Chapter 4
Party On
The party was going in full swing. Some of the people she cared about more than anything were present which made her happy. Ariel and Blake were cooking up a storm. He was on the grill while she was doing some damage in the outdoor kitchen working up salads and vegetables for Blake to grill. Marissa and Damon were there helping out with the food.
Nearly everyone in her family could cook even the men. Tyne and Moe had just arrived bringing baked goods with them. Cupcakes, cookies, and what looked like a black forest cake. If it was, she was taking half of it to hide for tonight. She would totally pig out until she couldn’t even think. That was when the tears would flow, the ones she’d been holding back.
This was home to her. It had been all her life and home was where the heart was, right? Maybe she wasn’t going far away, but it was far enough to lose touch with the people and places that meant so much to her. She needed to pull herself together before anyone noticed her self-pity party. Oh, no! It was too late, Ariel was giving her the eye. She dropped what she was doing coming over to give her a hug. Moe added her arms so Marissa jumped in too. Pretty soon the group hug grew to include every woman there while the males stood back scratching their heads wondering what had started it all.
Males, of course, were clueless sometimes. They rarely picked up on the subtle hints that passed right before their eyes. Everyone stepped back now that Dez had the stuffing squeezed out of her. She didn’t mind, the love that had flowed from her cousins to her would help her through the coming days. So much change in such a short time was never easy.
They went back to the happy tone of a party to celebrate her trip, as if it was a happy occasion. That was better by far than for all of them to gather round her crying their eyes out. She would pretend, as they all did, that this was something she wanted to do forgetting all the dark reasons she was fleeing from her home and family. Tonight, after everyone left, she would have her ugly cry before putting all her doubts and worries aside to do what had to be done.
It wasn’t her intention to bring her family down to that sad level. Let them pretend everything was fine. She would face the future head on being brave since she had no choice. For three months she could handle anything. Meanwhile she would check out properties for someplace to have ready when she came back.
Damon was a complete sweetheart, he had negotiated a hundred thousand dollar finder’s fee for her in relations to the million dollars she had returned. She’d been too upset to even think of it. It would buy her a decent piece of property which would be in her trust fund’s name. That made it hard to track.
Meanwhile, people were leaving the party right and left. The guys that had taken the animals off, had disappeared. They had probably stayed to hang out at Ariel’s pack house rec room. They had darts as well as pool tables not to mention a real bar. There was even a play room for the kiddos. Ariel and Blake took good care of their pack.
She hoped the alpha, one she had heard had been around forever so was likely old and decrepit, took as good care of the Tulsa pack as they did their pack. Dez was considered a member of the northwest Missouri (Blake’s and Ariel’s) pack as were all white wolves not affiliated with another pack. Once they went wolf, a term used to describe their change, they usually joined the pack nearest them or the one their mate belonged to if they had mated. So far all white wolves had mated alphas, but not all alphas led packs. There were a few that were betas, not many. Some also were Wardens, Sentinels, or council members.
It was hard for alphas to be together in a pack without friction. Exceptions sometimes applied to close friends or relatives. That was because alphas were aggressive and dominant by nature, but close ties could overcome their nature. Older mated alphas also tended to have more control because mating kept them anchored.
“Dez?” A voice called shaking her out of her thoughts.
“Yes?” Dez asked. It was Ariel.
“We’ve loaded up most of the food leaving you a bit to have your own food party tonight and some more food for tomorrow. There’s a big piece of the black forest cake. Don’t make yourself sick.” She reached out to hug her tight. “It’ll only be a short while before you’re settled. I’ll see you soon no matter what happens remember there’s no place like home.”
Why had she said it that way? “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. I can handle three months of anything if I know home is waiting for me. Don’t forget to look for that perfect place for me to come home to.”
“I may have already found it. Three bedroom two bath two story on forty acres with the river running through it. The house needs some TLC, but nothing I can’t handle for you. It’s a bit further away, but it’s worth it for the water.”
“Now I can’t wait to get back when I’ve not even left.”
“It’ll all work out in the end.” Ariel said. Dez could only hope she was right.
Now the house was empty, everyone having said their goodbyes. Little was left to do with only a bit of food left for her to eat tonight and tomorrow. She’d leave after breakfast on Monday so she’d be gone before the tenants came around lunch. There wasn’t a part of this place she wouldn’t miss as soon as she left.
Dez still understood her poor choice would haunt her for some time. If she wanted a peaceful happy life, this was what she had to do. Hopefully by the time she was ready to come back, the major players would be in jail. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t still have to be careful, but maybe it would be easier to avoid notice.
