by Haley Jacobs
“But what now?” asked Barbara. “We’re about to lose the Lone Pine, and my job will probably go with it.”
“And Pete’s probably gonna drag the whole contract thing out through the courts,” said Ron. “But it doesn’t matter.” Ron propped himself on his elbows, and covering her with his body. He kissed Barbara deeply.
“What matters is you and me,” said Ron. “And our lives together.”
“If you really want to be with me forever,” said Barbara.
“Yes…?” said Ron.
Barbara wriggled away from Ron and leapt off the truck’s tailgate. She crouched down and shifted into her cat form
“You’ll have to catch me first,” said Barbara, darting off into the forest.
Ron threw back his head and laughed. He shifted into a huge grizzly bear, and chased after her.
9
Barbara woke up at six, as she always did. When she arrived in Alaska, strict routines were what kept her sane. Barbara had abandoned the alarm clock long ago. She shook off the sleep. Something was different. The old familiar warmth that Barbara had been missing for years was now back. Ron was there, next to her.
He was turned away from her, fast asleep. Barbara nestled in behind him, burrowing one arm under his pillow and caressing his chest hair with the other. She kissed his shoulder and inhaled his dark, musky scent. It felt good. It felt right.
Barbara sighed. She let her hand drift lower.
“Mmmm…” said Ron. “That’s a nice way to wake up.”
“Good morning, Love,” said Barbara.
“Good morning yourself,” said Ron. “You can keep doing that, by the way.”
Barbara smiled. “You sure I’m not interrupting your beauty sleep.”
“Positive,” said Ron. “I love you so much, Barbara.”
He got up and walked to the bathroom. Barbara watched his tight buttocks. Damn, he looked good!
When he came back, Ron was standing at the foot of the bed. Barbara was on her back looking at Ron.
“Aren’t you going to lay down next to me?” asked Barbara.
“Nope,” said Ron. He pulled the sheets and blankets back and pushed Barbara’s knees up, settling his head between her legs.
Barbara and Ron met Jake and Julia for breakfast at the Redwood Grill. They were already at the table with their friends Molly and Gaston. Ryan sat quietly sipping his coffee. It was rare to see Ryan taking time to relax.
“Did you hear the good news?” asked Julia. “Molly and Gaston are getting married!”
Barbara hugged Molly and Gaston. Ron shook their hands.
“That’s fantastic!” said Barbara.
“Lone Pine magic!” said Gaston in a thick French accent. “This is a place for love. And now Molly will help me run the Redwood Grille.”
“If there is a Lone Pine,” said Ryan.
“What do you mean?” asked Jake.
“You might as well know,” said Barbara. “We need $5 million in repairs to keep operating, and Burwell won’t do it. They’ve decided to let the Lone Pine fall apart.”
“But why?” asked Julia. “That’s not fair!”
Jake narrowed his eyes. “This sounds an awful lot like the Shifter Council’s involved.”
“What do you mean?” asked Molly.
“They do not approve of the Lone Pine Lodge,” said Gaston.
“First of all,” said Molly. “What the hell is the Shifter Council, and secondly, why would they care?”
“You might as well know, since at affects you now, Molly,” said Barbara. “The Shifter Council is a very old and very secret organization. They’re supposed to help keep the community of shifters worldwide safe.”
“But they’re very, very traditional,” said Ron. “The Council is trying to keep shifters pure. They don’t like it when shifters marry shifters from different bloodlines. Or even worse, when shifters marry non-shifters.”
“I was supposed to marry another puma,” said Barbara. She smiled at Ron. “Not a big old bear.”
“My song Wildcat is about me and Barbara,” said Ron. “I knew the real meaning would be lost on regular people, but shifters understood. When it came out, the Shifter Council had a shit fit.”
“Wait,” said Molly. “You wrote Wildcat for Barbara!? Oh my God, that’s so romantic!”
“It was Ron’s wedding present to me,” said Barbara.
Molly looked confused. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what happened to you guys?”
