The Vegan's Hunter

by P. S. Turner

  The Vegan’s Hunter

  By S. P. Turner

  COPYRIGHT

  The Vegan’s Hunter

  By S. P. Turner

  Copyright © 2014 by Spilt Ink Publishing. All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual business or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Reproduction in whole or in part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my work. I hope you enjoy it! Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends about it. Thanks!

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1 - Kayley

  Chapter 2 - Tyler

  Chapter 3 - Kayley

  Chapter 4 - Clifton

  Chapter 5 - Tyler

  Chapter 6 - Kayley

  Chapter 7 - Tyler

  Chapter 8 - Clifton

  Chapter 9 - Kayley

  Chapter 10 - Clifton

  Chapter 11 - Tyler

  Chapter 12 - Kayley

  Chapter 13 - Tyler

  Chapter 14 - Kayley

  Chapter 15 - Kayley

  Kayley

  Kayley walked into the TV studio and gasped, amazed that this was all set up for her. The lights shining down from above lit up the set as bright as a star. It’s going to be hot under there, she thought. I hope I don’t break out into a sweat on camera.

  She continued up to the stage that was built to resemble a country kitchen found in some mansion in Beverley Hills. It looked better than she had ever imagined. The shiny stainless steel appliances didn’t have so much as a finger print on them. A round sign with her show’s title Eating Vegan hung over the island. Her eyes sparkled.

  She took her time exploring the kitchen. She turned the dial on the stove, stiff from never having been used before. The burner turned red and a smile lit up her face. I can’t believe this is happening. The refrigerator was full of ingredients that she requested. Mostly organic produce and fresh herbs. A bottle of champagne stuck out from behind the broccoli. Kayley grabbed the cold bottle and read the note attached to its neck. Put this in your coffee cup. Our little secret. D. She smiled. Her agent Debbie always knew how to lighten the mood and help her relax.

  “Well if it isn’t the best selling writer turned television star.” Kayley turned around towards the booming voice. The producer Al Snyder was walking towards her with his attractive personal assistant following close behind, clutching a clipboard to her voluptuous chest.

  “It looks wonderful Al,” Kayley said, extending her hand for a handshake. “Thank you so much.”

  Al walked right past her hand and swallowed her in a sweaty, fleshy hug. He smelled like cologne mixed with barbecue sauce. “I spared no expense Kayley,” he said, releasing her.

  “No expense,” his assistant repeated from behind him.

  “I want this show to be a big hit,” he said.

  “A big hit,” his assistant repeated like a parrot.

  Al exhaled in frustration and turned around slowly. “Cara why don’t you go fetch our new friend here a cappuccino.” Cara spun on her heels and bolted towards the door.

  “No thank you,” Kayley called after her. She turned back to Al. “I don’t drink them. Vegan remember?”

  Cara stopped half way to the door. She looked back and forth between Al and Kayley, looking panicked with no orders to follow.

  “Then get me one,” Al said.

  “But your wife asked me to limit your caffeine intake and you’ve already had-”

  “Fine,” he interrupted. “Then go to every single person in the office and ask them if they want a cappuccino and if they do then go get them one.” She nodded and bolted out the door. Al’s eyes lingered on her backside as she left and then turned back to Kayley.

  “How many people are in the office?” she asked.

  “Enough to keep her out of our way for a few hours. Hiring her seemed like a good idea at the time,” he said rolling his eyes.

  Al gave her a tour of the studio while spitting out tips on when to look at which camera and how to interact with the crowd. Kayley looked at the empty seats across from the stage and bit her lip. “Where do you get the audience members?”

  “Losers off the street who have nothing better to do than watch a cooking show on a Tuesday afternoon,” Al said.

  Kayley frowned and was about to retort when a slender girl covered in tattoos and bright, short blue hair walked into the studio. “Natasha my love,” Al said walking over and crushing her in a hug. Natasha grimaced at Kayley with a look of pain in her eyes. “Meet your newest canvas.”

  Natasha approached Kayley and examined her face like a mechanic examining a car in desperate need of repairs. “I have to cover that up,” she muttered to herself. Kayley’s hand shot up to hide whatever she was referring to but Natasha had moved on to her brown hair, picking up long strands and holding them up to the light. “Could use some highlights and some curls,” she said to no one in particular.

  “So. Can you make her look presentable?” Al asked.

  Kayley shot him an incredulous look but then turned with curious eyes to hear Natasha’s answer. “Oh she’ll be stunning,” she said. Kayley exhaled in relief.

  “Good. Now get to it. The audience will be seated in an hour,” Al said before turning and marching away.

  “I just love your book!” Natasha said as Kayley sat in the make-up chair placed on the right of the stage out of camera shot.

  “Really?” Kayley asked looking at her through the mirror.

  “I’ve tried to get my husband to go vegan but he flat out refuses. He says that he didn’t fight his way to the top of the food chain to eat plants. Like buying hot dogs in a supermarket is fighting to the top of anything,” she said shaking her head.

  “But you have my book?” Kayley asked. Her vegan cookbook was the number one selling cookbook in the country for the past five months but she was still shocked whenever she met someone who owned it and especially who used it.

