He nodded. “It was awfully boring. I’d only shifted twice before that meeting. And I was stuck in this giant room with a bunch of the Chief’s wives and a bunch of other kids and teens for the whole conference. More than anything I just wanted to be back home with Brock.”
“It was awful, wasn’t it?”
“You were there?”
She nodded. “I hadn’t even shifted yet. We didn’t know if I was even going to. I didn’t have a choice in the matter. And they wouldn’t let me pack any books. I was so bored and the ladies supervising us kept trying to force us to socialize and play all these tacky games.”
“I would never have recognized you,” he said.
She laughed. “I should hope not. I was an awkward ten-year-old.”
“But maybe that’s why I feel like I know you so well. Maybe on some subliminal level I knew I’d met you before.”
She laughed again. “I doubt that. But I know what you mean. I feel like we’ve been friends for years.” She reached out and took his hands. “It’s a nice feeling, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to be pretty busy tomorrow.”
“Message me the second you’re free and we’ll do something. It’s been a day and a half and I already don’t know what I’ll do if we don’t get to talk tomorrow. God, does that sound creepy?”
“No. I was thinking the same thing – that I wanted to see you again, and that I’d probably sound creepy saying something. I’m not an overly needy female, I promise.”
“I didn’t think you were. I’m not a control freak male.”
“That’s good. I already get enough of that from my Chief.” Her phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen. “Speaking of which. He’s probably looking for me.”
“I hate to cut the evening short.”
“I know. Me too.” She scooted out of her chair. “But I know better than to cross him.” She kissed Remy’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Friday
Remy was nursing a coffee while he waited for his breakfast and watching the door to the hotel restaurant intently for Tara. Instead he spotted an older man with a tan as deep as the wrinkles on his face. He stood and waved, catching the man’s attention and inviting him over with the same gesture.
“Daniel! I was wondering when you’d arrive!” Remy held out his hand, intending to shake, but Daniel pulled him into a hug.
“That’s from your mother,” he explained. “I’m supposed to give you one every morning but I think we’ll skip that and both tell her that we followed orders.”
“Thanks. Pull up a chair. I’ve just ordered.”
“I think I will. How’s the coffee?”
“Average. The café across the lobby has a better selection but I didn’t feel like a cinnamon bun for breakfast. How’s Mom and Dad doing?”
“Quite well. They’re enjoying Florida, even if we did have that hurricane blow through last fall.”
“Yes, I heard quite a bit about that.”
“Your father finally bought a boat. They spend a week or two each month on the water now, weather permitting.”
“I never pegged him for a water rat.”
The waiter arrived with Remy’s plate and took Daniel’s order.
“And you?” Daniel said. “I’m expected to bring back a full report.”
“You know I do call my mother every other week. At least. I’m not sure there’s anything new to tell her.”
“Well, think of something or she’ll be hounding me for weeks.”
“What’s it like?” Remy said, “Being Chief when you have retired Chiefs in your clan?”
“You father didn’t stop being dominant. He just stopped caring who was more or less dominant than he was. He doesn’t listen to me because I’m more dominant, or because he has to, he listens because he doesn’t want to be in charge. Don’t tell him, but if I go first I’ve named him to be Clan Chief in my stead. He’ll kill me himself if he finds out I’m saddling him with that kind of responsibility.”
“I’m sure all those old fogies don’t make too much trouble for you.”
“Ever seen a werebear go senile?”
The smile dropped from Remy’s face and he shook his head.
“Be grateful. Ah, there’s my breakfast. The service here is fast.”
While Daniel ate, Remy’s attention returned to the door.
“Waiting for someone?”
“Met someone when I arrived on Wednesday. I was hoping she’d share the table.”
“Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all. In fact, I think you’d like her. Besides, I haven’t seen her come in.” He frowned suddenly.
“What?”
“Charles just walked in.”
“Charles Brown of the Boston Browns?”
Remy nodded.
“Well, so much for a peaceful breakfast. He won’t pass up the opportunity to insult us both in one conversation.”
“You’re right. He’s coming over.”
Daniel set his fork and knife down, wiped his face with the napkin, and sat up straighter.
Charles stopped at the side of their table, smiling down at them. “Good morning.”
“Charles, what can we do for you?”
“I’m making sure the conference runs smoothly. It’s one of my jobs to greet guests and make sure no one is having difficulties or has questions.”
“You a volunteer? I didn’t think you did anything without getting paid,” Daniel said. “And we have no questions, concerns, or complaints at this time. We would, however, like to finish our breakfast in peace.”
Charles stiffened and Remy fought to keep a straight face. The joy of getting old, it seemed, was being able to say anything you wanted to anyone you wanted.
“I heard from a friend,” Remy said, “that volunteers didn’t have to pay for their rooms.”
“Ah, that explains it then,” Daniel said.
“Enjoy your breakfast,” Charles said, turning almost before the words were out of his mouth.
“Thank you,” Remy said. “He’s been after me since before I checked in on Wednesday.”
