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Sean
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Just like Mary said, Big Joe’s Grill is near full capacity. A blaze is burning in the big stone fireplace. The warm orange glow and faint smell of burning wood give the place a rustic romantic ambience. I sneak a sideways glance at Geri. Her oversized hunting attire of earlier today has now been replaced with black skinny jeans that shape her ass perfectly and a white tailored shirt that hugs her ample rack and accentuates her toned waist and curvy hips.
I drag my eyes away when I feel myself getting aroused and silently curse the emissary for putting it into my head that I should try to lead a normal human life. Yeah, I could probably fool Geri in the beginning, but sooner or later, she would suspect and start asking questions I can’t answer. Then the EUC would get nervous. No. I refuse to put her life in jeopardy for a selfish shot at a normal life.
She looks over at me. The loose curls of her black hair frame those big green eyes, and her red lips curve into a smile in the most intoxicating way. “The parking lot was almost empty. Where did everyone come from?”
I’m leaning toward her to catch her words, my hand automatically going to the small of her back and resting there. She arches slightly at my touch, and I’m hit with a wave of desire that almost makes my knees buckle.
What the hell am I doing?
As Joe so eloquently pointed out earlier this evening, I’m not thinking straight with her around. After I told him about the Saurian and about how much I wanted to kill it for harassing Geri, he calmly asked the question I should’ve been asking myself all along: What is the Saurian doing here? So when I let go of my anger and started thinking rationally, things started to fall into place. I didn’t screw up when I altered Bethany Moulton’s memories. It was that shifty lizard that restored her memory. But why?
“Sean?”
Her beautiful eyes are looking at me in a quizzical kind of way, and I’m abruptly conscious that I’ve been staring at her while my mind goes off on its own course.
I drop my hand away from her and straighten up, getting my head back into the moment. “Joe’s Grill is popular with the locals as well as travelers passing through the park. The chef here is top-notch.”
Geri is still eyeballing me inquisitively. “You must’ve been a regular here growing up too.”
She’s up to something.
“Yeah,” I admit, nodding. “I thought I mentioned that I spent my summers here as a kid.”
“You did,” she says. “It’s just that I don’t know that much about your life before you started Pembroke High School. Where did you live?”
Her overly bright eyes and flushed cheeks are leading me to believe that she’s being duplicitous in her questioning. It’s Geri the reporter asking questions, not Geri my friend.
I recite my cover. “A little blip on the map called Haverstock. I thought you knew that.”
She breaks eye contact. “Mark might’ve known, but I don’t think I ever did.”
I shrug. “Not much to know. It was a small town with nothing to do.” I switch gears and change the subject. “When do you have to get back to New York?”
Her shoulders droop at my question, and her eyes shift to the floor. “I haven’t heard back from my boss yet, so I’m thinking Tuesday if I want to keep my job, later if I’m willing to risk it to get this story.”
Her answer surprises me. She would actually risk getting fired to get this story? “Geri, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Before she can answer, the waitress approaches us. “Good evening. Do you have a reservation? We’re full up tonight.”
“Yes, we do, Olivia,” I say, reading her name tag. “A reservation for Eastman.”
“Oh, Mary’s friends.” She takes a couple of menus out of the sideboard. “Your table is all ready. Right this way.”
The restaurant is three-quarters of the way full. We follow her, weaving around tables and diners to a table for two near the fireplace. It’s set with candles and a bottle of wine chilling. I pull a chair out for Geri, and she hesitates, looking between the chair and me as though it’s a big decision, but then finally sits with a “thank you.”
Olivia picks up the bottle of wine once I’m seated. “Compliments of Mary and Joe Ross.” She pours us each a glass of the Muscadet and sets the bottle back. “I’ll give you a chance to look at the menu.”
Geri is clearly agitated, shifting in her chair and flicking glances over her shoulder. It takes me a minute to clue in that she wants to look for the hunters, but her back is toward the restaurant at large.
“You want to switch seats?” I ask.
