Always Us

By Tabby Bird

Mia and Darien were best friends... until the night they kissed.

 

The fox who stayed.

 

Mia has spent the past ten years trying to forget Darien and his decision to leave their hometown without her after graduation. She moved on with her life and succeeded at every challenge she set for herself. But when Mia finds out Darien is coming to their high school reunion, there's no hiding the truth about how she feels.

 

The wolf who got away.

 

Darien promised Mia they would leave together, that she would always be at his side while he pursued his dream of being a rock star. All it took was one impulsive decision for Darien to flee on his own. And he has regretted it ever since.

 

The meeting they can't avoid.

 

In small-town Pine Falls, there's no getting away from each other. Mia must decide if she can forgive Darien for leaving her behind. Darien needs to find a way to tell Mia how he really felt about her all along.

 

Can a fox and a wolf deal with their past, so they can share their futures in this furry romance?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tabby Bird Books
• Release date: Mar 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393976509

Book preview

Chapter 1

T hat’s enough of that . Turn it off, Mia commanded, her gaze focused on the papers on the table in front of her. She had to finalize the library’s purchases for the end of the fiscal year to make the most of the budget, and time was running out. The noise reverberating from the TV made her muzzle and sensitive ears twitch ever so slightly. Normally, she would work in her office, but she wanted to spread the papers out and make sure she honored as many patron requests as possible, in addition to checking off things from her own list.

Concentrating on her work was a losing battle. The music blaring from the TV, along with the hyper ramblings of the announcer, made it impossible. Why did kits have to have the volume so loud? Their pointed ears picked up more sounds than those of most animals, and the unnecessary volume made her wince. Maybe she was getting too old to deal with adolescent nonsense.

I told you to turn it off, and I meant it! Her voice rose above the music. Mia hated yelling at anyone, especially her little sister, but it felt like Scarlett had a special kind of torture in mind for her today. She supposed her sister was excited for it to be a Friday night after a long, busy week of activities preparing for homecoming at the end of the month. Once upon a time, before their parents had gone off to look after their own aging parents, Mia had been just as carefree, but not as obnoxious. At least, she hoped not...

But it’s Darien Shaw! Scarlett trilled. He’s incredible! To Mia’s chagrin, her sister was dancing to the music, her hips swaying in the salacious way the dance team had learned for some of this year’s routines. Mia had never been a cheerleader or dancer, and seeing her sixteen-year-old sister sway like that was too much. The jeans Scarlett wore hung low on her hips, revealing more of her orange and white-furred torso than Mia thought was appropriate.

She would forbid both the clothes and the sultry undulations––outside of dance practice and school events––if not for the fact that she, too, had once danced like that. Ten years ago. With Darien Shaw himself.

I don’t care if it’s that Justin Beaver kid all the girls love. Turn it off, she said again, her voice firmer. This was getting ridiculous. And stop dancing like a... a... an otter! What is the dance coach teaching you kids these days? You look like your hips are going to fall off any minute. Besides, Darien is a rock star, not a pop star, doofus. His music isn’t even danceable.

Do you even know who Justin Beaver is?

No, but it sounded like a good argument. After another moment passed, Mia pressed her forepaws to her face. Seeing Darien’s face on TV was difficult enough without Scarlett carrying on like some crazed fangirl. Scarlett Jane Reynard, I swear if you don’t turn it off, I will tell all your friends you still sleep with your stuffed animals. Don’t make me inflict that kind of pain on you.

Her sister’s sharp intake of breath let her know she was finally listening. "You wouldn’t dare do something like that. That’s

evil."

I’ve been your sister since you were born. You know no one is more evil than I am, and I will make your life a complete nightmare. Now turn it off.

Jeez. Scarlett turned off the television and walked up to the kitchen table, her hips no longer moving so emphatically. Her long, bushy tail swished with agitation, however, and Mia’s ears pricked forward in response. As much as Mia tried to remind herself Scarlett was growing up and there was no stopping the process, it wasn’t something she liked to dwell on.

Heck, Mia was a grown-up herself, now, and placed in charge while her parents handled matters she knew would fall into her lap in the future. Far into the future, she hoped. How had the years gone by so quickly? Sure, Mia was twenty-eight now, but she still felt like a kid herself sometimes. So, the idea of her little sister catching up to her in adulthood? Not fair.

Scarlett pressed her forepaws against the table’s surface and glared at her, her green eyes narrowed and whiskers twitching. What’s your problem? Don’t you remember you went to school with Darien forever ago?

Of course I remember, and ten years isn’t forever ago, brat. What’s your point? Mia snapped, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms. Leave it to Scarlett to bring up something Mia didn’t want to discuss. It was her adolescent super power. As if hearing Darien’s voice wasn’t enough to send a pang through Mia’s chest.

