by Lola Kidd
“I am. Gorilla.”
She shuddered, and her smile faltered for a moment. “That’s a very big animal.”
“It is,” he said proudly. “Are you a shifter?”
Her smile returned, and her blue eyes sparkled. “I am. Butterfly.”
“I’ve never met a butterfly shifter before.”
“And I’ve never met a gorilla. I guess it’s a day for firsts.”
“I guess it is. Are you new here? I’ve never seen you around before.”
She looked up from the application. “I am. I don’t live here, exactly, but I’m staying in my aunt’s house.”
“Cool.” Wy watched her as she filled out the form. There was no way she wouldn’t get the job. She was the smallest woman in the room, and she had the perfect personality. She practically radiated happiness. Wy couldn’t keep the smile off his face when he looked at her. “You’re very beautiful.”
“Thank you. I hear ‘cute’ all the time. No one except my dad has ever called me beautiful.”
“Well, when we’re working together, you’re going to get used to it. Seriously, your face is perfect.”
“I guess I picked the right spot.” She patted him on the leg. “You’re really hyping me up for the interview. No way they’re going to turn a beautiful woman like me away.”
“I don’t think they will.”
“Okay, I’m going to go turn this in.”
“I’ll save your seat.”
“Thanks.”
She left her purse and coat with him while she waited in line to turn in her application. Wy couldn’t keep his eyes off her. There was no way he was going to go home before he found out if she had gotten the job or not. This girl was perfect. Blair’s casual date idea didn’t sound so far-fetched anymore.
Chapter 4
By the time she got home, Dottie could barely contain herself. She was so glad she had taken her mother’s advice to go to the job interview. She couldn’t believe she had spent more than a month and a half in this town and hadn’t made any friends. All it had taken was one outing to turn that around. Why had she been so shy? Her parents were right; when she put herself out there, there was nothing she couldn’t do.
She cleaned off her shoes on the mat by the front door. “You won’t believe what happened!”
Her mom looked up from the stove and turned around. “What? And it’s almost time for dinner. Would you wash your hands?”
“Sure, sure.” Dottie unwound her scarf and then took off her shoes. She peeled off her gloves and put her coat on the hook next to the door. “I made a new friend.”
“That’s nice, dear,” her mom said absentmindedly and turned back to the stove. “Could you go find your father?”
Dottie nodded. “He’s a shifter too. Do you know how many shifters there are in this town? The guy who runs the Christmas thing is a shifter too. I bet more than half the people I met today were shifters.”
“Mmmm,” her mother replied. She knew what that meant. Her mom was too busy to listen to her right now.
That was fine. She was too excited to care. She checked around the house for her father and couldn’t find him in any of the rooms. Since she was so excited to talk, of course he was in the last place she could check. The basement, of all places.
“What are you doing?” She carefully descended the stairs. There was no railing, and the wooden steps looked like they would crumble if she stepped too hard. They were going to need to be updated before her family sold this place.
“Come over here and check this out.” Her father held up a canvas. “Did you know that your aunt collected art?”
She shook her head. “I never met her, so, no. Strange, though. There’s no art upstairs.”
“She kept it boxed up down here.” He pointed to a stack of boxes next to him. “I don’t know why, but I found three or four boxes of this stuff. She even has it organized by type. It must have been important to her.”
“These are really pretty.” Dottie took one from the box and held it up in the dim light. It was a black canvas with a white elephant painted on it. There was another one behind it of a black butterfly on a white canvas. The whole box was black and white paintings.
They were simple but beautiful. These were exactly the kinds of things she liked. She was going to put these upstairs. They would be perfect for showing the house. “I met someone today.”
“You did?” Her dad patted her on the back. “Good job, pumpkin. I knew you could do it. When you give people a chance to get to know you, they all want to be your friend. Did you get the job?”
“I think I did. I’m waiting for a call back, but I feel pretty good about it. I was the most elf-like person there. The boy I met even said so. I mean, the man. The man I met.”
She was going to have to stop doing that. There was nothing boyish about Wyatt. He was a hulking beast of a man.
“So, was he cute, then?” her dad teased. “From the stars in your eyes, I’m going to bet he was.”
“I guess he was okay-looking. But that doesn’t matter. He was nice to me.”
“That’s great, honey. I’m glad you made a new friend. Did you get his full name?”
“I think it was Wyatt Schultz, but I could be wrong. I didn’t really pay close attention.”
“Write that down on the pad upstairs next to my computer?”
She tipped her head. “Why?”
He pulled another painting from the box. This one had a stark black raven on a white background. “I’ll need to look him up. I can’t have you going out with any random man. I want to make sure he’s a good person before you get in too far.”
Dottie couldn’t believe it. She had just met Wyatt, and her dad already wanted to do a background check. That seemed a bit much for a new friend. “I never said I wanted to date him. I just said that I wanted to get to know him.”
“Are you two down there?” her mom called from upstairs, interrupting them. “The food is ready.”
Her dad rubbed his tummy. “Sounds great. I’m starving.”
