by Liv Rider
“She said she was going to call some ecologist who works for the Lewiston city council. An expert has to look at it and determine whether or not it’s an endangered species,” she explained.
“Sounds like everything is going well, then,” Parker replied. “I mean, for the bat! If it’s an endangered species, it might need specialized help.”
“Olivia said she thought it was just hibernating.” Stacy frowned. “I hope it’s not sick or anything.”
“I’m sure the bat’s fine,” Cameron told her.
“Let’s hope so. But I think it’s a good idea if people stay out of the barn.” She gestured at the barn the Maze of Terror was in. “Just in case we scare it and chase it out.”
The fewer people in that barn, the better. It meant less risk of them realizing Glen wasn’t a real bat. “There’s plenty to do everywhere else,” Cameron told her.
“Yes.” Her tone was pointed as she looked at Cameron. “There is.” She turned on her heel and left.
“I think that’s a hint we should start actually helping out.” Cameron looked at Parker, whose brown eyes were still on the big barn. “If you want to go over there, it’s fine.” He didn’t need Parker to stay by his side.
“No.” Parker turned his back to the farm, facing Cameron. “I think it’s for the best if I stay out here. Both for you and Olivia.”
He felt another stab of guilt. As much as he liked Parker staying to talk to him rather than run off, it didn’t sit right with him. “Seriously, you don’t always have to choose me over your work. That’d be ridiculous.”
“I know. But I did promise my council to stay out of it unless they asked me to step in, and so far, Olivia hasn’t asked yet.”
Cameron was starting to wonder about the plan now, and about Parker’s promises that there’d be a Halloween Fest next year. “Being fated mates means you’re pretty dedicated to us, right?”
“Of course.” Parker sounded insulted at the question.
He licked his lips nervously. “So, your plan to buy this farm…how much is it really to help your shifters?”
Parker blinked at him and was silent for a worryingly long time. Cameron’s stomach twisted in guilt. He didn’t want Parker dragging his council into this mess just because of him. He and Andrew and the others would figure something out. “There have been plenty of complaints from shifters who don’t have a good place to shift in the immediate area, and it’s a problem I would’ve had to address anyway. Everything I said in the meetings was true. This farm really is a great place for us.” He smiled wanly. “Well, not for all of us, but for a lot of other shifters it’s very suitable. If it hadn’t been this farm, we might’ve ended up with one on the other side of town, or an old warehouse.”
It wasn’t as reassuring as Parker had intended. “But you’re putting in all this work and effort for this farm. You could’ve easily gone for somewhere else.”
“But this farm is available, once we stop Everett. Yes, you’re right. We could’ve looked at other locations. And yes, I do want to make you happy, and making sure Halloween Fest continues is a part of that. I’m killing two birds with one stone here. What’s wrong with that?”
There wasn’t anything wrong with it per se, but it still didn’t sit well with Cameron. “Would you have done all this if I hadn’t been your mate?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate and honest, and Cameron appreciated it even as it twisted his stomach further.
“But,” Parker continued, “then it also would’ve taken me much longer to get round to solving this problem. We would’ve had to spend more time on finding a suitable location, for one.”
“I don’t want you using your power just for me.” Cameron didn’t like how Parker still looked confused.
“You were at the meeting. You heard my council. They agreed, and they’re not your fated mate.”
Okay, Parker had a point there. “And you did put them in charge of it.” And Olivia had been pretty enthusiastic about the plan. “It’s just…there was a lot more going on than I thought.” He didn’t feel like he’d been lied to, and he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if he’d known about both of Parker’s reasons behind wanting to buy the farm. The council had had the final say, and they’d agreed. “You do need to figure something out for, um, what’s her name? She needed water nearby?”
“Julianne. Yes, we definitely need to do something for the shifters who can’t use the farm.” Parker grimaced. “It’s one thing to have no solution for anyone, but having a solution for some of them? That’s even worse.”
Cameron could see that. “They’ll badger and complain until you find solutions for all of them?”
“Yes, and some of them are badger shifters.” Parker eyed him. “Does that help?”
He nodded. There were still plenty of things they’d need to talk about. Plenty of things he had to learn about shifters. Plenty of things they’d both have to learn about being in a relationship with each other. “Yes. But I’ve also been wondering about what this whole ‘fated mates’ thing means. How does it work? Should we be doing anything special?”
Parker looked surprised by the change of topic. “Not if we don’t have to. Finding your fated mate is special enough.” He hesitated for a moment. “I’ll have to inform the shifters in my district about it at some point. We can figure out what exactly we want to share, and when we want to announce it.”
That all sounded very official. “It’s something important, isn’t it? For you? For shifters?” He was starting to get nervous again. Parker knew so much more about this than he did. What if he had certain expectations from a fated mate? What if Cameron couldn’t live up to them?
“It’s very important, yes.” Parker took his hand again. “I’d like to tell everyone in my district about you as quickly as possible.” Before Cameron could even open his mouth to protest, Parker already continued, “but that would be me rushing things again. We don’t have to tell anyone anything if you don’t want to. Well, except for the people who already know.”
