4. Dakota

4

Dakota

D akota walked up to Sadie’s front door, holding a bouquet of flowers. He almost ditched them, feeling like they were a little too much. He laughed at himself for feeling so nervous about a dinner date.

Although he was no Clint Eastwood or Johnny Depp, he was used to having fans. While their fans consisted of masses of adoring women, Dakota managed to attract a lot of nerds – Many of whom were as beautiful and sexy as Sadie, but none of them had that same magnetic pull on him that she did.

He looked at the flowers again but before he could figure out what to do with them, she opened the door.

“My security cam alerted me,” she said by way of explanation. Her green eyes lit up when she saw the flowers. “I can’t remember the last time someone brought me flowers. They’re beautiful.”

She smelled the flowers and grinned. “They smell delicious.” He watched as she pulled some plastic flowers out of a vase and set them to the side. Her movements were very graceful, almost as though she was a dancer instead of a librarian.

“Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Would you like a beer, sweet iced tea, or orange juice?”

“Whatever you’re having is fine,” he said.

She poured him a glass of tea and they sat down at the table.

“The kids loved your presentation. There was almost a stampede of them coming into the library to check out your books. A couple of the kids were already interested in science and planned on majoring in different types of science studies in college. I have one who said he would love to talk to you more about your work and said that it would be great to do what you do, only he’s into bugs.”

“I would love to come in and talk to him, whenever he wants. Set up a time and let me know.”

She flashed a smile at him that melted his heart. “You’re the best.”

“I’m all about inspiring the younger generation. Besides, insects are very important. They are pollinators, decomposers, food for other animals, or they hunt insects. Everything has its place.”

“True enough.”

Throughout dinner, she asked him questions about the different places that he’d been and some of the animals that he’d captured on film. Unlike a lot of people who just wanted to hang out with someone who had been on a national network, she seemed genuinely interested in his stories.

“I would love to see more of the world someday.” Sadie sounded wistful and he could detect a “but” in her statement.

He raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for her to continue.

“It would as I take vacations, a couple weeks at a time. My heart is here in Angel’s Creek.”

Dakota felt a twinge of disappointment at her words. He could almost picture the two of them traveling around and exploring the world.

“Your life sounds so exciting, but there’s something to be said for putting down roots and being a part of the community. Don’t you ever miss that?”

Her question caught him off guard. For years, he thought that his lifestyle was all he could ever want, and he dreaded the time when he would get too old to just go wherever life took him. He didn’t have anything that didn’t fit in his truck. For just a second, the thought of having a permanent place to hang his hat sounded nice. Then, he shook it off. He wasn’t domesticated enough for that and after a while, he would get restless again.

“To be honest, I can’t imagine life that way. I love the idea of being in one part of the world one month and a completely different part the next month.”

“Having a home base wouldn’t be bad though.”

“Maybe.” He finished the last bite on his plate. “This was delicious. If we keep this up, I’ll double my weight while I’m here and I’d never be able to keep up with even a herd of turtles.”

“Don’t you mean a bale of turtles?” Sadie teased.

“That’s exactly what I mean, a dole of turtles.”

After dinner, they went out back to sit on her glass-enclosed deck. The night was clear and Sadie loved looking out into the night.

They talked about philosophy, arguing about whether Jean-Paul Sarte’s tenets of existentialism were valid, and discussed his book, No Exit. Dakota couldn’t remember the last time he had discussed such a deep topic with anyone and found it exciting that she could hold her own in the debate.

Dakota looked deep into her eyes as something stirred inside of him. “You know, I’ve traveled the world, but I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

She turned toward him a little more. “Is that a good thing?”

“It’s intoxicating.”

He leaned in toward her and Sadie met him halfway. Their lips met with a soft, tentative kiss. The kiss deepened and Dakota felt a surge of emotions he had never experienced before.

Her fingers tangled in his hair and he pulled her closer to him, reveling in the warmth of her body pressed against his.

When the kiss ended, his heart was beating a million miles an hour. He gently tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and smiled. “You know I never expected this when I came back.”

“Me either, but I’m glad that it happened.”

They spent the evening cuddled together on the couch, talking about everything and nothing, laughing, and kissing. He jumped when he looked at his watch and realized it was midnight.

“Oh no. It’s late. I didn’t mean to stay so long.”

“Are you going to turn into a pumpkin?” She laughed as he stood up.

“I might. You never know.”

She walked him to the door. He turned around, pulled her close to him, and kissed her deeply one last time. Then, he forced himself to leave before it became impossible to walk away from her.

His heart was still racing as he drove home. He could feel the softness of Sadie’s lips and how her body felt pressed to his. The excitement and fires that had exploded inside of him from her touch were almost overwhelming. Her scent filled him, excited him.

