Shifters of Grrr 1 (92 page)

As they cleared the bush they stopped at his pile of clothes.

“Time for the superhero to change into a civilian?” Ada teased.

“Something like that.” He quickly slipped on his pants and a t-shirt.

“Shame,” Ada muttered.
 

Ranger agreed.
 

“A question for you.”

He’d been waiting for the questions to start. “Ask away.”

She stepped around in front of him, and he took a moment to study her in the sunlight. Statuesque, that’s how he’d describe her. Tall, stunning curves that made him curl his fingers to curb the need to touch. The t-shirt she wore pulled tight across her full breasts, and it looked as though she wore a bikini top underneath. Damn, if he hadn’t been in bear form she might have liked a swim in the pool under the waterfall. Her hair was dark, and fell in masses of thick curls. He and his bear wanted to get his hands through them, too.

He loved the way she owned her height and size. So many tall women stooped, but Ada stood proud. The blood on her forehead had dried, thank goodness. That meant the cut mustn’t be too deep.

“You know I saw a bear, right? I mean, that wasn’t anything to do with the knock on the head. It was swimming at the waterfall. A bear, for god’s sake, in New Zealand. You didn’t dismiss it, or seem that surprised that I told you I’d seen it. So, Mr Sachs-Severin, tell me about the bear?”

They had a connection; he’d felt it immediately, and the almost electric play between them suggested she’d felt it, too. But if he told her about the bear, would she run?

He decided to go with a shrug. “You get bears in these parts—”

“Bullshit.”

“Okay…I’ve got some explaining to do.” If he wanted this to progress, he had to divulge some bear information. “Trust me, I’ll tell you all about it, but, we should go and meet my mother first. I want her to look at your head.”

“You’re stalling.”

“I am.”

“There was a bear, wasn’t there.”
 
It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah, there was a bear. Come on, I’ll protect you.” Taking her hand felt like the most natural thing in the world. The fact that she responded, entwining her fingers through his, felt even better. His bear rumbled with pleasure as the contact with his mate flooded him with warmth.

“Interesting sound.”

“I’m hungry.”

Ada laughed. “Me, too. I’ve had nothing since breakfast but shock and exercise.”

Just ahead was his parents’ lodge. Further on, towards the coast, he and his two brothers each had their own houses built on the beach. They were well separated by groves of
pohutukawa
trees, giving them privacy, but close enough that they could spend time together when they wanted.

He could see his mother picking herbs in the kitchen garden at the side of the main lodge. She looked up as they approached.

Ranger gripped Ada’s hand more firmly. He had no idea why a frisson of anxiety had run through him. Was it because this was the most important person he’d ever brought to his parents’ house, even though he’d only known Ada a couple of hours? This was insanity. Hopefully his mother would talk some sense into him.

Except, to be honest, he didn’t want that one bit.

“Hey, Ma.” He raised his hand and waved. “This is Ada. I found her out by the waterfall, and she followed me home. Can we keep her?”

Ranger’s mother put down her secateurs and the large bunch of mixed herbs she’d cut. She wiped her hands on her apron as she approached them.

“You know what we say about the lovely creatures that
follow
you home: take them back to the wild, where you found them, and set them free.”

Ranger laughed. “Nice try, but this one isn’t going anywhere. Ada, meet my mother, Ursula.”

He stood back as the two most important women in his life shook hands, each giving the other that fleeting, appraising look, the way females did.

“I apologise for my son, Ada. He has a propensity to tease and makes a lot of demands on ones sense of humour. It’s hot. Come into the house and I’ll fix a cold drink.”
 

Ranger took Ada’s hand again, leading her across the verandah after his mother.

“All of my boys have this innate need to protect waifs and strays,” Ursula continued, as they walked. “Many weekends throughout their childhood they’d disappear for the day into the hills, and inevitably return with some stray animal they
swore
followed them home. The day I looked out the window and saw them dragging a very reluctant feral goat behind them, I knew I had to put a stop to it.”

She stopped at the door to kick off her gardening shoes. “You look far from being a stray, Ada. Don’t put up with his nonsense.”

“Actually, you’re wrong, Ma. I found Ada straying up by the waterfall.”
 

His words had the exact effect on his mother he predicted.

“Oh, I see,” she said cautiously.

“She had a fall and hit her head, I thought you could take a look at it for her.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“Nothing I can’t deal with. I have a couple of calls to make. Ada, can I leave you with Ma for ten minutes?”

“Sure,” Ada said, giving him a smile that stole his breath.
 

He did need to make some calls, but even more, a ten minute break from Ada’s company would help him compose himself and work out where to go from here.

CHAPTER THREE

~ADA~

Ranger’s mother could not have been more welcoming, ushering Ada to follow her through to the kitchen.

“Take a seat, and I’ll have a look at that cut.”

She put on a pair of glasses, and carefully lifted Ada’s hair, peering at the wound. “It doesn’t look too bad. Let me clean it up for you.”

The kitchen they were in was enormous, and obviously set up to deal with cooking for large numbers of guests. Ada sat at a broad kauri table, scrubbed and scratched over the years giving it an impressive patina that probably held a lot of secrets.

Urusla soon returned with a bowl of warm water, gauze, and disinfectant. “I’ll be gentle,” she said, dabbing at the wound.

“It doesn’t hurt, really.”

“Oh good. I’m used to dealing with the boys’ injuries. They seem to be able to tough out sprains and cuts without trouble, so I’m never sure with others if I’m being a bit rough.”

“How many boys do you have?”

“Three. Ranger and Rhian are twins. And then there’s Romer, who is a couple of months younger.”

“That sounds…impossible. How does that work?”

