The tub was empty, the room immaculate. There was no sign of make-up wipes, used towels or toothbrushes, and the sink was dry.
Amanda turned and went back towards the nightstand where she scooped up her cellphone and tapped it to life.
You have 1 new message
Popped up with a glow, illuminating the screen, and she sighed with relief as she opened the inbox and scrolled the text.
G: Oh my god, this town is wild! Having the best night! Not sure when I’ll be back! G x
Amanda sat down and exhaled. At least Gwen had been in touch and wasn’t lying dead in a ditch somewhere. She looked at the time she had sent it, and it read 3:38am.
“Forever the wild child,” Amanda smirked as she lay down her phone and climbed back into bed.
She pulled the covers up to her nose and thought of all that had happened since they had come to Bridge Hollow. It had been a crazy two days and they had barely even gotten started.
Her mind travelled swiftly to Dean. To the way he had stepped in and saved her in the bar the night before. He had been so confident and calm, and the way he had appeared to her in the dream was only making her lust after him more and more.
She could still feel the tingle on her lips as if the kiss had actually happened, and her body was full of electricity, her nipples hard and alert.
She could easily lie there and think about Dean all day, but she knew that she had to get up and ready and seize the day.
She counted to ten and pushed back the covers before she sprang to her feet and headed to the shower. It was time to revive and get out onto Main Street and do some exploring.
As the clock reached noon, Amanda had showered, dried her hair, picked out a cute outfit of jeans, sneakers and a thin sweater, and was sitting at the mirror applying some blush and mascara.
She had been checking her cell phone all morning, waiting for a call or a text from Gwen, but since the one she had sent nearing 4am, Amanda hadn’t heard anything more from her.
She chewed her lip and drummed her fingers on the carpet. When she had woken up and read Gwen’s message, she had half expected her to come bouncing through the door still buzzed not long after. But she had been up for hours now, and even after calling Gwen twice, with no answer, she still hadn’t heard a word.
She grabbed her handbag and her sunglasses and made sure the French doors were locked before she headed out into the hallway. As she closed the hotel room behind her, she just hoped that by the time she got back, Gwen would be there waiting.
7.
Town was bustling and charming as she wandered and took in the atmosphere. She loved the different little stores and the fact that there wasn’t a chain or big corporation in sight.
She walked past grocery stores run by little old ladies, a pet shop with cute pups and kittens in the window, and a cool and kooky looking clothes shop that sold tie dye throws and shirts.
By the time she reached the bear statue in the center, she was already beginning to get more worried that there was no sign of Gwen. She had wondered if she would bump into her browsing the shops herself, or catch her drinking coffee and having brunch with a hot guy at one of the little outdoor cafes, but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Amanda reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell, before she dialed the number for The Hollow Hotel and held it up to her ear. The dial tone rang a couple of times, and then a familiar old voice answered.
“Hello, The Hollow Hotel, how can I help you?”
“Oh hello,” Amanda said as she cleared her throat. “This is Amanda, one of the girls who checked in yesterday. I was just wondering if my friend has come back whilst I’ve been gone.”
“The blonde?” the old lady asked.
“Yes, that’s her.”
“No,” she replied. “Since you left an hour ago, no one has been through the door.”
“Oh, okay, thank you…” Amanda tried not to sound too worried. “If she comes back can you please ask her to call me?”
“I sure will,” the lady said cheerfully.
“Thank you,” Amanda ended the call and leaned against the bench beside her. She looked up at the statue. The bear and the man fighting in the same body. It was so full of power and energy, and after her dream it was making her skin tingle.
She turned away from it and sighed. There wasn’t any way she could leave it any longer. Gwen may be in trouble. She looked up towards the mountains, at the ski lifts moving slowly to the top, and to the density of the trees.
“What if she’s lost up there somehow…” she whispered, and then she shook her head to snap herself into reality and got moving.
She didn’t know exactly what she would say when she found someone in authority, but she knew she couldn’t just leave Gwen to potentially get even further lost or in more trouble. She wandered Main Street and looked at the different stores. She debated going into some of them and asking if they had seen her friend, but it wasn’t until she passed by the independent book shop that she saw a sign for the town ranger.
It was on the community notice board, an official looking stamp and seal at the top of the page, and a letter beneath it stating that the town of Bridge Hollow’s surrounding areas followed National Park rules.
She noted the address on the bottom of the sign and tapped it into her cellphone on her map app. Within a second, she had a location in proximity to where she was standing, and she was thrilled to realize it was just around the corner. All of a two-minute walk away.
She wasted no time in following the little blue line, walking quickly around to the next street over to find the ranger’s office. It was unassuming from the front, just a plain building with nothing to suggest what was inside. She stepped up to the window and peered through, but all she could see was a small row of desks, some comfy looking armchairs in a waiting area and a water machine.
She tapped on the front door lightly and tried the handle. She was relieved when it opened, and she stepped slowly inside.