“And to think they’re actually considering him for a seat on the Council.” Daniel shook his head. “But we were discussing this friend you made. Perhaps that is news I can take home to your Mom.”
“Oh, I don’t need you putting ideas in her head. She’s already upset that Brock is married and I’m not.”
“It’s a mother’s place to worry. I am interested you know, and not just so I can gossip about you when I get home.”
Remy gave him the short version of his rather exciting first encounter with Tara and the time they’d spent together. He omitted the kiss, however, since he didn’t want that getting back to his mom.
* * *
Remy was finding his room stuffy for all its spaciousness so he was reading the paper in the lobby instead and trying the whole time to convince himself he wasn’t waiting to catch a glimpse of Tara.
From behind his paper he heard the front door open and glanced up. The woman who walked in was inches taller than Jane and had a similar stocky build and dark hair that was obviously greying. Since it was not Tara, he went back to the article he was reading while the woman made her way to the check in desk.
A moment later someone said, “Remy, didn’t your mother teach you any manners? Aren’t you going to help an old woman up to her room?” The voice was loud, feminine, and had a strong French accent.
He looked over his paper to see the woman who’d just come in was now standing in front of him, tapping an impatient foot on the carpet. “Uh, I’m sorry, but have we met?”
“Not in person. Come over here and give me a hug.”
He towered over her. Being this close, he spotted the Canadian flag on her luggage and put that together with her age, her accent, and the fact that she knew who he was. “I’m going to guess you’re Marnie,” he said.
“Smarter than the average
bear. Give me a hand. It’s been a long day already.”
As he released her, he spotted a group of volunteers, Charles included, come in from the dining hall where the dinner would be held. At the tail end of the group was Tara. She was smiling at one of the other ladies and he recognized her overly polite forced smile she used in unpleasant situations. He was suddenly torn between talking to her and not wanting to talk to Charles.
The tug at his elbow and Marnie’s sharp, “Well, are you coming?” was enough to get him moving towards the elevators and away from the volunteers.
Unfortunately, they didn’t move fast enough. The volunteers, Tara included, headed in the other direction but Charles broke off from the group and met them at the elevators.
“Ah, Remy, are you going to introduce me to your date?”
Before he could answer, Marnie was ripping into Charles. “What’s wrong with you? You think a fine young man like Remy is going to want to date an old hag like me? Or did you mistake me for a cougar? Last I checked there were no werecats of any sort in this world. I’m not sure who you are, or who you think you are, but I’ll kindly ask you to stop harassing me and my friend here.” The elevator dinged. “If you’ll excuse us, I’ve just gotten off the plane and would like to get settled.” She stepped into the elevator with Remy close behind. And to add insult to injury, she gave Charles a delicate finger wave as the doors slid shut.
“How did you survive under Laurent for so long?” Remy said.
“When Laurent became our Clan Chief it was unheard of for women to lead our little communities. Ms. O’Brien over on the East Coast changed that and soon there were two or three others. But I’d already sworn to Laurent and breaking that isn’t easy. When he left for New Orleans, the unrest in the clan was great enough that I could step in. I’m sure Jane told you most of that already.”
“Yes, she filled us in. Does Jane know how to use a shotgun?”
“Of course. I taught her when she was sixteen. Can’t say how much practice she’s had since then.”
Remy nodded. “That’s reassuring.”
“Don’t worry, from what she’s told me she likes living down south with your clan, and she actually respects you. Just don’t try to set her up with anyone.”
He held up both hands. “Hey, once she was settled in and safe I stopped meddling.”
“You’re a smart man.”
* * *
Once Marnie had unpacked, Remy took her down to the café to meet with Daniel. When Remy told Daniel about Marnie’s rough handling of Charles earlier, Daniel laughed. “You my dear are a breath of fresh air. If I wasn’t married …”
Marnie laughed and the sound carried across the entire café. “Aren’t you a charmer, but you’re too old for me.”
“Oh, I know. But believe me when I say, a woman like you should have been Chief long ago.”
“Thank you,” Marnie said. Her voice lost its boisterous edge. “There are a lot of werebears who don’t agree with you on that, who don’t agree with me being Chief. I’m pretty sure the whole reason they told the seconds to stay home was so no ambitious up and comer could challenge the new Chiefs.”
“Is there unrest in your clan?” Daniel asked.
Marnie shook her head. “With Laurent gone we’re settling in nicely. But you can’t tell me a disgruntled second from another clan wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to challenge a fifty-something female Clan Chief for control of her clan.”
“I hate to say that you’re right on that.”
“With only Chiefs here there shouldn’t be any fighting. A lot of grand standing and a lot of boasting, but no fighting.”
“Yup, just a peaceful vacation for all of us,” Daniel agreed. “You’ve been quiet, boy.”
Remy shrugged. “Didn’t want to interrupt this touching display.”
“He’s a cheeky one, isn’t he?” Marnie said. “I like that. I hate people who take themselves too seriously. That Charles, he’s one that’s too full of himself and that means he’ll never be able to laugh at himself.”
