Eight

Arlin drove to his brother’s cabin first. If he knew Nathan at all, and he did, there would be a pile of unfinished projects in the shed behind the cabin. Once he had scrounged around enough, gathering plywood, nails, and a hammer, Arlin set about gathering up whatever cleaning supplies he could find. In a box tucked into the back of the shed, he also found some old drapes he thought would work for now to replace the shredded ones he saw earlier at Eve’s cabin. They probably weren’t what she would pick—not his mate—but they would do for now in order to get rid of the reminder of what that creep did to her cabin. While he wished she would have told him the story with Kyle and the threat the man posed, he refused to allow Eve to return home and find her cabin still a mess. She deserved better than that, and he would damn well make sure she got it. He would get the story later. For now, he just wanted to take care of his mate-to-be.

He loaded everything into his car and headed back to Eve’s place, backing into her drive so that the supplies in the trunk of his vehicle were more accessible and quicker to reach. The first thing he did once he was out of the car, was turn on her porch light, luckily one thing Kyle didn’t destroy. With the light on, he set about hooking up power cords and measuring the windows. Plywood wasn’t the best answer, but it would keep the weather and small creatures out until she could replace the glass.

Once he had the windows boarded up, he hung the drapes he found at his brother’s, making sure he picked the glass out of the windowsill before he did. At least from the inside, there would be some semblance of normalcy. Arlin then set about the task outside of picking up the shattered pots, taking care to save all the plants he could. He’d plant them for now, making sure the roots were well-tended until she decided what she wanted to do with them again. He swept the dirt from the porch, again making sure to sweep up the glass from the broken windows. The red paint on the front of the cabin would be the worst thing to clean up, and Arlin had to admit, he wasn’t sure he could do it completely. Still, he was determined to give it his best shot. Eve didn’t need that flashing reminder when she pulled into the driveway.

As he tied a knot in one of the garbage bags he filled, he heard tires on gravel announcing someone turning into the driveway. He panicked at first, worried she had returned before he could finish. With the way she dismissed him at the bar, as well as the way she snapped at him when he saw her here earlier, he wasn’t sure of the reception she would give him if she caught him at her place now, regardless of his motives. He blew out a breath of relief, however, when he noticed the truck pulling in behind his car, and Dimitri sitting behind the wheel. Arlin walked out to his car, the bag of trash in his hand, as he watched the other man turn his truck off and slide out of the driver’s seat.

“I thought I saw lights on when I passed by,” Dimitri said as he walked to the front of his truck, while Arlin tossed the trash bag into his trunk to haul away. “I wanted to make sure Eve hadn’t returned and attempted to stay, or that whoever did it hadn’t returned to do more damage.”

Arlin nodded. “Neighborly of you. It’s just me. I didn’t want her to come home and see the chaos again. She’s still with the ladies at Everglades, so I thought I’d try and see what I could do before she came home.”

“I should have considered that, but I wasn’t sure when Chet’s team would be finished.” Dimitri glanced around the place, giving an appreciative nod. “Seems like you did a pretty good job, though. Anything left I can help with?”

Arlin chuckled. “Just make sure she doesn’t kill me when she finds out I did it.”

Dimitri laughed as he leaned on the side of Arlin’s car. “Eve’s a pistol, I’ll give you that. I’m not sure what her story is, but my guess is that something tragic happened for her to be here. She’s never opened up to anyone, even those she classifies as friends.”

Arlin closed the trunk, before walking to the front of his car, placing his hands on the hood, and sliding his ass up onto it. “Does everyone here have some tragic past?”

Dimitri shrugged his thick shoulders as he turned his gaze out to the dark woods around the cabin. “Not perhaps what you and I would call tragic, but most have something they want to escape, even if it’s life outside of here and crowds.” Then he turned his focus back to Arlin, and Arlin felt the scrutiny under those brows. “Even you, as I hear it. As I said earlier today, Jed gave me a heads up that you were coming to Bull Creek. He told me about the incident at Shades.”

