Shifter's Moon (Paranormal Shifter Romance) by Blackstone Riva

Author:Blackstone, Riva [Blackstone, Riva]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-08-20T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The lake was in fact a reservoir, hedged on the only accessible shore by smooth sloping granite cliffs and a meager line of dry pine trees that seemed, for all intents and purposes, to exist solely as a renewable source of firewood.

By time Lia and Jake had parked and hiked down the steep forested bank to the small clearing on a broad basin of granite, there were already four similarly aged locals huddled around a pyre of sappy wood, beers in hand. They’d all been friends of Lia’s growing up and he shook each of their hands in turn, trying to grapple with their names.

“I don’t suppose you’ve written anything I might’ve read,” said Roy, a bulky looking guy with a thin goatee.

“Probably not,” Jake said, accepting a beer.

“He’s working on something though,” Lia interjected.

“Another book?” Roy asked.

“Something like that. We’ll see what it turns into,” Jake took a sip of his beer. He didn’t like talking about his writing. It made him uncomfortable. There was something sacred in the writing process, and he knew none of them would be able to understand or appreciate it. Except Lia, he thought.

Roy’s girlfriend, a petite woman with sharp hawk-like features poked at the coals of the fire with a hot-dog stick. “Well, on behalf of Barrelgrove-”

Jake grinned and raised his beer before she could respond. “Oh, I’ve got the Barrelgrove welcome, don’t worry. But thanks.”

They all laughed and Jake took another sip from the beer. The flames danced higher and Roy added another pitchy log which began to crackle and pop, and Jake found himself entranced by the slow digestion of the fire as it turned he wood to coals. There was something liberating about being in the middle of the woods with the heavy scent of smoke and the heat of the flames singing at his cheeks. Lia’s friends were all laidback, and other than Roy they’d all moved out of Barrelgrove at the earliest opportunity – some had gone travelling, some had professional careers, but the common theme seemed to be that they had all irrevocably returned to their home-town to live, and Jake wondered what it would be like, to have such a firm idea of ‘home’. He had no foundations, and had taken it for granted, but as he listened to the friendly banter and inside jokes between the small group he felt a slight pang of jealousy.

He didn’t even realize Lia was no longer sitting around the fire until Jordan retold an anecdote about his car and saw that she had slipped off without any of them noticing. He excused himself and stumbled out of the ring into the shadows, and followed a small crude path that led to another flat rise of granite overlooking a part of the granite cliff that gave a one hundred eighty degree vantage of the reservoir. Lia had already set up a small green tent from the heavy canvas bag and he saw her perched on the lip of the cliff, her gaze lost in the wide expanse of water and sky.

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