My point is if you don’t remember, then allow me to pull out the Class of 2010 yearbook that has a whole bunch of pictures of you two together. I was too young to care, but I heard from Aunt Katie that you and Darien were inseparable––doing your homework together, hanging out while he played guitar in his garage. Ever since Mom and Dad left you in charge, you’ve been saying you remember what it was like to be my age, so don’t you remember all the fun you had with him back then and can’t you let me have fun listening to his music now?

With a sigh, Mia relaxed her paws on either side of the paperwork, looked up at her sister with eyes that were just as green as hers, and said in a low voice, Of course I remember, and I want you to enjoy whatever and whoever you want to listen to. But as far as that friendship, things change. Darien made a choice to leave this town a long time ago and I made a choice to stay here. It’s been ten years since graduation. Our lives took different paths and if you don’t mind, I would really like to get this done so I can finish this order for the library, all right?

Fine. Scarlett leaned over and whispered, But are you going to be this calm, cool, and collected when Darien comes to town next week for the reunion and to give a homecoming concert at the high school? I think not. I think you’re going to remember what a fantastic time you had being a teenager with him and loosen up.

Hey, I am plenty loose, as evidenced by... by... Mia flailed for something, but was at a loss. She couldn’t even count on both paws how many months it’d been since her last date. It didn’t help that their town was small, with few date prospects. Most of them were people Mia had gone to school with herself. And even she didn’t want to date the has-been high school quarterback who’d gone from sports hero to bar owner.

Fine. So what happened to you between then and now? Scarlett challenged.

Mia gave a roll of her eyes and decided the safest place to look was at the order she was trying to complete. Requests for Blu-ray discs certainly seemed popular this year. She heard Scarlett let out a low huff of annoyance.

Are you going to answer my questions?

Um, no. A big sister’s looseness is not for a little sister to question or comprehend. Anyway, the point is I’m working and I would appreciate a little peace and quiet.

Let me guess, you and Darien were actually at the center of some small town soap opera where your friendship never became the great romance it should have been? You know, whenever you talk to your friends, you guys never mention him. I had to find out from the teachers at school that you were besties with a celebrity. I mean, I remember you hanging out with him, but I was only in kindergarten when you both graduated, so I didn’t realize how close you two were. Why haven’t you ever told me about him? It’s not like he’s some nobody. He’s famous and he was apparently your best friend once upon a time.

Mia blew out a breath. Leave it to a nosy little fox like Scarlett to dig up things that were better left in the past. There’s nothing to tell. Ancient history. Deflecting. Sure. That always worked with teenagers.

People only call something ‘ancient history’ when there’s heartbreak involved. Scarlett narrowed her eyes and her muzzle twitched. Were you two a thing?

Why are you acting like Mom? Mia finally asked, lifting her paws in surrender. Because, seriously, that’s who you sound like right now.

Well, I was thinking maybe that’s why no other boyfriend has ever lasted in your life­––that maybe Darien the superstar is also the guy who got away. Scarlett sank into a chair at the table and rested her face on her pawpads, mirroring one of her sister’s favorite poses. Fess up, Mia. I’ve seen you go on less than a dozen dates with a handful of guys in the past ten years and none of them got beyond the second date. Why is that?

Mia leaned against the table until her forehead rested atop her paperwork. I’d love to know what inspired this interrogation, but I choose waterboarding, if that’s an option. Shouldn’t you be out having a social life?

Shouldn’t you? Scarlett shot back. Darien is coming to town. Why can’t we talk about this now?

Because I’m not ready to talk about him now, if ever, let alone see him. Mia finally lifted her face to look into Scarlett’s wide eyes.

She knew she was fortunate to have an intelligent, tough, confident little sister. What drove her nuts was how damn perceptive Scarlett was in addition to all of that. Then again, most foxes were and hiding anything from those of her species proved nearly impossible. Scarlett was a lot like Mia when she’d been sixteen––tenacious and a little too nosy. Sometimes Mia wondered how their parents retained their own sanity.

You know, you’d make an excellent librarian, she told Scarlett. Are you sure you want to study music? Seriously, libraries across the country could use a reference librarian like you to help people find the answers they need.

Wow, so it’s that bad? Scarlett was still staring at her, chin resting in her paw. The kit was impossible in her refusal to let go of the discussion.

Mia nodded. This was a battle she had better concede before it turned into full blown warfare. It’s that bad.

Like... pizza and bad B-movie night bad?

Worse. Much, much worse.

Ouch. Scarlett’s brow furrowed.

I know. Look, tell you what––I promise I’ll explain everything, especially since he’s coming to town, but I can’t do it under this kind of pressure.

