Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart (The Cedar River Series) (6 page)

Annie said, “Brady didn’t say anything today, but I’ll be careful.”

I took her by the shoulders, “Careful isn’t good enough, kitten. One of us goes with you or you don’t go. We still haven’t got the poachers that are out there. We’re working day and night trying to find them, but they are hiding out somewhere in the woods. DNR called me today to let me know that two of their tagged pumas are missing. They found the collars but that was all.” Fear crossed her face. I know losing her dad to hunters at such a young age affected her. “We’ll keep you safe, Annie. I promise.” I said just as Mama called everyone to dinner, breaking the tension that filled the air between us.

Dinner was always a loud affair in our family. Mama sat at one end, smiling. Dad sat at the other end, watching Mama. Us kids? Well, we just teased and joked back and forth. Mama and Dad would add corrections to the various versions of our childhood memories when it was needed. After dinner, we all helped clear the table. We took our cake and coffee to the living room to talk some more. Dad turned on the football game to watch, the volume down low. We were all talking over each other, laughing.

Annie, however, was curled up in a ball with her head against the back of the couch. With a smile on her face, she was sound asleep. Mama got up to cover her up with a quilt and kissed the top of her head. It wasn’t long after that that the twins and Brady went to bed. Mama and Dad took each other’s hands and made their way to their bedroom, leaving me alone in the living room.

“You staying the night tonight, son?” Mama asked.

“Yeah, I think I will.” I was pretending to watch the news, but with everyone gone I could turn my attention in the direction I’d been avoiding all night. Gods, she was beautiful. Since I’d been shot, the man’s feelings and the dragon’s feelings towards Ana had merged. The dragon had always held a fascination with her and the man wanted to protect her from the bad in the world. Now, those feelings were all mixed up together. I was determined to explore these new feelings while I had the opportunity.

Chapter Eleven- Ana

I missed being at school, but I poured all of my energy into my online classes. Papa was so proud that I was doing well in school and I wanted to keep making him proud. I’d caused that man more than a few of the gray hairs that littered his red gold hair. He and Mama took me in and loved me, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. I wanted to make sure they understood how much I appreciated that.

Brady began taking me out for pizza once a week. Brady had never been one to casually date, so he usually took me or his brothers with him when he wanted to go out. One week, I’d been studying hard and there was a new movie that he wanted to see. The theater was busy. As we stood in line, I heard my name called. When I turned, I saw Lance Smythe making his way across the lobby of the movie theater.
Fuck
was the only thought that came to my mind. I was not in the mood for trouble tonight. Brady was stunned, “What the hell does he want?”  I shrugged as I stepped over to talk to Lance. I had to admit he had grown into a beautiful man. His black hair was cut short, military-style, and his eyes were the deep blue color of the lake on a clear day. His body had filled out nicely, too. A second look at my childhood tormentor made the woman sit up and notice. The cat was a bit indifferent.

“Hey, Lance. What are you up to?” He stuck his hands in his back pockets.

“I’ve been waiting to see this movie. I didn’t think it would be this busy tonight.”

Brady joined us. Lance offered his hand, “Brady. It’s good to see you.”

“Lance. How’s the arm feeling?”

“Pretty good, thanks to Ana here. Listen, Brady, do you mind if I steal Ana away for a few minutes?”

“I’ll wait here.” Lance took my hand and led me to a quiet spot.

“Ana, I wanted to tell you thank you. The doctor was afraid they would have to amputate my arm. You saved it. I also need to apologize to you. Cam, me and our buddies used to torment you way too much.” He looked down at his tennis shoes, shuffling on the carpet, “I had such a crush on you when we were kids.”

I looked at him as if he had two heads. “A crush? Really? You treated me like I had a disease, Lance.”

He hung his head, “I know, Ana. I wanted to apologize for all of the crap we pulled on you.”

“We’re good, Lance. Apology accepted.”

He raised his head to look at me. “I know the Goldens made you come home. How is it going?”

“It’s hard being away from my friends, but it’s nice to be surrounded by family.” I glanced back at Brady who was beginning to get impatient.

“Listen, Lance, I’ve got to go. Our movie is about to start and Brady likes to get seats way in the back.”

“Okay, Ana. It was really good to see you. Listen, could I call you sometime? Maybe we could catch dinner or a movie?”

I looked at him, studying his expression. My cat smelled him, looking for the smell of a lie. There was none to be found. “Sure, Lance. That would be fun.” I typed my phone number into his cell phone.