“Like your council and friends.” He breathed a sigh of relief. Parker really was trying to do better. “Okay, we can start with that.”
Parker looked down at their hands. “Does this mean you’ll give me another chance?”
He laughed. He hadn’t thought about it like that. They’d talked things over, and there wasn’t any doubt in Cameron’s mind that he wanted to continue seeing Parker. He had doubts about the shifter side of things and how that was supposed to work, but he didn’t have any doubts about Parker himself. “Yes. Of course.”
Parker beamed down at him, tugging him closer to give him a quick kiss. “Or was that too much?” he asked, after pulling back. “In front of your friends?”
Cameron licked his lips. If anything, it had been too little, but Parker had a point. “Maybe. But if your friends know about our relationship, mine should too. Stacy thought you were my boyfriend already anyway. I mean, that’s what we are now, right? Boyfriends?”
“Definitely.”
Cameron smiled back at him. “I still don’t get half of what you’ve told me about shifters, and I do need time to wrap my head around it. You’ll have to be patient with me.”
“It’s only fair, since you’ll have to be patient with me making adjustments to how I work.” Parker ran his thumb across the back of Cameron’s hand again. “It’s funny. I always assumed that once fated mates got together, that would be it. They wouldn’t have any arguments or issues to figure out. They’d just be happy together forever. But I guess it really is just like any other relationship out there. We’ll still need to work on things. We just have the advantage of knowing we’re meant for each other.”
“It’s a good thing I like your practical approach, because ‘we’ll need to work on our relationship’ isn’t what most people want to hear from their new boyfriend.” But Parker was right. They couldn’t take each other for granted, but the bond between them did mean that the effo
rt they put into their relationship would be worth it.
“I guess that’s why we’re destined for each other.”
“Well, it certainly isn’t because of all those other things we have in common.” He’d meant it as a joke, but it must’ve come out as a lot more since than he’d intended, because Parker frowned down at him.
“Does that bother you? That I don’t really get all of this?” He gestured at the remains of the Halloween decorations around them.
“No, not anymore.” Not now that he knew more about what drew them together and he’d gotten to know Parker beyond ‘hot workaholic who never watches horror movies.’ “Besides, you were very willing to make an earnest effort. That’s what matters.”
“And if I never end up liking another horror movie, you’d be fine with that?”
“Of course I would. Although you not liking Evil Dead 2 would definitely be a relationship issue we’d have to work on,” he joked.
Parker’s smile turned suggestive. “We’d have to finish watching it first….”
“I’d like that.” Both actually watching the movie and trying to watch the movie. “But I’ve got the night shift again tonight, so I can’t.” Now that Halloween Fest was over, he was back to his usual work schedule. “I’ve got the night shift tomorrow, and then one night off.”
“I’ll just have to be patient, then.” Parker kissed him again, and Cameron thought that Parker definitely wasn’t the only one who’d need a little patience.
16
Parker
Having to stand by the sidelines while Olivia and the others called and emailed people about their amazing discovery in the barn was hard.
Having to wait two nights before he could have Cameron to himself all evening and night was even worse.
He’d been immensely relieved after their talk on Tuesday afternoon. He’d kept himself from storming over to the barn to tell Olivia what to do and from trying to convince Cameron that they should announce their status as fated mates to the Lewiston shifter community as soon as possible.
He’s ours. Everyone should know! If things were up to his dragon, he’d be taking Cameron for a victory flight across the city in broad daylight. How else would Cameron know how important he was?
Parker settled instead for taking Cameron to lunch and dinner a few times when they both had time. With Cameron’s night shifts, need to catch up on his sleep during the day and volunteering to clean up at the Wilson farm, and Parker’s irregular work schedule, they hadn’t been able to spend as much time together as they’d liked.
Of course, ideally they’d spend as much time together as physically possible, but Parker could wait. Besides, it gave him the opportunity to work on his new approach to balancing Cameron and his work, and it gave Cameron time to process things. He still hadn’t gotten round to introducing Cameron to Mitchell, Thomas, and Joel. Sure, they’d met Cameron, but they hadn’t met Cameron-as-Parker’s-boyfriend.
That was going to change tonight. It was Thursday, finally, which meant that Cameron wouldn’t have to work. It was also Parker’s turn to host dinner for his friends, and Parker had been tempted to cancel on them because he’d rather spend time with Cameron alone. He was sure they’d understand, but after discussing it with Cameron, the dinner was going on as planned. Cameron wanted to get to know Parker’s friends better, especially Joel, but if possible, Parker should serve dishes that could be eaten quickly.
But before that, there was the slight matter of the Wilson farm and the other reason Parker was feeling nervous.
Olivia’s calls had paid off and an expert working for the Lewiston council would be inspecting the barn this afternoon.
He really hoped Glen was a convincing hibernating bat.
“I can’t stand this.”
Parker put one arm around Cameron to pull him closer. They had to wait outside while the expert did whatever checks they had to do. Olivia was inside with Dr. Thompson, who’d turned up in exactly the kind of scruffy clothing and green wellies Parker had expected from an ecologist. The man, in his early fifties, even had an impressive beard. “It’ll be fine.”
