It was nice to sit in the spring sun, drink water, and rest for a bit. The last twenty-four hours had been more active than any day since her accident—she blushed as she remembered the passionate lovemaking of the night before. Topped off with a dramatic rescue in the mountains, it made for a hell of a day, and her muscles were protesting all of the unexpected activity. It would be so nice to just sit in the sun for a while, and then maybe go take a relaxing hot bath and a nap. Those were acceptable activities for her convalescing self, so maybe her mother wouldn't even get too angry.
No, Teri knew. She'd walked right out after being screamed at for walking out the night before. She wasn't going to get a relaxing anything.
She was trying to steel herself to get up and go be screamed at again when Joel came out of the rangers' building and saw her sitting on the bench.
He hesitated, and Teri wondered if he was just going to walk past her or turn around and go the other way. But instead, he came over and sat down. "Hi." He sounded tentative but friendly.
"Hi," Teri said. "Everything go okay with Cal?"
"Just fine," Joel said. There was a long pause. "Listen, I probably came across as a little unfriendly earlier."
"It's okay," Teri assured him. "You weren't expecting some random woman to suddenly appear and be part of your family."
"Well," Joel said, "that is supposed to be how it works for shifters. But you're right. I wasn't expecting it."
"I promise I'm not going to move in tomorrow or anything," Teri said. "Don't let Zach try to convince you I should."
Joel rubbed his eyes, looking a little exasperated. "Zach wants to help people. Does he think it'll help you to move in?"
"He does. But I don't think it'll help you, and surely that's just as important."
Joel laughed a little, although it didn't sound funny. "I like you, Teri."
Teri wasn't sure where this was going, but it warmed her a little to hear it. "I like you, too."
"I don't like the idea of mates," Joel explained. "That's the problem. I've never liked being made to do something, so the whole concept of being forced into a relationship seems wrong. And our parents..."
"Zach told me about them," Teri said softly. "They seem like a perfect example of the ways mating can go wrong." Star-crossed lovers, fleeing their families, no one to help them when they were all alone, one following the other one into death...
Joel blew out a breath. "Yeah. Well. I don't want any of that for Zach. Or for me, for that matter."
"So..." Teri said.
"So there's nothing I can do," Joel said with finality. "You're already here, he's not going to leave you, you're not going to leave him, and probably if you did it would be worse than if you stayed."
"Thanks," Teri said dryly.
"Nothing against you personally," Joel said, waving a hand. "Just...the whole mates thing sucks. It really sucks."
Teri breathed slowly, thinking about everything he’d said. "I can't agree," she said finally. "I never knew about shifter mates until I met Zach, and I've hardly had the chance to experience it so far, but even if there's an awful tragedy waiting in our future...it's worth it. Being with him will have been worth it. I've never felt like this in my life. Like I belong to someone, and we're meant to be together. I wouldn't give it up for anything."
Joel nodded. "Yeah. I figured."
"So where does that leave us?" Teri asked tentatively.
"Don't worry about it. I'll get over it, I guess. Get used to it. And maybe there won't be any of the problems our parents had. And honestly, Teri, I really do like you. It's just the situation I don't like."
"Great. I'm moving in tomorrow, then," Teri said, teasing.
Joel laughed, shaking his head. "Don't even joke about it. Zach'll make it happen."
"Not if you don't want him to, surely."
Joel shrugged. "Honestly, I don't mind what happens. I spend more time outside than I do in the house, and it's empty half the time anyway because Zach and I work different schedules. Don't stay away on my account."
It wasn't quite a “Welcome home, come on in!” But it was much better than Teri had expected, given how Joel had been acting before.
"Anyway, sorry I was a dick earlier. I was surprised and I could've reacted better. I'm off work now and I'm starving, how about I buy you a late lunch to make up for it?"