Surprises and Vacation Time

*Parker*
He sat at the counter going over applications again, Argyle was going to leave California, he couldn’t handle the proximity of his new mate Jazmine. He was not over the loss of his first mate, was not ready at all for a second chance mate. To everyone’s surprise, Jazmine decided to be the one to leave, stating that Bodega Bay was Argyle’s home, not hers, so she would leave. There was no drama, just a quiet announcement as they were all closing up for the day yesterday, Argyle let out a hiss then left the room after he nodded to her response.
Arabella decided that was a good enough time for her to leave, she would take Jazmine and Lynn with her. The three of them were a powerful force together, so they would all be moving to Paris with Arabella. Rayne was sad to have Lynn go, Lynn however was ecstatic to be going on her first real adventure, leaving Rayne and Parker in charge of the diner if they wanted it. They didn’t want to run both bar and diner, so the diner would close until they could find a buyer for it, much to Parker’s sadness. He would miss the woman who had taken them both in, gave them jobs, and treated them like family from day one.
He hadn’t felt that welcoming sense of family since his adoptive parents died when he was seventeen. They were the only family he had ever really known. Winston and Gayle Thorn were good people who coaxed a frightened little boy out of his shell. To this day he still could hear Gayle hollering at him for breakfast, promising bacon if he hurried. Winston had taught him to shift for the first time, taught him to fight clean, and much to Gayle’s disappointment, he learned to fight dirty when needed. Lynn had reminded him what family meant. Rayne made him see that family could be those you called your own long before he fell in love with her.
So, here he sat looking over applications for a new bartender. Two of the applicants were male, both being werewolves, the other two were Fae twins. He was leaning heavily towards the twins, as having both of them on busy nights once they finished the patio would come in handy. So, he emailed their file to Rayne, closed up the bar then made his way home. He wanted nothing more than to curl up next to Rayne, get a few hours of sleep, then go on the vacation they talked about yesterday.
After all that had happened in the last month, they thought it would be good to get away together. The bar was in excellent hands with her father. They had terrific employees that could handle things without them for two weeks. So later tonight they would catch a flight to Florida to visit Bridgette and her mate Carlos, Rayne wanted to meet Alec’s mate. Though he wanted them to go somewhere that no one knew them, he agreed to go with her for a week, then she agreed to go anywhere he wanted after that.
As he landed on the deck in his hawk form, he noticed a car pulling into the driveway. It was a shiny red convertible with the top down. The driver was someone he had never seen before. The scent that he got when the man pulled to a stop was a shifter. Which was interesting since he had not met another of his kind in years. The man had reddish-brown hair, features that were oddly similar to his own, confusing him further.
The man stepped out of the car as he looked around the area. He looked out at the beach view with a smile on his face, then towards the house. He spotted Parker on the deck, cocked his head to the side as he studied him, he the nodded his head in Parker’s direction as he made his way slowly to the steps of the deck.
“I know what you are,” He said, stepping up onto the deck, “You can shift back anytime.”
Parker flew up over the deck, circled to the back of the house so he could get dressed, then he walked through the house to the sliding glass door. He just stared at him for a moment before sliding the doors open. “Who are you?”
“I am honestly surprised you don’t know.” The man stepped closer so that Parker could get a better look at him.
The man’s scent caused a memory from his childhood to flash in his mind, the orphanage where he grew up in Ireland, the nuns that took in supernaturals. The memory was gone before he could fully grasp it, all that remained was the feelings of anger and loss. Who the hell was this guy that looked so like him?
“I don’t know you. Why are you here?” Parker backed away from the man.
“You know me, Parker, you just don’t remember me. Why would you when that last time we saw each other you were only five years old?”
Parker looked confused. There wasn’t a lot from his childhood that he remembered, nothing clear until he was seven or eight. By then he had already come to the states to live with Winston and Gayle, who took him in when the orphanage burnt down. Wait, was this man at the orphanage when he was a child, before the fire that killed his older brother?
“Were you in the orphanage with me back in Ireland? That is the only way I could know you.” Parker moved around the man as he spoke, confusion written all over his face. Then his eyes looked to the sliding doors as Rayne stepped outside. Relief went through him now she was out here with them.
“I was there yes,” The man eyed Rayne as she walked out of the house. “Interesting. A werewolf, hm, gorgeous one too.”
Parker moved back to the doors to stand beside Rayne, his hand going to the small of her back as she looked at the other man with surprise in her eyes, she looked between him and Parker a few times then place her hand on his back.
