Chapter One
Cloudy With a Chance of Screaming Meteors
The way Henry Hilton saw it, being forced to show up at the town fair was bad enough without a woman falling out of the sky right on top of him.
“Can’t convince me that this isn’t some kind of punishment,” he grumbled, as he hefted another box containing T-shirts and tote bags onto the back of his red pickup truck. “It definitely feels like I’m being punished, and I didn’t even do anything.”
Not for the first time that morning, his friend Cal Stein gave a roll of his eyes. “You’re not being punished, man. It’s just a town fair. What’s the big issue?”
He took a step closer to the truck. Behind him, the big white house towered over them both, two stories of a ranch house that had been converted years ago into the sanctuary’s main building and a home for its workers.
A sign stood out in front, a few feet away from the porch steps, green words emblazoned across it.
GREEN SANCTUARY WILDLIFE RESCUE
A Safe Place for a Wild Heart
Around them, the rest of the property looked very much like a ranch.
A couple of barns stood to one side, the sounds of horses neighing and goats braying filling the air every minute or two.
A grassy plain stretched toward the horizon, bordered in the east only by a fence and the thick, dense, mountainous woods that lay beyond it.
“The big issue—” Henry adjusted his denim jacket and stooped to pick up another box, this one filled with pet treats that had been bagged and labeled for sale, “—is that Theon somehow expects me to represent the sanctuary at the Sylva Annual Fair all by myself. What happened to the rest of the animal rescuers? Like Bryon? Or even you—you’re not doing anything serious. ”
“I’ve got to stay back and make sure this place is in order. And Bryon’s out of town with the boss, remember? It’s not like we’ve got extra help around here. It’s just you, me and Melissa.”
Henry lifted an eyebrow at him, and he got a somewhat sheepish look on his face.
He and Cal had been friends for the greater part of the last decade, since Cal began working at Green Sanctuary.
As animal rescuers, they worked pretty well together.
As friends, they didn’t always see eye to eye, but the way Henry saw it, Cal was practically a brother to him at this point.
He resisted the urge to scoff, shaking his head instead. “So you get to spend time back here with your girlfriend—”
“Fiancée,” Cal corrected.
“—while I work my ass off at this fair.” A groan nearly made it past Henry’s lips. Barely nine in the morning and he was already exhausted. “I’m definitely being punished.”
He pressed his lips together, sweeping his gaze around for a moment.
It was such a beautiful morning. It had been raining up until half an hour ago, reduced now to a quiet, almost insignificant drizzle.
The air was cool, the grass wet and glistening.
The weather was perfect, and if he didn’t already have so much to do today, he’d probably still be in bed, or at least whipping up pancakes in the kitchen.
The last thing he needed was an obligation he didn’t particularly care for.
“Ever heard of self-fulfilling prophecies?” Cal’s blue-gray eyes regarded his friend for a moment.
He brushed some of his blond hair out of his face.
“You’re only going to keep feeling like you’re being punished because you think that’s what this is.
We’re doing this for the profit, remember? The sanctuary needs it.”
“Right.” Apart from the fact that he’d said “we” instead of “you,” Cal wasn’t exactly wrong.
Sylva was holding an annual fair that would span the entire day.
It was supposed to be fun, entertaining—a day to forget about anything work-related and let loose a little, explore the sights, goods and experiences that vendors had to offer.
In Henry’s experience, the fairs tended to be noisy and poorly organized.
Too bad Theon Gardener, his boss and the founder of Green Sanctuary, had other ideas. He’d insisted that the sanctuary participate this year.
We can’t sit this one out this time, he’d said over the phone, just days ago. There’s money to be made at the Sylva Annual Fair. Might as well get whatever profits we can. As little as five thousand dollars could go a long way in making repairs and buying animal feed.
Bottom line? They needed the money. The sanctuary wasn’t broke per se, but over the past month, between hiring a new veterinarian and taking care of a little problem that had almost rendered every single animal in the woods extinct, they were somewhat low on funds.
It certainly couldn’t hurt to attend the fair and secure as much profit as possible.
At least, according to Theon.
Henry had to disagree with his boss on that one.
It was going to hurt. A lot. He could be doing so much else today, like working at the sanctuary with Cal, or grabbing a drink at Rubicon Valley with his friend.
Or even attending the fair as a customer, and making sweet conversation with a few of the beautiful women there.
He hadn’t attended the last couple of fairs, but he knew he was bound to bump into one or two women who caught his eye.
He almost smiled at the prospect. At forty-four, he was still single, though not for lack of options.
