Once she got the confirmation back from her attorneys about his claim, she would have leverage with the bankers to compromise the original plan, modifying it to protect the indigenous species on the mountain. She included the secret of the were-bears in the species to be protected, but the bankers would only need to know that there were threatened species in order to sway them to allow a modification of the retreat center to a preserve.
“Just a little bit more up and over,” said Todd, the greasy- haired carpenter with a battered hat over his eyes, to his tall, skinny friend and to Annabella. They were trying to get the roof on to finish the structure. Having one complete cabin would partially protect her from default since she was on schedule with one building of the original plan.
Roar!
A large bellow, angry in nature, burst out of the bushes charging toward them in a flash. The medium-sized bear startled them, making each of them swivel their head toward the danger.
Before he could react, Todd was ripped off the ladder by the bear. The angry bear mauled him so quickly that there was no time for a response from Annabella and the other man. The shiny blue of the underside of the bear’s neck shone clearly in the afternoon brightness as the beast bit Todd’a arms and shoulders, pulling him to the ground as he protected his neck with his hands and arms. Pieces of mangled skin hung from his arm by the time Annabella reacted.
She whipped the hammer in her hand around, jumping to the ground, and went after the bear screeching in anger. She managed to scare the animal away from Todd as his friend got him up and loaded into the Jeep to relative safety. His faded baseball cap was askew, with blood running down his face, dotting his greasy, green shirt. Annabella jumped behind the wheel as the other carpenter held pressure against his friend’s wounds.
They rushed to the nearest hospital, which was about twenty miles away. Her heart was pumping pure adrenaline as they pulled into the emergency room at Mercy General Hospital.
“Help, get a gurney!” Annabella yelled to a paramedic who was lounging against his ambulance near the entrance to the emergency department.
Todd was rushed inside as the paramedic was joined by a nurse who heard the call for help. Annabella held Todd’s hand as he was taken into the hybrid room, then she was pressed backward, out of the way as the team began assessing his wounds.
Annabella then went out to the registration, taking the paperwork from the nurse. She didn’t really know much about Todd, except his first name, but she tried to be as helpful as she could. When the doctor came in a couple hours later, she judged his expression to mean that Todd was going to live.
“Hey, I hear you are one brave young lady!” The doctor said, laughing in a good-natured way, “Are you the Bear fighter?”
“I guess. I just did what I could,” Annabella replied in relief, shaking her head.
“Well, your friend has arm and shoulder punctures and tears, a five-inch gash on the side of his head, and a chipped bone in his forearm. All in all, he was damn lucky you were there to stop anything more serious from happening,” the doctor explained.
“Can I see him?” Annabella asked.
“Sure, you can, just for a bit because he has to get some rest,” the doctor said, leading her into a recovery room where Todd was bandaged up. His bloodied shirt had been cut off from him and he was under the covers with just his bandages and his bare chest.
Annabella approached the side of the hospital bed, prompting Todd to turn his head toward her slightly.
“I can’t…thank you enough,” Todd said, his words slurred from the pain medications.
“It’s nothing, but this doesn’t get you out of making my roof pitch correctly,” Annabella joked, putting her hand on his bare arm, stroking the skin slightly in a comforting way.
Meantime, Chris learned about the accident and now came down to the hospital, looking around the door into the room while Annabella and Todd were talking. Her hand was stroking his shoulder as they talked quietly. Chris couldn’t hear their words but saw her nurturing the carpenter, which made him instantly livid and very jealous. He was unable to rationalize her caring for this other man. In fact, he suspected her of having feelings for the man. He turned and left without going into the room.
***
Chris’ mind raced, flipping from anger, jealousy, and full-blown betrayal. His bear side operated more on instinct and reaction to her pheromones. The signs from his environment prompted him to solve problems primarily through aggression. He struggled to give credence to his human side of using his strategy, intelligence and cunning to win her back, because every cell in his body wanted to fight. He entered the wooded area at the back of the hospital, stripped off his clothes quickly and roughly, let his bear take him over, and started tearing through the woods. He ran so hard, so fast, that he frothed white foam from his jowls. His irrational anger took over as he swiped at trees, pushing down smaller saplings, and biting at anything he could get his great jaws around.
Nebi thundered up to Chris, swiping at him in the same manner that they had play-fought all their lives. By that time, he had calmed down to some semblance of sanity, but his blood still ran like molten lava through his veins. She was able to help him work out his aggression while staying out of the way of his gigantic paws by being nimble and fast. Eventually, Chris calmed completely, panting on the forest floor beside Nebi. They shifted to their human forms once the emotions settled down.
“Okay, so tell me what that was all about. I haven’t seen you so crazy since, well, I don’t know when,” Nebi probed.
