Ryder shouted after her, “What about me?”
When Delight didn’t return, Ryder went to the counter and gave his order to her. Once he sat back down, he said, “Those were some mixed feelings about your return, Grimm, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Everybody’s probably in shock.”
“Maybe.”
“And they worried about your mom.”
“I took care of her, Ryder. Just because the whole town didn’t know doesn’t mean anything.”
“So what happened?”
Grimm had expected questions like Ryder’s and had decided on the safest explanation for his disappearance, one that would provide details about his actions, but not give the entire true story.
“I realized the forest was where I felt best, not here. My wolf was free, and I was too. Being in the wilderness is natural for our kind, but I think I feel the call to the woods more strongly than our fellow pack members. Seems to me, they should prefer to be wandering the trails and racing over the streams in their wolf form like I do, instead of roving the town streets and taking care of their businesses.”
“We’re not strictly wolves, Grimm.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You have to own and accept your humanity.” Ryder set his drink on the table. “You were in the mountains too long. I can’t believe your mom let you do that.”
Delight came over and set the burger and fries in front of Grimm.
He sniffed and said, “This smells amazing, Delight. Thank you.”
“I’ll be back with yours, Ryder.”
She marched off, and when Grimm looked up, Ryder was staring at him with a steady gaze.
“What choice did she have with a boy who didn’t want to stay home?”
“Why was that anyway? There’s more to it than what you just told me.”
Grimm sighed and ran his fingers through his shoulder-length dark, wavy hair.
“Well?” Ryder prodded.
His friend wasn’t giving up until he got the answers Grimm was hesitant to give voice to.
“Can we just drop it? It’s embarrassing to admit it now that I’m grown.”
“So?”
Grimm’s stomach rumbled, and he realized how hungry he was. But it seemed that Ryder wasn’t going to allow him to eat in peace until Grimm made his confession. Despite that, he wasn’t ready to share his reason.
Trying to redirect the conversation, he asked, “How’d you meet your mate? What’s her name?”
Ryder gave him a look of consternation. “My mate is Kiera. I found her while I was driving home late at night. She was stumbling out of the woods, running away from her pack. Her father, who was also the Alpha, had given her to rogues and they were abusing her.”
Grimm frowned, “That sounds horrible. What kind of leader does that to his own daughter?”
“A really bad one. To top it all off, they ended up killing him and taking over his pack.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah. We took care of them, and she’s safe with me. Everyone has accepted her as Dark Moon Falls pack.”
“How’s she doing since it ended?”
“She’s mostly healed from it now. The witches helped her.”
They fell silent, and then Ryder said, “Enough about me. Spill it.”
Grimm set his forearms on the table and looked Ryder in the eye. “I understand that we’re friends, but we hung out a long time ago. I’m not comfortable laying out my life story so quickly after returning.”
“Whatever it was, I’m already guessing it had to be bad.”
Grimm made a noncommittal shrug. “I don’t want to talk about it, and I’m asking you to respect that.”
With that settled as far as he was concerned, Grimm lifted his burger and took a hearty bite. The meat’s juices slid down his throat and he gave a satisfied groan. It tasted just as it had when he was a youth.
“Why didn’t you come back before now? You were gone so long.”
Grimm swallowed and said, “After a few years, I was too lost in my world and only felt I needed to return to check on my mom. I was happy where I was. The wilderness reared me. It got lonely at times, but then I’d go over to Summermire, or visit my mother for a few days.”
“You’d visit Summermire, but not your own pack?” Ryder eyed him, and Grimm wondered if he’d made a mistake offering up the information he had. Grimm could tell that based on what he’d said, Ryder wanted to continue to question him.
Studying him with a piercing scrutiny, Ryder asked, “Who was here that you were trying to avoid?”
Ignoring Ryder‘s question, and staying quiet in case he messed up again, Grimm focused on enjoying his meal.
The silence stretched between them until Ryder broke it. “Do you like Dark Moon Falls at all?”
Grimm pondered Ryder’s question and realized there was a lot that he did enjoy about Dark Moon Falls, especially a soft mattress and the warmth of the hearth. While the mountains were beautiful, it was an isolated existence.
“I do, and I’m going to try to fit in.”
Ryder snorted. “Don’t have much of a choice, do you?”
As they visited and ate, a Jeep screeched to a halt in a parking spot. Grimm peered over at it, noticing a roof rack holding a couple of river rafts strapped to it and bicycles hanging off the rear. The men who hopped out of the vehicle and came barreling into the diner had an adventurous demeanor about them that Grimm could relate to. Their muscles were toned, skin was tan, and their legs and arms sported a few cuts and scabs. Each one of them wore a wide grin and exuded energy.
Grimm asked Ryder, “Who are they?”
Ryder shrugged in reply. “No idea.”
Delight wandered over to the guys’ table and took their orders. When she turned to walk to the kitchen, one of the men asked, “Are there any hiking or river tours around here?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
At that moment, a sense of purpose—and an answer to his duality—filled Grimm.
