Ranger Drew (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 4) Read online

  As he proceeded to loosen the wheel locks, the key broke off inside the nut. He nodded to the lifted car and laughed to himself. “Well, I think this is a sign that today might not be your day.”

  “Then, what else should I do with my time?”

  “Your car seems to think your time is better spent with me.” He flashed me another broad grin and I couldn’t help but smile back.

  “My car sure knows how to pick ‘em! The guys with all the right parts, but no process,” I teased.

  “Oh, really? Well, I guess I can’t argue much with that,” he laughed, grabbing his phone to search for tips on how to remove a tire with a broken wheel lock key stuck inside and scrolled through the results.

  “Maybe you need two pairs of eyes.” I approached him and he tipped to the side, allowing me to read over his shoulder. I resisted the urge to rest my hand on his bicep as his thumb flicked over the screen. We searched for about ten minutes and didn’t find anything—even on YouTube—but I didn’t mind; as the sun rose higher in the sky, he began to sweat even more, and the scent of his body spray was intoxicating. I usually didn’t like them; I always thought they were too strong, but whatever scent he had, paired with his own, created a perfection that I could bask in all day.

  “Alright. Since that was a bust, I’ll just have to wing it,” he shrugged. He grabbed the tire iron and a few other tools from his truck and went to work on the ‘lug nuts’ of the wheels—I learned that term from the few tutorials we just watched. He seemed to have to put his full body weight into loosening them, and for a few minutes there, it seemed like they would be nearly impossible to remove. But after about ten minutes—and a lot of sweat—he had managed to extract all of the nuts from the first wheel. He pulled the wheel off and replaced it with one from his truck, using the tire iron to screw the lug nuts back in; tightening them seemed almost as tough as removing them had been. He repeated this process on the other wheel, then lowered the jack and removed it, standing back to admire his handy work.

  “You’ll probably need to go to the in-town mechanic to have them tighten those more with a power wrench because I wouldn’t trust my strength.” He rubbed the back of his head.

  “Oh, you look plenty strong to me.” I winked with a laugh.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want your wheels rolling off while you’re driving or something.” He chuckled.

  I was extremely grateful for his help, and I wasn’t exactly sure what came over me, but I ended up throwing my arms around his delicious, sweat-drenched body. “Thank you so much for stopping to help me. I had been waiting for so long and tried waving people down, but no one would stop.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said softly, returning the hug. When we pulled apart, our eyes met, and I thought he might kiss me, but instead, he smiled.

  “You know, I didn’t catch your name. Mine is Andrew. Andrew Williams.” He reached out his hand for me to shake and I thought about the NCPD-CID.

  Can I tell him my real name? I figured there was no harm.

  “Nice to meet you, Andrew. My name is Kathleen Boland.” I shook his outstretched hand. “I can’t believe we went all that time without even introducing ourselves.”

  “Yeah, do you usually hug strangers?” he teased.

  “No!” I slapped his shoulder playfully.

  “Do you go by Kathleen, or do you like Kathy? Most people call me Drew, for short.”

  “I hate when people call me Kathy. Please don’t,” I spat, a little more irritated than I intended to sound, but I really despised the name. There used to be a girl in my foster home named Kathy and she would always pester me. Our foster parents would call us twins even though we looked nothing alike and weren’t even the same age. The name hosted a part of my teenage years that I’d preferred to forget.

  “Anyway, I’d like to pay you back for this. Can I treat you to dinner tonight?”

  I didn’t usually ask men out. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I had. Guys asked me on dates from time to time, but I always declined. I never had time for relationships or dating, but with this new government assignment, I figured that as long as I got the job done, I could do whatever I wanted.

  “Hmm…I’ve never had a girl ask me out before. Or hug me without telling me her name first. You are full of surprises, aren’t you? Sent from the heavens to test me.” He laughed.

  “I guess so! Now, is that a yes, or a no? Don’t you know you aren’t supposed to keep a lady waiting?” I teased.

