by Meg Ripley
I lifted a shoulder. “Not really.”
My mind went right back to Wyatt, the only guy I’d been interested in for a long time. He always felt like my true love, and since he was gone, my chance at true love might have been gone forever, too. I couldn’t help but compare any man to him; Wyatt was too perfect in my mind.
“Okay, this is getting depressing,” Jenny said, getting to her feet. “If no one is sleeping with anyone tonight, I say it’s time for presents!”
Belle squealed in excitement and each of us retrieved our gifts for her, setting them around her chair. She excitedly tore open wrapping paper to reveal lingerie, massage oils and lotions, and even a vibrator—though no one fessed up to buying it and the card was left anonymous. I’d given her a pair of earrings I’d seen months ago and knew she’d love and a gift certificate to get a massage at a spa in Marathon. I figured she’d need it after all the wedding stress ended.
“You ladies are the best!” Belle clutched a lacy white nightie to her chest and beamed at us. “I couldn’t ask for better bridesmaids.”
She teared up and we hugged her, but after our little moment ended, we all got back to drinking and partying. Anna dragged the cooler closer to us and Savanah helped her hand a fresh drink to everyone. Belle turned the music back on, much louder this time. Now that we all had many hours of drinking behind us, we were all feeling pretty trashed. We’d been dancing around the campsite, singing songs at the top of our lungs.
I hadn’t been paying attention to the time or the volume, and I hadn’t noticed if anyone was camping nearby. So when a car pulled up, at first, I thought the stripper had returned or another one had shown up.
“What did you guys do?” I asked, looking each of them in the eye and stumbling to the cooler.
Belle squinted in the brightness of the car’s headlights. “Who is that?”
I heard the distinct crackle of a radio and my stomach dropped.
“Shh!” I hissed at them. “It’s a park Ranger!”
Anna nudged my shoulder. “Go talk to him. You’re a Ranger, too.”
“Yeah,” Savannah chimed in. “Sweet talk him.”
I nodded and puffed out my chest comically. “Fine. I will talk to the Ranger man.”
Belle giggled as I walked by.
I held up my hand to shield my eyes from the lights as I neared the vehicle. I knew why he did it, but it was annoying, nonetheless. He was watching us to get a sense of what sort of commotion we were causing before he came to talk to us.
“Hey there,” I said as I neared the Jeep.
“Glory?” The voice sounded shocked.
I gasped. I knew that voice. “Wy-Wyatt? Is that you?”
The lights shut off and I blinked in the sudden darkness. When my eyes adjusted, I had to rub them clear again. I couldn’t be seeing who I was seeing.
I shook my head. “Wyatt Montgomery.”
5
Wyatt
The time had been growing late, close to when I usually took off and headed home. But that night, as I sat at my desk and looked at the stack of paperwork I had to do, I felt the urge to stay and take care of it. I’d normally have left it for the morning.
I’d worked for another hour and stood to stretch, trying to decide if I should write up one more report or finally call it a night. The phone in the station rang, and since I was the one standing, I answered the call.
“Hey, Wyatt,” the Ranger on the phone said. “Would you be able to send someone out to check on a call about some rowdy campers?”
“Rowdy campers, huh?” I nodded. “Sure, I’ll send someone.”
He gave me the site number, and I went to check the reservation book.
“Ooo wee,” I said.
Sawyer looked up. “What’s up?”
“Looks like the ‘rowdy campers’ are a group of ladies having a bachelorette party.”
“Sounds like your dream call,” Sawyer said.
The other Ranger currently in the station, Mark, jumped in. “I bet if you get in the middle of some girly pillow fight, you’ll end up sleeping with at least one of them.”
“One…all…who’s counting?” I grinned.
“Are you taking the call, then?” Sawyer asked.
“Sure. I was finished up for the night anyhow.”
