by Zoe Chant
It was a noticeable contrast to the first woman’s open, beautiful laughter.
He’d been caught by the sight of her, stopped on the sidewalk with her face in her hands, so clearly upset by something. He still didn’t know what had bothered her so much, although it looked like she and her sister were angry with each other about something.
And then she’d asked if he needed help, which wasn’t a question Zach was used to. It had been strange to accept. And as they talked, he’d only found her more compelling. Playful, happy...and gorgeous. He’d had a hard time concentrating on her words instead of just appreciating her soft brown eyes, her flyaway blonde curls, and the generous curves that were clearly hiding under her heavy coat.
Now that the women were out of range—at least for human ears—he could hear the sister whispering, Miller boys...new in town...shapeshifters.
That last word was hissed out like an epithet. Zach flinched, even though they were far away and not paying any attention to him anymore.
Maybe he wouldn’t be having any more nice, fun conversations with that particular woman.
Zach had never lived anywhere where people knew about shifters before. Since their parents died, he and his younger brother Joel had had to hide their true selves from everyone they knew. Every time they shifted, he’d been on alert, waiting to be discovered
And the couple of times they had been seen, he’d only learned that he was right to be cautious.
Getting the park ranger jobs at Glacier, realizing that they were surrounded by shifters, that everyone seemed to know about shifters, and not mind one bit, had seemed like a fantasy come real.
He should’ve known it was too good to be true.
Of course there would be people who knew about shifters...and hated them. Of course. Shifters were weird, and different, and frightening, and Zach shouldn’t have expected any different.
But why did that woman in particular have to be one of them? She’d been so...so...he didn’t know. Something. Beautiful didn’t come close to covering it, that was for sure.
Zach forced himself to look away before they caught him staring, turn around, and head for the door marked Gina Rossellini, Chiropractor. There was no reason to let one conversation get him down so hard.
It wasn’t like he was even looking to meet women. Dating had been so far down on his priority list for so long, he’d almost forgotten what it was like. He’d always had more important things to worry about.
Although that wasn’t true anymore, was it? That was the whole reason he was here.
Joel had basically kicked him out of the house earlier, telling him to go check out the local hardware store. We’ve been here for months, Zach, he’d said. We’re unpacked. You’re doing fine. I’m doing fine. Get a hobby.
Zach had always really enjoyed carpentry and woodworking, but he’d never had the money, the time, or the space to take on real projects. He’d fiddled around with scraps of wood here and there, but when you lived crammed into a studio apartment with your brother, you worked three part-time jobs, and you were saving every penny you could, building furniture in your spare time wasn’t an option.
Now, he and Joel were both park rangers at Glacier, and while it wasn’t going to make them millionaires, having real full-time jobs—two real, full-time jobs, where they even got to work together—had completely transformed Zach’s life. Both of their lives.
Joel could spend as much time out in the wilderness as he wanted. He could shift and run, hunt, even sleep rough if he felt like it. But they had a house, a real house, to live in, here in the little rangers’ community where most of their coworkers lived.
Zach was so used to living hand-to-mouth, to having to watch out for Joel and make sure he wasn’t getting too frustrated and confined being indoors all the time, worrying about money, working constantly...he’d never lived like this.
So even after they’d settled in, and there was suddenly enough time, enough money, enough space (they had a garage, and a backyard), he hadn’t thought through what he could do with it.
Until Joel had punched him in the arm and said, I’m not kidding. Go buy some tools or something. Half the guys are building something in their garages, I know you always wanted to try your hand at building furniture or whatever.
So he’d asked around, and he’d gotten directions to the hardware store. Obviously he should’ve made sure he’d recognize it when he saw it, but now he was here and he had money in the bank to buy some quality tools for himself.
So there was no reason to still be thinking about the woman who’d shown him where it was.
But he wished he’d gotten her name.
***
There was the usual post-doctor’s-appointment ritual. Teri had to repeat everything Dr. Campbell had said. Then she had to do it again. Lillian was reprimanded for not going in with Teri and asking Dr. Campbell to tell her directly what was going on.
“Next time, I’m going with you,” Teri’s mother said firmly. “I really need to hear what the doctor says myself from now on.”
You ask him yourself anyway! Teri didn’t say.
Knowing it was a bad idea, she tried, “Technically, I don’t think Dr. Campbell’s allowed to tell anyone but me what’s going on. It’s illegal to break doctor-patient confidentiality.”
“Nonsense, I’m your mother.” Her mom waved her hand, as if brushing that idea away like a mosquito.
Then she frowned. “Are you saying you don’t want me to know how you’re doing? Teri, I’m caring for you. It could be dangerous to withhold important information about your health.” She leaned in with a steely glare. “Is there anything you haven’t told me?”
So that had gone about as well as expected. Teri had had to spend twenty minutes reassuring her mother she was telling the truth, and she knew her mom was still suspicious.
Her dad had spent the whole conversation sitting in his recliner with the crossword puzzle; he’d tuned out the moment Teri had said, I’m fine, Mom.
