by Zoe Chant
It’s only a picnic, she told herself. But she knew it was much more than that. In her entire life, she’d never felt as drawn to a man as she did to this sweet, sexy, fascinating, mysterious guy who loved animals and lived with magic. It wasn’t a picnic, it was an embossed invitation to heartbreak.
Everly opened her mouth to point out that she was only here for a week and much as she appreciated the offer, it probably wasn’t a good idea.
What came out was, “Thank you, Angel. I’d love to.”
Chapter 5
Under ordinary circumstances, Angel loved doing lambings. It was one of his favorite parts of being a country vet.
Lambs usually came in twos and sometimes in threes, and often got so tangled up inside the ewe that they needed his help in sorting them out and delivering them. It was like untangling a complicated knot completely by feel. And when he was done, he was rewarded by the sight of the wobbly little creatures stumbling to their feet, their mother huffing at them and licking them clean, and their tiny tails wagging as they took their very first drink of her warm milk.
But on his way to the Seely farm, he could barely concentrate. He had to force himself to focus on his driving enough to make sure he didn’t drive straight into a tree.
His inner unicorn was prancing about, tossing its mane and singing out, Our mate! Our mate! Everly Sawyer is our beautiful mate!
Angel’s heart was on the exact same page. His entire being was alight with joy. He’d found his mate! After all those long years of loneliness, in which he’d resigned himself to never finding that special kind of love, it had come to him when he’d least expected it.
Everly was so much more gorgeous and wonderful and desirable than he’d ever imagined anyone could be. She rescued baby animals. She had the loveliest smile. She was funny. She was curious. She liked nature. She was obviously extremely smart and competent and assertive, to hold down what seemed like a very demanding job.
And off in the corner, Angel’s head was thinking, She’s going to break my heart into a million little pieces.
She lived in the big city, which was five hours away, and she was so dedicated to her job that she was on call at all times. She didn’t wear a ring and hadn’t mentioned a significant other, and she’d accepted his picnic date, so he was pretty sure she was single. But why would such a gorgeous and accomplished and caring woman still be single? The only possible reason was that she either didn’t want a partner or didn’t have time for one. She might be up for a vacation romance, but that was all. After that, she’d be headed back to her real life.
Don’t even think it, snorted his unicorn. Mates cannot be parted.
The other option, of course, was that Angel could move to Refuge City. He preferred country living, but he didn’t dislike cities. But his veterinary practice was here. His colleagues were here. Most importantly, the portal was here. He had a unique duty to the magical animals that came through it. Could he abandon his calling, even for love?
Fence!
His unicorn’s warning came just in time. Angel slammed on the brakes.
As he parked, he thought again about Everly and the dilemma she posed. Could he leave? Might she stay? Exactly how painful would it be if they met once and then parted forever?
He abruptly realized that he’d gotten out of his car, greeted Mary Seely, and had been escorted to his patient without even registering that he’d done any of it. He forced his mind back on his job as he knelt before the ewe. He had patients to tend to.
To his relief, he found that once he started, he had no problem maintaining concentration. He delivered the stuck lamb, and once it was out, its twin slipped out on its own. The two lambs staggered to their feet, then wobbled straight to the right place and began to suck.
“Amazing how they know exactly where to go,” Mary Seely remarked.
“Instinct is a powerful thing,” Angel replied. “We have them, too. Do you ever just know something?”
“Oh, yes,” said Mary. “I’ve always known I wanted to be a farmer, ever since I was a little girl. Everyone told me it was a hard life, but I knew it would make me happy. And it has.”
I know something, too, Angel thought as he drove away from the farm. I know that I love Everly. What I don’t know is how she feels.
His unicorn gave a loud snort. Don’t be ridiculous. Of course she wants us. Especially once she sees me!