Slipping off her shoes, she dropped into her favorite chair. It was just one more thing she was giving up. She reclined as she grabbed the remote then channel surfed. A documentary of ancient aliens caught her eye. This was something she never got to watch because she was too busy to watch much TV.
Maybe the regular schedule of a job would help her. She’d fallen asleep again right in the middle of the show. Aliens had visited her in her dreams. These weren’t the funny looking grey guys either. The aliens she dreamed about looked like shifters, the hot ones. Tall, muscular and they were hung like hell. At least her dreams weren’t letting her down.
Dragging ass out of her chair, she went to the kitchen for a snack. She was going to gain ten pounds this weekend the way she was eating. The promised cake sat there promising her endless delight to the last bite. Pouring a glass of milk, she accepted the temptation. It was gone in less than ten minutes even though she tried to slow her pace.
A walk was needed. It would give her a chance to see the farm so she could say goodbye to it every step of the way. Fucking Mickey! No more gorgeous underwear model types for her. She needed a man that looked like he could do an honest day’s work. No, she should stay away from guys altogether. As if she could do that. If only she could find the right man. What were the odds of finding a man that was more than a good lay, one that had an honest job? Some of her cousins had found males like that. It was true that few found them the first time. Pack alphas seemed to be good guys most of the time.
Maybe it was the responsibility they carried. They had to put the safety and happiness of others first. Their sense of responsibility made them a better choice than the Mickeys of this world. Maybe the old guy would have a hot young son?
Continuing on her walk, she said goodbye to the animals she would leave behind. The woods, the fields, and the long paths she loved to walk would be there for someone else now. A tear ran down her cheek, but she wiped it away. There was little time for crying, but if she was going to do it, it could wait until she got home.
She needed to get home before dusk. Shadows didn’t used to scare her, but with Mickey after her, she saw danger in every one of them. There was still a good walk yet before she would be in sight of her house. It was okay because she was in good shape ready to make the trip back in a hurry.
The house came into view twenty minutes later. No need to stress, she was home free. The nerves were more than likely from the upcoming trip in the morning anyway. Dez had been to Tulsa several years ago. It had been a fun trip with her parents who were going to a business convention. She’d gone with them even sitting through some of the guest speaker’s stories. Some meals were included and she went along with those too.
When it was all done, they’d stayed for two more days having fun. It had been nice shopping and eating out at places she didn’t normally get to visit. The motel had been a high one with lights all the way up and around the top. That made it easy to find when they looked for it as they returned. She’d heard it had burned down in a fire years later.
She got through the night and finished up everything the next day. All her calls to friends and family so they would know she wouldn’t be here. It was hard not telling them where she’d be, but Ariel had said not too. The time had passed surprisingly fast. Now all she had to do was get through one more night.
The place she was going was about an hour from Tulsa. It was a hidden community, but Marissa had given her an artifact so she could find those hidden places. All she would have to do was get ready in the morning then find the place when she got there. Easy, peasy, right?
Once inside her house, she fixed a meal. It was good picnic food so she ate with a good appetite. When she finished all that, there was even some of Moe’s cookies to eat with a cold glass of milk. That was the last of many of the items in the fridge. There would be enough to scrape together a decent breakfast before she headed out.
For now, she put on a sad movie, set her alarm for seven, and she laid down for a good cry to set her spirit free. She’d needed this since she’d found out about Mickey. When she was done, her head hurt, her eyes looked swollen, and her throat was sore. Dez needed to blow her nose then get up to take a shower. Once she settled back in bed, she was out like a light.
When the alarm rang, she got up and shut it off. She unplugged the clock before packing it in her last bag. She went through her morning routine before putting all her personal care items in the bag too. Her dirty clothes went in a laundry bag while her clothes went on. She would change again before she arrived so she would make a good impression.
Everything was loaded, her breakfast was finished with her mess cleaned up, a big cup of coffee was ready to go, and still she was having a hard time leaving. It was seven thirty, the time she’d set as her time to leave, but it was so hard to just go. Scout yipped at her while Muffy meowed. They were actually getting along for a change united in their concern of her odd emotions. A deep breath let out slowly, then she left the kitchen locking the doors behind her as she went.
Her car was waiting for her ready to go. That was better than she was, her heart kept begging to stay. As she finally pulled out of the drive with sad music playing on the radio, she wiped away a stray tear. Once she hit the highway, she pressed down on the gas. Nothing was going to stop her now.