I logged off my computer and headed out to the Jeep, bouncing along the bumpy dirt roads, enjoying the night’s slightly cooler temperature. When I pulled up to the site in question, I heard the ladies laughing and singing to loud music before I’d even got there.
I kept the lights pointed on them for a moment. Just five women dancing around in their underwear. Drunk.
As I reached to turn out the lights, one of the women turned to face me and I froze, my eyes locking on her face. No way.
I opened the door of the Jeep.
“Hey there,” she said.
When I heard her voice, my knees went weak. I could barely get the word out. “Glory?”
She gasped and stuttered my name in return. Shutting off the lights, I slipped out of the vehicle, my eyes focused on her face.
“It is you,” I said.
I knew I should’ve had about a million things to say to her, but no words came to my mind. We just stood there, staring stupidly at each other.
One of the other ladies, a local that I’d gone to high school with, stumbled over. Belle squinted at me. “Sawyer? No, Wyatt.” She nodded to herself, then realization set in. “Oh!” She grabbed Glory’s arms and looked from her to me. “Wyatt! Glory! It’s the grand reunion we’ve all been waiting for!”
Glory laughed and looked to me for help.
I cleared my throat. “Ladies, I do have official business to discuss with you. The volume, it seems, is a little much for the hour.”
Belle dropped her arms and stared at me. “Are you a stripper, too?”
I felt my cheeks warm and couldn’t look at Glory.
“Belle!” Glory snapped at her. “It’s Wyatt. He’s not a stripper.”
“Hey, what are you trying to say?” I chuckled.
Glory raised an eyebrow at me and then her face broke into a slow grin. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?”
“I sure hope not.” I tilted my head and lifted my hat to her.
Again, we stared at each other for a long moment. I couldn’t get enough of the sight of her. Slightly older, but better for it. More mature and womanly. Those curves… My throat went dry and I had to look away; it was the polite thing to do.
“I don’t know,” Jenny piped up. “Are you sure he’s not a stripper?”
Glory gently pushed them away. “Get in the tent and turn the music down!”
They did as they were told, but they didn’t try to hide the fact that they were all watching us, probably listening and assessing every word.
“Sorry about the music,” she said. “I guess I should know better. I’m a Ranger, too.”
“Really?” I couldn’t picture the girl who’d gone off to live in the city returning to nature in such a way. The Glory I’d known, though—the girl I’d spent years adoring—would definitely be a Ranger. “You haven’t been ruined by city life, then?”
“I was,” she admitted. “But I missed the wild too much, and the quiet, ironically enough.”
How is it that after all this time, I could feel the same feelings I had the last time I saw her? Maybe, impossibly, even stronger. I couldn’t think straight. I felt so overwhelmed by emotion, it was all I could do to keep myself together.
“I’m not surprised you’re a Ranger,” she went on.
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “Guess I always thought I would be.”
“Yeah.” She dug her toe in the dirt and said, “It’s good to see you. I was wondering if I’d run into you while I was in town.”
“How long are you here for?”
“Just a few days. I’m in Belle’s wedding on Saturday, then I fly home Sunday.”
It was already Thursday night. “Short visit.
”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Well, I didn’t want to hang around and bug the newlyweds, you know.”
“Yeah,” I said, echoing her.
The moment stretched on, quiet between us as we awkwardly avoided each other’s gaze. The longing burned in my chest. I swallowed hard, wanting to grab a hold of her and never let go. “Well, I’ll, uh, let you ladies get back to it,” I said.
“Oh, right.” She looked back over her shoulder at her friends, whose faces all peeked out of the tent’s opening. “We’ll keep it down. Sorry again.”
“No problem. I can’t say I’m sorry you were disruptive. I wouldn’t have gotten to see you if you were better behaved.”
She chuckled. “Well, you know me. I always did have trouble with those rule things.”
“You and me both, honey.” I tilted my head to her again and took a step back.
“Wyatt?” she asked.
I paused.
