She gripped her backpack tightly and wandered across town to the park in the center and sat down on the bench. She wanted to get in touch with Ryder, but at the same time, she didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.
Once again, as if he had read her mind, her phone starting to ring.
“Hello?” she said as she held it up to her ear.
“Hey,” Ryder’s deep, gruff voice came from the other end and set her heart alight.
She smiled and leaned back.
“Hi,” she said, and she was sure he would be able to hear the grin in her voice.
“Where are you?” he asked, taking her by surprise.
She had been expecting some kind of catch up chat, for him to maybe ask her how she had slept, but he was straight down to business.
“I’m actually in the park,” she said. “Why, where are you?”
“Can you come to the bar?” he said. “I’ll make you breakfast.”
“Of course, I can, but I’ve eaten… maybe just a nice iced OJ would be enough?”
“Okay, babe,” he said. “See you soon.”
She smiled as she ended the call and had to take a moment. No one had ever called her babe, and it was making her stomach do summersaults.
She liked it…
She liked being his babe.
Shifter’s Bliss looked quiet and completely shut down as she approached it from the park and slowly made her way to the door. She had only been there a lot later in the day, and there would already be the thump of music and the scent of beer and cigarettes drifting out to meet her on the pavement. She remembered the first night she wandered in there and how she had seen the bikers. So much had happened since then, it felt like a million years ago.
She waited outside for a moment and tried to listen. She trusted Ryder completely, but she had an ominous feeling. It had been the way his voice wasn’t as kind as usual, almost as if he were anxious, and she felt that she may be about to walk into a ton of trouble. But surely, he wouldn’t do that to her? He had basically told her that his purpose in life now was to keep her safe, and she knew he could feel her when she was in danger or feeling troubled.
Before she got the chance to reach for the handle, the latch turned, and the door crept opened. Ryder came into view and when she caught sight of his incredible eyes and the huge, bulging muscles, she felt herself lose her breath all over again.
Wow.
He really was something else.
“Hey,” she smiled.
He reached for her hand and slipped his palm around hers; his heat was intense and his grip was strong, and she glided through the doors of Shifter’s Bliss without a second thought.
Ryder closed the door behind them and then he turned to her and smiled.
“Are you okay?” he said as he reached up and rested his big, heavy hands on her shoulders.
“Yes,” she smiled. “Very tired, but I’m okay.”
“Did you sleep?”
She nodded and shrugged.
“I did but not as well as normal.” She looked into his eyes and the gold was returning. Every time the light caught them, they seemed to take on an extra zing of magic.
“My aunt may have something to help with that,” he said as he turned and began to walk into the center of the room, toward the long wooden bar. “She’s very into her holistic therapies. Crystals and oils, all of those kind of things.”
“Oh really?” Pamela asked with interest. “I’ve always wondered about that… I’d love to learn more about it.”
Ryder smiled, turned his head toward her, and kept his eyes on her as he stepped up behind the bar and reached for a fresh glass. She sat down on one of the high stools opposite him and watched him work. He cracked some ice into the glass, squeezed in some fresh lemon and then untwisted the cap off a bottle of orange juice and filled it to the top. He slid it across to her and placed his hands on the bar so wide it was almost like he could take up the full length of it.
“I can guarantee you, right now, that’ll be the best OJ you’ve ever tasted,” he said with a cheeky grin.
“Let me guess,” Pamela said as she picked a straw out of one of the holders on the bar top and dunked it in her drink and began to swirl around the ice, “another Bridge Hollow secret?”
Ryder winked at her and gave her a warm smile.
“Isn’t everything around here?”
She laughed and then she dipped her head to taste it. The flavors and coldness hit her all at once, and she sipped strongly, taking it all in. It was like a party in her mouth, and it was so smooth and delicious she didn’t stop for air until it was all gone.
“Wow,” she said as she sat back, breathless. “You are right.”
Ryder clicked his teeth and winked again, and then he reached for the bottle and began to fill her glass up for the second time, all the way to the top.
“It’s from one of the ranches just a little further down the mountain,” he said. “The people who own the place travel out to a family orange grove on the coast, twice a year, and pick an absolute ton to have shipped back. They make two batches a year, and then it’s gone. I always make sure I’m top of the list for my order, and I never serve it in here. It’s just too good.”
He looked excited as he was speaking, and it was completely endearing. Pamela watched the glint in his eyes, and the way he spoke with such passion. He was a man who valued the simple things in life, and that was something she had never found before. The men in the city that she had met or had heard about her friends dating all seemed to be so concerned with appearance and material things. They all wanted the best cars, the most exotic holidays, and the top jobs. They were driven by money and thought success came in the form of an expensive watch on their wrist or a fat bank account.
