Pack Balance by Crissy Smith

Be careful,” she said.
    “You too.”
    Julie hung up the call, knowing she should have told her brother about earlier but it had sounded like he had enough on his plate. She wanted to get inside anyway. She was in desperate need of a shower. She braced her hand on the ground to stand when she saw a car pull up to Cooper’s house. She tensed as the headlights washed over her. Was this someone else coming after Cooper? She gripped her cell in her hand ready to call for help if it was trouble.
    She recognized the vehicle as soon as the lights were turned off. She smiled and rose to her feet. Shelby climbed out of the car. Julie rushed forward to hug her dear friend.
    “Hey! I thought we were meeting for lunch tomorrow,” she said as she released Shelby.
    “My producer called me to cover a scene of an officer-involved shooting and I ran into Josiah and Cooper. Cooper tells me that you were there too. Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine.” She waved away Shelby’s concern, not wanting to cause her to worry.
    “Why are you sitting out here then?”
    “I was just enjoying the night. I called my brother and was about to go inside. Want a drink?” she offered.
    “Yes,” Shelby agreed. “It’s been a long day.”
    “Come on.” Julie headed toward the house.
    “When the call came in over the radio, he didn’t have anyone else available. There’s a big party at the mayor’s fundraiser event and I was free. I agreed to cover it and now I’m glad I did. You weren’t even going to call me, were you?” she asked.
    Julie wouldn’t have. It would have never crossed her mind. Plus, she was planning on having lunch with Shelby the next day. “I was just really tired and wanted to get home.” She pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. Cooper hadn’t changed the locks while she’d been gone. It was a good thing he hadn’t because she hadn’t even thought about it when he’d left the house earlier.
    She pushed open the front door and flipped on the light switch. “Let’s go to the kitchen,” she suggested.
    Shelby followed behind her as she turned on the rest of the lights. When they got to the kitchen, Julie opened the fridge. “We’ve got beer or wine,” she offered.
    “I’ll take a beer,” Shelby replied.
    Julie pulled out two bottles. “It’s good to see you.” She grabbed the bottle opener off the hook beside the fridge and popped off both lids. “Thanks for coming to visit me while I was in Kermit. You’re the only person I saw from here.”
    “You needed to see a friendly face. I always suspected you’d come back. I just didn’t think it would take so long,” Shelby said.
    “It wouldn’t have had my dad not had the cancer scare. I’m glad I was there for my family, but I’m even happier being back.”
    “And obviously things worked out between you and Cooper.” She waved her hand around the kitchen.
    “Yes, I knew I overreacted and was scared, but I couldn’t get past what I saw. It helped after the shifters became public. I could talk to my family about Cooper, the real reason I left, and they supported both of us. They’d always loved Cooper.”
    “You have questions? That’s why you wanted to meet tomorrow. Do you want to go ahead and ask them?” Shelby offered. “Although I still want lunch tomorrow. I’m putting off my yoga class for you.”
    Julie laughed. Shelby hated yoga. Something about not being able to focus and keep her mind from racing. She didn’t understand it but for some reason, Shelby was determined to master the craft.
    “I guess I just wanted to see if you had any books or websites you could recommend. I don’t even know where to start.”
    “I’ll send you some links. I’ve probably got more than anyone else that I know about. As soon as I found out shifting was really possible, I went a bit overboard. I just find it so fascinating,” Shelby said. “Is there anything in particular that you’re worried about?”
    “Cooper asked me to move in,”