by Kim Fox
“We promise,” Pam said with a nod.
“I mean it,” Lauren said, her voice hardening. “You guys never saw that video. We came down here and didn’t see any shifters anywhere. Got that?”
They all nodded.
“Good,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go check out.”
After a few more hugs and several more apologies, they grabbed their packed bags and struggled to carry them down the stairs to the lobby.
Pam checked out and the four of them walked over to the car. “Shoo,” Pam said, waving her hand at the large raven sitting on the roof of her car. It cawed angrily at her before flying away.
“There’s always so many ravens around here,” Brenna said, looking around at the dozens of black birds with her nose all scrunched up. “I don’t like it.”
“I love it,” Lauren whispered under her breath. And that’s why she was staying.
“Aren’t you going to put your bag in the car?” Brenna asked when all of the luggage was packed in the trunk except hers.
Lauren was just standing there with her bag by her side.
“I’m not going,” she said.
She giggled when all three of them jerked their heads towards her, staring at her in disbelief.
“Huh?” Brenna said, tilting her head to the side.
Lauren glanced at the second trailer to the left as a wide smile spread across her face. “I’m staying here. With Ashton.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Pam said, pushing her.
Lauren took a step back from the shove, laughing at the look of shock on her friend’s face. “It’s true. He asked me to move in with him and I said yes.”
“But,” Brenna said, stammering as she stared at Lauren with wide eyes. “You barely know him.”
“I know enough,” Lauren said, feeling warmth radiating through her body like it always did when she thought of Ashton.
“He’s a gorgeous shifter,” Summer said, rolling her eyes at Brenna. “Of course, she’s going to stay. Wouldn’t you?”
“Probably,” Brenna answered with a nod of her head.
“What about your job?” Pam asked.
Lauren grinned. She couldn’t wait to call her boss to tell him where he could shove his cheesy job. “I’ll find a new one out here,” she said. “I was going nuts in the cheese factory anyways. If I have to smell one more block of Gouda, I’ll probably burn the place down.”
“And your apartment?” Pam asked, sounding like Lauren’s mother.
Lauren shrugged. “I’ll figure it out. It will all be okay.”
Pam didn’t seem so sure, but Lauren was. She knew that as long as she was with Ashton, everything would be okay.
“I’ll come back with Ashton in a week or two so that I can get my things and we’ll meet up,” Lauren promised.
Brenna and Summer said their goodbyes, giving Lauren a big hug each before getting into the car.
Pam was last, staring at Lauren with tears in her eyes. “I’m going to miss you,” she said, her chin trembling as she spoke.
“Don’t make me cry,” Lauren said, wiping her eyes that were suddenly getting watery as well. She and Pam had been best friends since the ninth grade. Lauren would miss her the most.
They gave each other a hug and a warm smile as they pulled away. “I’m really happy for you,” Pam said. “And a little jealous.”
“You’ll find a mate one day too,” Lauren said, nodding her head. “It’s fate.”
Pam gave her one last hug before getting into the car. Ashton walked over as they drove away, waving through the windows.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked Ashton as she waved back.
He slipped a muscular arm around her, sliding his hand into the back pocket of her jean shorts. I have my answer right there. This is the best idea.
“We’ll have to see,” Ashton said with a shrug. “Did I mention I snore like a hibernating bear in January?”
She elbowed his ribs playfully, hoping that he was joking.
“As long as you don’t clip your toenails in bed, we’ll be fine,” she said with a laugh.
“Toenails, no,” he said, rubbing his chin. “But I do clip my bear’s claws in bed. Is that going to be a problem?”
She looked up at him with a smile on her face. “I think I’m going to like living with you.”
“Good,” he said, hooking his arm through hers and pulling her away. “Because you’re stuck with me. Forever.”
Lauren had a constant smile on her face as they walked over to her new trailer with Ashton carrying her suitcase.
The crew was sitting around the campfire eating lunch and joking around. Everyone was there: Joan, Rhett, Cole, Jennifer, Rory, and now them.
I wonder when I’ll be a part of the crew.
“Lauren!” Joan said, waving them over. “Come and join us.”
Ashton laughed as they walked over. “What about me? Am I already forgotten?”
“You’re old news,” Joan said as Lauren and Ashton sat down in empty chairs around the circle. “I hear you’re moving in! Welcome to the crew!”
Lauren grinned, biting her lip as it finally hit her. No more boring life in North Dakota for her. No more cheese factory or depressing weekends alone. She was living in a crew of shifters and if anything, her life wouldn’t be boring anymore.
“Thanks,” she said, meeting everyone’s eyes one by one. “I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble on my first weekend here.”
“Not at all,” Rory said with a wide smile.
“Speak for yourself,” Cole said, stuffing a hot dog into his mouth. “You didn’t get shot eight times.” He winked at Lauren as he chewed.
“I’m sorry again, Cole,” Lauren said, feeling awful. “Are you okay?”
“He’s fine,” Jennifer said, placing a hand on his leg. “He was back to his rambunctious self when he got home.”