Angel wasn’t so sure about that. He’d asked her out for a picnic specifically so he could tell her he was a shifter, and then prove it. He wasn’t worried that she would have a problem with the concept of shifters in general, or with him being one in particular, or with his specific shift form. She already had a pet dragonette! He had a feeling she’d be thrilled and delighted to meet a real unicorn.
What he was worried about was that it wouldn’t matter. Sure, unicorns were cool. Even a flawed unicorn like himself would probably be amazing to someone who’d never heard of shifters before. But Everly had an entire life that had nothing to do with magic. He couldn’t ask her to give up her life’s work just because he looked pretty in the moonlight.
I look magnificent in the moonlight, his unicorn said loftily. And you’re forgetting the most important part. You’re her one true mate! No one would pick a truck of mystery fish over true love.
It’s more than a truck, Angel replied. Just like my job is more than a stethoscope.
His unicorn began to object again, but Angel interrupted, Be constructive. Help me put together the best picnic ever.
That stopped the argument in its tracks, as Angel had intended. While his unicorn happily murmured about pastries and blankets, Angel couldn’t stop worrying in the secret corners of his mind. A unicorn was a magical, wonderful thing, but a one true mate was a huge commitment. If he told her about that, would she run straight back to her restaurant? Worse, would she feel an obligation to be with him, even if it meant sacrificing her own dreams?
If you love something, you can’t lock it in a cage. If being with me will make Everly unhappy, I have to let her go.
Chapter 6
Everly hadn’t been this keyed-up over a date since…
Since ever, she realized.
Part of it was that she still wasn’t sure whether or not it was a date, which made deciding what to wear even harder. If it was a date, she wanted to look sexy. If it wasn’t, she wanted to look like she was going on a normal, totally platonic hike and picnic.
The decision had been taken out of her hands when she removed every single piece of clothing from her suitcase, and realized that she hadn’t brought anything sexy. Normal hiking clothes it was. Unless she rushed out and bought something…
“No,” she said firmly and aloud. “Everly, you are losing your mind. It’s just a hike. And it’s too late anyway. He’s probably already on his way.”
Rock gave a muffled squeak through a mouthful of collard. She was steadily munching her way through a leaf twice her size, its dark green contrasting with her sky-and-cloud coloring. Everly looked fondly down at the dragonette. She’d slept curled up atop the covers at Everly’s feet the night before, and had spent the morning fluttering around the living room floor and making vain attempts to gain enough height to reach the window seat or a chair or the bed or anything more than about six inches high.
Everly was giving serious thought to how she could possibly rearrange her work schedule to get more free time. She couldn’t miss this precious and no doubt all-too-short stage in Rock’s life. Probably she’d be flying like a pro in a month or less.
Still turning it over in her mind, she dressed in a tight-fitting pair of blue jeans, a white tank top that contrasted nicely with her skin and showed off her shoulders, and her hiking boots. She put on some plum-colored lipstick, double-checked that her hair looked nice, and decided to call it a day.
She popped Rock and the rest of the collard leaf in her purse, hefted the backpack full of the picnic things she’d purchased at the market the day before when she’d
gone to get Rock her raw meat and collards, and went down to the lobby with a stomach full of butterflies.
Once she was actually in the lobby, the butterflies turned into full-size dragonettes. Where was Angel? Was he late? Was she early? Was it a date? Exactly how crushed would she feel if it turned out that it wasn’t a date?
Extremely, she admitted to herself.
“Waiting for someone?”
Everly jumped a foot in the air before she saw that it was just Isa.
“Yes,” she said, without thinking.
“Oh?” said Isa, her eyebrows and tone conveying that she knew exactly why Everly was so twitchy. “Who?”
“Angel Rosado. We’re going hiking.” As soon as she said it, Everly regretted it. How in the world was she supposed to explain how she’d met him?
To her immense relief, Isa didn’t ask the obvious question. Instead, she gave Everly a mischievous girlfriend smile and said, “Oh, you’ll have a great time. Angel’s fantastic. It used to take me an hour to catch Opal to take her to the vet. She just knew when I was planning it and she’d hide. But once Angel joined the practice, she and Jewel started waiting by their carrier when they had an appointment, even though they must’ve known they were going to get shots. That’s how much they love him. See, they’ve figured out he’s coming.”
