by Sky Winters
When her alarm went off at five-thirty, after the longest night of her life, she had managed to log zero hours of sleep.
Thankfully, during her insomnia, she had packed, checked, and rechecked her backpack, and laid out her outfit for the day. A hike called for casual and comfy, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t wear a snug pair of shorts and a form fitting tank over her sassy new bikini.
The drive to the state park mercifully, took only a few minutes so the jitters didn’t have that long to ramp up. She pulled up next to a cherry red ’65 Chevy pickup that had been lovingly rebuilt. A beat up yellow surfboard looking cheerfully caked in sand, greeted Jana as she stepped out of her car. Staring at the beautiful old truck helped her forget her nerves; temporarily anyway.
A voice tickled the back of her neck, “Are you Jana?”
She whirled around, clutching her chest, to find a pair of sparkling blue eyes smiling down at her. As her focus and heartbeat came back she could see that those eyes were part of a very handsome whole. He had high cheekbones and a straight bridge nose, and the cutest dimple in his chin. The man had a very old Hollywood look about him that was quite fetching. “Yes. I’m Jana.” She held her hand out for a shake.
He took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “I’m happy to meet you, Jana. I’m Stephen. I’m so glad you could make it.”
The tense formality between them hung heavy in the air. Stephen could tell Jana was waiting for him to say something else. He wanted to tell her she was beautiful. He could tell her something poetic about the way the sunrise glinted off her hair, making it shine like threads of gold, but that was corny. He could tell her how hard it was to maintain eye contact because the shape of her legs made his head spin and his heart race. She had the strongest looking thighs he’d seen on a human woman, and it took every ounce of restraint not to think about spreading them.
When she popped up on his profile, all innocent smile and come-hither stare, he knew he had to meet her. He found her constant moving about intriguing as well. When he initially found her, Jana was in Portland. Once he decided to message her, she was in Newburg, and when he finally heard back from her, she was in Pacific City, which made him wonder; was she a vacationer or a runaway.
He peered over her shoulder into her car. The backseat was jam packed with bags and boxes. Runaway.
Jana’s husky voice pulled him back to Earth. “Since it’s such a nice day, let’s hit the trail. Should I follow you?”
“Oh yeah. Yes, of course. Let’s go.” The idea was to get to know her free from distractions and the rest of the world, but what he hadn’t considered was if things went wrong and they were in the middle of the woods somewhere. They wouldn’t be able to get away from each other. Why he hadn’t thought of it before startled him. He just figured things would automatically go well. They always did for him where women were concerned. The problem was, none of them were the right woman.
Jana took a deep breath and followed a couple of steps behind him. In her insomniatic state she spent some time researching Cape Kiwanda and the entire Three Capes Loop. Part of the trail snaked along a cliff side, most of which was fenced, which created a guideline for hikers to follow. The fence idea looked good on paper, but she still found one recent news article about a couple who ignored the trail warnings, hopped the fence, and slid to their deaths into the choppy Pacific. That story alone was the stuff of nightmares and Jana didn’t doubt it played a part in why she couldn’t sleep.
Stephen led her on the trail down to the beach. “Just so you don’t think I’m leading you to your death or anything, we’re going to head north to Tierra del Mar for a picnic breakfast.”
Oh, how lovely! Jana was pleasantly surprised at the romantic thought. And he wasn’t trying to kill her; double score! She looked forward to breakfast on the beach followed by a little swimming, and if things went well, maybe a roll in the sand. She flicked her gaze to scope out Stephen’s high tight ass. The man clearly spent a lot of time hiking.
After traveling for a few minutes, Jana needed to run the silence off. “So what do you do?”
“Oh, a little of this and a little of that. I retired from the military a few years ago with a healthy pension and a smart retirement account so I travel and take on the occasional odd job for something to do.” She didn’t need to know what kind of odd jobs he took.
“So, you’re a handy man?”
“Something like that. What about you? What do you do, Miss Jana?”
What a good question. At the moment she was working on a Master’s in running and hiding. “I’m in real estate, but I’m taking a much-needed vacation. Pacific City is just the first stop on my West Coast road trip.”
“You picked a great place to visit. I grew up here so I’m what you’d call, an expert.”
“Is that so? Well, while I’m here, maybe you could be my official tour guide.” Jana stopped in her tracks. Where had that come from?
“That might not be such a bad idea.”
Jana and Stephen continued their walk down to the coast and the view stole Jana’s breath away. Golden rock formations sprung up out of the ground around them, casting their long shadows into the Pacific Ocean. They created a sightline, drawing the eye to the vast blue expanse of water, stretching out until it spilled over the horizon line and out of sight.
Stephen pulled Jana closer to him. “If you look out over here,” he pointed to a massive monolith rising out of the waves like a Titan. “That’s Haystack Rock. It’s almost impossible to get a photo here without catching that beast in the frame.”
His hand lingered on Jana’s shoulder, but she hardly noticed. Her date was being totally upstaged by the splendor all around her.
