Is that a really big kitty in Cooley's suburban back yard...or a new way of looking at the world? Miss Nicola Johansen, otherwise known as Cooley, relies on the predictability of her suburban subdivision to keep her feeling safe. When she spies a black panther slinking along her back fence in the wee hours of the morning, her comfortable life is shaken like a maraca. Repeated calls to the cops result in an investigation, and a finger of blame gets pointed at the mysterious man who lives in 2201 down the street. Like the fact his yard is a disgrace wasn't enough reason to suspect that man of nefarious dealings—the animal pens behind his house are the clincher. But what happens when Cooley finds out the mysterious man isn't quite the scofflaw she assumed? What happens when she finds out he's absolutely...magnetic? Originally in "Sum3: The 2006 Zircon Anthology Of Speculative Romance"

Nicola Johansen, Cooley to her friends, lived a discreet, solitary life in the suburbs until she found out her new neighbor, Evan Sabello, was a shape shifter too. After accidentally getting him arrested, Cooley decides to apologize by extending the hand of friendship...with homemade apple pie in it. Not only is he the first shifter she's ever met, but he's sexy as heck. They’re practically made for each other, right? They have a special connection not even Mr. Surly Britches can deny. Problem is, Evan's past has made him so skittish, pie and promises won’t convince him Cooley's intentions are harmless. He’s heard it all before—poor, lonely pantheress just wants companionship. Unfortunately, the first time he heard it, he ended up locked in the basement of an evil creature who tried to control him. Now that another pantheress has targeted him, he’s not going to make that mistake again. He might give Cooley her pie tin back, but he’s not about to give her his trust. No matter how appealing she is. No matter how different she seems. No matter how much he, too, longs for an ally to help him figure out what it means to be a panther in a world full of humans who can never understand. A 50,000 word paranormal romance