Sure enough, Jewel and Opal were waiting patiently at the door.
Everly was dying to know if Isa was one of the few who knew the secret of the town. Tentatively, she said, “It seems like your cats are psychic.”
Isa grinned. “Aren’t all cats?”
Everly’s phone buzzed. With a feeling of doom, she took it out.
CLEANERS WASHED OUR TABLECLOTHS, NAPKINS, ETC WITH BASEBALL TEAM’S RED UNIFORMS. EVERYTHING NOW BRIGHT PINK.
She considered this for a moment, then wrote, ORDER NEW EVERYTHING. USE PINK FOR TONIGHT. MAYBE WE’LL START A TREND.
She crammed her phone back into her purse as Angel strode into the lobby. He wore casual hiking clothes, but on him, they looked amazing. His faded blue jeans showed off his long legs and trim ass, and his white T-shirt was tight around the sleeves, giving Everly an excellent view of his strong shoulders and arms. But most of all, her heart lifted at the unselfconscious happiness that sparked in his eyes when he saw her.
“Everly,” he said. Once again, she marveled at the simple sound of her name on his lips. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Me too,” she replied.
“Hi, Isa,” said Angel. “Hi, Opal. Hi, Jewel.”
He held out his arms, and the cats jumped into them. Purring and kneading, they rubbed their faces against his and stretched upward to chew on his hair.
“Wow,” Everly marveled. “Animals really love you.”
Angel nodded and removed the cats. They went reluctantly, and he had to unhook a few claws.
“You match,” said Isa, looking from Everly to Angel.
“We do.” Angel spoke with such unexpected solemnity that it took Everly a moment to realize that Isa had meant their clothes. Both of them were wearing faded blue jeans and white shirts.
“Have fun!” The mischievous twinkle was back in Isa’s eyes, and she actually winked at Everly as she waved them out. It made Everly miss having a real girlfriend, someone she could call up and tell all the details about her dates or a bad day or just any day. Maybe she and Isa could stay in touch after she left.
Angel held the door open for her when they walked out, though the gentlemanly gesture became a lot less dignified when he immediately had to use his feet to fend off the cats that were attempting to follow him. Isa had to rescue him by scooping them up, whereupon Everly slammed the door on them.
“Whew,” said Angel. “Those cats of Isa’s are a handful.”
He shot a glance at Everly’s purse. She guessed that he was wondering about Rock, but some other people staying at the Come On Inn were within hearing distance, so she just nodded and agreed.
She’d caught a glimpse of him driving off for the lambing the day before, and for a moment she thought he was driving a different car. Then she realized that it was same one, but had been washed and polished until it gleamed. Maybe he did that every weekend, but she liked to think that he’d gone out of his way to make things nice for her.
He went to the passenger side of his car and held the door open for her, remarking, “Much easier without cats. Can I take your backpack?”
She handed it to him, and he put it in the back seat beside an old-fashioned wicker picnic basket. When he got into the driver’s seat, he didn’t start the engine immediately, nor did he speak. They just sat there, soaking in the moment of stillness. The closeness between them was palpable; she could feel the outline of his body without even looking at him, by her sense of his presence and the heat of the air. She could almost feel him breathing. Her own heartbeat was loud in her ears.
When he started the car and pulled out, the fraught intensity of that moment faded, but her awareness of his physical presence remained. He was so close. If they chose, they could touch. She longed so much to put her hand on his thigh that she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets.
“You can let Rock out, if you like,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can see her in the car, and we’re going to an out-of-the-way place. But please keep her in your lap while I’m driving.”
She opened her purse. Rock clambered out, still chomping the remains of the collard leaf. To Everly’s relief, she didn’t attempt to flap around the car. Instead, she perched on Everly’s knee, looking around alertly with her bright black eyes.
