Mate's Call

by Lola Gabriel

  She found her mind drifting toward Ever, and she wondered if he had a girlfriend.

  As if you would have a chance with Lexa around, she thought wryly. Hell, maybe Lexa’s already his girlfriend.

  Still, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from traveling toward his smirking mouth. There was something about him she could not help being drawn toward, but try as she might, Sarah couldn’t pinpoint was it was exactly.

  “And that’s basically it,” Justine finished. “Any questions?”

  Sarah shook her head, even though she hadn’t really been paying attention.

  It’s not exactly brain surgery, she reasoned. I’ll figure it out.

  She just wasn’t sure if she was going to survive it.

  Sarah slipped quietly into her house, dropping her purse on the hall table.

  “Hey, hon!” called her dad, Jack, from the kitchen. “How was your first day?”

  Sarah closed her eyes, willing forth a happy face before she met with him. It’s bad enough that you had to get him to get you a job. He doesn’t need to know you’re miserable there.

  “Hey, Dad,” she replied, entering the tiny galley and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She glanced around to see if Bernice, their Maine Coon, was in the kitchen as well, but the house pet was nowhere to be seen. “It was fine.”

  Jack looked up from his coffee mug and studied her fair face. “That bad, huh?” he asked.

  “No!” Sarah protested. “It was great!”

  The forced note of cheer in her voice was enough to make her cringe, and her father picked up on it right away.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he sighed. “I know how you feel about Christmas. Ever since your mother left, we all find the holiday stressful…”

  He trailed off, and Sarah was immediately overwhelmed with guilt.

  “No!” she repeated, this time more firmly than before. “It’s fine, it really is! It’s actually growing on me!”

  She wondered if she was trying to convince her dad or herself, but the day had been unbearably long. There really was no escaping reminders of yuletide cheer in any direction.

  Sarah had hoped to find herself lost in the pine forest, but Justine wanted her manning the store on her first day. Not only was she trapped among the Christmas explosion inside the shop, but she was also left to deal with too-happy customers all day long. It seemed to Sarah that everyone in Cashmere had come to the tree farm that day, and she could not fathom why anyone would want to be reminded of December in the blazing heat of July.

  “I promise I will keep my ears open for another job,” Jack assured her, and Sarah nodded.

  “I have no reason to complain,” she insisted. “Everyone is super nice.”

  Sickeningly nice, she added to herself, but her father did not need to know her innermost thoughts.

  When she volunteered to make dinner, Jack shook his head.

  “No, it’s poker night,” he told her. “I’m going over to Eddie’s, so don’t fix anything on my account.”

  Sarah was slightly disappointed to learn that she was going to be alone that night. She had been looking forward to spending the evening with her dad.

  It was strange being back home, almost as if she had been reverted to her childhood, to the place where she was cut off from the world. Of course, she wasn’t actually cut off from the world. Sarah had lots of friends, but most of them had plans for the summer or had remained at their respective colleges. Moreover, she could only handle crowds in small doses. She much preferred the quiet to parties.

  “Are you going to be okay tonight?” her dad asked. “I can cancel—”

  “You will not do such thing!” Sarah laughed, shoving him playfully. “I don’t need to be babysat by an old man.”

  Jack chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to kiss the top of her forehead.

  “I’m glad you’re home, Sarah.”

  She turned and looked up at him with wistful blue eyes. “I’m sorry you’re home by yourself all school year,” she sighed. “But soon I’ll be home for good.”

  Jack smiled tightly. “And then you’ll be off and married before I can blink,” he sighed.

  Sarah knew he did not mean to sound self-pitying, but as she returned his embrace, she was once more consumed by shame.

  “You have nothing to worry about there,” she replied lightly. “No one is going to marry me.”

  Jack snorted and lovingly peered into her face.

  “You don’t know how wonderful you are,” he told her gruffly. “Don’t you settle for just anyone, all right? And you make him work for your affections.”