They went upstairs, and Dottie washed her hands. They all sat down at the round table, and her mom dished out soup.
“Did you hear that our girl met a nice young man?”
Her mother looked at her. “Was that what you were going on about earlier?”
Dottie nodded. “I did. His name is Wyatt, and he’s wonderful.”
Her mom wrinkled her nose. “So, what, do you want to date him or something?”
“No. He’s just a friend,” Dottie stressed. They were both jumping to the whole dating thing when she hadn’t even brought it up. She had made a new friend, that was all. She wished they’d be happier for her and stop trying to make this into a big thing.
“Have you looked him up yet, Dave?” her mother asked.
“He doesn’t need to look him up,” Dottie explained again. “I don’t want to date him. He’s just nice. I needed a friend, and I was lucky to find one. You were the one who told me to go to this thing and put myself out there.”
“I haven’t yet,” Dad said to Mom. “But I’m going to as soon as we finish eating. I have his full name already. Wyatt Schultz. He has to be from around here, too. That should be enough for a quick check.”
“Good.” Mom touched his arm. “We can’t have her going out with any old man.”
“He’s not just anyone,” Dottie insisted. “If you met him, you would see how nice he is.”
“We’re not going to meet him yet. Not until we check him out first. Once we know he’s okay, we’ll be glad to have him over.” Her dad picked up his bowl and tipped soup into his mouth. “This is really good, honey. You outdid yourself this time. Forgive me if I lick the bowl clean.”
“You remember Billy, dear, don’t you?” Dottie’s mother asked her.
“Yes.” Dottie looked at her bowl and pushed the noodles around in the liquid with the back of her spoon. “But he isn’t Billy. He’s much better than Billy could ever dream of being.”
/>
Billy. That was a name that would always make her shudder. Her ex-boyfriend. The only boyfriend she’d ever had, and the one who had made her and her parents so suspicious.
They had dated in high school, and he’d started a vicious rumor that had followed her around town. It was one of the reasons she had been so glad to escape to this house in Maple Creek. She was only going to be here a few months, but it was nice to get away from the whispers. It had been years since high school, but whenever she went out, she could swear people were talking about her. It made her so self-conscious.
“Yes, you don’t want that to happen again, do you?” her mother said, shaking her head. “No, we can’t let that happen again. This is your fresh start. I know you like this boy, but…”
“Man. He’s a man, Mom.”
“I know you like this man.” Her mother smiled indulgently. “But we don’t want you going out with any man we don’t know. We think you can do much better than just some Maple Creek fellow, anyway.”
“That’s why we set you up with Lovely and Kind Brides,” her father reminded her. “I thought you liked the service too.”
“I do. But that doesn’t mean I can’t meet someone in real life.”
“I think I’ve had enough of this kind of talk.” Her mother pushed back from the table. “Does anyone want any bread? I forgot to bring it out with the soup.”
“I’ll take some,” Dottie said with a sigh.
Her father started talking about the art in the basement, and she knew the conversation was finished for now. She wasn’t too happy, but she wasn’t going to complain, either. After all, her parents had been right about most things.
It wouldn’t be so bad to wait until she knew a little more about Wyatt before committing to anything. They were just friends for now. Although she could see them possibly being more in the future, she didn’t want to jump the gun. She trusted her parents. They only wanted what was best for her.
And she had just signed up with Lovely and Kind Brides a few months earlier. They were her best bet for getting a high-quality match. She should really let them do the work and not worry about it at all. She didn’t need to push anything with Wyatt.
It was always better to wait and be cautious. It would cost her nothing. Once her father was able to look Wyatt up, she could invite him over to meet her parents. Then they would be more comfortable with her hanging out with him.
If they met him and hated him or had any misgivings—oh, well. She had much bigger and brighter things going on in her life. She could focus on getting the house ready to sell and, hopefully, her new winter job. Yes, it was better that way. No need to get herself too hung up on a man she had just met. She was going to be leaving in a few months, anyway.
It had been silly of her to think she and Wyatt could ever be anything more than temporary friends. She was too lonely and had let herself get too attached to the first person she’d met. It was a good thing her parents were there to set her straight.
Chapter 5
Wyatt was sitting at the computer trying to figure out the LK Brides questionnaire. Blair had told him it would be easy, but he’d already been at it for over an hour. He was agonizing over every question. There were so many options, he couldn’t figure out which one was the right choice.
Once he had filled this out, he would be on his way to find his mate. But if he lied or got the questions wrong, it would all be messed up. Everyone had kept telling him how great the matches were. LK never got it wrong. But if you filled out the questionnaire wrong, you might get matched with the wrong mate.
There was no one for him to ask. Blair was supposed to be there, but she was late. He had started the questionnaire by himself, and now he was panicking.
This wasn’t like him. Wy didn’t worry about tests. If he made mistakes, it didn’t really matter. But this was too important. Everyone he knew had a match but him, and he hated being the last of his friends to find someone. There were no signs of him finding anyone anytime soon, either. He’d met a great girl at the Christmas Crew interview, but she wasn’t interested in him like that. No woman was. That was what had spurred him to do this.