  Natasha nodded while starting to work on Kayley’s hair. “I like to make a dish and see if Mike realizes that it’s vegan before he finishes. He usually freaks out after when I tell him.” She laughs. “He’s such a baby. He won’t ever admit that he feels better and more energetic after. Boys,” she said rolling her eyes.

  Kayley loved the health benefits of eating a vegan diet but she really did it for the animals. She loved animals and spent her life fighting against any form of animal cruelty that she could find. She had been all over the world volunteering to help wherever she could. Conservation of elephants in Northern Thailand, spider monkeys in South Africa, street dogs in Russia, turtles in the Seychelles, among many others. She had been to hundreds of protests and rallies over the years, against everything from animal testing, to the use of wool in clothing. She was a lifelong member of the Animal Protection Force, with the tattoo on her arm to prove it. She was inducted into the APF when she broke into a fur factory in Texas and released 346 frantic chinchillas into a quiet suburb outside of Dallas. She also received nine months in prison.

  “What made you go vegan?” Natasha asked, brushing her hair.

  “I just always loved animals,” Kayley responded. During her stint in prison she decided that she was fighting the wrong fight. She couldn’t keep facing jail time and fighting against society. She had to be lawful and work with society to somehow change it from within. She realized that the best way to save the most animals and to affect real change was to change people’s mindset. She decided to help change the way they eat. She was always a master in the kitchen and began developing cheap, easy to make vegan recipes to help pe
ople eat less meat. According to her book sales it seemed to be working.

  Cara, Al’s personal assistant, walked back into the studio with a large tray filled with cappuccino cups on it. “Cappuccino?” she asked.

  “Sure,” Natasha said grabbing one off of the tray.

  “Would you like one?” she asked Kayley.

  “Still no,” Kayley said with a smile. Cara smiled and rushed off.

  “Are you married?” Natasha asked, wrapping a thick strand of hair into a curler.

  “No.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  Kayley shook her head.

  “Girlfriend?” Natasha asked raising an eyebrow.

  Kayley laughed. “No just me.” She looked down into her lap. “Well just me and a few animals.” That was an understatement she thought. Her apartment housed three dogs, four cats, two fish tanks, a gecko, four turtles, two chinchillas and three hamsters. All rescued from animal shelters. She could never turn down an animal in need. No matter how many times her landlord threatened to evict her.

  “I have a brother who’s single,” Natasha said. “He’s a doctor. Handsome, funny. I should set you two up.”

  How do I get out of this one? “Sure, why not?” Kayley responded, with no intention of going.

  Natasha began blurting out all of the gossip from around the network. Kayley tuned her out and began thinking about the show, hoping that it would go smoothly. Just remember to smile and try to relax. It will be okay.

  Natasha was going on about how the new camera man, Matt, asked out the receptionist, Amy, in front of everyone last week and got turned down, when someone caught Kayley’s eye through the mirror. He was probably close to six feet tall with broad shoulders and brown stubble on his face that looked like he hadn’t shaved in a week. He had a rugged edge to his appearance that she always liked in men. His thick, muscular arms showed through his black hoodie as he walked into the studio. Her breath quickened. He was wearing faded jeans that should only be suitable for camping or hiking but seemed to suit him perfectly. His casual, relaxed look was sexier than if he was wearing designer clothes or a three piece suit. She wiped her sweaty palms on the sides of her pants, feeling the smooth fabric, suddenly wishing that she had worn her short, black, sexy dress instead.

  He turned abruptly and looked back at her through the mirror, almost as if the handsome stranger felt someone staring him down. Shit. She glanced at herself in the mirror and then looked down into her lap. Her heart was pounding so hard that he could surely see it through the ridiculous leopard print barber’s cape that Natasha put on her. Not exactly the first impression that she wanted to make. Her hair was up in curlers and Natasha was coating her face with thick foundation like an eager painter trying to cover up a graffiti covered wall. Please don’t come over now.

  She glanced through the mirror and he was walking over. Shit. Blood rushed to her cheeks. It felt like a hundred degrees under the cape.

  “Oh hi Tyler!” Natasha squeaked before kissing him on the cheek.

  Tyler.

  “Hi Natasha,” he responded in a low, raspy voice. Almost a whisper. “Is Al around?”

  “Unfortunately.” Natasha said laughing at her own joke. “Check Rick’s office.”

  “Okay thanks.” Tyler and Kayley’s eyes met through the mirror. Her body shivered quickly followed by a flood of warmth. He smiled a quick, shy smile and then looked away like the heat from her eyes was too much to bear. She felt paralyzed in his presence. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

  She watched as he walked away, studying everything about him that she could. His short, messy brown hair with its wisps of gray, his hiking boots with patches of dried mud on the side, the tiny hole in the bottom right of his back pocket where his wallet stuck out. Anything that she could revisit in her mind once he left the room.

  He paused at the doorway and looked back. This time a smile parted her wet lips. He smiled back. He had a warm smile. A smile that would just get better with age as lines framed it the more he used it. It would be nice to be the cause of those lines. He gave a quick wave and was gone.

