But now wasn’t the time to be thinking things like that.
On their way back, Aubrey had been forming a plan. It was a plan that didn’t involve much rest or sleep, even though her limbs ached, but it was also a plan that would be truly rewarding if she could see it through. Initially she had wondered if staying in town to rest before returning to the reservoir the next day was the most sensible way of being thorough, but by the time they got back she had decided this would not suffice. It was a five-hour drive back to Albuquerque, and she would only have a couple of hours to prepare her experiments in the lab before crashing out in her sleeping bag, then checking the results before making her journey back the next day. Intensive as it was, Aubrey had essentially become a lone emergency service, but she’d decided she was up for it and would make the same journey day after day if it meant finding a cure. There would come a day when she could collapse on her bed, close her eyes and let sweet dreams do their work, but she would not allow tiredness to affect her until then. Espresso would be her companion; the clock her mortal enemy.
Having a very clear purpose in life did have its advantages. They were like adventurers chasing down a treasure, and so they’d managed to make the journey back without any awkwardness over the kiss. Oh, god…that kiss.
Though they had not discussed the matter, it had not been an issue either. The conversation had remained light-hearted; full of laughter and merriment, and they’d returned to town looking like the best of friends. Anyone who laid eyes on them might have assumed that they’d been friends for years.
After she’d taken the blood sample, the two of them had to accept a temporary end to their adventure. The incident at the reservoir had delayed them enough to make contacting anyone at the town hall unlikely, but Aubrey insisted she would be back the next day ready for another trek, even if it meant making the return journey in the dark. Before that she would head back to her lab in Albuquerque and make what analysis she could.
Jesse bid her goodbye for now, though not before giving in to a friendly embrace.
Once more, Aubrey found herself wishing they could be more than friends.
***
So much seemed to have happened since Jesse had first set eyes on Aubrey the day before that he simply had to see a familiar face before calling it a night. Indeed, feeling as lethargic as he did, the idea of falling asleep without knowing what condition he was going to wake up in was not a pleasant one. He headed over to Claire and James’ house, hoping to talk Claire into unwinding with something barbecued and maybe a beer. His cousin would be out working; James was a cop on night duty, but he’d catch up with him another time.
Claire was indeed up for a few drinks, but it came with the price that she could see right through him, just as she’d always been able to do.
“So,” she began, having waited for food to appear in front of them before the interrogation. “How did the expedition with the girl from the city go?”
Jesse saw that he was in for a tough ride upon seeing that Claire was already smiling. She had obviously sensed there was a story to tell as soon as she laid eyes upon him.
“I know what you’re asking,” he replied. “But the truth is she’s doing incredibly important work.”
“So you didn’t have to carry her back because she couldn’t hack the distance then?”
“Nah, quite the opposite. She used to go hiking with her father; took to it like a duck to water.”
“Ooh, I think I sense some admiration in your voice,” she teased. “You didn’t fall for her did you? Like one of those cartoon stories of unlikely friendships?”
“You’ll just have to imagine what we got up to, Claire,” he said with a wink. “It was science stuff…very technical and oh-so-sexy.”
He didn’t mention the near-drowning incident, because it was over and done with now; no point in concerning his friend by bringing it up.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed, lifting her hand and pointing at him accusingly. “Don’t think you’re kidding me for one minute, tiger boy. I know exactly what you’ve been up to.”
“What’s that, Einstein?”
“She’s the girl from the city who couldn’t help but give herself to the bit of rough, am I right?”
“You’re way off the mark, Claire,” he said, not wanting to disrespect Aubrey by discussing their kiss. Oh, and what a kiss it was…
“You were up in those woods making the beast with two backs, I’ll wager.”
“We were definitely not. I don’t kiss and tell, but I promise you we weren’t.”
Claire snorted. “You don’t kiss and tell? Ha! Are you serious?” she asked, pulling a different sideways expression at him. “Nothing’s ever stopped you from kissing and telling before. Something definitely happened up there!”
Jesse simply smiled, and Claire’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my god… you’ve fallen in love with her!”
“What?”
“Jesse, what are you thinking? You just met this girl. I mean, she seemed nice and all, but she lives so far away…you’ve gotta think about things like that.”
“Take a chill pill, Claire,” he told her. Claire raised a brow, and he continued. “Put that wonderful intellect towards what movie we’re going to check out. I need to unwind. Got another trek tomorrow with the lovely Aubrey.”
“Lovely, huh…?”
“Yes, lovely. I don’t mind telling you this, inquisitive one…she completely surprised me and she’s quite brilliant at her job. You’d get along with her really well if you spent more time with her, but I repeat, I have not been out there doing anything other than my job.”
His inner tiger perked up at that, and it roared in his mind. Liar, liar, stripes on fire.
Claire remained unconvinced as well. “I totally think you’re in love with this girl.”