“Come over this way and we’ll eat.” Stephen dropped his pack near the foot of a sand dune that had to be close to four stories high, and laid down a striped, natural texture blanket.
Jana waited on the sidelines, watching Stephen prep for breakfast. The age difference between them still nagged at her a bit, but that voice was being stifled by the part of her that was excited at the prospect of a man who could take care of not only himself, but maybe her too.
It’s not like she was one of those women whose goal was to be in a leisurely situation. It was most definitely not. She’d lose her mind if she didn’t work. Besides, here were too many ugly homes in the world for her to quit. However, to see that she could potentially find a partner, was huge and frankly, gave her hope for her relationship future. “Do you need a hand with anything?”
Stephen stood up and brushed his hands on his jeans. “If you could search the hill for some dry kindling that would be great.”
“Sure. You’re building a fire?”
“Of course. That is, unless you want cold coffee.”
“Oh, hell no. I am off.” As Jana trotted up the hill with Stephen chuckling behind her.
She zoned out as she picked dried grass and sticks, tossing them in the makeshift basket she made by holding out the front of her tank top. From her vantage point, she could see Stephen milling about below, but she had to take a minute to enjoy the landscape. A hike was a great idea and the sea air helped clear her head of any doubts about what she was doing. Getting out of Seattle was the right choice and not just because of the company.
She took in one last lungful of salty air and started for the beach and the silver fox below. The sun glinted off something to her left and caught her attention. A dark man lay on his belly in the grass. Jana couldn’t make out any more than the figure, but he seemed to be watching somebody down below.
It was odd, but she put it from her mind and sat on the edge, pushing herself forward so she surfed down to the beach on her ass. “Here’s your fire starter,” she said passing the armful of dried sea grass to Stephen.
“Thanks. I’ve just about got everything else set up so have a seat and I’ll get this coffee going.”
Jana parked herself on a corner of the blanket and was once again surprised. It would appear, S
tephen had thought of everything. He had a spread of cut fruit, yogurt, and croissants under a mesh cover. He had a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket with a half-gallon of orange juice. “You really thought this through!”
“You sound shocked.”
“Well yeah. Guys don’t normally put this much effort into their jobs, let alone a date.”
“Then you’ve been dating the wrong guys.”
“Apparently. You’ve already scored more brownie points than my last three boyfriends combined, and I’ve known you, what? Two hours?”
Stephen chuckled and struck a match. He turned his back on Jana to get the fire going, and he was glad she couldn’t see his face. What was wrong with the male species today? All he did was take Jana out for some fresh air and that made him more impressive? Maybe he had been in the military too long.
With the little firing crackling and the coffee pot on, Stephen shuffled back to the blanket on his knees. “So how long has it been since your last relationship?” he asked.
She had a mouthful of food and swallowed hard before answering. “Um, about three weeks.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t too long term then if you’ve already started dating again.” Stephen grabbed a pastry and tore into it.
“Not really, it was just shy of five years. What about you?”
Stephen choked on his croissant. Jana had to smack him on the back before he could speak again. “Five years? And you didn’t get married? What kind of putz did you date?” She flinched and turned away. Stephen felt like an ass. “I’m so sorry. That was out of line. It’s just that you’re so beautiful and if you haven’t been lying to me, you seem to have a lot going for you.”
Jana giggled. “You aren’t making this any better, you know,” she said playfully.
“I know. Please stop allowing me to talk.” He’d accidentally revealed his weakness: he was a nervous babbler.
“You didn’t cross a line, per se. You just caught me off guard. My ex was a putz. He was one of those who preferred to spend more time and energy on his Xbox and partying with his friends than on his relationship or you know, a job.” She dropped the chunk of melon she was eating and wiped her palms on her shorts. “But I don’t want to talk about that. I need to put Charlie as far behind me as possible.” She looked up into Stephen’s soft blue eyes and smiled weakly. “I’ve just sworn off man-children from here on out. You aren’t one of those are you?”
“You’re going to have to explain that to me. I’m not familiar with the term.”
“Really? That’s nuts! Okay, a man-child is exactly what it sounds like. They look like a grown man on the outside, with the ability to grow facial hair and invest in the stock market, but still pursue childish past times like, playing video games, reading comic books, and/or behaving with a level of immaturity and laziness that is abhorrent to the opposite sex.”
Stephen barked a laugh. That was the craziest thing he’d ever heard. “Wow! Now I know for sure I had been in the military too long. No, I do not behave like that. If I ever did, twenty-five years in the navy had beaten it out of me. I still like to surf though, is that frowned upon?”
Jana bit her lip and shook her head. “Only as long as you still mow the lawn and pay your electric bill.”
“Whew. I’m safe then. I live in a condo close by so all of that is one payment. Done,” he declared.
