Dad took me to a steakhouse. I had to force myself to eat slowly and chew each small piece of food carefully. A mistake that starving people make is that, too often, they will eat everything they can as fast as they can, which can not only make them sick but give them food poisoning.
I recounted the entire adventure with Jared, leaving out the sex part. He really didn’t need to know about that. Not only was I a grown woman who didn’t have to answer to my father about my sexual habits, but no father in his right mind wants to hear about it.
He turned super pale when I told him about my snake bite. “I noticed that you had a slight limp. I figured that you sprained your ankle, or your leg was sore,” he said.
“Nope. I pretty much dove into a cave without letting Jared clear it for me. I stepped in and offended the snake. Fortunately, I didn’t offend the snake enough that he wanted to kill me. He just wanted me to suffer a bit. I suppose that’s fair,” I said. “I did almost step on him, and I most certainly scared him. I also was the reason for his eviction,” I joked.
Dad shook his head. “It’s one of the things I treasure about you.”
“What’s that? My ability to become snake bait?”
He shook his head. “No. Your ability to laugh at everything that comes your way.”
“If you think that’s funny, wait until you hear the rest of the story,” I said.
I regaled my father with how Jared took care of my ankle and how we were helped by the Iranian family. I also told him about my use of makeup.
“You know, if you put that part of your trip on social media, you could start a new trend of using nature to cover up your skin problems,” he said.
“Hm. I could be famous and hero-worshipped by every supermodel in the world,” I laughed.
His smiles turned to worry lines and frowns as I told him about the end of the adventure. I didn’t tell him that Jared turned into a wolf because he would have had me put into a mental hospital for evaluation, thinking that the events had caused me to lose my mind. The hospital would never let me out if I told them that I saw other men turn into a dragon, a tiger, and a bear.
“Jared gave me his weapons so I could defend myself. Then, when two of the men started to approach me, he leaped on them, as though he were a wild animal. He neutralized the threat before another man shot him,” I said.
Dad could hear the pain and worry in my voice as I told this part of the story.
“I couldn’t let this man, who risked his life to save me, die without a fight. So, I threw myself on top of him and killed two of them with his pistol. The other man ran off. All those years of learning how to defend myself have come in handy,” I told him.
“I wished they would have been handy enough to keep you from getting kidnapped, to begin with,” he said.
I was quiet for a minute, thinking about everything I experienced and meeting Jared.
“You know, as long as Jared is okay, I’m kind of glad that everything happened. I learned so much about myself, including that I now know that I can face any situation, even death, with courage. I know that with determination and a strong will, I can overcome anything. I learned about the Iranian people and saw some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. The education I got over the last couple of weeks was definitely worth the million dollars you paid. Which, I will repay, if you want,” I said, kind of joking, knowing he wouldn’t take it.
“Hush yo’ mouth,” he said, about the money, and laughed. Then, he said, “I already knew all those things about you. But you are someone who would never take another person’s word for anything. You always have to go out and investigate everything for yourself.”
I nodded. That was true.
I was so tired that as soon as he dropped me off at my house, I went straight to bed. I had never been so comfortable in my life. For the third time that day, I was in absolute heaven.
My last thought before I fell asleep was the bed of straw we had in the Iranian’s barn. I didn’t know which I would choose—my amazing soft bed, with Egyptian cotton sheets and satiny comforter, or sleeping on a couple of dirty blankets that covered straw while lying in Jared’s arms. Actually, I did know what I would choose. Jared’s arms would win every time.
The next morning, after a mocha cappuccino and a raspberry filled pastry, I headed over to the company where Jared worked. They seemed to be happy to see me.
Damien said, “Wow, you clean up nice. There is a woman under all of that dirt,” he laughed.
“There is,” I answered. Then, anxiously I asked, “How is Jared?”
Gage smiled at me. “He is doing great. Shifters heal a lot faster than most people. The fact that he was in his wolf form and had a lot more muscles to protect important organs and other muscles, like the heart, helped him out a lot. He’s going to be okay, thanks to you.”
“You saved his life. We owe you a debt of gratitude,” Lucien said.
I shook my head. “You don’t owe me anything. He would not have been there to get hurt if I hadn’t managed to get myself kidnapped.”
After a brief, awkward silence I asked, “Do you think it would be okay if I visited him?”
All three of them smiled widely. “I’m pretty sure he would like that,” Damien said.