Wanted By The Soldier Bear (Heroes of Shifter Creek 1) by Clara Moore

life), or when he stole a Harley Davidson only to drive it into the local lake. The parental figures never wanted to be reminded of these stories, however; they only wanted to praise his few good deeds.
    Thankfully, the earphones made the drive to the airport not only quiet, but also peaceful. She fell into a pleasant sleep to make the hour and a half trip more palatable. She dreamt again of Doran being so close to her, she could feel the heat radiate off his body. This time, he leaned forward and kissed her, sending an electric current surging through her body. His hands, smoother than she expected, walked up her legs and under her skirt. Before he could finish his exploration, the car stopped and shook Isadora awake. She frowned, a blush still burning on her cheeks.
    “I hope you don’t expect to listen to those earphones while Doran’s here,” her father hissed.
                  “Well, I was going to go jogging with them, but usually just listening to earphones doesn’t do anything worthwhile,” she shrugged.
                  Angela chuckled while Mario frowned. Isadora thought her joke was quite clever. She laughed at it in her mind. They walked out together like a picture-perfect family toward the airport. Isadora hated airports. They felt sterile and oppressive, like how she imagined the world of 1984 to look - travelers always looked expressionless, bored, and unhappy while waiting for their respective planes.
                  One could argue, she thought, that the emotion came out when travelers returned home, but that wasn’t always true. Sometimes the travelers still looked like the walking dead. And that, really, she couldn’t ignore (fear of an impending zombie invasion, perhaps?)
                  She sighed, deducing her irritability came from being woken up both rudely and too early. “Hey Dad, can I get a coffee?”
    “We are waiting for your brother,” Mario snapped. “Can’t you wait?”
    “One, he’s not my brother,” Isadora snapped back. “Two, if you want me to be nice, I need coffee now.”
    “Let the girl get her coffee,” Angela swatted her husband’s shoulder and pulled out her wallet. “In fact, get us all one too. Doran likes plain black coffee. You know what your dad and I like.” Isadora looked at her blankly with the money in her hand. “I’d like a caramel macchiato, and your father will have a hazelnut latte.”
    “Great, I’ll get right on that.”
    Stopping at the first coffee shop she found,, it seemed like a swarm of people had the same idea, leaving her in an entirely too long line for her irritation level. She gave heavy sighs as she waited behind a professional looking middle-aged man.
    “Do you have a problem?” the man asked after Isadora sighed for the third time.
    “My brother is returning from the military overseas, so I’m just a little impatient,” she said. “Trying to get him and my family some coffee before he gets here.”
    The man gave her a surprised and apologetic face, “Please, go ahead of me. And thank your brother for his service.”
    She nodded, giving him a grateful smile. Using the same story, she somehow managed to reach the front of the line. Part of her felt bad about being so manipulative, but another part of her needed the coffee .
    “Hi, I’d like mediums of a caramel macchiato, a hazelnut latte, and a dirty chai with two shots,” she gave a pleasant smile to the cashier.
    “Anything else?” the cashier asked.
    “Yeah, could I also get a small black coffee?” She leaned in, bringing the cashier in so she could whisper. “Could you also put some grounds in there? It’s really weird, but my brother loves it.”
    “Um sure. We can do that.”
    “Thanks. He’s been a little loopy after going overseas for the military.”
    “This is for a service member? You know what, I’d love to give this to you for no charge.”
    “Thanks so much.”
    Taking the three cups Isadora