by Zoe Chant
Tex turned then, and Laura’s full attention was caught by the way he moved, as if he instinctively knew she was behind him, and he couldn’t wait to see her. A smile was already blooming on his face, widening into a full grin at the sight of her.
Grateful that a blush wouldn’t show on her dark skin, Laura strode forward boldly with her tray in hand.
The rest of the staff turned to see what Tex was looking at, and gave her long, appraising looks.
What would they see? she wondered. A plump black woman in Jenny’s conservative sundress, wearing low wedge sandals? Did they believe her lawyer facade, or could they see the lies across her face?
Tex was just staring, a big smile and a slight flush on his face, so Breck stepped in. “Would you join us, Miss Smith? We’ll be dining in the staff room while we have a chance, and you are welcome to join us.”
To her surprise, the rest of the staff chimed encouragement. Even the gruff landscaper grunted and nodded at her in a fashion Laura guessed was meant to be inviting and not as terrifying as it came off.
Laura agreed, feeling uncharacteristically shy as she piled cold shrimp and fruit onto her plate. She snagged a roll so fresh it was still warm, and even indulged in a rich slice of chocolate cake.
Out of sight over the railing, there was a wild cheer and appreciative hoots from the pool deck as the Mr. Shifters were cycled through their paces.
The staff room proved to be a very small room off the back of the restaurant, a round conference table in the center with a handful of chairs around it. Open windows looking out into greenery and a ceiling fan kept it from being stuffy. Tex held a chair for Laura, and she took it gingerly.
She expected to be the center of their attention, but they all concentrated on their own trays of food and carried on easily, as if she were one of their own.
“Did you have to use the pink duct tape, Travis?” Breck asked the repairman.
“It lacks dignity,” Travis replied dryly. “But it holds it together, so I’ll use it.”
“We’re going to have to get a different distributor,” Bastian said, shaking his head. “They messed up a bunch of the orders this time!”
“I think Breck ordered the pink on purpose,” the landscaper said gruffly, and Laura nearly choked on her shrimp when he winked at her.
“As much as I appreciate the entire visual spectrum,” Breck said severely, “I believe that duct tape should be like the force. Plain silver, dark on one side, light on the other. And it should hold the universe together.”
“Geek,” Bastian said, but he clearly got the reference, so Laura thought it said as much about him as it did about Breck.
They talked a little about where they were from, the invitation for Laura to join them on the table, but not full of pressure. Breck was from the midwest, Bastian was from the east coast. She was surprised to find that Travis was from a tiny town in Alaska that Laura couldn’t pronounce. “Texas is cute,” he said with a grin at Tex.
Tex had been gazing at Laura as he ate, and paused to glare back in good nature. Laura got the feeling that this was an old joke between them.
“What made you move to Costa Rica?” she asked Travis.
“After twenty Alaskan winters, you have to ask that?” he teased her easily. “I came for a winter job, but this place — Shifting Sands particularly, not just this country — gets under your skin.”
Laura nodded. After only a few days, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She didn’t think it was just Tex. She felt like this place fit her, like she clicked into a place that had been open just for her. There was something in the scent and the breeze and the way the sun hit her that felt like coming home. When she thought about fleeing further, it left an empty aching feeling, even when she fantasized about bringing Tex with her and finding another tropical place.
Her wolf, unexpectedly, agreed with her. This is our home, she told her firmly. Here, with him.
She glanced at Tex, who was trying not to be obvious about watching her while he ate.
“They’re wrapping up the photoshoot.” Scarlet stood in the doorway, and Laura was surprised to see that she was holding her own tray of food. Scarlet felt supernatural, in a resort already full of non-human shifters, and Laura felt that it was reassuringly common of her to be eating. There was even a slice of the same chocolate cake that Laura had snagged on her tray.
The rest of the staff grumbled as they shoveled the rest of their food down as quickly as they could. Scarlet took the seat next to Laura and put down a small pile of flyers, passing one out to each of the staff. “I’d appreciate your feedback,” she said, and Laura thought it sounded sincere. To her surprise, Scarlet put one in front of her.
