Riley didn’t see Hunter again until later that evening, when the crew had a barbeque with grilled chicken, burgers, and vegetable skewers. Several different kinds of beer appeared on the picnic table behind the hangar, including the IPA Riley had picked up for Hunter earlier that day. Riley brought out a bottle of the wine she had bought, feeling a little weird for having wine when everyone else was drinking beer. But Charlotte let out a small cheer when she saw Riley holding the wine.
“You like red wine?” Charlotte asked, her voice filling with excitement. “I’m so glad. I’m always craving a good glass of wine, but I can’t finish a bottle by myself and I hate to leave an open bottle sitting for too long. None of these guys will share with me. They say wine is too sophisticated for them.”
Riley giggled. “I love wine. I’ll share a bottle with you anytime you want. Although, I have to admit, I have been known to polish off a bottle on my own. I didn’t find any wine glasses in the kitchen, either, which I’m assuming means there aren’t any?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I guess since they never have wine the guys have never bothered buying any. We should get some and fix that. In the meantime, I’m perfectly happy to sip from a red Solo cup.”
Riley grinned and took the plastic cup that Charlotte handed to her. She filled Charlotte’s cup and her own with wine, and then held up her drink in Charlotte’s direction. “Cheers, to my fellow wine lover,” Riley said.
“Cheers,” Charlotte echoed as they thumped their glasses together.
“Oh great,” Zach said, coming up behind them as they each took a sip of wine. “Looks like we’ve got two wine snobs around here now.”
Riley shrugged at Zach, and was surprised to see a teasing smile on his face. He had refused to look in her direction since she’d arrived, and every time she’d seen him today he’d had a scowl on his face. But he seemed to be in a good mood now, which might have been partially due to the bottle of beer he currently held in his hand. Riley had a feeling it wasn’t his first drink of the night.
“He’s a jerk some of the time, but he does have his happy moments,” Charlotte whispered in Riley’s ear. She must have noticed the confusion on Riley’s face at Zach’s sudden jovial attitude.
Riley glanced around at the crew, and she felt a little thrill of happiness run through her as she realized that she got to be a part of this group. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and jokes and good-natured jabs were flying back and forth. Hunter and Ian were busy manning the grill, while Luke and Trevor were trying to organize the food on the picnic table enough to make room for all of the drinks and food.
“We need another picnic table, especially now that Riley is here,” Trevor complained. “One table is too small to hold booze and food for seven people.”
“Well, obviously, Ian should have to pay for the new picnic table,” Luke said. All of the guys except for Ian erupted into laughter, and Riley looked around in confusion.
“Did I miss something?” she asked.
“Oh, you missed something alright. You missed Ian and Charlotte getting frisky on the picnic table. Let’s just say we used to have two picnic tables, until those two broke the second one with their extracurricular fun,” Luke said.
“You hush your mouth,” Charlotte said to Luke, which only made him laugh even more. Charlotte’s cheeks were turning bright pink, and Riley had a feeling it was due to more than just the wine.
“Is he saying what I think he’s saying?” Riley asked Charlotte.
Zach jumped in before Charlotte could say anything else. “If you think he’s saying that Ian and Charlotte banged on the picnic table and broke it, then, yes, he’s saying what you think he’s saying.”
Ian and Charlotte both glared at Zach, while the rest of the guys clinked their beer bottles together and laughed loudly at their alpha’s expense.
Riley couldn’t help but join in the laughter, although she did feel a little badly for Charlotte, who clearly felt embarrassed by the teasing. But after the tense introduction she had received to the crew earlier, Riley felt relieved to be invited in to their jokes and banter. She felt like they had started to accept her, and maybe even like her. Riley glanced over at Hunter and caught him looking at her with a smile on his face, and her own smile grew. She let her worries about a job go for the moment. Things would work out the way they needed to work out. Right now, she wanted to enjoy having some time with Hunter and his crew.
