by Haley Weir
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Dorian’s Reward:
Kodiak Dating Agency I
By: Haley Weir
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Table of Contents
Dorian’s Reward
Where to Read More From Haley Weir & Get Free Books
About the Author
Dorian’s Reward
CHAPTER ONE
Haden Springs, Wyoming
The bell above the bookstore chimed as Jenny Owens pushed her way through the throng of customers. She held her chin high and sauntered over to the counter to greet her friend, Destiny Collier, who was the owner of Books & Baubles. Destiny squealed happily and lunged over the counter to pull her friend into a big hug. “Jenny! I’m so happy you’re finally here.”
“I couldn’t be the only one of us girls not living in Haden Springs, could I?” she said in her usual aloof manner. Jenny and Destiny were like night and day, but they were the best of friends. Where Jenny was tall with fiery red hair, full lips, and big green eyes, Destiny was short with dark hair and brilliant hazel eyes. Swathed from head to toe in the very best handcrafted, vintage inspired pinup clothing, Jenny was an intimidating woman.
“I’m sorry to hear about the breakup,” Destiny said sympathetically. “You were so in love and he’s a monster for the way he treated you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Besides, I don’t believe in love, you know that.” Jenny left Destiny to tend to customers and strolled toward the back room where the book club meetings were hosted, her heels clicking against the tile as she went. Voices exploded from the room the instant the door opened. Jenny tried her best not to roll her eyes at her eccentric friends.
Sapphire White was the clumsy rebel of the group. Her hair color regularly changed and she fancied herself something of an activist. She was constantly between jobs, but always wrote poetry and sold hand-made crafts to make ends meet. Jenny’s nose scrunched up in distaste at the sight of the garishly patterned flowing skirt and endless strings of beaded jewelry that her friend wore. On top of the terrible sense of fashion, Sapphire had a ridiculous love for cats and causing trouble.
“You look spiffy, Jen! Did you have trouble finding the place?” Sapphire asked with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
“No, I didn’t and you know that. This town isn’t on any of the maps you sent me and I couldn’t find it on the ones online, either. The only reason I found it was because Tilly called me and told me how to get here.”
“Well, it isn’t on any map you could find. I was the first one to move here, after all, and I think I did pretty well.”
“The only reason you found Haden Springs was because you’re friends with Brock Wasting and he invited you here,” Jenny retorted dryly, not wanting to humor Sapphire anymore than what was necessary. She turned her attention to Tilly Riker.
“Hey, doll,” Tilly said. “I know it was a long drive, but I’m glad you’re here. Have you had time to see the house?”
“No, I stopped by the lounge to meet my new boss and then came right over here. I’ll see it later, but right now the movers are doing their thing.” Jenny looked around the small space and thought it looked cozy. There were two settees at an angle, facing a cream-colored wingback chair, a gorgeous eighteenth century rug covered most of the floor, and a table sat at the center filled with tea and little nibbles for the meeting.
The Ladies In Waiting Book Club was the one thing that brought them all together, no matter where they were in their lives. Whether the meetings were held on a live chat or in person, they never missed one. The ladies still called one another and emailed frequently, but it was nice to gather somewhere and have a long chat about their favorite books.
They all met during their freshman year in college when Destiny handed out flyers to join the book club. Jenny decided to go out of pure boredom, but Sapphire and Tilly had always loved books. It took her a few months to warm up to the other ladies, but eventually, Jenny found herself opening up to them in ways she had otherwise avoided throughout her life. She was always on the defense, never wanting to give anyone information that could be used to hurt her.
For a long time, Jenny dreamed of a life in politics. But her passion was music. Jenny was a phenomenal singer and performed in bars to make money throughout college until she earned her Political Science degree. But when it was all said and done, she gave it up to pursue her singing. She had even signed with a record label at one point.
It didn’t take long, however, to realize her true calling Jenny became a blues singer at private lounges and entertained gentlemen who preferred the music of a bygone era. She loved every second of her job. When she heard that all of her friends were moving to Haden Springs, Jenny searched for work nearby and came up with nothing. Haden Springs, Wyoming was not even on the map. It was Destiny who found Jenny work at the Blue Velvet Room, a local blues and jazz lounge that was perfect for Jenny’s style.
“So, what have you been up to, Saph?” Jenny asked, taking a seat on one of the settees. “Anything new going on?”
“Well, yesterday I tripped in the grocery store and got a concussion. I woke up in the clinic, but I was all right. They all know me there by now. It was quite fun after a while when the meds kicked in. I was a bit loopy and the nurses thought I was a riot.” Sapphire was the sort of person who could trip on flat ground without even a harsh wind to push her over. She never fell gracefully, either. It was always an explosion of bad luck.
“You should try to be more careful,” Tilly lectured. “I can’t imagine what that doctor thinks of you. He probably suspects that you do it on purpose just to see him. Not to mention, the medical bills must be through the roof.”