“Looks good to me,” Tex said, after a cursory look.
“Smashing,” Breck agreed.
“It’s glossy,” Travis said, with questionable helpfulness.
The landscaper, Graham, shrugged and grunted.
Scarlet’s eyes turned to her and Laura shivered at the weight of her gaze. It felt like a moment of judgement. She glanced at the flyer critically. It would be easiest to say that it was fine, and maybe compliment the gorgeous photographs that Scarlet had chosen.
But Laura had tasted the challenge in Scarlet’s look. She read the carefully coded advertising through. A place like Shifting Sands couldn’t be outright about catering to shifters — some countries gave them privileges, but more treated them like second-class citizens, others actively hunted them, and a few countries, like the US, continued to pretend they were a fairy tale. The brochure was clear that their guest-list was exclusive, and only alluded to the fact that it was based on being a shifter if you read between the lines. The photograph with romping jaguars on the beach was a good clue, but it was the sort of thing that might have been just a reference to the wild jungle on the rest of the island. The flyer was all neatly deniable if it should get picked up by the wrong person.
“The kerning in the section headers is a little off. You might want to pick a different font for that,” Laura said hesitantly. “And use the same one over here. You don’t want to have more than two fonts in the whole thing if you can help it, one fancy, and one plain. Find a synonym for luxury or luxurious — you use it too many times in a row.”
“You have some design experience,” Scarlet said approvingly.
“I worked in an advertising agency for a while,” Laura said. It was one of the few jobs she’d had more than a few weeks.
“They’re going to be hitting the beaches soon,” Bastian grumbled, draining his cup and standing.
“And the restaurant,” Breck agreed with a sigh as he swallowed the last of his sandwich.
“And the bar,” Tex said longingly.
Laura stood with him, glancing at the food still left on her plate, but Scarlet said to her, “There’s no need for you to rush off. Please join me to finish your lunch.” Despite the ‘please’, it was more of a command than a request.
“Of - of course,” Laura said, sitting back down. She felt automatically defensive; this was too much like being in a principal’s office, and she was waiting for expulsion if she said the wrong thing.
Tex hovered for a moment, clearly not sure if she needed saving or not. “I’ll be working until late,” he said hesitantly. “If you need anything, I’ll be at the bar.”
“Go on, cowboy,” Laura told him with bravado. “I’ll let you know if anyone tries to poison me.”
His crooked smile suggested that he wasn’t sure if that was a joking matter, a sentiment that Laura could agree with.
After a moment of hesitation, he bent down and put a swift kiss on her cheek. Laura only just resisted the temptation to turn and catch it on her lips. The scent of him, that close, was musky and intoxicating. Laura felt her breath catch and her heart hammer in her chest.
She watched him walk out with her appreciation for his ass tempered by the fact that Scarlet was watching both of them.
“I’d love to hear any o
ther ideas about the resort you might have,” Scarlet said, once the door had clicked behind Tex and they were alone.
Laura took another bite of mango to delay her response, savoring the fresh tang of the fruit as if it were her last. It could be. “Have you thought about allowing non-shifters in?”
Scarlet raised an eyebrow at her, but nodded at her to continue as she took a nibble of her sandwich.
“I understand you’ve done that for the Mr. Shifter’s competition on a temporary basis, just for the event, but you might get good business if you continued to allow shifters and their guests, whether those guests are shifters or not.”
“An interesting prospect,” Scarlet said, clearly considering the idea. It surprised Laura until she recalled that Scarlet thought she was Jenny; people listened to Jenny. “You are a shifter, are you not?”
“I am,” Laura said automatically, then hesitated to remember that she had filled out her application stating that she wasn’t. She was Jenny, she reminded herself. The good sister. “My father was, too, but not my mother.”
“Or your sister.”
