Christmas, Pursued by a Bear
Page 16
“It’s not every day the city council decides to have an emergency, in-person meeting this close to Christmas,” Felix agreed. “They must be backing out of the contract.”
“Wouldn’t that just be the best Christmas present?” Delilah asked, still limping slightly, but leaning on Luke.
Anita nodded. “It would be unbelievable.”
“Are you here for the meeting?” a harried assistant asked, standing with the door wide open. “They’re just finishing up.”
“What? They told us ten in the morning!”
“Yes, for the open session. Their closed session with the legal team began at seven.” They ushered the group in, tucking a stray lock of platinum blond hair behind their ear. “Now, if you’ll just follow me, it’s right through here.”
“I don’t know if this feels good, or bad,” Cat whispered into Andie’s ear. “It really feels like it could go either way.” She interlaced her fingers with Andie’s and squeezed gently.
“It’s going to be fine, I bet,” Andie replied.
“Hello, hello, please come in,” one of the council members said, a grumpy looking man in a bright green elf hat like he’d been yanked straight out of a festive party that had gone on into the wee hours of the morning. “I’m sure we’d much rather all get this over with and get back to… whatever we were doing.” He cleared his throat and gestured for them to sit down. “I know you may all be wondering why we asked you here this morning, this very early morning,” he said, casting a sideways glance at one of the other members. “After the footage at Pine Meadows Reserve garnered attention from local and regional media outlets, it seems as though last night’s events went viral.”
“Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to ask if anyone wanted anything to drink,” the assistant said, a notebook in their hand.
“Lou, forget the drinks, we want to make this short and sweet. I know you want to get home to your family, too. Just collect their paperwork, if you don’t mind. Thank you.” As Lou backed out of the room, the council member continued. “As I was saying, it’s become clear that Syndicorp was caught violating certain terms of the contract with regard to flora and fauna preservation. This story is gaining traction, but they wish to… change the narrative, so to speak.”
“We’re listening,” Cat said, leaning forward in her chair.
“Syndicorp has offered you all a modest cash settlement to keep your words out of the press. We know that Ms. Zanetti’s footage is where much of this is coming from.” He turned and looked at Andie. “Your friend at the paper wasn’t shy in extolling your many talents as a photographer.”
“How modest is modest?” Anita asked.
Lou came back in with crisp white envelopes, all sealed from end to end, each with one of their names scrawled across in green ink. They set the envelopes on the table and perched on the nearby stool. “Please, take your envelopes. If you wish to accept, you will be asked to sign a simple agreement.”
“And if we don’t accept?”
“Then we would reach out to Syndicorp’s legal team.”
Andie tore hers open, and her heart jumped into her throat. It was enough to pay her rent for a whole goddamn year. “I can’t take the footage down, not really, it’s all over the internet by now.” Annoyingly, most outlets had used her footage without her consent or paying her.
“No need.” The councilman slid a stack of contracts across the desk. “I can also say, Ms. Zanetti, that the local paper is looking for a regional photographer. It’s my understanding they have their door wide open for you, should you be interested. As for the reserve, we’ve become aware that a crowdfunding effort has taken off, and while nothing will be finalized until the new year, it looks like it will not only be keeping the area previously let to Syndicorp, but it will be doubling its size. We’re to understand that Ranger Dade over there is undertaking major efforts for conservation and tourism, and to build out the existing camping pitches. As such, we will be allotting a much larger portion of the city’s budget to the park, and we will be needing some help. We are in need of on-site nursing staff on a flexible, rotating schedule with two others, as well as a graphic designer and laboring work, electrics, you know, the works.”
“So basically, you’re bribing us,” Anita said slowly. “To not go to the press with what we know about Syndicorp. Even though the story broke last night.”
“They are hoping that without further media coverage, the story will die down considerably.”
“What are they going to do, head to the next place with a nice view and set up shop there?” Anita shook her head. “It’s bullshit.”
“The plans for this particular development have been put on hold indefinitely. They may decide to go in another direction entirely, as most reserves and parks won’t want them within ten miles. They’ve also sold their commercial properties in town back to an independent community fund.”
Luke snorted. “Good.”
“That means the cafe is safe,” Andie said, pulling out her phone to text Mara.
Anita looked in her envelope again, and then back at her sister. “This could really change things for us,” she whispered. “And you get to be a nurse.”
“Fuck it,” Cat said, wiping a tear from her eye and snatching the papers from the desk. “Merry Christmas to us.”