It was nice that someone believed her, but it would be nicer if he’d ever stand up to her mom’s bullying.
That night, Teri lay awake in the converted den (her mother didn’t want her sleeping in her old room because the stairs might be dangerous) and thought about the man she’d met outside Dr. Campbell’s office.
He’d been nice, but not the cloying sort of nice that came from pity. Teri had become very, very familiar with that sort of attitude since her accident.
The man hadn’t even known she’d been in an accident. It had been wonderfully freeing, to talk to someone who wasn’t knotted up with worry, who didn’t project concern with every word.
He’d asked her for help. Teri honestly could not remember the last time anybody had asked her to help with anything.
Before the accident, she’d worked as a receptionist. She’d gotten used to being the person everyone asked to do things. She’d even resented being overworked, wishing that people could just do stuff themselves instead of always getting her to do it.
She’d never thought she’d miss that. But for the last three months, she’d been utterly useless. And everyone had gotten used to it, and now no one would ask her for help with anything. And if she tried to do anything for herself, people would rush in and try to help her.
She used to be so independent.
Knowing that the man she’d met was a park ranger was making her remember all the time she’d spent in Glacier. She’d always loved the Park. She’d even done a couple of summer volunteer programs there when she was in high school, and she’d gone hiking there all the time before her accident.
Even when she was healthy, her mother had hated to think of Teri going hiking alone in the Park. But Teri loved it. She was smart enough to avoid anything really dangerous when she was by herself, but there was nothing more exhilarating than a hard day’s hike through the wild mountainous territory of Glacier National Park.
It had easy paths as well, though. Places to sit, visitor’s ce
nters to rest at. There was plenty she could do even now, and she suddenly wished her mother would ever, ever let her go. The crisp early-spring air, the gorgeous snow-capped mountains, the new green plants pushing up into the light...
She wanted to go. She wanted it more badly than she’d wanted anything in a long, long time. But her mother would never allow it. Ever.
Teri remembered suddenly that there was a bus.
The Park provided shuttle service from town. There was a stop near enough to Teri’s parents’ house—not much of a walk, and she could take it in stages if she had to.
She had a visitor’s pass, so she wouldn’t need money. This would be easy. She could walk to the stop, catch the bus right to the park, get off, and do as much as she felt able.
And if getting to the bus and taking it to the Park exhausted her, well, there was a visitor’s center. She’d pack water and granola bars and she could sit and rest as long as she needed. If she only ended up sitting outside in the sun and looking at the scenery while completely stationary, that was okay.
Her mother would no doubt go out to get coffee with Dr. Campbell tomorrow, to interrogate him about whether Teri’s report was accurate. Teri would leave her a note saying where she’d gone and how long she’d be away, so she couldn’t be accused of disappearing and her mother wouldn’t call the police in a terror that she’d been kidnapped.
If only that were funny.
She knew her mother would worry anyway. She knew that she’d get a lecture when she got home—probably at the top of her mom’s voice.
But she couldn’t take this anymore. Stuck inside all day, no way to stop people coming in and out of the den, no way to ensure privacy, not able to do anything for herself. She couldn’t get up without her mother asking what she needed and offering to get it for her. She couldn’t leave the house without someone agreeing to drive her where she wanted to go.
She needed this. She would go to the park, appreciate the beautiful scenery, breathe the crisp air, and come home. And then what could her mother do? Arrest her? Make her life miserable? She was already miserable.
But she could do this one thing.
And maybe she’d see Mr. Park Ranger Miller.
Teri shook that thought away. This wasn’t about meeting a man. This was about herself, and no one else.
After all, if there was one thing she didn’t need, it was another person in her life to be concerned about her.
Still, when she closed her eyes, she could see his smile. And when she fell asleep, she heard his laugh in her dreams.
***
Zach and Joel got ready for work together in comfortable silence on Tuesday. They didn’t always work the same shift, but Zach preferred it when they did; he appreciated having someone else moving around the house with him, eating breakfast together, walking out the door side-by-side.
Zach was more of a homebody than Joel was. Joel liked being outdoors as much as possible, in the middle of nowhere, ranging far and wide through the mountains. Zach loved nature as much as the next guy, but he liked having a home base to come back to, and he liked spending time working on his house, making it his own.
Zach sometimes felt a little guilty that they lived together, because he knew that it was more his preferences than Joel’s that had dictated that. Joel would be happy in a cabin in the middle of the woods, probably happier than in a town.
But he’d assured Zach several times that he wanted this too, that they should settle in together. That they were changing everything else about their lives, they might as well keep their living situation the same, too. And Joel got plenty of room to roam at work every day.
“Can’t wait to get out there on the mountains today,” Joel said, unconsciously echoing Zach’s thoughts. “Cal says camping season’s apparently starting early this year; the tourists are out in force and he wants me and Grey up there making sure everyone’s safe.”
“No one better,” said Zach, and then couldn’t help but add, “Take care of each other out there. It’s still cold as hell when you get up on the mountainside. Just because it’s March doesn’t mean you can’t freeze to death.”
