Reclaiming (13 page)

“Okay,” Jett replied. “I think I understand.”

“Good,” Owen nodded as he slapped Jett on the back. “Because there’s much more…”

Owen returned to a discussion of the tracks in the dirt. Over the next several hours, Daniella watched as Owen tutored his pupil. They wandered off into the woods at one stage. When they did, she thought it best to stay put with Max and Amigo. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of the mountain lion fiasco. If Owen saved her twice, she
’d never live it down. At around noon, they walked back over to where she was.

“How’s it going?” Daniella asked.

“Okay, I…” Jett began but as he started to reply, Owen interrupted him.

“Boy?” He said as he looked at Jett. “How would
you
know anything about how you are doing? How many shifters have you trained in your life?”

“None, obviously.”

“Right, none.” Owen deadpanned.

“Well,” Daniella said as she turned her attention to Owen. “How’s he doing?”

Owen motioned for her to pass his backpack to him. As she did, he unzipped it and pulled out sandwiches for them and treats for the dogs. For about a minute, he worked in silence, passed out the food and tossed the dogs theirs as well. He climbed up on the rock and sat next to Daniella. After he took a big bite of his sandwich, he put his arm around Daniella and pointed at Jett.

“That one,” he said as he nodded at Jett. “He’s got a long way to go…”

Jett waved Owen off with his hand and walked off with his sandwich in disgust.

Owen chuckled. He leaned in to Daniella
’s ear. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Owen gestured in Jett’s direction. “Truthfully? Best I’ve ever seen… It is a privilege to be around him. Never seen anyone with gifts like that, even better than his father.”

“Really?” Daniella whispered with excitement.

“Shh,” Owen replied. “It’s a secret, remember?”

“Yes,” she said. “I promise I won’t tell.”

“Good,” he replied. “See that you don’t. The last thing I want is him getting lazy because of his talent. Greatness like that is a special thing but it needs to be focused, humbled and honed. You understand?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

Owen took the last bite of sandwich and winked at her. He stood up and yelled at Jett. “Come on, boy. At this rate, we’re gonna need every single second of daylight. Back to work…”

As Daniella finished her lunch, Owen and Jett disappeared into the woods once again. The sun was high overhead and a bit too hot for her so she took the dogs and planted herself under a nearby stand of trees. She enjoyed shifter training. It was the closest thing she
’d had to a vacation in months so as far as she cared, they could stay gone as long as they needed. Soon, with a full belly and warm breeze on her face, she drifted off to sleep.

When she next awoke, a sweaty Jett and dirty Owen stood over her.

She sat up, rubbed her eyes and said, “What happened to you?”

“Oh nothing,” Jett said as he looked at Owen. “Just practice. Right?”

“Yep,” Owen replied. “Not bad for the first day. Long way to go yet. We best be headin’ back before it gets too dark.”

After hiking back to the cabin, Daniella turned to Owen and said,
“I have to go. Gotta be back at work first thing tomorrow.”

Owen nodded.
“I understand. See you next week then?”

“Yes,” she nodded. Then, without thinking she leaned over to hug him. As she wrapped her arms around him, his body stiffened.

“Oh, come on you old grouch…” she complained. “You want to hug me!”

Owen remained frozen for a moment and then lifted his arms. With a stilted action, he patted her back in a mechanical motion.

“No!” Daniella barked as she hugged him closer. “Do it right or I won’t let go.”

Jett stifled a chuckle.

“Watch it, boy.” Owen warned.

Jett waved his hands in mock surrender.
“Okay, okay. I’m just telling you right now, you may as well do it because she won’t quit until you do.”

At last, Owen relented and hugged Daniella to her satisfaction.

“There,” she said as she released him. “Now, was that so bad?”

“Um, no.” Owen replied. “Stubborn, this one. Reminds me of your mother, boy.”

“I will take that as a compliment,” Daniella said as she smiled.

“That’s how I intended it,” Owen replied. “Okay then, until next time.”

She waved at him and said, “Okay.” As Owen walked into the cabin she yelled, “You take care of him.” He raised his arm up, waved back at her and disappeared inside his home.

“That…” Jett said. “
was hilarious.”

“I know,” she chuckled. “He likes to act tough but he’s not so much.”

“Huh, not to you!” Jett exclaimed.

A few seconds later, they began to hike back down to Daniella
’s car. Max and Amigo trotted along ahead of them. The late afternoon sun poked through the immense old growth pines and lit up the trail with hues of red, orange and gold.

“Pretty crazy day for you, wasn’t it?” Daniella said as they walked.

“Yeah, but incredible as well.” Jett replied. “Although I always sensed something was missing from my life, I never imagined how alive all of this would make me feel.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Daniella said. “I’m sure it’s an amazing experience.”

“It is a weird feeling though.” Jett said as he gestured back towards Owen’s cabin. “As much of a pain as he is, he’s the closest thing I’ve got to real family. Growing up I felt like I was different but I had no idea just how much.”

“What do you mean?” Daniella said. “Jo and David love you and raised you as their own.”

“I know but I think they understood this day would come.” He said with a somber tone. “It was inevitable I would discover my true identity. It’s a tragedy that Wyatt died in the process but I will make certain it wasn’t in vain.”

A few minutes later, they arrived at her car when Daniella turned to face him. As she looked into his eyes, it was clear a change was underway. His eyes, weary and exhausted not days before were alive once again. They sparkled back at her with optimism,
hope and focus.

“I wish I could stay.” She said.

He smiled at her. “Me too but it’s only a week. Before you know it, you’ll be back.”

Pink twilight broke over the ridgeline as he moved closer to her.

