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She shook her head. “Not even,” she said. “We went on two dates, we never even kissed—”
Before she could get any further into the story, the bear came back, crashing through the trees, and stood next to the dessert table, snorting.
Then he raised his enormous, furry head, and scented the wind, sniffing deeply twice.
The bear seemed to collapse in on itself, fur turning to skin, and seconds later, there was Ash, naked as the day he was born.
Despite herself, Cora raised her eyebrows, trying to get a better look, but Ash was focused. She could see his perfect chest and abs, and that V in his hips that made her weak in the knees, but the other partygoers made it impossible to see anything else.
Cora closed both of her eyes for a moment.
Focus,she told herself. Neil was here. He gave you a creepy note. It’s not the time to try to see your date’s junk.
Ash pulled on his pants, grabbed his shirt, and started walking toward them. As he walked, he pulled his shirt over his head, and by the time he’d reached Cora and Hunter, he was clothed again.
“Gone,” he said, his words clipped. “Kid said he left as soon as he gave him the envelope. Couldn’t even describe the car or the guy. I couldn’t find anything.”
Hunter handed him the card, and Cora watched him read it, his eyes narrowing, a growl emanating from his chest.
“Okay,” he said. He had his head up and his back straight, his jaw flexing as he thought.
Full cop mode, thought Cora.
“First, you’re coming back to our house with us,” he said.
“You don’t—”
“That’s where you’ll be safest.”
Cora jutted her chin out, standing a little straighter.
“You don’t have to take care of me,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with Neil for months now.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ash said, frowning. “He could be dangerous.”
“Thanks, I hadn’t thought of that,” Cora snapped.
She felt bad immediately.
“Look, he’s not your problem,” she said. “He’s already ruined our date. You can just take me back to my motel and I’ll lock the doors tonight and go somewhere else tomorrow. He’s never actually done anything.”
“And then what?” demanded Ash. “Then you move again the next night, and the next, until you’re out of motels in Granite Valley? Do you get another job again?”
“You don’t have to tell me that he’s ruining my life,” Cora snapped. She felt dangerously close to angry tears, and she dug her nails into the skin of her arms, trying to keep her rage from welling out of her.
Ash opened his mouth again, his eyes flashing, but then Hunter was putting a hand on his chest, and Ash closed his mouth, fuming.
“Cora, please,” he said. “Let us protect you.”
“I barely know you two,” she protested, weakly.
For the first time since she’d gotten the note, Hunter smiled.
“Weren’t we just changing that?” he said.
Just like that, Cora felt her resolve crumble. She looked from Hunter to Ash, one smiling, the other glowering, his face utterly serious.
They can shift into grizzly bears at the blink of an eye, she thought. What on earth is Neil going to do to them?
She bit her lip.
Do you really want to go back to that motel alone right now anyway? This date was going awfully well...
“Okay,” she said. “Thanks.”