  Sarah laughed and squeezed him again. It was a conversation she’d had many times with him.

  He’s my dad and I’m all he has left, she reminded herself. It’s his job to boost my ego. But really, he doesn’t have to worry about me—I’m not interested in getting married anytime soon.

  After Jack left for his poker game, Sarah sat in the den trying to read a book, but her mind kept floating from the words on the page. Bernice, the Main Coon, was taking a nap in the middle of the den, keeping her some company.

  Although she was hungry, she didn’t want to cook for just herself.

  I should have thrown something in the crock pot before I left for work, she mused.

  As she put the book down and stared into the picturesque landscape out the backyard, she realized that she was wasting away inside on a beautiful summer night.

  I’m going to go back to school and everyone is going to regale me with tales about their amazing summers of parties and friends, Sarah thought. And I’m going to tell them I worked at a Christmas tree farm and hid from the sun.

  Thinking about her friends and classmates made her remember the meeting in MJ’s room on the last day of exams, when she and the rest of her sorority sisters had heard the craziest story about “shifters” and other such mythological creatures.

  Sarah giggled to herself at the silliness of it all.

  I don’t care what magic tricks Sylvie did, there’s no such thing as werewolves and vampires. Then she let out a soft sigh. But imagine if there were…

  She stood abruptly, tossing her book aside and shaking out her shoulder length tresses.

  “You are losing your mind,” she told herself aloud. “You need to get out of the house and be around other people.”

  Bernice woke up and stretched with a soft growl, as if Sarah had interrupted her nap. Then the cat shifted her lumpy body to deliberately block out Sarah, facing away from her.

  “What?” Sarah demanded. “You’re too good for me?”

  Bernice did not acknowledge her.

  I have resorted to conversing with a house pet.

  “Yep. Cat lady,” Sarah muttered. “That’s me.” She grabbed her handbag and hurried out the door.

  Joe Dawg John’s was packed, and as Sarah entered, she wished she had remembered it was a Friday.

  I’m not even going to get a table, she thought, turning to leave before the hostess even caught sight of her. Before she could take a step, someone grabbed her arm, and Sarah turned to see Ever standing at her side.

  “Are you following me?” he asked, a teasing smirk on his face, and she shook her head, eyes wide with protest.

  “I—no!” she replied. “I was—I mean, I’m leaving.”

  Ever laughed. “I’m just kidding, Sarah. You ate already?” he questioned, gazing about the overpopulated restaurant.

  “No,” she faltered. “But I don’t want to wait for a table.”

  Ever flashed her a dazzling grin. “Lucky for you, we already have one,” he said, grabbing her by the hand.

  Sarah felt a quick sweat break out over her body as she allowed herself to be guided toward the rear of the establishment, weaving through the already occupied tables.

  Ever seemed to smile at everyone while Sarah felt like a shadow at his side.

  “I don’t really…” she tried to call out, but he didn’t seem to hear he
r. They finally came to a halt at a booth near the back.

  Sarah’s face turned crimson when she saw Lexa and another couple sitting there. Her eyes widened, and she barely managed to bite back a groan of embarrassment.

  Oh, my God! I’m crashing a double date!

  “Shove in there, you guys,” Ever said. He then turned to the other couple. “Chris, Lena, this is Sarah. She works at the tree farm,” Ever introduced, gently pushing her along the red vinyl seats.

  “Hi, Sarah!” Lexa cried, and Sarah could see she was slightly drunk, her eyes slightly hazy.

  “Hey, Sarah,” the couple chorused.

  “Hi,” she almost whispered, biting down on her lower lip. This was humiliating—she had to get out of there. “Listen, I really have to go,” she muttered, her blue eyes darting from friendly face to friendly face, her heart sinking.

  She could tell they would have made great friends, but she would be damned if she was going to be the fifth wheel.

  “What do you mean?” Ever asked, his dark brows raised in confusion. “You just got here.”