The drive went well with nice weather all the way. As she neared Wood’s Grove, she pulled into a truck stop that had showers and places a girl could change. She filled up her car, then pulled it up into a parking spot. Dez pulled out her change of clothes and her makeup bag. Today she was going for a sex kitten look. This was the perfect chance to try something she’d never done before. If it didn’t work, she’d go back to same old Dez when she went home.
She went in the woman’s locker room. It was small, but there were two stalls to choose from. Dez picked the first one then proceeded to strip naked. Her hot red bra and panty set went on first. The socks went on next followed by her black leather pants. They fit snug, but she’d worn them once before and they’d looked really sexy. A red camisole went over the bra with a leather jacket on hand to go over that last. High heeled black leather boots finished out the look with only jewelry and makeup left to put on.
Silver shoulder duster earrings were one of her favorites. She went for the cat eyes even though it wasn’t evening yet. It was still a bar so that meant the place would be dark. A spritz of vanilla musk gave her a sexy scent. It was light because she knew shifters didn’t like heavy smells. The camisole bared her midriff which showed off her pierced belly button with the silver chain. Dez wasn’t wild, but a much older cousin she’d admired named Billie Jean had hers pierced so she had done it when she hit the age of seventeen.
That cousin liked to belly dance so she’d taught Dez how to do it too. Dez had made extra money away from the bar she’d tended by dancing or teaching others to dance while she was in college. Even though she’d worked hard, she’d enjoyed her college days. She finished up heading out to the car.
Heading to Wood’s Grove, she wondered about the name. She knew the alpha had named the town after himself. It nestled up against Jake Springs, the town that had been near the bar to begin with. That made her wonder what he was like. Some would say the move was confident, but others would say conceited. Dez didn’t think she would ever give a place her last name.
The road narrowed looking much like it might dead end at any time. She knew that was just a trick to fool those that didn’t belong here. There was a turn off to the right that went back to the highway with a warning this road was about to dead end. Dez wasn’t fooled. She pulled out her charm holding it in her hand amazed when the road widened again.
Now she continued on sure it wouldn’t be much longer before the bar came into sight. It wasn’t. The bar wasn’t as rough as she’d expected nor was it like a lounge. It was a brick building with new looking windows and doors. There were two stories and it was obvious to her the building had been more than doubled with additions at a later date. The original section was the part in front along the road.
The work wasn’t bad, but not up to the standards Ariel would expect. There was a lovely outside area with a gazebo and picnic benches. She could see just the edge of it from the road, but it called to her. That probably doubled the area for drinkers in the warm months, maybe even the colder months since these were shifters.
She pulled into a parking spot up front. The place was doing a steady business, but the lot was only a little more than half full. Monday would be their slowest day judging by other bars she’d worked. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. Opening her door, she got out then let it fall closed. The sounds of rock music filtered out into the surrounding area. The door wasn’t far so she marched over to it. It was time, no more stalling.
Dez opened the door stepping firmly inside. As the door closed behind her, everyone in the place quieted leaving only the background music sounds. She looked around to see what was getting everyone’s attention, but soon realized it was her. Holding up her hand, she waved at everyone before walking up to the bar to get the lady bartender’s attention.
“Excuse me. I’m looking for JC Woods.” She explained.
“Of course you are. He’s right over there. The one staring with his mouth open.” The lady informed.
“Thank you.” She turned to look at the guy she was pointing at, but there were three guys standing there. Walking up to them, she had no idea who was who. “Which one of you is JC?”
Two of the guys pointed to him. “That would be me.” He finally spit out.
She moved her hand out to shake his. “I’m your new bartender.” Dez explained.
The other guys standing near him broke out in laughter. What the hell was that about? She stared at them like they’re crazy. “Don’t mind them. They are weird in ways you don’t want to know. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. You’ll be starting tomorrow. No uniforms, just dress nice. Comfortable might be best if you haven’t worked a bar in a while.” He said as he looked at her high heeled boots.
“I’m an old pro. You’ll have no worries about me.” Dez said as his buddies burst out into laughter again.
“Would you like to join us for a drink?” JC asked.
“No thank you. It would be nice if I could get settled in.”
“Of course.” He said as he waved down a waitress. “Can you show, I don’t remeber your name?”
“Everyone calls me Dez.”
“Can you show Dez to her room and where to park out back, Mitzy?”
“Sure thing.” Mitzy said, but she didn’t sound happy about it. “Just follow me.”