  “Kathleen, I would love to go to dinner with you. I can’t promise I won’t try to pay anyway, though,” he warned playfully. “Why don’t you leave this amazing car of yours in the parking lot, and I can pick you up. You’ll probably want to have dinner in Bar Harbor, which is most likely closer to where you’re staying because I live on the park grounds. What hotel are you staying at?”

  “The Holiday Inn.”

  “Okay, how about we go to the Looking Glass. It’s pretty close to you. May I pick you up later tonight?”

  “Okay, sure.” I smiled.

  “Alright, then, great,” he grinned. “Well, I’m going to head off, and I’ll be by to pick you up at 7pm sharp.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “Well, I definitely should get to work, I’m running pretty late and I’m honestly surprised my boss hasn’t called me yet.”

  “Okay, Drew, I’ll see you tonight. And really, thanks again.”

  “Anytime.”

  I watched him walk back to his truck and sighed. He drove away, waving and I returned the gesture.

  When I got back into the car, I thought about continuing on to the park and meeting the rest of Acadia’s staff. If all the guys looked as good as Drew did, I was going to have a hard time containing myself.

  I almost went, but I was worried about something Drew had mentioned. He was most definitely strong, but what if he hadn’t been strong enough to tighten the lug nuts all the way? It dawned on me that I should probably go to the mechanic to get the car checked out as he suggested. I was already nervous enough to drive again, but once I made it there and had the lug nuts evaluated, I knew I would feel better. I would have to call Hanson to have him cover the expenses.

  Oh shit! What am I going to wear on my date? I can’t just wear the crap stuffed in my friggin’ backpack… I really wanted to wow him. It had been a long time since I had gotten all dressed up and I owed it to myself to feel pretty at least one day out of the year. Well, they did ask me to get a nice outfit…

  I decided I would tack some extra funds for a professional outfit onto the cost of the mechanic when I called Hanson. I would just try to get something I could both wear professionally and look hot on my date.

  Chapter 3 – Drew

  I checked myself out in the mirror one last time before I headed out the door.

  You look good, man. I had been worried that I was dressed too casually, but I didn’t own a dress suit, so I had to make do with what I had. Besides, I didn’t think Bar Harbor was a suit-wearing kind of town anyway, and especially not at a restaurant like The Looking Glass.

  I had decided on a white polo shirt, black slacks and black dress shoes. I didn’t want to layer up too much because the temperature had only dropped about two degrees in five hours, so I assumed it wouldn’t be too chilly that night.

  I walked out to my garage and thought about taking the pick-up truck as a joke, or even the fire truck, but I didn’t think Knox, my boss, would appreciate that very much. And I kind of wanted to wow her with my Cadillac, anyway. It was a 2008 CTS and the second-best car to come out during its year. It had a sharp muscular style which I was trying to emulate, so I decided it would be a perfect match.

  I punched the Holiday Inn as the destination in my GPS system and headed toward Bar Harbor. I didn’t know her room number, and she didn’t know what I was driving, so it was probably going to be a little hard to find her. And my smart ass had forgotten get her number.

  Those curves of hers had made it eas
y to forget a lot of things.

  My dashboard said 6:58pm when I pulled up to the front of the building. I noticed her car was parked in the back of the lot, and I only had to wait for a minute before I saw her exit the automatic doors. She was wearing a white camisole, a black ruffled skirt that fell just above her knees, and black flats. I wished I had brought a jacket or something in case she got cold throughout the night, because it didn’t look like she had brought one. I guessed she had thought the same thing that I did. With the temperatures barely moving, it was probably going to be a warm night; I sure hoped so.

  She stood there peering around, looking for me and I honked my horn to let her know where I was. She smiled and waved when she saw me, and padded over to the car.