“Hello?” she called out as she looked around.
The room was empty, apart from a small selection of what she thought looked like dolls on the floor next to the coffee table. She squinted and took a step closer, touching them with the tip of her boot.
“Dolls?” she whispered as she bent down and picked one up.
She smiled as she saw a stack of coloring books and pens, and a pink and yellow spotted water bottle.
“Hello?” she called again.
“Hello,” a little girls voice came from behind her and she gasped and turned around.
“Hi,” Amanda breathed as she looked at the child in front of her.
She was a striking looking little girl, of maybe around six years old. She had wild icy blonde hair which looked crimped and wavy, flowing all down her back. Her skin was porcelain white and her eyes shone ferociously blue.
“Hello,” the little girl said again with a smile.
Amanda didn’t know where to look, she had been taken by surprise, and to find a child sitting in the ranger’s office alone was the last thing she had been expecting.
“Can I help you?” the little girl asked with authority.
Amanda smiled and held the doll out to her. The girl stepped forward and took it, slipping it into the back pocket of her jeans and then moving over to the coffee table, pulling out some more notebooks and crayons, and beginning to color fiercely all along a blank page.
“I’m looking for the ranger,” Amanda said. “Are you here alone?”
The little girl looked up and nodded at her nonchalantly.
“I keep an eye on the place whilst he nips out sometimes,” she said with a smile.
Amanda furrowed her brow and scratched her jaw. What on earth was going on? This child looked so angelic and young, how had she just been left alone in an office in the middle of the day?
“Do you live in town?” Amanda asked.
The little girl nodded and began to draw a big swooping rainbow.
&
nbsp; “What’s your name?” the little girl asked.
“I’m Amanda,” she smiled as she stepped over to the table and sat down at one of the chairs. “I just arrived yesterday so I’m still getting my bearings.”
The little girl smirked, and when Amanda looked down at the page, she saw that she was now drawing wolves and bears, running beneath the rainbow.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” the little girl said.
“And what’s your name?” Amanda asked.
“Lilith,” the girl grinned. “My dad is a ranger here.”
“Oh, I see,” Amanda felt herself relax, the pieces of the puzzle finally fitting into place. “So that’s why you’re here? Are you waiting for him?”
Lilith nodded.
“He had to go down Main Street for something,” she shrugged. “I like to sit and answer the phones whilst he’s gone.”
“And you’re okay with him leaving you like this?”
“Sure,” Lilith laughed. “I know everyone in town, and the stores next door are our family friends, he always tells them if he’s popping out. Plus, he’ll be back in like five minutes, he left just before you got here.”
Amanda smiled and nodded. She didn’t know why she felt the need to probe, but there was something so charming and mature about this little girl, she could see why her father wouldn’t be worried to leave her alone for a few minutes.
“So I’m drawing this picture of our woods,” Lilith said as she motioned with her hand towards the mountains out of the window. “Have you heard the stories?”
Amanda smiled and shook her head.
“I don’t know a whole lot about this place,” she said. “Although I can tell it must be an interesting place to live.”
“We were on TV,” Lilith grinned. “They made a show about us.”
“The documentary?” she laughed. “Yeah I have seen that, but I don’t remember much about it.”
“It was all bogus,” the little girl said confidently. “My dad knows the truth.”
The words hung in the air between them, but Amanda didn’t ask her to explain.
“Why do you need my dad?” Lilith asked as she looked up at Amanda with her big, intense blue eyes.
“I came here with my friend Gwen,” Amanda said. “And last night she didn’t make it back to our hotel. She sent me a text, but I haven’t heard from her since and now I’m worried.”
Lilith stopped coloring and looked over at her.
“I hope she’s okay,” she said with concern.
“Oh, I am sure she will be,” Amanda tried to change the subject. “I know Gwen, she probably just got a little carried away and is still off somewhere having fun.”
Lilith smiled and got to her feet, letting the crayons tumble from the table and down onto the floor.
“It’s nice when new people come to town,” she said. “It’s been so quiet here for a while now which is totally not like this place.”
“I heard the same thing,” Amanda agreed. “Why do you think that is?”
Lilith shrugged.
“I guess because of all the animals dying,” she said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “And then the two hunters that went missing, that caused a bit of trouble.”
Amanda’s ears pricked up and she furrowed her brow.
“What do you mean?” she asked as she stood and followed Lilith towards the back of the office where the desks were covered in papers and old coffee cups.
“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Lilith said. “But…”
Before she could say anything more the door to the office opened and brought in with it a rush of warm air.
Amanda turned around, and in a split second she felt her jaw sag open and her heart begin to race.
“Daddy!” Lilith chirped as she raced back towards the front door and jumped up into the ranger’s arms and hugged him tight.
Amanda bit her bottom lip and tried not to blush.
She couldn’t believe what happening.
The ranger…
Lilith’s father.
It was Dean.
