Big Gator: A BBW shape shifter paranormal romance (18 page)

             “
No
– it won't be,” Jenny said. “It's not a little love spell after
all.”

             “
You
all know that most of us don't want you to do this,” Brandy said –
more for the benefit of the bounty hunters than Jenny, who had
poo-pooed this notion repeatedly.             
“We've made our peace with it.  Being gator shifters is the
only life we know, and we've built our whole existence around this.”

             “
What
part of 'curse' don't you understand?” said the redhead.

             “
But
we've figured it out,” Brandy said. “What makes you think being a
plain-old human is going to make life any better.  It's NOT.”

             “
You
know what I'd like to do?” said Cliburn #2, the dark-haired bounty
hunter. “I'd like to have a White Christmas. And I'd like to learn
how to ski.  But I can't – you know why?  Because
we're
coldblooded
. 
We go into a coma at 42 degrees and we die when the temperatures dips
below 30 degrees. We can’t even travel north of the Carolinas in
the summer!”

             “
Do
you know what it's like to be a sexually frustrated alligator?” the
redhead said.  “No, you don't – because you're
female
,
and you get to call the shots if you know what you're doing. And we
Cliburns aren't very good at self-control, so guess who has the
largest extended and most dysfunctional family out of all the gator
shifters?”

             
Brandy
couldn't argue with that last point. From the point of view of a
Cliburn experiencing a moment of sanity (which seemed to be the case
here), she understood where they were coming from.

             “
You've
got it made, Big Lady,” the redhead continued. “You're a primo
shifter – you can get any male shifter you want, and clearly you're
no fool.  Sure, you've made it work for you.  But I can't
say the same for my own kin. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.”

             
Brandy
and her cousin looked at each other.  She decided to try one
last point.

             “
Jenny,”
she said, “Do you really think the Powells care about any of us? 
They're using you. They're rich as hell and powerful and they look
down on the rest of us, and sure – I can see that being shifters
puts them at risk in the public eye.  But seriously, Jenny, this
is going to traumatize most of the other families.  We don't
know how NOT to be shifters.”

             “
Well
it's time to learn,” Jenny said. “Now, if you're not on our side,
it's time for you to leave. You better NOT warn your boss or his
girlfriend what's happening either.”

             
Brandy
was caught now – in a real bind.  There was no way she was
admitting to anyone that Jake had seen her shift. And, technically,
she owed loyalty to any shifter over a non-shifter.  This matter
would have to be handled in-house, with no outsider knowing anything.

             
Brandy
left Jenny and the bounty hunters on their own to continue hatching
their plan to snatch Rachel. She headed out, telephoning Ray on her
cell.  This call was a miracle in Ray’s mind.

             
Brandy
told Ray to bring Kyle over to Sons-of-Guns.  Brandy didn't want
to have this conversation at McAlister's where other shifters might
overhear.  Then she went to pick up Marianne, leaving Jenny and
her muscle-men behind.

             
Ray
and Kyle already were at Sons-of-Guns when Brandy and Marianne
arrived. Marianne was always a little ditzy around Kyle – not her
usual self – which was adorable, but Brandy was hoping she would
keep her wits about her, since now they were dealing with something
serious.

             “
Bounty
hunters?” Ray said, incredulous. “I knew this was potentially
serious, but Geez.  What are they going to do with this chick
exactly?”

             “
I
don't think they'll hurt her as long as she agrees to do whatever
needs to be done to reverse the curse,” Brandy said.

             
Kyle
to a long sip of his light beer.

             “
I
don't get it,” Kyle said, “I think this can be a pretty good
life. Plus, it's kind of selfish. To make us ALL change.”

             
He
looked at Marianne when he spoke.
 
For
chrissake ask the woman out already,
Brandy
thought.

             “
Does
it really have to be an all or nothing deal?” Ray asked.

             “
That
seems to be the plan,” Brandy said.

             “
Well,
certainly there's more of us than them,” he said. “We can stop
them, don't you think?”

             “
I
don't know,” Marianne said. “Even if we stop Jenny and her thugs,
the Powells will just send someone else.”