As they walked away, Dez heard one of the guys say, “Did you just lead the lamb to a wolf?”
Mitzy growled making Dez think that pissed her off. “So you’re the new bartender.”
“Yup, I’m supposed to be here for three months.”
“Only three months?”
“Yeah, if everything works out.”
“If you don’t mind me saying so, that’s kind of odd.” Mitzy declared.
“No, I don’t mind. I got myself in a bit if a mess. My ex-boyfriend turned out to be violent. He hired someone to kill me. My cuz set this up to get me out of town long enough for the police to deal with him. What a mess, huh?”
Mitzy giggled. “I thought I had troubles.”
“The ladies in my family always manage to find the worst problems, but luckily, eventually they always mate with the right kind of guys in the end. Hopefully life will work out for me someday. At least I have a great family that supports and helps me.”
“Yeah, I wish I had that. My folks drop kicked me out the door at seventeen. They couldn’t even wait one more year until I graduated.”
“That’s awful. That wouldn’t happen in the wolf packs around where I live. Ariel or Mandi would have taken you in.”
“Ariel the white wolf.”
“Yeah, but she’s just Ariel around where I live. Mandi is mated to Mac, the McDougal alpha. They are the best Alpha mates ever.”
“I’ve heard they were good people. I managed to get through school anyway. I took up with a wolf. I cleaned house and took care of his needs in return for my keep. Once I finished school, I got a job. I stayed with him a little while, but he didn’t like independent females.”
“Males are crazy, ain’t they?”
“I take it you’re an independent female too?” Mitzy asked.
“As independent as they come.”
“Here’s your room. It’s not big, but if you aren’t staying it should do for three months.”
“It looks fine. How about that parking spot?”
Mitzy led Dez down the steps to the back door pointing out the parking spots for employees. They were conveniently located to a special employee entrance. Mitzy went back to work, while Dez pulled her car around where it needed to be parked to begin the unloading process. After lugging up bags for thirty minutes, she was finally done. Now came the work of putting things away.
By the time it was all done, she was starving. Still dressed in her sexy clothes, she headed downstairs to see what food was available. Sheila, the part time bartender who had just gotten off work offered to take her to the restaurant she would probably eat at most of the time.
“It’s no problem. I work there most of the time. If I take you, I’ll make sure you get the employees discount. Most places here are owned by the pack. You’ll get that discount at all of them. It adds up over time.” Sheila explained.
“Thank you. I didn’t know they allowed people to work at both places. Maybe I’ll see if I can work at the restaurant during the day once in a while.” Dez declared.
“We’re always short staffed. They’d love you there.” Sheila drove them to the place even though it wasn’t very far. “I wouldn’t want you to get injured walking in those heels.”
“I don’t wear them when I work. I’m not that graceful. It could be downright embarrassing.”
“You don’t look like you could ever get embarrassed.” Sheila looked at her with admiration.
“Looks can be deceiving. I was pretty clumsy growing up. Would you believe I fell through a barn roof once? I made it worse by lying and saying I fell on a pitchfork. Why my dad believed me, I have no idea. Still got the scar to prove it, but it isn’t as dark or angry as it used to be.”
“How old were you?”
“Ten years old. I didn’t admit the truth to my dad until I was eighteen.”
“Was he mad?”
“No, he said he never bought that stupid story for one minute. He just figured whatever happened embarrassed me. Then he told me a story about when he was a kid. He tripped and grabbed a small board used to keep a bull in a pen. Back then they didn’t have many hooks or chains on the farm. He didn’t realize he’d basically unlocked the pen until the bull come out chasing after him. Dad got away, but the bull got into the feed and almost died.”
“Did he admit what had happened?” Sheila asked hanging on to every word.
“No, and when he was older, his dad died of a heart attack. He never was able to come clean. My folks are good people and I’m lucky to have them. They’ve adopted some little ones from Ariel’s pack whose parents died. Those three little siblings keep them busy. I’ll miss them while I’m here. Of course I also have two older sisters and a brother that will help my parents so I’ll miss them more than they miss me.”
“You’re not staying?”
“No, I’m just scheduled to be here for three months.”
“Why would you just come here for three months?”
“It’s all about a bad experience with a man.”
“I’ve had those before, bad experiences with lovers. Running never helps.”
“Did yours try to kill you?”
“Um, er, no.”
“Mine did. He’s in jail, but I know he’ll get out. My favorite cousin arranged this for me so I’d be safe while it all plays out.” Dez admitted.
“This is a good place to be safe from a human male.”
