Shifters in the Snow

by Jacqueline Sweet

  Mike leaned toward her and laid a brief kiss on her lips as his hand reached out and gave her breast a pinch while he slid his other hand between her legs.

  Too much too fast. Andi turned her face and pushed him off of her, "Slow. You said we could take it slow." She watched the sorrowful expression vanish from his face to be replaced by one of hurt.

  "Yeah. We can take it slow. I just thought, you know, I drove all the way out here and it's been kinda a long time," he dragged his fingertips along her knee with a mischievous grin.

  Andi considered it for a minute. If she was really going to accept his apology, if she was going to give him another shot, then it only made sense.

  "Slow." She finally said firmly, as she brought him a set of blankets, "I'll see you in the morning." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed for the bedroom.

  "Are you serious?" Mike called after her, "You're gonna make me sleep on the couch?"

  "Slow," she called back without turning around.

  Sleep eluded her. Andi lay under the warm comforter and stared at the moon outside the bedroom window. The full moon had been a few days ago, but it was still bright enough to flood the room with pale blue light.

  Slow. The word wafted through her mind like morning mist on the lake. It was just an excuse to put him off. Mike's lips hadn't touched hers like Dan's had. His kiss was obligatory, just an item to check off on his mental list of "how to make love." His touch had been assuming, his hands grabbing at her like she was a slab of meat that he already owned.

  Chapter 10

  The reservation was for eight. Andi had suggested they arrive early and enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail in the lounge but Mike had been adamant that he didn't "want to waste a precious moment of her company" by sharing her with a bar full of drunks.

  Andi had decided to accept the compliment at face value instead of letting the syrupy words coat her evening with the sticky residue of the insincerity that she suspected behind them.

  She'd been up well into the early hours of the morning sorting through the confusion of the last few weeks. She'd finally decided that Dan's issues were Dan's problem. If he didn't want her then she wasn't going to pine away for him.

  Mike was here now, begging for another chance, promising his undying fidelity. Mike wanted her, so Mike was going to get her.

  She had just been hoping that a few drinks might strengthen that resolve, or loosen her thighs enough to convince herself that she really wanted Mike and wasn't just settling.

  As it was, they arrived promptly at eight and sat across the table from each other stiffly while reading their menus. Andi gratefully accept the waiter's recommendation from the wine list and ordered an appetizer.

  Mike peeked over the top of his menu, "Are you sure? Those are stuffed with nothing but cheese and butter."

  Andi tilted her head to the side questioningly while the waiter waited patiently.

  "Kinda fattening is all. I'm just sayin." Mike tossed it out casually and lowered his eyes to his menu again.

  Andi looked up at the waiter who raised his eyebrows at her, she shook her head in apology for her companion's poor manners, "I'd still like them, please," she assured him.

  She drank her first glass of wine too fast and she knew it, by the time the appetizers arrived Andi was feeling light headed but not much happier. Mike had vetoed her first two choices for dinner, only agreeing to her third choice with a reluctant comment that at least it would be easy to take half of it off her plate without her stabbing him with a steak knife.

  He thought his little jab was so clever he repeated it louder for the waiter, thinking the man's failure to laugh was due to not hearing him the first time.

  Andi gritted her teeth and downed what was left of her second glass of wine, motioning to the sympathetic waiter for another glass.

  "Yo, Andi, that stuff is twenty three dollars a glass, y'know," Mike leaned across the table and hissed at her, "I'm not made of money." Then he straightened back up and laughed, "And it's not like you're a sure thing anymore." He lifted his own wine glass toward her in a mock toast.

  Andi watched quietly as the waiter politely filled her glass for the third time. When the man had left their table she narrowed her eyes at Mike and pushed her chair away from the table, excusing herself with a tight voice.

  She stood in the ladies' room for a long time taking deep breaths and dabbing the tears from the corners of her eyes. The wine was supposed to relax her, make her feel happy and glad to be with Mike tonight. Instead, it was only making it harder to stay politely quiet while he complained about the prices and made hurtful jokes about her weight.

