5. Sadie
FIVE
SADIE
The coffee date with James was brimming over with banter. It was as if no time had passed since our encounter in Cancun. We subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, locked horns in different ways, the familiar spark between us reigniting once more.
As we sat across from each other, the playful exchange flowed effortlessly. James was as gruff and serious as ever, while I continued to hold my ground, refusing to defer to anyone without a good reason. It was fun and made me realize how much I’d missed him. I even missed this back and forth. The first time it happened, I was worried and upset. I thought that I had done something wrong. But now I knew that we had more time–all the time in the world it seemed, since we lived in the same town–and I was enjoying it.
“You know, Sadie,” James remarked with a raised eyebrow, “I’ve always found it best to have a clear plan and stick to it. Life’s too unpredictable to be whimsical.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, not missing the chance to tease him back. “Oh, James, but where’s the fun in that? Spontaneity adds a little spice to life.”
He leaned forward, his eyes locking onto mine. My heartbeat sped up as I stared at him, wondering what was next. “Spice, huh? Well, sometimes, spice can lead to chaos.”
I grinned, not willing to back down. “But isn’t chaos where the best stories come from? Who wants a life that’s too structured and predictable?”
The banter continued, each of us throwing playful jabs while, underneath it all, the attraction was undeniable. I could tell I wasn’t the only one still interested. The chemistry between us was as potent as ever, making it difficult to concentrate on the actual words we were exchanging.
As the laughter and banter carried on, I couldn’t help but wonder if, just maybe, this time around things might turn out differently. The arguing might become something exciting and new, something that kept the pair of us on our toes.
James leaned in, his gaze lingering on mine. “You don’t like any kind of structure then? Anything at all? Must be hard to run a business like that.”
I chuckled, feeling a warmth spread through me. “Well, life is too short to be dull, don’t you think? For business, sure. It’s great to be structured at work, but for the rest of my life, I want to have a good time. I don’t want to be dull. I want to have a good work and life balance.”
He nodded, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “You have a point there. I’m definitely drawn to your sense of adventure and fun. It intrigues me.”
I couldn’t help but reciprocate the flirtation, leaning closer. “And I’ve always been intrigued by your air of mystery, James. You’re not as stoic as you’d like everyone to believe.”
His eyes sparkled as he returned my gaze. “Maybe you’re just good at seeing beneath the surface. Seeing what other people don’t see.”
I nodded, needing to say something else. I probably shouldn’t have done so, but I couldn’t resist. “James,” I began, trying to choose my words carefully, “you’ve always been so serious, but it seems like you’ve gotten even more uptight over the years. Do you ever make time for yourself? For fun? I mean, we had some fun six years ago, but it seemed at the time like it wasn’t something you did often. Now, it seems like it’s something you do even less.”
He paused for a moment, his gaze drifting away, and there was a wistful look in his eyes. It was as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I wondered what had been keeping him so tightly wound.
Finally, he sighed and met my gaze. “Sadie, I wish it were that simple. I’m a community leader, and I have a lot riding on my maintaining a good reputation. Not just for myself, but for the entire town. I have to be the serious, stoic one.”
“A community leader?” Now that I didn’t know. I supposed it made more sense now. He felt like he had to be uptight and no fun because he had people looking up to him. “But James, even community leaders need to unwind, to have some fun. You can’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time. You have to enjoy your life as well.”
“Yeah… Abe is always telling me the same thing.”
The wistful look in his eyes spoke volumes, but he remained tight-lipped about the extent of his need for relaxation. I could sense that there was more to his story, but perhaps it was something he wasn’t quite ready to share. I decided not to push him any further on the matter, but I couldn’t help but wish he would find a way to let go and enjoy life a little more.
Maybe I could be the one who ended up breaking him from his shell. We might not have made any solid plans to date, but with all the chemistry surging between us, this certainly felt like a date. And I had a feeling that it was going to lead to more.
I hadn’t thought about dating ever since I became a mother. Gregory was my one and only, but perhaps this was a sign for me to break out of my shell a bit as well. My mom certainly thought so. She was always offering to babysit my son so I could go out and have a good time. I just hadn’t had a chance to take her up on that offer yet.
No one had come into my life that I actually wanted to date, until now. How funny that it was the one person I’d left behind in a massive hurry six long years ago.
