Epilogue
“Well, I thought that went really well, considering what a, uhh, nichey movie that was,” Kira said, as she and Caleb packed up the film from his latest movie night in Girdwood Springs – the first-ever regular movie night they’d actually had in Girdwood Springs, unless the sleepover parties she’d used to have with Sylvie and her other high school friends counted, and Kira was pretty sure they didn’t.
“Hey, it’s a classic!” Caleb said, laughing. “A cult classic, but a classic nonetheless.”
Kira mulled that over as she folded up the blankets they’d provided for their customers. They’d set up gas heaters and given people blankets to snuggle under, since the winter air was still cold even now. But still, an outdoor movie showing had proved to be a huge hit, especially since it was being catered by Eula’s Diner and Sylvie’s Sweets and Bakery. “Well, cult is right – didn’t you say it was a huge flop at the time it was released?”
“Unfortunately, yeah,” Caleb said. “People just didn’t know a good thing when they saw it. But I loved it from the first time I saw it when I was a kid.”
“Well, you did tell me when we first met that you loved Westerns and samurai movies, and I guess this combined the two in a very unique way,” Kira said diplomatically. “I mean… two samurai searching around for gold in the American west… I can’t say it’s really a premise I would have thought of.”
“But that’s what makes it so great!” Caleb enthused, his eyes lighting up. “It’s two different genres, coming together… okay, so it doesn’t always work, and the stunts are a bit hokey, and it was obviously made on a budget of about two dollars and a piece of string… but sometimes it’s those weird little passion projects that’re the most fun. Like why would a movie like that ever get made, except for the fact that the people who made it loved it?”
Kira laughed – she just couldn’t help herself. Seeing Caleb chattering delightedly about his passion made her heart swell up with joy. It reminded her of how lucky she was to have him – how lucky she was to be with someone who had so much joy and passion and love in their soul.
Kira had been excited from the first moment Caleb had brought up the idea of running outdoor movie nights once every two weeks in the picnic clearing by her cabin, near the entrance to the forest trails. She’d never thought of doing something like that before – and Girdwood Springs had always been too small to have a movie theater or anything like that. If someone wanted to see a movie on the big screen, they’d have to drive two hours to the nearest city for that.
And, well, they’d still have to do that if they wanted to see the latest blockbuster. What Caleb showed was old, rare movies, things that people might not have seen before – all carefully selected from his family’s hoard, and all movies he had a personal connection with. Things that had meant a lot to him in childhood because his parents had shown them to him, and now he wanted to share them with other families as well.
And share them he did.
So far, people had loved the screenings. They’d come in droves: singles, couples, parents with kids, all excited to see what would be shown this time. Even if the movies Caleb picked weren’t to everyone’s taste, they definitely gave everyone a lot to talk about, and it had become a real social event. Something that brought the people of Girdwood Springs together. Even tourists who were here for skiing farther up the mountains had started to come.
And they didn’t need to be tempted by any fancy hotel or massive shopping complex, either.
Kira still felt a warm surge in her heart whenever she remembered that the forest they were currently surrounded by was safe, and would be safe forever now. The will was safely stored, and they’d had authenticated copies made by an estate lawyer, just in case anything unfortunate should happen to the original they’d found. There was no way Heit could destroy them all.
And just in case they got any ideas about re-cursing Caleb – or anyone else – Kira had traveled with Gale back to the cave where they’d found the aurum lacunosa mushrooms, to collect more samples. Gale had wanted to study them to discover the mysteries of their curse-breaking powers, and now they had a whole batch growing in the darkness of a safely locked room at his nursery.
If I can help just one other dragon who might have been put under an ancient curse, then I’ll be happy,Caleb had said as he and Gale had leaned over the healthily growing specimens. No one should have to go through all the things I went through.
Kira watched as Caleb folded up some more blankets, packing them carefully away.
He really is something special,she thought, feeling her heart thudding in her chest. He’s kind, thoughtful, he really cares about things, and he fits right in here in Girdwood Springs. Not to mention… he’s a dragon.
Kira was still getting used to the idea of it all – and used to the idea that there were shifters just walking amongst the general population, and she’d never know it unless they actually turned into a puma or a lion or a griffin right in front of her. But having Sylvie to talk to about it definitely helped.
It took me a little while to get used to the idea as well, believe me,Sylvie had laughed as they discussed it over coffee one day. I mean, one minute I’m a small-town baker, and the next, bang! I’m the mate of a mythical creature. And a small-town baker. But believe me – it’s definitely worth the momentary disorientation.
Kira would have called the disorientation a little more than momentary – but she had to admit, it was also very exciting as well, knowing that Caleb could turn into a dragon. He looked like a normal man – well, a very handsome and hot man, but normal nonetheless – but she knew that there, beneath his skin, was a powerful, protective mythical beast.
Kira shivered – a delicious shiver of anticipation for when they’d be at home in bed later tonight, wrapped up in each other’s arms.
“There – that’s the last of them,” she said, as he placed the last of the folded blankets away in the storage trunk. Together, they lifted it, one hand each on the handles on the sides of the trunk, and began carrying it back to her cabin office – her new improved cabin office, with a new computer to replace the twenty-year-old one that had been on its last legs even before Kira had become a park ranger. And with its new, improved, more accurate maps, that Kira had been able to hire a survey team and cartographer to create, so that people would be able to have a safer hiking trip.
She’d even had the stairs Caleb’s bad luck curse had collapsed rebuilt, strong enough that she didn’t think any curse would be able to take them down.
Thank goodness for Tongle & Heit Developments’ timely donation,she thought, with a tiny smile on her lips. They’d definitely been more than generous – at first, Kira wasn’t exactly sure what to do with all the money they’d donated. But slowly, she’d realized just how much potential it had, in terms of what she could do to maintain the park’s trails better, to run more informative education programs, and hire some more staff to keep everything running smoothly. The county had given her a pretty free hand – and Kira had been prepared to use it.
“I guess we should probably head home pretty soon,” Kira said as she watched Caleb heave the trunk effortlessly onto a top shelf, as if it wasn’t a massive wooden box that had to be at least as heavy as she was.
Perks of dating a dragon, I guess.She’d definitely discovered the benefits of a dragon’s outsized strength and stamina. Right now, she was absolutely benefitting from the view of Caleb’s back muscles as they rippled beneath his shirt as he pushed the trunk safely to the back of the shelf.
“Yeah.” Caleb dusted his hands off, before shooting a quick grin in her direction – a grin that made her heart melt. And her heart speed up. And her stomach clench in the most delicious way. “Did you want to stop to get something to eat on the way home, or –”
“You know what,” Kira said, suddenly deciding that actually, she could not wait until she got home. “I don’t think I do need anything to eat. The only thing I have an appetite for is right here in front of me.”
“Oh, I see,” Caleb said, with that low, rich laugh that never failed to drive her absolutely wild. “Well, hopefully you’re talking about me when you say that, and not, say… this magazine about birdlife. Which, lovely though it is…”