Chapter 3
Ford put on the blinker to turn into the Amazing Adventures Safari Park on Saturday afternoon. Avi and Fallon were in the second-row bench seat of the truck, Fallon practically buzzing with excitement at seeing her mom and sister.
Ford’s thoughts were churning in his head, his stallion letting out curious whistles as they drew closer to the park.
Hanging a left, he drove to the security booth that blocked off the employee lot.
At one time, it had merely been a booth with a wooden security bar to stop people from getting to the employee lot and the gate in the high stone wall around the park.
But now, after an attack from another shifter group, the employee lot had been fully fenced, with the security booth staffed by a member of the park’s security team to let in those allowed to pass.
“Oh hey, Ford,” Justus, one of the bear shifters, said from the open booth window. “Seneca told me you guys were coming in today. How’s things at the farm?”
“Good. How are you and Trina?”
“She’s pregnant! I’m deliriously happy. Several staff members are starting families. I think there’s something in the water.” He grinned, pride and happiness shining in his eyes.
“Congrats, man.”
“Thanks.” He hit the button to open the gate. “Park anywhere. I’ll text Seneca you’re here and he’ll open the main gate for you.”
Ford nodded and waved, then headed through the opening into the employee lot.
“Wow, that’s really awesome that so many are starting families,” Fallon said.
They got out of the truck and headed to the main gate in the tall stone walls. Fallon and Avi were having a baby too. “Must be something in the water in the whole state of New Jersey,” Ford said.
“Yeah, seems like it,” Avi said.
The gate swung open. “Seems like what?” Seneca asked.
“Hey,” Ford said, fist-bumping the big bear shifter.
“It seems like a lot of people we know are pregnant,” Fallon said.
“Yeah, we’ve got a baby shower here today,” Seneca said. He pulled the gate closed behind them. “It’s for Mercer, who works in security, and his girl, Rhomi.”
“How fun!” Fallon said. “Where are they having it?”
They walked down a path that would lead them out into the park, where the group was meeting up with Sunny, Sera, and Caesar in the employee cafeteria that was above ground.
Underneath the park, the shifters lived in private areas arranged by their shifter groups, and there was also a market with shops, offices, and a cafeteria.
“We were cleaning the area around the safari to make room for Sera’s coffee shop, and we found what used to be a botanical garden exhibit.”
“You found a building?” Ford asked.
“Pretty much. It got closed down years ago after a storm damaged the glass roof, and I guess it just got forgotten. It was overgrown as hell, so we had to gut it and clean it, but we managed to save a lot of the plants.”
“Will it be opened again?” Avi asked.
Ford paused as they entered the park, his stallion pricking his subconscious. His chest tightened as anticipation thrummed in his veins.
But for what?
He realized the group had left him behind, and he hurried to catch up to them.
Then a sweet and wild scent caught his attention.
The source? A female carrying a storage tub with a box tilting precariously on top.
He raced forward, snatching the plastic box of cupcakes with one hand before it hit the ground, and catching the bottom of the tub with his other hand to keep her from dropping it.
She let out a little gasp and looked at him with wide hazel eyes.
“Good hands.”
He grinned as everything felt suddenly right inside him.
Holy crap, she was his soulmate.
“I have good timing too,” he said.
She put the tub down and he handed her the cupcakes.
“Thank you so much.”
“Let me carry the tub for you,” he offered.
“That’s so sweet. I’m Darcy. My friend Rhomi is having a baby shower here and I was trying to carry too much in one trip. I overestimated my ability to keep the cupcakes stable.”
“I’m Ford. I came with my friends who are visiting family here at the employee cafeteria. I live on a farm in Little River, and was happy to get away from the chores for the afternoon.”
He lifted the storage box, which wasn’t heavy so much as awkwardly large.
“Ford?” Avi called.
He looked over his shoulder and smiled. “I’ll catch up to you guys later.”
“Got it.” Avi gave him a thumbs-up and Ford smiled.
“Lead the way, beautiful,” Ford said.
Darcy’s cheeks pinked, adding a lovely hint of color. As they walked, he took every chance he could to sneak peeks at her. She was gorgeous. Petite and curved in all the right places, wearing a pale green dress that highlighted her chestnut hair that fell past her shoulders in thick waves.
He wanted to make small talk, or any kind of talk, but he was positively tongue-tied. His stallion wasn’t short for things to say, whinnying non-stop in his head. But he knew that Darcy was human and wouldn’t know about shifters, so he had to keep his stallion’s nature to himself.
Until he won her heart, though. Then he could tell her everything.