Jesse shook his head and turned his attention towards his food, ignoring her comments about him being in love. He wasn’t in love. He’d only just met Aubrey, for Christ’s sake. And yet she’s the right one, his tiger seemed to say. Forget about that online chat buddy of yours!
And yet, he couldn’t. As much as he already cared about Aubrey, he still couldn’t wait to chat to his Roar4More chat partner again. God, they were both just so great.
If only they could be one and the same woman…
Chapter 7
A clear road on the way back to Albuquerque was something of a blessing, as was a clear night. Especially seeing as, if Aubrey was to be honest, she may have exceeded the speed limit a little. All the way she prayed that the water samples she had almost killed herself in obtaining would be worth the effort. Having a theory was one thing, but waiting to see it proven was always a time of doubt for any scientist, especially if there were lives on the line.
Testing the water was a fairly swift process. She’d been right in taking samples from both the filtration unit and the body of water itself, because they showed immediate differences. More so than simply being purer—as was to be expected—but the results highlighted a certain alkaline element that was certainly not natural.
The next step was to see if the results matched any of the typical chemicals to be found in tap water; chloride, fluorine, barium, etc., while she also thought to check for pesticides. No match was forthcoming and so Aubrey had to conclude that something unusual was being added to the water source, and surely it could only be being done via the locked office in some way. Whatever incompetence was at work would need to be uncovered, and she would have to gain access to assess what the chemical actually was. Without that, a cure could still take months.
She felt sick at the thought, picturing Jesse in her mind again.
She considered calling him right there and then to reconfirm his availability for the hike the next day. She was still shaken by her near-death experience and felt no shame in needing his company again, even though she now knew where the reservoir was. Even the added factor of kissing him did not make her feel shy in this regard; they were comrades o
n this mission now, and it felt good to have an ally outside of the lab. Of course, what delayed her was his blood sample—he was also technically one of her patients now and she had a duty of care for him.
When the analysis was complete she was shocked and worried. It wasn’t the fact that he had definitely contracted the disease—something she had suspected all along—but that it had progressed further than her observations of his condition had led her to expect. Time would be of the essence, but then an epiphany came to her and she realized something might be done in the meantime. She knew enough about the disease now to suggest nutrients that might strengthen the system against its attack, even if a cure was still beyond her.
It was eleven P.M. by the time she’d run a few more tests and picked up her cell phone.
“Hey!” came Jesse’s voice at the other end.
“Jesse, how are you feeling?” she asked, doing her best to sound upbeat so as not to alarm him.
“Oh, you know. A little exhausted but I’ll be fine.”
Already she knew him well enough to know that this meant he was very exhausted and had no idea whether he would be fine. She took a deep breath as she tried to measure up the best way of relaying the news without causing great anxiety.
“Okay. There’s good news and there’s bad news…and then there’s other bad news, but there’s also other good news.”
That went well. Try speaking English next time, she scolded herself.
“Take your time, Aubrey, I’m all ears,” came his response after a confused pause.
“Okay, I’m going to give you the second piece of good news first, which is that I think I’ve found a way of keeping this virus at bay, at least for a while, by suggesting you add a particular food source to your diet.”
“Because you’re giving me this advice, I take it that one of the pieces of bad news is that I have the disease?”
“That’s right. Sorry. I’m being insensitive.”
“Nah, it’s fine. So what is it that I need to eat in order to feel better?”
“You’re going to love this one, Jesse…”
“Go on then.”
“You need to eat lots of broccoli. There are certain phytochemicals in it that help.”
“Broccoli? Aubrey, you’re hilarious,” he said dryly.
“I know. Please believe me when I say I’m getting no sick pleasure out of this.”
“You’re not fooling me that much, but I’ll let you off. So what are the other two pieces of good and bad news?”
“Well, the good news is that I have ascertained there is a rogue chemical compound being introduced to the water supply. We’re onto this thing. The bad news is that I don’t know exactly what it is yet. There simply has to be some kind of automatic dispenser at the reservoir facility, and I can’t think where else it would be other than that office.”
“It’s as you suspected then; we’ll need to go back with a key.”
“You up for it, tiger?” she asked, a cheeky grin on her face even though she knew he couldn’t see her.
“Absolutely, let’s sort this thing. After I’ve slaughtered some broccoli at least. That should make me feel well enough, right?”
“I hope so. Make sure you do.”
“You got it. See you tomorrow.”
After hanging up, Aubrey realized she was grinning from ear to ear. What was that all about? A professional medical worker wasn’t supposed to have a smile plastered across her features when she informed patients they had a rare and deadly disease. Luckily no one was around to witness her unprofessionalism.
Her last task before getting some much-needed rest for tomorrow’s return to Colorado was to log on to one of the lab’s computers and compile a report to send for Marshall’s benefit. It would have been good to get her superior’s perspective on the research. He was far more experienced than her, and she had learned a lot from sharing a workplace with him, but he was an early to bed, early to rise man and it was likely he wouldn’t get the emailed report until the morning. Hopefully he would see the need to await her return in the office the next day, so she could benefit from his intellect in achieving the swiftest approach to creating and dispensing a solution.
