Still, she didn’t respond.
It wasn’t like she didn’t have things to say. She had plenty.
Once they taxied and parked close to the hangar, she decided it was safe enough for her to let it out.
“I don’t know what happened back there. I don’t know what kind of monster you are. And frankly, I don’t care. Because I want no part of it. I’ll never be able to even remotely comprehend it, so don’t even bother. But there is one thing I want to know.”
“Ask away.”
“All that talk about the fates and the unseen forces of the universe pushing us together. I get that was just some clever bullshit line you wanted to throw at me. I’m not naive. But did you have the overnight stay planned from the beginning? I think you did. You know the weather up here better than anyone. If you ask me, you timed it so we’d get stranded in your little love shack. And how convenient to have wine just waiting for us. I’m a big girl. I’ll admit I had a good time last night. Great, actually. But I sure as hell don’t appreciate that you felt you needed to spin this elaborate ruse in order to sleep with me.”
“Hold it right there. That wasn’t planned. That really happened. We happened. And it meant something. I felt it. I know you did too. If you ask me, this is all about the fact you learned I’m a shifter.”
“A shifter? What the hell is a shifter?”
“The world is filled with things you have only read about, Joy. I’m part of it. And I can show ...”
“Stop right there. I told you, I don’t want to know.”
“See? You can’t or won’t even try to wrap your head around it. So, it’s easier to think of me as some sleazeball who just wants to get you in bed. Which means I know exactly what your next move is. To just walk away.”
“You’ve got that right. I’m on the next flight to Florida. I’m going back to where my life might have been boring, but there weren’t any monsters or shifters or whatevers in it.”
Marching straight to her office, she quickly put together a letter of resignation and left it on Vicki’s desk. Her next step was to book the next available flight out of Polar Point.
Packing her things that night, she didn’t even bother fighting back the tears. Alaska had held so much promise for her. And Adam held even more. But after being confronted with his monstrous ability to change into a bloodthirsty beast at will was terrifying. How could she ever get over it? It wasn’t like finding out he had some harmless secret kink. No, if he held a horrifying secret like that, what else could he be hiding?
When she heard the knocking on the door, she nearly let it go unanswered. When she saw it was Vicki, she was both relieved and disappointed that it wasn’t Adam.
“So it must have been one hell of a trip with Adam. What happened?”
“Just … stuff I’d rather not talk about.”
“Okay. Let me get this out of the way. Did something happen that I need to know about? In other words, did he do anything to hurt you?”
“No. No. It’s nothing like that at all.”
“I didn’t think so. But I had to ask. I’ve known Adam a long time. He’s really a good man. Is there anything you want to talk about? After all, you two were stuck together overnight in that storm.”
“If you’re wondering if anything happened between us, yes, it did. I never wanted to have something like that happen with a coworker, but it happened. And it was fine. It’s something completely unrelated that I’d rather not talk about. I guess it’s just me.”
“I won’t pester you over it. If it’s worry about workplace relationships, I assure you that isn’t a problem.”
“No. It’s not. It’s something completely different and not related to the fact that we slept together. It’s just me, really.”
“We truly enjoyed having you here. You’re a natural fit for the team. Is there any way I can convince you to stick around?”
Joy found herself physically biting her lip, trying to hold herself from revealing Adam’s bizarre secret. Even having that knowledge put herself at risk. She wouldn’t dare endanger anyone else with it.
“Unfortunately, I’m just more suited to my old life. I’m sorry, Vicki.”