Dakota was used to being in complete control of his life and his feelings. For the first time in his life, though, he was thrown off balance. He couldn’t control the emotions and reactions that Sadie caused.

He struggled to sleep that night because he wanted, more than anything, to go back to her place and make love to her all night long.

The next morning, Dakota sent Sadie an email. My next project is on the lives of wolves. I would love to hire you as a research assistant if you’re interested.

The only reason he sent the offer was because he wanted an excuse to spend more time with her. He didn’t need a research assistant. Dakota had always done his own work. She didn’t have to know that though.

He shook his head. Based on her reaction to him last night, he likely didn’t need a lame excuse to hang out with her. All he had to do was ask her if she wanted to spend the evening with him.

It occurred to him that he should step away from her. He didn’t want her to develop feelings for him. They couldn’t have a relationship beyond his stay for the winter. Dakota reminded himself that she was an adult and she knew his stances. She was a big girl and could make her own decisions.

A loud beep alerted him to an incoming email. That sounds like fun. Count me in. Since you are a wolf shifter, do you have any insights?

He groaned at her question. Dakota had never been a strong shifter, but he didn’t want her to think badly of him. Instead of explaining that, he reminded her of what she already knew. You know shifters are very different from pure animals. Shifters retain their human instincts, thoughts, etc. Shifters are even different from the were animals, which do lose their human instincts when they shift, but still aren’t pure animals.

Her reply was instant. True enough. I’m sure you already know a lot about wolves, though.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he responded. I might know a thing or two. They mate for life, they are devoted to their families, they never eat their own dead, and they are extremely intelligent and playful. Wolves will even bring back “toys” for their pups to play with. They are caring and they communicate with each other to survive. They will care for an injured or sick wolf and will mourn when one of them dies. They never hunt for sport – only for food.

Sadie responded quickly. They sound nicer than humans.

He grinned as he typed. Most animal species are.

Dakota got an email that said there was a pack meeting that evening. He thought about it and grinned. “Why the hell not? I haven’t been to one in almost thirty years. It might be interesting.”

He had never forgotten where the ceremonial cave was. For just a moment, he hesitated before walking in. In a sense, this was his pack because he was born into it and he hadn’t been kicked out of it. However, there would be a lot of people he had never met before. They would be the generation born after he left.

Not sure what to expect, he walked in. Everyone went silent and stared at him. Then, someone stood up and clapped for him. Soon everyone followed suit, although he was pretty sure that the majority of them had no idea why.

Zac, who had been a baby when Dakota left, had taken his father’s place as the alpha. The young man greeted him with a warm smile and outstretched hand. “Welcome back, Dakota. It’s good to have you here.”

As other pack members greeted him, he couldn’t help but wonder whether the enthusiasm over his return was more because he was a so-called celebrity or if it really was because he had been gone so long. Would they be so excited if I was just another shifter coming back after a long period of time?

Zac called the meeting to order and Dakota took a seat at the back of the crowd, feeling both familiar and out of place at the same time.

The alpha congratulated two couples who recently went through the mating ceremony and then introduced the newest members of the pack who had been born recently. Everyone clapped and yelled out their congratulations to the folks.

“We have a celebrity back in town. Dakota Higgins is a world-famous wildlife photographer. He has written several books and has been featured in a lot of documentaries. I do believe that I’ve seen them all and I have all of his books. I’m a fan. His photographs will be featured at the art gallery in Albuquerque. If you can get up there to see it, I would highly recommend it. He is a member of our pack and makes the rest of us look good.”

Everyone laughed and clapped. Dakota felt awkward as he waved from the back.

Then, Zac’s smile faded and he raised his hand for silence. “Unfortunately, I have some bad news to share with the pack. A group of hunters, led by a man named Robert Darcy, has been terrorizing shifters across New Mexico. They are getting closer to Angel’s Creek.”

Dakota shifted in his seat. Everyone turned to look at each other worriedly. A tense silence fell over the room.

“Everyone needs to stay vigilant and no one should shift alone. Our pack is working with Matthias, the alpha of the bear clan, and Lucious, the alpha of the dragon clan, to form patrols to keep an eye out for any sign that the hunters are coming our way. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t come into our territory without us noticing. Be wary.”

Several people stopped to talk to him and welcome him home again, but most people forgot about his existence in light of the news about the hunters. As Dakota finally escaped from the clusters of wolf shifters, he slid behind the wheel of his truck.

“Great,” he muttered to himself. “I came home in time for this kind of stress. Luckily for me, I seldom shift.”

However, there was just a niggle of fear in the back of his mind, and he wondered whether it would be a good idea to cut his visit short. Thoughts of Sadie made the idea of leaving town sting more than it should have.