“We know,” Rhett said with a laugh. “All of Montana heard how ‘rambunctious’ he was last night.”
Jennifer turned red as she dropped her eyes in embarrassment.
The pretty redhead from the reception desk, Candice, walked over and smiled. “I’m all finished for the day,” she said, taking a quick glance at Rory. “The cash is all counted and there aren’t any more visitors checking in or out today.”
“Okay,” Joan said with a nod. “Good job today. You’re free to go.”
She gave Rory one last glance before turning and leaving.
“Ask her to stay,” Cole whispered, nudging Rory with his elbow.
Rory watched her go with his shoulders slumping down. “You know I can’t.”
Cole shook his head, exhaling in frustration. “That girl again? When are you going to wake up? Candice has a thing for you! I can tell.”
“Cole,” Jennifer said, placing a hand on his forearm. “Leave him alone.”
Cole just continued shaking his head as he stuffed the rest of his hot dog into his mouth.
“So what are you going to do for a job, Lauren?” Joan asked, sensing the tension and changing the subject. “Unfortunately we don’t have any openings or I would hire you in a second.”
“That’s okay,” Lauren said, playing with her short black hair. “Does anyone know if there are any cheese factories around here?”
They all looked at her funny.
“Kidding,” she said, taking the beer that Ashton handed her. “I’ll figure it out.”
She cracked it open and took a long sip. I better figure it out. She didn’t want to have to return home for a lack of job options.
“Guys,” Joan said, her face lighting up with a smile. “Do you know what this means?”
They all looked at her blankly.
“Our crew’s first mission has been a success!” she said, squealing in delight.
She raised her can of beer and clinked it with Cole’s. “We did it!”
“I didn’t think it would happen,” Cole said with a grin. “It was possibly history�
��s toughest mission ever.”
“Shut up,” Ashton said, blushing as Rhett and Rory joined in the laughter.
“What’s going on?” Lauren asked, looking around in confusion.
Ashton just stared at the fire with his cheeks burning hotter than the flames.
Joan grinned as she leaned over, raising her beer can towards Lauren. “Let’s just say that you are very welcome in the crew,” she said. Lauren clinked her beer with hers, still not understanding what was happening.
“You helped us complete our first mission,” Rory said, nodding his head like an enthusiastic puppy.
“Stop embarrassing the poor guy,” Rhett said with a laugh.
“Yes,” Ashton said. “Listen to the cop. Please.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Lauren asked, raising her voice.
Ashton sighed. “It had been a while since…you know…”
“No,” Lauren said, shaking her head. “Since what?”
“Since he got his little bear inside of a cave,” Cole said with his eyebrows raised.
Jennifer slapped his arm, telling him to stop.
“Oh,” Lauren said when it finally clicked. So, she wasn’t the only one who was in the midst of a dry spell when they met.
“It was a crew mission to get Ashton laid,” Rory said, just blurting it out. “And you helped!”
“If that’s what the missions are like around here,” Lauren said, “then sign me up for more!”
They all laughed as Ashton smiled at her, his cheeks returning to their normal color.
Joan raised her beer for a toast. They all followed her, lifting up their drinks.
She grinned before she spoke. “Everyone thinks that The Wilde Crew are fuck ups,” she said, lifting her chin proudly. “But we’re one and zero now for completed missions.”
They all slammed their beer cans together in a giant cheers.
Joan grinned. “Mission accomplished!”
epilogue
A month later…
“See you tomorrow, Kaholo,” Lauren said, waving to her coworker. He was busy picking something out of his matted dreadlocks as she walked to the door.
“Laters, Wailani,” he said, waving back to her. She smiled at the name. Wailani. Kaholo had given her a Hawaiian name and refused to call her anything else. It meant heavenly water, which she kind of liked so she didn’t mind.
“Don’t forget to bring in the rafts,” she said, stopping in the doorway. “I don’t want to have to swim out to get them again because you insist on smoking your brains out before every shift.”
“You should join me,” he said with a grin. “It might lighten you up.”
“If this place gets any lighter, it’s going to float away,” she said. “I get paid to be the responsible one and to keep you in check.”
“You do a good job, Wailani,” he said with a lazy salute. “I’ll go bring in the rafts now.”
Lauren smiled at him before closing the door. She gave it a fifty-fifty chance that he would bring the rafts in. There was a high probability that he would get distracted with the joint that he was hiding in his shirt pocket and forget.
She looked up at the sign over the door one last time and smiled before heading to the parking lot. It had been three weeks since she got a job at the white water rafting place and she had been loving every moment of it.
Kaholo was fun to hang around with, even though his laziness sometimes got on her nerves, and she couldn’t ask for a better location. The little cabin was right on the fast moving river, surrounded by lush forest with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. She loved talking to all of the tourists and giving the instructional training before Kaholo took them down the river. After the groups left on their rafting excursions, she would grab her lunch and eat it on the riverbank, watching the colorful birds chase each other in the trees while the river slopped and slurped in front of her. Sometimes Ashton would come and hang out with her. On hot days she would go for a dip in the cool water, careful to stay in the calm parts and away from the areas where the current could take her out.