Near the end of our coffee meeting, James leaned in, his eyes filled with a mix of determination and vulnerability. I sucked in a nervous breath, wondering what he was going to say. “Sadie, would you consider joining me for dinner next weekend? I’d like the chance to spend more time with you. This has been a lot of fun, don’t you think?”
With a warm smile, I replied, “Sure, James. I’d like that. Dinner sounds good. Maybe we should actually exchange numbers this time so we can get in touch with one another.”
James handed me his phone and I typed in my digits with my heart racing at the speed of light. This was something that I thought might happen for a moment in Cancun before we started arguing and having problems, but now, six years later, there I was.”
There was a mixture of relief and excitement in James’ eyes as I gave him his phone back, and I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of anticipation myself. It seemed that, despite our differences, there was something special between us that was worth exploring.
But then as I handed him my phone, his whole body language changed. He was hesitant to give me his phone number, and I couldn’t for the life of me work out why. My blood ran ice cold as I stared at him, waiting for him to relax once more. Was he about to change his mind all over again? Then we really would have another row, no doubt about it.
“Sadie, when I mentioned being a community leader,” he began, his voice tinged with a mixture of apprehension and determination, “I meant something different. Something bigger actually. I meant that I am a wolf pack clan leader.”
I stared at him, my eyes wide with astonishment. The revelation he had just made was nothing short of staggering. I had known James as a charismatic and somewhat enigmatic man, but the idea that he was a leader of a wolf pack clan was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
I knew about shifters, and I knew that Maple Creek had lots of them, but I never would have guessed that James was one of them.
“You’re a clan leader?” I stammered, my voice filled with surprise. “I had no idea.”
James nodded, a hint of a wry smile on his lips. “It’s not something I usually bring up in casual conversation, but it’s an important part of who I am. My responsibilities to my pack and our clan have always come first. Actually, that’s what I didn’t tell you six years ago when we were in Cancun. I was worried you might judge me at the time because I was having issues with my pack, but I still shouldn’t have treated you badly.”
“Oh!” My eyebrows rose up to my hair. “So, that’s why you called me stupid?”
“I didn’t call you stupid. You took that from my words.”
I nodded slowly. “But you said I wouldn’t understand.”
He cocked his head curiously to one side. “And would you have understood?”
I parted my lips, about to argue back that of course I would have understood, but honesty stopped me at the very last moment. Living in Memphis meant I didn’t have much knowledge or connection with shifters, so I might have freaked out.
But everything was different now, and I did understand a whole lot more.
“Well, I understand now,” I finally replied with a one-shouldered shrug. “And it’s fine. That isn’t something that worries me at all.”
I tried to process this revelation as he finally typed his number into my phone. The man I had known was now unveiling a hidden facet of his life, one that carried a significant weight of leadership and responsibility.
It was a startling revelation that left me with a mix of emotions. I felt a sense of awe and respect for James’ commitment and the principles that guided him as a leader. At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder how this would affect our future, and what it meant for the unity and connection we were beginning to rediscover.
But that warm feeling started to subside as James and I left the coffee shop and finally said goodbye. I was startled to know more about James, especially when it affected me and my family in ways that I hadn’t been expecting, and that I was sure James didn’t think about when he spoke to me. Mostly because he didn’t know that I had a little secret as well.
Gregory.
The little surprise that I returned with from Cancun. Not that I knew it for a while, and not that I could have told James earlier on because we parted without ways to contact one another. But now I was going to have to find a way to tell him eventually, wasn’t I?
Gregory was not just my son. He was James’ son as well. I had kept this secret from James today, not out of malice, but out of fear. Fear of his reaction, fear of how it might change our dynamic, and fear of the unknown. He might not be happy to be a father and to have been kept in the dark for such a long time.
But I couldn’t keep his identity to myself any longer.
The truth I had just discovered was that Gregory was a Wolfblood, a child born with shifter blood in his veins. When he hit puberty, there was a chance he might undergo the transformation into a shifter. I knew I would need help and guidance to navigate this unique journey that lay ahead for my son. A journey that, truth be told, I knew nothing about.
When we had dinner, that was when I would have to tell him. It was going to be a hard conversation to have, but I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer. I had to let it out. No matter what the consequences were.