I could see the gears turning in his eyes.
“I often wonder,” he said.
I laughed. “Hey, that isn’t fair.”
“What isn’t fair? Life is sure as hell turning out to not be fair. That bastard Josh Thorn needs to pay for what he did to us.”
“Wow, where did that come from? I thought we were playing around and you just throw that out there…” I said.
“Sorry, it’s just really been weighing on my mind lately,” Derek said.
He was silent for a minute. I wanted to tell him that it was pointless to think about that jerk, but that wasn’t the sort of pep talk that Derek needed right then. I think he just wanted me to listen most of all. Despite doing most of the talking in most situations, I was actually a really good listener.
“I’ve had some bad thoughts, especially lately,” Derek finally said.
“What kind of bad thoughts?” I braced myself. Was this the please don’t commit suicide talk or the please don’t commit murder talk?
“I’ve had thoughts about going to his place and just putting several silver bullets right through his heart.”
Ok, that answered that question. I knew that the only way to kill a shifter was to shoot them in the heart with a silver bullet. Or another shifter could suck their soul out. But shooting them with a silver bullet just sounded easier, I supposed.
“That’s not you,” I said.
"What? Don't you think I've got it in me to kill someone? He is a despicable being. God only knows how many people he has probably killed."
“We don’t have any evidence that he has actually killed anyone.”
“He tried to kill you. You think that you are the first woman to reject him?”
I didn’t really have an answer for that. I supposed that the idea had definitely crossed my mind, but I was not ready to dwell on it enough to think of it. I guess that it was just putting it all out of my mind.
“I guess not, but if you want to get him then do it right and find some evidence of his crimes. Put the police on his trail,” I said.
"You think the police could do anything against him? They wouldn't have a clue. Besides if something like what he is got out in the media then our kind would be ruined. We would have to hide forever. They might find out about us and have us all destroyed."
I closed my eyes and swallowed. I had never thought of that. Derek had obviously had much deeper conversations with himself about this than I had.
“So, what are you going to do? Go in there and fight him again? Or just sneak up on him? He could probably pick up your sent two blocks away.”
“I kicked his ass last time,” Derek said.
“That’s right,” I replied. “You did.”
I put my arm encircling his. “Thank you,” I said warmly. He had saved my life and I would always love him for that. He was my best friend by far and I hoped he knew that.
Derek smiled, the mood lightened a bit. “I would have kicked Tony’s ass too,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “That fight was stupid,” I laughed. “What would make him think that you tried to take him out during the race?”
“I don’t know. The guy doesn’t like me too much, I guess. I think he knows that I’m onto him and he’s afraid I’m going to spill the beans about who he really is.”
I was now alarmed. “What do you mean?”
“Well, keep this under wraps. Beth would freak if she found out, but Tony is a Grizzly.”
“What do you mean? He turns into a Grizzly bear instead of a black bear like we do?” I asked.
Derek laughed. “No. The bear shifters turn into is not the same type of bear that you would find in the wild in case you hadn’t noticed. Grizzly refers to a pack of bears that live outside of the conventional rules and laws that the rest of us do. They have their own set of laws.”
“Ok, I wasn’t aware that any of us had any special laws,” I said. I was getting confused. Derek wasn’t really being clear.
“Well, yea we all have freedom and basically our lives are very similar to the way that normal people live. But we do have some guidelines we have to abide by. We do what we can to keep our secret, we don’t kill people, and we don’t make others of our kind.”
Apparently, Josh didn’t really follow most of those rules. I understood that most shifters are not made like I am, but most are actually born. It was something that ran in families.
It always made me feel a bit like a freak among the shifter community, but then again, the only shifters I really knew were Derek and his family.
“So, what are you saying? That Tony kills people?”
"I don't know, but his pack does. They believe that the same laws that apply to humans just don't apply to shifters and they mistakenly believe that killing people somehow makes them more powerful, despite there being any evidence that such a thing actually occurs."
I shook my head. “I don’t believe that Tony is a murderer. I just don’t see it. He is too nice of a guy.”
“Well, most people appear nice and normal, even when they aren’t.”
“I just find it hard to believe that Tony is that type of guy.”
“Like I said I don’t know for sure about him personally, but I did some research into his background and I discovered this about his family.”
I didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Just imagining Tony actually being a murderer was beyond my realm of comprehension right then.
I did not think that Derek would be making this up, but then again, he may have received some poor information. I felt like calling him out on that, but I didn’t want to blatantly call him a liar. Derek was a bit weird that way. He was always thinking that people were judging him and trying to say he was not telling the truth.
“Are you going to tell Beth? I know you don’t want to hurt her, but she needs to know if her boyfriend might be dangerous,” I said.
Was I really believing this? I wasn’t sure yet. I mostly just wanted to keep the conversation going, so I didn’t have to go nuts thinking that my baby was back at the resort with a murderer.