“You two will need to be careful,” Remy said. “You’ve both stepped on his toes today. He’s going to go out of his way to make this week uncomfortable for you.”
“Can’t be more uncomfortable than the flight out,” Marnie said.
“Or sleeping away from my wife,” Daniel added. “Don’t worry about us. I’ve been dealing with Charles for a long, long time. Remember, he’s closer to my age than to yours.”
Remy’s phone buzzed in his pocket. There was a text from Tara. “They let me off volunteer duty for a few hours. Want to get Chinese for lunch?”
“Sure,” he sent back.
“Great, meet you in the parking lot.”
“Now?”
“I need to get away from here. We’ll go explore.”
“Okay, I just need to run up to my room. Meet you at the car.”
“Important?” Daniel said.
“Nothing serious,” Remy replied. “That friend of mine is finally free so we’re going to go explore town a bit and grab Chinese for lunch. If you’ll excuse me?”
Marnie made a shooing motion with her hand.
“Go,” Daniel said. “Enjoy the rest of your day before you get stuck in conference rooms for a week.”
“Okay. I’ll see you both for dinner.” He hurried upstairs as best he could, given how slow the elevators were, grabbed his coat and wallet, and hurried back down.
Tara was already out by the car when he stepped out into the crisp April sunshine. He jogged across the lot. “Ready to go?”
“Yes, please.”
“Stressful morning?” He unlocked the doors.
“My cheeks hurt from smiling at all these busy-body old ladies.”
They slid inside and Tara reached over and tugged on his sleeve.
“What?”
“Kiss me?”
He smiled at her and obliged her with a slow lingering kiss. “I missed you. I only saw you once this morning and couldn’t get away to talk to you.”
“Yes,” she said, doing up her seatbelt. “I saw you were busy with another woman.”
He laughed. “Don’t say it like that. Remember I mentioned I had one bear transfer in about five years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Well that was the Chief of her old clan. And she’s probably twenty years older than me.”
“Her?”
“Trust me, Marnie is not interested in me and I am not interested in her, nothing beyond standard Clan Chief meddling anyway. Tara, there is no one for you to compete with.”
“That takes a little of the fun out of this, you know.”
“We’ll just make our own fun then,” he said. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, never taking his eyes off the road.
There wasn’t much town to explore but they quickly found a little park and decided to go for a walk. The paths here were not as well kept as the ones at the resort and they were dodging puddles the whole time.
“Don’t you own rubber boots?”
“Sure,” Remy said. “They’re for hurricane season.”
She laughed. “I left mine at home, too. I just didn’t have space.”
“We’re only here a week. How much did you need to bring?”
“I’m betting my toiletries bag is twice the size of yours,” she said. “And it’s a lot less noticeable when you wear the same shirt twice. All men’s dress shirts look basically alike.”
“Good point. Is anyone going to care if you wear the same shirt twice?”
“My father will care.”
“Father?”
“My father’s the Clan Chief. That’s how he got me into this. My mother couldn’t come as a volunteer like all the council members’ wives so I’m taking her place. And I get to come to all the sessions with my father as his secretary.”
“You did say you wanted to travel.”
“This isn’t what I had in mind.” She huffed a sigh. “Look, my father and I don’t see
eye-to-eye on a lot of things. I’m pretty sure he brought me along so I wouldn’t run off and marry the wrong man while he was gone. He wants me to marry someone within the clan and he’d prefer if it was someone with chief potential.”
“I guess he won’t be too happy about us then.”
“Well, you are a Clan Chief but this does throw a wrench in his whole ‘generational dynasty’ thing he’s envisioning.”
“The position of Clan Chief isn’t necessarily inherited like a crown.”
“I know that, you know that, I’m sure even he knows that. But he’ll still try to swing things his way. I think that’s why he hasn’t retired yet. That, and I’m not sure he could relinquish control.”
“Some Chiefs can’t.”
“What about you?” Tara asked.
“What about me?”
“Will you retire?”
“Depends, I supposed. I’ve got at least thirty years on the job yet.”
“Depends on what?”
“What else is going on in my life. My dad retired because I was there to replace him and because my mom wanted to get away. If I find someone special to spend my life with then yeah, maybe I’d retire and devote myself to her instead of to the clan. By that time Brock’s kids will be grown up, and Jules’ too, if he has any, so there should be someone to take over as Chief.”
They had stopped walking. Tara looked up at him. “Do you think you’ll find someone?”
Her chin was tilted up in an inviting way. You met her two days ago. What’s happening? Does anyone falls in love this fast? And yet here he was, in a muddy park, holding her hand and staring longingly into her eyes. He reached out and took her other hand too.
“Tara, I don’t believe in love at first sight. I was raised to believe that you had to know someone to love them, and that loving them is a constant choice you have to make every day. But then I met you and I can’t explain it. I don’t know if it’s love or …”
Suddenly she popped up on her toes and kissed him. Her lips here soft but her nose was cold against his cheek. He was sure his was just as cold. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing her close to his body. His other hand slid up under her hair to cradle the back of her head as he deepened the kiss.
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