Kismet (10 page)

"I'm actually pretty flexible on schedule and
pay. I knew I wouldn't be making the big bucks right out of school.
I'm more interested in finding a clinic that fits right, one I can
help grow. Frankly, this clinic meets those needs. I'm sure you're
not too different from when we were kids," he said with a grin.
"And if that's right, then I'm sure you're surrounded by some
pretty great people. Sam seemed to be friendly and I also met
Jennifer and Lyla, they seemed nice as well. Is there anyone
else?"

"We have one part-time person who comes in to
care for the boarded animals on the weekend, but other than that,
it's only us three," she explained. "If you're sure this will be a
good fit for you, I'll have Sam draft up a contract agreement. She
can probably have that done before the end of the day. Would that
be acceptable?" Riley hoped it was. She knew this would be a great
fit and would relieve some of the stress she had been under
lately.

"That'd be fantastic. Hey, you wanna go out
to dinner tonight to catch up on old times and toast to a new
beginning?" Ryan hoped he could get a chance to see her out of the
office. He needed to get a good read on her.

"Actually, tonight I'm going out with Garrett
- the guy you saw earlier." Riley felt herself blushing, which made
her blush even more.

"Oh, really? Are you guys serious?" Ryan
certainly hoped not, especially if his suspicion about Garrett
being a wolf shifter was correct.

"There's something there, but not sure how
serious yet. How about you, do you have anyone serious in your
life? Geez, listen to us; it's as if we never had a seventeen-year
separation. We’re picking up as if we're still best friends." Riley
smiled, feeling completely at ease around him.

Ryan was thrilled she felt comfortable enough
to talk with him. It'd make his job of keeping an eye on her that
much easier. "No, no one serious in my life, I've been too busy to
take notice of anyone."

"Yah, I understand. It's been the same with
me forever. Actually, Garrett will be my first date... ever. To be
honest, after you left, I didn't fit in anywhere. I was always the
odd kid out and when I became an adult, I was too busy going to
school and then starting this practice. I've been an outsider and a
bit of a freak all my life," Riley admitted

Ryan felt horrible she'd felt that way. He
could have helped if his parents hadn't moved them to the Midwest.
"Riley, I'm really sorry. I wish I were there for you. It sounds
like it was a pretty hellacious childhood."

"It's not your fault. I made it through and
my parents were always fantastic. At least I had a good home life.
Well, I hate to cut this short, but I have a couple of surgeries
this afternoon. I'll have Sam work on the paperwork. Let us know
when you want to start." Riley stood up and waited expectantly for
Ryan's answer. She still couldn't believe he was here. As he stood,
she guessed him to be about 5'10" and 175 lbs. He had a fit build,
but not overly muscled, and his Sandy brown hair sported a messy
look that hung into his brilliant green eyes. He was a good-looking
man, and she had no doubt he'd have a bevy of interested women once
he had time to start looking.

He extended his hand to shake on the
arrangement. "I'd be happy to start as soon as possible. Even
tomorrow is fine. Since it won't be full time to start, I'll have
plenty of time to look for an apartment and move my things up here
from Corvallis."

"Wow, great, but how about Wednesday? That
will give me enough time to make sure your half of this office is
open. Oh! By the way, this is the only office we have here; I
should have mentioned that. We'll need to share this space, is that
acceptable?" Riley waited.

This arrangement would make it much easier to
help her. "Not a problem at all, Wednesday it is. Hey, don't you
have a birthday coming up?"

Riley was shocked. She couldn't believe he
remembered after all these years. "Yes, wow Ryan. How do you
remember that? I'll be the big 3-0 on Friday. I'm becoming on old
maid," she said in semi-jest.

"Believe me Riley; you still have a ton of
life to live. I had my 30th birthday a couple of years ago and
still feel young as ever; you're just a babe," he said with a
wink.

Riley smiled at him and he followed her to
find Sam and get the paperwork started. She was ecstatic they were
together again; this was so much better than she had imagined when
making her inquiries. After she left Ryan and Sam together, she
went to begrudgingly remove Garrett's jacket and prep for surgery.
She couldn't wait to see him tonight.