  All while gazing deeply into her eyes and telling her how much he loved her and how lucky he was for this second chance.

  She gave her reflection a stern look and a solid pep talk, reminding it that Mike was a good man and that he didn't mean any of the things he said to be cruel or hurtful. He was just joking around and the tearful woman in the mirror needed to stop being so sensitive.

  When her reflection had had sufficient time to suck it up and Andi was satisfied that the woman behind the glass was ready to go back to her table and drink that third glass of wine and have a good time with the man who brought her tonight, she touched up her makeup and walked out the door into the hallway that ran between the dining room and the lounge.

  A familiar voice boomed through the hallway, rattling the pictures hanging on the walls. The sound of angry words coming from the dining room startled Andi and she hurried to see what had caused the problem.

  She pushed her way past the stunned crowd of busboys that had gathered by the entry to find a dining room of appalled people watching in shock as their very own Grinch stood glowering over Mike.

  Mike looked tiny and terrified as he cowered under the Grinch's huge frame, "...don't have a damn clue what you have there!" Dan was bellowing, "You really think you're gonna get away with that in a town this small? You're a fucking numbnutted weasel is what you are! I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you treat her that way." Dan had a hold of Mike's suit jacket by the back of his collar and was pulling him out of his chair.

  Not another sound could be heard in the room as Dan half carried-half pushed Mike outside still yelling through a string of obscenities, "...see her cryin' again I'll rip your dick off so help me..." the words faded as the two men disappeared through the doors of the main lobby but the rich boom of Dan's voice continued to shake the glass in the windows.

  A handful of people jumped up and ran to the windows to see what was happening outside, most everyone else returned to their meals. The sounds of silverware and glass clinking resumed among the excited chatter of conversation discussing the scene that had just occurred.

  The kind waiter who had been keeping Andi's glass filled spotted her where she was standing across the room. He gestured toward the table, with her full glass of wine, her dinner waiting for her, and now devoid of her date.

  Andi felt the eyes searing into her as people noticed her and began to place her with the man who had just been carried out of the restaurant.

  The tears spilled out of her eyes as she shook her head at the waiter. She couldn't go back and sit down now. No matter how badly Mike had embarrassed her while they'd been sitting together, this was so much worse.

  She saw Dan return to the restaurant, his mouth a grim line pressed between the scruff of returning whiskers, his eyes narrow and hard as he searched the room and crossed to the waiter.

  Andi shrunk back out of the doorway into the hall, watching Dan take his wallet out of his pocket and hand several bills to the waiter with a wave at the table where her dinner sat untouched. Then the waiter smiled and pointed in her direction.

  She almost made it out of the big lobby of the ski lodge before he caught up to her.

  "Tell me you weren't thinkina takin that mutherfucker back?" He growled as his hands caught her around her upper arms. He spun her around to face him and she saw fire in his eyes, a reflective cast
that sent a shiver down her spine.

  "Not that it's any of your business!" She wrenched her arms from his grasp, realizing that she could only do so because he let her. His hands were big enough that his fingers wrapped almost all the way around her arms. If he'd wanted to hold on to her, he would have.

  The image of him as he'd thrown Mike out of the building still burned in her mind.

  "It is my business," he pulled her out of the lobby and herded her down the steps, "I can't offer you a life you deserve. But you damn well better believe you deserve better than that cheating liar." Andi followed him toward the parking lot.

  Dan marched her to the passenger side of a tow truck with a white Audi secured to the flat bed and opened the door for her. She stood stoically and glared at him until he gave her an impatient sigh, "Get in the damn truck."

  "No." She knew the wine was still clouding her judgment and she was starting to shiver in the crisp winter air standing in a foot of snow in the parking lot but she'd be damn if she was getting in the truck with him after he'd ruined her Christmas.

