Dragon Protector (Dragon Dreams)

by Tabitha St. George

  As she made her way to the car, she felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders and as she sank down into the driver’s seat, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had survived another week, and now, she was officially on vacation.

  She started the engine, put the car in drive and reversed out of her parking spot. She rolled down the windows and cranked up the music, and even though she knew that he could possibly still see her and that it would no doubt get her fired, she lifted her hand up out of the window and flipped her boss the bird as she sped out of the parking lot.

  Poppy tapped her hands on the wheel as she made her way through town and thought about the week ahead. It had been a long time since she had been on vacation, and she couldn’t wait to get away for a few days and just unwind. Even if she was going with her family, she was sure that there would be moments when she could take herself away from all of their drama and spend some time by herself. She deserved it, after all.

  She turned a corner and she could see her family home up ahead. Most days, when she approached, she was just glad to be out of work, but today was different… She had left there under a cloud that morning and she was dreading facing her mother. She thought back to the argument that had taken place in the kitchen, back when Poppy was still weary with sleep and her mother had thought it was the opportune moment to drag to the surface all of Poppy’s insecurities and fears. She knew, more than anyone, that she was nearly twenty-five and didn’t have a solid career, a place of her own, or a man… But she didn’t want to be reminded of it, and especially by her mom.

  “You need to shape up, Poppy,” she had said. “And fast, because you’re not getting any younger… It’s about time you were finding yourself a man, settling down and really thinking about what you want to do with your life…”

  It had made Poppy want to cry. The words were like venom and they had hurt. But she was a strong girl, and even though it had cut her deeply, she was determined that she wouldn’t dwell on the opinions of others.

  As she pulled up into the driveway and looked up at the house, she could see her family inside, they were all buzzing around and preparing themselves for the week ahead. Her younger brother was jumping around the kitchen and even though he was sixteen, Poppy still saw him as a little kid. She smiled. Even though he could be a nightmare at times, he was still more fun to be around than her tricky parents.

  She slammed the car door behind her and walked up to the house. The sound of their voices all drifted out to meet her and she had to suck in a lungful of air as she prepared herself to enter. Her mother’s words still echoed in her mind, and even though she had decided that she would try to forget, it was proving more difficult than she had thought.

  “Poppy,” her father said with a wry drawl as she opened the door and stepped inside. “How was your day?”

  She had been expecting a scowl or a look of disapproval, but he seemed happy for once, and so did her mom. They all flitted around the island in the center of the kitchen whilst her mother prepared dinner, and her younger brother James kicked his soccer ball up from the floor and onto his knees.

  Poppy smiled back and set down her purse as she closed the back door behind her. Her mother looked up and smiled sharply from between tightly closed lips.

  “Good, thanks,” Poppy replied as she walked over to the refrigerator and opened up the doors.

  James kicked the ball again and the slap, slap of it hitting the floor and then his knee was the only sound in the room. There was a tension in the air, but Poppy wasn’t going to give in to it. She was free from work and her pervy boss for ten whole days, and she was going to damn well enjoy it.

  “Smells good,” she beamed as she turned and smiled at her mother. “What are you cooking?”

  “Pot roast,” her mom said as she raised a suspicious eyebrow. “I thought I may as well use up what was left over before we head off.”

  “Great,” Poppy smiled as she slapped her hands together. “I’m starving.”

  The tension began to evaporate and James stopped kicking his soccer ball and sat down at one of the high stools next to the island.

  “What time are we leaving?” he asked as he reached over and grabbed a handful of chips from a bowl on the counter. “I want to get there as soon as we can so I can head out to the lake and go fishing.”

  “Bright and early! Don’t you worry!” their father grinned.

  Poppy felt like rolling her eyes but knew that she had to remain chipper. She smiled from ear to ear and nodded enthusiastically. Even though she was looking forward to the break, the idea of the car journey with her highly strung family was kind of terrifying.

  “Are you packed?” her mom looked up at her and Poppy instantly felt herself tense.

  “Not yet,” she said sheepishly. “But I will be…” She turned and grabbed a glass from one of the cupboards and ran it under the faucet. She sipped the cool water and tried to ignore the daggers shooting from her mom’s eyes. Poppy was sure that they used to be friends, but since she had returned from college and fallen into the small town trap of working for peanuts and living back at home with her parents, it was like all of her mother’s admiration for her had vanished. It killed Poppy inside, even though she would never admit it.

  “We won’t wait for you if you’re late,” her mom said waspishly. “We want to enjoy our vacation, not spend it waiting on you.”

  Poppy tensed and felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. She turned and headed for the door.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t get in the way,” she said, instantly regretting agreeing to go away with them at all in the first place.

  “Where are you going?” her mom asked. “Dinner is almost ready.”

  Poppy shrugged and shook her head. “It’s okay, I’m not hungry anymore,” she said as she walked out of the room and slammed the door lightly behind her.

