by Meg Ripley
We knew were getting close when the cars started to appear, parked along the side of the road. We pulled into a dirt parking lot and were lucky enough to find a spot that didn’t require us to walk a quarter mile along the dark road. I felt nervous and looked around anxiously; I hoped he wouldn’t show. Then I’d have had held up my end of the deal, and my friends couldn’t complain that I hadn’t given him a shot. I could whine all night about being stood up and make them feel bad for me.
We walked in the direction that some of the crowd meandered toward and came to something of a clearing. There was a large fire, a few kegs of beer, and someone’s Bluetooth speaker playing a playlist of country rock songs. Not really my thing, but I wasn’t there to complain.
“We beat him here,” Julie said.
I shrugged. “Maybe he won’t show.”
“Not a chance,” Emma quipped.
We each got a beer and then stood off to the side. It didn’t take long for the guys there to notice that three single ladies had just walked in. We were like a target, much to my dismay.
Two guys walked over and started talking to us. I tried to ignore them, but Julie and Emma chatted away, laughing and smiling where appropriate until Emma went off to dance with one of them. The other walked off to get a beer and found himself caught up in a conversation.
“That didn’t take long,” I said, glancing at Emma and the guy she was now dancing with.
Julie nodded toward the other guy, who had now wandered off, out of sight. “He was into you.”
“Nah.” I sipped my beer and glanced at the small group trickling toward us through the trees.
“You really didn’t notice?” Julie asked.
“I wasn’t really paying much attention.”
She nodded. “So that’s it. It’s not that no guy has shown interest. It’s that you don’t pick up on it.”
I shrugged again. “I guess I don’t really care.”
She blew out a sigh, then grabbed my arm. “He’s here!”
I turned and saw Aiden walking toward us. Great. I forced a smile as he approached.
“You’re missing one,” he said.
I pointed to Emma.
He saw and nodded. “Glad you could all make it. I’m sure you’re used to fancy nightclubs and all, but this is what us locals do to unwind. You from the city?”
“I guess so? I mean, we went to school in Miami, but my family is from the outskirts. I’ve always considered myself more of a suburban girl than a city girl.”
“Well,” he said, letting his smile spread across his face, “that’s just my sort of girl. Woman, actually. You’re no girl.”
My face warmed and I glanced down at myself subconsciously. I turned toward Julie, and that’s when I noticed that she had ducked out of the conversation. I met her eyes from several feet away as she poured herself another beer and pretended to be enjoying some conversation with a few people by the kegs. She gave me an encouraging smile and turned her attention back to her new group.
I was on my own.
“So, you’re…from around here?” I asked.
“You could say that. Born and raised just a few miles down the road. My family and I are pretty tight. We stay close to each other and near the area.”
“That’s nice.”
Why was I so bad at these sorts of conversations? At dating at all? Must have been because I had no practice. Dating was much different in high school, and in college, I had already known Sam before we were alone together for any length of time. This whole concept of going out with someone I didn’t know had me baffled. Relationships really started out like this?
“What made you decide to take a boat ride today?” he asked.
“My friends and I are here camping at the park, celebrating our graduation. We wanted to do something that would give us a chance to see animals that we haven’t noticed around the park.”
“I love the Everglades. We’re so lucky to be so close to the park. I just wished I was more accepted there.”
I drew my eyebrows together. “You’re not accepted at the park?”
“Well, you know. Some of the rangers there don’t like the local folks very much.”
“Why would that be?”
“I don’t know. Technically, the boating company isn’t part of the park, it’s just off the property. We have permission to ride through the park, but the company is privately owned by my family. Maybe they don’t like the noise; who knows.”
That seemed strange to me, but what did I know of the area’s politics? “Oh,” was all I could say. It made sense. The rangers probably didn’t like how the boats disturbed the water and animals.
“Have you met any of the rangers?”
I lifted one shoulder. “Not really. We’ve just hiked and kept to ourselves for the most part.”
“There’s this one ranger in particular.” Aiden shook his head. “Owen something. He hates me.”
My heart jolted. He couldn’t be talking about the same Owen, could he? “Owen Bailey?”
Aiden straightened up. “I think that’s his last name. Do you know him?”
“I knew him in high school, but I haven’t seen him since—well, I saw him at the park, but I haven’t really talked to him in years.”
“I see. So, you know what I’m saying then. How much of a jerk he can be.”
“Oh, I… guess so. I don’t know.” Could he be a jerk? I didn’t know Owen now. People changed a lot in college. Maybe it was true.
“How well do you know him?”
“Not at all. We dated in high school, but like I said, that was years ago.”
“Do you know about his family and friends? His brother?”
This conversation was going to a strange place, and I didn’t like it. “I guess? I’ve met his brother.”
“What about his friend, Ezra?”
“Uhh… I don’t recall him having a friend with that name.”
“Do you know where he lives?” he asked. “Someone said he has a cabin just off the park’s land.”
“When I knew him, he lived outside of the city. I really don’t know.”