“He’s an expert.”
“They know what they’re doing.” As much as he wanted to be in there so he could talk to the man and know exactly what was going on, he’d had to let Olivia take the lead. He had to trust that his council members could do this. Besides, out here he could comfort his mate, who clearly needed it.
On Cameron’s other side, Andrew was talking to the Wilsons in a low, worried voice as well. Andrew’s boyfriend Michael was standing next to him, but he remained quiet as he watched the barn. The Wilsons had been very surprised a bat had been found in their barn. Even now, Mrs. Wilson was insisting they’d never had any bats in there before, and wondering why this one had turned up out of the blue.
Everett was there as well, his face like thunder as he paced up and down the grass next to the Wilsons. “I can’t believe it,” he said again. “A fucking bat? Seriously?”
“An endangered bat,” Mrs. Wilson pointed out.
Everett let out an annoyed grunt at that. “We’ve got loads of bats around! What makes this one so special?”
“It’s rare,” Mrs. Wilson said.
Parker tried not to smile at Everett’s frustrated huff. The older couple seemed more interested in the bat’s status and overall wellbeing than in Everett’s complaints about what this meant for finalizing the sale.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ecologist and Olivia exited the big barn. They were chatting to each other, Olivia nodding while the ecologist gestured at his clipboard.
“Is there really?” Olivia asked, her face serious. “That does complicate things, doesn’t it?”
“Not at all. The guidelines are clear,” the ecologist replied, sounding pleased. “I’ll have to take steps immediately.”
“Steps towards what?” Everett demanded. “To have the bat removed?”
“Of course not.” Dr. Thompson sounded surprised. “It’s a Myotis grisescens. They’re a protected species.”
“All the more reason for it not to hang around this barn!” Everett gestured at it. “You’ve seen this place. People are in and out of that barn all day. They’ve only just finished their Halloween Feast.”
“Halloween Fest,” Cameron corrected him.
Everett ignored him. “How is that bat supposed to hibernate peacefully with so many things going on?”
“You’re correct, the bat does need peace and quiet. I advise keeping the people who visit the barns to a minimum.”
“Oh, we were only using it for storage anyway,” Mr. Wilson said. “So that’s fine.”
“And you said the Halloween Fest was over?” Dr. Thompson asked, making another note. “Good, because I hate having to put a stop to events like that.”
“You’d cancel the Fest?” Andrew sounded worried now, and Michael leaned closer to put a hand on his arm. “Because of a bat?”
“Our guidelines are very clear. Of course, for this particular piece of land, it’s not canceling the Fest that’ll be the biggest problem.”
“Oh?” Parker asked, when Dr. Thompson didn’t elaborate. “How do you mean?”
Dr. Thompson eyed him. “We’re always working on plans to further develop the Lewiston area. It seems we’ll have to revise those plans now.” He looked down at his clipboard again. “Probably for the best. Now, you’re the owners of this land, right?” He turned to the Wilsons.
“Yes, we are.” Mr. Wilson looked at Everett. “Although we are working on selling it….”
“Ah, then this’ll definitely complicate things for you.” Dr. Thompson sounded genuinely remorseful. “Not a lot of people will want to buy a farm like this that they can’t do anything with.”
“Oh, but you didn’t want to do anything with the farm, did you?” Mrs. Wilson’s tone was cheerful as she looked at Everett.
Everett was glaring at the ecologist. “You’re sure the plans for this area will be rev
ised?”
“Yes. Very certain.” Dr. Thompson’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Although I’m not sure why that matters, since the plans haven’t been worked out fully yet and aren’t available to the public.”
Parker wondered how often Dr. Thompson had to deal with members of the public who knew more than they were supposed to. The man didn’t even sound that surprised Everett was so focused on the changes.
“Then the deal’s off,” he snarled at the Wilsons before storming off.
“What?” Mrs. Wilson gasped.
Parker was trying not to grin too widely, but he couldn’t help sharing a smile with Olivia as he pulled Cameron closer.
Step one, stop Everett from buying the farm, had been completed.
“Can he do that?” Mr. Wilson looked around in confusion. “We had a verbal agreement.”
“I’m no legal expert,” Michael said, “but new information like this turning up means that yes, he probably can.”
“Oh no. Now who’s going to buy our farm?” Mrs. Wilson’s face crumpled, and her husband put an arm around her.
“We can wait until next spring, dear,” he said. “How long do these bats hibernate anyway?”
“Well, these bats do tend to return to the same location for hibernation,” Dr. Thompson explained. “It’s likely this bat will return next winter. We need to preserve the barn for him, and any other bats who might join him.”
“I suppose we could try and buy the farm,” Olivia suggested, trying to sound as if she’d just thought of it. “Shifting North has always worked on improving and preserving the local biodiversity.”
“I definitely expect you to preserve the farmhouse and barns as is,” Dr. Thompson told her. “And the Lewiston city council will keep a close eye on things around here. I’ll make sure to mention your name and that of your organization in my final report.”
Olivia just gave the man a sunny smile. “Wonderful. I’m sure the city council will be delighted to learn of our interest.”