“I just feel all mixed up. Angry. Petty jealousy. I have this fuck-it-or-fight it feeling that I can’t shake. I have never felt this way about a woman or a situation before,” Chris explained, laying on his belly, idly picking at the brown and green leaves under him.
“What’s happening? No one can get a word out of you these days. It’s all grunts and growls,” Nebi complained, looking over at her friend, “From my perspective, you have to be willing to be vulnerable to losing what you thought you most wanted, your freedom or autonomy, to gain what you now want, a life with Annabella.”
“This has all happened so fast. And I have been in my own world, consumed by these feelings. I should have told you that Annabella wanted to change her plans before you were able to take a swipe out of that carpenter guy,” he said, regretfully.
“Yeah, I am just glad I didn’t hurt him too badly. I just wanted to send the message to her that tourists are not safe out here. I guess I did that,” she replied, “Now I have to go make amends with Annabella and see if there is anything I can do for the guy while he is in the hospital.”
Nebi rose to a standing position, her face resigned to the duty she was not looking forward to. She made her way toward the back of the hospital where she hid her clothes. This was not going to go well, she could just feel it in her bones.
Nebi showed up at the hospital room to visit Todd, who was still talking to Annabella. They were laughing together and teasing one another. Nebi was instantly aware of the sexual allure surrounding Todd, her cleft clutching in arousal at being near him.
“Hey there! I am Nebi, Chris’ friend, how are you doing after your ordeal?” She asked, looking down at the bandaged man, then up at Annabella.
“Oh, I will be alright, only a few scratches and a couple love bites,” Todd said good-naturedly, winking at Nebi.
“Well, I am glad you survived that savage attack. I am always wary of tourists going up around Bear Lake and afraid what might happen,” Nebi said, reinforcing the situation to the both of them, part compassion and part warning.
Annabella looked from one of them to the other, noting their moon-eyes when they looked at each other. She took her leave, not even sure that they would notice her departure. She felt lost, alone, and not sure what the next steps would be to make all of this right again. So, she returned to her cabin to gather her things.
When her car came to a full stop, she swung out of it, her emotions in
a jumble. She walked through the cabin door to see Chris, sitting there on her bed, looking about like she felt. She went to his side, taking his face in her hands, making him look up at her.
“We’re in this together,” she said, stroking his dark, straight hair away from his face.
“I didn’t think you would talk to me ever again after my friend mauled your friend,” he disclosed, “Which was my fault because I didn’t get a chance to tell her that you had changed your plan to protect the mountain and Bear Lake.”
“Well, about that,” Annabella began.
His face fell, preparing for bad news.
“I have to apologize to you about all of this. I never had any right to Bear Lake. You and your family had the legal claim to this mountain by adverse possession before my grandpa was a gleam in his father’s eyes,” she said.
“What does that mean?” Chris asked, not understanding the concept.
“It means because you possessed this land, freely and openly, for more than ten years, that I have no legal right to it anymore. It is called adverse possession. And because you have this legal right, which was discovered after my deal with the lawyers and bankers…I can get out of my contracts without being sued into bankruptcy,” she explained.
“I am the owner of Bear Lake and the mountain?” He asked, his voice disbelieving.
“Yes, and I want to enroll you in my dream of turning this into the Bear Lake Wildlife Preserve to educate humans on the impact of environmental encroachment, pesticide effects on bear populations (due to accumulation in smaller animals which bears eat), water pollution in the lake, etc,” she elaborated.
“Yes, I mean, of course, anything to spread awareness and stop this travesty…” Chris agreed, his sentence interrupted by her kiss as her hand delved around his shoulders, where she began raking her nails across his back in the most erotic way possible.
It was a very long time until they left the cabin, hand in hand, the two of them naked and happy as they made their way toward his cave, secure in each other’s love.
Epilogue
Where the first cabin was built, Annabella and Chris held a gathering for the grand opening of the Bear Lake Wildlife Preserve. It was a celebration by the wildlife of the mountain and were-shifters (most of whom had tried to terrorize Annabella into abandoning Bear Lake). There were a lot of apologies exchanged that day, a great step toward beginning the healing of the rift between the species. They forged ahead with a greater knowledge of their interconnectedness in the web of life.
THE END
The Memory Of You
Chapter 1
“Dr. Pace where are you going?”
Caleb Pace stopped in his tracks at the shriek and turned to watch the Head Nurse, Tiffany Kang, as she hurried from the ER to stand in his way.
“My work day has long ended,” he responded.
She glared at him as though he were delirious. “The Director of Doldam hospital will be arriving at any moment. He is not an ordinary patient, you have to stay to welcome him.”
It was his turn now to shoot her an incredulous look, after which he stepped to the side and continued on his way. She hurried ahead of him and blocked his path once more, arms outstretched in to keep him from leaving.