  "You just threw my date out of the restaurant." She heard her voice rising, "Threw him, literally! In front of everyone. You ruined Christmas! You ruined everything! You don't want me, what right do you have to tell me who I can and can't be with?!" She screamed until she was sobbing, "Mike loves me. He came all the way out here to spend Christmas with me because he wants me back."

  She felt like an idiot standing out here in the cold, crying and yelling. Defending Mike when she really just wanted to hear Dan tell her that he was sorry, that he wanted her back. Strong hands gripped her waist and hoisted her into the high cab of the tow truck.

  "I gotta drop this car off at impound before I can take ya home," his voice grumbled as he fired up the truck, "Ya know, I'm the one that tows the cars off the Lodge's lot when people park 'em in the wrong spaces."

  He reached down and pulled a box of tissues out from the center console and held them out to her, "This time of year I'm up here about once or twice a day. I have to walk through the lobby to get to the manager's office."

  The truck turned down the street to the impound yard, "I see the couples makin' out in the bar. I see the guys playing pick up artist around the fire pit outside."

  He pulled up in front of the locked gate, took the truck out of gear and set the parking brake. He turned toward her as he opened the door, "That asshole might want you back. You're a good woman and you'll make a fine wife and I suspect he knows he ain't ever gonna get better than you," he jumped down from the seat and faced her as he stood beside the truck, "but he's gonna keep trying. Just like he was yesterday when I saw him heading up the lift with his hand on that blonde's ass."

  The door slammed shut, leaving Andi alone in the cab while Dan worked outside to unload the Audi. His revelation echoed through her thoughts. She realized it wasn't much of a surprise. Not the still cheating part. Not the lying part. Not even the fact that he'd already been in town long before he claimed to have been.

  No wonder he'd been reluctant to take her to the Lodge.

  She idly watched Dan lock the gates and climb back into the cab with her, "He stayin at yer place?" He asked quietly.

  She nodded sullenly.

  "Then I ain't takin ya home."

  Andi just nodded numbly again. The fight had left her and exhaustion had taken its place. She followed Dan into the cozy cabin where he had dinner waiting for him, "Come on," he pulled her into the bathroom and handed her a thick towel, "Take a shower and I'll get you somethin' to sleep in."

  She returned to the front room with the hair spray and the mascara scrubbed clean, wearing an oversized set of pajamas similar to what he'd given her that first night.

  "You didn't get dinner," He had a plate in his hand and was piling it with mashed potatoes and grazy, "I feel bad about that." He set the plate on the table beside the silverware he'd set out, "You looked really pretty tonight, Andi, you deserved a better night and I'm sorry I embarrassed you." He sat down on the other side of the table with his own plate, gesturing her to sit with him.

  "Just..." He clenched his jaw and shook his head, "I saw you ran into the bathroom with your eyes all teary and I was on my way after you when I saw that jackass sittin at the table. I recognized him from the Lodge yesterday and I came unglued a little."

  "I just don't understand why it matters to you," Andi whispered as she used the fork to draw lines in the potatoes. "You made it pretty clear that you aren't interested."

  Silence echoed like thunder from across the table and she forced herself to raise her eyes to his. He was staring at her, his brown eyes wide, his mouth hanging open as if he'd been about to say something. She saw the dampness in the corners of his eyes betray him before he could blink rapidly and set his jaw again.

  "I never said I wasn't interested," he said slowly, "I said you deserve better. I live a hard life and being my mate means you'd live a hard life too. I said I can't do that to you."

  Andi absently put a forkful of potatoes in her mouth and was surprised to discover how hungry she was. They finished their meal in silence. Andi wasn't sure if that had been his final say on the matter. She wasn't sure how mad she was any more. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about Mike now. Or if she cared.

  She did know that Dan made excellent meatloaf.

  She spent the night on the sofa again. Despite the offer of the spare bedroom, it was too tempting to sleep by the crackle and warm glow of the dying embers. And it lessened the hurt of not spending the night wrapped in Dan's arms.

