Bear in a Billion: EXPOSED (#1) (3 page)

What the hell? Haley thought. Another species living among us? That was a pretty good headline.

“No, we are not aliens and this is not a hoax. We have been here for as long as you have. And we look as human as you. We
are
as human as you. With one important difference. We can shift. We can shift from our human forms to that of an animal, in my case, a grizzly bear.”

A grizzly bear. Is this guy for real? I mean, it’s a legitimate news channel, but seriously?

“Now, I know this will come as a shock to most of you. Our existence has been kept secret to date due to fear. Fear among my kind that your knowledge of us would lead to our extinction. Fear that if we tell people who we are, we will not be accepted. I, for one, reject that fear. I believe that the world is ready to embrace us, to embrace shifters of all sorts. That is why I come before you today. To give the public an idea of who and what we are. Remember, we live among you in peace. We mean you no harm. We simply wish to come out of the shadows. Over the coming weeks, I will tell you more, but for now, lest any of you believe this is hoax, please watch carefully. I’m sure what happens next will be studied, analyzed and torn apart, so I’ll attempt to make the process as transparent as possible.”

Haley watched as the man on camera unbuttoned his shirt.

Okay, Haley thought. This is weird. He was a big guy and he had a nice chest, but did we really need to see him take his shirt off? What was he going to do? Show off his Popeye tattoo? He pulled the shirt all the way off, his bronzed washboard abs on display for the world to see. Maybe he was just vain, Haley thought. No, this was the lead story. Something was bound to happen…

And something did. Haley still couldn’t see the man’s face. But she watched in amazement as the man’s chest transformed before her. It grew thick brown hairs and then exploded outward as though his whole body was somehow morphing into something else. The same thick hair, no, fur, grew on the man’s arms. The whole process couldn’t have taken more than a second, but when it was done, Haley was pretty sure she was staring at a grizzly bear.

Holy crap! The grizzly bear stood there for a moment on all fours and then walked off camera. A moment later, a hand flashed in front of the camera and the screen went blank. After that, there was more news commentary and they slowed the recording down for the audience. Same thing. A man turned into a bear. It was hard to believe.

What a story. Shifters among us. Is this for real?
 

Haley knew she would have given her eyeteeth to break a story like that. She watched the video for a third time. The guy became a bear. It didn’t look at all fake. But there were still lots of questions to be answered. A ton of questions. Haley squeezed ketchup all over the front of her dress as she watched the clip again. Darn. It was going to stain. She wet a cloth and started trying to clean herself up.

“Hey, you.”

Haley looked up from her task, suddenly embarrassed. She immediately recognized the tall, handsome man with the shaggy blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. He wore board shorts and flip-flops, and he carried a professional-looking video camera. Her rescuer. Cleaning ketchup from her dress wasn’t exactly how she had planned to make her second impression.

“Ethan.” The man extended his hand. “Ethan Stone. The guy who pulled you out of the ocean.”

“Yes. Of course. Sorry. I kind of spilled all over myself.”

“I see that.”

Haley put down the kitchen rag and strode forward, taking Ethan’s hand. They shook, and Haley felt the warmth of his powerful grip. It felt awkward shaking so formally after what had happened, but what to do? Haley wasn’t aware of the etiquette of being saved from drowning.

“So, you doing all right?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah. Just watching this shifter thing. Did you hear?”

“I just saw it,” Ethan said.

“So what do you think?”

“Wild,” Ethan said.

“Yeah. In more ways than one.”

Haley was doing her best to hold a conversation, but her mind was going a million miles an hour. The way Ethan looked at her with those clear blue eyes left her speechless.

Chill out, Haley. You’ve got enough going on.
 

“So,” Haley finally said.

“So,” Ethan repeated.

There was another silence. Even though she said nothing, everything in her being wanted to eat him up right then and there. Ethan’s relaxed demeanor, his strong chest, his smile… he was absolutely delectable. They stood there for another moment, Haley completely tongue-tied. Fortunately, Wiley broke the silence.

