean, we didn’t know how to tell you and didn’t want to drive a wedge between you and Amy so—“

  “Drive a wedge?” Grace had to force herself not to scream. “I can’t believe you—any of you. Especially you, Amy. After what happened with you and Doug two years ago, I thought you’d be the last person to do to some other woman what was done to you. I guess I was wrong. About a lot of things.”

  “Grace, I—I didn’t want you to find out this way,” Amy said through tears. “I swear I didn’t want to hurt you. I tried, Grace, I did, I tried so hard—“

  “Tried to what?”

  The sound of Tad’s voice from the door leading out onto the back patio had more than one person gasping in surprise, along with Vivian's “Oh fuck,” and Trish’s “Oh no!”

  “That’s what we’re all waiting to hear,” Grace kept her attention on Amy. “You tried so hard to what, Amy? Not screw my husband?”

  With that question, the room went as silent as a mortuary. Grace looked from Amy, who was staring at Tad, to Tad whose gaze was locked with Amy’s. The look they shared said it all. Oh god, it’s true.

  It took every bit of strength Grace possessed to keep her emotions hidden. She walked over to Tad. “Give me your keys.”

  “My—my keys?”

  “Your car keys. Give them to me.”

  “Grace, if you’ll just give me five minutes to ex—“

  “Give them to me now.”

  He reached into his pocket, pulled out the keys and dropped them into her outstretched hand. Grace turned and marched out of the house, calling to her children, Sherri and Theo who were in the back yard. “Come on, kids, time to go!”

  “But we haven’t eaten yet,” Sherri, the eight-year-old, complained.

  “Grace, wait!” Madeline ran outside. “Please.”

  “I’m sorry, Madeline. No.“

  She took Theo’s hand as he ran up and motioned for Sherri with her free hand. “Come on, Sherri. Now.”

  “Fine,” Sherri grumbled and ran across the yard to her mother.

  “Grace!” Tad ran out of the house, calling to her. “Hold up.”

  Grace ignored him and tugged on Sherri’s hand when she tried to stop. “Come on, Sherri.”

  ”But Daddy—“

  “I said come on.”

  Tad was yelling at her, Sherri was tugging on her hand and protesting, and then Theo started fretting.
“Why isn’t Daddy going with us? Why do we have to go home and he gets to stay?”

  It was like something out of a nightmare for Grace. Everyone was watching and talking and she had no doubt that the talk would be about nothing else all weekend. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life, and it took all her willpower not to cry or yell at her kids in frustration.

  She knew they were confused, and she didn’t want that, but she had to get them out of there. “Come on, kids. We’re going to go to Sonic. You know how you love to eat at the drive-in.”

  “In Daddy’s car?” Sherri looked up at her, wide-eyed in surprise. “He never lets us even have water in his car.”

  “Well, today is special.” Grace tried to smile. “So hop in and let’s get going.”

  She got both the kids into the car, started it, and pulled away from the curb of Madeline’s house. She made it two blocks before the tears came and she swiped at them angrily.

  Of all the things she expected from life, this was not one of them. She’d been a good and faithful wife, supportive of Tad and his career and never complained about work dominating his life.

  Grace quit college after her sophomore year and married Tad. His parents took care of his education but made it clear that if he wanted to get married, he would have to cover his own housing. It was his mother and grandmother’s way of punishing him for marrying beneath the family.

  His father didn’t seem to care but didn’t fight the women of the family about it. He’d slip Tad money now and again, but rent became Grace’s responsibility. She did temp office jobs during the day and waited tables or worked as a bartender at night to pay the rent.

  Tad was in his senior year, and they found a cheap apartment near the university. When he entered law school, he promised that once he passed the bar and went to work for the family firm, she could go back and finish her degree. That never happened. Once he was in place at the law firm, his focus was on proving himself and making partner.

  When he did make partner, it wasn’t enough. He wanted to be a senior partner, and that meant moving up in the world in terms of where they lived and what he drove and how much he had to spend to schmooze prospective clients.

  College for Grace was an unnecessary expense. What he needed was for her to let his mother guide her, find the right charities for her to volunteer for, the right social clubs to join and in short, to learn to be an adept hostess.

  And to start a family.

  So she’d shoved what she wanted into a closet in her mind and firmly closed the door. She concentrated on being a good wife and a good mother.

  And this is what it got her. Humiliated in front of every friend she had in the world and cheated on. With her best friend, no less. Well, someone she’d thought was her best friend.

  It hurt that a woman she’d cared so much about and thought of as her best friend in the world would betray her that way. How long had it been going on? How long had Amy and Tad looked her in the eyes and lied to her? How long had they made fun of her behind her back?

  And how long had the rest of her friends known about this, because they obviously were in on the secret? How many days, weeks or months had she been the topic of gossip and pity?

  Grace wanted to pull over, curl up in the fetal position, and bawl her eyes out. She wanted to run away and hide, never show her face to any of those people again.

  Grace Summerfield, what the heck happened to you? She remembered a time when she was vivacious, full of plans for the future, a woman with dreams and goals. What the hell had happened to that woman? How had she allowed herself to come to this place?

  When had she stopped being Grace and started being Mrs. Tad Finley? It hit her that he might have been the one who cheated, but she’d cheated as well. She’d married him more out of spite than love, had given up on her dreams in favor of his, and had somehow expected that one day he’d return the favor.