  As she walked up the stairs, her heart was pounding and her fists were clenched tightly together. She had never been so humiliated and she couldn’t believe that it was her own mother that was making her feel so small and useless. She pushed open the door to her bedroom and closed it behind her and let out a heavy sigh. She knew it had almost been too good to be true to expect her family to be in a good mood when she had come home… But at least they wouldn’t be confined to the house for the upcoming week.

  Poppy threw open her closet doors and looked inside. She had a huge selection of denim shorts, skimpy tees, and dresses, which she could pair with sneakers or sandals, but her motivation for her vacation had pretty much all disappeared.

  “Come on,” she coached herself, “once we’re there, you don’t even have to see them.”

  She pulled her suitcase out from the bottom of the closet, heaved it up onto the bed and opened it. She would pack fast and then she would get herself to bed. She didn’t want to wake up cranky and then have to endure the car journey feeling even more annoyed and agitated than necessary.

  She folded in the clothes and breathed a sigh of relief. She would switch off and try to forget her mother’s cruel words and the feeling of dread that she had inside of her. It had been a tough few months back at home, but this weekend, she was escaping it all and heading for the mountains. She could spend the entire week lying in the sun, basking by the lakes or even heading up in the lifts to the tops of the mountains to ski, hike or take in the views. She didn’t want to admit that she would much rather be lying on a beach somewhere, sipping a cocktail and being waited on by hunky men in tight underwear, but whatever this little mountain town had to throw at her, she would have to make it work.

  She closed the suitcase and pulled it down to the floor. As she flopped down on the bed, her stomach was growling with hunger and all she wanted to do was sneak downstairs and take a plate of food, but she wouldn’t give her mom the satisfaction. Instead, she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and closed her eyes.

  Only one more sleep and then she would be out of there. Whether her family
were in tow or not, she was going to make sure she had the best vacation ever.

  2.

  The open road stretched out ahead of them and Poppy lay her head lightly against the window, dreaming of being out there and being free. She had always romanticized of what it would be like to run far, far away, but she had never had the nerve. As she sat in the back of the car with her mother, she pretended that that was exactly what she was doing. She was no longer a lost girl on a family vacation, she was a woman on the run. A woman on the hunt for her destiny. A woman who knew what she wanted.

  A little smile flitted over her lips and she closed her eyes, satisfied. It was a good feeling to pretend sometimes, but she only wished that it could all be real.

  “So, the GPS says we’re about an hour out,” her dad said over his shoulder. “You gals okay to keep on going or do you need a rest break?”

  Poppy just wanted to get there. She didn’t want to stop and drag out the painful journey any longer than necessary, but she had the feeling her mom may have other ideas.

  “I could do with stretching my legs,” her mom said as she cricked her neck. “So, yes, let’s pull over when you can.”

  Poppy rolled her eyes underneath her sunglasses and stifled a yawn. Up in front, James turned on the radio and some classic rock drifted through to the backseat. Their father tapped the wheel and hummed along to the tune.

  Poppy spied the sign for the rest area before anyone else and debated not saying anything, but she knew it was pointless.

  “Ahh, here we go,” her dad smiled over his shoulder as he slapped on the indicator and started to pull to the side of the highway and off onto a dusty road.

  They pulled into the parking lot and Poppy looked around. There was a small gas station attached to a convenience store and an old looking block of restrooms out back near some woodland. She scrunched up her nose and tried to decide whether she should just sit tight and wait for them to return, but her legs were stiff and her mind was buzzing and she had to get out of there. She leaned over and opened up the car door, and as she stepped out into the afternoon sun, she stretched her arms high above her head and reached for the sky.

  She hadn’t looked at the time when they had left home earlier that morning, but she could tell that they had already passed lunch time without a stop or pause in their driving. Poppy’s dad was like a man on a mission. He wanted to get his family to their destination, and then they could think about other things such as eating or taking a break. She was surprised that he had even suggested that they pull over in the first place.

  “Right,” her mom said as she walked around the side of the car. “I’m going to the little girls’ room…” She giggled like a child and then hurried off toward the patch of woodland and the block of toilets that looked old and abandoned.

  I’m not going in there, Poppy thought. She could almost feel the tickle of the cobwebs that were no doubt covering the ceiling and walls in there, and she shuddered. She was surprised her mother was being so relaxed about heading in there herself, considering how high maintenance she usually acted.

  “God, just get me to our cabin,” James sighed as he leaned back against the car door next to Poppy. “I can’t take much more of being stuck with these two…” He yawned and scratched the back of his neck.

  “Well, at least I’m not alone there,” Poppy laughed.

  They watched as their dad talked to the gas station attendant and then walked slowly back to the car and started to fill it up.

  “I wish I hadn’t said I would come,” Poppy whispered.

  James looked almost offended and then half laughed.

  “Well, at least it’s only a week,” he said. “Free holiday… You know what they say…” he raised his eyebrows. “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”

  Poppy rolled her eyes again and she had the distinct feeling that she was going to be doing that a lot on this particular trip. Even though James was young, he was a total smart ass, and she could tell that he was going to spend as much time as possible trying to get a rise out of her. She ignored him and sighed.