“He’s human, Tyne said he and all the guys he brought with him to kill me were human.”
“Tyne Wolf? You actually know him?”
“He’s married into the family, but I knew him before that too.”
“Wow! Are all those cool stories about him true?”
“I’m not sure what stories, but Tyne is pretty amazing. Did you know he teaches self-defense? You should take some classes from him.”
“He’s too far away.”
“Nonsense. Do it on your vacation. Ask Ariel if you can stay with her pack.”
“Ariel? The white wolf? You know the white wolf?” Sheila was practically dancing in her seat as she parked in the lot at the restaurant.
“I always forget she’s famous with wolves. She’s my neighbor, I own a place near where she lives. I’ve known her all my life.”
“You might not want to tell people that. They’ll either not believe you or they’ll try to take advantage of it.”
“You might be right. Mitzy seemed stunned too.”
“Mitzy’s a bitch, but she’s good people. You know what I mean?”
“I believe I do. I’m starving let’s go eat.”
They talked the rest of the evening, but Dez was careful not to mention family. She steered the conversation over to the local pack, the regular customers, and she discovered Sheila wanted to be a bartender, but wasn’t good enough.
“I’ll work with you if you get a chance to come in when I’m on duty.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Sure, it’s an honor to pass on skills to others who are interested in learning. My dad’s a farmer, but my mom’s a high school teacher. She even teaches honor students. Her school had an accelerated program where they can take early college courses. Mom’s the best teacher I know. There are a lot of teachers in my family. Not all of them teach anymore.”
“I’d love to see what you can do for me. All I’ve ever wanted to do was be a bartender. They think I don’t know how they dread having to call me in to work. Some of them think I’m the worst one they’ve ever seen.”
“I’m sure you can learn. Something is just getting in the way of your learning. We’ll figure it out and you’ll be good as gold.”
“You don’t know how much I hope you’re right.”
They stopped talking because their food came. The food was alright so Dez ate it quickly. She really was hungry. Sheila ate slower picking at her food. Once they were done, they each paid their ticket, left a tip, then left. Dropping her off at the bar, Sheila waved goodbye before leaving.
Dez hurried to her room, undressed, showered, and turned in for the night. Tomorrow would be a big day, or at least the night would be. She started work at three in the afternoon. Business was slow to start with, but picked up as the day wore on. Dez didn’t see any management except for Mitzy until after eight. That was when JC came in with his friends.
Dez didn’t pay much attention since she was working with Sheila. Whenever they had a spare minute, she was teaching her drinks. Her problem wasn’t that she couldn’t learn the job, it was when she got nervous, she messed up the drinks.
“Let’s try something. I notice men make you more nervous than women do. Try imagining the men in a party dress. Make them pretty, okay?” Dez suggested.
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Why not?”
“It might make them mad.” Sheila said.
“How will they ever know?” Dez asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Come on. Just try it.”
“Okay. I’ll try it once.” And she did. She smiled real big making the guy feel good as she made what he called the best dirty martini he’d ever had. “I did it.”
“You certainly did. It’s inside, all you have to do is bring it out.” Dez smiled in satisfaction.
Sheila continued helping the rest of the night doing a great job. “How did you figure it out?” Mitzy asked.
“Dez helped me.”
“What did you do?” Mitzy wondered.
“Sheila just needed confidence. She had the knowledge to do the job all along.” Dez explained.
“Who knew? You keep doing this well, you’ll be the new bartender when Dez leaves.” Mitzy guessed.
It was quitting time when JC came over to the bar. “Come down at eleven for lunch.”
Dez just nodded. What had she done wrong? Whatever it was, she’d fix it. She wanted to stay here for three months without drawing any bad attention. Maybe she’d broken one of those weird shifter rules. If that was it, she’d be more careful in the future.
“What did JC want?” Mitzy asked.
“He wants to talk to me tomorrow. I guess I messed up somehow.”
“You didn’t do a damn thing wrong. Don’t let him mess with you. It’s probably one of their stupid jokes or he plans to hit on you.” Mitzy said.
“I doubt that. I just started. Most bosses give it a little time.”
“Get hit on often?”
“Guys who run bars tend to hit on everyone.”
“JC doesn’t. He’s picky. Just be aware that he’s only looking for some until he finds Miss Perfect. He’s looking for a she-wolf that ticks off all the boxes.”
“Aren’t they all?” Dez said.
“That or a white wolf.” Sheila interjected.
Mitzy and Dez both stopped talking.