“Good girl, Rock,” Everly crooned.
Angel chuckled. “I’m getting to like the name.”
“When I was a kid, I got to name our new puppy. I named him Puppy.”
The chuckle became an outright laugh. “Did he grow up to be huge?”
“Yeah. He was a mutt from the shelter, but it turned out that he was part Saint Bernard. People used to crack up when they saw three little girls running after this enormous dog, yelling, ‘Puppy! Puppy!’”
“You have two sisters? Older or younger?”
“Both older. They’re lawyers now.” Normally she would have left it at that, but something about Angel made her feel comfortable revealing more. He was so easy to talk to, and she felt sure he wouldn’t judge her. “We grew up poor. No one in my family had ever gone to college or owned their own home, but my parents really wanted us to have a better life. They made so many sacrifices so we could be successful. My sisters got scholarships and went to college. I wanted to make my family happy, but by the time I was halfway through high school, I knew college wasn’t for me. I like doing things, not sitting and studying.”
“Me too. I really wanted to be a vet, but medical school was a big struggle for me. The only way I got through it was by keeping my eyes on the prize.”
“Eyes on the prize,” echoed Everly. “That’s exactly how I think of it. Keep my eyes on the prize, and make my family proud.”
“Are they?”
“Yes. It’s hard work, managing a five-star gourmet restaurant in a big city. They appreciate that, even without the college.”
“What’s the restaurant called?”
“Des Dieux a Tes Levres.”
“Whoa.” Angel made a whistling sound. “That’s a mouthful.”
“It means ‘from the Gods to your lips.’”
He whistled again. “How’s the food?”
“I’ve actually never eaten there,” Everly confessed. “I know that sounds weird, but even with an employee discount, it’s incredibly expensive. And it’s not really my kind of thing. Every dish has forty different ingredients and a million different steps. It gets great reviews, though.”
“Oh, good. I was starting to worry the picnic food I brought wouldn’t be fancy enough for you.”
She gave an inelegant snort. “Picnic food isn’t supposed to be fancy.”
He grinned, then slowed the car and pointed, letting her and
Rock watch a flock of wild turkeys strolling along the side of the road. The turkeys strutted into the woods, and Angel sped up again.
“What’s your family like?” she asked. “Any brothers or sisters?”
“Just me.”
“What about college? Were you the first to go to college, too?”
He gave a smile that looked a little pained. “The opposite, actually. My parents are both doctors. Dad’s a cardiologist from Mexico, and Mom’s a surgeon from Puerto Rico. They moved to California before I was born, kind of as a compromise.”
“How’d you end up living all the way across the country?”
He gestured, indicating Rock. The baby dragonette stretched her cloud-white wings and preened. “La Puerta is special. I’d have come here regardless. But honestly… I’m happy not to live too close to my parents and their, um, community. There were a lot of expectations on me.”
“Did they want you to be a doctor?”
He nodded. “My family’s been doctors for generations, on both sides. Literally for as long back as anyone remembers. I love being a vet, but they’re disappointed that I’m not a doctor.”
Everly felt instantly defensive on his behalf. “Animals need doctors too. And from what I hear, you’re a great vet. I bet you’re a better vet than you would’ve been as a doctor.”
Angel’s forehead creased as he considered that idea. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. I know I’m a lot happier as a vet than I would’ve been as a doctor. And if you’re unhappy in your job, eventually you burn out and either start doing it badly or quit.”
The conversation flowed easily as they drove up winding mountain roads, then up a bouncy dirt road. The open window let in the pine-scented air, and Everly breathed it in, along with Angel’s presence. They’d gone on this trip so she could quiz him about portals and magical creatures, but once they’d started talking, it turned out that there were other things she wanted to know even more. She wanted to learn more about Angel: his past, his present, his friends, his family, his favorite movies, what he liked to eat for breakfast.
