After making sure he was ok I started to feel really stupid. Did I really allow myself to entertain the notion that Tony might kill my baby? That was the most ridiculous things I had ever heard.
“Did you guys have a good hike?” Bill asked coming out of the kitchen with a glass of wine. The man loved his wine.
“Yea, it felt good just to get out and enjoy nature a bit,” Derek said.
“I thought you moved to the city because you were sick of nature?” Beth said.
I hardly even realized that she was there I was so focused on Devon. Beth was sitting on the couch snuggling against Tony. He looked at me just then and I felt a twinge of rage fly over me. I wanted to jerk every hair out of Beth’s head.
“Funny sis,” Derek said.
I sat down in the closest chair and listened as the family talked and visited. They mostly left me alone and didn’t ask me too much, which I was grateful for. And when they offered me a glass of wine I took it and enjoyed it greatly.
I tried not to think too much about what Derek had said. Now that I was in the same room with Tony again I knew that Derek had to be mistaken. Or he was feeding me a line of total crap.
Whatever it was I was going to get to the bottom of it.
Chapter Eight
“Is there anything you can’t do?”
I heard the flattering words just as I came to a hard stop at the end of my routine, if you could even call it that. I had not been on ice skates in almost ten years, but it came back to me even more easily than skiing did. And no super powers needed.
The skating pond was fantastic. When Tony suggested that we go ice skating the idea didn't really grab me, but as we walked upon the deeply frozen pond and all of the people having so much fun skating around, all the memories of my childhood came flooding back to me.
Debra had a pair of skates that fit me she let me borrow, and so I was pretty much out of excuses at that point. I had to go and I was glad I did almost immediately.
The moment I glided out onto the ice my body took over and I remembered some of the routines I used to do as a kid. For a brief period between the ages of eight and ten, I was really into ice skating. I showed great promise and my mom even signed me up for lessons so that I could do all sorts of cool tricks and impress my fans. I never had any aspirations or silly dreams of being an Olympic figure skater or anything, but I did enjoy it.
“Yea, I used to skate a bunch when I was a kid,” I replied. “I guess I still got it.”
“I guess you do,” Tony said.
“I’m surprised that Beth didn’t want to come,” I said.
"Well, I guess you didn't hear," Tony said.
“Hear what?”
“I broke up with her last night,” Tony said.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You did what?”
“Yea, it happened.”
“Oh wow! I thought you were going to wait until you guys got back to the city to spring it on her.”
“Well, that was the plan, but it just came out. She was ragging me about something stupid and I just decided that it was enough and I couldn’t put up with a whole week of this crap. I told her it was over.”
“Well, how did she take it?” I asked. I could not wait to hear this.
“She took it better than I thought she would, but of course she is still ripping mad,” Tony said.
“That is to be expected,” I replied.
“She yelled for a few minutes and then she relented and agreed she thought it was over too. That opened the door for me to tell her basically what had been bugging me about the relationship all this time and she agreed to most of it too. It went way too smooth and now I’m really scared,” Tony said.
I couldn’t hold back the laughter.
“That woman should have been ready to tear my hair out, but instead she agrees with me about the breakup. I don’t get it. You’ve met Beth. You know how unpleasant she can be when she doesn’t get her way.”
I couldn't believe this amazing news. I was thrilled, but of course, now I had to continue my game of playing things cool. I couldn't let him know how happy I really was about it. That would have ruined the sexy mystique we had created. And now I could finally enjoy the flirting and playful nature of things without feeling so guilty.
“Maybe she is maturing or maybe she feels the same way and realized you all weren’t a match but didn’t know how to end it or what she was going to when it ended.”
“Yea, maybe.”
“So, I take it you will be going back earlier than expected?” I asked.
“Actually, no. Her parents said they wanted me to stay for Christmas and to stay the whole week. Beth said she was ok with it.”
“Did we just step into the Twilight Zone or something? Is Rod Serling hiding behind a bush or something?” I asked.
Tony laughed. “I don’t know. But let’s just enjoy the week. It beats all the sneaking around stuff with us.”
"Sneaking around? And what makes you think I'm going to give you any green lights?" I asked.
“Oh, it’s going to be that way?” Tony asked.
I was already moving away from him gliding along the frozen pond and twirling into a twist to build up my momentum. The ice was mostly clear for the moment and I could let my stride free. It felt great. It was probably the freest I'd been in a while, just gliding along the smooth ice, hearing the blade of the skate cutting through the thinnest little layer to propel me and my momentum forward.
And to top it all off I had a great guy showing interest in me. I was starting to think that things really were turning around for me.
Tony was right on my heels suddenly, showing me some fancy skate moves as well. I was more than impressed. I was under the impression that he was just a casual skater but he was showing me some moves I was not sure that I could have pulled off.
And he was doing it smoothly, and gracefully. It was beautiful to watch. His skating skills were garnering the attention of some of the others on the ice that morning as well.
