Thanksgiving in Bull Creek

5. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Arlin sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee resting between his hands as Eve went on and on about the gift Kyle sent her. Or rather, sent them, she insisted. Thankfully, Alanna had called and given him a heads up about the incident at the bridal shower and the state of Eve’s mood. He then made a pot of coffee for him and poured her a glass of whiskey and set a bottle of beer on the table, not knowing which she would prefer in her mood.

She had stared at the drinks when she entered their cabin, glaring over at him. “No fair having Alanna scout for you,” she snarled as she stormed over to the glass and downed half of its contents. She then held up the gift Kyle had sent her, waving it in the air before slamming it down on the table. “Can you believe this s**t?”

Her mother had been right behind her. They had offered for her to stay in the spare bedroom to be close to Eve before her wedding, seeing no point in her staying in St. Cloud or Melbourne. Of course, Arlin knew that would put a damper on his pre-wedding frolicking, but it was worth it to see Eve happy.

He had merely watched his bride-to-be, as she chugged the liquor. One brow c****d, he chose to remain silent. The shock of Kyle’s gift warranted a little embalming fluid. He would need to talk to Jake about getting a bottle of his Willow Blaze to keep on hand for just such emergencies.

Then she fell into a chair and sighed, her shoulders drooping as she held onto the glass, staring at it. “How the hell did he even find out? This is supposed to be our day. Ours! We’ve earned it with everything we’ve gone through. And now he’s going to f**k it up.”

Judy walked over to the kitchen cabinets and pulled out a coffee mug. “Why do you think that gift was from Kyle?” She glanced over at Eve, confusion bunching her brows. “I mean, why a tiger figurine? That makes no sense. And there was no name on it showing who it was from.”

“It’s Kyle,” Eve said. “I just know. And he never made sense.”

Of course, they both knew why the tiger in the cage was significant, but it wasn’t as if they could explain it to Eve’s mother because Eve had yet to tell her mother about the animal inside of her.

Arlin held onto his coffee cup with both hands as he stared over at her. “Kyle can’t ruin anything. And this is still your day.” He reached out, taking her hand in his and pulling it closer. “He’s just trying to mind f**k you. Don’t let him.”

Eve sighed as she dropped her gaze to the table. “I’m scared he’s going to do something stupid.”

Arlin nodded, squeezing her hand. “And for good reason, but he won’t ruin our wedding. This is your day, and it’s going to be spectacular. I promise.”

“But how did he even know about it?” she asked, the woeful look on her face breaking his heart. “I thought we were through with him when we scared the s**t out of him and sent him speeding away. Why didn’t we go after him and just finish him then?”

“Eve!” her mother shouted, shock masking her face.

Arlin ignored the older woman. “Because we’re not murderers.” He released Eve’s hand as he leaned back in his chair, shrugging. “I don’t know how he found out. What I do know is that I won’t let him steal this away from you.” He reached for his cup, lifting it to his lips. “Now, tell me about your night. I want to hear every detail.”

It took her a moment to shake the anger he could scent rolling off her, but eventually she settled down and shared her night with him.

He listened as she shoved thoughts of Kyle out of her mind and told him about each and every gift, her mother adding her own two cents’ worth here and there. Yet, he barely heard a word she said because in his mind, he was already working out what to do about her ex, even as she told him about the sexy lingerie, kitchen gadgets, and aromatic soap bombs she received tonight. No matter what he told Eve, he knew he had been an i***t two years ago, letting the abusive Kyle get away. The man had waited a year before appearing in Bull Creek to force Eve to return home with him. It wasn’t until both Eve and he had shifted into their tiger forms that Kyle raced off, hopped in his broken down vehicle, and sped off. They had thought him so afraid then that he would have vanished forever, and for two years, they had been right.

But then they weren’t.

Apparently, Kyle’s obsession held no expiration date, and he had started his reign of terror this time in almost the same way he had when he first appeared in Bull Creek, with a figurine meant to warn her of what he had planned, forcing her mind back to the past and making her fear the future. However, Arlin had every intention of keeping her focused on the present and their wedding.

“You’re not even listening to me,” he heard her say.

Shame colored his cheeks as he realized she was right. He had permitted his thoughts to drift so much about what to do about Kyle’s return that he had inadvertently tuned her out. He hadn’t even noticed when her mother retired for the night, leaving them alone.

“You were thinking of Kyle, weren’t you?” The scorching look she gave him brought a blush of shame to his cheeks. Throwing her hands up in the air, she shot from her chair and stormed into the kitchen. “See? He’s already screwing with us. It hasn’t even been three hours!”

He watched as she moved over to the sink, gripping the edge with white knuckles as she growled. Licking his lips, he eased out of his chair and went over to where she stood, placing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing. She stiffened at his touch, but he simply squeezed her shoulders again as he leaned in and kissed her neck. “I’m sorry. And you’re right. I was thinking of Kyle, but only about how best to give you what I promised.”

She turned around to face him, her body still tight as she reached behind her and gripped the sink once more. “And? How do we get rid of him?”

“Well, last time he was here, I went to Lainie, remember? She should still have that paperwork, so we could start there and let her take care of him.”

She nodded slowly. “Or, and just hear me out on this.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, which should have warned him about what she was about to say. “We could shift and let our animals rip him to shreds and leave him in the woods to rot.”