*

Garrett had so much adrenaline running in his
system he was shaking. He'd never been so excited in his life. He
took Dude back to Dave at the site while he mentally planned his
date night with his little Kismet. He wanted everything to be
perfect and magical. As he walked into his trailer, his mood
shifted a bit. Breck was there to get a status update. Garrett knew
this time would come, but he felt horrible in Breck's presence,
knowing he had a Kismet and didn't have the bone crushing pain from
Sarah's death haunting him. He had a hard time looking Breck in the
eye, while his happiness and guilt fought for precedence in his
mind.

"Hey Breck, so far the job is going well.
We're one week in and right on schedule. We did have an extra
expense with our back hoe operator, but it shouldn't be hard to
absorb somewhere down the road." Garrett looked down at the plans
as he talked.

Breck could sense he was uncomfortable and
scented his shifting mood. "I'm sure everything is fine, you're one
of the best foremen I have." Breck eyed Garrett and noticed he
wasn't looking at him. "Garrett, what's wrong? You're acting a bit
strange. Is there something I should know?"

If Garrett learned anything today, it's to be
truthful, no matter how awkward it felt. He shifted from foot to
foot and then ran his hand through his hair. Falling into his chair
he said, "Yah Breck, there's something I need to tell you because
I'd rather you hear it from me."

"OK." Breck sat down in the chair across the
desk, not sure exactly where this conversation was leading. He
hoped he wasn't losing one of his best employees to the
competition.

"You know I loved Sarah, right?" Garrett
looked Breck in the eye.

This caught him off guard. "Of course, I've
never questioned that."

"Well, I want you to know I loved her with as
much as I had in me, and I think she was happy while we were
together."

"I know she was. What is all this about?"
Breck hoped he'd cut to the chase soon, because this kind of talk
was making him squirm.

"The unbelievable happened." He ran his hand
through his hair and continued, "I kinda ran into my Kismet on
Friday night." Garrett nervously waited for his reply.

That was the last thing Breck expected to
hear. He loved Garrett as he would a son, and was happy to hear he
would finally find some peace and happiness. He always thought
Sarah was crazy for not waiting on her Kismet, but she and Garrett
loved each other. He always worried about what would happen if one
of their Kismets came around while they were still together. Even
though he was heartbroken to lose Sarah, he was glad Garrett never
had to choose between them, especially knowing there really wasn't
a choice. A wolf always chose their Kismet, not to would mean
death. "Listen Garrett, we will always love and miss Sarah, but
you're still alive and you're like a son to us. Seeing you happy
will mean everything to Emma and me. Please don't think for one
second we aren't happy for you." Breck gave him a reassuring
smile.

Garrett let out the breath he'd been holding.
“You have no idea how much that means to me. I feel like a traitor,
but if I ignore my Kismet, I feel like even more of a traitor. It's
a horrible feeling."

"Hey, you loved Sarah when you were together.
Emma and I can't ask for more. So, when do we get to meet this
woman? What pack is she from?"

"Actually, that's a bit of a problem. I can't
celebrate finding her because she's not part of a pack. She's
human." Garrett waited for the now standard reaction of shock and
he wasn't disappointed.

Breck jumped out of his chair, "That can't be
possible. Son, are you sure you're right?"

"Oh yes, I'm positive. Believe me, this has
been an insane few days. John contacted Jeremiah and we're flying
there tomorrow to meet with the entire council. I was going to call
you this afternoon to give you a heads up I'll be out of town. In
addition, the worst thing is, I can't tell her about us until they
approve it. As far as I know, they've never approved telling a
human, so I have no idea what they'll say." He hung his head in his
hands, feeling sick about the outcome.

Acid churned in Breck's stomach. He couldn't
lose another kid. Yah, Garrett wasn't his by blood, but he was his
son all the same. If he weren't allowed to be with his Kismet, it'd
kill him. That is if the elders didn't do something first. He knew
they were ruthless in upholding the laws, and hoped for Garrett's
sake they'd be level headed and give them a chance. "If there is
anything we can do to help, and I mean anything, let us know."