  Andi woke early to the sun shining in her face. Their brief time together had taught her to expect coffee on the stove top but when she checked the kitchen it showed no signs of life. She found the kettle under the counter and filled it with water to start boiling.

  Dan wasn't in the house. His keys hung on the little hook by the front door, both trucks were under the awning outside. She wandered through the back door thinking perhaps he'd gone out back to bring in firewood.

  His slip on shoes and pajamas sat neatly folded on the shelf next to the outer door, but still no sign of Dan.

  Andi pushed the door open to the back deck and stepped outside. The sun had cleared the trees that marked the beginning of the forest on the back side of the property, bathing the wooden deck in warm light.

  Andi sat down on one of the deck chairs and let her eyes go unfocused as she stared absently into the woods while she waited for the whistle of the kettle on the stove inside.

  The vague thought that it was Christmas day crossed her mind but all she really knew was that she had to give Mike the boot. And she had to come to terms with Dan's insistence that he had nothing to offer her.

  Movement deep in the forest caught her eye and brought it into focus. A well worn trail ran from the edge of Dan's property into the woods, leaving a clear path that ran between the trees.

  She knew he ran in the morning. Sometimes at night. Usually before she woke up. He'd never asked if she wanted to come with him, it was just something he did by himself. He said it was part of his meditation time.

  When she saw the large mass moving at the far edge of the visible trail, she thought it must be him, she leaned forward, about to stand and wave when the bear appeared. The same big, brown bear she'd seen that day on her way from the falls.

  She froze on the edge of her seat as it came closer. Loping along lightly on outrageously large paws, it's breath billowing hot steam into the frigid morning air. Paw after paw, a few steps closer and then something changed.

  Without missing a step, the beast stood up on its rear legs and continued to jog toward her, shrinking in stature but only slightly. Changing in shape and form till what burst from the tree line was a sweaty, panting Dan. Stark raving naked, surrounded by wisps of steam rising off of his skin, his eyes closed as he came to a stop and bent down with his hands resting on his knees while he caught his breath and waited for his heart rate to slow.

  Andi stared.
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  Dan raised his head and took a step toward her. His eyes opened and he saw her sitting on the porch, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide in wonder. He stopped, frozen in her stare.

  Andi tilted her head at an angle and closed her mouth.

  Dan took a few steps closer to her. Approaching cautiously as though he expected her to scream or run.

  Andi furrowed her brow and watched him without a word until he climbed the steps to the deck and stood in front of her.

  "Did you just turn into a bear?" She asked softly.

  "No." He sounded like he was denying being caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he gave her a broad grin and corrected her, "Technically I turned into a man."

  "You can turn into a bear?" Andi reiterated as though she hadn't heard him.

  "And back into a man," he was really focused on this man part.

  "And into a bear," she repeated.

  "OK. Yes. I can turn into a bear." He finally surrendered the argument, "But as a man, it's kinda cold out here." He gestured toward the door to the house, "And your water's boiling," he added as the whistle of the kettle cut through the still morning air.

  "Is that why you disappeared?" Andi asked as he handed her a cup of coffee.

  "Not really." Dan sat down across from her, "I went for a run one morning and I got spotted. Andi, I'm not your ordinary bear shifter."

  Andi couldn't help but laugh. "Ordinary bear shifter," she giggled, "you don't hear that every day."

  Dan smiled too, "Maybe not. I'm a grizzly. A California grizzly. The California grizzly has been extinct for almost a hundred years," he explained, "Obviously, the shifters aren't extinct, but there aren't many of us and most of us have moved to areas where we don't stand out as much."

  Andi nodded and sipped her coffee.

  "I missed home, so I moved back. I have a good piece of property where my bear can run, but I have to be careful not to get spotted by hunters-- or poachers. I got spotted, Andi. A couple of guys who were probably just out looking to plink at cans or squirrels for target practice saw me."