“He’s my sister’s boy. She’s flighty, so it was decided Romer would be better off being raised with his cousins. They’re as good as brothers; in fact, most people think of them as triplets. They certainly look alike.”

 
“The journalist in me thought she’d stumbled upon the story of the week.”

Ursula’s hand stilled. “Oh?”

“You know, one of those sensational
We’re Triplets, But Were Born Two Months Apart
stories
.
”

“Of course.” She made a couple more dabs to Ada’s head. “There, I’ve put something on the cut to help it heal. It’s
kawakawa
creme a very wise lady in Waitapu Bay makes. It fixes every complaint you can imagine, in one form or another. I can give you some to take with you if you like.”

Ranger appeared at the door. “How’s the patient?”

“Perfect, thanks to your mother,” Ada replied.

“She took a knock to her head and passed out. Do you think she needs to see a doctor, Ma?”

Ada arranged her hair back into place. “I wasn’t unconscious, Ranger, I fainted.”

“So you keep saying.” Ranger nudged his mother. “Ada saw me in all my glory and she passed out.”

The look on Urusla’s face was priceless. “How exactly did she see you?”

“In my nature suit—”

“Ranger!”

“Don’t panic, Ma, everything’s fine.”

Ada couldn’t help thinking there was a lot of hidden meaning in the conversation. Something was being kept from her, and she figured it had to be the bear.

“Ada was telling me she’s a journalist,” Ursula said.
 

Although her tone was light, Ada could tell Ranger’s mother was warning him about her profession.

“How interesting. Who do you write for?”

Here we go, shutdown time, Ada thought. “
In Depth Magazine.
”

“Good mag. I think we subscribe at the office.”

“The business editor’s going to kill me if I don’t ask for an interview.”

Ranger shook his head. “I prefer to keep out of the public eye. It makes life all round so much easier. Romer’s the guy you want. He’s, shall we say, flashier, much better suited to a promo piece. He’d look pretty on a cover, too.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Ursula called from where she was bent over, removing something from the oven. “There,” she said with a flourish, placing a tray of freshly baked bread on the table. “I’m presuming the two of you will stay for lunch. Alexander should be in soon, and I’m sure he’d love to meet you, Ada.”

She’d imposed on them enough, and besides, her car was parked miles away on the other side of the bush. “That’s a very kind offer. I’d love to, but—”

Ranger put a finger to her lips. “Of course we’ll stay. We’re both starving.”

“Ranger, my car is parked miles away. I’m staying at Waitapu Bay, and I’ve only been there a couple of days. I’m not even sure where I parked, exactly, given that I’ve exited the bush from a completely different place to where I went in.”

“Forget about it. We’ll find it after lunch. I can hear your stomach rumbling, now. I don’t want you fainting again.”

“I’ll be fine, so long as there are no bears, or naked men at the lunch table.”

Ursula’s nervous laugh convinced Ada that something very odd was going on.

CHAPTER FOUR

~ADA~

Lunch was stunning. Baked fresh snapper that Ranger’s father, Alexander, had caught that morning. There was also charred sweet corn from the garden, freshly baked bread and a salad of buffalo mozzarella from a local farm, mixed with an extraordinary variety of heritage tomatoes in every colour and shape you could imagine. They had also come from Ursula’s garden.

Ada all but wanted to pat her tummy when she finished. “I have to say, this has been the best meal I’ve eaten so far on holiday.”

Ursula took her plate. “We try to do everything as fresh as possible, and we’re lucky that Waitapu has such an interesting group of artisan producers. We really do eat very well here. It helps that Alexander enjoys his fishing.” She kissed the top of her husband’s head as she passed by.

Soon she returned to the table with a large platter of cheese, fruit and freshly-made oat cakes.

Ranger’s father was quite simply an older version of Ranger. Fit, tall and handsome, he certainly had strong genes he’d passed on. He was a little gruff, seeming content to sit back and listen rather than lead the conversation. His wife and son certainly made up for his reserve, and he was nonetheless charming whenever he joined in.

After lunch, Ranger suggested a walk. He wanted to show her his house and the beach. Again, Ada protested about her car, but Ranger waved the concern off and led her across the lawn.

She was soon glad she hadn’t missed it. The vast lawn flowed into a garden of more coastal-type native plants. Giant flax bushes and ancient
manuka
that was tall and spindled veiled the view of the sea crashing on the shore beyond. Soon they came to a
pohutukawa
-fringed coastline; the ancient trees were twisted and gnarled, a testament to their constant battle against the elements.
 

Three houses were dotted between the trees. Each was modest in size, old, and charmingly sympathetic to the environment.
 

“These were originally settlers’ cottages, which we moved from other parts of the property. They were each in poor repair and Dad and Ma gave us free rein to renovate them however we wished. Apart from knocking out a couple of walls, we hardly changed them,” Ranger explained, walking her to the one at the far end of the beach.

He pointed to an area where a small creek flowed out to the sea. “Over there, we have a communal cooking area we tend to use when more than one of us is here. We built a barbecue, a fire pit, and lots of seating. Rhian is the geek amongst us, and he rigged up solar panels to run a fridge, which you can’t actually tell is there. He set it up inside an old iron ham smoker that came from a commercial meat plant. Hadn’t been used since about 1930, and they were selling it for scrap. We set up hammocks; it’s all pretty rustic. If there are any boats in the bay, we’ll invite the crew in for a party. There’ve been some pretty big parties over the years.”

“I bet,” Ada said, craning her neck to see the area Ranger was talking about.

“We can take a look later. In Auckland I have an apartment, but this is the place I consider my home.”

Ada stopped for a moment as they reached a point where the entire bay was in view. “Wow. That’s all I can say. This place is unbelievable.”