She crossed the distance between us and put her arms around me, and the moment she touched me, an explosion went off inside me. My inner bear roared and threatened to break free, so I took several breaths to steady myself. My heart raced; she felt so warm and so perfect in my arms. We stood there a long time until she finally straightened up and wiped a tear from her eye.
“It was really good to see you,” she said.
“You, too.” I gave her a final smile before I returned to the Jeep and drove off.
I made it back to the station without even realizing I’d driven there. My mind was locked in a daze. Did I really just see Glory Thomas? The one who never quite left my heart?
I walked back into the station, still trying to understand.
“So, how it’d go?” Mark asked.
“I saw an old girlfriend,” I muttered flatly. “Where’s Sawyer?”
“Gone for the night. So, did you get her number?”
Without a word, I turned from him and walked out to my truck. I drove home, but couldn’t settle myself. When I got home, I walked out back and undressed, then shifted into bear form. I stretched out, feeling my claws dig into the dirt and the strong muscles of my bear body flex.
I sensed Sawyer’s presence through the mental clan link. Elijah was there, too, which was fine. He’d known Glory since we were teens, too.
Thank god you guys are here, I said. You’re not going to believe what just happened to me. I don’t even believe it myself.
Does this have anything to do with that bachelorette party? Sawyer asked.
Sort of. I went out there to tell them to quiet down. But, guess who was there?
They waited for my answer. I dragged out the tension one more moment.
Glory Thomas.
Wow, Sawyer said.
No way, Elijah added.
It was the most amazing and most awkward moment of my year.
Is she in town for a wedding? Sawyer asked.
Yeah. Remember Maribelle? She’s marrying Noah.
Oh. Huh, Sawyer wondered. I can see that.
Are you seeing her while she’s here? Elijah asked.
Uh… I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
You did get her number, didn’t you? Sawyer asked.
I didn’t, actually. And now I was kicking myself for it. How could I have been so stupid?
Oh, Sawyer said. I would have thought you’d be dying to see her.
Yeah, I am, I agreed.
Then why…? Elijah asked.
I’m an idiot! I ran faster through the night, dodging junipers and rocks as I ran out my frustration. I was so shocked, it messed with my mind. I couldn’t think!
The feeling of the moment rushed over me and I had to pause. What I felt for her was so intense, I didn’t know what to do about it. And to know I’d missed my chance felt heartbreaking.
I’m sure she’ll still be there in the morning, Sawyer said.
Right. Yeah, I’ll go back in the morning and talk to her.
Wyatt… Sawyer hesitated and I felt him wonder something.
What? I asked.
Elijah, are you picking up what I’m picking up? Sawyer asked.
Was just going to ask you the same thing.
What? I repeated.
That feeling you’re feeling for Glory? Sawyer asked. That deep longing and intense burning love?
Yeah?
That’s what fated mates feel like, Sawyer explained.
Yup, Elijah agreed.
Huh. I sat down on the ground to think. Could it be? But then I remembered the feeling of what happens when fated mates are separated for a length of time. It had almost killed Elijah to be away from his love.
No, I said. We can’t be. We’ve been apart all these years. We wouldn’t have been able to bear that if we were fated.
I don’t know, Sawyer said. It feels exactly the same.
I agree, Elijah added.
I think it’s just because I haven’t seen her in so long, I reasoned. All the old feelings came rushing back. That’s all.
We’ll see, Sawyer said.
6
Glory
Belle shrieked at me as I entered the tent, looking ready to burst at the seams. “Tell us everything!” she said, grabbing my hands and holding them in hers.
“Not much to tell.”
“Oh, come on,” Anna said. “I remember you two being inseparable.”
“We were,” I admitted. “We were crazy teenagers in love.”
“God, you guys made people sick,” Jenny said. “You were too cute.”
“Did you even date anyone else in high school?” Belle asked.
“No. Never even considered it,” I confessed. “Wyatt was always the only boy I had feelings for.” I laughed. “Fell for the boy next door, I guess.”