  But instead, he achieved his goal and then turned to another woman. The bastard. She’d not give him the satisfaction of her tears. So, she sucked it up, plastered a smile on her face, and made up her mind there and then that she was done with spending her life for Tad Finley’s comfort.

  From this day on, her life was going to be about her kids. And herself. She was going to find that woman she used to be, and she was going to find her dreams again.

  Chapter Two

  Beau walked outside onto the sidewalk in front of his office building and squinted at the setting sun. Today, like the one before it and the one before that, had been a scorcher.

  Mrs. Ida Summerfield, the lady who ran the apothecary shop down the block, was walking along the sidewalk with a basket looped over one arm.

  “Afternoon, Mrs. Ida. How’re you doing today?”

  “Can’t complain, Beau. It’s a bit hotter than I’d hoped for this early in the year, but it is what it is. How do you like being back in Legacy?”

  “I like it. For the most part, anyway.”

  “Are you living at the family ranch?”

  “No, actually my brother John Luke came back home and is living there. He’s getting married soon to the lady who runs the new wildlife research center, Dr. James.”

  “Yes, Ily mentioned that when she stopped in last week looking for some essential oils. She’s a nice young woman. I like her.”

  “Yeah, she’s great. But enough about me. I heard about Mr. Summerfield, and I’m real sorry. He was a nice man who helped a lot of people in this town, and I know he’s missed.”

  “Thank you, Beau. You know he thought of you like a son. Why, there was a time when—“ She stopped abruptly and shook her head. “Listen to me, going on like I’d lost my faculties.”

  “I cared about him too, Mrs. Ida. And how is Grace?”

  “Living in Baton Rouge with her husband, Tad, and their two kids.”

  “So, she’s still with Tad?”

  Ida looked away. “Looks like we might have a chance for a storm this evening. I better head on home and get tucked in before it hits.”

  “Well, let me walk you to your car.”

  “Thank you, Beau, that’s kind of you.”

  Beau took her free arm, and as they walked, they chatted about the town, the new people who’d moved in, new businesses that had opened and people who had moved away. The one thing they didn’t talk more about was her daughter Grace.

  In a way that was a relief. Grace was the girl who got away, and Beau didn’t know if he’d ever get over losing her. He helped Ida into her car, made plans to have dinner with her the next evening, and then watched as she drove away.

  Ida was the mother he’d always wished for, kind and funny, full of life and always there with a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. There was a time Beau thought that she would end up being his mother-in-law.

  Then he went away to college. Grace was a junior in high school when he left, and for two years, they’d had a long-distance relationship. They saw each another when he came home on break and in the summers.

  The year Grace went to college, things changed. Beau met a girl, Tamara Bell, and started seeing her. He told Grace, and she accused him of cheating. He tried to explain that it wasn’t cheating. He hadn’t slept with Tamara; they’d just gone out a few times.

  The fight they had left them both angry, and that’s when Beau screwed up. He let his anger propel him to Tamara’s room, and she used that anger to lure him into her bed.

  Within a week Grace knew. It took Beau a while to figure out how she’d found out. By the time he uncovered the truth, that it was Tamara who had emailed Grace photos of him and her that she had a friend hide in her closet to take, Grace had already started seeing Tad Finley.

  After that, Beau’s dream went out of the window. Tad promised Grace the moon, and she married him, despite Beau showing up in secret on the day of her wedding to try and talk her out of it.

  Now, fourteen years later, Beau still felt the pain of losing her. He’d like to blame Tad Finley, but the truth was, Be
au had lost Grace on his own. He wondered what her dad had thought about their split-up.

  Mr. Summerfield was an apothecary, and nearly everyone in Legacy had gone to him at one time or another for a remedy for what ailed them.

  He was a man who loved to fish; to hunt, but with a camera rather than a gun; to wander the land looking for rare plants; and to be present for every event in his daughter’s life, and even in the life of her sports-oriented boyfriend.

  Beau couldn’t remember a basketball or football game that Mr. Summerfield had ever missed. He assumed it was because Grace was a photographer for the school newspaper and covered every game, but when she got strep throat and missed two games, he was still right there, cheering Beau on.

  It gave Beau a good deal of regret that he had not had a chance, as an adult, to thank Mr. Summerfield for his time and his attention. Now that he was gone, Beau felt that the best way he could honor the man was to give care to Ida. With Grace living in another state, she was all alone.

  Beau turned and headed for his car, trying to dismiss thoughts of Grace Summerfield and the love they’d lost. He wondered what would have happened if he had not started seeing Tamara. Would they have stayed together? Graduated and gotten married?

  Or would something else have split them apart? Was it fate that things didn’t work out, or just bad luck? And was Grace the only love he’d ever know, or would he one day be lucky enough to find it again?

  His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. His brother’s face was on the screen. Beau smiled and answered. “John Luke. What’s up?”

  “Ily’s busy in her lab tonight, so I was wondering if you wanted to head over to the ranch, have a few beers, and throw a steak on the grill?”

  “Yeah, sounds good. I’ll stop by the house and change. Anything you need me to pick up?”

  “Nope, we’re good.”

  “Okay. Hey, you remember Grace Summerfield?”

  “How could I forget? She was too young for me or Logan, but we still thought you were nuts letting her get away. Whatever happened to her?”