Ron and Barbara looked at each other. There was an uncomfortable silence.
“God knows how,” said Ron. “But Pete got a picture of Barbara in the middle of shifting. He’s been threatening to give it to the tabloids if I didn’t do exactly what he said. Pete was making so much money off me that he kept me on the road constantly.”
“Well that sucks,” said Molly. “How did you get away?”
Ron grinned. “I finally got the only copy of the Polaroid from him. I can finally be with the woman I love.”
Just then, Ron looked up to see Alf running toward the table.
“Ron!” said Alf. “We got trouble. Pete’s looking for you and he’s got his bodyguards with him.”
Ryan looked pale. He was staring straight ahead.
“Ryan?” said Barbara. “What’s wrong?”
“They aren’t human bodyguards,” said Ryan. “They’re tiger shifters.”
There was a commotion at the front of the restaurant as Pete and two huge men shoved their way to the table.
“Time’s up, lover boy,” said Pete. “Are you coming quietly like a nice teddy bear, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?”
Ron rose angrily from his chair. Ryan held him back.
“Ron,” said Ryan. “Those tigers may be in human form, but they’ll kill you if you give them a chance.”
Ron sat back down, seething.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here, Pete,” said Ron. “There’s no way I’m going back on the road. I’m free.”
“Oh I don’t think so,” sneered Pete.
“I have your goddamn Polaroid,” said Ron. “It’s over. You’ve got nothing on me anymore.”
Pete laughed derisively. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
“Well…” said Alf.
Pete glared at Alf, and pulled a printed color copy of the Polaroid photo of Barbara out of his pocket.
“This is my insurance policy,” said Pete. “I have copies backed up in the cloud. You’re going back on the road and singing whenever, wherever, and whatever I say.”
“And if I say no?” said Ron.
“Then your little pussycat gets plastered all over the web!” said Pete. “One click of a mouse and the photo goes to TMZ. And besides, my boys here are just itching to take you apart. They look like pretty hungry tigers, don’t you think?”
The bodyguards towered over Ron. Ron moved to stand, but Barbara prevented him.
“Ronnie,” said Barbara. “There’s nothing you can do right now. Those tigers will kill you if you refuse. We’ll get together when we can. But right now, we have to admit defeat.”
“That’s right,” said Pete. “So get your ass out of that chair and be in the lobby in twenty minutes!”
“Nope,” said Julia. All eyes turned to her. She was holding the photo.
“What did you say, bitch?” said Pete. Jake rose out of his chair.
“Easy, Jake,” said Ron.
Julia waved the photo at Pete. “That’s Mrs. Richardson to you, and you heard me. Nope.”
“What’s going on?” said Jake.
“This is the worst Photoshop job I’ve ever seen,” said Julia.
“What the fuck are you talking about?!” yelled Pete. “It’s REAL! I took it myself ten years ago!”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Julia. “It sure looks fake to me. What do you think, Molly?”
“Totally amateur,” said Molly, looking at the picture. “My nine-year-old niece could
do a better Photoshop job. It would make a pretty cool album cover, though. What do you think, Alf?”
Alf took the photo. “Ooh! You’re right, Molly! I never thought of it that way. Kinda heavy metal for a country singer, but Ronnie here can play whatever he wants now. It’s pretty awesome.”
Julia grinned. “I’d say you’ve got nothing, Pete.”
Ron took the photo. “ I guess that means that I can stay here with my Wildcat.”
“Over my dead fucking body!” said Pete. “Boys, get him!”
The two tiger shifters grabbed Ron. He struggled against them, but even in their human form, they were too strong. Barbara lunged toward the tigers, but they shoved her to the ground. Jake, Ryan, Gaston and Alf came at them with fists swinging. Pete’s bodyguards let go of Ron and came after them. People in the restaurant screamed.
The tigers easily took them down. They picked up Ron and began dragging him out of the Redwood Grill. That was when Barbara felt a familiar chill. A heavy coffee mug began to tremble all by itself, dancing on the top of the table. It suddenly hurled through the air on its own power, connecting with the back of one tiger’s head. He howled in pain and let go of Ron.