He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding as his lungs took in what felt like the first real breath he’d had since returning to town. Relief washed over him as if it were one of his beloved streams he’d been forced to leave behind.
“I’ve found my calling.”
Ryder shoved a fry into his mouth and mumbled, “Hmm?”
“Dark Moon Falls Mountain Adventures with your guide, Grimm Whitlock.”
Chapter Three
“Lacy, I can’t believe you didn’t fare better in the divorce. You basically walked away with little more than the clothes on your back!”
After placing the box in her arms onto the floor, Lacy blew a strand of her dark hair out of her face and turned towards her best friend, Carla. She was standing in the middle of the small kitchen, leaning against the counter with a look of concern on her face.
“I’m lucky I’m not sitting in a jail cell, considering everything. You know?”
“That’s true.” Carla glanced around the small space. “But still. Did you get any money, anything at all?”
“Yeah, the judge awarded me what little is left of my inheritance and the proceeds from the lawsuit. That’s lasted me for a while, but most of the marital assets went to court costs and attorney fees. And now Joe has to pay back all those poor people he ripped off as restitution. I don’t know how he’s going to do that. I’m just glad I’m out of the whole fiasco.” Sinking to the floor, Lacy buried her head in her hands, fighting the tears threatening to spill over her lashes. “I can’t believe he was able to hide what he was doing from me, his own wife!”
Warmth engulfed Lacy as Carla drew her into her arms.
“Hey,” Carla whispered. “How would you have known? You thought he was working for a legitimate business the entire time, not messing around with the international mob.”
“Maybe I missed the signs… or ignored them.”
“It took the government months of investigating and hacking his systems before they uncove
red his crimes. Remember what the newspapers said about the operation they ran to catch him?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have the tools to do that?”
“No, but I still hate him for what he did, and I feel like a fool for not suspecting him of wrongdoing.”
“You’re not a fool. You know what you are? A free woman. I’m sorry I brought up what I did. You’re so much better off now.”
A horn blasted outside, accompanied by the sound of squeaking brakes. Lacy quickly wiped her hands over her face, stood, and looked out the window to see the delivery van with the inexpensive and sparse furniture she’d ordered online.
Turning back to her friend, Lacy took her hand. “It’s been a year of hell, and I’m so grateful to you for keeping me sane and giving me a place to live until I was able to get on my feet. But it’s over. Let’s try to move forward.”
“Sounds good to me! Let’s get you settled.”
As the hours passed, Lacy felt the weight that been hanging over her for the past months begin to loosen, and her thoughts switched from the months of shock, pain, and anger to hopes for her future. The coming years were completely hers to do whatever she wished.
Her connection to Joe had been severed entirely upon his indictment, and she held only contempt for him. If she’d had her way, the divorce would have been finalized the moment it’d been drawn, but it had been tied up in the court system, mingled in with the litigation against Joe.
She thanked the stars her parents had passed away before that complete debacle. Lacy was certain the implication that their daughter was involved with a person steeped in criminal activity would have been the death of them both. They’d been killed in a car accident when she was nineteen and away at university. The subsequent wrongful death lawsuit against the trucking company assured that she’d be financially solvent until she graduated with her master’s in education, specializing in an environmental focus. What remained of her inheritance had mostly been spent on extricating herself from the legal shambles Joe had left her in after ending their ten year marriage.
While she pondered her happy memories of growing up with caring parents, she withdrew a frame from a box and unwrapped it. It was a picture of her with them from one of the last times they’d visited together. Lacy trailed her finger over her mom’s and dad’s faces and carefully set the photo on the mantle.
One of the delivery men said, “Ma’am, we’re done. Can you please sign the release?”
“Of course.” She reached for the pen he held out to her, scribbled her name, and handed it back to him. Lacy followed the men to the door and shut it once they left.
“Phew!” Carla said behind her, and Lacy heard the sound of her plopping on the couch. “I think it’s all done, girl.”
“You know what that means?”
“Time to celebrate!”
“I’ll get the wine, and you find some music.”
“On it!”
As Lacy stepped into the kitchen, she looked around her apartment with contentment. It was small, but to her, it was perfect. Located in an older part of the city, the building and its units held a charm that was missing from newer constructions. From the exposed brick on a few of the interior walls, the distressed wood flooring showing its age, and the solidly built cabinetry, the space said home to Lacy more than the huge, expansive home Joe had insisted they live in ever did.
Once she grabbed a bottle of red, two glasses, and a corkscrew, Lacy returned to the living room to find Carla’s attention focused on her phone.
The woman was clearly engrossed in whatever she was looking at.
While she set the items on the coffee table, Lacy asked, “What’s going on?”
Carla murmured, “I had a thought.”
“Yeah?”
“Hear me out before you say anything.”
“Okay.”
“Everything with Joe is over now. You’ve moved across the country to be closer to me. You’ve gotten this apartment, and you don’t have a job yet.”
“Right.”
“We should go on vacation and have a good time.”
