by Robbie Cox
Six
Arlin drove to his brother’s cabin first. If he knew Nathan at all, and he did, there would be a pile of unfinished projects in the shed behind the cabin. Once he had scrounged around enough, gathering plywood, nails, and a hammer, he set about gathering up whatever cleaning supplies he could find. In a box tucked into the back of the shed, he also found some old drapes he thought would work for now to replace the shredded ones he saw earlier. They probably weren’t what she would pick—not his mate—but they would do for now in order to get rid of the reminder of what that creep did to her cabin. While he wished she would have told him the story with Kyle and the threat the man posed, he refused to allow Eve to return home and find her cabin still a mess. She deserved better than that and he would damn sure make sure she got it. He would get the story later, for now he just wanted to take care of his mate-to-be.
He loaded everything into his car and headed back to Eve’s place, backing into the drive so that the supplies in the trunk of his car were easier and quicker to reach. The first thing he did once he was out of the car, was turn on her porch light, luckily one thing Kyle didn’t destroy. With the light on, he set about hooking up power cords and measuring the windows. Plywood wasn’t the best answer, but it would keep the weather and small creatures out until she could replace the glass.
Once he has the windows boarded up, he hung the drapes he found at his brother’s, making sure he picked the glass out of the windowsill before he did. At least from the inside there would be some semblance of normalcy. Arlin then set about the task outside of picking up the shattered pots, taking care to save all the plants he could. He’d plant them for now, making sure the roots were well-tended until she decided what she wanted to do with them again. He swept the dirt from the porch, again making sure to sweep up the glass from the broken windows. The red paint on the front of the cabin would be the worst thing to clean up, and Arlin had to admit, he wasn’t sure he could do it completely. Still, he was determined to give it his best shot. Eve didn’t need that flashing reminder when she pulled into the driveway.
As he tied a knot in one of the garbage bags he filled, he heard tires on gravel announcing someone turning into the driveway. He panicked at first, worried she had returned before he could finish. With the way she dismissed him at the bar, as well as the way she snapped at him when he saw her here earlier, he wasn’t sure of the reception she would give him if she caught him at her place now, regardless of his motives. He blew out a breath of relief, however, when he noticed the truck pulling in behind his car, and Dimitri sitting behind the wheel. Arlin walked out to his car, the bag of trash in his hand, as he watched the other man turn his truck off and slide out of the driver’s seat.
“I thought I saw lights on when I passed by,” Dimitri said as he walked to the front of his truck, while Arlin tossed the trash bag into his trunk to haul away. “I wanted to make sure Eve hadn’t returned and attempted to stay, or that whoever did it hadn’t returned to do more damage.”
Arlin nodded. “Neighborly of you. It’s just me. I didn’t want her to come home and see the chaos again. She’s still with the ladies at Everglades, so I thought I’d try and see what I could do before she came home.”
“I should have considered that, but I wasn’t sure when Chet’s team would be finished.” Dimitri glanced around the place, giving an appreciative nod. “Seems like you did a pretty good job, though. Anything left I can help with?”
Arlin chuckled. “Just make sure she doesn’t kill me when she finds out I did it.”
Dimitri laughed as he leaned back on the grill of his truck. “Eve’s a pistol, I’ll give you that. I’m not sure what her story is, but my guess is that something tragic happened for her to be here. She’s never opened up to anyone, even those she classifies as friends.”
Arlin closed the trunk, before walking to the front of his car, placing his hands on the hood, and sliding his ass up onto it. “Does everyone here have some tragic past?”
Dimitri shrugged his thick shoulders, as he turned his gaze out to the dark woods around the cabin. “Not perhaps what you and I would call tragic, but most have something they want to escape, even if it’s life outside of here and crowds.” Then he turned his focus back to Arlin and Arlin felt the scrutiny under those brows. “Even you, as I hear it. Since it’s my job to protect this place, I gave Aric Wolfe a call. He told me about the incident at the the Wolfe’s Den.”
