Chapter 16
Gunnar supposed he should be happy tourists couldn’t keep themselves out of trouble. They were job security, really.
But couldn’t they go one day without getting into something?
Blueberry peered through the windshield, his fingers pressed to the glass, leaving tiny prints. “This should be exciting.”
“That’s one word for it,” Gunnar said.
He pulled his Tacoma to the side of the service road almost in the exact same spot he’d been the day before.
His tires crunched the gravel as he parked.
The radio had crackled with the latest report just as he’d finished his morning weather-station checks.
There was another tourist incident at the falls.
This time it was a group of college kids who’d decided the “no climbing” signs were suggestions and tried to scale the wet rocks for TikTok views. Idiots.
One had slipped, landed in the shallows with a twisted ankle, and now refused to let anyone help because he was live streaming and getting “mad views,” according to dispatch.
His friends were encouraging him. Because of course they were. Fortunately, paramedics were already on their way. Gunnar just had to get him to the parking lot.
Gunnar stepped out into the cool morning air. Mist from the falls hung thick, clinging to his uniform.
He felt something on his neck. A tiny hand. Gunnar frowned, already knowing there was no point in trying to keep Blueberry in the truck. If he did, the imp would declare he’d been freed again and Gunnar would end up with another three lousy wishes.
“You’d better be invisible.”
“I am, no worries, big guy.”
Gunnar had plenty of worries. He headed for the viewing platform. He could already hear the shouting.
“Bro, keep going! The light’s perfect right now!”
“Dude, I am, but this water is freezing! Can someone get me a latte? And grab my hat?”
Gunnar rounded the bend and stopped. A few feet below, two young women and one young man, all in matching “I Heart Nocturne Falls” T-shirts, clustered around their wet friend.
He was sitting on a slick boulder several feet from the bank with one foot in the current.
A Yankees ball cap, presumably his, bobbed a few yards downstream like a sad little boat.
It was good he’d fallen where he had. Any closer and he might have landed in the plunge basin. That would have been a very different situation.
Gunnar exhaled through his nose, slow and controlled. “Boys and girls, this area is off-limits for climbing. Signs are posted. You need to get back on the trail. I’ll help your friend out.”
The guy with the twisted ankle looked at him, shivering once. “Dude, it’s just a little water.” He turned the phone toward Gunnar. “Look, Ranger Rick has arrived.”
His friends laughed. Softer laughter reached Gunnar’s left ear. The imp apparently thought this was funny, too.
Twisted Ankle grinned. “Help me get my hat, Ranger Rick, and we’ll go.”
Gunnar’s jaw tightened. None of this amused him. Least of all the nickname, which he was certain the imp would adopt. But he really didn’t like the idea that this kid’s video might get a lot of attention and encourage other idiots to do the same thing.
Better to get him out of here as quickly as possible.
With a soft growl, Gunnar waded in, boots and all, snagged the hat with one quick swipe, and tossed it to the kid’s friend. Then he turned to the group.
“Up. Now. All of you.” He pointed at Twisted Ankle. “I’m walking you back to the parking lot. You’re lucky it’s just a sprain and not a broken neck.”
They all started muttering. One girl rolled her eyes. “Come on, man. It’s not that big a deal. Everyone does it.”
Gunnar felt a familiar heat crawl up his neck.
The falls roared behind him, unconcerned by his frustration.
Tourists came. Tourists did stupid things.
Tourists left. Same cycle every day. He opened his mouth to say something about wishing they’d get smarter, or stay home, or at least read a sign, then snapped it shut.
No.
He wasn’t saying that word again. Not after the last time. Not with Blueberry undoubtedly listening for it, waiting for an opening.
He gestured toward the trail. “Move. Let’s go.”
Reluctantly, they did, complaining under their breath, talking about the forest po-po ruining their fun.
Whatever. Gunnar was just happy they were getting out of his way.
Twisted Ankle was still filming as Gunnar waded out to the boulder. The friends had all stopped now to watch the rescue. Gunnar kept his eyes forward, choosing his steps carefully on the slippery rocks, breathing through the irritation.
He reached the boulder and decided he wasn’t risking the kid taking him down. “I’m going to carry you back to the viewing platform.”
Twisted Ankle laughed. “Carry me? Dude, I’m not a baby.”
No, he wasn’t, because a baby would have more sense, but Gunnar kept that observation to himself. “The rocks are slippery. I’m not risking you injuring yourself worse. Or causing me to fall.”
“I’m a grown man,” Twisted Ankle protested.
“Can you walk on your ankle?”
The kid frowned. “No, bro, it hurts. Duh.”
“Then I’m carrying you.” Without waiting for further conversation, Gunnar scooped the young man off the boulder and started wading back.
“Is that your new boyfriend, Gary?” the young man on the bank called out.
The girls laughed. One of them said, “You make a cute couple.”
Gary jabbed a finger at them. “You post any of this and I will unfollow all of you.”
“Oh, we’re posting,” the other young man said, phone out. “This is too sweet.”
By the time they reached the parking lot and Gunnar had handed the limping kid off to the paramedics, who’d just pulled up, his irritation had only grown. He climbed back into his truck, slammed the door, and sat there gripping the wheel.
A familiar green shimmer appeared on the dashboard. Blueberry materialized, grinning. “So, Ranger Rick. That was super fun, huh?
Gunnar didn’t look at him. “Don’t start.”
Blueberry tilted his head. “I’m just saying.
Those kids were something else. Climbing the rocks like it’s a playground.
So dumb, am I right? Makes you wonder why the falls attracts such nincompoops.
I get that they’re tourists and tourists are what pay the bills, but they’re still …
” He whirled his finger next to his head and whistled like a little bird that had just popped out of a clock. “Am I right?”
Gunnar stared straight ahead, jaw locked.
Blueberry leaned in, voice casual. “You know, if the tourists were a little less … enthusiastic about getting likes, your job would be a lot easier. Fewer rescues. Fewer lectures. Fewer wet boots.”
Gunnar’s grip tightened on the wheel. He understood Blueberry was winding him up, but in his current mood, Gunnar could only agree with the imp. He nodded. “Something like that.”
Blueberry waited a beat, then added, softer, “Be nice if those tourists would open their eyes and see what’s really going on for once.”
Gunnar’s mouth opened and words tumbled out before his brain caught up. “I wish.”
He froze.
The words hung in the cab like smoke.
Blueberry’s eyes lit up, bright and wicked. “You do, do you?”
Gunnar’s stomach dropped. “No. No. That’s not—”
Too late.
A soft, golden shimmer rolled through the truck, warm and quick, like sunlight breaking through the clouds. Blueberry clapped his tiny hands once, delighted. “Granted,” he said cheerfully. “Specific enough. Yet broad enough. Should be fun.”
“Blueberry, don’t do this.” But Gunnar was talking to an empty spot on the dashboard where Blueberry had been. The imp was gone again, probably hiding because he knew he’d caused trouble.
Outside, the falls roared on.
“Blueberry. Blueberry.” Gunnar’s anger reached new heights. “I command you to appear, imp.”
Still no Blueberry.
Gunnar dropped his forehead to the steering wheel. He felt sick to his stomach. He had no idea what he’d just done, and yet, he could imagine. If the tourists really did open their eyes and see what was going on, Nocturne Falls wasn’t going to be much of a safe haven for supernaturals anymore.
It would be havoc. Everyone in town would be exposed. The Ellinghams would be furious, and he wouldn’t blame them. He might lose his job. Or be escorted out of town. Or both.
Worst of all, Mattie was going to kill him.
He started the engine and turned around. He hoped she could wait until after they figured out how to undo this wish.