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He is notcourting me!Malia countered.He bought that food for himself. He didn’t know that I was going to ask him over. In fact, he didn’t even know that I live here!
Her wolf huffed with silent displeasure at being brought back to reality. But it settled down.
Malia could sense its watchfulness, though, like a hunter waiting for an opportunity. She wondered what the tricky beast was planning.
She brought out the promised brown bottles, a couple of plates, and some serving spoons for the side dishes. Then she lit the half-dozen citronella candles on the table and railing to keep mosquitoes away.
They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, enjoying the excellent food. It was a beautiful summer evening, and as the twilight faded, the gently glowing candles turned her porch into an intimate space.
“So, any luck hunting today?” she asked finally.
Considering that Lucas hadn’t unloaded any fresh meat from the back of his truck, she guessed the answer was no. But it seemed a good segue to what she really wanted to talk about.
He shook his head wryly. “It’s like the local wildlife knew we were coming,” he said. “All I spotted today were a couple of eagles along the river. And a single disgruntled-looking osprey.”
Malia laughed. “Ospreys always look like they’re angry at the world. I’ve never met one who wasn’t giving everyone and everything a death-glare.” She took a sip from her bottle and decided to broach the uncomfortable subject foremost in her thoughts.
“So, about Travis Bickham and his buddy Arnie Silvers…” she began.
“What about them?” Damned if Lucas didn’t look completely clueless.
“Travis is pretty well known around here as being bad news. He and his friend both have rap sheets for assorted felonies and misdemeanors.”
“And you’re telling me this because…?” Lucas scowled down at his plate.
Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear, thought Malia.
“Because you’re hanging out with them. And in case they engage in any, um, shenanigans.”
Lucas skewered her with his suddenly-sharp gaze. “Whatkindof shenanigans? What you have on these guys?”
Malia sighed. “I don’t have anything.Yet. But I justknowthey’re up to something.” She leaned forward. “Every time Bickham comes to town, there are a bunch of poaching incidents. Even worse, couple of nights ago, right after he arrived, someone shot my brother while he was out for a walk after dark in his bear shape. Now, the timing might just be another coincidence…but there’ve been an awful lot ofcoincidenceswhere Travis Bickham is concerned.”
Lucas nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry about your brother. Was he hurt? Will he be okay?”
“He was pretty badly injured,” Malia replied. “But he’s expected to make a full recovery in a week or two.”
“Oh, good.” Lucas sounded relieved. “Look, for what it’s worth, Travis and Arnie have done a whole lot of trash-talking, but as far as I can tell, it’s all beer and bravado. And I swear to you that none of us broke any laws today.”
“Good to hear,” Malia said. Even to her ears, she sounded like a disapproving cop. She made an effort to smile and gentle her tone. “It’s just…I thought you should know. Be careful around those guys, okay?”
A troubled expression flitted across his handsome features. He nodded. “I appreciate the heads-up.”
Then, in an obvious change of subject, he picked up a round cardboard container and peered inside. “Hey, there’s still some mac and cheese left. You can have it, if I get the rest of the coleslaw.”
They divided up the remaining food, then Malia fetched another couple bottles of beer.
When they had refilled their plates, Lucas asked. “So, what it’s like to live in a shifter community?”
“It’s good.” Malia chewed, swallowed, and considered the logistics of living in a place like Boise, where the population was mostly Ordinaries.
It kept her from staring at Lucas. Because the sight of him licking barbecue sauce from his fingers was stirring up all kinds of wicked thoughts.
Don’t be creepy, she chided herself.You asked him out. He turned you down. End of story.
“I mean, we still have to be careful about outing ourselves,” she continued, “but it was nice knowing that I wasn’t the only shifter at school. And it’s nice to be in a place where all kinds of shifters live in harmony. Besides my pack and the Swanson bear shifter clan, we have a clan of jaguars and a snow leopard family here in town, a sabertooth pride just down the road at Cougar Lake, and assorted cougar, coyote, eagle, and wolverine shifters on the ranches and farms nearby.” She paused. “The wolverines mostly keep to themselves, but they don’t cause trouble. They just like to be left alone.”
“Wow, that sounds great.” Lucas leaned back in his chair and stretched out his long legs. The side of his boot gently brushed Malia’s flip-flop clad foot, and remained there.