“GO GET ‘EM, EMILIA!” yelled Barbara.
Soon, another mug went flying toward the second tiger, smashing into his temple.
“Who threw that?” he bellowed, as a plate hit him square in the forehead. Diners screamed and ducked under their tables. Plates and cups began hurtling toward the two tigers as they batted them away in vain.
The kitchen door flew open and a large cast iron skillet came screaming toward the tigers, knocking one of them out with a loud clang.
“A GHOST! OH MY GOD, IT’S A GHOST! AAAAGH!” shrieked the remaining tiger. He ran for the exit, but not before Emilia was able to bean him with a large stockpot, knocking him out as well.
“What the hell was that all about?” asked Alf.
“That,” said Ryan. “Was our resident ghost, Emilia. I had heard that tigers were terrified of ghosts, but would never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself.”
Ron stood and brushed himself off. He caught sight of Pete hiding under a table. Ron dragged him out.
“Going somewhere?” asked Ron.
Pete was pale and trembling.
“Don’t hurt me!” cried Pete. “Please don’t hurt me!”
“We won’t if you leave…NOW!” said Ron.
“What are we gonna do with Pete’s goons?” asked Alf.
“I’ll get Jessica, our van driver, to take them to the airport before they wake up,” said Ryan. “We’ll put Pete and the rest of them on a plane to Anchorage before they know what hit them. Now that they’re on Emilia’s bad side, there’s no way they’ll be back.”
“I just texted Jessica,” said Ryan. “She’ll be here in a minute.”
“Sorry about your restaurant, Gaston,” said Ron.
“It’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” said Gaston.
“So does somebody want to explain to me just what the hell happened?” said Ron.
“Emilia,” said Barbara. “She’s our resident ghost. I guess she wants us to be together.”
“A ghost,” said Ron “Seriously?”
“You saw it yourself,” said Barbara.
“I saw it, and I’m still not sure I believe it,” said Alf.
A short, young woman with long, brown hair came up to the table.
“Jessica!” said Molly.
“Hi Molly,” said Jessica. “I guess I’m here to take out the trash. Where are they?”
“Over there,” said Ryan, pointing.
Jessica looked over at Ron and Alf. Her eyes got big. She pointed at Alf.
“You…you’re…” said Jessica.
“Let me guess,” said Ron. “Alf Walters, and you’ve learned all his licks on guitar. Right?”
“No,” said Jessica. “He’s my mate.”
10
“WHAT?!” said Alf. “My mate?!” He stared down into Jessica’s deep, brown eyes. Way, way down, in fact. If she was even five feet tall, he would be surprised. Alf felt an electric tingle that he had never experienced before.
Ron roared with laughter. “I told you that you’d meet your mate at the Lone Pine, but you wouldn’t believe me!”
“Okay…um…Alf? That’s your name, right?” said Jessica.
“Yes…” said Alf, stunned.
“I know you feel it too, so we might as well just give in to it,” said Jessica.
“Wow,” said Alf. “I thought that whole ‘Fated Mates’ thing was bullshit. Where do we even begin?”
Jessica stuck out her hand. “Jessica Kendall. I’m a coyote shifter.”
Alf shook her tiny hand. “Alf Walters, and there’s no way in hell I’m ever shifting again.”
“What kind of shifter are you?” asked Ryan.
“Listen,” said Ron. “You’ll never get it out of Alf the Mystery Man. Trust me on this one. Come on, Mystery Man. Let’s get these clowns into the van and on the next plane out of town. Then you and Jessica can get to know each other on the way to the airport.”
Jake, Ron and Alf loaded the two tigers and a very nervous Pete into the Lone Pine’s van. Alf climbed into the passenger seat as Jessica started the engine.
“You got this?” said Ron.
“Yeah,” said Alf. “They’re much easier to handle when they’re out cold. But how are we gonna get them on the plane without a ticket?”