She returns her gaze to me, and her body tenses up with indecision, but then she waves a hand. “No. I’m fine here.” She leans back in her chair. “It’s a lovely spot by the fire.”
I nod, silently remembering the countless days I warmed up in front of this fire with a bowl of hot soup. “It’s perfect after a cold day of hiking through the woods.”
“Or taking a dip in a freezing lake,” she quips.
I laugh softly. “Yeah, falling in was a shock to my system.” I’m only partially lying. I didn’t fall in. “You had quite a day too.”
“It’s not every day I get chased by, uh, coyotes.” She tilts her head and regards me with an inquiring gaze. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t say they were definitely coyotes. It’s just a hunch. Could’ve been something else.”
She shakes her head, the candlelight reflecting soft sparkles in her silky hair. “No, I mean how did you know I was in trouble?”
My mind draws a blank, and I just stare at her. This is why she needs to leave. I can’t think when I’m around her.
Say something.
“Because... I heard you scream.”
Her mouth opens into a slight gape. “But I didn’t scream. Not until I saw you fly up over that cliff edge.” She turns her eyes downward, searching back and forth, her mind working on something. I brace myself for it, trying to figure out how to diffuse this situation and wondering how I backed myself into a corner in the first place. This isn’t like me.
“I didn’t know it was you,” she continues, like an amnesia victim who’s finally regaining her memory. “I thought you were another one of... whatever those things were chasing me. That’s when I screamed, because I thought I had no way out.”
Get your act together, Eastman. Stick to the protocol.
That’s right—the protocol. There was a reason I learned it by rote.
Shifting forward, I lean my elbows on the table and take one of her hands reassuringly into my own. “Of course I heard you scream, Geri. How else would I have known you were in trouble?”
I can’t help but marvel at how perfectly her soft hand fits into mine.
Her green eyes search mine instead of the table now. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Kasnid called me... I wish I could tell her that, just so she knows she’s not crazy. But that would defeat the purpose of the protocol.
“It’s easy to get confused, even disoriented, when the adrenaline’s pumping,” I say in a soft, authoritative voice. It’s a standard line meant to open the mind to more rational possibilities and steer her toward accepting the coyote story. When she nods in agreement, I move on to step two: Reassure her that she is in charge of her faculties. “At least you were clearheaded enough not to just bolt—you ran back toward the path.”
She continues to search my eyes for a few more seconds, the delicate wrinkle between her eyebrows slowing unfurrowing as her features relax. “I guess you’re right. Bethany Moulton bolted and almost died of exposure when she got lost.”
I nod, relieved the protocol is working, and say conspiratorially, “And she thinks she saw a Bigfoot.”
Geri’s about to say something, the set of her eyes letting me know there’s a counterargument coming, when a man seated next to us clears his throat. “Pardon me.”
Both Geri and I turn to find the owner of the voice—a man of about fifty or so with a weathered face and a head of short white hair. He’s seated at the table next to ours with four other men.
“I couldn’t help but overhear y’all talking about the Moulton girl,” he says in a mild southern drawl.
Geri catches me off guard when she gets up to shake the guy’s hand, bringing me to my feet.
“You’re Kenneth Broughton,” she says.
He stands, accepting her handshake. “Everybody calls me Ken.”
“I’m Geri. Geri McKenna. This is my friend, Sean Eastman.”
“Hey.” I shake Ken’s hand. “I saw you on the news. They gave you a lot of trouble at the border.”
“Those bastards—” Ken begins, but then nods apologetically to Geri. “Excuse me, ma’am. The border control people confiscated all of our weapons.”
One of the men at the table slaps his knee and lets out a hoot. “Mais.” He drawls the word out long and slow as he stands up. “Dem guys axes me allll kins questions I donna undastand. Wha dat accen?”
“Um...” Geri begins, a confused look on her face.
“Probably French Canadian,” I say. “And I’m guessing you’re Cajun.”
He nods his head proudly. “Louey,” he says by way of introduction. “Ben soud?”