Ryder and the people she had met in Bridge Hollow were completely different. They lived in a beautiful national park, they loved the land and they took care of each other. And here was Ryder, a great big, burly shifter bear, sitting in a bar early in the morning, raving to Pamela about some orange juice. It touched her deep inside and pulled her to him even more.
She was trying with all her might to keep her wits about her and hammer it home that he was surely going to be trouble, but she couldn’t help but fall for him more and more, each time they were together.
He cocked his head to the side and smiled at her again.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
She smiled and shook her head.
“I would love to tell you,” she whispered, “but there are so many secrets here in this town, I think it’s about time I had one of my own.”
Ryder laughed, and then he poured himself a glass of juice and downed it in one.
He slammed his hands back down on the bar and leaned in closer to her across the wooden top.
“Okay,” he said. “I have my reasons for asking you to come here so early, apart from me wanting to see you… obviously.”
“Sounds ominous,” she said, sitting up straight, crossing her leg over her knee and folding her hands patiently in her lap.
She had heard the tone of his voice when he had called her and she had felt like something was off, now he was about to lower the boom.
“I told you I spoke to the pack last night,” he said.
Pamela nodded.
“And again, this morning, at first light.” He kept his eyes fixed on hers and her heart was beginning to pound hard in her chest.
“They are still being wary, and not only that, but we have the problem of the wolves.”
Pamela swallowed nervously and urged him with her eyes to continue.
“The pack want to meet you,” he said. “I told them I would try and get you here and they could see that you were trustworthy.”
“Woah,” she said as she got to her feet and held up her hands. “So, this is some kind of ambush?”
She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
; “I knew I never should have trusted you,” she said. “My mother always told me never to trust a man, and I never had… Not once. And then, you waltzed into my life with your tales of animal magic and your smooth-talking ways, and suddenly, I’m feeling as if I have lost my mind. I’m such an idiot.”
“No, no,” Ryder said quickly as he raced out from behind the bar and took hold of her by the shoulders. “Please don’t get the wrong idea, this isn’t an ambush.”
She furrowed her brow and looked away from him and down at the floor. Her head was in such a mess. She had Ryder telling her that she was in danger, and that she couldn’t trust Sean… and now, he had led her to the bar and was springing on her that the very people he was saying wanted to harm her, were now wanting to come and meet her.
“We shifter bears have to be careful,” he said. “I told them about us… they know you’re special to me and that I’ve found something with you.”
Pamela reluctantly dragged her gaze back up to meet his golden eyes.
“They say they don’t trust the man… Sean… and that you could help us.”
He was speaking faster and faster, as if he were afraid that she was about to lose her patience and storm out of there.
“I want them to trust you, I know that I do, and once they do too, then all will be well. It won’t just be down to me to protect you, you’ll have the backing of the whole pack… and then, if things get nasty with the wolves, they won’t come for you.”
“Get nasty with the wolves?” she asked with a raised brow.
Ryder breathed in deeply and sighed.
“So many things have been happening here, no one knows who they can trust or who is to blame for what is going on. Tensions have been so high, bears have been fighting with other bears, wolf on wolf… and now, our inter-pack feuds have become even stronger. We need to unite, otherwise we won’t beat this thing… whatever it is…”
He trailed off and Pamela was sure she could see a tear in his eye.
“I’ve never been afraid for this place like I am now… but there are dark forces here,” he said. “And you may be the only person who can help us get ahead of the game.”
“Oh really,” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. “And how exactly do you think I can do that?”
Ryder reached up and touched the side of her face. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at her.
“Whoever hired you knows about this,” he said. “Someone is nosing around here and knows more than we do… And we need to find out who. And why.”
She could hear and feel his sincerity, and she hated seeing him so worked up and worried. The last thing she wanted was for him or anyone in this lovely little town to get into more trouble. The weather and die offs had been bad enough, what if Ryder and his pack were next? If she could help them, then surely, she should go all in and trust what he was saying.
If she didn’t, who knows what she could be contributing to…
“I think I should quit my role and leave town,” she said without thinking. “I don’t know where Sean is, I haven’t even seen him since he went off up the mountain with Dean yesterday. He said he had some further things to look into once he managed to shake the ranger.”
Ryder sighed and looked at her.
“See,” he said. “Even that sort of information is a big help… but I can’t force you to do anything. All I know is, I want to do what is right and protect the people I love. If the pack knows they can trust you, then you’re safe here, and hopefully, you can help us ensure that everyone else is too. From my pack to the other packs in the town… and also the regular residents and the tourists. This place is about to explode for summer… we don’t want any more disasters taking place.”
She turned and looked back at him and could feel the pull still there between them. She had wanted so badly to believe he was a bad guy, to pin on him, at the first opportunity, the fact that he must be like all the others−to want to use her for his own gain−but she knew this was different. The stakes were high. This wasn’t some asshole trying to lure her into bed for his own personal satisfaction, this was a man trying to save his family and his town.
