Twice a year the park closes for a week for routine maintenance. Missy has no vacation planned and as it turns out, neither does Owen. But who is watching the pair, just waiting for his chance to strike?
Owen Grady/OC
Chapter 2
[The storm comes in, but luckily for Missy she’s got a friend who owes her a favour...]
"It looks like there's going to be a storm," said Owen, glancing skyward as he pulled open the door to Missy's truck.
Missy placed her metal bag on the passenger seat and hopped up into the cab.
She tried starting up the engine. Nothing.
"Stupid piece of crap," she muttered to herself, banging on the dashboard with her hand.
"You want me to take a look at it for you?" asked Owen with a frown, shutting her door and leaning against the open window. But just as he said it the engine finally spluttered into life.
"Thanks, but it looks as though it'll live to fight another day," she said with a smile. "Catch you later, Owen."
And with that Owen pulled away from the door and raised his hand, waving as she reversed away.
As she did so, Barry strolled over to Owen and gave him a small shove.
"So have you told her yet?" asked Barry with a coy smile.
Owen frowned. "Don't bug me, Barry. Haven't you got a boat to catch?"
Barry grinned. "I'm just saying…" he said, raising his hands at his friend's snappy response.
"Well don't," said Owen stalking off in the direction of the holding pen.
Barry gave a laugh and followed his friend, shaking his head as he did so.
Missy had had a few more calls to make across the park that day. It was almost 8pm by the time she was finally able to head home to her bungalow on the outskirts of the park.
The park had emptied out during the day, most of the staff heading home via the boats. Lucky for them, as Owen had been right, a storm was indeed coming.
Missy drove down the empty road towards her home, the rain coming down hard. Her wipers were barely able to keep the windshield clear for more than a second.
But Missy had driven along this track hundreds of times, she knew where each bump and pot hole seemed to be. What she wasn't expecting though was for her engine to suddenly die.
"No, no, no, don't do this," she uttered in dismay as the truck ground to a halt on the side of the muddy dirt track.
She tried starting up the engine again but nothing seemed to be working. She gave a groan and slumped back against the seat.
What a day this had turned out to be. She had no vacation to look forward to, she was positive she still smelt of dino vomit and now her truck had broken down in the pouring rain.
Missy willed herself to not cry. She needed to man up and get on with it.
She hauled open the door and flung herself out into the rain, her feet immediately sinking into wet mud.
Running over to the front of the pick-up, she lifted up the bonnet and took a look inside. But she wasn't a mechanic, she had no idea what was wrong with it.
Within less than a minute, Missy was soaked through. Her clothes clinging to her body.
She leant over to look closer at the engine and barely noticed through the sound of the fallling rain, a truck, not too dissimilar to her own, pull up beside her.
"Hey there good-lookin'" came a sudden yell at her side, causing her to jump with fright.
Missy swung around, only to come face to face with-
"Owen?" said Missy, squinting at him through the sheets of raindrops.
Owen merely grinned. "Told you you should have let me take a look at it," he said teasingly. "Get in."
He cocked his head towards his passenger seat.
Missy, hesitated for a long moment before finally running around to the side of Owen's truck and hopped inside.
Owen laughed at the sight of her, dripping wet on the seat beside him.
Missy frowned. "What the hell are you doing all the way out here?" she asked him snappily. She was feeling cold and miserable at the moment and the sight of her friend laughing at her, wasn't helping matters.
Owen lived on the far side of the island in completely the opposite direction. Missy's bungalow was part of the new development, whereas from what she had heard of Owen's, it was a ramshackle pile of-
"I come all the way out here and rescue you and that's all the thanks I get?" he retorted, slapping the steering wheel.
Missy merely scowled in response.
"Well…I was coming to say cheers…. for what you did earlier…. with that raptor serum…" said Owen, his eyes suddenly avoiding hers.
She noticed him move his foot, and kick something back under the seat below him.
Missy frowned but Owen merely coughed and started up the engine.
"I didn't even realise you knew where I lived?" she said shaking her head, causing little droplets of water of fall from her wet hair onto her lap.
"Do you mind?" said Owen in a sarcastic tone. "You're dripping water all over my seats."
He had changed the subject yet again.
"Well, soooory," said Missy with a huff, shivering slightly. Her sodden clothes were causing her whole body to freeze it the cool evening air.
Owen glanced over at her for a moment before reaching over the seat behind him and grabbing a thick woolly blanket which he handed to her. "Here."
Missy glanced up at him, taking the blanket from his grasp and, for a second, their eyes met.
"Thank you," she uttered quietly.
"No problem," said Owen, turning back to the road and moving off.
Y/N stared into the bathroom mirror, her hand steadily drawing a thin black line across her nude shadowed eyelids.
She stepped back for a moment before adding a slick of black mascara to her lashes.
She had opted for a pair of denim shorts with a flannel shirt thrown over her black bra. Her long hair had been gently curled and hung loose about her shoulders.
Y/N bit her lip, spritzed a little perfume onto her neck and grabbed her keys, heading for the door.