  Her dad was still humming the tune that had been playing on the radio and her mother was nowhere to be seen. She looked across at James who looked half asleep behind his shades and she reached down into the backseat and pulled out her purse.

  “Back in a minute,” she said to no one in particular as she turned her back on the car and began to walk over to the convenience store. She was going to need to be prepared to get through the next week with the three of them, and she hadn’t thought anything through, but as she stood there in the rest area, she knew what she needed more than anything.

  Booze.

  She pushed the door to the store open and tried not to let the man behind the counter realize that she could feel his eyes all over her as she made her way up and down the aisles. She prayed for a miracle, that somewhere inside of that dusty little store, there would be a few bottles of wine, or at least a miniature bottle of vodka, but she was completely out of luck.

  “Fuck,” she hissed as she turned on her heel and made her way back to the front of the store.

  Instead, she found herself at the magazine rack and pulled down a dusty and very old copy of Cosmo. It was two years old and she could tell that this wasn’t the kind of place that would restock regularly, but if she didn’t have alcohol to help her through the rest of the car journey, then out of date beauty tips and celebrity gossip was going to have to do.

  She put the magazine down on the counter and smiled sheepishly at the man who was serving her. He looked only half awake, but his red-rimmed eyes were fixed directly on her and it made the hairs on her neck stand a little on end. She looked down at the floor self-consciously and willed him to hurry up, but he took his time looking on the front and then back for the bar code, and when he scanned it and it didn’t go through, he spent another few moments looking for a price tag. Poppy tapped her feet and bit her bottom lip. Each moment she was spending in there was making her more and more uncomfortable, and so when she heard the bell on the door ting behind her, she almost didn’t notice, and she certainly hadn’t seen the big black truck pull up in the parking lot.

  She sighed again and rubbed her temples. Behind her, a set of heavy footsteps were approaching and she tensed when she realized that it wasn’t James or her dad, as her eyes gazed on them still standing outside by the car, watching as her mom walked slowly back across the dusty track from the woodland toward them.

  She heard the big heave of breath behind her, and she could smell something sweet and intoxicating. The man behind the counter sighed and dropped the magazine back down on the side and then made to move out from behind to go over to the rack when Poppy eventually had the nerve to turn around and face who was behind her.

  The heavy footsteps and the hot scent of cologne were still hanging prominently in the air, and as she turned her head slowly, she felt almost pulled and compelled to be close, even though she had no idea who or what she was up against.

  As her eyes fell onto the man waiting in line behind her, her heart almost stopped beating. She looked up at him nervously, all six foot five of him and his broad, wide set shoulders. He was muscular and tanned, his arms bulged out of the sleeves of his tight t-shirt and she could see the harsh black of tattoos snaking their way down his neck. She swallowed as she took him all in and she almost didn’t dare let her eyes follow all the way up to his face…

  His neck was thick and scattered with dark stubble, and when she looked over his square and prominent jaw, her heart started to flutter. She had never seen anyone so attractive in her entire life. When their eyes met, she felt something inside of her click into place, but she instantly looked down at the floor. She couldn’t bear it… He was too handsome, too powerful looking, too perfect. His eyes were a deep brown and they wanted to pull her in, she could feel it. She was breathing quickly and her arms were trembling. She dug her nails into her palms to try and snap herself out of it, but she could feel
his eyes on her. He was staring right at her and he was smirking.

  She looked up to him again and as their eyes met, she felt something flash over her, something animalistic and so very carnal she knew that she was going to be able to ignore it. His eyes glistened and all she could hear was her own heart beating. He was unusual. She couldn’t figure out why, but there was something about him that was raw and powerful. Something almost wild.

  “Okay,” the guy behind the counter interrupted as he stepped back behind the register. “That’s six dollars.”

  Poppy struggled with her purse as she pulled out her cash and she could feel the fluster spreading out all over her, she just hoped she wasn’t burning red. The man behind her shifted on the spot and she took a deep breath as she readied herself to turn around after the boy had given her the change.

  When she did and she saw him in front of her again, there was no denying the pull between them. This stranger was tall, dark, and devilishly handsome, and even though they hadn’t said a word to each other, suddenly, Poppy felt full of hope.

  Maybe the mountains will have something to offer me after all, she thought to herself as she walked back to the door at the front of the store and pushed it open. The bell tinged above her head and the huge, hulk of a man turned and smiled at her again. As her eyes locked in on his she felt a shiver roll over her and she was sure that a low, gruff growl escaped from his lips, almost as if he just couldn’t hold it in.

  She felt her cheeks flush crimson, but she brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled back bravely. It had been a long time since she had found herself attracted to a man, but this was definitely a step in the right direction.

  As the door closed behind her, she felt her whole body sag. She had no idea if she had just made a fool of herself, or whether she was finally coming back out of her shell, but whoever he was, he had helped her on her way and for that, she was smiling from ear to ear.