  Sarah swallowed, not wanting to lie.

  “We haven’t eaten, either, so don’t worry,” Lexa piped up, and Sarah stared at her in slight disbelief.

  How can she be so nonchalant about me being here? she wondered. If my boyfriend brought another girl to our table when we were on a date…

  Sarah reasoned that Lexa had no cause to feel insecure. Still, she seemed to be handling her presence with too much grace.

  It only served to make Sarah more nervous.

  “Are you from Cashmere, Sarah?” Lena asked politely, seeming to detect Sarah’s discomfort.

  She cleared her throat and nodded. “Uh, yes,” she answered, nervously licking her lips. “I go to college in Colorado.”

  Is it dry in here?

  As if reading her thoughts, Ever waved a server over to their table.

  “Sasha, we have a newcomer,” he told the smiling blonde waitress. “What will it be, Sarah?”

  “Oh… uh, just a Diet Coke,” she mumbled.

  The others seemed taken aback by her order, and when the waitress turned to fulfill her order, Chris leaned forward, smiling.

  “They won’t card you here. They can’t afford the loss,” he told her jokingly, but Sarah shook her head.

  “I’m not much of a drinker,” she replied.

  She was rewarded by shocked and impressed glances from the other occupants of the booth.

  “Good for you!” Ever cried, and at first, Sarah wondered if he was making fun of her, but his eyes were sincere instead of mocking.

  Why is he looking at me like that? she thought, anxiety lining her stomach. She cast a sidelong look at Lexa to see if she noticed, but the beautiful brunette was reading through the menu.

  “It’s not often you meet girls your age who aren’t about drinking and partying,” Ever continued, and Sarah was sure her face was purple with embarrassment.

  “I’m sure there are many girls our age who aren’t about drinking and partying,” she said, thinking of some of her own friends in Boulder.

  “Not around here,” he said. His eyes bored into her face with such intensity that Sarah had to press her lips together to hold back a gasp.

  She felt like he was literally looking inside her head, as if he could read her like a book, and it both fascinated and terrified her.

  Sasha appeared with her drink, notepad poised to take their orders, and Ever was forced to look away and address the server. However, Sarah could not shake away the feeling that he had reached into her soul and squeezed it with a mere look.

  The following morning, Sarah arrived at work before even Justine. She wanted to prepare herself for seeing both Lexa and Ever.

  I should not have stayed there last night, she scolded herself. I owe them and the other couple an apology.

  Despite the knowledge that she had been doing the wrong thing by remaining there, especially when the attraction she had toward Ever was so strong, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to leave.

  Oddly, Lexa had been completely at ease with her presence, adding her to the conversation as if they had been friends forever. By the end of the night, Sarah had been wracked with shame. How could she be genuinely nice to her when all she wanted to do was to rip off her boyfriend’s clothes with her teeth?

  A car pulled up to the store, and Sarah turned to see Justine through the windshield. Her usual sunny disposition seemed clouded over as she exited the car with a scowl on her face.

  “Good morning,” Sarah offered tentatively, but Justine shook her head.

  “It’s not,” she replied shortly. “Both Ever and Lexa called in sick today. It looks like we’re on our own, Sarah.”

  Sarah gazed after the manager, her mouth parting slightly. Did they call in sick because of me? Both of them? Are they fighting because of me?

  She had no way of knowing if they were truly sick—which she doubted—or if they had just wanted to avoid seeing her, but the knot growing in her stomach told her that something was amiss.

  What did I get myself in the middle of?

  If her first day had gone excruciatingly slow, the second day was a thousand times worse. If possible, it seemed the customers were more cheerful, and Justine was out in the arbor, tending to the firs themselves.

  Sarah could do little else but overthink the meaning behind Ever and Lexa’s absence that day.

  Maybe they are just hung over, she thought, or maybe they eloped.

  Dozens of terrible possibilities flowed through her mind, and by the time closing time came around, Sarah was a nervous wreck.