“Yes, I’ve been to the southern states a couple times,” I answer honestly.
The two other men at their table stand.
“Are you two from around here?” Ken asks.
“Not far from here,” Geri says. “A town called Pembroke.”
Ken nods, as though that’s good enough for him. “We found some folks online that run a blog about a family of Bigfoot livin’ in the woods in back of their cottage in Algonkin. You wouldn’t happen to know ’em?”
Geri and I exchange another glance, both of us shrugging.
“Sorry, I’ve never heard of them,” I say, filing a mental note to ask Mary and Joe about it. “So you’re going to go ahead with the hunt? Even though you don’t have your weapons?”
“Oh, we have weapons.” He shoots a cocky grin at the rest of his group. They’re smirking. “Not that we need them. Every one of us, with the exception of my son, Jackson”—he jerks his head toward the young man standing next to him—“has extensive military training. If there’s a Bigfoot running around these parts, we’ll get him.”
I nod, wanting to give him the impression I get where he’s coming from, even though I’m thinking that the woods just got a little scarier. “So how do you set up the hunt? I mean if Sasquatches really do exist, they’re hard to find.”
“You wanna know if they’re real?” Jackson demands, his face screwed into a look of righteous disbelief. He’s maybe sixteen or seventeen. “Axe the folks down around Alabama and Louisiana, and they’ll tell you them skunk apes is real. I’m talking about good, God-fearing people with no reason to lie.”
“Settle down, Jackson.” Ken pats the boy on the arm then turns his attention back to us. “A few months ago, we investigated a claim by a woman living in the Bayou who says a Bigfoot took her daughter right out of her room. Jackson’s been upset ever since.”
A man with a long gray beard sidles up to Geri. “I’m Bert.” He picks up Geri’s hand and kisses it, which she accepts with good humor. “It’s our pleasure to come up here to help you folks out with your problem. Kenny and I collectively have more than twenty years experience hunting Bigfoot, so I think it’s safe to say that we have the most experience of anybody in tracking them.”
“How do you track them?” Geri asks.
“With state-of-the-art technology and stealth, ma’am,” Jackson says. “We got here early this morning and already started searching the area for hair samples, feces, footprints, any trails that they’ve made, and set up a few surveillance cameras to record activity in those areas.”
I keep a smile plastered on my face, even though I know I have a long night ahead of me finding every last one of those cameras and disabling them without getting seen. And I need to do it all before the Saurian has a chance to put a show on for them. That is, if it hasn’t already.
“So, where’d you set up the cameras?” I ask. “Up around the site where Lisa Hornsby went missing?”
Bert shakes his head. “No point. It’s too busy a spot for a skunk ape. They like their privacy.”
“Found a real nice footprint about two miles from here, close to the lake,” Jackson brags.
“Hold on now.” Ken holds up his hand. “We don’t need everybody knowin’ where we’re set up, or we’ll have a crowd.”
Geri speaks up. “Actually, I’m hoping I can tag along. I’m a reporter with Global, and we’re interested in running your story.”
“Dat aint na place fa a catin,” Louey says.
“I’m sorry?” Geri asks.
Bert laughs. “Louey said it ain’t no place for a pretty girl, and I gotta agree with him. Besides, Anand already asked us for an exclusive, and we said yes.”
“Anand?” I ask.
“The reporter covering the story at the border,” Geri says without turning to look at me. “Where is Anand?”
Ken huffs a curt laugh. “In his room, filing his nails most likely.” Then he quickly clarifies, “But that suits us fine because we don’t need a city slicker scaring off our prey.”
Geri noticeably perks up. “He’s not going on the hunt with you?”
Jackson snorts in disgust. “That guy don’t have the balls to go hunting squirrels, let alone a monster.”
Ken smacks him in the arm. “You’re talking to a lady, son.”
Jackson straightens out of his slouch. “Excuse me, ma’am.”
“It’s okay,” Geri says.
