18. Juan

18

JUAN

I f Juan's first visit to Dean and Deirdre's house had been uncomfortable, it held no candle to the awkwardness of showing up for their official divorce day to claim his mate.

His arrival at Green Valley, unfortunately, did not occur without notice.

The town was setting up for a parade and some kind of street fair for Thanksgiving the next day, and the main street into town was already closed. Juan pulled up alongside the barricade, where a short round man dressed in a police uniform was directing people setting up market tents.

"I'll escort you through," the policeman said, when Juan explained where he was trying to go. It was the most distinctly unwelcoming tone that he had ever heard, and he was positive that the policeman knew exactly who he was and why he was here. He held the barrier aside and then led Juan slowly through the town in his patrol car with lights on, for no reason at all.

Everyone who was out hanging decorations and cleaning shop windows stared at him on the way down the main street, and it felt like one long walk of shame. They whispered and shook their heads as Juan crept down the road, and Juan had to resist his urge to ram the back of the cruiser in front of him.

Finally, the cop pulled over and Juan went alone into the quiet neighborhood beyond to park behind Deirdre and Dean's—now just Dean's—sedan.

Deirdre had been clear that Dean was the town's golden boy. He'd been planning to go to engineering college on a scholarship after school, but stayed in Green Valley, married his high school sweetheart, and rescued the local hardware store, instead. He was a volunteer for the fire department and could always be relied on for repairing a neighbor's fence or failing well. He was Green Valley's poster child.

And Juan? Juan was the interloper, the outsider. He was the one who'd destroyed Dean's marriage and broken his heart. Juan had toyed with the idea of moving to Green Valley and making a home here to keep Aaron even closer to his dad, but it was painfully clear that would never work. He would never be welcome in this town, and he'd already poisoned Deirdre's reputation.

Four months, and he still wasn't sure they'd done the right thing, but he also knew that there was nothing else he could have done. Deirdre was adamant that she was glad to be leaving, and her happiness was Juan's first priority.

The doorbell made Bingo bark wildly, and Juan heard Dean scolding him to be quiet, that Aaron was trying to sleep.

"Come on in," Dean said, cracking the door and holding the dog back with a knee. Bingo tried to squirm free, and Dean finally had to lean down and catch him by the collar before he could fling himself at Juan, his tail wagging madly.

"He looks better than the last time I saw him," Juan said. The cast and cone were gone, and the shaved patches had grown over evenly. He'd filled out considerably and his coat was thick and curly, almost puppy-soft.

Dean shook his hand as if he was just paying a friendly call, and accepted the bottle of wine. It was the same brand that Juan had brought for his first visit, and Dean raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't sure what the customs were," Juan admitted.

"This will do," Dean chuckled. "Deirdre's getting the last of her stuff out of the bathroom. I'll help carry out some boxes."

They had the car almost packed, trying not to too obviously carry shifter-strength loads, by the time that Deirdre came down.

"Aaron is awake and playing in his room," she said. "I already said goodbye."

She looked like sunshine and cornfields, Juan thought, and every doubt and reservation vanished at the mere sight of her. He didn't care about her judgmental neighbors or what they'd had to go through to get to this point. She was his, he was hers, and this was the start of their life together at last.

Juan glanced at Dean and had a twinge of guilt and awe. He wasn't sure he'd have been as big a man. "Thank you," he said simply. "Thank you."

Dean shook his hand again. "Make her happy," he warned, and Juan knew that it wasn't an idle threat.

"There's nothing in this world I want to do more," Juan assured him.

Dean folded Deirdre into a goodbye hug, and they murmured things to each other that Juan tried not to overhear.