Dax led the way through the woods with Jen on his heels. She was nervous, he could tell that much, but she had taken the leap to trust him and he couldn’t be happier about it. There was a place he had always gone to and, if he timed it just right, they would get there just as the sun began to set. The sunsets over Oak Mountain was one of the most breathtaking things he had ever seen, especially in the spot he was going to take her to. There was something particularly special about it and if he was quick, they wouldn’t miss it.
“So, this isn’t your typical date, is it?” Jen asked, laughing softly.
Dax glanced at her from over his shoulder and grinned. “Not really. But then again, I’m not your typical guy.”
“I can tell,” Jen said, grinning at him. “You’re something else.”
The bear within him shifted proudly and seemed to think it was able to sense a small twinge of arousal coming from the human behind him. Perhaps she was recalling their tryst behind the bar and wondering what this night might lead to. Dax still couldn’t believe he had done what he had. He had Marnie to think about, and he normally never unleashed the bear upon anyone he wasn’t serious about. Taking the girl out on a date seemed like the next, most logical move. Who knew what might happen if things went well?
“Well, I hope that’s a good thing,” Dax said with a low laugh. He knew she was attracted to him, sure… a lot of women seemed to be. But there was something else he was looking for in a mate; something he hoped beyond hope he might be able to find in this girl that had so easily tempted and unleashed the bear within him.
“I hope so too,” Jen agreed. She was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “So you have a sitter with your daughter now?”
Dax nodded. “Yup.”
He glanced back at her subtly, hoping to read her feelings about his being a father. It was always hard to tell with women. Sometimes they loved the idea of jumping into a man’s pre-cut-out family, while others weren’t so sure about any of it. He couldn’t blame them. When it came to the bear-shifters, family roles had a tendency to be traditional and in accordance with the dogma set by ancient elders who believed there was only one way for personal matters to be conducted, and that was by the laws of their planet.
“How old is she?” Jen asked. She had a good poker face, because Dax couldn’t tell how his being a father made her feel at all. Maybe she didn’t care, maybe she did, or maybe she just wasn’t invested in him enough to show any interest in the topic either way. The latter of the three would probably be the worst.
“She just turned three,” Dax said. “Her name is Marnie.”
“Marnie,” Jen said, a quick smile flickering past her lips. “That’s a cute name.”
“Thanks.”
They were almost there now. Jen didn’t seem to be minding the walk though he could tell she was still uneasy with him. It had probably been a bad idea to take her all the way out here on a first date. How could he have been so stupid? He could have done what any other man in the world would have done and driven to pick her up, but he wasn’t a human. He was a bear-shifter. Hopefully she would understand.
“Here,” Dax said, halting and taking a sharp right into a clearing of trees.
He grinned as Jen gasped as the beauty of the area unfolded in front of her and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of relief. Maybe now she would start to relax a little around him.
“We’re going to have to watch the sunset here,” Dax said. “There’s something special I want to show you. Most humans will never see this but if you’re up on the mountain right in this spot, you can see whether you’re a shifter or a human.”
Jen looked at him inquisitively but didn’t speak, and Dax sat down on a fallen log to enjoy the show. She sat reluctantly beside him and he wondered again if he’d made a stupid call. The girl was in a skirt, dressed up and looking nice, but with a casual vibe that made it clear she was just testing the waters with him. If he messed this date up, he probably wouldn’t get another chance.
He might have gone for a more traditional date but frankly, he’d just spent the majority of his check making payments on his debt and making sure he could pay the babysitter for the rest of the month. Also, enough left to keep his daughter fed. He was struggling to make ends meet and hadn’t been thinking about his financial obligations when he’d asked the human out. If she was the kind of girl who didn’t care about material things all that much, then it was going to be all right. But if she was… well, he already knew he couldn’t deal with another woman like his ex-wife; that just wasn’t something he could accept. It was better to know now than to find out later.
They were quiet as the sky slowly began to change colors and Dax grinned. He always enjoyed this show, whether he was alone, with his daughter, or with a date. Technically, he hadn’t dated at all since he had made the divorce official. This was the first time he’d shown his favorite place to someone he had been intimate with.
“What’s that?”
Jen’s voice was a mixture of shock and awe as she stared up at the sky, the green shimmering lights reflecting in the orbs of her eyes. She stood up and stepped forward and Dax followed, making sure she didn’t step too far forward and drop off the edge of the cliffside. It was a good vantage point, but was a little dangerous. Fortunately, his daughter was a bear-shifter and could bound around the mountain with an inherent sense of the terrain’s dangers and avoid them. The human, however, was apparently not so lucky.
“That is my world,” Dax said quietly, his voice a low murmur as they stood on the cliff’s edge together. He had gripped the girl around her waist and she melted into him as they looked up at the sky, each of them lost in their own thoughts as the incredible display continued for a few moments longer. There was nothing more beautiful in all the land; nowhere on the planet Earth was there something quite so special. Yet it never failed to make him feel a little bit sad. It was so far away. It seemed close as the portal in the sky was revealed once every night with a cruel brevity that probably drove the original bear-shifters mad who had been thrust to Earth.
“It’s beautiful,” Jen breathed, turning to face him as the portal was once again concealed by the clouds and the sky returned to the normal twilight colors of the earth’s sunset. “Is there a way to see more?”
Dax chuckled. “I’m afraid not,” he said, turning away from her. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. It will be dark soon and you should probably get home while it’s still safe.”
Jen frowned, apparently crestfallen but the babysitter had already informed him that she wasn’t going to be able to stay late that night. The date had been too short a notice. Besides, that was enough for the night. Maybe they would both do well with some time to process.
“Okay,” Jennifer said. “Let’s go.”