He chuckled as he slid his hands to her waist, leaned in, and kissed her forehead. “How about we save that as a last resort?” Leaning back, he smiled down at her sour face. “Who knows? If it’s like last time, you just might get your wish.”

“We should have done it last time,” she said, her expression still dark. “Then we wouldn’t have to be dealing with it now as we plan our wedding.”

“He will not ruin our wedding. Promise. We’ll deal with this, and he’ll be gone. You’ll see.”

“You trying to convince me or yourself?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes at him. Then she blew out a breath as she shook her head. “Fine. But I’m holding you to your word about him not ruining our wedding. I’ve looked forward to this my entire life. Nothing will sour my day.”

He nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Nothing. I promise.” And yet, as he said it, he wasn’t sure if he could keep his word. Kyle had almost gotten his way two years ago. If it hadn’t been for Arlin’s thick, shifter skull, Kyle could very well have stolen Eve away from him. Of course, the fact that she possessed a tiger inside of her now helped in keeping her ex from getting the upper hand. Now Arlin just had to ensure Kyle remained beaten.

“So, you’ve been planning it your entire life, huh?” he asked, hoping to take her mind off Kyle. “And just what have you planned? How did you see this day going?”

She giggled as she slipped her hands to his waist, running her thumbs under his shirt to touch his skin. “It’s silly, but when I was younger I wanted to get married in a hot-air balloon, and when the preacher pronounced us man and wife, we would lift into the air and float away from everyone. I pictured it over and over, even to the point of cutting out photos of hot-air balloons and pasting them on my walls. Drove my father crazy.”

“Why didn’t you say something when we were planning this, then? We could have made that happen.”

“It was a young girl’s dreams,” she told him. “Not very practical for families wanting a big reception afterwards.” She squeezed his waist, a soft smile decorating her lips. “This is perfect, just the way it should be, with family and friends surrounding us.”

He nodded. “That it is.” Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead, lingering for a moment before pulling back. “How does breakfast at Gracie’s tomorrow sound?” he asked as he squeezed her waist and stepped back. “And then we could do some shopping, grab some lunch in St. Cloud, make a day of it. Just us.”

“I think you forgot we have a houseguest,” she reminded him.

Arlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he saw his quiet morning with his bride-to-be flying out the window. “You’re right, of course.” He opened his eyes once more, forcing a smile onto his face. “We’ll make it a day for three, then. Show your mother some of the neighboring cities.” It wasn’t that he didn’t like her mother, because he did. It was the fact that Eve still hadn’t told the woman about the paranormal world and that she now had a tiger prowling around inside of her. That made conversations a little stressful, not wanting to slip up and say something that would freak the woman out. “When are you going to tell her about your furry half?”

She sighed as she left the counter—and his arms—and walked over to plop down on the couch. “I keep meaning to, but then when the time comes, I get scared of her reaction and chicken out.”

He walked over, sitting down beside her, and reached out to take her hand in his. “I get that, but sweetie, if you don’t tell her, then it’s going to come out at a time you’re not prepared and muck up the situation. Shifters, vampires, and witches surround Judy now. I think she kind of deserves a heads up, don’t you?”

“Yes, but you make it sound like it’s a simple conversation. It’s not. There are witches back in Willow Vale, but no one actually believed they were witches. It was merely rumors. Only a handful of people knew.”

He nodded once more. “You’re talking about your friend’s family. Kitty Wolcott, right?”

“Yeah.” She pulled her hand away from his and interlaced her fingers, twirling them around each other. “She was the one who told me about Bull Creek when I finally screwed up the courage to leave Kyle and his abuse.”

He never saw her so nervous before. Even when Kyle arrived the first time, she had been confident and firm. And then, learning that she was a tiger shifter after he marked her with the mate bite, she still went after it gung-ho, ready to explore everything as her animal, even s*x. Now she seemed timid and scared, and he wasn’t sure it was all about Kyle.

He placed his hand over hers, bouncing her hands slightly. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you? About the wedding.”

She jerked her gaze up at him, shock covering her face. “What? No.” She scooted forward, placing her hands on his knees. “Not at all. I’m looking forward to being Mrs. Eve Landry. I love that we’re already mated, but this makes it seem like the best of both worlds, you know? A human marriage and a shifter mating. It fits us.”

He felt the smile that creased his face. “It does at that. I just wanted to make sure. I’ve never seen you so spooked before, even when Kyle arrived the first time.”

“It’s probably a combination of things,” she told him. “I was already anxious about Mom being here, and now Kyle’s bullshit, plus the wedding, making sure it goes right, and keeping Mom in the dark about my friends, and, well, everything.” She smiled over at him, the same smile that won his heart over two years ago. “I guess I just got a little overwhelmed, you know?”

“It happens, but you truly don’t need to stress about anything,” he assured. “I’ll make sure everything goes just the way you want it.” He squeezed her hands once more. “Now, how about we go to the bedroom, and I give you a massage to loosen those knots in your shoulders?”

She giggled as she fell into him. “I love your hands on me. They’ve always made me feel safe.”

He kissed the top of her head. “They always will, Little Warrior. They always will.” As he held her tightly against him, he allowed his gaze to drift over to where the ceramic tiger in a cage sat on the kitchen table. The meaning was clear, but then, so was Arlin’s determination. This time, there would be no escape for Kyle Wagner.