Lacy cocked her head to the side, and then uncorked the bottle before pouring into the stemware. As she mulled over her friend’s idea, she smiled, thinking of getting a relaxing massage, holding an exotic drink in her hand, shopping and dining in an entirely different locale. Of course, she’d need to be frugal, considering her circumstances.
She passed the glass to Carla and asked, “Where do you want to go?”
Carla took a sip and placed the goblet on the table. “Have you ever heard of Dark Moon Falls?”
Lacy shook her head, settled into the cushions as the soft sounds of New Age music soothed her into a deeper peace, and listened to her friend tell her all about the location. As Carla went on, Lacy pictured the place as her best friend was describing it, a town high in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
“Plus…” Carla jabbed her elbow into Lacy’s ribs. “It’s run by shifters.”
Thinking she’d heard Carla wrong, Lacy said, “Pardon?”
Carla nodded.
“Yeah. I’ve never met one. Have you?”
“No. Do you think it would be safe? You know, for us to be around them?”
Carla gave her a deadpan stare. “Uh, yeah. I looked it up. The reviews are all good, mostly five star. “And”—she handed her phone to Lacy—“take a look at the guys who live there.”
Lacy peered into the device, and her jaw dropped.
“Oh, my God. Are those guys real?”
Carla wiggled her eyebrows with a wide grin. “Are you in?”
“Do you think it will cost much?”
“Doesn’t seem overly pricy from what I saw. And I can float you some cash if you need me to.”
As Lacy thought about the wisdom of taking a trip at that time, she reminded herself that once she found a place to work, she’d likely be required to be employed a year, maybe more, before she accrued paid vacation. Even then, she would need to schedule her time off in consideration of work responsibilities, deliverables, and also around other employees’ requests who would have more seniority. If she were going to go on a holiday, right then was the perfect time to do it.
Plus the scenery there was beautiful, and she hadn’t been in the woods in a long time. She missed the sounds of the forest, the smell of a campfire, and the peace that came with it. Her last excursion had been just before her life had descended into hell. Maybe the trip to Dark Moon Falls would be a turning point for happier times.
“How soon can we leave?”
Chapter Four
Lacy shifted in her seat. Her bottom was sore from being in the car as long as she and Carla had been. They’d spent the day driving hundreds of miles, only stopping long enough to get gas, go through a drive-through, or take a break to stretch and relieve themselves.
“How much farther, Carla?”
“Another fifty miles, I think. We’re on the tail end of our journey.”
The sun was low on the horizon, and the brighter stars in the sky were starting to show.
“It’s gonna be nighttime when we get there.”
“Ooo… Shifters after dark. Sounds sexy to me.”
Lacy laughed, “Girl, you are too much.”
“Oh, please. Like you’re not looking forward to seeing some seriously hot men.”
“I could definitely appreciate some eye candy.”
“Or between the sheets action.”
“I don’t know that I’m ready to be with anyone yet. I still hear the words he called me when we’d argue, and that was before everything went to complete shit.”
“Lacy, you are neither fat nor ugly. Look in the mirror!”
“I know.”
“Own it. What he said is just another thing proving what a total dick he was.”
“I’m trying. I’m better than I was a few months ago.”
“We’re on vacation. Hear me? Fun is on the menu, and if it happen
s to involve a sexy-as-sin man wanting to nail you up against a wall, you say yes!”
Placing her hands in her lap, Lacy whispered, “Maybe. I can’t imagine being naked in front of someone. I’m not twenty-four anymore.”
“And a hell of a lot smarter than you were then. You would see straight through Joe’s façade now. He couldn’t play you like he did.”
“That’s true.”
“Lacy, promise me you’re going to let go and have a good time like we said we would when we planned this trip. Joe broke you down, but that was then. I want the real woman I know, my friend I love like my sister, back.”
As she considered Carla’s comment, Lacy’s memory returned to the carefree and fun-loving person she had been before getting involved with Joe. In her younger days, she’d thrown caution to the wind more often than not, with a you only live once attitude that had changed only after she began seeing Joe seriously. Lacy turned to look at Carla as the trees whizzed past her head in the background, recalling the warnings she hadn’t paid attention to, that Carla had tried to point out about how Joe treated her. But she’d ignored them and made excuses for her husband rather than recognize her own mistake in marrying him. His turning out to be a criminal had been the smack in the face she’d needed.
While she pondered the past years, she wondered if Joe’s being arrested wasn’t a miracle sent to her from the universe. It was the sole thing to finally open her eyes, make her take an honest look at her life, and finally make the changes she should have ages ago. Though it had been a rough few months, she was free of all of it, had the rest of her life in front of her, and she was happy again. The sky was the limit for her once more.
She said, “You know what?”
“Hmm?”
“Maybe I’ll be the one to make the first move.”
Carla’s face broke into a broad smile, and she slapped the steering wheel. “That’s my girl!”
About an hour later, they crossed into Dark Moon Falls. Carla slowed the car to a crawl, and Lacy leaned forward in her seat.
“Oh, my God,” Lacy gasped. “It’s absolutely beautiful!”
“Help me find where we’re staying, and after we check in, we’ll walk around.”
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 70