* * *
Money couldn’t buy happiness, but it sure as hell helped. When Andie sat down at the table on Christmas day, she nearly cried tears of joy. Food, piled so high you could barely see who was sitting across from you. Laughter, joking, and the best goddamn turkey she’d ever eaten. Felix said the secret was a three-day brine with aromatics. All Andie knew was that she’d be sneaking over more often when he was cooking. Cat rested her hand on Andie’s knee beneath the table, giving her a gentle squeeze of reassurance every now and then.
“It’s time for presents!” Anita squealed, skidding across the faded linoleum tiles in her fluffy socks.
“When did you get time to go shopping? We were only not broke as of yesterday morning!” Cat called after her with a laugh.
“I’m efficient! Come on!”
They all piled into the living room, while Andie stacked the dishes in the sink. “You too,” Cat said, pulling her gently.
“Okay, first present goes to Delilah, because she’s the youngest,” Anita declared, tossing a shallow box tied with a bright green bow. “This is from the Bears.”
Delilah eagerly tore at the paper, tossing the top of the box aside. “Bear pajamas,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears.
“We filed the rest of the paperwork on the way home yesterday,” Cat said. “We have to wait until after the holidays, but it looks like we’ll be your official guardians.”
Luke stood proudly in the doorway with another box. “This one is from me and Felix,” he said, handing it over. “Sorry it’s not wrapped.”
“Caramel syrup!” Delilah said, laughing. “My favorite! Thank you!” She wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve. “Thank you, all of you. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
“Good things come to good people,” Anita said, beaming. “Andie, we got you something, too.”
“For me?” Andie took the box and shook it gently.
“Just open it!”
She tore at the glittery tape at the seams of the paper, exposing the crisp white box underneath. It smelled like a department store, and when she pushed aside the crunchy tissue paper, she raised an eyebrow. “Koala pajamas?”
“Yeah. Not a real bear, but everyone sort of associates them with bears, anyway. We thought it kind of fit.”
“Does that mean I’m allowed to date your sister?”
Anita rolled her eyes. “Please. It’s not like Cat ever listens to what I say anyhow. But, yes. If you’re asking for my blessing, you’ve got it. You really went to bat for us, Andie. We don’t forget stuff like that.”
“Welcome to the den, Andie,” Felix said with a grin. “We hope you’ll stick around.”
Epilogue
Andie hung the photograph on the wall opposite the door in her apartment, straightening it gently.
“I’m proud of you,” Cat said, wrapping her arms around her waist. “It’s a beautiful picture.”
“I’ve already had emails from magazines asking me how the hell I managed to get a photo of five bears playing in a blizzard in December.”
Cat shrugged. “It was fun. I suppose now you’ll be wanting to take trips to parks all over the place to photograph other wildlife.”
“Mm,” Andie nodded, leaning back into the embrace. “I’d like it if you came with me, though.”
“I’ll put a time off request in at work. If you wait until spring, I’ll have some paid time off banked.”
“Consider it done.” Andie squinted out the window at the bright night sky, and the moon rising over the horizon. “It’s almost time,” she said. “Did you want a lift to the reserve?”
“Nah. Tired.” Cat released her and slipped her dress over her head, folding it over a hanger on the back of the door. “Think Daisy will mind?”
“She’s asleep.”
Andie turned the lights off, smiling at the gentle flickering Christmas lights she still hadn’t taken down, even a month later. She put a video of a fireplace on the television, and set a huge bowl of apples on the floor, atop the new plush rug she’d bought.
When the huge Bear lumbered over and flopped down on the rug, Andie snuggled against it with a happy sigh, giggling at the soft snaffling sounds as it crunched through the apples. They were her favorite. For once, everything was going to be okay.
About the Author
First, I have to thank my wife, whose tireless enthusiasm and encouragement are what push me back to writing even on days I feel like I never want to write another word again.
Another huge thanks to my Sunday morning writing group, without which I’d sleep until noon on the weekends and never hit word count.
And finally, I want to thank YOU, the reader, for using your precious time to read this book. I hope you will join me in my steampunk sapphic space pirate series, The Cricket Chronicles, out now.
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Also by Ryann Fletcher
The Cricket Chronicles, out now, is a sapphic steampunk space pirate series.
Deus Ex Mechanic, Cricket Chronicles book 1
https://books2read.com/deusexmechanic
Alice is the best mechanic the corrupt Coalition regime has ever seen. When she’s kidnapped by an infamous vigilante space pirate named Violet, she has to make the hardest decision she’s ever made: escape back to the comfort of the Coalition, or risk everything to fight injustice?
When Violet decided to ransack Coalition vessels, she never though she’d have to fight her feelings for Alice, too. Will giving into an affair with the treasonous mechanic cloud her judgment and jeopardize the safety of her crew?
As they fight side by side against ruthless rival pirate captain Leo and his crew, will they grow closer together, or will everything fall apart and leave them stranded in dark space?