When the meat had finished cooking, Riley joined the rest of the group in loading up her paper plate. She took some chicken, a burger, and a vegetable skewer. Then she filled in the empty space left on the plate with potato salad. She ate hungrily, moaning with delight as the first bite of her delicious, juicy burger hit her tongue.
“This sure beats Spam,” Riley said. “I haven’t eaten anything this good in weeks.”
“Well, maybe that’s because you haven’t tried Spam and Gatorade mixed together,” Luke said.
“Oh, give the Spam and Gatorade thing a rest,” Charlotte said, rolling her eyes in Luke’s direction. She started to try to explain the Spam and Gatorade to Riley, but Hunter jumped in.
“Riley tried it,” he said proudly. “Citrus Cooler flavor was her favorite.”
“Really?” Zach asked, surprise filling his voice. “You tried it? We can never get girls to try that.”
Charlotte let out a harrumph, but said nothing further.
“I did try it. It beat the protein bars, that’s for sure. But I can’t say that I’ll be indulging in Spam again anytime soon. I had enough to last me for a good long while.”
“Lucky you, that you don’t have to go on missions and eat crap,” Trevor said. “I love being a smokejumper, but the gross nonperishable food sure gets old.”
“Well, if you want something really good to eat, I think Riley made us a couple of pies. She’s a professional baker, so I’m sure they’ll be delicious,” Hunter said.
“Shut up, really? Is that why the kitchen smelled so good earlier?” Trevor asked.
“It’s no big deal,” Riley said. “I just made two strawberry pies. I wanted to show my appreciation for how you’ve all welcomed me to your base. I’ll go grab the pies. I think I saw vanilla ice-cream in the freezer, too. Should I bring that out to scoop on top of the pie?”
“Hell, yes,” Luke said. “Ice-cream and pie? It’s like a freaking holiday or something.”
Riley blushed and stood to head to the kitchen.
“I’ll help,” Charlotte said, following Riley in the direction of the bunkhouse. Behind them, Riley could hear Hunter bragging on and on about how talented Riley was, which she found amusing since he hadn’t had an opportunity yet to sample one of her pies. She winced when she heard him mentioning that he thought she should open her own pie shop in Red Valley. She had almost forgotten to worry about that, but she realized she’d have to tell him again later that she didn’t plan to open a shop anytime soon.
The two strawberry pies were a great success. By the time dinner ended, less than half a pie remained. Full and slightly buzzed, Riley lay on the soft grass between the hangar and the runway. She stared up at the faint stars and listened to her new friends talking and laughing. The awkwardness Riley had felt when she first arrived at the base had disappeared. Even though she had only been here for a day, she already felt like she had known everyone for a long time.
Eventually the crew members started drifting off to the bunkhouse, until Riley and Hunter were the only ones remaining out by the picnic table. Hunter lay next to Riley in the cool grass and smiled over at her as he laced his fingers with hers.
“Having a good time?” he asked.
“Yeah, your friends are pretty amazing,” Riley said.
“I agree. Although, they’re more like my family than just my friends. A clan of bear shifters is basically a big family of bear shifters.”
“I almost forgot you were a bear shifter,” Riley said. “You seem so, I don’t know…normal.”
&n
bsp; Hunter sighed, and Riley realized that what she had said could come across the wrong way.
“Don’t take offense at that,” Riley said. “I don’t mean that you’re weird or not normal or anything like that. It’s just easy to forget that you’re a little different below the surface. That’s all.”
“I’m not offended. I just worry that you’ll all of a sudden think you can’t handle being with a bear shifter.”
Riley’s heart ached at the vulnerable look in Hunter’s eyes. She couldn’t imagine ever being afraid of someone so caring and sweet.
“I can handle it,” Riley said softly. “Your eyes are the same, even when you’re in bear form. I always know it’s you. I always know you see me.”
Hunter smiled, and leaned over to kiss Riley’s cheek. “I’m so lucky to have you,” he said.