“I’ll call you next week. Maybe we can get together over the weekend?”

“Sounds good to me,” I called over my shoulder. Not sure what had just happened, but who was I to turn a positive into a negative? My cat liked the smell of him. I’m not sure if it was because he smelled familiar or what, but she didn’t often react this way to men.

Brady asked me as we sat down, “Did you just give that boy your number?”

“Yep, he wants to take me out on a date.” I replied popping a kernel of popcorn in my mouth.

Brady stared straight ahead at the screen, “Bowie is going to be pissed, kitten. Mark my words.”

It was Wednesday before I heard from Lance. We made plans to go out Saturday night. Dinner and a movie could be fun. Thursday night, Bowie’s ringtone sounded on my phone. I knew why he was calling, but I simply answered, “Hey, Bowie!” Before he even said “Hello” he launched into a verbal tirade.

“Lance Smythe? What the hell would possess you to go out with him? Do you not remember what he did to you as a kid? Good gods, Annie! I can’t come to your rescue every time you get in over your head.” Finally, he paused to take a breath.

“I’m doing well, thank you for asking. And how are you? Feeling better?” I asked, calmly though I was ready to explode.

“Not really, Annie.”

“First off, yes, Lance. Second of all, I’m not possessed despite what the townspeople say. Of course, I remember what they used to do to me when we were kids, but we have grown up, Bowie. People change. He made a point of apologizing to me. I figured that counted for something. I don’t remember asking you to rescue me? Besides, if you don’t trust your own deputy, what would have possessed you to make him one?”

There was a heavy sigh at the other end of the phone. “I just worry about you, kitten. He’s grown up a lot, I’ll agree. He has what it takes to be a good lawman, but that doesn’t mean I want you dating him.”

“Be honest, Bowie. Is there anyone I can date that will appease you? Gods, Bowie! I deserve to have some sort of a normal life, don’t I? I know I’m different, Bowie. But, by all I hold holy, I don’t need to feel different every minute of every day. There are some days I just want to be a normal twenty-one year old woman. A woman who can be carefree and date whomever she wants. I want to kiss a man and have him hold my hand when we walk down the street. I want to be told I’m beautiful and desirable. I want to be loved by a man, Bowie. Is that so hard to comprehend? The good news is that Lance knows what I am. I don’t have to explain things to him.”

Silence met my tirade. “Bowie? Are you still there?” I asked, afraid I had dropped his call.

“I’m here,” he said softly. “You cannot be normal, kitten. No matter how hard you try. You are special.”

My heart softened a little, “I know, but with Lance I don’t have to hide what I am. That’s what matters to me.”

“I know, but do you really have to kiss him?”

I laughed. “I’ve done more than kiss boys, Bowie. You caught me one time, remember?”

“Please don’t sleep with him,” Bowie begged.

“No promises,” I said.

Bowie groaned, “Good night, kitten.”

“Good night, flyboy.”

I wasn’t nervous about my date with Lance until Saturday afternoon. I couldn’t find a thing to wear. My hair wouldn’t style right. My hands were shaking. Colin found my nervousness funny.

“I’ve never seen a guy fluster you like Deputy Lance. I like the way this looks on you,” he said as he leaned against my doorway, watching me get ready. I glared at him and closed the door in his face. I finally pulled on my black jeans and a heavy purple sweater. I added my low-heeled black boots and leather jacket to complete my look. My silver earrings dangled from my ears. My mom’s favorite amber necklace hung from my neck. I looked pretty good. At six o’clock on the dot, Lance knocked on the front door. Papa answered it. He invited Lance in and began the third degree. Dressed in blue jeans and a deep blue dress shirt, Lance was a tall drink of ice water. He had on his cowboy boots and a black leather jacket. From the look in his eyes, he liked what he saw, too. I grabbed my purse and told Papa that we wouldn’t be out too late. Lance took my hand and we were off on our date. We arrived at the local pub for dinner. After the waitress took our order, he turned to me, “Ana, you look amazing tonight.”

I sipped my cola. “Thank you, Lance. You look really good, too.”

We talked about everything. He held my hand and stroked it with his thumb. It felt good to be desired. He had a way about him that wasn’t like the boys I’d dated at college. It may just be that his shifter side knew what mine craved, but it was nice. We walked around town after dinner. Snow was beginning to fall which only added to the romance of the evening. We were going to a late movie so we had plenty of time to kill. We were walking and chatting when he took my hand without even looking down. When we reached the middle of the stone bridge, he stopped. We leaned against the rail and watched the snowflakes fall on the water.