The whole room seemed silent, and all Amanda was truly aware of was the rush of blood thumping wildly through her ears. Her heart was on fire, pulsing away in her chest, threatening to burst free with nerves. She felt a heat creeping up her spine, across her shoulders, right to where he had touched her the night before when he had pulled her to safety. When she finally picked up the courage to look up at him, his eyes zoned in on hers and she saw the familiar glint shining in them. They were so deep and dark, so engulfing and frightening all at once.
Amanda swallowed.
She began to nervously twist her hand into the belt loop of her jeans.
“You…” Dean said suspiciously as he took a step further into the room.
Lilith was still in his massive arms, her own circled around his neck as she cuddled him tightly and planted kisses on his cheek.
“Amanda, this is my dad! Dad, this lady is called Amanda and she needs your help.”
Lilith said the words so innocently, but to Amanda they couldn’t have been any more truthful. The more she was seeing of Dean, the more she was realizing she did need his help… in much more ways than one.
She tried not to blush and swept her long, dark hair over her shoulders. She smiled and broke away from his gaze for a moment, longing for him to speak and put her out of her misery.
Dean placed Lilith down on the floor and rubbed the top of her head with affection. He kept his eyes on Amanda the whole time as he walked across the room to his desk, but he wasn’t being friendly in any way, he was acting as if she was someone to be wary of. It was almost like he didn’t trust her.
“Lilith, why don’t you go into the back kitchen and get yourself some juice,” he said with a smile as he looked across at his daughter.
Lilith raised her hand to her temple and did a mock salute, which made Amanda smile and Dean chuckle.
They both watched as Lilith disappeared through a door at the back of the office and they heard it click behind her.
When they were alone again, the tension between them was palpable. Amanda was desperate to speak, but she felt completely tongue tied, as if opening her mouth and trying to say words would leave her stuttering and feeling like a fool.
She knew her cheeks were burning red, and her heart was still pounding away ferociously in her chest. Dean kept his eyes fixed intently on her as he moved around the room and sat down on the edge of his desk. His arms were wide and open out next to him at the sides, and she could see how big and bulging his muscles were. His ranger’s shirt was tight, and the short sleeves looked like they could easily be ripped open if he flexed too hard. She had never truly appreciated a man in uniform before, especially a mountain man like this. But seeing him there, wearing his ranger’s gear and looking every inch the savior, her pussy throbbed all over again and her palms began to sweat.
“So…” he said cockily. “What can I do for you…. Again?”
Amanda smiled sheepishly and looked down at the ground. She wanted to relax in front of him, but he was making her so nervous, and the previous evening had churned her up so much that now she was in front of him again, she was totally lost for words.
She felt a heat race through her, her blood and veins burning and making her skin tingle with anticipation.
She found herself nervously thumbing the belt loop on her jeans again, trying to distract herself and also just so she had something to do with her hands. She was standing there in front of him feeling totally exposed, it was raw and intimidating.
“My friend,” Amanda finally managed to say. “I was with her last night in the bar… I don’t know if you saw her?”
“Was she also the one who was in the car when you almost mowed me down?” Dean said as he cocked his head to the side.
Amanda couldn’t help but let a smirk flit across her lips.
“I am so sorry about that,” she said genuinely, her grin s
preading wider.
Dean crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrow, but for the first time, Amanda could also see that he was teasing her too.
“You know, I could have gone to the sheriff about that,” he said cockily. “I hate tourists enough as it is, running around here thinking they own the place, being loud and obnoxious, leaving mess and disrespecting our forests and land. But when one ploughs into town like that and nearly runs me over, well I guess that feels a bit more personal, you know?”
“It was an accident,” Amanda said as she took a step forward. “And I know you know that…” she smiled.
“We run a tight ship around here,” he said with a grin. “You better up your game and stop causing so much trouble.”
Amanda laughed and brushed her hair behind her shoulder. Dean laughed too and then he unfolded his arms and took a step closer to her.
“I’m Dean,” he said as he held out his hand.
Amanda stepped forward and reached up to meet him. As their hands slipped into each other’s, she felt a volt of electricity surge between them. As Dean grasped her hand in his, she felt his heat and his power, and it made her go weak at the knees.
Holy hell… she thought. This guy in intense.
“It’s nice to meet officially,” she said shyly. “Especially after the thing with the car… and then last night…”
As she said it his face seemed to darken, and he slowly let go of her hand and broke away from her gaze.
“Yes,” he said. “The bar…” he turned and sighed as he looked out the window and out across the mountains.
“Is everything okay?” Amanda asked warily. She didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, but she could tell what had happened the previous evening had been unusual, and it was clear there was certain tensions around town that were coming out into a public forum.
“Everything is fine,” he said as he turned back to her and smiled.
Amanda could tell that he was brushing her question away, but she just nodded and smiled.
Bridge Hollow Shifters: The Complete Collection Page 5