He’d always known he was handsome, and both human and supernatural women were drawn to him.
In the past decade, though, he hadn’t dated anyone.
At most, he’d flirted with a few people and had a few flings. Nothing too serious.
Especially after the way his last relationship had gone.
“Anything but this,” he muttered. “I could be doing anything but this.”
He resumed stocking up the truck, reaching for a couple of folding tables and chairs.
For a moment, he simply stared at the items in the truck and on the ground: boxes filled with souvenirs and items for sale, printed flyers for awareness and donations, a cooler and more.
There were a few crates with cats, dogs and sheep for petting or adoption.
They creatures licked themselves or simply sat looking around, as though they were trying to figure out what was going on this morning.
You and me both, Henry couldn’t help but think. “How’s one man supposed to handle all of this alone?”
Theon had given him an impossible task. If his guess was correct, he’d be the only vendor at the fair operating alone.
Everyone else must’ve come with assistants or in groups to cater to the number of customers.
Trying to offer pets for adoption, selling T-shirts and handing out flyers or lecturing interested customers on animal safety all at the same time was bound to rip him apart.
Cal gave a shrug. “Sure, it’s not ideally a one-man job, but I’m sure you’ve handled worse.”
You have no idea.
Henry had been in much worse situations than this, he had to admit.
As a dragon shifter, he’d faced his fair share of problems through the years, ranging from being feared by others to life-or-death situations.
Like the time he’d found himself tangled in a skirmish with a gang of older, deadlier dragons and only barely managed to claw his way to safety.
Or the time his ex-girlfriend almost killed him during a magic ritual.
That was over a decade ago, Henry, he reminded himself, as his gut clenched. It’s in the past. Carmen’s in the past.
“Look,” Cal said, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “you’ve got this, Henry. You’re one of the most capable people I know, even if you sometimes hide it behind that unserious exterior of yours. If Theon didn’t think you could handle this, he wouldn’t have asked you.”
Henry pressed his lips together. Theon had said something along those lines just a couple of days ago.
You’re the best fit, he’d told Henry. You connect best with people. I’m sure you’ll make enough sales at the fair.
Looking back on it now, Henry couldn’t help but wonder if there hadn’t been a slight edge to his tone when he’d said that.
Like Bring me five grand by the end of the fair, or you’ll be cleaning the barns for the rest of the month.
Theon wasn’t a bad boss. He was only a few years older than the other men at the sanctuary.
Still, he ran a tight ship, and he didn’t take nonsense.
It was one of the reasons Henry respected him so much.
He breathed a sigh. “Wish I had some company at least.”
“Male or female?” Cal looked like he was trying not to smile.
It was Henry’s turn to roll his eyes. “It’s not like some gorgeous woman is going to drop out of thin air and agree to go to the fair with me, is it?”
“Hey—you never know. Anything’s possible. Two months ago, I wouldn’t have imagined I’d be seeing Melissa again, much less getting reengaged with her.”
A twinkle appeared in Cal’s eye as he spoke.
Just a month ago, Melissa had somehow ended up in this town and had come knocking at the sanctuary, asking to fill the job opening for a new vet.
She and Cal had been separated for the past ten years, but they’d somehow ended up reconciled and reengaged.
Henry didn’t know all the details yet, but he was happy for them.
It was great to see that his friend had had some luck at love, even if he hadn’t.
“You could come with me to the fair,” he suggested.
“No can do, bud.” Cal shook his head. He turned, making for the porch steps. “Just go to the fair. Maybe Melissa and I will swing by and see how it’s going.”
“Sure,” Henry muttered, watching his friend climb up the stairs and disappear into the house. “I’ll handle everything myself.”
He let out another sigh, stooping to pick up a nearby box. Today couldn’t possibly get worse, could it? He hadn’t even arrived at the fair yet, and he couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Henry shook his head. He was usually more laid-back than he was now.
For a long time—the greater part of the last decade, actually—he’d learned to take most things with a pinch of salt.
After all he’d been through, it was pretty much the only thing he knew that worked.
Nothing really affected you unless you took it seriously enough.
Five grand. One day.
“Sure, I could do it,” he muttered. “I’ll make as many sales as I can.”
He hefted another box onto the bed of the truck, then turned to pick up the last one off the ground. Before he could touch it, a shrill sound came from overhead.
“What the—?” Had that been a scream?
He glanced up, just in time to see a burst of green light fill the air for a second before dissipating into nothingness. High up, dozens of feet into the air, a figure spun as it fell, a bloodcurdling scream piercing the air as it plummeted straight toward him.