They stared up at the sky for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company. Riley wanted to figure out a way to tell him that she had firmly decided against opening the pie shop using his money, but he spoke before she could say anything. He had already figured out her hesitation, and he wasn’t going to let her drop the matter so easily.
“Look, I know you’re unsure about the pie shop, but promise me that you’ll at least think about it for a few days with an open mind, okay? I know you want to do everything on your own, and it’s admirable that you take such good care of yourself. But being independent doesn’t mean that you never accept help. We all need someone from time to time. And if we don’t let the most important people in our lives help, then what’s the point of having important people in our lives. Don’t be so stubborn.”
Riley sighed. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll think about it. But I’m just warning you that I have no intentions of changing my mind.”
Hunter kissed her again. “Fair enough. Although, I’m just warning you that I’m planning to use the three hour drive to your apartment tomorrow to pester you into accepting my help.”
“Well that hardly seems fair,” Riley protested.
“All’s fair in love and pie shops,” Hunter said, sitting up. “Now, come on. As much as I’d love to sit out here with you all night, we’ve had a very long day, and it’s past midnight already. We should get some rest so we can get on the road at a reasonable time tomorrow.”
Riley gave Hunter her hand and let him pull her up off the grass. She wished they could lie out here together forever, but she had to admit that sleeping in a real bed did sound awfully tempting right now. As soon as her head hit the pillow, all of her worries disappeared, giving way to the blissful peace of deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter Ten
The next day, Hunter found himself on a three hour plane ride with his crew instead of a three hour car ride with Riley. Early that morning, headquarters in Boise had called the crew in for a small fire that had started in a mountainous area of northern Oregon. The small fire wouldn’t take the crew very long to put out if all went well, but it was located too high to be reached by foot.
Hunter had left the keys to his car with Riley, so she could go back to her apartment in Sacramento and start getting new I.D.s and credit cards. She would also be able to get her own clothes and shoes, which she had been wishing for since they arrived back at the base. Hunter tried not to worry about whether he could convince Riley to stay at the base permanently. He didn’t want to have to deal with a three hour commute to see his lifemate during every fire season, but Riley seemed hell bent on not accepting his help to open a pie shop. To him, it seemed obvious that lifemates should help each other out financially without a second thought. But Riley took his offers of help as some sort of affront to her independent spirit. Hunter sighed and stared out the window of the plane as the wilderness below passed by him in a blur. He was having a hard time focusing on anything except the worries about Riley swirling through his head.
When the plane reached the drop site, Hunter went through the motions of jumping out of the plane without even thinking about it. Muscle memory took over as he checked his gear, donned his helmet, and leapt out the door. He pulled his parachute handle and the canopy opened beautifully, but he didn’t feel the same rush of adrenaline today that he normally did as he steered toward his landing area. Even freefalling from an airplane hadn’t been enough to push away the uncertainties about the future that loomed large in his mind.
Hunter went through the familiar routine of packing up his parachute and clearing away brush to make a fire break. He heard the comforting buzz of chainsaws and the shouts of his crew members as they made quick progress on clearing away the trees and undergrowth. For several hours, Hunter poured all his energy into his task, working faster than he ever had before. Frustration made a great motivator. Hunter didn’t stop or slow down until Ian finally called out that the fire break was large enough. Zach stepped up with a flame thrower to start the backfire on the opposite side of the fire break from the crew. The fire would burn away from the crew until it reached the other fire. The two fires would then merge and burn each other out.
This particular job had been relatively straightforward and easy, and the crew settled happily around their gear to eat whatever meal replacement of choice they had brought along on the mission. Tired, but happy to have successfully completed their work, they fell into a familiar routine of talking and joking.
Hunter tried to participate, but he couldn’t bring himself to laugh genuinely when his heart felt so heavy and conflicted. Finally, he decided he needed some time alone to think. Muttering some excuse about wanting to check out the view around the campsite, Hunter grabbed a protein bar and walked away from the group. He found a large rock and sat on it, watching the fires burning in the waning sunlight. The two fires would meet within the next hour, and would likely be burnt out by the time the crew settled into their sleeping bags to sleep.