  “Who was that?” Kayley asked, shocked by the intense reaction. Her body had never reacted like that to anyone before.

  “Oh, does someone have a weak spot for the outdoorsy type?” she teased.

  Kayley felt her face get flush. “I do now.”

  Natasha chuckled. “That there was Mr. Tyler Hart.” Tyler Hart she repeated in her head. Kayley Hart. I could get used to that. She smiled to herself.

  “He has his own show on the network.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, Bow Hunter.”

  Kayley slumped her shoulders down and felt nauseous. I’ll never find anyone.

  “You haven’t seen it?” Natasha continued. “Well I guess being a vegan you don’t watch many hunting shows.” She laughed.

  “Not really.” She wanted to shrink away and be alone. She sensed a connection between them. Something that happened so rarely these days.

  How could fate be so cruel? Don’t let that bother you. This is a big day for you. One that you worked really hard for.

  “Would you ever date a hunter?”

  “No.”

  “Even one as hot as Tyler?”

  “No.” Kayley didn’t feel like talking anymore. That didn’t stop Natasha who kept right on going. “We’ll he’s single if you change your mind.”

  “I won’t.”

  “There’s something sexy about a man going into the woods all by himself with just a bow and arrow and coming out with a kill.”

  Kayley gave a look of disgust. “I think it’s barbaric. Why would you shoot a free, majestic, animal with an arrow giving it a long, excruciating death when you could eat a bean burrito? A steak can’t be that much better to inflict that much pain and end the life of an innocent being. I could never love a hunter.” Tyler’s smile flashed in her mind and all of a sudden she wasn’t so sure.

  “Well I think it’s hot.”

  Kayley thought about it with a frown on her face trying not to notice her heart beat increasing.

  The show went great. “Looks like we have a new star at The Adventure Network,” Al said, giving Kayley a hug after the director yelled Cut. She made little jokes that the audience laughed at, she didn’t spill any ingredients and most importantly she didn’t burn her vegan eggplant lasagna or blueberry muffins. And she actually had fun. She loved being in the spotlight with the cameras on her. It was something that she could get used to.

  She smiled at the cheering audience. Don’t forget why you’re doing it. If one person watching makes a vegan lasagna instead of chicken breasts or pork roast than you’ve done your job. One less animal dead on someone’s dinner plate.

  The audience was still clapping as the crew surrounded her saying ‘Congratulations’ and slapping her back. “AHHHH,” Natasha screamed running over and throwing her tattooed arms around Kayley. “That was amazing. You killed it.”

  “Really?” Kayley asked.

  “Baby you are so cute. The people will love you.” She grabbed a muffin off of the cooling rack and broke off a piece. “Oh my God these are to die for.”

  A camera man handed out forks and the crew dove into the lasagna like they hadn’t eaten in days. The audience began to clear out, most of them looking over to the feast that she had prepared hoping to be invited over. The audience was full of disappointed looks as the usher escorted them out the door. The whole studio smelt like freshly baked blueberry muffins. Not an easy thing to walk away from empty handed.

  Kayley loved watching people eat her cooking. She found that most people complained about vegan meals until they tried one. Then they couldn’t stop raving about it and how they couldn’t believe it was vegan. She felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off of her shoulders now that the show was done and everything went smoothly. Waves of relief flooded over her and she couldn’t stop smiling.

  Until she saw Tyler.

  He was stan
ding against the wall in the back of the room watching the scene with a smile on his face. Had he been there the whole time? Something in Keeley’s mind made her wish that he had been. That he saw her in her moment of triumph. Those automatic thoughts were instantly suppressed. I wish he would leave, she said to herself, but feeling the opposite.

  Tyler looked at Kayley and smiled. She whipped her head away, turning her back to him and began to clean up the counter. She plugged the drain and squirted a splash of dish soap into the sink. Don’t look at him, she ordered herself, fighting every urge to look back at Tyler.

  Bubbles rose from the sink like mini clouds and Kayley began dumping dishes in. “Need help?” a raspy voice said to her from behind. “You wash, I’ll dry.” It was Tyler.

  “No thanks. I got it,” she replied, keeping her head down and her eyes on the dishes. She scrubbed a glass bowl with her rag with much more force than was necessary.

  Tyler grabbed the last muffin off of the tray and popped a piece into his mouth. The crew began to disperse now that the food was gone. It was just the two of them left. She still hadn’t looked up at him.

  I hope he chokes on it, she told herself, actually nervous that he wouldn’t like it.

  “These are great.” He popped another piece into his mouth. “I can see why they gave you your own show.”

  Kayley ignored him, scrubbing the bowl harder even though it was already clean.

  “Did I offend you or something?” he asked.

  Water splashed over both of them as she chucked the rag into the sink. “Your entire existence offends me.”

  Tyler took a step back, looking shocked and surprised at the sudden aggression.

  “Why do you think you have the right to take another animal’s life? An innocent animal that is doing you no harm. Does it make you feel like a man to kill a harmless creature? Do you think it makes you a tough guy?”

  Tyler put down the muffin with a look of confusion on his face. “I um-” he stammered.