"Thanks Breck, I don't deserve your support
after letting your daughter die. You and Emma amaze me," he said
humbly.

"For the last time, you did not let her die.
It just happened, and you did everything in your power to prevent
it. You need to stop beating yourself up over some false idea of
what you did. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? It sounds
like you have a lot on your plate. Believe it or not, I can
remember how to be foreman. I'll be happy to cover you for a couple
of days." To make his point clear, he headed for the door and held
it open for Garrett to walk through.

Shaking his head in amazement, Garrett
gathered up his gear. This would give him some time to prepare for
his date tonight too and he'd be happy to take it. "Thanks again,
you're the best. I'll keep you in the loop as to what the elders
say." He shook Brecks hand and headed for his truck.

He didn't want his date to be like all of the
others she had probably had throughout her life, he wanted it to be
special. He knew she liked animals, but since he didn't mix well
with them, that was off the table. She also seemed to be active,
since she jogged and walked her dog. He really didn't know a lot
about her, but he was eager to change that fact. He did decide, at
the very least, he'd bring her some flowers - it may be trite, but
he'd prefer to be trite if she appreciated it.

By the time he arrived home, he needed a good
run. Between thinking about the date and that guy, Ryan, he was
wound pretty tight. She had said "best friend growing up". Garrett
didn't want to be a jerk, but he didn't want her to have a special
connection with any other male. He hated the feeling of jealousy.
He walked around to the back of his house and stripped his clothes
off, fluidly changing into his shift. He let his wolf run full
speed to his property line. He picked up the scent of hunters
again, so he stayed on the inside of his fence and chased some
small rabbits while he worked out ideas for their date. About an
hour later, he decided he needed to get back to the house and take
a shower. He was giddy about seeing her and he wanted to make a
good impression.

He noticed a text message from John when he
picked up his jeans from the ground, letting him know they had a
7AM flight out of PDX the next morning. Garrett texted back
confirming and went inside for a shower. The heated slate floor in
his bathroom felt good on his feet as he brushed his teeth and
shaved his face in front of his large double sink vanity. This
house was too big for him to be here alone anymore. It always felt
that way, but with his heart coming back on line, it seemed to be
emptier. His jetted tub was nestled below a large window with
commanding views of the valley below; beside the tub was his river
rock shower with two showerheads on each side and a rain showerhead
on the ceiling. He turned the water on full blast and stepped
inside, hoping the heat and pressure of the water would help ease
more tension out of his shoulders.

With a towel wrapped around his hips, he
strode into his walk-in closet and shook his head. Clothes were
thrown around in piles with no order. After hunting for five
minutes, he found his favorite pair of jeans and slid them on while
tossing his towel into the dirty laundry. He then put on a fitted
white t-shirt, followed by a grey cable knit sweater with a V-neck
and wooden toggles. His lace-up boots were last. He then finger
combed his hair and made sure he didn't miss any spots while
shaving. He figured he better text his Kismet and let her know she
should dress warm and comfortable for the outing he had
planned.

My Kismet, be sure to dress warm and comfortable for
tonight.

-Garrett

It was 5:00 and he had enough time to clean
his truck and stop for flowers on his way to her home. He grabbed
his black wool coat and scarf as he headed out the door. Maybe he'd
find a way to leave another piece of clothing with her. He liked to
have items with his scent wrapped around her body.

*

It was 5:30 and Riley needed to rush home and
get ready for Garrett. She was running behind and didn't want to be
late for her very first date. She ran out the door, thanking the
girls for helping to close up without her. She felt bad she didn't
get to debrief Sam on all that had transpired, but their afternoon
was extremely busy and they never had a chance to sit down. She was
glad to know things were going to change, now that Ryan would be
joining them.

It's a good thing she walked Wolf this
morning. Who would have thought she'd be going out on a date
tonight when she woke up? This was turning out to be a dream come
true. Garrett was handsome and sexy, and she could tell he was a
good man. There was a connection there she didn't understand, but
felt powerless to avoid it.