Arlin took a deep breath, wishing Aric would have at least warned him that he said something to Dimitri, but understanding why the alpha of Bull Creek needed to investigate. “Well, I’m not sure what he told you, but I can assure you that’s not a habit of mine. Some drunk decided he didn’t like the way some dude looked at his girl and started a brawl. It would have been fine if he left it at that, but when his date told him to stop, that he was being ridiculous, he decided to take his jealous rage out on her. I can usually keep my tiger in check, but it seems we both lost control that night and I shifted before I could tamp down the rage that flooded my senses. By the time it was over, the asshole was almost dead, the girl crying, and Aric was shooing me out of town.” He shrugged, glancing off into the distance. “I decided to take my brother up on his offer to use his cabin.” The irony of Arlin’s situation was not lost on him. The fact that he was very close to being in the same predicament that made him leave Blue Creek in the first place troubled him a little, but only a little.
“Everyone comes to Bull Creek for a different reason,” Dimitri said. “As long as those reasons don’t interfere with the other people here, it’s all good.” Then he cocked his head, and Arlin had a sick feeling he knew the next topic of conversation. “So, earlier when you arrived after Eve discovered her cabin vandalized, was I imaging the tension between the two of you as well as the…scent that tends to attach itself to a mating call?”
With a sigh, Arlin shook his head. “No, which is another reason I can’t allow her to come home to a disaster.” He turned his gaze to Dimitri and he knew the fire of his tiger’s over-protectiveness blazed in his eyes. “And we know who did it. The deputy is looking into it, but it seems there’s an ex that doesn’t like being an ex. He discovered she was here and made his presence known at Everglades.”
“And your tiger..?”
“Growled, but I kept him in check. Instead, Eve and I danced while your sister took care of Kyle.”
“Kyle?”
Arlin nodded. “The name of the ex-boyfriend. Or ex-husband. I’m not really sure which. She told me to leave before the story came out.”
Dimitri chuckled and Arlin found himself smiling as well. “Told, huh? That sounds like the sassiness of a Bull Creek woman,” Dimitri said. “Just because someone is escaping something, doesn’t mean they’re weak or timid. I don’t know of one person here who wouldn’t step up to the plate if needed. It was a mess a couple of weeks ago when some coyote shifters tried to run most everyone off, but the people of Bull Creek stood their ground and had each other’s backs. We’re a family here, tighter than any other shifter family I’ve ever known.”
“Sounds like a great place to be,” Arlin said. And he meant it. He needed a family around him like the Wolfes surrounded each other. If he was honest, he was kind of hoping his brother, Nathan, would have been here when he arrived. It had been too long since he had seen his family. “Family is important, whether it’s blood or commitment.”
“It’s about love and a common ground. I don’t envy your road with Eve. She’s a spunky gal, but also very shielded. You’re going to have your work cut out for you there.”
Arlin just smiled. “I like a challenge.”
“Be careful what you wish for around here.”
Both men laughed a little, knowing full well that any lady worth having had some spunk to her and could keep her man on his toes while making him feel like a king at the same time.
“Well, I’ll let you get to it,” Dimitri said, pushing himself off the front of his truck, “if y
ou’re sure there’s nothing I can do to help. If you need anything, just give me a yell. I’m two roads over, cabin in the middle.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Arlin watched him go, thinking Dimitri an affable enough fellow. The man seemed to have the right balance of nonchalance and authority, while remaining friendly. He was probably a very good leader for Bull Creek where a diversity of personalities existed and everyone hid something. I’ll fit right in, Arlin thought as he walked around his car to gather up his belongings.
Once everything was loaded up, he turned back to eye his handiwork one more time. He hoped she’d be pleased with what he did, at least happy that he finished the major cleanup. He wished he could be there to see her reaction, but seeing him again would more than likely not go over so well. Then he grinned, as an idea struck him. Seeing me may not go ever so well, even if I stay hidden in the woods. However, my tiger can be a little stealthier than me.
