Worth Fighting For

Chapter 10

“Would you stop fussing? You look fine. It’s just my parents.” Cody grabbed Misty’s hands to still them as she fiddled with her hair.

“Exactly! I’m meeting the parents. I need to look perfect so they’ll like me.” Her eyes were earnest.

“You aren’t meeting the parents. You’ve already met my parents. Last week I saw you and my mother having lunch.”

“But that was last week. Now I’m the girlfriend. If they don’t like me, they could order you to stop seeing me. I need to make a good impression.”

His heart jumped a bit at the word girlfriend.

He shuffled his feet a bit, trying to ignore his discomfort. They’d yet to discuss the terms of their relationship. Considering they’d spent every night together the past week, it wasn’t a leap to call Misty his girlfriend. But something held him back from fully committing. There were questions he needed answered.

“You’re being silly. They already love you. Come on.” He tugged a bit to get her up the porch stairs. As he rang the doorbell, she made a strangled sound, almost as if she were in pain. Amazed, he studied her profile. She really was nervous. Raising her joined hands to his lips, he offered her comfort. Maybe she knew something he didn’t. Should he be nervous?

“There you two are,” his mom said as she opened the door. “Well, come on out of the heat.”

“Hi Mrs.–” Misty began.

But his mother cut her off. “How many times do I have to remind you to call me Mom?”

He rolled his eyes at the shock on Misty’s face. It seemed silly that he’d ever doubted their reception. His mother had treated Misty like a member of the family for years. Things wouldn’t change now that they were an item.

“Your father is waiting in the living room. I’ll just stick this in the kitchen.” And grabbing the pie they’d brought, she disappeared down the hallway.

“She still wants me to call her Mom.” Misty spoke slowly, no doubt considering the implications.

With a smirk, he leaned against the wall and remained silent, letting her come to her own conclusions.

She glanced up, caught the look on his face, and frowned. “Don’t you dare say ‘I told you so.’”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Although of course, he had considered it.

Laughter drifted from the direction of the dining room as Cody plunged another plate into the soapy water. It always amazed him that Misty was able to get that kind of laughter out of his father. Although not an uncaring man, his father had always been a bit aloof. Few things made him smile and even fewer made him laugh. But whenever Misty came around, the intimidating facade cracked.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” His mother placed more dishes on the counter for him to wash.

“How do you know something’s bothering me?” He thought he’d hidden it pretty well.

“You’re my son,” she said as if that explained it all. And perhaps it did. As his mother, she knew him as well as he knew himself. Maybe better.

“How did you know Dad was your mate?” he asked after a pause.

“The moment I met him, I knew. Of course, we took some time before we tied the knot. It took longer for the human side to fall in love. But my fox knew immediately.”

And there was the root of the problem. Everyone he’d ever spoken to said that their inner animals knew their mates instantaneously. But his fox had recognized Samantha. Not Misty. No matter how drawn to her he felt now, he’d felt nothing until recently. Years had passed before he’d even noticed she wasn’t one of the guys. How could he trust what he felt now? Especially on the heels of meeting and losing Samantha.

“Why?” she asked, pulling his head up until their eyes met.

“I didn’t recognize Misty until recently. How do I know what I feel is real?”

Emotion flooded his mom’s eyes. Sorrow mixed with a touch of pity. He hadn’t meant to be so blunt. But he needed advice. Every night, it got harder to resist bonding with Misty. When he was with her, he felt right. Whole. But mating lasted forever. The bond would never be broken. How could he tie them together without being one hundred percent sure?

“Sometimes, familiarity blinds us and our inner beasts. When you met Misty, you didn’t even know about those needs. It’s possible your fox didn’t connect what it knew before, to what it needed after. But only you can know whether or not she’s the mate for you. Be sure before you act on it, because once you do, there’s no going back.”

Before he could process her words, he saw a figure standing in the doorway. He hadn’t noticed the lack of laughter until then.