Surely this was fake. Every time I heard it in my mind it just sounded so crazy.
“She is a bear shifter, so he isn’t too dangerous to her. It’s more of a moral thing,” Derek said with a smile.
I wasn’t sure how to take him right then. The guy smiled about the weirdest stuff sometimes. I thought that maybe it was just the way he got nervous sometimes and stuck his foot in his mouth.
“She deserves to know,” I said.
“I could try, but I won’t tell her here. She won’t believe me anyway.”
“It might plant seeds of doubt in her mind and maybe she can check it out for herself.”
“I’ll tell her when the vacation is over.”
I hoped he would. We didn’t really talk much on the way back to the resort. I found myself walking faster than normal wanting to get there quickly. I was suddenly very worried about little Devon.
No matter how many times I tried to tell myself that this was all crazy it was just no use. My mother instincts were kicking in and I had to get back there to my baby and make sure he was safe and sound.
I felt stupid for worrying. I was not a person easy to fool, but there were people out there who could do it. I had seen many of them in court who could hand in performances that would make Oscar-winning movie stars look like amateurs. Was Tony one of them?
When we got back to the resort I found Devon playing in his little playpen we had packed while Debra sat on the couch reading a book. I breathed a sigh of relief to see him there happy, safe, and content.
After making sure he was ok I started to feel really stupid. Did I really allow myself to entertain the notion that Tony might kill my baby? That was the most ridiculous things I had ever heard.
“Did you guys have a good hike?” Bill asked coming out of the kitchen with a glass of wine. The man loved his wine.
“Yea, it felt good just to get out and enjoy nature a b
it,” Derek said.
“I thought you moved to the city because you were sick of nature?” Beth said.
I hardly even realized that she was there I was so focused on Devon. Beth was sitting on the couch snuggling against Tony. He looked at me just then and I felt a twinge of rage fly over me. I wanted to jerk every hair out of Beth’s head.
“Funny sis,” Derek said.
I sat down in the closest chair and listened as the family talked and visited. They mostly left me alone and didn’t ask me too much, which I was grateful for. And when they offered me a glass of wine I took it and enjoyed it greatly.
I tried not to think too much about what Derek had said. Now that I was in the same room with Tony again I knew that Derek had to be mistaken. Or he was feeding me a line of total crap.
Whatever it was I was going to get to the bottom of it.
Chapter Eight
“Is there anything you can’t do?”
I heard the flattering words just as I came to a hard stop at the end of my routine, if you could even call it that. I had not been on ice skates in almost ten years, but it came back to me even more easily than skiing did. And no super powers needed.
The skating pond was fantastic. When Tony suggested that we go ice skating the idea didn't really grab me, but as we walked upon the deeply frozen pond and all of the people having so much fun skating around, all the memories of my childhood came flooding back to me.
Debra had a pair of skates that fit me she let me borrow, and so I was pretty much out of excuses at that point. I had to go and I was glad I did almost immediately.
The moment I glided out onto the ice my body took over and I remembered some of the routines I used to do as a kid. For a brief period between the ages of eight and ten, I was really into ice skating. I showed great promise and my mom even signed me up for lessons so that I could do all sorts of cool tricks and impress my fans. I never had any aspirations or silly dreams of being an Olympic figure skater or anything, but I did enjoy it.
“Yea, I used to skate a bunch when I was a kid,” I replied. “I guess I still got it.”
“I guess you do,” Tony said.
“I’m surprised that Beth didn’t want to come,” I said.
"Well, I guess you didn't hear," Tony said.
“Hear what?”
“I broke up with her last night,” Tony said.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You did what?”
“Yea, it happened.”
“Oh wow! I thought you were going to wait until you guys got back to the city to spring it on her.”
“Well, that was the plan, but it just came out. She was ragging me about something stupid and I just decided that it was enough and I couldn’t put up with a whole week of this crap. I told her it was over.”
“Well, how did she take it?” I asked. I could not wait to hear this.
“She took it better than I thought she would, but of course she is still ripping mad,” Tony said.
“That is to be expected,” I replied.
“She yelled for a few minutes and then she relented and agreed she thought it was over too. That opened the door for me to tell her basically what had been bugging me about the relationship all this time and she agreed to most of it too. It went way too smooth and now I’m really scared,” Tony said.
I couldn’t hold back the laughter.
“That woman should have been ready to tear my hair out, but instead she agrees with me about the breakup. I don’t get it. You’ve met Beth. You know how unpleasant she can be when she doesn’t get her way.”
I couldn't believe this amazing news. I was thrilled, but of course, now I had to continue my game of playing things cool. I couldn't let him know how happy I really was about it. That would have ruined the sexy mystique we had created. And now I could finally enjoy the flirting and playful nature of things without feeling so guilty.
“Maybe she is maturing or maybe she feels the same way and realized you all weren’t a match but didn’t know how to end it or what she was going to when it ended.”