“Ah, you two are a couple, I see. Mates?”
“That isn’t any of your business, I do not know who you are,” Parker could feel that was untrue even as he spoke the words.
The man sighed as he reached into his back pocket, “Relax, I am not here to hurt either of you.” He opened his wallet, pulled out a small photo, then held it out for Parker.
Parker reached for it cautiously, frowning at what he saw in the picture. Two little boys with very similar features, one taller than the other with his arm around the shoulder of the smaller boy. Behind them stood a large church with a sprawling green lawn with more children milling about. All were wearing the same faded blue cotton pants and a white shirt. He looked at the taller boy’s eyes, then looked up to the man before him. His eyes were the same shade, only wearier than the little boy he used to be.
“Who are you? You are not him, that isn’t possible.”
“Oh, but it is little brother, I assure you.”
“No, Owen did the night of the fire.”
“The nuns told you that?”
“The priest that helped us escape did. He said he tried to save Owen but couldn’t reach him before the ceiling of our room caved in. You are NOT Owen!!”
“He lied to you. They locked me in the cellar for stealing bread that I hid for you and the younger kids.”
Parker let out a sob as he remembered how it was in the orphanage. There were too many children, not enough food. The priests hoarded the food for themselves. Owen and some older children would steal food from the kitchen at night when the nuns were asleep. Owen being locked in the cellar for stealing explained why Parker couldn’t find him during the lightning storm that caused the fire that night.
“Where have you been all this time?” Rayne asked as she rubbed her hand up Parker’s back.
“Parker thought I was dead all this time, I thought the same, until a few days ago. I fell in with a dangerous crowd in Ireland, smugglers, drug dealers, thieves. I met my mate, and we left that life behind us, we moved to Italy, made a life together. Then one day I was talking to a friend about visiting the states, he mentioned a supernatural friendly bar here in Bodega Bay run by a werewolf and shifter. That didn’t interest me at first until he mentioned your names. That got my attention right away, so I had to come here to see if the shifter named Parker could be my little brother.” He walked to Parker after he was done, held his hand out, palm up. At the base of his thumb was a star-shaped scar.
Parker knew that scar, he had the same one at the base of his thumb too, Owen carved them after their parents died. “Owen!” Parker launched himself at his brother to wrap him in a hug. They then spent the next several hours catching up on each other’s lives, Rayne deciding to postpone their trip until the next day so he could have some time with Owen.
After the month they had, each of them now had a part of their past returned to them, Parker took that as a sign of good things to come for the future. He would make the best of what they had for as long as they had it. Rayne and Owen were his family now, Lynn would remain the mother figure he needed even from Paris, Edmund had become a good friend to him since he came into their lives. For the first time in longer than he could remember, his life was full, his circle complete.

*Rayne*
*Two days later*
“We could have put this off for a few more weeks, given you more time with your brother,” She looked at Parker as he hung up his phone after talking to Owen.
“He is moving to Bodega Bay with his mate, they will be settled in by the time we get back, I will see him then,” He leaned back on his lounge chair as he looked out at the ocean.
They had stopped at the beach for a few hours before heading to see Bridgette, Parker insisted she wear the little red bikini he packed for her, it barely covered her ass so she wore a black maxi dress over it. The dress had a slit on one side to her hip. She wore the top down to her waist as she lay sunbathing, half-listening to Parker while he talked to Owen.
“I know, but this could have waited,” She took his hand as he reached for hers.
“No, we are going to visit Opal Moon. I know you want to meet Alec’s mate, tell Bridgette about your father since you didn’t when you talked last.”
“No, telling her with one breath that her father was dead, while with the next telling her mine was alive, didn’t seem fair. She didn’t seem upset that Wilson was dead, but given everything he did to all of us, I don’t blame her.”
“Then we will go later, but after I get you in the water!” Parker stood, scooped her up in his arms, and was rushing towards the water before she had time to slap his hands away.
“Damn it, Parker....” Before she finished, he plunged both of them into the water.
Thirty minutes later they both came back to their seats while laughing at each other, Parker grabbed her waist as he plopped down on his lounge chair, pulling her on top of him as he did. They lay there catching their breaths, his hand idly stroking up and down her back, her hand mimicking his as she stroked his bare chest.
“Let’s get going, the drive to Opal Moon is going to be fun,” Rayne wiggle off Parker to gather their things.
