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  But though she eyed him warily, the curvy blonde held her ground.

  “I’m looking for Sadie Becker,” she said clearly, tilting her chin to meet Mathis’s eyes fearlessly. “This is the address I have for her—am I in the wrong place?”

  “Who are you?” Mathis demanded, frowning. He thought she might be some kind of lawyer here to serve papers on behalf of Sadie’s idiotic ex. Why else would she be dressed in a suit and heels out in the middle of nowhere?

  “Who are you?” she countered. “The gruff but sexy neighbor she told me about? Or a chainsaw murderer?” She eyed the heavy chainsaw he was still gripping. “If you’re the latter, please be advised that I have a charged Taser in my purse and I know how to use it. I’ll lay you out flat before you can even pull the starter cord on that thing.”

  Mathis found a grin growing on his face despite himself. Damn, the little blonde was feisty! Suddenly he realized who she must be. Sometime during the pillow talk the night before, Sadie had told him she had a twin sister but that they weren’t identical. The shape of the blonde’s face and her eyes reminded him of Sadie—this had to be her.

  “Samantha, right?” he asked, taking a step forward. “Sadie’s sister?”

  “Guilty as charged.” She smiled at him and held out a hand. “So you must be growly-but-sexy neighbor, Mathis?”

  “Uh, I don’t know about the growly-sexy part but yeah, I’m Sadie’s neighbor.” He wiped his palm against his jeans before taking her much smaller hand to shake. She had a surprisingly firm grip for such a small woman.

  “So where is my sister?” she asked pleasantly, eyeing the chainsaw again. “And please don’t say buried under your porch.”

  Mathis laughed. “She’s fine—should be in her office in Cougarville getting some work done. Which is what I’ve been doing.” He nodded at the chainsaw. “Tree limb fell on your sister’s roof last night. I’ve been clearing it off for her.”

  Samantha eyed the damaged roof and then nodded, as if satisfied by his explanation.

  “Was anyone hurt?”

  Mathis shook his head. “No—luckily it happened before she went inside last night. She had to stay out of her cabin until I could get it off though—not safe to go in the house with a damn widow-maker on the roof.”

  Samantha’s eyebrows shot up. “So she spent the night with you? Purely for safety’s sake, I’m sure.”

  Mathis felt his ears getting hot and scowled.

  “Well . . . you could say so, yes.”

  “No wonder she didn’t answer her phone.” Samantha looked him up and down speculatively. “I wouldn’t have answered either.”

  “Uh . . .” Mathis wasn’t sure what to say to that.

  “Never mind.” Samantha sighed and ran a hand through her honey-blond locks. “I was just worried sick about her so I changed my plans to come out here. I could be in Sin City right now but instead I’m in the middle of nowhere, all because my sister was finally getting some.” She shook her head and laughed. “Oh well, at least she’s finally getting over that asshole ex of hers.”

  Mathis shifted uncomfortably.

  “Uh, I can give you directions to her office if you want to go meet her. It’s right on Main Street, not far from the Cougarville Chemist.”

  “All right, I’ll take you up on that.” Samantha put a hand to her stomach. “Maybe I can take her out to lunch. I can never eat a thing when I travel and I’m famished. Any good restaurants in town?”

  “A few,” Mathis said cautiously. He thought about warning her not to go into any crowded public places in Cougarville lest she have the same problems Sadie had been experiencing. But his nose told him she wasn’t in Rejuvenation—not even close. She was extremely attractive and she smelled good but she didn’t have that maddening Juvie scent hanging around her. She ought to be safe.

  He gave Samantha directions and she thanked him and climbed back into the rented SUV, heading off to town to see her sister.

  Mathis watched her go, feeling envious. He wished he could drop in on Sadie and take her out for lunch. Or better yet, pack a picnic basket and spend time alone with her at her office, eating . . . and doing other things.

  Forget it, Mathis, he told himself firmly as the black SUV left in a plume of dust. It’s not going to happen so you might as well stop wishing for it.

  Too bad he was so damn awful at taking his own advice.

  Sixteen

  Sadie frowned as she checked her phone just before noon. Where was Samantha? She’d been calling at regular intervals but so far her twin hadn’t picked up. Could she still be at the airport, running late? Or was it just the mountains screwing up her phone reception again?

  She winced and rubbed the sides of her head. All morning long, ever since leaving Mathis, she’d been fighting a headache—the same throbbing pain that pounded in her temples and wouldn’t leave her alone. What was going on with this strange headache that wouldn’t stay gone? Why did it keep coming back?

  A worrisome thought wormed its way into her head—could it have anything to do with the Rejuvenation process she was going through? Hadn’t Fiona said something odd about it last time she’d been in the pharmacy looking for something for the pain? Then again, most everything the pharmacist said was odd.

  “Okay, that’s it,” Sadie told herself in a low voice. “Time to go get some ibuprofen and some answers.”

  Getting up, she put on her coat and grabbed her purse and phone. She’d already tried going by the pharmacy once today, early in the morning when she’d first gotten to work. But Fiona had been deeply engrossed in a hushed and obviously very private consultation with another customer. Not wanting to bother her, Sadie had decided to try again later.

  Well, later was now. She needed answers about her condition and she couldn’t wait any longer. Making sure to lock her office door behind her, Sadie made her way down Main Street to the Cougarville Chemist.

  “Well hello, my dear!” The eccentric pharmacist was wearing a long, flowing gown of peacock blue under her white lab coat today, and her silver-streaked auburn hair was twisted into a loose chignon at the top of her head, allowing wisps and tendrils to frame her ageless face. Today’s jewelry had an amber theme instead of turquoise. The mellow stone glowed from a large, elaborate pendant at the hollow of Fiona’s slender throat and seemed to reflect a golden light across her pale, perfect skin.

  “Fiona, how are you?” Sadie greeted her with a smile as she shut the pharmacy door, making the little bell jingle. “I was hoping to catch you alone. Can we talk?”

  “Oh dear, are my books too much for you?” Fiona gave her a worried look. “I know they’re a bit hard to understand.”

  That was an understatement but the other woman’s crazy bookkeeping system wasn’t what was on Sadie’s mind at the moment.

  “It’s not that,” she said carefully. “It’s something . . . something I’m going through that I thought you might be able to help me with.”

  “Is it your Rejuvenation?” Fiona asked sympathetically.

  “Yes!” Sadie was immensely relieved that she didn’t have to explain all her signs and symptoms.

  “And what is it you need to know?” Fiona asked as Sadie weaved her way through the crowded shelves and came up to the high counter at the back of the store. The pharmacist was sorting through an eccentric-looking pile of ingredients that appeared to consist of small dry bones, tiny seashells, and multicolored feathers.

  “I need to know everything,” Sadie said truthfully, watching as the pharmacist’s long, clever fingers picked through the strange pile. “I had no idea about the Shifter Gene or Rejuvenation or any of that until yesterday when Mathis explained it to me.”

  “He did, did he?” Fiona looked pleased. “Did he explain before or after he bound you to him?”

  “What?” Sadie frowned. “He didn’t bind me to him—he said he couldn’t. Because his, uh, species of Shifter only mates once and they can’t form a second life-bond. Not that it makes any sense