With his mind made up, he hopped into the driver’s seat, started the car and drove back to his brother’s cabin. He only hoped he had enough time before Eve returned.
He didn’t bother to put away his tools or supplies yet. There would be time later for his own cleanup. He wanted to get back to Eve’s cabin. He stripped, tossing his clothes recklessly onto the top of his car, and, as soon as he was naked, shifted, his tiger fur oozing from his skin as his bones popped and twisted, arms and legs becoming the legs of his tiger, feet and hands becoming paws. Once the transformation was complete, he bounded into the woods to avoid possible drivers, and made his way back to Eve’s cabin. Too bad she didn’t know she was his mate yet, a situation he needed to remedy quickly, for the night could have gone down a more erotic path. The snap of dry leaves and twigs sounded under his heavy paws as he weaved through the woods, memories of her body pressed to his bringing a frustrated snarl from the beast that consumed him.
Seven
The ladies finished that last round and then called it a night. Emotions were strung tight as Eve’s tale still reverberated in everyone’s minds. Alanna followed Eve back to her cabin to gather what she needed for the night and the next day, insistent that Eve not be alone. Eve didn’t argue. The attack on her cabin had been a violation that left her feeling dirty.
It wasn’t a long drive, the night quiet and the traffic light, but it was long enough to allow Eve’s nerves to be set on edge again. She didn’t look forward to seeing her cabin trashed again, the damage Kyle inflicted, a reminder that her past had returned. Sheriff Chet didn’t permit her to clean anything up until his crime scene unit processed the place, which would probably make more of a mess left for cleaning and fixing. Now it was too dark to see the disaster Kyle made of her home enough to clean it up even if she had the stomach for it. Alanna was right. Eve needed to sleep somewhere else because her place wasn’t secure. Not just from prowlers tempted by broken locks, but also from nocturnal critters that weren’t the shifter variety as well as bugs, mosquitoes being the worst. She dreaded the cleanup job ahead of her, and was willing to put it off one more night.
She was about to make herself sick just thinking about it when she pulled into her driveway, prepared to witness the nightmare all over again. Yet, what confronted her was not what she expected. Her jaw dropped as she stared at her cabin, confusion furrowing her brow. What the..? The windows had been boarded up, plywood covering the broken glass. The front porch had been swept, all the broken pots picked up and thrown away, while the dirt and ripped up plants were swept from sight. Some of the plants were even planted in the ground around the front of her cabin in a quick effort to save them. Someone had even tried to wash away the words that Kyle spray painted on the front of her cabin, the spot now a dull smear of red. Who would do this?
Stunned, she turned her car off as she opened her driver’s door, her face still a mask of bewilderment. Stepping out into the night air, she turned as Alanna pulled in behind her, her face also a mask of confusion. As soon as her friend stepped out of her own car, Eve asked, “Did you know someone was doing this?”
Alanna shook her head. “Nope. I didn’t expect Chet and his team to be done with it in time to do anything to it tonight.”
Together, they entered the front door, which had also been repaired, the lock replaced and secure, or as secure as it could be in its condition. Eve could only stand in the doorway, barely making room for Alanna to enter as well. Everything had been picked up and a feeble attempt of order made. Anything broken was cleaned up and thrown away, while the place had been swept, the glass inside the house picked up and tossed into the trash, which itself had been carried off. Even new curtains replaced the old shredded ones. Except for the boarded windows, it almost looked as if the break-in never happened. “I don’t understand,” Eve whispered.
“Don’t look to me for answers,” Alanna said. “I’m just as surprised as you are. You’re still not staying here, however. The door may be locked, but those windows are not so secure. Put a bag together for tonight and we’ll head to my place.”
Eve nodded, still dumbfounded, as she trudged her way through her cabin to her bedroom, trying to make sense of the scene around her. Who would have done this? Not the Crime Scene Unit. They destroy in their quest to investigate, not clean up. Who else would have known they were finished? She froze, Kyle wold have known if he watched the place. She shook the thought from her mind. Kyle wouldn’t waste his time fixing his mess. He’d want her to deal with the aftermath of his chaos like he always did, a reminder of his power, his rage, as well as her place in life, his life. So, who then? She didn’t have a clue.
