Page 42 of Squatch Out!
Olivia turns away to hide how embarrassed she is at our teasing, and I don’t like it. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t love how many tourists those movies have brought to our area, but I do appreciate the money and what it’s done for our economy.
“You want to go to the restaurant, right?” I ask her quietly. “The one that’s based on the movie?Bella Italia.”
Olivia perks up. “Yes.” Then she narrows her eyes. “How do you know about it? Unless–Aha! You’re secretly a Twi-hard too!”
I scoff just as Owen adds, “I’ve heard they have really good food.”
“Have you now?” Olivia’s teasing grin lights up her whole face as she looks between my brother and me. Then she grows serious. “I’d really like to go.”
Well, shit. The way those five words hit the center of my chest, it looks like I’m going to be taking my girl on a guided tour of Forks and La Push at my next chance.
Clive livesin a modest bungalow that faces the straits. The salty air has faded the cedar siding to a dingy gray, and his small yard is in desperate need of weeding. With a wheelchair ramp that’s been built over his front steps that’s in dire straits as well.
Before we’re out of the truck, Clive is already at the front door and waiting for us. I don’t recall him being that stooped or leaning on his cane so heavily. Then I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve seen him and realize it’s been a few years.
“Hey, Clive,” I call out as we get closer.
He smiles and waves. He’s wearing a clunky pair of glasses and a plaid button-up shirt with his signature bone and silver jewelry. His white hair is pulled back from his face and twisted into a long braid that falls all the way to his waist.
“Come in, boys,” he hollers, holding the door open for us. Then he dips his head to Olivia. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss.”
Despite the neglect on the outside of his house, the inside is neat as a pin as he leads us into a small living room. Letting out a loud groan, he falls back into a recliner and then points to the afghan-covered couch next to him.
“So, you’ve gotten yourselves caught, huh?” He chuckles. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a scandal like that.”
Owen and I exchange a sheepish look as we sit down with Olivia between us.
“I am assuming the boys here have explained things to you?” Clive asks her. Olivia nods, and he leans back in his recliner, giving it a nudge with the toe of his cowboy boot to start rocking. “Alright, my dear, Owen filled me in on what’s going on, but why don’t you tell me your side of what happened?”
Olivia glances up at me and then over at Owen. Then she turns her attention to Clive.
“Well, sir, I came up here to camp with some friends. There was a last-minute change, and one of our friends invited someone who we didn’t know. And he’s… well, he’s the one who’s causing trouble. He recorded Sean changing from a squatch to—to human.” Olivia twists her fingers together nervously, “Now he’s threatening to release the footage and expose Sean if—if I don’t tell him where he can find other squatch.”
Clive leans forward and pins her with a frown. “And how did he get this footage?”
Olivia turns a nervous look at me, and I nod, encouraging her to tell him everything. “He had a recording and said it was a bigfoot mating call. When he played it, um, Sean came out of the forest and grabbed me.”
“There is no such thing as a bigfoot mating call,” I tell her gently. Then to Clive, I say, “He was playing a recording of some kind of digitized animal sound.”
Olivia turns to me with a frown. “Wait, but if it wasn’t a mating call… then why did you come running out of the trees with a—” Her eyes drop to my crotch.
Clive sits up straighter in his chair, suddenlyveryinterested in my answer.
I clear my throat to try to hide my embarrassment. “Ah, well, when I got closer, and I picked up your scent—” I spread my hands in a shrug.
“My scent?” Her cute little nose wrinkles.
I lean forward to whisper so only she can hear me. “You smell really fucking good, baby.”
Beside us, Owen clears his throat. “And why don’t you tell us what happened next, Sean?”
I’m sure my face turns beet red with even more embarrassment as I finish Olivia’s story. Recalling how I kidnapped her and took her to the cave—although I conveniently omit the NSFW parts.
Clive listens patiently until we’ve finished, then he suddenly bursts into a peal of hearty cackles. “So you’re telling me you found yourself a woman who came out here searching for bigfoot?” He leans forward and slaps his knee. “I mean, no one’s ever going to believe that.”
Beside me, Olivia clenches her fists on her knees, and I reach over to cover one.
“I didn’t comesearchingfor bigfoot,” she bites back as she pushes my hand away. “Just…hoping, I guess. Me and myfriends, each one of us had an experience. I saw one when I was a little girl when I wandered away into the woods and got lost. He—led me back to my family.”