“Your ranches were next to each other?” Savannah asked. “I didn’t know that.”
“It got to the point you didn’t even know whose house you were in anymore,” Belle interjected. “The Thomases and the Montgomerys, and even the Tuckers, too, were always all together, going from house to house.
“We did spend pretty much every minute together, especially once we started dating,” I admitted. “But our last summer together was nothing like that.”
Belle let out a long sigh. “And now the tragic part of the story.”
“Oh no,” Savannah said. “What happened?”
“Our fathers happened,” I said. “It was terrible. Our families went from being best friends to bitter enemies, all over one stupid sheep.”
“What did your dads do with the sheep?” Anna asked with a strange look on her face.
“Wyatt’s dad, John Montgomery, stole one of our sheep. And it just so happened to set off a huge feud between our fathers and therefore, our families. They forbid us to see each other.”
“How Romeo and Juliet,” Jenny said.
“Without all the suicide,” I said. “Instead, it felt like part of me died when my dad moved us to Seattle.” I picked at the hem of my shirt and grew quiet. “They tried to say that it was because our relationship got too intense, but we all knew that was bull. We’d been close our whole lives, and they never had a problem with it until the feud.”
“You still have feelings for him, don’t you?” Belle accused.
I sucked in a breath and nodded. “I’ve always had feelings for him. But when I saw him this time, it was like something went wild inside me.” I couldn’t talk about every detail with them since they weren’t all shifters, but my inner fox had gone out of her mind. She nearly tore through my skin trying to get her paws on Wyatt. “I never felt anything like that in my life.”
They collectively cooed at me and I rolled my eyes. “Like it matters. I’m leaving in a few days. He didn’t even ask for my number or anything, so…” When the lump formed in my throat, I realized how badly I had wanted him to ask me out. How badly I wanted to spend time with him.
“Then we’ve got to find a way for you to see your Ranger again!” Anna declared.
“Yes!” Bel
le joined in. “Well, crap.”
I looked at her questioningly.
She huffed. “I sort of paired you up with a single guy in the bridal party. I thought maybe you’d hit it off, but now I see that’s not going to happen.”
I groaned. “Who is it?”
“Brady.” She scrunched up her face apologetically.
“You’re the worst,” I said.
“He’s always had a thing for you,” she countered.
“I know! That’s what makes it so awful! He’s obnoxious and immature, and I’ve never wanted anything to do with him.”
Belle stuck out her lower lip. “Don’t hate me.”
I sighed and hugged her. “Of course not. But don’t expect me to be interested in him in any way.”
“I won’t.” She held up her pinky. “I swear, no more set ups. Except with Wyatt.”
I hooked her pinky with mine. “Okay. I can agree to that.”
The next morning, we woke up much too early and I groaned, feeling exhausted and hollow. My mind jumped to Wyatt, and the empty feeling brimmed with painful longing. Sitting up, I put my hand to my stomach, the nausea churning within.
“Why are we doing this?” Anna whined.
“We have to meet the guys!” Belle insisted, tugging on Savannah’s sleeping bag. “Wake up, Savannah!”
By the time we finally stirred enough to dress and get packed up, we were running late. Jenny and Savannah rode with Anna in her car while Belle came with me. She directed me to the restaurant as I squinted in the bright sun.
“I told y’all to take milk thistle last night. You don’t see me all hungover today, do you?” Belle bragged.
I groaned. “Next time I will.”
“You’ll feel better after you eat. Take some Tylenol or something.”
“Already did.”
She patted my knee. “Then just think happy thoughts of Wyatt.”
“Maribelle,” I whined, “I can’t! It’s too painful for it to be happy.”
“Your trip isn’t over yet. You have to find your prince. You just have to! Seriously, Glory. This is the only time I’ve seen you remotely interested in a man since that boy in high school… What was his name?”