“Ryan called in a few favors and got them all a seat on the next flight out,” said Ron. “I swear that dude’s got some serious connections.”
Alf grinned. “Hey man, I finally found my mate!”
“No,” said Ron. “Your mate found you.”
“C’mon, Mystery Man,” said Jessica, smiling. “Let’s get these three off the mountain and get to know each other.”
Ron walked back to the Lone Pine when something caught his eye. Ellie was still parked in front of the lobby. Even in her battered condition, she was one magnificent piece of machinery. Ron opened the door and sat behind the wheel. He started the car with a satisfying roar and a not-so-satisfying backfire. He put Ellie in gear and drove her to a proper parking spot.
Ron got out of the car and tapped her on the hood. “Good girl.”
He looked up at the Lone Pine Lodge. A blue tarp flapped noisily over the roof. The paint was peeling, and some portions of the old porch were rotting. The Lone Pine Lodge was a beauty, but she clearly needed a lot of work.
“There you are!” said Barbara, walking up to Ron. She looked at the battered, lime-green metallic Lotus.
“You drove here in that?” asked Barbara.
“Yeah,” said Ron. “I did.”
“That’s kind of crazy,” said Barbara. Ron pulled Barbara into a kiss, holding her close around his huge, firm body.
“Crazy in love,” said Ron.
He put his arm around Barbara as they gazed at the Lone Pine Lodge.
“She’s a spectacular old bird,” said Ron. “Such a shame. How long do you think she’ll stay open without the money?”
“Ryan says a year,” said Barbara. “Maybe two. Winters are pretty rough up here.”
“That’s something I’m looking forward to,” said Ron. “I’ll bet it’s amazing in Winter.”
“It’s my favorite time,” said Barbara. “The park and the Lodge close to the public when the snows come. As much as I love the visitors, there’s a real peacefulness here at Christmas. Most of the folks who live here year-round don’t have anyone else. We’re a big family here.”
“I can’t wait to grow old here with you, Babs,” said Ron.
Barbara sighed. “I’m afraid that’s no going to happen.”
“How much does it need again?”
“About $5 million.”
“What about my Wildcat?” asked Ron.
“Me?” said Barbara. “I don’t know. We’ll figure something out.”
“No, I mean my Wildcat. The
song,” said Ron. “I reread my contract with the record company and realized that they never paid me my publishing royalties on it. It was a number one hit and still gets heavy rotation. They owe me a lot of money. What if we donated it to fix the Lone Pine?”
Startled, Barbara looked at Ron. “You’d do that?”
“Technically we would be doing it,” said Ron. “It’s your money, too. I doubt it’d be the full $5 million, but if I’m right, it’ll be a good start.”
“But what about the rest of the money?” asked Barbara.
“Well,” said Ron. “I was thinking. What if we do a benefit concert right here at the Lone Pine? Me and Alf have plenty of connections in Nashville. I’m sure we could get some big name artists to perform. We could even stream it online.”
“That’s a great idea!” said Barbara.
“It would be enough to at least start the repairs,” said Ron.
“What if we did it every year?” asked Barbara.
“You mean like a yearly ‘Lone Pine Music Festival?’’ asked Ron.
“Sure,” said Barbara. “I mean…why not? It would give you a place to perform that’s not on the road, and we could still be together. Maybe we could even build you a recording studio here.”
Before Barbara could continue, Ron pressed his lips against hers. Barbara felt the warmth of his lips spread throughout her body. She could get used to this.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Ron stood offstage at the close of the Lone Pine Music Festival. Even though there was a September chill in the air, the crowd was cheering for the band to come back onstage for one final song. Ron loved his fans, and they loved country music the way he played it. But after more than ten years on the road, he was happy to be playing at home.
Ron felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Barbara.
“So,” said Barbara. “You going to sing it tonight?”
Ron shot a knowing look at Alf Walters, his lead-guitar player. Alf grinned and put his arm around his fiancé Jessica.
“You gonna ask me that damn question every night?” said Ron.