Dusk had fallen and the sounds of crickets filled the warm, summer air. The evening was perfect.
……………….
Thirty minutes later Y/N pulled up outside Owen’s bungalow.
Switching off the engine, she let out a long breath before checking her reflection one last time in the rear view mirror.
She apprehensively stepped out of the truck and made her way over to the bungalow, wiping down her clammy hands on her shorts as she did so.
She knocked on the door and waited but there was no answer.
Y/N frowned and gazed around. The lights were on, but the curtains were drawn closed.
She knocked again. “Hello?” she out called gently.
Y/N’s heart pounded. He had said 8 at his place, right? Had she just dreamt that?
She stepped back and bit her lip just as a sudden figure appeared around the side of the house.
“Hey, thought I heard your voice,” uttered Owen, walking around the porch to meet her.
He had changed from the outfit he was wearing earlier, now casual in black jeans and a white tight fitted tee but that same warm smile still lingering across his tanned face.
“Am I early?” she said a little tentatively, walking around to meet him. She pushed her long hair off her shoulder and looked at him with wide eyes.
Owen shook his head, gave a grin and grasped her hand slowly in his.
“No, it’s just that I’ve set up for us around here,” he uttered, tugging her around the porch.
As they turned the corner, Y/N’s breath almost caught in her throat at the sight that met her eyes.
On the warm grass, just in front of the beautiful moonlit lake was a picnic blanket surrounded by tiny candles in various jars and tins. They flickered gently in the evening breeze.
Y/N glanced up at Owen, his fingers still entwined with hers.
“Owen-“ she said, in a what was just a whisper.
He turned to her and in that moment all she could see…. all she could think about… was him. The guy who she had known all this time…
Y/N gave a smile as Owen beamed back.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, suddenly letting go of her hand and disappearing into the bungalow.
Y/N slowly wandered over to the picnic blanket. So much thought and effort had gone into this. He had seen how much she had loved the lake yesterday and now he had done this…
Glow worms danced over the placid water as Owen reappeared once again.
“These….” he uttered suddenly holding something out towards her, “….are for you.”
Y/N gazed down.
In Owen’s hand was a beautiful, if a little crumpled, bouquet of flowers... tied with fishing wire.
The same flowers, Y/N had seen the previous day under Owen’s seat.
She blushed and took them from him.
“Owen they’re-“ she couldn’t finish her sentence. She couldn’t even find the right words.
She stared up at him. Were they meant for her all along?
She didn’t know what else to do… But she knew what she wanted to.
She leaned forwards and brushed her lips gently against his cheek.
A moment suddenly passed between them as she pulled away. Their faces close, their bodies closer…
But Y/N stepped away quickly.
She didn’t want to embarrass herself. There was no way a guy like him could feel the same.
Owen flung himself down onto his sofa, his head in his hands, his thoughts on Y/N and how he’d left the situation.
He knew he needed to tell her the truth.
He was a raptor trainer for God’s sake and an alpha.
And yet he couldn’t even tell his friend how he felt…
…………………………..
Y/N tossed and turned but couldn’t sleep. She kicked the covers off herself in irritation.
She had no idea what had gone wrong earlier.
Usually Owen had no issues with telling her his feelings or opinions on things.
And as she had said, she had always heard from his friends that he did ok when it came to women.
But just the thought of Owen being with another woman made her stomach churn and twist into knots.
She opened her eyes, staring up at the darkened ceiling and gave a grand sigh.
…………………………………..
Early the next morning Y/N awoke to the sound of an engine starting up outside her window.
Is that my truck? She thought to herself through a half-doze.
She heard the engine switch off and before she had time to register any more, she slipped back off to a gentle sleep.
……………………………….
Giving a great yawn, Y/N’s eyes fluttered open. She glanced over at her alarm clock.
10.07AM it read in large red letters.
She slunk down further under the sheet. She loved vacation days.
Giving a huge stretch and another yawn, she sat up and lifted the covers off herself, getting to her feet.
Did she hear someone outside this morning or was that just a dream?
She headed sleepily over to the front door, pulling it open.
There was no one there apart from her truck, sitting where Owen had towed it the day before.
She sighed, making to turn to go inside but something caught her eye.
She narrowed her eyes, noticing a piece of paper that had been stuck under her windshield-wiper, that was fluttering gently in the early morning breeze.
She hopped down her porch steps and padded across the warm grass with bare feet.
She cautiously leaned over and plucked the small scrap of paper from its holding place and stared down at it.
Written in a messy scrawl were the words. “I’m sorry – O”.
Y/N smiled to herself and moved around to her truck where her keys were sitting in the ignition. She carefully turned them and the truck stared up instantly.
She stared down at the note once again and held it to her for a long moment. Biting her lip she turned and headed inside.
She knew exactly where she was going to drive her now-working truck.
She was going to drive to the raptor cages and find Hoskins. Job or no job, she was finally going to tell him exactly where he could shove his proposition.