He nodded, thinking for a moment before he kept talking. “Guys like that just get to me, you know. I get that he’s a ranger. Or the main ranger or whatever his title is. I get it. I don’t have a fancy degree or anything. I just know the land from growing up here. They must not like it when locals know more than they do.”
I nodded absently; I really didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t want to be on a date, if that’s what it was, talking about Owen. And not in a way that was putting Owen down. He might have been a jerk, I didn’t know. But the Owen I knew wasn’t, and I didn’t want to think of him in that way, even if he had broken my heart.
“Have you been doing the boat thing long?” I asked. Maybe a different subject would be better.
“My family has had that business for over twenty years,” he said. “No thanks to the rangers who want to shut us down. Do you know that one time that Owen guy approached me and tried to stop me from coming onto park land?” He shook his head. “I say live and let live, you know? Why should he care if I want to make an honest living? Isn’t that what we all want to do?”
“That’s what I’m trying to do myself. This week, I’m hoping to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
“Right. For me, it was easy. My family has this business, so if I wanted it, the job was mine. I like giving tours, meeting people, showing off the area. I grew up here, so this is all home to me. I don’t think I should be chased out of it just because someone doesn’t like me.”
“No, I guess you shouldn’t.”
“So, you agree. This guy is a total jerk, and he needs to back off.”
“I…” I didn’t want to agree, but I also didn’t want to argue with the guy. Clearly, this bothered him. “I don’t know enough about the situation to make that call.”
“Well, if you see this Owen again, you tell him to let me be. I
never did anything to get in his way. I just want to run my tours and that’s it. Meet a nice lady, which I may have already done, have a nice life with her.” He smiled in a hopeful way.
“Right. That’s what we all want, I guess.”
“It doesn’t bother you that I don’t have a college degree, does it?”
“No. You have a livelihood. Seems like you enjoy it. You’re good at it, so…”
“Thank you. I like to think so. What was your favorite part?”
“Umm…” I really wished Emma and Julie hadn’t gone off and left me here. “I guess the baby gator. That was neat.”
He nodded. “It is quite rare. That wasn’t just tour talk. You’re lucky; you brought me luck.”
I picked at the edge of my cup. “I haven’t had too much luck lately, so that’s good.”
“I find that hard to believe. I almost didn’t work today, but something told me to just show up, that it would be good. And then you and your friends came walking along, and I knew I’d made the right call. Who needs a day off when you can spend time with a beautiful woman?”
I looked over the crowd, trying to locate Emma and Julie. I at least wanted to have an idea of where they were if I needed a quick getaway.
“Yeah, my brother and I—I have four brothers, if you can believe that—we all work on the boats. Giving tours, fixing them up, whatever needs to be done. My oldest brother even learned how to work the web site and all. We’re high tech now. Did you know you could book a tour online?”
“I didn’t, no.”
“You can. And there’s pictures, too. I took most of them. I like to think I’m somewhat of an amateur photographer. I noticed you taking a lot of photos today. That camera of yours is nice.”
“Thanks. I don’t really know much about it.”
“I’ve worked with cameras for a long time. I have one like yours—the newer model, but it works pretty much the same. Great for low light. I have some of the most gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.”
“I can imagine.”
“I’ll have to show you my collection. I have lots of photos framed and hanging in my house.”
“Nice.”
“I even had one printed in a local magazine,” he said. “Have you ever had a photo published?”
“I have not.”
“It was just a local thing, no big deal. But people around here thought it was a pretty big deal. I’ve sold a few copies of the print.”
“That’s…cool.” He went on talking about himself non-stop. His family, the business, even his ex-girlfriend. Like I wanted to hear about her. After about twenty minutes, I was ready to get out of there and never talk to Aiden again.
What was it Emma and Julie had said about me liking him? About him maybe being ‘the one?’ Were they high? There was no way I even wanted to spend another half hour with this guy, let alone go on another date. I finally spotted them across a crowd.
“Well, I should get back to my friends,” I said when there was a pause in conversation.
He glanced to see where I looked. “Already? I’m having such a good time talking with you. I thought we had a good thing going.”
“It’s just that we came together and, like I said, we’re on girls’ trip, so I should spend time with them.”
“Well, I have your number. Maybe once your vacation is over, we can go out on a real date.”
I nodded absently. “Umm… maybe.”
“It’s fate, don’t you think?” He smiled. “I’m Aiden, you’re Addie. Our names go together. Just like we should.”
“Yeah… I guess they do kind of go together…”
“I think you’re a really special lady.” He put his hand to my cheek and stepped closer.
Shit. I didn’t have time to step back. He leaned down, coming in for a kiss, and I pulled my head back suddenly before his lips could touch mine.
“I—I’m sorry, I just can’t,” I said, taking several steps back.
“What the hell?” his face broke into anger. “I thought we had a good time. You’ve been leading me on, and now you won’t even kiss me?”
“I just need to get back to my friends.”
I hurried away and almost ran to them.
“Here she is!” Emma held up a cup and whooped.
“Can we go? Now. Please?”