“Those ketchup bottles aren’t going to fill themselves.”

Ethan laughed. “Hey, Wiley.”

“Hey, Ethan.”

“Well,” Ethan said. “Just wanted to say hello. So, hello.”

Ethan turned to walk away, camera swinging at his side.

“Wait,” Haley gasped. “Will I see you again?”

Stupid. Why did she have to sound so stupid? Haley immediately thought. Needy. Like a little girl.

“Sure,” Ethan said. “I’m usually on the beach. I’m shooting video of the protest. Come down whenever.”

“See you around, then,” Haley said with a smile.

**********************

Dumb bear. Stupid bear. She was clearly into you. Why didn’t you ask her out? Because, you’ve got enough going on right now.

And he did have enough going on. Ethan’s life was complicated at the moment, and he preferred to get through the next stretch without layering in more complexity. Of course, he hadn’t counted on bumping into Haley on the path of life. She was curvy, cute, and courageous as all hell, making his bear’s heart throb for her. Just the way she had looked at him at Wiley’s stirred his soul. He knew he needed to check up on her, and when he saw her there, dutifully filling ketchup bottles as she watched the shifter interview, he was more convinced than ever he had found the one. But the timing, the timing was terrible. Not only had the protest just started, but the shifter thing was fresh in the news. And the way she watched the interview, like somebody determined to get to the truth, maybe it just wasn’t the smartest time for him to act on those feelings. Still, the reality was that, bad timing or not, he couldn’t risk losing her if she was the one. Ethan returned to the protest. The motley group of environmentalists and concerned citizens were gathered to voice their concern about a proposed natural gas import facility. Basically, an oil company wanted to build a giant pipeline out to a platform at sea so that tankers could deliver their natural gas to the California energy markets. That was the business side. The problem was that it came at a pretty significant environmental cost, and Ethan wasn’t keen on the idea. He’d been surfing in the area for years and didn’t want an accident to ruin that forever.

“Hey, Ethan,” one of the protestors said, handing him a sign.

“Howdy, bro,” another one chimed in.

“Let’s kick their capitalist butts,” a third woman said. And Ethan fell into line, waving his ‘California Is Not For Sale’ placard. A few hours on the protest line would do him good, he thought. It would give him time to think. It would give his bear time to consider how to balance the competing demands in his life and make Haley his.

**********************

Haley finished her shift with a smile on her face. The Shack, as it was known, was mostly a daytime place, so she was out of there by six PM. Wiley appeared pleased with her performance, and after tipping out the kitchen crew, she was allowed to retain the remaining gratuities. Not too shabby. When added to her wages, she’d do just fine. And then there was Ethan. Glorious Ethan. She got the feeling that he might even like her. Stupid maybe, but some guys, even guys that looked like him, sometimes went for the curvier ladies.

Haley had long ago made a conscious decision to be proud of her extra pounds. It wasn’t like she was some kind of glutton. She ate healthily. She exercised. But some girls were just naturally bigger, and she was one of those girls. Her curves, however, didn’t need to be a source of embarrassment. They could be a source of pride and power, too. Still, in her weaker moments, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that she was occasionally insecure about her weight. Something her ex-boyfriend seemed to instinctively know. He’d harp on her size whenever she was at her lowest, and that had made her feel terrible. Like she wasn’t worth the dirt he walked on. Oh, what did she see ever see in him? Why did she ever trust him with her heart? Now that it was finally over, she was glad to be rid of that filthy, cheating liar.

Tonight, however, wasn’t about insecurity. It was about her future career as a reporter. She had to wait tables the next day, but this whole shifter thing in the news had captured her imagination. It was nuts. And it was also just the kind of story that could make her as a reporter. Right now, all the network had was an anonymous video recording, with the promise of more to come. But she knew that every investigative journalist on the planet would be scurrying to learn more. Who was this self-proclaimed ‘shifter’? What were his motives? How many others were there? She walked back home, opening up the cabin door.