Before logging off she noticed an email from one of her colleagues informing her about the young lady she had last seen before heading off to Colorado, and learning that the patient was rapidly deteriorating made her feel sad and helpless. Aubrey had travelled many miles on her own expenditure in order to zoom in on a cure for patients like her, but whenever the silent hours came and nothing could be done to further the mission until the next morning, the tragedy of loss of life hit home, and memories of her father came back to haunt her.
Knowing that she needed some kind of distraction to clear her mind before trying to sleep, Aubrey thought to plug her headphones in and listen to some music, but it was then that she remembered Roar4More instead.
That sweet-talker she’d been chatting to the day before had been telling her he was a tiger, she recalled. What were the odds of meeting two in just two days, given how rare they were?
J2Oh had promised to be poised for her contact, and he was true to his word.
Hey there, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon, came his response.
Just a brief respite, she replied. But I just had to check in with my online tiger buddy. Or domestic housecat…whatever you really are ;)
You still don’t believe I’m a tiger, do you? What can I do to convince you?
I’m still figuring that out, but I’ve got a growing store of information so I’ll think of something. You better come clean soon or you’ll be snared.
And what if I find some way of proving it? What reward do I get? A first date?
I can’t be meeting up with a man I’ve only just met online within the last couple of weeks. There’s too many crazy stories out there.
You don’t strike me as gullible in any way.
Exactly, tiger.
Well if you won’t meet me what other reward could I get? A pretty pic to drool over?
You can find plenty on Google Images, Aubrey typed with glee, enjoying teasing her online buddy.
My, aren’t we playing hard to get this evening…
You can pick the girl with the nicest breasts and just pretend it’s me.
Hmm…maybe. Would rather see you, though. I still have no idea what you actually look like.
Aubrey finally thought of a question she could ask this man to see if he was really a tiger or not.
By the way, how much stronger than a puma is a tiger? You must know, if you’re really a tiger, she said.
There was an unusually long pause from J2Oh in replying to that one.
What’s the matter, cat got your tongue? she pressed.
No…just odd that I’ve been asked that question twice in one day. I’m not sure, although my friend told me that tigers are anywhere between five and ten times stronger.
What about the wolves then? Are you stronger than one of them?
Of course. The wolves just sit around howling at the moon because they’re crazy, undomesticated basset hounds.
All political correctness out of the window, I see.
Haha. Anyway, shifters are pretty thick-skinned to that kind of teasing, especially us cats. We’re not actually a bunch of pussies, despite the nickname for us.
I see. I have to go to bed now, but if it makes you happy in the meantime, I’ll leave you with this…
With what? he asked.
Tigers are awesome. I actually met one today, and if you’re anything like him, I’m sure we’d get along in person just fine :)
Aubrey ended on a moment of self-indulgence, recalling the dream-like image of Jesse in his tiger form, riding the current on his way to saving her. Strange that this tiger fantasy would grow wings just as she thought her number was up. Maybe she could ask Jesse if there was some secret fact or behavior that only a real tiger shifter would know of and catch this J2Oh out, although it would be a sh
ame to bring an end to the fantasy.
Then again, what were websites like Roar4More for, if not for playing along and imagining the user on the other end might be the guy of your dreams? J2Oh might be some IT-addicted geek getting cheap nightly thrills from a virtual world, but she liked his wit. If there was any sincerity there, then he really couldn’t be that bad.
And yet, she still found her mind mostly occupied with thoughts of Jesse McCoy, a man she knew was really a tiger shifter, unlike her online friend…
Thanks to their earlier trek, a sense of adventure was still upon her, despite it all very nearly ending in her demise. But the Colorado hinterland had not been a disappointment; the experience had brought her back in touch with old memories of her father and caused her to realize just why the possibility that she might be chatting online with a rare and dangerous tiger shifter appealed to her. Medical research placed her life within four walls most of the time. That had been her decision, but clearly there was a part of her that wanted to get back out there in the wilderness, and she felt that longing more than ever now, like a childhood instinct wrongly presumed dead.
It wasn’t just having her life saved that had caused her to kiss Jesse, or the fact that she found him so attractive. The place, the situation and the memories were all crucial factors, but she was the one responsible, of course. There was no getting past that, and if she was not in the process of saving his skin, Aubrey doubted she could look him in the eyes without blushing when they met up again in the morning. Back when they had met she had never thought that within just a day, they’d be kissing like that. They seemed so unlike each other, but even before that and early on in their trek, she had begun to like him. His self-confidence had not been overwhelming, after all, and he had the ability to laugh at himself, which had been a nice surprise.
Looking forward to seeing him again, Aubrey finally went to bed, but she was awoken a few minutes later by the buzzing of her phone to discover that Jesse had actually contacted her again.
Roar For More (Online Shifter Dating Agency Romance) Page 6