A few moments after Hunter sat down, he was startled by the sound of someone walking toward him through the brush. He looked up to find Luke heading in his direction with a determined look on his face.
“I’m gonna sit right here on this rock next to you, and neither one of us are moving until you tell me what’s bothering you,” Luke said as he settled onto a large stone next to Hunter.
“I’m fine,” Hunter said. “I’m just tired.”
“Bullshit. You’re not fine. You’ve been quiet all day, and you’re never quiet. You’re always the one keeping everyone laughing and in good spirits. What happened to happy Hunter?” Luke asked, giving Hunter a little punch in his arm.
“Happy Hunter? That sounds like a nickname for a clown,” Hunter said.
“Well you’d better tell me what’s bothering you, or I’m going to start using that nickname permanently just to annoy you. I have a feeling that all of this moping has something to do with a certain Miss Riley Hughes.”
Hunter sighed. “She’s just so stubborn. I know opening a pie shop is a big dream of hers, but she doesn’t have the money to get it started. She can’t get a business loan from the bank, either. I offered to help out and invest the startup capital she’d need, but she refuses to let me help. So she’s going to end up taking a job near her old job, and living three hours away from base. I’m never going to see her during fire season. It makes so much more sense for her to let me help. She’d get to follow her dream and have her own shop, and she’d be able to live on base with me. We’d actually get to spend some time together here and there. But, no. She told me she doesn’t take handouts from men. I guess she’d rather us never see each other than take a dime of assistance from me.”
Luke shrugged. “Sounds like you guys just need to get on the same page about things.”
“I wish things were that simple, Luke. I’ve tried to tell her that I’m happy to invest in her business, and that I genuinely think it’s a good deal for me, too. Which I do. But she’s still not giving the idea a fair chance. It’s so frustrating. I’ve found my lifemate, and I’m going to be constantly separated from her. You know what that does to a bear! It’s g
oing to tear me up inside.”
“Have you told her that?”
“About being torn up inside?”
“Yes. Have you told her how hard it will be for you as a bear to be physically away from your lifemate so much?”
“I mean, sort of. I don’t know. Not exactly,” Hunter said, fumbling over his words.
Luke narrowed his eyes at Hunter.
“I don’t want to scare her off,” Hunter said. He knew his excuse sounded weak.
“Dude, I’m sorry, but you’re being a pansy.”
“If you just came over here to make fun of me, then I’d rather you just leave me alone,” Hunter said, glaring at Luke.
“I’m not trying to make fun of you. I know sometimes humans have a hard time accepting that a lifemate bond can happen so quickly. I know that there have been cases of humans running from their lifemates because they felt overwhelmed by how quickly a bear’s feelings grow. But, Hunter, you’ve already shifted in front of her. I don’t think things could get much stranger for a human, and she hasn’t left yet. You have to tell her how deep your feelings truly run. Odds are, she’s still viewing all of this through a human filter. She thinks there’s a chance that your feelings for her are only because of the new relationship, and that those feelings might change. Set the record straight for her. If you can jump out of airplanes and off of rescue helicopters, you can handle showing the depths of your feelings to your fated lifemate.”
Hunter furrowed his brow. “If you’re such an expert on love, why are you still single?”
Luke’s eyes darkened. “Because the only woman I ever truly loved didn’t love me back, and I swore I would rather be single than look for someone else. But things are different for you. You’ve found a woman who does love you, bear and all.”
Hunter raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I didn’t know you’d ever been in love. You’ve never said anything to me about it.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a painful subject. One best left in the past. I used to think she was my lifemate, but now I know better. I just wanted her to be my lifemate so badly that I tricked myself into thinking she was,” Luke said with a shrug. “Maybe I’m not meant to have a lifemate. Maybe I’m just meant to pour my time and energy completely into stopping fires.”
A Spark to Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 2) Page 8
