Always You (Oak Woods Book 1)

3

Annaleigh awoke the next morning to Rebecca diving into her bed, announcing loudly that she was hungry and so was Bumble her bear.

"What did you and Bumble have in mind for breakfast?" Annaleigh asked her daughter. She was sore all over from trying to clean up the living areas on the main floor. It meant she hadn't crawled into bed until close to three am and if her phone was correct it was eight, meaning she'd gotten five hours of sleep.

"We want pancakes with honey!" Rebecca announced, nuzzling her mother's cheek with her freezing nose.

"Oof! Okay, up we get." Annaleigh threw the covers off, burying Rebecca. Rebecca threw off the covers and glared at her mother. Annaleigh laughed to see the crazy hair caused by the comforter.

"Come Poppet, let's make pancakes with honey for us to build our strength. The moving truck is coming, and we need to be ready to unpack. Your job is to stay out of the way of anyone bringing boxes in and to put away your clothes when I get your boxes upstairs."

"I know Mama, when do I start school?"

"Next week, that is when I have to start work."

"Will I know anyone?"

"Probably not, but that is the fun part. You will have so many kids who will want to get to know you and be friends. It is a shifter preschool, so others will be like you. You are such a special little girl and I know you will be just fine." Annaleigh pulled her daughter into her arms for a hug. At four, Rebecca had seen so many things making her more mature than many four-year-old children. Rebecca's father Wesley was a jaguar shifter, and Rebecca would most likely be able to shift when she hit middle elementary school.

"Is Daddy going to find us?"

"No, remember the police took Daddy away. He will not bother us ever again," Annaleigh reassured her daughter, praying she was right. Picking her up she put her on the counter in the kitchen to help her make pancakes. The two worked together and made a stack of pancakes for each to eat with a bowl of mixed fruit. They enjoyed a quiet breakfast, both talking about what colors to paint all the rooms and what kinds of furniture Annaleigh should buy for the house.

Knock, knock

"Go play in the backyard, that must be the delivery driver," Annaleigh said. She and Rebecca had just changed out of their pajamas and were coming back down after having tackled their curly chestnut hair.

"Yes, Mama." Annaleigh watched as her daughter ran into the backyard to play on the swing set before opening the door.

"Hel..." her voice trailed off when she caught sight of a very familiar face standing at her door, his hands behind his back and a small smile playing on his lips. He wore a pair of cargo shorts and a navy blue tight-fitting t-shirt that did nothing to hide the muscles shifting beneath the dark fabric.

"Hello Annaleigh, it's been too long," Connor Barret greeted her and Annaleigh couldn't breathe. The man of her wettest dreams was standing at her door the day after she'd moved back into town. She gave up on him when all communications between them ended the summer he gave her a promise ring. She still had it in her jewelry box, something she couldn't bear to throw away knowing it belonged to her only true love.

"Connor!" She gripped the doorknob so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Why are you here?" she asked. He hadn't broken eye contact and her body was shivering from the unchecked desire coursing through her veins for him.

"Madison told me you had moved into your grandmother's old home. I'm the sheriff in town and wanted to make sure everything was all right with your move," Connor explained. He was wondering where Madison was. She said she'd meet him here at ten and it was ten-fifteen. He had purposefully been late, so Madison would have already been inside and they could have avoided this awkwardness. Annaleigh looked amazing wearing jean shorts and a black loose-fitting tank top. She had piled her hair on top of her head in a bun.

"Oh, thank you. Actually, when I got here, the living room looked as if some kids had a party and they ruined the furniture. Do you know a junk company who will come and haul it away?"

"A party?" Connor immediately switched into police officer mode and stepped into her home. Annaleigh watched in fascination as he walked past her, he was even taller now than he was at seventeen. His hair was the same light brown she remembered with a slight wave to it, he kept it shaggy and his scruffy beard made her mouth water. His hazel eyes were the same although there were some lines around them making him seem exhausted. She felt like her fifteen-year-old self again, pining away over a hot boy.

"The wallpaper is ruined, not that I really mind because I am going to strip it off the walls, anyway. The furniture is all pushed into the back parlor, the chairs are smashed, the table is missing a leg and both couches look like someone took a knife to them," Annaleigh explained, walking him over to the parlor her grandmother had used as her entertainment room.

"Did the door seem forced?"

"No, but the backdoor's lock is broken. I need to go to the hardware store and replace all the locks on the house," Annaleigh replied.

"Hmm, do you mind if I take pictures?" Connor pulled out his phone, and she shook her head motioning for him to take pictures of the ruined furniture. She watched fascinated, he had never been serious when they'd dated at seventeen. He always had a smile on his face and a hello for everyone who knew him. She wondered what happened in the fifteen years she'd been gone for him to become so serious. She knew she had a past that shaped how she viewed life.

"I will send this to one of my officers. I am technically off duty today. He will come out and take a formal statement and we can investigate what happened," Connor explained shooting off a message.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I am sure it was some teens who knew my grandmother had passed. I bet they didn't know anyone would move in and decided it would make for an awesome hangout space." Annaleigh did not want any police reports, it would mean he could look into others and she'd rid herself of Wesley and all his crap six months ago.

"I cannot allow that if teens are breaking into homes where people aren't home for the night and partying it could cause problems." Connor looked up in time to catch the fear go through her eyes before she looked away.

"Annaleigh!" Came Madison's voice from the open doorway, Annaleigh's eyes lit up, and she went rushing out to hug her best friend. They'd kept in touch after both had graduated high school and Annaleigh's parents weren't controlling her every move.

"Maddie! You look amazing!" Annaleigh hugged her friend, Madison was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a tight-fitting lavender tank top along with a pair of low top fashionable sneakers.

"Not like you, and you have a child! Where is she?" Madison looked around, Connor did too. He'd forgotten Madison had told him Annaleigh had a daughter.

"In the backyard playing. I thought Connor was the moving truck and didn't want her getting in the way."

"Can I meet her?"

"Sure." Annaleigh led them into the backyard and smiled when she saw her daughter hanging from a tree branch.

Leave your thoughts and comments, please don't forget to vote!