Free Shifting Crossroads 8 - Ocelot of Trouble by Zenina Masters Page A

have struck her to make her turn like this.
    All he knew was that he had five days to find a woman willing to meet him at the Crossroads. How hard could that be?
     
    * * * *
     
    Loreada sighed and leaned back. “I know it is harsh, Arduna, but he needs to find someone. This flitting around will not do him any good. He needs to get on with the rest of his life, and he needs someone at his side.”
    Her daughter was concerned. “Are you sure that this is the best course of action for him?”
    “I was sure when I sent you to the Crossroads, wasn’t I?”
    “You know you were. Johann is the best man I could have wished for. Shouldn’t he know about this?”
    Loreada nodded. “Of course he should, that is why I went to lunch with him yesterday. He is all for his son getting his act together, Arduna. You are the one who has been holding his hand every time he breaks a woman’s heart and has to deal with it. Of course, he does not deal with it. He just takes the pat on the head and the shoulder and moves on to the next woman. That can’t continue. He can and will be a good husband. He just needs the right woman, and he is not going to find her on your yacht.”
    Arduna stiffened, and Loreada looked at her daughter with her eyebrow raised.
    “Mother, he is a young man with hot blood. He needs to be out and finding females that catch his fancy.”
    “If Johann was running around with other women, how would you feel?”
    Arduna blinked. “I would be horrified and devastated, but we are a Crossroads match. He wouldn’t do that.”
    Loreada smiled grimly at her daughter. “Exactly. I want Robar’s wife to have that security as well. No woman enjoys knowing that her mate is a whore who gives it away, but knowing that he will be faithful from this moment on is a key point that I cannot stress enough. Your father catted around, and it was only strength of will that kept me from killing him.”
    Arduna shook her auburn head. She had her father’s features and his sense of propriety. It was Loreada’s burden to try and control her only child, as well as her sole grandchild. She was not going to be walking the earth forever, so it was time to make sure that Robar settled down with a good woman.
    He was a good man with a good soul; he just needed a woman who made him want to be a better man, all day, every day. She hoped that the Crossroads could work its magic, because she was at the end of her rope. The boy needed far more help than she could offer, and hopefully, he would get it.

Chapter Two
     
     
    Mina sat in the transporter’s office and knit her fingers together. “Is everything all right?”
    Theo looked up with a grin. “It is better than all right. I will just have to catalogue all of the samples that your family provided. Fortunately, we have an hour.”
    She bit her lip. “Is this normal?”
    “No. Normally, we don’t get samples from cousins, aunts, uncles and ex-boyfriends.” Theo raised his dark brows. “It is not usual that we get an entire community participating.”
    “I guess they want me gone.”
    Theo paused. “Don’t think of it like that; think of it that these people, including men who were in your life at one point, have all given something of themselves to find you a true mate. That shows affection that goes far beyond casual. These people care about you. You are taking them with you, and your attempts to find a mate will be cheered on from this realm.”
    Mina smiled and sat up a little. “Thank you, that makes me feel better.”
    “It is the truth. I have sent close to a hundred folks to the Crossroads, and this is the largest donation I have ever been given. They love you far more than you know.”
    Tears surged into her eyes. She breathed in deeply to stop the flow and smiled brightly instead. She was good at smiling. When you caused trouble wherever you went, it was second nature to pretend that nothing had gone awry.
    “I know that I am loved; I also know that I am a goof. Did