It certainly beat slicing cheese all day.
But no matter how much she loved working there during the day, this was always the best part.
She hurried down the path with a skip in her step, her breath quickening when she saw him standing against the pickup truck looking sexy as usual.
“Hey, babe,” Ashton said, opening his arms as she ran into his embrace. He hugged her hard and kissed the top of her head. “I missed you. So much.”
“I missed you too,” she said, breathing in his rugged scent, which was making her insides swell with desire.
“Come,” he said, pulling away from her to open the door of the pickup truck. “I have a surprise for you.”
Lauren smiled as she climbed into the truck. “I like surprises,” she said, already giddy with anticipation.
She watched him with her heart fluttering as he closed the door and walked around the hood of the truck to the driver’s side.
Everything was going great with Ashton. Every day seemed to be better than the last as their love grew deeper and deeper with every morning that they woke up together.
It had been a month since she had been living on the Wilde Ranch and it had immediately felt like home. She couldn’t even picture living anywhere else now that she was so attached to Joan, Cole, Rory, Jennifer, and Rhett. Not too mention, Ashton.
He had driven her back to North Dakota the weekend before to grab the rest of her stuff and she felt like a stranger walking into her old apartment. It all felt so foreign and cold, so lonely and sad. She grabbed some of her stuff, dropped the rest of it off at a local charity, and left, happy that she never had to go back to that apartment building. Her new home was a million times better.
And her new roommate was one of a kind.
“This isn’t the way home,” she said, grinning as Ashton passed the road that led back to the Wilde Ranch.
“I told you I have a surprise.”
She licked her lips as her eyes traveled up his hard tattooed arms to his stunning face. Nobody looked as good as Ashton in sunglasses.
“You are full of surprises,” she said with a grin as she stuck her bare feet out the window, letting the fresh air massage her toes.
This whole adventure had been a surprise. A very welcome surprise.
She had been worried that she would have to spend the rest of her days alone in a shitty job, living in a boring town but Ashton had changed all that.
Lauren had never understood morning people before her trip to Colwood, Montana. She couldn’t comprehend why someone would jump out of bed in the morning and be excited for the day. But now, she was converted. She couldn’t wait to get out of bed at the crack of dawn and experience the wonderful days ahead.
She would get up every morning at sunrise and go for a long jog with Jennifer through the mountains. Sometimes Ashton and Cole would come along but it never took long before they got frustrated by their slow human pace and took off running far ahead.
“We’re here,” he said, parking on a dirt road that was on the side of a mountain.
Lauren looked around; down the slope of the mountain and up at the tall trees. “Are you sure?” she asked, “Because there’s nothing around here. At all.”
“Trust me,” he said, getting out of the truck.
Lauren smiled as she followed him out. She definitely trusted him.
He had saved her life when he came and rescued her from Matt, Paul, and James. The three of them had just pleaded guilty to kidnapping and attempted murder and had been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Lauren was relieved when she heard the news. “Maybe they can film a TV show about being the prison bitches,” she had said, thankful that they would be locked up for a long time.
“Where the hell are we going?” Lauren asked when Ashton ducked under a tree branch and began climbing the steep incline of the mountain. “There’s not even a path.”
“You live in Big Sky Country now,” he said with a grin. “Who needs a path?”
Lauren laughed as she followed him up.
It was a ten-minute climb to the top but the view of Ashton’s ass made the climb much easier and the spectacular view from the top made it beyond worth it.
“Wow,” Lauren gasped, slowly turning around and taking in the breathtaking three hundred and sixty-degree view. There were sparkling rivers snaking around the bottoms of the rolling hills and trees that were taller than most skyscrapers. She took a deep breath of the cool fresh air as she took in the stunning view, made all the better with Ashton by her side.
Could life get any more perfect?
It could and it did.
Ashton dropped to a knee and looked up at her with his brown eyes overflowing with love and happiness.
She stepped back, her hand flying to her mouth as she looked down at him in shock.
“Lauren,” he said, reaching into his pocket.
Lauren’s heart was drumming so hard in her chest when she saw him pull out a shiny diamond ring. He looked so happy as he held it up to her.
“Would you be more than my mate?” he asked while she held back tears of happiness. “Would you also be my wife?”
She dropped to her knees as the happy tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Yes,” she said, gazing into his eyes. “I’d marry you in a second.”
She laughed at the cute look of relief that came over his handsome face. He looked so thrilled as he stared at her that he forgot all about the ring that he was holding.
“Is that for me?” she asked, pointing to it with a grin.
“Maybe,” he said, smiling. “Let’s see if it fits.”
Lauren gave him her hand and he slid the ring onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly.
They kissed on the mountaintop, both feeling like the luckiest person on the planet.
Lauren had learned so much since arriving in Montana. She learned that shifters were real and so was true love.
It was a lesson that she would be thankful for until the end of her days.
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