Laura tried not to panic. Out of habit, she reached carefully for the nearest possible weapon, in this case a fork, and curled her fingers around it. She ignored Scarlet’s words and said, as mildly as possible, “This is also the kind of place a shifter might like to have a wedding, if they could invite their human friends, too. Or kids.”
“No kids,” Scarlet said firmly, putting her sandwich down. “Laura, you don’t need to have any fear here.”
Hearing her real name from Scarlet’s lips made Laura want to bolt, but she wasn’t stupid enough to outright attack her with the fork now clenched in her hand. Whatever shifter animal Scarlet had within her, Laura doubted that four skinny, one-inch tines would even slow her down.
I could protect you, her wolf told her, but she wasn’t as sure as she usually was.
“Just imagine the gorgeous beach-side ceremony, and the sunset photos you could get afterwards,” she babbled.
“Tex told me about your trouble.”
Laura’s fear transformed to fury. He’d told Scarlet? He’d jeopardized her cover by blabbing to this woman about her deepest secrets? Just like everyone else, he thought he could make better decisions for herself than she could. How dare he.
Scarlet continued, either oblivious to Laura’s anger or assuming it was just a symptom of her fright. “I’m doubtful that your former, unsavory associates could have followed you here. We’ve been booked in full with a waitlist for weeks now, and your visit was only just confirmed a few days prior to your arrival. I’d like to talk about the possibility that someone may have had designs on your sister and see if we can figure out any details about who this could be and how to catch them.
With effort, Laura unclenched her jaw. “I appreciate your help in this matter,” she said, aware that it sounded as icy and insincere are she felt. “I don’t know anyone who didn’t like my sister, and I don’t know anything about her work.”
Scarlet gave her a long, thoughtful look, but didn’t question her. “You are, of course, welcome to stay here as long as you wish, and your safety is one of our first priorities. I can arrange a room with Tex as soon as -”
“No!”
There was a moment of silence, and Scarlet cleared her throat. “Forgive me,” she said formally. “I presumed that because he was your mate…”
“Being a mate apparently doesn’t mean he isn’t a class A jackass and I will have nothing more to do with him,” Laura said without thinking. “A mate isn’t a mandate.”
“Very well,” Scarlet said neutrally, after a heartbeat. “Your invitation to remain at Shifting Sands stands regardless of that. I will expect civility. You can come by my office and have a look at my standard contract at any time. It’s room and board with profit share instead of tips, and you would be expected to pull your weight; no one is too good for laundry duty or cleaning when it’s needed.”
Laura wondered if she imagined the skepticism in her voice, but it only hardened her resolve.
Don’t fall for cowboys, she told herself. You knew better.
She always knew better and fell anyway.
Chapter 18
Tex flipped the bottle in one hand, a grin the size of Texas on his face while he tossed the shaker in the other hand. He poured the concoction out with a flourish, and added the garnish with a spin.
The scattered applause warmed his heart, but not as much as the memory of Laura in his arms. It was her smile that he remembered the best. Her curves, yes, and oh little green gods, the way she rose to meet him… but it was the relaxed, easy smile that lit up her face afterwards that made him feel like he’d just turned a stampede.
“A gin and tonic, Cowboy! And a Libertas!”
Tex tipped his hat at the bikini-clad guest, putting the beer glass under the tap while he selected the gin from the glass display behind him and put ice in a tumbler. A generous splash and a squirt from the tonic tap, and he had both drinks out on napkins.
He turned to take the next order, and found himself looking at Laura’s face.
It was not smiling. It was neither relaxed, nor easy.
His bear actually quailed at that face, filled with anger and looking for a fight.
Tex immediately cast back to try to figure out what on earth he had done wrong. They had parted amicably, as far as he knew. She’d joked about an attempt to poison her again. Had someone actually tried to? Had he failed to protect her?
We would not fail, his bear insisted.
“What’s wrong?” Tex blurted. “You look…” angry probably assumed too much “...upset?” He had a feeling careful word choice was going to be important here.