“Hey, Haley,” Laila said.

“We got your text,” Katie said. “Does the job include free food for your friends?”

“I’m not going to push it,” Haley said. “Wiley is nice, but I’m not sure how happy he’d be if I brought the whole neighborhood in to eat for free.”

Katie giggled. “Well, we’ll just have to pay, then. I can trust you not to spit in my burger, right?”

“Oh, definitely.”

“So,” Laila said. “Anything else happen?”

“By else do you mean did I fill ketchup bottles?”

“No, I mean did you happen to run into any tall handsome strangers?”

That Laila. What had she heard?

“Kind of,” Haley said, referring to Ethan.

“He came by here,” Laila said. “I was booking a rental car for one of my clients and in walks Ethan the surfer dreamboat.”

“Dream-
er
might be more correct,” Katie said. “He has that faraway look in his eye.”

“Dream-whatever. He said he was just passing by. Wanted to make sure everything, meaning you, was all right,” Laila said.

“What did you tell him?” Haley asked.

“That you just got a job at the Surf Shack. Did he go see you at work?”

“Yeah,” Haley smiled.

“So?” Katie asked.

“So, nothing. He came by.”

“Did he ask you out?” Laila asked.

“No.”

“Oh, okay.”

“We talked about that shifter thing on the news.”

“I know, crazy, right?” Katie said.

“Yeah. I was going to look into it. Try and find an angle.”

“Haley, Haley. Always the reporter,” Katie said.

“Well, before you do that, you want to come out with us for a stroll? We’ve been stuck inside all day,” Laila said.

Haley glanced at her laptop. Work started at ten the next morning, and she really wanted to look into the whole shifter thing before then. “Okay. But only a short walk. If I’m ever going to be a reporter I need to break a real story.”

**********************

They walked to the beach and along the promenade. The cabin was close enough to the ocean but not so close it was one of the multi-millionaire dollar homes that lined the waterfront. Haley couldn’t help but wonder who the people who lived in those places were. Coop Cove seemed like such a down-to-earth place. A few laid-back tourist hotels, surfers, and then the million-dollar beach mansions. For some reason, the mansions didn’t seem to fit. Or maybe they fit just fine. Maybe, Haley thought, Coop Cove was the kind of place where it didn’t matter how much money you had or who you were. Maybe everybody just got along.

“So, Haley’s got her man,” Katie said. “What do you think, Laila? You figure you and I are going to find a couple of eligible bachelors?”

“Stranger things have happened,” Laila said.

“Come on, Laila, you promised,” Haley said.

“Promised what?”

“That you would be entirely positive as soon as you crossed the state line.”

“I did not.”

“You did. Aaron the philatelist is in the past. Bye bye, Aaron,” Haley said.

“A—he may be in the past, but he’s still a friend. And B—I still don’t appreciate you making fun of his stamp collecting.”

“Philatelist,” Katie teased.

They continued along the beach, past the campers and vans and tents where the protestors were hanging out.

“Forget all that,” Katie said. “We’re in California now. Land of milk and honey!”

“And organic beer,” a male voice chimed in.

Haley’s heart did a little pitter patter. She recognized that voice. Ethan. He was sitting with some other people in front of an ancient VW van.

“Hey, Ethan,” Haley said.

“I swear, I wasn’t listening to your conversation. I only heard the milk and honey part,” Ethan said. “We’ve got a couple of extra chairs here. You guys want to join us?”

Yes, Haley thought, we want to join you. Of course we want to join you. Every fiber of her being thrilled at the notion. There was the shifter research, but she could do that in the morning. Just the thought of spending more time with Ethan caused her nerves to shoot bursts of excitement through her body, flushing her cheeks and bringing her loins to life. She smiled tightly, pressing her thighs together in an effort to keep the embarrassing heat she felt between her legs in check.