But how would he even go about that?
* * *
Ford held the door of an old glass-walled building open.
Darcy wiggled by him, and he caught another hint of her sweet scent.
His stallion pushed at him, making all sorts of demands related to bringing her back to the farm or hurrying off to a corner for some privacy, but he ignored them and focused on helping her.
When she was through the door, he followed and set the tub down near an arch made of balloons.
There were a dozen round tables covered with linen tablecloths and topped with vases of tropical greenery, a long table for holding trays of food over Sternos, and another table with a sign denoting it was for gifts and cards.
He watched Darcy as she set the box of cupcakes on the side of the food table with desserts and once more tried to think of something to say.
“Thank you so much for helping me,” she said, turning to face him. “It’s amazing how much stuff is needed to celebrate a tiny baby.”
“It looks great in here,” he said. “I’m sure the party will be amazing.” He cleared his throat, his voice going rough with the push from his stallion. “Looks like you’ve got it all handled.”
“I don’t feel like it,” she said, her lips twisting into a grimace for a moment.
“My friend Reagan is my partner in crime, but she had to run out and pick up the gift that she and I went in on because the one we ordered ended up not getting delivered. So I’m…
all alone. If you’re not doing anything?
Well, you probably are. You said you came with your friends to visit people who work here… ”
Her cheeks pinked again as she pressed her lips into a thin line.
“I just came along for the ride, I’m not really visiting with them. If you need help, I’m happy to lend a hand.”
She breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled broadly. “Thank you so much. I owe you one.”
She put him to work, and he gladly stepped in, helping her hang streamers, move tables, and open some rusted-shut windows to let in the light breeze.
They worked side by side for an hour, and he learned that she worked in the office of a hardware store, lived with her brother in a too-small-for-two-people apartment, and had a penchant for movie theater popcorn and sour gummy bears.
She’d asked him similar questions, and the banter between them had been easy and fun. She had the best smile too, which showcased a hidden dimple in her cheek.
“I had to get a different crib than the one we ordered—oh, hi! Who is this?” a female said as she tugged a large box on a dolly behind her.
“Hey, girl,” Darcy said. “This is my new friend, Ford. Do you remember Sera? We met her earlier when she and her boyfriend Caesar came by to check on the shower planning.”
“Sure,” Reagan said.
“Sera is Ford’s friend Fallon’s mom, and he came with Fallon and her boyfriend Avi here for a visit. I snagged him to help.” To Ford, she said, “This is my bestie, Reagan.”
Ford smiled at the female. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. It looks great in here. Thanks for helping.”
“Happy to,” he said. There was a moment where no one said anything, and it suddenly got wildly awkward. “Is there anything else I can help with?”
“We’re done, actually. You really kicked butt helping me get it all set up. And we have about fifteen minutes to spare before Rhomi shows up and the party gets started. I can’t thank you enough.”
“My pleasure.”
She walked with him out of the building. “So about this favor I owe you.”
He hummed in question, looking down at her. She was nearly a foot shorter than him, but so freaking perfect. His hands ached to touch her, to hold her, but he kept them clenched at his sides.
“I was thinking that I could make you dinner? If you’d like to come over to my place tomorrow night? My brother works nights, so we’d have the place to ourselves.”
“That would be awesome,” he said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened a text message, then turned the phone over to her. She typed on his phone for a moment, then handed it back to him. He saw she’d added herself as a contact.
“How about six?” she asked.
“Perfect.” He stared down at her. Her hazel eyes darkened slightly and the sweet scent of her deepened a bit. He wondered what sorts of sexy thoughts were traipsing through her mind, because he was pretty sure the same ones were going through his.
Time stood still for a heartbeat. He wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
Then she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. She went onto her toes and kissed his cheek, her hand resting gently on his arm for a moment. “I’m so glad I met you, Ford. And not just because you’re tall and strong and I needed someone with both those attributes to help me decorate.”
“I’m glad I met you too.”
She smiled once more, flashing that dimple at him, and walked into the botanical garden building. As the door swung shut, he heard Reagan squeal in excitement and the two giggle, and he grinned.
He sent her a text: Here’s my number in case you need to get hold of me. Have a fun party!
Then he put his phone in his pocket, whistling as he headed for the employee cafeteria. While his stallion would have preferred to stay in Darcy’s presence longer, she had a party to host and he was going to be driving his friends back to the farm soon.
But he’d get to see her tomorrow night.
He couldn’t believe that he’d come to the park on a whim and met his soulmate.
Fate sure did have a funny sense of timing.