  “You drive a Black Caddy?” she asked, seemingly surprised when she got in. She looked gorgeous. Her curly, ginger hair cascaded past her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes were a vibrant green, stunning me with their piercing gaze. Her skin looked smooth and creamy and her legs went on for miles. As she sat in the car with me, her skirt had slightly risen, exposing her thigh and I fought hard to resist the urge to place my hand there.

  Not yet…

  “It was one of the best cars of its year, second only to the BMW, so I had to have it. Also, I think it matches my personality pretty well.”

  “Slick and handsome?” she smiled seductively, obviously flirting with me.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself.” I flashed her a smile and selected The Looking Glass as our next destination in the GPS.

  “I went to the mechanic like you recommended. Ten dollars later, my wheels are perfectly safe from falling off,” she said proudly.

  “Good to hear at least someone listens to me every now and then,” I chuckled.

  It only took us a couple of minutes to get there and we continued to make small talk during the ride. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was moderately busy. It was a Friday night, so I had anticipated that there would be some traffic, but I hoped we would be able to get seated quickly. I walked over to the usher.

  “Table for two please?”

  “Certainly, sir. Right this way.”

  Yes!

  The usher brought us to a very quaint corner of the restaurant. All the tables were candle lit by tea lights in mason jars and had miniature vases of flowers as centerpieces. There were no walls by the seating area, just open, thick glass windows with a stunning night view of the sparkling Atlantic; I supposed that’s how they got their name. I had never been there before, but honestly, I hadn’t been on a date with anyone since I had moved to Acadia. I felt pretty proud of my choice in that moment, though.

  I pulled out a chair for Kathleen to take a seat. She smiled brightly at the gesture and sat, scooting the chair closer to the table.

  Now I’ll just have to keep impressing her…

  The waiter came over and introduced himself.

  “Good evening, my name is Oliver, and I’ll be your waiter tonight.” He bowed before asking, “May I start you off with a bottle of wine?”

  Kathleen seemed surprised by this and just stared at him.

  “Um. We’ll have the 2010 Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc.” I chose the second wine on the list because the first one was a dry Riesling, which I hated. I wasn’t much of a wine drinker in general, but I had a little pep talk from Ramon and Trent, the biologist and law enforcement officer of the park, and they had assured me that most women loved wine and it would help us both break the ice and relax more into the evening. I hoped they were right because I was trying really hard not to sweat through my shirt; I was so nervous. Also, the Sauvignon Blanc was about thirteen dollars a bottle, whereas the Riesling was twenty-four dollars. If I was going to make it seem like she was paying, I didn’t want to order expensive things and make her anxious.

  Then, I looked at the menu.

  Fuck! Look at these prices! It wasn’t like I couldn’t afford them, I was concerned that perhaps she would think I picked an expensive place on purpose just because she was treating me. And I really didn’t want her to think that. I looked up to check her reaction to the menu and her eyes were wide. Was it because of the menu selection? The prices? I couldn’t really tell what that meant. So much for my plan to surprise pay. I should probably say something now.

  “Hey, when I picked this place, I’d actually never been here before, and I could never justify having you spend this much to treat me for barely fixing your car. Please, allow me to treat you. Your company is enough repayment.” I flashed her a smile and hoped I charmed her into letting me pay. She stared at me for a moment and then put the menu down.

  “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” She looked at me suspiciously and I was slightly taken aback. “You picked an expensive restaurant so you could convince me to let you pay.”

  “No, that wasn’t my intention at all; I really haven’t been here before—”

  “I’m just kidding!” She laughed. “I must admit, though, it is a little out of my price range.”

  “Oh. Haha.” My heart was racing, and I took a breath to steady it. “Well, then please, allow me.”

  “Sorry if my joke was too serious. You looked a little tense, so I figured I’d scare you a little.” She winked at me playfully and my heart stopped beating altogether. She really was beautiful.

  We went back to consulting the menu, and since we had agreed on me paying, I thought about changing the wine, but I decided not to.

  “Would you like to order an appetizer?” I asked her.