Her heart beat harder and she took a step toward him, taking hold of his hands.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll do it for you.”
Ryder cupped her face in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes.
“Thank you.” He smiled with a whisper before he pulled her to him and held her tightly. “Thank you so much.”
“You should call them,” she said as she mustered up the courage. “The pack. It’s better we do it now rather than waiting any longer.”
Ryder pulled back and looked down at her again before he planted a solitary kiss on her lips and held her there, wrapped up in his arms.
“You’re incredible,” he whispered in her ears. “And now, they are all going to see it too.”
10.
With the bar being so eerily empty, it was strange for Pamela to see it in a completely different light. At night, when the tourists, shifters and the town’s folk were all in there, unwinding after a long day, listening to the live music, drinking the local ale, and eating the freshly barbequed meat, it was as if the little details were all hidden from view.
The walls were tall and rustic, roughed up and cracked, with iron candles holders running around the main level, some with candles in them, and some with melted dripping wax covering the base and trailing down the wall to the floor. The fire pits were big, much bigger than she had realized, and the logs that were stacked in them had been done with an accuracy that couldn’t have been by accident. Whoever did it, and she would only assume it was Ryder or Wendy, had a specific way of doing all of them so they matched. The natural light that came in from the windows was blocked out by shutters, hiding the dust and the spilled sticky drinks that were still slopped on the floor from the night before.
“The cleaner has usually been in by now,” Ryder said as he watched Pamela’s eyes traveling across the dirty floor. “I asked her not to come in today… I thought we would need the privacy.”
She nodded and then turned back to face him.
“How long do you think they’ll be?” she asked, her stomach fluttering with anxiety and nerves.
“Not long,” he said as he sniffed the air. “In fact…”
He trailed off and took a step closer to the front door. Pamela watched him as he moved with caution, how he seemed to be intently listening and all his senses were on high alert.
When he stood in front of the door, it was only a split second before a huge, heavy knock pounded through the wood and seemed to echo around the room and the floors above.
Pamela swallowed nervously and moved back behind the bar counter. She didn’t know why she felt as if she had to have a barrier between her and whoever was about to walk through the door, but it made sense for her to at least try and have something she could duck behind should things take a nasty turn.
Ryder reached for the handle and slowly opened the door. Pamela took a deep breath and tried not to panic. As the door opened fully, she was aware of five big, burly men stepping inside. All of them looked as big as Ryder, if not even taller and even more broad. They all had grizzly stubble, were dressed in jeans and leather jackets, and they all carried with them the scent of the forest.
She instinctively took a step back and stared at them all. She couldn’t distinguish one from the nother, her mind was a blur and they all seemed to merge into one. She cleared her throat and gripped onto the back of the bar behind her, praying that these men weren’t out for her blood.
As Ryder closed the door behind them, and they all stood in a line and watched her, she realized she had seen them before. They were the men Ryder had been drinking with on the first night she had come to town. He had sat and sunk whiskeys with them all night long, they had arm wrestled and roughhoused with each other, and it was clear that they were closer than close. When
she had watched them, they looked like a group of brothers rather than friends, and she just hoped that they would respect Ryder’s wishes and trust in her.
“Okay,” Ryder said as he stepped in front of the line of men and moved in between them and Pamela. “We all know why we’re here.”
One of the men at the front stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest, and Pamela realized it was Dean, the ranger. He glared at them both, as if he was already in on something that they weren’t. She let her eyes travel around the others and they didn’t look happy in the slightest, as if they were already hating the fact that they had been brought there to meet with a scientist who had come to town to meddle in their affairs.
“Yes, we do,” Dean said as he stared at Pamela and nodded his head. “And I want to hear what she has to say.”
Pamela’s heart thudded in her chest and her mouth started to go dry. She had never felt so intimidated or put on the spot before. These men would have been frightening enough, even if she didn’t know they could turn into animals that could rip her apart.
“Pamela,” Ryder said as he turned and took a step toward her, “is innocent.” He reached down and took hold of her hand and held it tightly, almost in an act of defiance. “I know you’re wary, but over the past few days, I have gotten to know her. I’ve seen her working out there and what she is doing… and I can tell you now, she isn’t one of the bad guys.”
Dean licked his bottom lip and unfolded his arms.
“Dean, you were up there with us. You saw how sketchy Sean was, you actually traveled to the summit with him.”
Dean nodded his head again.
“That’s right,” Dean said. “I did see him, and I got a bad vibe from him from the start.”
“He lied to Pamela,” Ryder continued. “She was led to believe she had been hired by the government.”
Dean snorted with laughter and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Bridge Hollow Shifters: The Complete Collection Page 18