Archer started massaging his shoulders as if Wells were about to jump into a prize fighting ring. “I’m trying to get him into CrossFit.”
“Fat chance.” Wells waved a hand in the air while Archer and I laughed.
CrossFit explained why Archer looked like he had no body fat. I assumed he was training for the Boston Marathon. “What do we do?”
“We eat, drink, and check out the Marys.” Cabot set down the pitcher of beer with a flourish. “Like that bear at the jukebox. Tell my mother I love her.” He winked at me before sauntering over to the man who was well over six feet with a lumberjack beard. All that was missing was a buffalo-plaid shirt and a blue ox.
“Looks like he landed on his feet.” Archer twisted around in his seat. “Like the cat he is.”
I wasn’t so sure. It had been a rough road for Cabot and Jon. Years of rough roads. I didn’t think an enormous bear of a man was the answer to Cabot’s problems. When the jukebox started playing “Almost Paradise”, I changed my mind. The bear linked pinkie fingers with Cabot as he escorted him to his own table. What the hell did I know about love anyway?
“Oh, fuck no!” Wells covered his ears. “Worst fucking song of the entire eighties.”
“Wrong!” Archer shook his head. “It’s ‘We Built this City.’”
Archer had a point. “‘Almost Paradise’ was the worst song. ‘We Built this City’ was the worst earworm.”
“Jesus, they’re kissing!” Wells’s left hand fluttered to his lips.
“Jealous?” I asked, already knowing the answer. We were all jealous. Christ, the last time a man kissed me was months ago. George was an amazing barista, but he’d gnawed on my dick like it was a piece of beef jerky.
“Now what?” Archer asked as Cabot and the bear headed toward the exit. He waggled his fingers at us.
I paused my answer while the waitress set down the food. “Anyone want to hear the story about my shark blowjob?”
Archer squealed with laughter. “Were you on the giving or receiving end?” His lips twisted into a sympathetic grimace.
“Receiving.” My own dirty look matched Archer. “You’ll never believe who was on the giving end.”
Wells and Archer leaned forward over the table. Merriment danced in their eyes. This was the reason we had these reunions. Friendship. Camaraderie. Love. Gossip.
It didn’t get much better than this.
2
Kodi
I never felt as free as I did when running through an open meadow before dawn in bear form. With my sharpened senses, I could smell individual pine needles, see hidden owls, and feel the vibrations of field mice scurrying out of my way.
My muscles bunched and rippled as my body pounded through the woods. Thankfully, there was no snow on the dry ground. Leaving tell-tale paw prints was a bad idea.
Being a Kodiak bear, nearly three thousand miles from home, in New England had its challenges. I couldn’t shift and prowl around the woods during the day because eagle-eyed wildlife photographers would know I didn’t belong in the woods of New Hampshire. Most bears begin hibernating in November, so seeing an out-of-place bear during the wrong time of year could quickly unravel the life I’d made for myself over the last four years.
When I was banished from the Sitka Clan, I decided to get as far away from home as possible. The South was out because the weather was too hot. I wasn’t a fan of the flatlands of the Midwest. New England seemed like the perfect fit. The White Mountains were a popular tourist destination, but there were still plenty of wide-open spaces for a bear to roam. Especially during the off-season.
The only problem with my new home was that there wasn’t a lot of industry in the mountains with the exception of tourism and New Hampshire Fish and Game. Thankfully, the money I’d saved from my job in Alaska, plus the inheritance from my father, was enough to help me buy a small cabin in the woods and let me work toward becoming a game warden.
My uncle might have been able to steal my birthright, but not even with all his power and influence was he able to steal my inheritance. He tried to have the will invalidated, but it was upheld. I wept for joy when the check arrived.
Putting my family behind me wasn’t as hard as I expected it would be. None of my brothers or sisters stood up for me against Cedric that awful day in the hospital, or during the time it took to settle my affairs and leave town.
What hurt more than my family deserting me, was having to leave my dreams behind. I had so many plans for the clan once I became leader. Ideas that would have made us a more progressive people. Before I’d left home, I’d burned my plans in the fireplace. I wanted my new life to be a complete fresh start.
I’d gotten exactly what I asked for, and then some. These last three years as a game warden had been a dream come true.
Running full steam ahead, my cozy log cabin came into view. Finding it had been my biggest stroke of luck so far. It had come on the market the day I walked into the real estate office. I fell in love with it at first sight, offering ten thousand over the asking price in the hope my offer would be accepted. Two weeks later, the cabin was mine.
Reaching the front porch, I shifted back into human form. Aside from the winding driveway that led to the cabin, the property was surrounded by the woods. The White Mountain National Forest on one side and the back end of the Presidential Hotel’s land on the other. In the four years I’d lived here, I’d never seen another person stumble onto my property.
After a quick shower, I was on my way to work. New Hampshire Fish and Game resources were divided among four regions of the state. My field office was part of the Lakes and Central New Hampshire region, which covered the entire middle section of the state. The office was in Bretton Woods, half a mile down the street from the Presidential’s main entrance.
It took thirty minutes from the time I got in the shower until I walked through the office door. All in all, not a bad commute, considering it had been an hour to the fish processing plant in Alaska, if the ferry was on time.
The streets were still dark when I pulled my truck onto Base Station Road. Turning right would take me to the base station of the Mount Washington Cog Railroad, while turning left would bring me into town.
Bill Freedman’s truck was in the parking lot when I pulled in, which meant there would be a box of donuts and fresh coffee from the Dunkin’ Donuts in North Conway. His commute was an hour long on the best of days. On the worst, he grabbed a room at a local motel so he’d be able to get into work safely and on time.
“Morning, Bill,” I called out as I shrugged out of my heavy coat. This was going to be one of those crazy New England days where the high temperature of the day, twenty-five degrees, would be in the morning. The temperature was mild this morning, if you were a bear shifter or had lived your entire life in Alaska.
“Hey, Kodi. There’s donuts on the counter and coffee’s on your desk.” Bill shook his head. “Tonight’s gonna be a bitch. Latest forecast upped the snowfall total. Could get two feet before the end of the storm.”
Just another day in paradise. There was nothing I loved more than running in the snow. I had to be careful to get out early so any paw prints I left would be covered over. “You staying in town tonight?”