“Will you miss me?” She asked.

“Terribly…” he whispered.

She remained silent for a moment. With her index finger, she twirled a lock of her hair and said, “How mu…”

But just as she spoke, Jett
’s mouth pressed against hers. There was a new energy in him. It radiated from his lips and into her own. As their tongues intertwined, she leaned back against the driver’s side door and delighted in the feel of his torso upon her.

With his hands, he reached down and gripped her waist. Jett squeezed her ample flesh as she moaned in response. He pulled her closer and started to kiss her neck with slow, delicate lashes of his tongue. Daniella
’s arms snaked their way up the back of his upper body until they found their way into his tangled locks.

A gentle, cool evening breeze brushed against her exposed neck, still moist from his affection moments before. The sensation reverberated all throughout her body. Her hair stood on end and her nipples hardened against the soft fabric of her bra.

At last, Jett broke free of her for a moment. “If we go any further, we will have to go
a lot further
, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes,” Daniella said as she licked her lips. “I know what you mean… I… think you are right, as much as I hate to admit it.”

He smiled and leaned away from her. “Gonna be a looooong week.”

“Definitely.” She groaned. “Well, I should probably get going.” She unlocked the car and opened the door.

“Okay,” he said as she slipped inside her car. “See you next week. I’ll be right back here Friday after work, around seven or so.”

He leaned down and kissed her one last time on the cheek.

“Sounds good, I’ll be waiting.” He replied with a smile.

***

The events of the past weekend hit her at a time when she could least afford it, six o’clock Tuesday morning. Bleary-eyed from a non-stop three day weekend, she turned off the alarm on her cell and sat up in bed. If nothing else, at least it would be a short work week.

After downing twice as many cups of coffee as normal, Daniella arrived at work. There was still an awful lot to do for the juvenile diabetes fundraiser and she turned to her handy checklist to figure out what remained. Of all the items, the biggest issue was the still banquet hall space. She
’d tasked Victoria with handling it and as far as she knew, things were right on track.

“Hmm,” she mumbled to herself as she picked up her phone. “Let me see if I can get her…”

She reached Victoria as shewas on her way in the main entrance. She promised Daniella her desk was the first place she’d stop.

“Hey,” Victoria said as she entered several minutes later. “How was your weekend?
Oooh, did you go out with Marlon?”

“Hmm?” Daniella replied as she looked down at her checklist. “What?”

Victoria leaned forward and placed her hands around her mouth for emphasis. “Did. You. Go. Out. With. Marlon?”

“Marlon? What?” Daniella replied. “No, no… I didn’t.”

Victoria rolled her eyes and plopped into the chair across from Daniella’s desk. Daniella tapped her pen against the paper and without looking up, she said, “So where are we on the banquet hall? Did we get the extra space?”

“Uh,” Victoria replied. “No, remember? I sent you an e-mail about it on Thursday. You said that you would handle it.”

“I did?” Daniella said as she looked up. “I don’t remember that…”

“Well, I sent you the e-mail. Check it for yourself.” Victoria said with a casual wave of her hand.

Daniella turned her attention to her computer.

“Shit…
” she said as she read the e-mail about a minute later.

“
Yeeeaahhh…” Victoria replied. “What are we going to do now?”

“Well, I’ll have to call them and see what I can work out.”

“And what about…”

“Kim?” Daniella said.

“Yep.”

“I’ll talk to her. It’s my responsibility after all.” Daniella replied.

Victoria stood from the chair. “Good luck with that!”

“I know,” Daniella groaned. “I’ll need it.”

After Victoria left her office, Daniella spent the next several minutes trying to get the banquet hall situation back on track. No luck yet. What she accomplished amounted to little more than a game of phone tag but at least things were in motion. The very next thing she would have to do is go and tell her boss about the situation. But just as she stood, her phone buzzed.

It was Kim.

“Good morning, Kim,” Daniella said as she answered. “I was just about to come see you.”

“Hi Daniella,” Kim replied. “Good, okay. I hope that you have positive news about the space for the banquet.”

“Well, I have news…” Daniella replied as she winced.

“I see,” Kim said with frustration in her tone. “Come down so we can discuss it.”

“Be right there…” Daniella replied. She hung up and gathered her things. On the way, she passed by Victoria and Candi who exchanged concerned glances with her… and for good reason.

Kim
Alfredson was a senior vice-president at the charity. She was also the person who interviewed Daniella and recommended her to the board above all the other applicants. Needless to say, Daniella didn’t want to disappoint her. There was no way around the fact she’d screwed up. Her only hope was that Kim would be merciful about it.

As she reached her office, Daniella took a deep breath.

“Stay calm…” she whispered to herself before she turned and knocked on the door.

“Come in Daniella,” her boss said. “Close the door, please.”

As Daniella entered, Kim was on the phone so she took a seat across from her desk. Within a minute or two, Kim wrapped up her phone call while Daniella readied the files on the fundraiser. But as Kim hung up, it was clear she wasn’t in the mood to ask questions.

Instead, she took off her reading glasses, brushed her shoulder length black hair
back and glared at Daniella in silence. Kim was an older woman but still beautiful, not to mention intimidating. This was a side of her Daniella hadn’t yet seen and it didn’t look good.

“Daniella,” she began, “a couple of things. The first is that I just got off the phone with the head of facilities for the banquet hall. I have fixed the issue of the extra space.”

Daniella started to blurt something out when Kim raised her hand.

“No,” she said. “I don’t have time for any excuses. Now, I hired you for this position not only because you were well qualified but because you seemed to believe in the work the charity does.”