“I really am sorry, Ana. I was a stupid kid.”

I looked into his eyes, “It’s all done and over with, Lance. Of course, I owe you an apology, too.” Lance gave me a confused look.

“Neon orange polka-dots? Ring a bell?”

He started laughing. “Gods! I’d forgotten about those. They took forever to go away. But I will admit I deserved those. I just loved watching the fire dance in your eyes when I pissed you off.”

It was my turn to laugh, “You know it would have been easier if you would have just asked me out. We could have saved ourselves a lot of punishments.” At that point, he took me in his arms and pressed his lips to mine. He caught me by surprise, but my hands had a mind of their own as they slid up his broad shoulders. He angled his mouth a little and deepened the kiss. His hands stroked my hair. My cat liked him, but she just wasn’t feeling the same passion that the woman was.

His cell phone began playing the theme song from “The A-Team.” He pulled away abruptly. “That son of a bitch. I’m sorry. I’ve got to take this. It’s Bowie.”

I got a little time to catch my breath. He certainly did know how to kiss. After kissing the boys at school who thought shoving their tongue in your mouth was sexy, I was caught off guard with this. 

After a short while, he snapped his phone closed. “I’m really sorry about that. There’s a missing pup. I’m going to have to take a rain check on the movie.”

I found my voice, “It’s fine. We can do this again sometime. Duty calls and you have to go.”

Lance’s eyes searched my face, “Are you sure this is okay with you?”

I smiled sincerely, “You forget. I was raised with Bowie. There were holidays and dinners disrupted because duty calls. I know what this job entails. So, go do what you need to do. I’m back in Cedar River until the poachers are caught. We’ll get together.”

Lance snorted, “I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll try this again, I promise.”

Hand-in-hand, we walked back to his truck. When we got back home, he took the time to walk me to my front door. “I had a nice time tonight.”

Lance looked deep into my eyes, “It feels nice to be normal doesn’t it?”

I was glad to know that I wasn’t alone. “It does.” He laid his hand on my face and kissed me deeply, his tongue dancing lightly against mine. He sure could kiss, but, sadly, I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything other than friendship for him. Maybe it would develop. A girl can hope, right?

Chapter Twelve- Bowie

I was loading up my truck with supplies when Lance pulled up in front of the station. “It’s about time you got here.”

Lance kept quiet and let it roll off him. I could smell Annie on his clothes. It pissed me off and I was looking for a fight. “What’s the matter cat got your tongue?”

“In case you’d forgotten, I was on a date tonight,” was his only response.

“Yeah, well, crimes don’t wait for your love life.”

“Which is why I took her home and I’m here.” He began strapping on his gun and gear. “You gonna fill me in on what’s going on or you just going to hope I can read your mind?”

Smart ass kid. “There is a missing pup from the wolf pack. They are worried that the poachers may have got her.” That was when I saw him slip into professional lawman mode.

“Which pup is missing?”

“Mindy Peterman, Max and Angie’s girl. She went out for a run, and when she didn’t come home her dad called me. I’m just glad he didn’t go out alone. He’s going out with us. We’re supposed to start at their house.”

“I’ll follow you out,” was all the kid could say.

Max was waiting for us. He and Angie were sitting at their kitchen table. Angie was in tears. I laid a hand on her shoulder, “Angie? We’re going to find her, I promise. I’m not going to give up until she is home and in her own bed.”

“Dead or alive, I want my baby back here,” she said.

Max kissed his wife and we went off into the night. The moon shone bright in the sky which certainly would help in the search. It was a crisp, cold night. The temperatures were in the single digits. Even a wolf could freeze in this. Snow was falling so hard, it was hiding any tracks that Mindy would have left. We walked swiftly through the woods. No one called out in case the poachers were camped in the forest. We’d been walking for a couple of hours when the smell of fear began to drift to us on the air. We all stopped and crouched down. Being shifters, our eyesight at night was excellent, but we didn’t want to walk into a trap. My ears picked up on a soft sobbing. As if someone was trying to be super quiet. I inched forward slowly. There were no signs of poachers. I motioned for the other two men to follow me. Laying in the snow, curled in a ball was Mindy. We surrounded her. Her dad put his coat on her. Her lips were blue. She had gotten caught in a steel trap.