  “I hate to do this to you on your second day,” Justine said, shaking her head in regret. “But I have to pick up the kids from their dad’s house, and he’s being unreasonable. Ever and Lexa were supposed to close tonight, but you’re going to have to do it.”

  Sarah gaped at her. “Me?” she echoed. “I have no idea how to close!”

  “I know,” Justine sighed. “Look, just… just do your best. Please? There’s a list of duties in the stock room, and you don’t need to do the till—I’ll bring it home with me and do it tonight. Obviously, inventory will have to wait until morning. Mostly it’s just cleaning and locking up. I’m leaving my key for you on the counter, and I will come by your house in the morning to get it, since we’re closed on Sundays.”

  Sarah gulped back her protests and nodded meekly. There was no point in arguing. The circumstances were beyond her control; Justine wasn’t doing it as a punishment, no matter how much it felt like it.

  “Okay,” she said. “That’s fine.”

  Justine cast her a pitiful look.

  “It will be fine,” she said confidently. “If I thought you were unable to do it, I wouldn’t have hired you.”

  She flashed Sarah a smile, and Sarah resisted the urge to remind her that she had only given her the job because her father had probably begged her to do so.

  The front door closed with the jingle of a hanging bell after Justine walked out of the store, and Sarah looked around the finally quiet shop. She released a soft breath, realizing that it was quite peaceful when it was only her: the decorations did not seem as offensive without the blinking lights and the accompanying holiday music piping through the speakers.

  For a moment, Sarah felt relatively comfortable.

  The feeling dissipated when her eyes fell on the closing list.

  Are you kidding me? I’m going to be here all night! she thought mournfully, gazing at the chores. As Justine had said, it was only half of what needed to be done, but for one person, it was still a feat.

  I better get to work, she decided, silently cursing Ever and Lexa for dragging her into whatever mess they had between them and leaving her alone to deal with this on her own.

  Sarah had broken a sweat by the time she opened the front door to sweep the debris of the floor outside onto the dirt yard. Night had just fallen, the sky a light bluish-pink as the stars poked ou
t to accent the moon.

  Sarah paused and wiped back the hair on her face with her fingers, staring up at the sky. The moon was intensely bright and hanging low.

  Ah, yes, she remembered. The super moon is coming. It’s a full moon tonight.

  As if on cue, a low howl emanated from the arbor, and Sarah tensed instinctively.

  Even though she knew she was in no real danger, the… coyote, wolf, or whatever animals had let that howl, sounded much closer than she would have liked.

  Sarah pivoted, broom in hand, her eyes carefully scanning the treeline to ensure she was not being stalked by a hungry scavenger.

  There had been rumors, urban legends that had withstood the test of time about creatures roaming about in Wenatchee National Forest, but Sarah had never paid them any mind.

  Not really.

  A glimmer of light caught her attention as a flurry of movement rustled the pines. Her heart hammered dangerously in her chest, and Sarah swallowed, rushing back into the shop and slamming the door behind her.

  She fell up against the door and steadied her nerves, waiting for the irrational panic to pass.

  “What are you doing?”

  A figure suddenly appeared in the doorway to the stock room, and Sarah let out a scream.

  It was only until the figure ambled toward her that Sarah recognized him.

  “Ever,” she gasped, shaking her head. “When in the world did you get here?”

  “Jumpy?” Ever asked with a laugh, drawing close to her.

  Sarah flushed at his nearness, wishing that she could regain control of her emotions, but she felt hot and dizzy, like she was about to faint.

  “When did you get here?” she repeated. “I didn’t see you come in.”

  “You were staring up at the moon,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “I didn’t want to distract you.”

  “What are you doing here?” Sarah asked him. “I thought you were sick.”

  Ever ran his tongue over his teeth and peered at her with burning eyes.

  “Justine called to give me an earful,” he said. “She told me you were here alone, so I thought I would come by and see how you’re doing.”