The Lion Within (Ghost Cat Shifters #1) Read Free

What brought them up?” Vivi finished braiding her hair and started to nibble on her eggs.
    “Their other son, Daniel Hayes, showed up at the coffee shop today. He said he was moving here for the summer because he wanted to see the town his mother said was so beautiful.”
    Vivi’s hand flew to her mouth with a gasp. “Oh wow. Really? Do you think he knows what happened?”
    Sophia shrugged. “I have no idea. I only talked to him for a few minutes. He said he was born here, but they moved away when he was three. Both of his parents died in the last few years.” She set her fork down. “Wow. If he knows what happened, I can’t believe he’d want to come here.”
    Vivi nodded and took a sip of coffee. “I know, right? But he’s here. Damn, once word gets around town, this is going to spin some heads. If he doesn’t know what happened, I’d hate for him to find out through town gossip.”
    Sophia’s own head was spinning and her heart hurt for Daniel and his family. Born and raised a shifter in one of the oldest shifter families in Painter, Sophia was steeped in the mindset of how important it was for shifters to maintain their secrecy. She hadn’t recalled the names of Daniel’s parents, but the memory of why they left was a bitter legend in Painter. The story held power as a warning among shifters, so she’d heard it time and again. She looked over at Vivi. “I hope he doesn’t find out like that. I mean, that would be horrible. It’s hard to imagine he’d be here if he knew though.”
    Julianna came wandering into the kitchen at that moment, leaning against her mother’s hip. “Can I have some eggs?” she asked in her lilting voice.
    Vivi brushed Julianna’s dark hair off her forehead. “Aunt Sophia put red peppers in them. Think you can handle veggies in your eggs?”
    Julianna’s brown eyes bounced between Vivi and Sophia. “Uh huh,” she said with an emphatic nod.
    Sophia stood up and spooned some eggs into a small bowl for Julianna. “Here you go. I think you might like veggies this way.”
    Julianna set the bowl down on the table and took a small bite. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Sophia. “They’re good!” she offered with a wondering smile.
    Vivi chuckled and sipped her coffee. Sophia joined them at the table again. “You going to eat with us or Scooby?”
    “Scooby!”
    Vivi snagged a napkin from the center of the table and tucked it in Julianna’s jeans pocket. “Make sure to put your bowl down when you’re done.”
    Julianna held her bowl in both hands as she returned to the living room. Once she was out of earshot, Vivi turned back to Sophia. “So what was Daniel Hayes like?”
    Sophia recalled Daniel’s almost black hair, blue eyes and body to die for. Her cheeks felt hot.
    “Well, well. I’d say you thought Daniel was some kind of something,” Vivi offered with a grin between bites.
    Sophia’s cheeks only got hotter. “You’ll see him around soon enough. He’s, uh, pretty damn handsome.” Just talking about him flustered her. She didn’t know why he had such a strong effect on her.
    “Handsome or not, you don’t usually go around blushing about guys. In fact, you hardly ever notice them.”
Sophia shrugged. “So what? It’s not like I have time for relationships. I’m busy running the coffee shop and with everything going on with Heath, I’ve had other things on my mind.”
    Vivi’s eyes narrowed. “I care about Heath as much as you do. This year’s been rough ever since he was in the accident. The last few months are just icing on a shitty cake. Heath is going to have to walk out of the mess he walked into. You can’t do it for him. In the meantime, you could use a distraction. Just saying.” Vivi’s mouth curled into a wry grin.
    Sophia’s chest tightened. She was so weary of worrying about her brother. A year ago, his car had skidded on an icy road in the mountains and tumbled down a hill. He’d come out of the accident alive, but with