  “The lobster rangoon sound delicious!”

  “It does. I’m still not sure what I want for my entrée, though. What are you thinking of having?”

  “I thought the gnocchi and mushrooms sounded great.”

  “Well, I won’t be having that, that’s for sure. I hate mushrooms,” I laughed.

  “Well, that’s one thing you can cross off then,” she winked.

  “Have you both decided?” Oliver had returned with our wine and two glasses. He opened the bottle and poured a sample for each of us, while looking back and forth between us, waiting for an answer.

  “May we please have the lobster rangoon to start, and I’ll have the gnocchi and mushrooms. I’m not sure if he knows what he wants yet, though.”

  I was surprised by her forwardness. I had never had a woman order before and be so assertive, and I found it quite sexy. But, she had put me on the spot.

  “I’ll have the maple miso glazed salmon, please,” I said curtly, taking her menu and handing them both to the waiter. Kathleen had already started on her glass of wine.

  “Do you like it?” I asked.

  “It tastes kind of like grapefruit and…grass. But I like it!” She laughed as she spoke, and I chuckled as I took a sip from my own glass. I could see where she was picking up those flavors, but it tasted more tropical to me. “So, have you ever saved a kitten from a tree?”

  I almost spit out my wine.

  “Oh, so we’re doing firefighter jokes now, huh? No, I haven’t, and even if there was a kitten stuck in a tree, the park has a search and rescue person for that kind of thing. That’s one of Sophia’s duties at Acadia.”

  “Have you ever slid down a pole?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

  “Yes actually, but not for anyone’s entertainment.”

  “Have you ever had to pose for a calendar?”

  “Is that really a thing?” I was genuinely surprised. I had never heard of firefighters having to do that in real life, only models.

  “Where I live, they did it to raise money for guide and therapy dogs. Needless to say, they raised a lot of money,” she laughed.

  “Well, I guess I’ve been lucky enough not to have to do that. Not sure how I would feel about having all the women in the area gawking at me as I hung on their refrigerators. It’s too small of a town and I feel like I’d be easily recognizable.” The thought alone made me shudder.

  “Yeah, but you’d be a local celebrity. All the girls would
want a picture with you and for you to autograph their calendars! And it would be for a good cause.” She shrugged. And she was right. I wasn’t sure about the celebrity bit, but if it was for a good cause, maybe I could take a picture covering my face with my hat or something.

  “Any more firefighter questions you’re dying to ask me?” I chuckled.

  “Oh, if you open the hose to full blast, is it really strong enough to lift you off the ground if you’re holding it?” She looked intrigued and took a sip of her wine. It was a silly question, but not one I got asked often.

  “Well, it depends. A fire hose can only lift about two hundred pounds on its own at full blast, but it would have to be pointed at the ground. We usually have people who weigh at least two hundred and fifty pounds man the hose because they can’t be lifted by the water pressure. They also have to be able to lift someone who is two hundred pounds because that will help them control the hose at that pressure. We usually never have to open the hose to full blast, though. It can do more harm than good at that power level in most situations.”

  Oh great, Drew, you’re going on one of your fireman rants again. She probably zoned out halfway through.

  “So, I’m guessing you’re the one who mans the house, huh?”

  Nope. She’s listening. Just has a two-track mind.

  “Yes, actually, I do.”

  “I can tell.” She was flirting hard. I couldn’t believe this gorgeous girl wanted me. It couldn’t be because she thought I was rich or something because she hadn’t seen my car until now. And I most definitely wasn’t rich; I just had acquired a lot of assets. When you work for a national park, the government pays for your lodging to make up for the four thousand dollars month they pay us. That adds up when you live by yourself and only have to buy groceries and provisions for one person. I saved up for seven months to get the Caddy that I had, and it felt good to buy it. It was really the only expensive item I owned, but I was incredibly proud to have it.

  But she seemed to really like me and that was a great boost to the ego. I just had to get through dinner to see how far it could go.