Dottie wasn’t interested in him, like most girls. He didn’t know what it was about him, but he always got it wrong. He always managed to turn the good ones off. That was why this was so important.
He heard the front door of the trailer open and turned to see Blair coming in. “Thank God you’re here. I’m messing this whole thing up. I knew I shouldn’t have started it on my own.”
She shrugged off her coat. “There’s no way you can get it wrong. Just answer the questions honestly.”
Blair blew on her hands to warm them as she came over. Wy stood up so she could sit and took her hands in his own to help warm her up. “You can turn the heat up if you want. I’ve been shifted most of the time, so I didn’t think it was cold in here.”
“It’s fine. The rest of me is blazing hot. I’ve had the heat set as low as I could. Our house is so cold, Nate has to wear his coat and gloves inside.”
“Shifting wouldn’t help him.”
“Nope. His tiger hates it.” She eased into the computer chair. “How far have you gotten?”
“I’m on question seven.”
Blair’s eyes opened wide. “Wy! This is going to take you all night. This shouldn’t take longer than an hour, buddy.”
“I know,” he said morosely. “I’m too nervous. I can’t figure out what answer is the right one.”
“Oh, Wyatt. There are no right answers.” Blair shook her head. “I’m going to read the questions out loud, and you’re going to answer them. This way, you won’t have to be nervous about it. Go sit on the couch.”
Wyatt got up reluctantly and went to the couch. Over the next hour, Blair read him all the questions and helped him answer them. Finally, an hour and a half later, they were done.
She stretched loudly. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”
“Until I get some kind of weird match.”
“You can’t get a weird match,” Blair laughed. “Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad. You’re pretty weird. The stranger the girl seems, the better.”
“Want something to eat?” Wyatt asked hopefully.
“Can’t. We’re meeting Nate’s mom for dinner. Wish me luck.”
He crossed his fingers and held them up to her solemnly. “Good luck.”
“And good luck to you, too. I’m sure you’ll get a match soon.”
Blair heaved a deep sigh as she left. She was having a tough time with Nate’s family. Nate’s mom wanted to be in the delivery room for the baby’s birth, but Blair didn’t want her there. It seemed like a silly thing to fight over. They should all do whatever Blair wanted. She was the one who’d be pushing the baby out.
He didn’t understand family drama like that. He had made sure to ask LK for a match who wasn’t into silly fights, either. It was one of the things he would never have looked for, but it was a big compatibility factor.
The questionnaire had asked about so many different things that he was feeling confident they would find him someone perfect. There were so many things he hadn’t even thought about, like, Are you a morning person or an evening person? And What’s your favorite pizza topping?
He had no idea how some of those things were related to having a successful relationship, but he trusted that they were important.
Wyatt made himself a turkey sandwich and took a can of pop from the fridge. He ate quickly, standing up in the kitchen, and then shifted back to his gorilla form. It was so much nicer being in the house like this. Not only could he save money on heat, it was just easier to think when he was a gorilla. There were none of the worries he had as a human, and he didn’t feel so lonely.
Before he went to bed, he checked his emails. He was excited to see an email from Tim saying that Dottie had gotten the job. He had wanted something more, like reindeer wrangler or being one of Santa’s personal helpers, when he’d first heard about the Winter
Wonderland job. But now he was very happy that he was going to be an elf in the toy shop.
He also had an email from LK Brides. He expected it to be a confirmation email, but he was very surprised to see that it was in fact news that he’d been matched.
Wyatt texted Blair right away. She texted back lots of emojis and said she was excited for him to begin his journey.
Wyatt was excited too, but it was all going very fast. He had heard of people waiting years to get a good match. He couldn’t believe he’d found one in just a few hours. He replied, saying that he wanted to start communicating. It didn’t take long before the woman opened a message chain with him.
Excited and nervous, Wyatt clicked on the private message link. His gorilla was so nervous, it didn’t even try to take control. If his animal was nervous, Wy wasn’t sure what to think about the process. His fears were quickly assuaged when he saw his match’s profile.
He almost fell out of his chair, he stood up so fast. He raked a hand through his thick hair and laughed nervously. This was impossible.
His match was Dottie, the woman he had met earlier that very day. He had been so sure she wasn’t interested in him. Nothing about her body language had given him any hint that she was attracted to him.
If she hadn’t been interested before, he wasn’t so sure she’d want to date him. He couldn’t email her again that night. He might as well wait to talk to her in the morning.
He had to wait for Blair to tell him what to say. He would ask her what she thought before he did anything.
He got on social media and made an update to his status. “Best day ever!”
Wyatt could barely sleep that night. Their training started the next day, and it was going to be a jam-packed day. There wasn’t much time to prepare before the Winter Wonderland opened. Now, he was going to have to worry about asking Dottie out during the whole day, too. There was no way he would be able to talk to Blair before he saw Dottie again.
He thought about skipping the first day, but he couldn’t do that. He was too excited about the job. He was going to try to play it cool with Dottie all day. She probably wouldn’t even want to talk to him again.