“You going to just wiggle on me like that and leave me hanging?”
“Yes, for now. Get moving, I want to be there before it gets dark. We don’t want to be trying to enter a pack’s territory in the dead of night.”
“That is a fair point.” He sat up, grabbing his shirt off the bag between their chairs.
Rayne pulled the top of her dress up, then put a thin jacket over it, letting Parker grab the rest of their gear. The drive to Opal Moon would take them about an hour from where they were now, they would be lucky to get there while there was still daylight out. She would call Bridgette once they were on the road to let her know they were on the way, that way she could let Carlos inform his warriors that there would be guests coming in soon. The last thing they wanted was a fight with pack warriors that thought they were rogues wanting a fight.
They drove out of the Apalachee Bay area towards the northern part of the Apalachicola National Forest, Opal Moon’s territory was about five miles north of the forest borders. They owned a small town with enough residences to house most of their small pack, some living outside the town in smaller, more secluded houses. From what Carlos had said when they were in Bodega Bay, there were around two hundred werewolves in Opal Moon.
There were bigger packs in Florida, but Opal Moon was the only one this far north, which left them in peace. The rogue attacks that hit Jade Moon at the same time were calculated, being the first genuine attack Opal Moon had in years. Parker was looking forward to the peace that they would get while they stayed, Rayne had to admit that she could do with the downtime.
Parker got lost twice, but eventually, they found their way onto the correct road, making it to the pull off for the down as the sun was setting. Two men stood in the road signaling for them to pull over, Parker nodded his head as he complied with their orders. One man walked to Parker’s window asking him to get out of the car, but when he caught Parker’s scent, his eye narrowed.
“State your business here, shifter,” he growled at Parker.
Rayne spoke up from the passenger seat, “We are here to see your Luna, Bridgette. I believe your Alpha informed you that a werewolf and a shifter would be on their way here.”
The men looked at each other, the one at Parker’s window grumbled before nodding his head at his companion, “Go ahead. Follow this road until you hit the town square, then take a left, follow that road until you reach the gates of the Alpha’s house.”
“Thank you kindly,” Parker smiled at the man then drove away.
So much for first impressions.
Parker followed the directions given, and soon they were at a set of tall iron gates set into an ancient-looking stone fence. Guards flanked each side of the gate. As they saw the jeep approach one guard pressed a button on his side to open the gate. He waved them in with a welcoming smile. The driveway was long, and each side was lined with thick bushes and trees, a few lamps posted dotted each side to light the way.
The house itself was a large two-story French-style farmhouse, a small garage was attached, and a very large and impressive garden loomed in the dark on the west side of the house. That would be something Rayne would explore come morning. She never had a green thumb, but she had a love of all flowers. Her favorite was the calla lily, her mother used to order them to have all over their house. Seeing them reminded her of her mother.
As they approached the house Rayne could see Carlos standing on the wrap-around front porch. He looked tired, but he waved at them. Parker pulled the jeep to the side of the garage, got out, and grabbed their bags from the backseat, then he walked with Rayne as they made their way to Carlos.
“You look tired,” Rayne stated as she stood at the bottom of the porch stairs, “Is Bridgette alright?”
“She is fine now, just resting.”
“What happened?”
“She had the baby, a little boy we named Tomas. They are both sleeping now. Come, I will show you to the guest room, I am sure you both would like to get some rest.”
“Yes, that would be nice. What about Clara and her baby?” Rayne asked as they followed him into the house.
“She is due any day now, but otherwise fine. She is in the gardens with my sister Frankie.”
“Well, then I shall meet everyone in the morning.”
Carlos led them to their room, bid them goodnight, then went to check on his mate. Rayne would get to meet Clara and Tomas, people she wanted to consider family. Bridgette and Rayne used to close like sisters once, she hoped that they could regain some of what they used to have.
New beginnings, new life, and a new view for her future gave Rayne plenty to think about as she and Parker got ready for bed. She wanted to hear about Alec from his mate. What he was like when they met, how he won the duel. Alec was the closet thing Rayne had to a brother. Even though they were not close before she left Jade Moon, she felt his loss deeply.
Parker sensed her sadness as he wrapped his arms around her. They held each other as Rayne shared stories of her childhood. The sadness was replaced with laughter as she recalled the three of them growing up. Parker all the while was listening intently, asking questions as she rambled. He then he wiped that all out of her mind as he made love to her. She fell asleep listening to the steady beat of his heart.