Arlin took a deep breath, wishing Jed would have at least warned him that he said something to Dimitri, but understanding why the alpha of Bull Creek needed to know. “Well, I’m not sure exactly what he told you, but I can assure you that’s not a habit of mine. Some drunk decided he wanted the attention of a lady who didn’t want to give it to him. It would have been fine if he had just left when he was told to get out, but before he did, he insinuated that he was going to wait outside for her to finish what he had started. I can usually keep my tiger in check, but it seems we both lost control that night, and I shifted before I could tamp down the rage that flooded my senses. By the time it was over, the asshole was pretty beaten up with tiger marks across his face, the girl crying, and Jed was shooing me out of town.” He shrugged, glancing off into the distance. “I decided to take my brother up on his offer to use his cabin.” The irony of Arlin’s situation was not lost on him. The fact that he was very close to being in the same predicament that made him leave Draven Falls in the first place troubled him a little, but only a little.

“Everyone comes to Bull Creek for a different reason,” Dimitri said. “As long as those reasons don’t interfere with the other people here, it’s all good.” Then he cocked his head, and Arlin had a sick feeling he knew the next topic of conversation. “So, earlier when you arrived after Eve discovered her cabin vandalized, was I imagining the tension between the two of you as well as the…scent that tends to attach itself to a mating call?”

With a sigh, Arlin shook his head. “No, which is another reason I can’t allow her to come home to a disaster.” He turned his gaze to Dimitri, and he knew the fire of his tiger’s over-protectiveness blazed in his eyes. “And we know who did it. The deputy is looking into it, but it seems there’s an ex that doesn’t like being an ex. He discovered she was here and made his presence known at Everglades.”

“And your tiger..?”

“Growled, but I kept him in check. Instead, Eve and I danced while your sister took care of Kyle.”

“Kyle?”

Arlin nodded. “The name of the ex-boyfriend. Or ex-husband. I’m not really sure which. She told me to leave before the story came out.”

Dimitri chuckled, and Arlin found himself smiling as well. “Told, huh? That sounds like the spirited nature of a Bull Creek woman,” Dimitri said. “Just because someone is escaping something, doesn’t mean they’re weak or timid. I don’t know of one person here who wouldn’t step up to the plate if needed. It was a mess a couple of weeks ago when some coyote shifters tried to run most everyone off, but the people of Bull Creek stood their ground and had each other’s backs. We’re a family here, tighter than any other shifter family I’ve ever known.”

“Sounds like a great place to be,” Arlin said. And he meant it. He needed a family around him like the Hawkins surrounded each other. If he was honest, he was kind of hoping his brother, Nathan, would have been here when he arrived. It had been too long since Arlin had seen his family. “Family is important, whether it’s blood or commitment.”

“It’s about love and a common ground. I don’t envy your road with Eve. She’s a spunky gal, but also very shielded. You’re going to have your work cut out for you there.”

Arlin just smiled. “I like a challenge.”

“Be careful what you wish for around here.”

Both men laughed a little, knowing full well that any lady worth having had some spunk to her and could keep her man on his toes while making him feel like a king at the same time.

“Well, I’ll let you get to it,” Dimitri said, pushing himself away from Arlin’s car with a bump of his ass, “if you’re sure there’s nothing I can do to help. If you need anything, just give me a yell. I’m two roads over, cabin in the middle.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Arlin watched him go, thinking Dimitri an affable enough fellow. The man seemed to have the right balance of nonchalance and authority, while remaining friendly. He was probably an outstanding leader for Bull Creek where a diversity of personalities existed and everyone hid something. I’ll fit right in, Arlin thought as he walked around the cabin to gather up the rest of his belongings.

Once everything was loaded up, he turned back to eye his handiwork one more time. He hoped she’d be pleased with what he did, at least happy that he finished the major cleanup. He wished he could be there to see her reaction, but seeing him again would more than likely not go over so well. Then he grinned as an idea struck him. Seeing me may not go ever so well, even if I stay hidden in the woods. However, my tiger can be a little stealthier than me.

With his mind made up, he hopped into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove back to his brother’s cabin. He only hoped he had enough time before Eve returned.

He didn’t bother to put away his tools or supplies yet. There would be time later for his own cleanup. He wanted to get back to Eve’s cabin. He stripped, tossing his clothes recklessly onto the top of his car, and as soon as he was naked, shifted, his tiger fur oozing from his skin as his bones popped and twisted, arms and legs becoming the legs of his tiger, feet and hands becoming paws. Once the transformation was complete, he bounded into the woods to avoid possible drivers and made his way back to Eve’s cabin. Too bad she didn’t know she was his mate yet, a situation he needed to remedy quickly, for the night could have gone down a more erotic path. The snap of dry leaves and twigs sounded under his massive paws as he weaved through the woods, memories of her body pressed to his bringing a frustrated snarl from the beast that consumed him.