“We should get going. I have an early class tomorrow.” The hurt in her voice had him rushing forward.

“Misty…” He grabbed her shoulders.

“Thank you so much for dinner, Mrs. Mattherson. Everything was lovely.”

It frightened him that she wouldn’t meet his eyes, staring over his shoulder. How much had she overheard? He squeezed his eyes shut as he scrolled back through the conversation. Shit.

On the ride home, he tried to talk to her but she sat next to him in silence. Even once they’d arrived at her place, she didn’t speak.

Not knowing what to expect, he followed her inside. The only time he’d ever seen her this quiet and composed, she’d shut him out and planned to move away from him.

He had to explain. Needed to do something to take that dazed look off her face. “I was trying–”

“Stop.”

Reluctantly, he complied. At least she wasn’t crying. Although he’d prefer tears to this silence. Why wasn’t she at least raging at him? He’d prefer anything to this eerie silence.

“So you’re still not sure of me, huh?” There was something odd in her voice. Something that had his pulse hammering in his veins and his throat tightening. She didn’t sound sad. She sounded…resigned.

“Misty.” His throat tightened to the point of pain.

“When you came to me last week, I thought you’d realized you loved me as much as I love you.”

His heart skipped a beat before leaping in joy. She loved him. Everything else was forgotten. All that mattered was the woman he was coming to realize meant the world to him, just told him she loved him. The overpowering urge to tell her he felt the same way assailed him.

“I lo–”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. I can’t hear it right now.”

A fresh wave of fear swept over him. This was worse than he thought.

“I keep betting on you, and I keep getting hurt. Just when I’m about to give up, you do something or say something that gives me hope. And if you say those words to me right now, I’ll throw my hat back in the ring–even if you don’t feel the emotion behind the words.”

He tried once again to speak, but she was beyond listening.

“It would be comical if it weren’t so pathetic. To think I even tried to get you drunk so you’d sleep with me. Which is just so fucking stupid.”

Wait. What? “When did you get me drunk?” he demanded, not letting her cut him off this time.

“Movie night a few months ago. I brought over tequila.” She waved her hand absently, her mind already moving onto something else.

He remembered that night. Well, kind of. Vaguely. About an hour in, everything went a bit hazy. Now he knew why.

“We slept together months ago?” His voice rose. How had he forgotten something so monumental?

“No. It didn’t work. I should have known then it never would. A few days later, I went to talk to you and saw her walk out of your bedroom wearing your clothes.”

He didn’t have to ask who she referred to. There’d been no woman in his life for months, except one. With a jolt, he realized there was no longer the aching tug at his heart when he thought about Samantha. She no longer held his heart. Misty did. Everything inside him ached for Misty.

He shook his head, focusing back on the woman he loved and the confession she’d just made. Flashes of them tangled together flitted through his mind. The same images had played through his mind in spurts for months. Not a dream, but a memory.

“I can’t believe you’d try to trick me like that.” It was so unlike the woman he’d known all his life. He wasn’t mad. Not really. But he couldn’t keep the sense of betrayal out of his voice.

“Because you don’t believe I have the guts, or because you find it detestable?”

He wished she’d turn around, look at him. The longer she stood facing away, the more fuel got thrown on the fire. Here he was, trying to work on their problems, and she shut him out. And on top of that, to find out she’d tried to trick him into sleeping with her.

“No, because it was deceitful. I thought we were friends, but friends don’t manipulate each other that way.”

“Friends,” she echoed in a whisper. She turned to him then, staring at him with haunted eyes. “I can’t believe you don’t feel how right we are together. Can’t feel what I feel inside.” She paused, and he watched her chest rise with a deep breath. “Seems we both have a lot to think about. It might be best if you didn’t stay the night.” With that, she turned and walked into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

He could have told her he did realize how perfect they were for each other, but Misty’s emotions were as closed to him as the door between them. Nothing further would be gained tonight. With one last reluctant look at the closed portal, Cody left.