It didn’t take long to put an overnight bag together. She only grabbed the bare necessities, eager to be out of the cabin and the memory of Kyle and his vandalism put behind her. Alanna followed her out as they made sure the place was as secure as possible considering its condition before heading to their cars. As Eve opened the driver’s door, she paused a moment, looking around the place one more time. Movement in the woods to the east of her place snagged her attention, and she squinted, trying to make out what—or who—lurked there, at first worried that Kyle watched her. However, what she saw surprised her even more than if it had been her ex. Standing at the edge of the treeline stood the biggest tiger she could imagine, bigger even than the ones she had seen in the Orlando Zoo. He didn’t move, just stood there watching her, his golden eyes blinking once as he dipped his head in her direction, as if bowing.
She stared a moment, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth, not sure what to do, and then she collapsed into the driver’s seat and started her car. She’d have to ask Alanna if there was a tiger shifter in Bull Creek. She hadn’t heard of one before, but that didn’t mean anything. People came to Bull Creek to hide who they were from the outside world, not draw attention to themselves.
She sighed, wishing she had been able to stay hidden, as well.
Glancing one more time at the woods, the only possible answer struck her. The tiger could only be one person. But why? Why him? Why her?
She sighed. Why now?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Arlin heard the voices from the front of the cabin as he neared a massive oak right at the edge of Eve’s property line and instinctively slowed his pace, not wanting to be heard. He arrived just as both ladies left their vehicles. Through golden eyes he stared as Eve stood there, staring at his hard work on her behalf, her face a mask of shock and surprise. But not fear. He worried she might misconstrue the intentions behind the good deed, thinking it more of an intrusion than a helping hand. He watched as they went inside, each of Eve’s steps tentative, cautious. He shifted slightly, hoping to get a better angle for when she exited the cabin, hoping Alanna tagged along to whisk her away from the chaos.
He didn’t have to wait long before he heard footsteps on the front porch again. Turning his attention back to the cabin, he watched both ladies exit, Eve with a bag in her hand. He let out a sigh of relief. She’s staying at her friend’s place. Good.
Keeping his gaze riveted to her, he watched as she neared her car, opened the door, and threw her bag in the front seat. Then she froze, her back straightening, and very slowly turned her gaze to where he stood. He braced himself, ready to run if she should scream out. Their eyes locked, it seemed, even though he couldn’t tell if she could see him in the dark. He stood to his full height, his legs planted, back straight, just in case she could see him, and then he gave her a small bow of his head. She stared for a moment, her face unreadable, before smiling and getting into her car.
Arlin remained still until her taillights vanished, and only then did he make his way back to his place, pride at the knowledge that he pleased her with his work puffing out his chest. Perhaps there was hope for this mating yet.
Eight
“What the hell were you thinking? I know that was you in the woods last night, so don’t even deny it. Were you standing guard or something? Protecting the poor weak female?” Eve stood on Arlin’s front porch, doing her best to ignore how sexy he looked standing there in his doorway clad only in his gray pajama pants. Lust was not something she needed to feel right now, wanting to hang on to her anger just a while longer. She’d think about how much she wanted to jump his chivalric bones later. “What? You just randomly go around cleaning up people’s cabins? Sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong? Why are you always around anyway?”
He stood there, mouth parted slightly in his shock at her outburst. It took him a moment to get his voice, and she relished every second he struggled. She ignored how cute the masculine specimen appeared caught off-guard right then, not needing the distraction. “I…I just…you know…wanted to help,” he said with a shrug. He glanced down at the coffee mug in his hand, holding it up to her. “Want some coffee? Fresh pot.”
“What I want is to not be cosseted like some weak, pathetic female.” She stared at his coffee mug. “And a cup of coffee.” He grinned and she felt her anger slipping away at the twinkle in his golden eyes.