Scarlett looked at her sideways, one fang poking out of her mouth like it often did when she was deep in thought. She finally said, Fine. You owe me. I want you to tell me all about it during our annual high school homecoming movie marathon.

That’s... Mia glanced at the calendar hanging on the refrigerator. Today was already September 25. So soon.

Well, it’s that or I keep pestering you for the dirt on you and Darien. Scarlett rose from the table. The fact is he’s a huge star and I want to be a music producer, not a librarian like you, so I have every intention of meeting him when he’s in town this week. Plus, he’ll be at your high school reunion and the whole town is going to be at his concert. Where will you be?

Mia looked up and stared open-mouthed after her sister as the younger vixen sauntered away, her long, fluffy tail swaying with all the self-assurance of a teenager who’d won the battle.

Shit, she muttered when Scarlett was gone. After another moment, she ran her paws through her layered red hair, and then reached for her cell phone and selected a number in the contact list.

Alisa answered after only one ring. Hey, what’s up, foxy lady?

Did you know Darien Shaw is coming home for our ten-year class reunion and then putting on some kind of concert?

Of course I did. Everyone in four towns knows about that. Didn’t you?

No. Mia looked at the papers fanned out on the table between her elbows. That’s a tiny lie. I mean, I sort of knew about the reunion and that there was a chance that he might come back, but I’ve been working and trying to ignore the fact that it’s looming.

You’re always working. If you’re not at the library, you’re working on research for your potential thesis, in case you ever go back to school. Do you ever have fun?

I love what I do. Research and libraries and town history are fun. Even though Mia tried not to sound petulant, she couldn’t keep the whine out of her voice.

Alisa released an exasperated sigh. I suppose you can use working extra hours to avoid the whole Darien thing and have an excuse to ‘sort of’ know what’s going on, but that only goes so far in a town of about a thousand, you know. You always did like to pretend stupidity to get out of things. Not that I begrudge you that––you make it work, somehow. It must be a fox thing.

Mia’s nostrils flared a bit. Leave it to a goose to get their feathers ruffled over something silly. Fortunately, Alisa’s judgmental moments passed quickly. If they didn’t, there was no way Mia could remain friends with her.

No, I’m looking for an excuse to avoid the whole being ten years older thing. How am I twenty-eight? Twenty-eight, Alisa. We’ve been out of high school for ten years and, while we aren’t exactly middle-aged yet, we aren’t young adults, either. In fact, seeing Scarlett dance around like an idiot to music that is definitely not what we listened to ten years ago makes me kind of crazy.

Teenagers, yeesh. What a pain in the ass she must be. Alisa’s scoffing made Mia feel a little better about being stuck looking after her sister.

You don’t know the half of it. Well, I guess you do, since you put up with her kind every day at school. So, I suppose I should find out what’s up with Darien coming back to town, right?

Yeah, you probably should. It’s not like you can avoid him. I mean, you could try, but I don’t think it would go well.

Mia nibbled at the tip of her pen and waited for Alisa to continue. She didn’t need to be reminded of how small their town was or that the odds of avoiding Darien weren’t in her favor.

So, yeah, Darien has already RSVPed to attend the reunion and he’s giving a free concert at the high school the night before the homecoming game. It’s meant to be a big promotional event. The local media is calling it ‘Darien Shaw: The Homecoming’ or something trite like that. It’s probably a golden marketing opportunity for him, you know? The kids are flipping their shit.

Sometimes it was hard to believe Alisa was a teacher, considering the way she spoke, but Mia knew her flippant attitude was what made her so popular with the high school students. Alisa was the cool teacher.

Mia glanced back up at the darkened television. Please tell me there’s something else we can do on homecoming eve, then. Her voice came out drier than she expected.

There’s always something else to do. I have to work the concert since it’s a school event, but you can go into Bloomfield, if you want, and get far away from the whole thing. Is your sister going to the concert?

Oh yeah, I’m sure she’ll camp out there if that’s what it takes to meet Darien. Scarlett probably has a long list of music industry questions she wants to ask. Mia tried to focus on the papers in front of her, but the words no longer made sense. 

It was Wednesday afternoon. The reunion was on Friday night and homecoming was all week after that. How could she have managed to tune out all the details, even willfully? Sure, there was quite a bit she’d tried to tune out this year, but this? This was, for all intents and purposes, like an ex coming home and that was a big deal. And maybe if she was a proper ex, she would have been internet-stalking Darien’s every move for the past ten years. 

But the thing was she wasn’t exactly an ex in the romantic sense. She was a could-have-been who had the sense to let go of a crush that had no future.

And then there’s the reunion, she muttered, almost forgetting she had her phone in her paw. What am I going to do about that?

Alisa’s voice drew