Chapter One
Courtney
“Can I sit with you?”
“Gavin,” I say as my five-year-old student stands beside my seat with sad puppy dog eyes. “I told you three times. You’re not allowed getting up when the bus is moving.”
“But Stacey told me that the cows are going to eat me!”
“Cows eat grass,” I tell him. His chin starts quivering, so I pull him onto the seat before the waterworks start gushing out.
“There’s going to be nothing there to eat me?” he asks.
I try not to laugh. He’s so cute, even though he is a handful. “It’s a ranch, Gavin. Not a zoo. There are only cows, maybe some pigs, chickens, stuff like that.”
“Oh,” he says as he thinks about it. “That’s not so scary.”
“Exactly,” I say. “And we’ll see how they grow vegetables too.”
“My daddy likes growing vegetables in our backyard,” he says. “Does your husband like to grow vegetables?”
“Oh, I’m not married,” I say with a wince. For some reason, saying that always gives me a stabbing sensation in the heart.
“Oh,” he says as he looks at me curiously. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
I swallow hard. “Nope.”
“Nothing?”
Geez, will this kid lay off? I would have stuck him in the back of the bus if I knew I was going to be interrogated about my love life, or lack of one.
“I’m very happy on my own,” I say as I fidget with the zipper on my coat. Yup, coming home to an empty house and sleeping in a big cold bed by myself is just super!
Veronica’s mom turns around from where she’s eavesdropping in the seat in front of me. “I didn’t know you were single, Courtney.”
“Yup.”
“I know a guy that would be perfect for you.”
“Great,” I say as I force out a smile. I’ve heard that before. All of the guys over the years that have been ‘perfect’ for me have been anything but. Some of them were perfectly nice men, but I don’t know, they were just missing something. There just wasn’t that spark I’ve been waiting for. Maybe that spark is unrealistic. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I just need to settle for whoever comes next…
“His name is James and he works as a photocopier repairman,” Veronica’s mom goes on as she plays with the tips of her straight black hair. “I could set you two up.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” I quickly say as my heart starts pounding. “I’m not really interested in dating at the moment.”
I’m interested in finding the right guy, but I’m not interested in another awkward date.
“Oh, come on,” she says, not letting me off the hook.
“Yeah, come on, Miss Gibbs!” Gavin says. Now, he’s really going to get sent to the back.
Veronica’s mom doesn’t know when to quit. “He loves watching hockey and he was once in the newspaper for winning a hot dog eating competition. Isn’t that funny?”
I force out a laugh as I glance out the window, hoping to see a ranch pop up at any second.
“So?” she pushes. “What do you think?”
“Yeah, Miss Gibbs,” Gavin echoes. “What do you think?”
“I think we should focus on our field trip to the ranch and not on my love life,” I say in my firm teacher’s tone that conveys that this is not up for discussion.
Finally, the driver pulls our big yellow bus onto a ranch and we all spill out. It’s the beginning of fall and the air is cool and crisp, just how I like it. I zip up my fall jacket and lead the kids over to where the two ladies are waiting, our feet crunching on the fallen leaves.
“Hi, Jane and Zoe,” I say as I shake their hands. “Thank you so much for having the kindergarten class for a visit.”
I met these two at the farmer’s market where they were selling some fresh organic vegetables. We started to chat and they invited my class to come and visit their greenhouse. It’s actually the Bowen family’s ranch, but they’ve been working here for years.
“Hello, kids!” they say in an upbeat tone. “Welcome to the Bowen ranch!”
I look around as they start explaining how the ranch works. The place is spectacular. Surrounded by stunning mountains that are colored with the warm hues of fall. There are cattle grazing in the distance, four adorable houses scattered around the property. Three are meticulously taken care of, but one looks almost abandoned with weeds growing all around it and the front porch nearly caving in.
I’m wondering what the story is with the owner of that house when Jane says we’re going to visit the greenhouse.
“Just stay with the group,” Zoe says, “and whatever you do, stay away from that forest.”
She points to the trees on the other side of the valley and I get a shiver when I look at it.
“Is something going to eat us if we go in there?” Gavin asks.
Jane and Zoe glance at each other and then laugh nervously. “Just stay with the group and we’ll all have a wonderful afternoon,” Jane says.
We follow them into the greenhouse and they’re great, letting the kids get their hands dirty with the vegetables and showing them how to plant seeds. It used to be that parents would get upset when their kids came home dirty, but now the parents thank me. With videogames and TV, it’s getting harder and harder to get kids to play outside.
After about twenty minutes, I do a quick headcount to make sure all my kids are still here. My heart nearly stops when I’m one short.
I know immediately who it is.
Gavin.
He usually comes by my side every five minutes or so to ask outlandish questions, and it’s been strangely quiet.
My heart starts pounding as I run out of the greenhouse and desperately start looking around. I spot him on the other side of the valley, approaching the forest.
“Gavin!” I shout, but he’s too far away to hear.
Oh, come on. I take a deep breath and start sprinting across the valley. The last thing I need is for him to wander into the forest and get covered with poison ivy.
“Gavin!” I shout as I run. “Get back here!”
He either doesn’t hear me or he’s ignoring me, but he disappears into the trees.
I arrive at the forest a few minutes later and shiver when I see how dark it is inside. This kid…
With no other options, I duck my head under a branch and enter the forest.
Chapter Two
Adrian
My grizzly bear snarls and lets out a low growl when the smell of strangers hits his nose. It takes less than a second for him to fly into a vicious rage. His fur rises as he charges toward the source of the unfamiliar scent, slamming into trees and snapping branches as his livid paws thunder against the ground with every murderous step.
Calm down.
He lets out a nasty growl as he continues charging forward. I can feel everything he’s feeling. The wild untamed need for violence. The bloodthirsty and monstrous need to dominate everything and everyone, me included.
I’m his prisoner.