“Dr. Pace, please stay. And moreover, it is a Friday night. The ER might be plunged into chaos at any minute. You rarely ever leave on nights like this!”
“I have somewhere to be, Nurse Kang,” he said quietly.
“Can’t it wait?” she cried.
“It cannot,” Caleb replied. “Dr. Reed and Garner are on call. They will handle whatever comes in my absence.”
“We need you,” the nurse pleaded as he continued on his way.
“I have you,” he said, without looking back. However, just before he shut the double doors to the hospital behind him, he shot her a glance. “Manage it all until I return. I will be back in two hours.”
The relief in her tone was instant. “Thank you, Dr. Pace,” she said and returned to the ER.
Caleb gave a deep sigh as he got into his car and drove away into the dark night. In a little under an hour, he arrived at the cemetery with a bouquet of peonies in one hand and a candle. He found her grave almost without thought, and sat down upon the grass in front of it, lighting his candle and placing the peonies by the side of her tombstone.
“I’m back,” he said, as he read the name engraved upon the marble marker. Aisha Graves. He retrieved the scotch whiskey flask from his coat and took a deep long drink. “If I had known I would come visit so often, perhaps I would have had them bury you at the Lakehouse. At least it’d give me a reason to come home at night.”
He took another slug of liquor, corked the flask and placed it aside. “I cannot stay long today,” he said. “It’s a Friday night.” He smiled at the memory that slid through his mind. “You used to dread Friday nights. Its relation to how much more people got into accidents plagued you to no end.” Caleb chuckled in recollection. “You were a great surgeon, a bit scatterbrained but, still great. It would have been nice if you were here to give me a hand.”
“I’m thinking of quitting,” he said. “When I work, day in and night out, it all seems bearable, but in the quiet moments, such as now, I ask myself what I’m doing.”
He let out a heavy sigh and took yet another drink from the flask as he stared into the dark gloomy night. There were tombstones all around him, but he paid it no mind. The quieter it was, the better. “It’s been four years now, and I still have not healed. I do not want to, but at the same time it worries me that I’ll become so damaged that even the escape that surgeries have become to me will no longer suffice.”
“It’s all your fault,” he said, with a sadistic smile. “You should have stayed… been a bit more patient. Now I’m forced to talk more to you than I ever did when you were still here.” He muttered to himself. “You never goddamn respond.”
Tears suddenly rushed to his eyes, so he looked away, and despite his better judgment, picked up the flask and took one last drink of hard liquor before returning it to his pocket.
His phone began to ring then and at first, he ignored it, but it didn’t stop, and he knew that it would not. So he picked it up and listened calmly to the frantic voice of the head nurse. This was a new record. He had barely been gone for an hour and there was already chaos. How he hated Friday nights.
“An accident has just been reported on Highway 55. Five vehicles and a truck are involved.”
“How many patients?”
“We’re not certain yet. The ambulance has just been called to the scene.”
“They’re not there yet? Then how did you…”
“Dr. Kate Hades informed me- the Doldam Director’s daughter. They were heading here from the city and met the collision. She was accompanied by two doctors excluding her father, so they are performing emergency first aid, and rounding up the patients.”
“Alright, I’ll be there when my second hour is up.”
“We need you this instant!” she roared. “They will be here any minute now.”
“Get the two doctors on call.”
“Dr. Garner has just bailed. He complained of food poisoning and went home.”
Bastard, Caleb swore under his breath and blew out his candle. “I’m on my way.”
It took him thirty-five minutes to arrive at the ER, and the moment he did, he was bombarded with reports.
“Where is the Lidocaine and suture set I asked for?” someone barked from the opposite end of the ER, just as three nurses hurried towards Caleb. The first one to reach him jammed a chest X-ray into his hands. “Dr. Pace, he has a low BP and oxygen. He has already been given treatment for his shock.”
Multiple rib fractures on the right, bilateral pleural effusions, Caleb thought to himself as he studied the film. “Give him high flow oxygen and send him away to OR three to await me. He needs surgery right away.”
“Yes doctor!” she hurried off and another took her place.
>
“Dr. Reed sent me. He has a patient with a flail chest and cardiac tamponade and another with an incised wound in the leg. He needs surgery to repair the artery.”
“Contact the Director to immediately take this up otherwise the blood loss will increase the area of necrosis and he will lose that leg. Call Dr. Cart at Mayo Clinic and immediately arrange to send the cardiac tamponade patient to him.”
“Got it!” The male nurse responded and went on his way.
“Shard of glass embedded in the abdomen,” said the last nurse, and that brought his gaze from the chaos ahead of him in scurrying nurses, bloodied patients and cries of agony. “How big?”
“About four centimeters,” was the response.
Taming The Billionaire Page 7