Jana mixed a pair of mimosas and took a sip of hers. In the back of her mind she recalled Charlie saying something similar about being responsible over his hobbies. Worry simmered in her belly. She wanted to like Stephen, but to do that, she had to remind herself that he wasn’t Charlie, or anyone else she’s been out with. Hell, he wasn’t even totally the same species. “Do you mind if I ask you about being a shifter?”
Stephen paused mid-chew. It wasn’t unusual for a new person to be curious, it had just been so long since he had to explain it to anybody. “Well, ninety per cent of my time is spent human so it isn’t too different than your life. I do live in a community of other shifters though, so I suppose I’m in sort of a bubble. The only real differences besides the obvious are, I heal stupid fast, I age a little bit slower than humans do, and when we find a mate, we mate for life.”
“That explains why you still look to be about my age with gray hair,” Jana teased.
Stephen’s eyes grew wide. “I have gray hair?” Making an incredulous face, he started pulling on the longer pieces in front, trying to see what it looked like. Jana started laughing at him.
“I’ve been going gray since I was about twenty. My hair seems to have missed the age slowly memo. You have such a pretty laugh. You remind me of Tinkerbelle when you laugh.” He said as he raked the hair back in to place.
Jana blushed and looked away. “Um, thank you,” she mumbled before she popped a strawberry in her mouth.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, it’s not. You were being sweet. It’s no big deal, really. I, uh… thank you.”
Silence settled over them again and Jana stared out at the ocean. She could see Stephen studying her out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t want to acknowledge him just yet.
What was the matter with her? He didn’t say anything that was wrong or not true. Charlie was never going to propose; neither were any of the other deadbeats before him. An engagement and marriage were possibilities she had never considered before, because they had never come up. At some point she must have just wrote marriage off as something that wasn’t in the cards for her and let it go.
But when Stephen mentioned that his kind partnered for life, she didn’t freak out inside like she thought she should have.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Stephen asked.
“Hmm?” Jana finally looked at him. “Oh nothing. I was just taking in this view. Seattle has a gorgeous skyline, but it can’t compare to this. I’ve been doing it wrong.”
Stephen scooted closer, but not so much that they were touching. “Would you like to go for a swim? The water might be a little chilly, but it’s nice enough weather that it shouldn’t matter too much.”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Chapter 4
Pacific City was feeling more and more like it was meant to be for Jana. After renting her Cape Kiwanda cottage for a month, it was time to buy. She got to know the town and a few of the people. She even hooked up with one of the local real estate brokers to see if there was reciprocity between her Washington license and getting one in Oregon.
The biggest selling factor though, was Stephen. Jana had been out with him at least twice a week since their first date, and it was going better than she could have imagined. She could hardly contain her surprise when she received a text from him after their first date, asking her out on another one. She thought for sure she blew it somehow.
There was one thing that bothered her. Whenever the topic of jobs or careers came up, he evaded the question by either changing the subject or answering with something vague and general like, “I was in the Navy.” She was curious about what his rank was, when he first enlisted, what was training like, any details at all, and she didn’t get any. Fingers crossed it wasn’t a red flag.
She wouldn’t let that sour her mood though, Jana was off to her first showing with some pep in her step and a smile on her face. The first showing was an open house within walking distance of Stephen’s condo. She was looking forward to getting back to work plus, there was nothing like an open house to get to know your community better because, they didn’t just attract buyers, oh no. They also attracted every nosy neighbor with six blocks of the property.
The open house started at nine, and the first shopper showed up at nine-oh-five. “Good morning. Here’s the sale sheet. If you have any questions, just let me know.” And so her spiel went between refreshing the muffins and pitchers of tea.
That is, until around noon. Jana was ready to call it a day, about fifty people had toured through, so she could call the last few hours a success. A dark looking man ent
ered and glowered around in the entryway. He wore a black baseball cap, pulled low, which hid his close cropped hair, the edges were tinged with gray. The bill of the cap shadowed most of his face. His ill-fitting clothes were clean, if a bit sloppy. The intensity with which he carried himself immediately put Jana off.
Like a good agent, she still had a flyer at the ready, but didn’t love the idea of turning this guy loose in a client’s home. “Good afternoon, sir. Here are the details on the house. It’s a three bedroom, two baths, and just under twelve hundred square feet. If you have any questions at all, let me know.” The man leveled an ice cold stare her way and she wanted to fade into the walls. Jana was grateful she had her phone in her back pocket instead of in the car.
The man smiled, and his face transformed from menacing to warm and inviting in a flash. Jana had to blink twice to make sure she was seeing it right. He tipped his hat back away from his face to reveal the coolest colored eyes Jana had ever seen. They seemed to glow amber in the sunlight. “Will do,” he answered, and he set off to explore the house.
As soon as the man left she whipped out her phone to text Stephen.
Running a little late for lunch. Got a last-minute straggler and he is creepy!
The stranger returned just as she was putting her phone away. “So, what do you think?”
He nodded, looking around the bright living room. “I like it; and the price is right.” He peered out the window to check out the street.