“Don’t go turning mother hen on me,” Joel warned. “You know I’ll be as careful as I need to be. And when’s the last time a snow leopard froze to death, seriously?”
Zach held up his hands. “I know, I know. Can’t help myself.”
Zach worried too much about Joel, he knew. Zach was five years older, and had been just eighteen when their dad died, leaving them alone in the world. He’d raised his little brother from a sarcastic thirteen-year-old boy into a solidly responsible twenty-two-year-old man, and he tried hard to remember that. But sometimes the memory of the thirteen-year-old kid who cried silently at night because he missed his parents took over, and Zach found himself double-checking that Joel was really safe and happy and doing okay.
Joel thought it was incredibly irritating. Which was fair. It probably was.
But Zach was still glad that Joel was going out with Grey. Grey Landin was one of the most capable rangers at the Park, and he’d take care of Joel.
Probably without even making it look like he was taking care of him, which was where Zach tended to fall down on the job.
Joel shrugged on his jacket and bent to pull on his boots. “What about you?”
“Visitor’s center.”
“Aww, that sucks.” Joel made a face.
“I don’t mind.” Zach didn’t mind at all, honestly. He liked people, he liked spending time answering people’s questions about the Park, telling kids about the cool stuff they were going to see, explaining safety guidelines and sanitation rules. It was calming and satisfying work.
“But tourists!” Joel stood up, heading for the door. “Demanding, clueless tourists.”
“Better than demanding, clueless customers.”
Zach had worked mostly retail and food service when Joel was a teenager, and gotten used to dealing with entitled asshole customers. Park tourists could occasionally get high-handed, but most of them were just excited to be somewhere as magnificent as Glacier. It didn’t even compare to retail.
Joel shook his head. “Give me the mountains any day.”
“Lucky it worked out like this, then.”
Probably more than lucky. Cal, the head ranger, had a good eye for people; he’d figured out real quick that Joel was happiest out in the wilderness and Zach liked a little human contact if he could swing it. They’d both had to do a rotation of all the standard assignments when they’d first been hired, but now that it had been a couple of months, Zach thought Cal was settling them into what would eventually be their usual day’s work.
Joel took off to find Grey the second they pulled into the Park, and Zach went to get himself situated at the main Visitor’s Center, looking forward to a good day’s work.
A good day’s work. He couldn’t believe how lucky he’d gotten, some days. No longer having to work his ass off double-shifting at some awful retail job for almost no pay, so that Joel could have new shoes or go on a school field trip. Instead, working a good job for good money, and seeing how happy his brother was every single day.
It was an enjoyable morning. He talked to a couple of groups of kids, helped some families out, pointed out the best sights and roads Glacier had to offer, answered questions about camping safety. Joel was right, the camping season was starting up sooner than he’d expected.
Around midmorning, Lacey at the front desk came up to him. “Zach, there’s a woman on the phone who’s worried her daughter may have gotten into trouble somewhere in the park. She wants someone to make sure she’s okay.”
That snapped him onto alert. Safety in the park was the rangers’ absolute first priority, and everyone got called in, no matter what they’d been assigned for the day, if it looked like a person was in danger.
“I’ll talk to her,” he told Lacey, and followed her back to pick up the phone.
“Oh, thank God,” said a woman’s voice, sou
nding almost in tears, when he answered. “My daughter’s out there somewhere, you have to find her!”
“All right, ma’am, we’ll do our best,” said Zach. “How old is your daughter?”
“Oh, she’s—she’s twenty-five, but that’s not the problem,” said the woman. “She was badly injured recently, and she’s not well enough to go hiking in a park! She must not be thinking clearly. She hit her head, you know, a concussion? I’m sure she must have forgotten her situation or something—anyway, you have to find her before she falls and hurts herself again. I can’t even imagine what might be happening to her right now—cliffs, wild animals, freezing water...”
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Zach said soothingly, “we’re on it right now. What does your daughter look like?”
The woman gave him a description that was too vague to be useful—blonde, short, “a little too heavy, you know, she could really stand to lose a few pounds,” which Zach felt wasn’t how a mother should be talking about her child to a stranger, although he kept his mouth shut, of course.
“Can you send a picture of her to our email account?” he asked finally. “That way, we’ll definitely know her if we see her.”
“Oh,” said the woman faintly. “I don’t know if I—surely it’s not too difficult—”
Zach motioned Lacey over. “Ma’am, I’m going to have Lacey talk you through how to send a picture,” he said. Lacey scrunched her face up, but held her hand out for the phone resignedly. “Oh,” he said, before he handed it over, “what’s your daughter’s name?”
“Teresa Lowell,” said the woman. “Please find her before something terrible happens.”
“We will do our absolute best, ma’am.” Zach handed the phone to Lacey.
All right. First things first: he radioed in to Cal, explaining that they had a possible situation. “The mother’s very concerned,” he said. “She says her daughter’s concussed, she’s got some partially-healed broken bones, and she might not be in her right mind.”