“I’ve actually fallen through a roof once, but it was no biggie. Are you talking about Dr. McKinney? Nah, he refuses to see me because he’s friends with the King of Jerk Mountain.”
“You’re going on about Michael Adair again?” Jenny asked with a quick roll of the eyes. “Seriously, Saph, you’re best friends with his brother. Can he really be that bad?”
Sapphire grabbed a handful of tea cookies and sat beside Jenny. “You’re the Ice Queen, so maybe you could get along with him, but not me. I’m comfortable hating him for all of eternity.”
Destiny came in during the end of Sapphire’s rant and huffed. She collapsed onto the wingback chair. “I’m closed for the rest of the day. I can’t seem to concentrate. Let’s just get to the book and we can—”
“No, I want to talk about Jenny finally getting rid of Señor Handlebar Mustache. The hair quiff and three-piece suits were so obnoxious,” Sapphire complained.
“His taste in fashion isn’t what broke us up, Saph.”
“Then what was it?” Sapphire looked genuinely confused. “What do they know that I don’t?”
“I didn’t want you to worry. I know you never liked Zach and you probably would have killed him if you knew before I moved here,” Jenny hedged. “It isn’t that big of a deal, really. I suspected he was cheating on me, but I never expected to actually walk in on it.”
/> “Not a big deal!” Sapphire shouted, jumping to her feet. “Who was it?”
“Sandra.”
“His secretary?! That skinny little—” the rest of the verbal barrage was cut off by Tilly’s hand. She kept it in place until Sapphire calmed down once more. “What did he say when you confronted him?”
“There was nothing he could say. I just calmly packed my things and stayed at a hotel until it was time to move here.”
“But it was your house. He should have been the one to leave.”
“The house wasn’t worth it. After what he said at the airport, I couldn’t stand the sight of him anymore.” Jenny bit her lip and looked away guiltily. She hadn’t told any of her friends about her altercation with Zach before she left. Their eyes stared at her expectantly until she relented. “He said he was never attracted to ‘plus-sized women’ and that I shouldn’t expect him to be. That allowing him to sleep with Sandra was my duty as a good girlfriend.”
“He did not!”
“Yes, he did. He said he loved me, but he didn’t love my body.” Jenny had never been ashamed of her fuller figure and neither had her friends. They were all curvy with thick thighs, wide hips, and soft tummies. “I didn’t love him, not in the way I should have, so leaving him wasn’t that difficult.”
“You’re right, I would have killed him.”
“I’m ready to move on with my life,” she announced simply. “I’m starting a new job in a new town and I’m surrounded by my friends who support me. Things could be worse.”
“Does that mean you’re ready to start dating again?” Tilly asked.
“No, that’s not what I meant. Let’s just carry on with our lives and not look backward. So, what did you ladies think about the vampires?”
The conversation switched to book club matters and everyone chimed in with their opinions. Jenny particularly enjoyed books with headstrong heroines. In the middle of the discussion, a piece of paper slipped out from between the pages of Destiny’s book. She bent forward to pick it up and gasped. “This is perfect!” she said happily. “It’s an advertisement for the Kodiak Dating Agency. We should all sign up together!”
“I don’t think so,” Jenny responded. “I’m not interested.”
“I think it's a great idea. It matches people locally, so whose to say that we’ll even get responses. Most of the men here in town are already married. Come on, it’ll be fun just to try it and see what happens,” Sapphire added.
Tilly cocked her head and thought about it for a while, but she agreed in the end. With everyone else excited, it was hard for Jenny to put up a fight. “Fine. I’ll sign up with you guys, but that doesn’t mean I’ll actually use the service.”
Sapphire jumped up and down, causing her beaded jewelry to sound like wind chimes. Jenny sighed heavily and put the entire thing out of her mind for the rest of the day. She drove home and barely paid any attention to her new house. Instead, Jenny unpacked her things and strapped herself into a corset that accentuated her curves rather than hiding them. Next, she slipped into a red dress that matched her hair and lipstick.
Once the ensemble was complete, Jenny went down to the Blue Velvet Room. The air in the lounge was thick with aftershave and cigar smoke, just the way she liked it. Gentlemen graced the seats near the stage or sat at the bar, dressed to the nines. Playboys in fedoras whistled as she strutted between the tables. When Jenny Owens hit the stage, a sultry seductress took her place.
Drums, piano, saxophone, and guitar laid down a lazy groove for her to sing to. The room quieted down and Jenny was filled with the power of knowing that every man in the room was staring at her red-pained mouth or the curves of her body as lyrics dripped from her lips. With a wink and a slow brush of her gloved hand up her arm, she weaved her spell around them like a siren luring sailors into a watery grave at sea.
CHAPTER TWO
The doors to the clinic burst open as Dorian Chandler pushed the stretcher into the emergency room. “There was a fire up in the hills. First responders reported severe smoke inhalation, but his lung collapsed before the fire even started.” Dorian rattled off as much information as he could to the doctor before the stretcher was taken from him and the nurses took over. He was covered in black soot and his chest burned from running as he carried the patient down from the hills at the base of the mountain.