Several ladies were checking him out a bit too intensely. I felt a spark of jealousy flying over me, but I laughed it off. It was kind of flattering to know that other women were definitely interested in Tony.
Suddenly in light of everything he had just told me I felt like he was mine in a sense. I have never been one to fall for someone quickly.
It takes me a long time to really open myself up to someone that much, but there was something different happening with Tony. I don’t know if it was because we’d shared that spark so long ago and that I’d occasionally dwelled on it, wondering about him and where he was or if it was because of the drama that had been unfolding with Beth but I was feeling very close to him.
I tried to deny the feelings but there was no getting around it that those feelings were there. It was something I couldn’t really explain, but why did I have to explain it? I decided then to try something new with myself and just go with the flow.
I was ready to start over in life and to do things differently both in life, work, and love. I was relishing every second of this new budding romance and I was so excited to see where it was going to lead.
Tony grabbed my hand just then as he skated up behind me. I had pulled away into my own little world for a few, stretching myself out to explore the space and get back into my own skating groove, when suddenly he was there, his arm behind me as if guiding me along, as we were becoming one on the ice.
His warmth was so comforting, inviting, and I instantly felt like he was someone I could rely on. It had been a long time since I’d felt like that with anyone. I closed my eyes just encompassing myself in the moment, relishing every drop of it.
Things had been so hard the past year and even being there at the resort the problems were always lingering in the back of my mind, but when Tony touched me then, all of those issues seemed to fade away into nothingness.
I felt at peace for the first time in a long time and most importantly I felt hopeful about t
he future. I didn’t know what was coming or what life would bring good or bad, but I knew that I was going to be able to meet it head on and that everything was going to be just fine.
“So, you’ve got some sweet moves yourself,” I said.
We had just finished our dance on the ice and were now walking back to the resort.
It was a beautiful day for a walk with the snow blanketing the ground, the cool, fresh mountain air on my skin with the occasional breeze adding to the flavor, the picturesque mountains reaching out towards the heavens and just touching the clouds that hung from the sky. It was like stepping into a beautiful painting of some sort.
“Well, thank you. I also used to do a bunch of ice skating. There was a period in my teenage years when I really wanted to be a professional hockey player. The coach agreed that I had the stick handling down, but needed to work on my skating skills a bit more. So, every morning I would go to the ice and skate for a few hours.”
“So, what happened to hockey?”
“I went for it and gave it my best shot, but I guess it wasn’t in the cards for me. Life was opening a bunch of different doors for me but it didn’t open that one for whatever reason.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I’m not. I actually think it worked out for the best. I’ve always felt that when life is not working out the way you want it to no matter how much you are fighting then you are following the wrong path. Life won’t let you follow the wrong path for too long before it knocks you on your ass,” Tony said.
“Well, that is very insightful. I’ve always kind of felt the same thing,” I said. I totally related to that way of looking at the world, but I don’t think I have ever put it that way before.
“Great minds I guess,” Tony replied.
“What got you interested in the law?” I asked. “Have you always loved to argue?”
Tony laughed. "No, I don't necessarily like to argue. I'd never really thought about a career in law at all, but during my freshman year of college, I took a constitutional law class as an elective. It sounded interesting and it fit into my schedule so I said why not. I fell in love with the legal process, the terminology, the flow of it all. It was really incredible and it just kind of grabbed me. I knew right then what I wanted to do because I had no clue before. When I realized the hockey thing was not really working out I was a bit devastated and I didn't really know what I was going to do, so my parents convinced me to go to college and I was lucky enough to find this career waiting for me."
“That’s pretty interesting. So, you were not the traditional freshman?” I asked.
“No, I was twenty years old when I stepped foot inside a college classroom. I had worked night and day on my dream of being a hockey player and had excluded everything else. But after failing my fourth tryout for various teams I just kind of realized that this was just not in the cards for me. But I didn’t completely let go of the dream. I chose a good school that also had a good hockey team and our team won our division several times. While going to school, I continued to work on my skills and improve, but succeeding at the pro level you are talking about needles in a haystack.”
“Well, you can’t say you didn’t give it everything you had. I admire that sort of determination.”
"Thanks. I guess it's what makes me a good lawyer. I'd say by the end of my senior year I realized that I was more excited about the possibility of getting into law school than by the likelihood that I'd get chosen to play hockey."
It was interesting hearing Tony open up about himself and who he was. I realized that this was the first time that I’d had to really talk to him like this. It was just the two of us walking along and talking. There was no one around. The morning was peaceful and I could hear a cup of hot coffee calling my name. That would have been the only thing that could have topped it off.
“So, you are a shifter from birth?” I asked.
The transition to this topic should have felt forced and out of place in the conversation, but it didn’t to me. I had been thinking about this in my mind since the talk with Derek the night before. I had to find out what Tony had to say about the questions that I had.
“Yea, it is something that runs in several members of my family,” Tony said.
“So, it skips generations?” I asked.