I’m quietly taking all this in, gleaning anything I can from the conversation that will help me shut them down, but I’m happy when their waiter approaches the table with their food because I need to speed up my evening.
“It was nice meeting you folks,” Ken says.
“Hey, do you mind if I get a picture with you?” Geri asks. “You guys are pretty famous.”
Ken smiles indulgently, and Jackson’s face just about splits in two.
“Sure,” Ken says.
Geri’s phone is on our table, and I pick it up. “I’ll take it.”
“Thanks, Sean.” She unlocks her phone before standing with the group. They assemble into a close knot and I take a couple shots. “Thanks, guys,” Geri says. “It was nice to meet all of you. Good luck on the hunt.”
“Much obliged,” Ken says. “If you come across anything that can help us catch that ape, we’d appreciate you lettin’ us know.”
“Will do,” I say. “Enjoy your dinner.”
As soon as we return to our table, Geri picks up her menu and busies herself reading it. Her disappointment is an oppressive cloud hanging over the table. It was tough for me to watch her being rejected by those rednecks and not able to do anything about it. If we were still in high school, I would’ve just punched the guy and called him an idiot. But I’m an adult now, and as has been pointed out to me by the emissary countless number of times, I need to use my words.
Our waitress, Olivia, stops at our table. “Have you decided?”
“Do you have a recommendation?” Geri asks.
“The lake trout is fresh.”
“Sounds good.” Geri trades her menu for the glass of wine in front of her.
I hand my menu to Olivia. “Make it two.”
As soon as Olivia leaves, Geri takes a healthy swig of wine and plasters a smile on her face. “So, what were we talking about before we were interrupted?”
I was trying to con you into believing that everything you experienced in the woods today was a figment of your imagination and then guide you to the decision that you’re better off going home, I think to myself, but instead, I say to her in a low voice, “I hope you didn’t take those guys to heart. You know that they’re just good ol’ southern boys treating a lady the way they know how, right? I don’t think it was personal.”
Some of the tension in her face falls away, and she leans toward me, resting her elbows on the table and keeping her voice soft so as not to be overheard. I can’t help but notice how smoky green her eyes look in the candlelight. “I didn’t take it personally. It’s just that I’m on a tight schedule to convince Global to let me cover the story, and getting a front row seat on the hunt would’ve probably fast-tracked me.”
Regret is obvious in her tone, but I don’t detect even a hint of defeat, and I feel a smirk coming on because this is the Geri I’ve always known—stubborn, headstrong, never gives up. What the hell was I thinking that the protocol would work on her?
My grin is irrepressible, so I take a sip of wine to hide it.
“Did I miss the joke?” she asks.
Setting my wine down, I shake my head. “No, I was just remembering something.”
She narrows her eyes suspiciously at me.
“Okay, I was remembering you as a kid. You never took no for an answer then, either.”
Her eyes flick toward the ceiling as she lets out a sigh. “I get it, Eastman. I was an annoying brat.”
“Who grew into a beautiful, determined woman.” As soon as the words are out, a pink glow spreads across her cheeks. The urge to reach out and touch her is so strong that I need to rearrange my cutlery to keep my hands occupied. “So, when do you have to make a decision about going back or not?”
“Um...” she begins, a little discombobulated. Her breathing has quickened, and now it’s more than just my hand that’s aching to touch her. “My, ah, flight leaves out of Ottawa tomorrow night.”
“That soon?” I ask, even though she has already mentioned she needs to get back by Tuesday. There’s a tightening in my chest at the thought of her leaving, even though it’s exactly what I need her to do. “That doesn’t give you much time.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she says. “But I’ll think of something. I always do.”
Suddenly, there’s a plate being set in front of her and another one in front of me. Then Olivia is topping off our wine. “Can I get you anything else right now?”
We both mumble a “no thank you.”
Geri’s blush is already receding, her breathing returning to normal, the spell broken. I wish I could tell her who I am and give her the story she needs to skyrocket her to success. I wish I could be the one who helps make her dreams come true.
But all I can say is, “Bon appetite.”