There were times when he hated his job. At first, being an EMT for Station 9 was the most excitement Dorian had experienced since moving to Haden Springs. But each day he saw things that made it hard to sleep at night. Now, the only thing he liked about the job was being able to use his abilities without having to explain himself. Haden Springs had its fair share of outlandish tales about mythical beasts, but those tales became a reality when Dorian and his friends moved to town.
He remembered the day that his group of friends discovered that they were different. Michael, Brock, Dorian, and Anders were chasing each other through the woods after a juvenile prank got out of control. Michael and Brock had always had animosity between them, but that was the first time Brock had ever punched Michael. As soon as the hit connected, Michael shifted into a bear and nearly killed his brother. Dorian had been so scared that he couldn’t move.
But one by one they discovered that they all could shift into bears. None of them knew what caused it, but Anders always made Spider-Man jokes whenever they went to the zoo. Movies and comic books made them too afraid to tell anyone for fear of becoming freaky government experiments, so they grew up and ultimately grew apart. Hiding who they really were was always a struggle, but it got worse when Anders began shifting unwillingly whenever someone needed saving.
Tragedy triggered the change more than anything else, so they reunited in an effort to stay hidden. Haden Springs was the perfect place: no outsiders had ever heard of it. The friends stumbled upon the little town during a hike through Wind River Range and never left. The locals were protective of them and spoke of Native American spirit animal protectors, but none of the friends paid too much attention to the gossip. All they knew for sure was that they were unique and they had to survive with their secrets.
Dorian caught sight of himself in the reflection on the automatic doors of the emergency room and grimaced. He exited the building the same way he came in and hopped in the back of the ambulance. The ride was quiet. No one ever felt like talking after being faced with the possibility of death. Dorian always took it hard when he thought he might lose someone on his shift. When they arrived at the fire station, he waved to the other guys and made his way to the bunkhouse. Brock Wasting sat on his bunk waiting for him to return.
“I heard it was a rough night,” grumbled one of his best friends. Looking at Brock always required some adjustment. His appearance was jarring at first glance with his light silver-grey eyes and dark hair. The contrast was exotic and captivating. “We all go through it, man. I’m just glad the guy survived.”
“Yeah, but it was another fire in the wilds. That’s three in the past month and it isn’t even the season for it. I’m telling you, we need to have the fire marshall look into things. It has to be arson.”
“The folks of this town won’t allow some state fire marshal to come poking around their mountain. They trust us with their safety, so whatever happens it’s got to be done by us. The other guys at this station are good, but…we have an advantage,” Brock said suggestively. Out of the group, he was the one who was the most comfortable with his abilities.
“We can’t do anything yet,” he argued. “If Michael were to find out that we shifted on purpose and potentially put the town in danger, he’d have us publicly executed. There’s a reason we put him in charge of our group. He’s the most reasonable when it comes to this stuff.”
“Don’t you think sometimes he’s...too reasonable? If shifting at will to investigate these fires is what it takes to keep the town safe, then that’s a chance we’ll have to take.” Brock began to pace, becoming visibly agitated, which was not safe in a crowded town.
He caught himself, took a few deep breaths and sat back down on the bed. “Look, all I’m saying is maybe we go out in pairs. One of us can shift and the other can be there as a defense.”
“Anders and I don’t have as much control as you and Michael. If you shift and endanger us, we risk triggering the change in ourselves. It’s...complicated.”
“We aren’t mindless beasts, we can still function in our other forms.”
“I know,” Dorian said. “But it’s hard to stop and change back. For some of us, that power is addictive, Brock. And there might come a time when we don’t want to shift back. The strength, the motion sensory, the hunting…it’s all so freeing. I’ve waited a long time to be free.”
“So, you’re telling me that Mr. Movie Star, Mr. Prince Charming with the blond hair and blue eyes that ladies fall all over themselves just to get a good look at wants to be free of his humanity?”
“I didn’t say that. I said that it’s hard. That’s all.” Dorian put his things into his locker and stripped down to hit the showers. When he came back to the bunkroom, Brock wasn’t there to lecture him anymore, so he lay back on his mattress with the intent of falling asleep. However, sleep hadn’t come easily to him. Since he first shifted, Dorian started having nightmares that included a woman with red hair burning in a fire.
Those images haunted him: a beautiful face pulled into an expression of agony as flames consumed it, but then he would wake up before the rest of the nightmare unfolded. Dorian never told anyone about the dreams and often made excuses about his insomnia. He closed his eyes reluctantly and let the sound of the ticking clock lull him to sleep.
But that night, the beautiful woman with red hair didn’t perish in a fire. Dorian had been there to save her at the last minute and finally got a better look at her face. Lovely full lips were painted a raspberry color that made her green eyes pop against a sun-kissed complexion. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even if she only existed in his mind. But something in his heart told Dorian that the woman was real.