“Yea. Some families have it as a prevalent trait where most of them are shifters and it is rare to skip like it is in my family.”
“That’s interesting,” I said.
“I heard about what happened to you. I’m sorry. That is a horrible thing to force upon somebody. It is one thing to grow up with it when everyone in your family shares the same thing and you can lean on each other and your family can teach you how to deal with the things that make you different. You have it since birth and you learn to live with it as a normal part of your life. You don’t really know another way, so it’s not such a huge thing. But to be living a life of normalcy and then suddenly your whole world changes is pretty crazy.”
“Yea, it has been a huge adjustment, but I think I’ve managed it quite well. Derek has been great in helping with all of that. He saved my life, you know. If he hadn’t been there that night, then I would not be here.”
“Yea, the guy is a bit of a hero, I guess, but I can’t help but feel that he is always gunning for me.”
“Yea, what is with you two? Somehow I feel there is more to the story than just the skiing accident.”
“I’m not really sure. Honestly, I can’t think of a time when I’ve ever offended the guy. Maybe he didn’t like that I was dating his sister. Some guys are overprotective of their families.”
“Well, he happened to mention that your family is a bit different than other shifters.”
Tony’s eyes went wide for a second as he glanced at me. I was worried that I might have just hit a big nerve, but it was just for a second. It could have been a look of surprise and not anger. I honestly wasn’t sure.
“What did he say?” Tony asked.
I took a deep breath to prepare myself. “He said that your family is part of the Grizzlies. And then he explained that they don’t live in peace with humans.”
Tony laughed. And it was a good laugh as if I had just told an extremely funny story.
“Yea, I know what that is about,” Tony said. “It’s silly.”
“Well, I’m all ears if you want to tell me,” I said. I was dying with suspense now.
"Well, my family did belong to the Grizzly way of life, but that was something a few members of the pack did a few hundred years ago. It was never a thing that most of us embraced, even then. You're saying that is why he doesn't like me? Wow, he must have done some extensive research on me and my background. I thought all of that stuff was pretty hidden. I'm not even sure how I would find that information out."
“Derek is a remarkably good researcher I guess. But it is a relief to know that you don’t do some of those things that he mentioned,” I said. I felt really embarrassed even bringing it up, but once I got rolling I couldn’t stop.”
“Oh, what like killing people and running with the pack in the dead of night searching for my next victims?” Tony said. He was almost laughing hysterically now. “I can’t believe you thought I might be capable of that.”
“Well, I didn’t. I just thought it was interesting and it might explain why Derek has it in for you. He might have thought his sister was dating a people eater,” I said. As soon as the words left my mouth I erupted in laughter as well.
We were having way too much fun with this. But it felt good. It felt great to get it off my chest and it felt even better to know that it wasn’t true. I knew that I was using my laughter as a way to cope with the fact that I had just accused Tony of being a murderer offhandedly.
But I had to ask. If there was even a chance that we could be together then I had to know who Tony was and what he was all about. If there was even a chance that he was capable of something like that then I had to know.
Tony put h
is arm around me just then and pulled me close to him. It was totally unexpected and I was suddenly sucked into his zone. His eyes grabbed mine, drawing me into him. My breath started moving in rapid short gasps and I concentrated on trying to take long, deep breaths but my body was resisting it.
He took my face in his hands just then and leaned in kissing me. His hot mouth was so warm and soothing. I could feel my heart racing but my body, my mind slowing down. It was as if his kiss was healing any anxiety or doubt about anything in the world and melting it away right then.
He pulled back slowly, still holding my face. His hands felt so strong but his pressure was so gentle brushing against my skin. I could still taste him on my lips even after the kiss ended. I ran my tongue slowly across them as if drawing in the remaining remnants of him.
My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. I wanted to calm it down, but I was too worked up. My whole body felt like it was suddenly on fire with passion and I didn’t want it to go away.
“Well, that was amazing,” Tony said. “I’ve wanted to do that again ever since the last time.”
We walked back to the resort then. I kept fighting the urge to reach out and grab Tony’s hand, but I knew it would be odd if we were spotted doing such a thing.
Even though it was officially over with him and Beth no one knew about us. I had a feeling that if Beth thought he dumped her to be with me then it was going to cause some issues and there would be no peace or harmony for anybody. The vacation would most definitely come to a short end.
When we got back to the house we found that the only ones there were Debra and baby Devon. I smiled as I saw the sight of her holding him on her lap while she read quietly to herself. He was sleeping so peacefully. The sight of my precious baby boy always made everything in the world seem so simple. There could never be any real problems when he was around.
Debra had been so amazing. She loved the baby. I could see how her face lit up every time she was near him and I wondered if it reminded her just how much she missed being a mother to a baby so young.
I knew that kids grew up much too fast and slowly but surely, they pulled away from you. One day they were in diapers and the next it was off to college I imagined. I could hardly believe he was a year old already. Where had the time flown with him?
Beta's Destiny (Rocky Mountain Shifters Book 2) Page 62