             “
Maybe
we should just let them go ahead and try,” Kyle said. “Eve
LaBelle was pretty powerful, and there's been no one like her since.
So what if they've tracked down one of her descendants? And so what
if she's into Hoodoo?  That's doesn't mean whatever she does is
going to work.”

             “
He's
right,” Ray added. “Madame LaBelle cursed folks one at a time,
too.  Jenny's asking someone to lift a curse off several
thousand people all at once. I seriously doubt that's going to work. 
Murphy's Law, and all that.”

             
Marianne
checked her watch.

             “
Shit
– I have to pick up my little sister.  And I don't have my
car,” Marianne said.

             
Brandy
saw an immediate opportunity.

             “
Kyle
– would you mind giving Marianne a ride?” she said.

             
Marianne
flashed her friend a look that said,
What
are you doing?

             “
Marianne,
I would take you but I forgot there's something I've got to take care
of that's work-related,” Brandy said.

             “
Sure,”
Kyle said. “No problem.”

             
Marianne,
you better thank me for this,
Brandy
thought.

             
Just
then her cellphone rang.  It was Jake.

             “
I
gotta take this,” she told the group. “I'll check in with you
later.”

             
Brandy
answered the call.

             “
Jake,
can you hold on for a second?”

             “
Sure,”
he said.

             
Brandy
wanted to be out of earshot when they spoke.

             
Outside
the bar, she felt freer to speak.

             “
Hey
– sorry – it was just a bit noisy where I was.”

             “
No
worries,” Jake said. “So – uh – I know you won't be at work
until the day after tomorrow, but I want to see you.”

             
Brandy's
heart skipped.

             “
Did
you talk to Rachel?”

             “
Yeah,
I did,” he said. “We broke up. For good.”

             
Brandy
fell silent.

             “
Hello?
Are you there?”

             “
Yeah
– sorry,” Brandy said. “I'm sorry it went down like that.”

             “
What
do you have to be sorry about?  Look, Rachel and I – things
haven't been so great for awhile, and that whole thing with the mojo
or love spell or whatever – that was just the nail in the coffin.”

             “
Still...”

             “
Still
nothing,” Jake said. “You don't understand. You don't understand
what it's been like to be around you.  What happened the other
night – what now makes sense of everything – I just need to see
you, Brandy.”

             “
I
want to see you too,” Brandy said softly. “I owe you an
explanation.  But you're going to have to understand that I'm
trusting you with a lot here.”

             “
I
want you to trust me,” Jake said. “And you should know that you
can, right? I mean – I think I've proven myself.”

             
He
had, indeed, proven himself.  Jake had saved her life twice
now.  She could explain to him how she was a shifter, but she
didn't have the heart to tell him that he had not killed an alligator
the other night, but instead had killed another human being. 
She had taken care of the body not just to protect Jake and Animal
Sphere from public scrutiny, but to protect Jake from being charged
with murder.

             “
Let
me come by tonight,” Jake said.

             
Brandy
couldn't let him come by the house with Jenny and the bounty hunters
using it as their makeshift headquarters.

             “
You
remember the swamp near where I live – the night I took you out
there to find 'Shirley', er – to find
me
?”

             
Jake
chuckled.

             “
Yeah,”
he said.

             “
Meet
me there around 9 o'clock.”

             “
You
don't want to go out to dinner or something?”  Jake asked. “In
case you are not getting it, I'm trying to take you out on a date.”

             
Brandy
smiled to herself.

             “
It's
a date then – but still, I want you to meet me at the swamp.”

             
Brandy
ended the call.  Turning around to unlock her car door, she saw
that Ray had been standing there, listening to her the whole time.

             
Crap! 
How much had he heard?

             “
Who
was that?” he said.  He stood with arms crossed, giving her a
stern look.

             “
My
boss,” she answered.

             “
That
sounded a little more than just work-related.”

             “
We
get along.”

             “
I
can tell.”

             
Brandy
shook her head and smiled.

             “
Ray
– you need to find another woman,” she said. “We'll always be
friends – you know that – but seriously, you should find someone
with whom it's really going to work.”

             
Brandy
got into her car.  Ray caught the door so she couldn't close
it.  He looked at her intently, giving her the once over. 
Then he sighed.  Brandy expected some kind of lecherous remark
or suggestion, but it didn't come.