“Upset?” Laura said, with icy tones. “I look upset?”
It’s a trap, his bear helpfully told him.
Tex swallowed. “Yes?”
“What an amazing coincidence,” Laura said sarcastically. “I am upset,” she continued. “I am livid. I am furious. I just came by to tell you not to bother coming by tonight. Or any night.”
She turned on her heel and stalked away, heels clicking on the tiled floor. Tex watched her go with his jaw hanging, divided between his instincts telling him to follow her and his duty to stay at the bar.
“Can I get a beer?” a guest asked from the end of the bar.
“Margarita!” someone called.
Bastian, still in his lifeguard gear, saved him from the dilemma by walking up at that moment. It was just getting dark, and he was getting off his watch.
“Go get her,” the dragon shifter said in a resigned voice, coming behind the bar. Clearly, he had heard Laura’s departure. A gaggle of guests already nursing their drinks were staring and murmuring about it as well. “I can mix up some sidecars and spill some beer in a cup with the best of them.”
“Thank you,” Tex said, heartfelt. “I owe you one.”
“You and everyone,” Bastian said, rolling his eyes. He wasn’t as cranky as he had been, now that they had settled into the new house, but he wasn’t entirely back to his usual cheerful self, either.
Tex didn’t pause, but took off after Laura, who had left through the back entrance towards the hotel.
He caught her almost at the hotel door, and took her arm.
“Laura, Laura, love…” he said, glancing around to make sure no one was in obvious earshot.
“Don’t you Laura, Laura, love me,” she snapped back, shaking her arm free. “That is why I am upset. You can’t keep your mouth shut with the one secret I give you. You betrayed me. You told, well at least Scarlet, and probably half the big-mouthed staff.”
Tex stood his ground, but relinquished her arm. “I had to tell Scarlet,” he protested. He hadn’t really thought about the fact that he was betraying her trust, but he’d known that Scarlet could help protect her, and that knowing the truth would help her do that. His mate’s safety was his first, driving priority.
“You don’t get to choose for me
,” Laura spat. “I make my own choices, Tex.”
“This isn’t a choice,” Tex said firmly.
“Everything is a choice,” Laura retorted. “And I can choose not to be with someone who can’t respect my secrets.”
“You’re my mate,” Tex insisted.
“And what, being my mate makes you my owner? You get to make my decisions for me?” Laura scoffed. “I pick my path, and that may not include you, Cowboy, so don’t get too settled.”
The idea cut to the center of Tex’s chest, and he was suddenly, desperately afraid that he’d screwed this up and had no idea how to fix it.
She was turning to walk away into the hotel when there was suddenly a muffled bang above them, followed by a very familiar panicked woman’s scream and the wail of the smoke alarm.
“That sounded like it came from my hotel room,” Laura said in a small voice, casting Tex a wide-eyed look.
Laying aside their argument, they ran for the stairs.
Chapter 19
The hallway at the top floor had a little smoke that smelled to Laura like plastic, but there didn’t appear to be any fire. Laura’s hotel door was open, and several guests were milling about, peering in. She wondered briefly what the smoke smelled like to Tex’s keen nose, then elbowed her way into her hazy room past the housekeeping cart.
Marie was sobbing in the arms of Juan Lopez, who was trying to comfort her.
“I barely touched it,” Marie wailed. “I was just dusting up, and bang!”
Her desk was blackened, along with the curtains nearby and the ceiling above. The mangled wreck of Jenny’s precious laptop was shattered plastic and warped, exposed circuit boards. The paper stationery on the desk had burned away, and the cover of the 3-ring binder of resort details had melted into a grotesque puddle. The scene was smothered in a fine pale dust, and there was a fire extinguisher on its side by Juan’s feet. The fire alarm continued to wail.
“What is going on here?”
Laura wasn’t even sure how Scarlet had gotten there; she hadn’t been in the stairwell with them, but now she was right behind Tex, edging past the housekeeping cart into the room.