Page 40 of Cold Foot Croc

“Are you angry?”

Garret was putting his chainsaw away after cutting up a log that had fallen and dried out on the edge of the camp. “Angry? About what?”

“About your brother taking your truck?”

Garret’s bright-teal eyes darted to the tire tracks in the snow that led back down the mountain trail. A smile cracked his face and he shook his head. “Nah.”

“I get really angry if anyone takes anything of mine without permission.”

“Territorial?”

“Very. The animal doesn’t attach to much, but if she does, nobody is allowed to take it.”

“Mmm. It’s not like that with Dylan. We shared a lot growing up. My parents didn’t have a lot of money, so we even shared our first truck. We had this lawn care business for years, saving up, and when he turned sixteen, we paid cash for this old truck that barely ran. A Ranger, actually,” he said, gesturing to her new Ranger. “Not as nice as yours.”

“It’s not mine yet,” she murmured. “I still have to pay back the down payment, and I owe a lot on the loan.”

A frown dragged his eyebrows down. “I get that. Me and my brother shared our first truck for years until we could each afford our own.”

“You’re really close then.”

“Yeah, he’s my best friend. Every fight I got in when I was in school? They had to deal with Dylan too. And vice versa. We had the same friend group, we always lived in the same town. He’s a safety net.”

“Did he…” She shook her head at the stupid question she was about to ask. She was not one of those jealous girls, and it was none of her business.

“Did he what?”

“Never mind. I just called myself out in my head for being way too girly.”

His eyes narrowed as he knelt there by the woodpile he’d been arranging by the firepit they’d dug out. “Ask. I’m going to be wondering all day if you don’t.”

“Did Dylan like your ex?”

“God no. He thought she was too needy, and she annoyed him.”

“Because he wanted all of your attention?”

“No, because she started fights all the time and talked shit about me to everyone, him included. It was either really good, or really bad. She loved taking pretty pictures of us that made us look like some perfect couple, but that wasn’t us. I hated the show. Dylan did too. He didn’t think she was the one.”

Apologetically, she said, “I don’t mean to keep bringing up your ex. I’ve never been curious like this before with a man. In my defense though, I didn’t have that great first love before I went to prison, and then the breeding happened, and I don’t know if I’m even built for deep connections anymore, you know? Maybe I’m ruined, or jaded now. Back when I was dating, before prison, I didn’t care if a man was just casually dating me. If I found out he was dating other women, I just bounced. There were no hurt feelings, I was just on to the next. I was in it for fun, and distraction, maybe. We were in a smaller town, and I needed to live close to my mom so I could keep an eye and an ear out for drama in her house. Everyone in town knew I was a croc shifter. I had my own pond that I shared with my brother, Mace, and everything, and no one was allowed to be in it or around it but us. The town even set up fencing with razor wire to keep kidsfrom going in there on a dare, and to prevent an accident from happening while me or my brother were Changed. I was a freak, but I was fun at parties, so sometimes the boys liked to try and date me. I wasn’t the one they were ever going to bring home to their mom though, and I figured that out early on and adjusted my expectations.”

“Sounds kind of lonely,” he said.

She shrugged. “Maybe. At the time I didn’t feel lonely though. Not that I remember. I was busy and happy, and having fun around the times my mom’s boyfriend was being a dick.”

“Will you ever go back to your hometown?”

“No.” She surprised herself with how fast she said that. Raynah dusted the thin layer of snow off the chair. She took a seat and pulled her bottled water to her lips, took a long drink, then replaced the cap. “I think it would bring back too many memories, and I don’t think I would be welcome there. No matter what my reasons were for doing what I did, people don’t understand it. It doesn’t matter if my intentions for my family were good, I’m the bad guy, you know? My mom was angry with me for calling the police over the years, and got angry with my bad-talking her boyfriend, and got angry that I was trying to separate them. Chh.” She shook her head. “Other than the letter Mace sent, no one contacted me or tried to visit. It’s not like anyone would really travel to Alaska, and it’s not like visitors were really allowed, but calls were allowed. No one checked in. The rumors did what they did in that town, and I saw Harold Price’s obituary. He was remembered as some upstanding citizen who would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need, and I was the villain who took his life too soon.” She scrunched up her face. “Some things are best left in the past. I won’t ever return to that place.”

He nodded thoughtfully, then stood. “I don’t know if I can go back to my hometown either.”

“Why not?”

“Uuuuh, I accidentally Changed in the middle of the street in front of a bunch of people, and terrorized the town. I did it in front of the local Baptist church on a Sunday, just as service was letting out. Animal control had to tranquilize me.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“Yep.” He pursed his lips and lowered his chin. “Did you know when you get shot three times in the left ass cheek with tranquilizers, the city sends you a bill, and demands that you register as a shifter? I didn’t want to do that, because I didn’t understand what my Maker wanted with me, and didn’t want to give him a way to track me, so I came here. There were a few reasons we moved to a place where no one knows who I am.”

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