“Yea, maybe.”
“So, I take it you will be going back earlier than expected?” I asked.
“Actually, no. Her parents said they wanted me to stay for Christmas and to stay the whole week. Beth said she was ok with it.”
“Did we just step into the Twilight Zone or something? Is Rod Serling hiding behind a bush or something?” I asked.
Tony laughed. “I don’t know. But let’s just enjoy the week. It beats all the sneaking around stuff with us.”
"Sneaking around? And what makes you think I'm going to give you any green lights?" I asked.
“Oh, it’s going to be that way?” Tony asked.
I was already moving away from him gliding along the frozen pond and twirling into a twist to build up my momentum. The ice was mostly clear for the moment and I could let my stride free. It felt great. It was probably the freest I'd been in a while, just gliding along the smooth ice, hearing the blade of the skate cutting through the thinnest little layer to propel me and my momentum forward.
And to top it all off I had a great guy showing interest in me. I was starting to think that things really were turning around for me.
Tony was right on my heels suddenly, showing me some fancy skate moves as well. I was more than impressed. I was under the impression that he was just a casual skater but he was showing me some moves I was not sure that I could have pulled off.
And he was doing it smoothly, and gracefully. It was beautiful to watch. His skating skills were garnering the attention of some of the others on the ice that morning as well.
Several ladies were checking him out a bit too intensely. I felt a spark of jealousy flying over me, but I laughed it off. It was kind of flattering to know that other women were definitely interested in Tony.
Suddenly in light of everything he had just told me I felt like he was mine in a sense. I have never been one to fall for someone quickly.
It takes me a long time to really open myself up to someone that much, but there was something different happening with Tony. I don’t know if it was because we’d shared that spark so long ago and that I’d occasionally dwelled on it, wondering about him and where he was or if it was because of the drama that had been unfolding with Beth but I was feeling very close to him.
I tried to deny the feelings but there was no getting around it that those feelings were there. It was something I couldn’t really explain, but why did I have to explain it? I decided then to try something new with myself and just go with the flow.
I was ready to start over in life and to do things differently both in life, work, and love. I was relishing every second of this new budding romance and I was so excited to see where it was going to lead.
Tony grabbed my hand just then as he skated up behind me. I had pulled away into my own little world for a few, stretching myself out to explore the space and get back into my own skating groove, when suddenly he was there, his arm behind me as if guiding me along, as we were becoming one on the ice.
His warmth was so comforting, inviting, and I instantly felt like he was someone I could rely on. It had been a long time since I’d felt like that with anyone. I closed my eyes just encompassing myself in the moment, relishing every drop of it.
Things had been so hard the past year and even being there at the resort the problems were always lingering in the back of my mind, but when Tony touched me then, all of those issues seemed to fade away into nothingness.
I felt at peace for the first time in a long time and most importantly I felt hopeful about the future. I didn’t know what was coming or what life would bring good or bad, but I knew that I was going to be able to meet it head on and that everything was going to be just fine.
“So, you’ve got some sweet moves yourself,” I said.
We had just finished our dance on the ice and were now walking back to the resort.
It was a beautiful day for a walk with the sno
w blanketing the ground, the cool, fresh mountain air on my skin with the occasional breeze adding to the flavor, the picturesque mountains reaching out towards the heavens and just touching the clouds that hung from the sky. It was like stepping into a beautiful painting of some sort.
“Well, thank you. I also used to do a bunch of ice skating. There was a period in my teenage years when I really wanted to be a professional hockey player. The coach agreed that I had the stick handling down, but needed to work on my skating skills a bit more. So, every morning I would go to the ice and skate for a few hours.”
“So, what happened to hockey?”
“I went for it and gave it my best shot, but I guess it wasn’t in the cards for me. Life was opening a bunch of different doors for me but it didn’t open that one for whatever reason.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I’m not. I actually think it worked out for the best. I’ve always felt that when life is not working out the way you want it to no matter how much you are fighting then you are following the wrong path. Life won’t let you follow the wrong path for too long before it knocks you on your ass,” Tony said.
“Well, that is very insightful. I’ve always kind of felt the same thing,” I said. I totally related to that way of looking at the world, but I don’t think I have ever put it that way before.
“Great minds I guess,” Tony replied.
“What got you interested in the law?” I asked. “Have you always loved to argue?”
Tony laughed. "No, I don't necessarily like to argue. I'd never really thought about a career in law at all, but during my freshman year of college, I took a constitutional law class as an elective. It sounded interesting and it fit into my schedule so I said why not. I fell in love with the legal process, the terminology, the flow of it all. It was really incredible and it just kind of grabbed me. I knew right then what I wanted to do because I had no clue before. When I realized the hockey thing was not really working out I was a bit devastated and I didn't really know what I was going to do, so my parents convinced me to go to college and I was lucky enough to find this career waiting for me."
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