Chapter 5
Barrett
Pulling up, my heart skips a beat when I see Abigail’s red SUV parked alongside the property.
Feeling silly, but I am pretty excited to see her.
She’s been on my mind ever since we did the walkthrough the other day.
I don’t know if it was because Calissa was needling me about dating again, but this woman has swept me up with her talent and beauty.
Plus, it’s pretty badass to move to an entirely new state and start a business on your own.
I walk around the building, but I don’t see her.
The landscaping looks fantastic, though.
When I get to the back, I see that the sliding door is open.
I go inside, expecting to find her looking around, but the building is quiet.
Walking into each room, I make sure no valley creatures decided to make the place their toilet and find one of the office doors closed.
I try to open it, but it won’t budge. The doorknob twists, but the door appears to be stuck. When I try again, I hear a muffled shout on the other side. That must be Abigail.
I forcefully try to open the door and, when that proves to be yet again fruitless, I slam my body against it a few times. Still, nothing budges. For a moment, I consider calling the Corvid Valley Fire Station, but decide to try one more thing first.
I shift into my bear form, run, and slam my massive body against the door. Wood cracking sounds greet my ears and I repeat two more times. The final slam causes the door to fly open.
I stand in the doorway, breathing hard, and see Abigail look at me, then crumble to the floor.
* * *
When I helped Abigail wake up, she complained about feeling sick, so I insisted on taking her to Corvid Valley Medical Center. Now I sit next to her in a curtained-off area while she receives a bag of fluids via IV.
“How’s my patient?” Dr. Dixon says when he walks in.
“Feeling better, doc, thank you,” Abigail says, looking up from the People Magazine I snagged for her.
“Great. Everything is looking good on my end, so once this bag is empty, you’ll be able to check out. I’ll get the paperwork going.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
When he leaves, Abigail looks over at me and says, “And thank you. You really pulled out your hero card today.”
“Any time.”
After she checks out of the hospital, I drive her back to the site. We head through town, where she points out where her office is.
“That’s a nice sign.”
“Thanks.” she says, then her hand flies to her stomach, “Oh.”
“You OK?”
“Yeah, just my stomach growling. I’m suddenly starving.”
“Hey, Bernie is holding down the fort while I help you. Of course, you’re hungry after all of that. Let’s go grab some food.”
“Are you sure?”
“Totally. Do you like diner food? There’s a good diner just around the corner from here.”
“Corvid Valley Cafe? I have been meaning to check them out. Let’s do it.”
It’s after the lunch rush, so we are seated right away. Our waitress comes over to take our drink orders.
“Hi, I’m Nattie. I’ll be serving you today. Do you know what you’d like to drink?”
“Lemonade, please,” the two of us answer in unison. We look at each other and laugh.
“You got it,” Nattie says, putting her pencil behind her ear and heading behind the counter.
“What's your favorite here?” Abigail asks.
“I usually order breakfast, actually. I may do their grilled cheese and tomato soup. It’s getting chilly out there.”
I watch her look outside the window and her eyes widen.
“Is that a lizardman?” she asks in surprise.
Looking out the window, I see a lizardman walking by wearing spectacles and a tweed coat.
“It sure is. Huh, that’s cool. I haven’t seen one in a long while.”
I look over at her, staring at the man as he walks away.
“He doesn’t bother you, does he?” I ask, worried about what she may say.
Abigail looks at me and shakes her head fervently.
“No, not at all. When I was looking into where to move and start my business, one of the key requirements was living someplace accepting and safe for all people. Vegas is diverse, and I had zero interest in living somewhere that was not.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Nattie returns right then to take our order. Abigail ends up getting the chicken fried steak plate.
After our food arrives, I take a few bites then say, “I will admit, I am glad to hear paranormal folk don’t freak you out. I was a little worried after you fainted when you saw me in my bear form.”
Abigail looks at me, horrified.
“That was from the dehydration and excitement. Sorry. I also wasn’t putting two and two together. I was already dizzy when I stood up and the sight of a bear just sent my head over the edge.”
I reach across the table and squeeze her hand, hoping to reassure her that I know it wasn’t because I am a shifter.
Once again, a spark explodes up my arm when I touch her.
Our eyes meet and a moment of intense silence passes.
I allow my thumb to brush the top of her hand lightly, which makes her smile.
And then Nattie interrupts us once more.
“Here’s your check. Let me know if you need anything else.”
I look back to Abigail, but her hand is no longer on the table and she continues eating. We finish the meal, sticking to the topics of our jobs and Corvid Valley.
When I drop her off at the site, Abigail thanks me for being her hero and drives off.