They saw my expression and exchanged a glance.
“Yeah, sure,” Julie said.
“Did he hurt you?” Emma asked. “Or get rude in any way?” She put her hand on her hip and glared in his direction. “I’ll kick his ass.”
“Nothing like that. I’ll explain. Let’s just get out of here. Please.”
With one of them on each side of me, we hurried back to the car, hopped in, and sped off.
7
Owen
I shouldn’t have gone. I get that now, but all I could think at the time was, not him. When Conner told me he saw Addie talking with Aiden Harvey and he asked her out, I was pissed. I hated to think of her spending time with that asshole, but it also meant I’d let her into my thoughts too much. My whole clan knew her face now, knew my feelings for her, knew everything. More than I wanted them to know. But it was too late.
Conner had been out on some kind of work errand and had been shocked to see the woman whose face had consumed my thoughts lately. Then he’d heard Aiden talking and the two of them making plans. He’d told me about it, not so much because he wanted to or thought he should, but because he’d been bothered enough by it that his thoughts reflected something. I’d had to convince him to give me details, and as the Alpha, he didn’t have much room to disobey. As my friend, he wouldn’t have held back information, either, if he’d thought it would help me. He hadn’t been so sure it would be good for me to know this, however.
So, I’d gone to the party. I knew about these get togethers; they happened all the time. We never went, though. We liked to hang out and party in the woods, sure. Who didn’t? But we didn’t do it with a bunch of locals. Bear clans tended to be tight knit and kept to themselves. Crocs, on the other hand, loved to be around people, scamming them however they could, taking full advantage of the people passing through.
Even the airboat gig was somewhat of a scam. Sure, people got to tour the Everglades by water, but the Harvey family who ran it charged far too much, and most of the animals seen on the tour were staged. Either put there on purpose or faked. I’d even heard rumors that they had a baby alligator statue that they put in the water, then claimed it was a rare sight and that group was extra lucky for seeing such a “rare” occurrence. I came across baby gators all the time; you just had to know where to find them. And it certainly wasn’t in an area where loud airboats passed through all day.
The rivalry between the crocodiles and bears of the Everglades was long standing, going back more years than either clan knew. Both wanted complete control over the land, though for different reasons. Each despised the other, though again, for different reasons. The bears had had their grasp on the park for decades and the crocs were all around it, just hovering outside the borders, waiting for their moment to slither in and wreak havoc. The conclave, which consisted of delegates of shifters of all types, helped keep both sides in check and stepped in if one side went too far.
There had always been issues with the crocs—usually not enough to go to the conclave over, but annoying, nonetheless. The day Addie showed up had started with Ezra telling me about their run-in with them the night before at a local bar. I was about ready to tell my guys to not even go out in public locally, but I wouldn’t punish my guys for something the crocs did. I chose not to go out often because I didn’t want to deal with it. And until now, my dealings with them hadn’t been too personal. Of course, messing with the member of one clan is like messing with all the members, but none had ever gone after something so precious to me.
I didn’t know if Aiden had any idea who Addie was to me. I didn’t know how he could, but it didn’t really matter why he was going for her. It only mat
tered that he was, and that she’d gone for it. She’d gone to the party with her friends and wandered off to spend time alone with Aiden. It even looked like he kissed her. Maybe they had a second one planned. Maybe they’d fall in love and get married, and everything I ever wanted out of life would be his instead of mine. Maybe I’d lost my chance forever.
How about getting a bite to eat? I’m starved. Mason, third in the chain of command within the clan, thought to me.
Then go eat, I responded. I don’t need a babysitter.
When they realized what I was doing, I’d found myself surrounded by the thoughts of my clan. They wouldn’t come to where I was unless I needed them to. Even my guys didn’t love partying so much that they’d subject themselves to an event thrown by crocs. They were worried I’d do something stupid. And so Mason had been assigned—probably by Ezra and Conner—to keep an eye on me through the night and make sure I didn’t start something they’d have to finish.
I just want to know you’re okay.
I’m fine, thanks. I’m going home to sleep. I ran up to my cabin and stood out front to stretch. Just got home, actually.
And you’re staying there?
That’s the plan.
I’m heading off to bed, too. Hit me up in the morning. I’ll do a perimeter run before work if you want.
That’s not a bad idea. I shifted back to human form and dressed. But as I sat in my cabin, trying to concentrate on the piece of wood I was whittling, I couldn’t stop my mind.
Addie didn’t know Aiden. She didn’t know all these croc guys were bad news. Wouldn’t she want to know if she were getting herself mixed up with a bunch of assholes? The Addie I knew wouldn’t have wanted to be around people like that. I thought I should just go tell her. Just as a concerned friend. To let her know what the truth was.
I got up and paced the room. Would I come off as too…controlling? I had no right to tell her what to do. If I went to talk to her and warn her of her new boyfriend, it would seem like I was just being jealous, trying to keep her from being happy. I needed a way to tell her that wouldn’t make it seem like I just didn’t want her to date. Maybe I could fix her up with someone.
