Toby’s nod was automatic, and he had to focus on keeping the smile bright when the last two people joined the group, and neither was his mate.
It doesn’t matter.It doesn’t matter.
“You wait, when the sun comes up, it’ll be spectacular.”
“I’m sure it will.”
Someone called Remy’s name, and he was off, Toby’s cup in his hand.He smiled at those around him, again putting his best foot forward.
Unlike the day before, he didn’t need to help.Others were far more eager to jump in before Toby could open his mouth.So, he watched from the sidelines, did some filming to share with his friends that he’d not been able to do the day before.That perked him up when he captured the balloon float high into the sky, and righted the basket.It was truly amazing.
“Right, climb in, Toby, you’re here with Dan, Bill, and Horris,” Remy directed before Pierre could.
He had to grin when he noticed he was the only omega in the basket.It soon disappeared when all three men talked among themselves, boasting about other adventures they’d been on.
Toby found he didn’t mind as the balloon took flight, and he focused once more on the sky changing color.Capturing it with his camera, but mainly he rested his chin on the back of his hands, being in the moment.He didn’t know where the contentment came from all of a sudden, but a sense that this was exactly how it should be, him alone, came and stayed.
They flew in a different direction this time, and before long, Toby was squinting at something on the ground in the distance.It looked like someone had painted crosses across extensive areas of land.Why would someone do that?
He noticed the basket lowering, heading straight for where the crosses were.He glanced at Pierre and witnessed the pinched look that reminded Toby of a spiteful bird about to peck someone’s eye out.
“I don’t think they want anything landing on their land,” Toby spoke up to be heard above the blast of flames.
Pierre never even looked at him.
“Yeah, Pierre I don’t think those are welcome crosses,” said Bill loudly.“You need to go a bit further out to where there’s nothing on the ground.”
“I know what I’m doing!”Pierre snapped.“I told you, you don’t need to worry.I’ll deal with the farmer.”
Oh shit.
Bill shared a look of concern with everyone in their basket as it lowered and looked to be heading right for one of the large crosses.
“Everyone, sit down,” Pierre demanded, “and brace as shown.”
Aware that it could be bumpy, Toby was prepared…or so he thought.
Nothing prepared him for the basket to hit something at an odd angle and jerk the thing sideways, landing on the corner Toby was sitting in.If he thought the last landing before was bad, it was nothing compared to this, as the palms of both hands holding on to the rope ripped open as the rope burned away the skin with the force of the basket's wild jerking.
He screamed out in pain, and led by the burning, let go without any thought other than stopping any further damage to his hands.Only they continued to bounce unceremoniously over the very bumpy ground, firing him right out of the basket.
It was a more fleeting thing as he witnessed alarmed faces as he flew out, giving no one a chance to help him, and with no time to shift, he hit the ground faster than the basket.He tried to tuck himself into a ball, only his head bounced off the lumpy ground.
His bird screamed something he didn’t understand when the agony exploded behind his eyes, and the world went white, then black, before he lost consciousness.
Chapter Six
Ernest
“You absolute fucking bastard!”Ernest couldn’t take any pleasure from the shock on Pierre’s face.He could understand it.In all the time they’d been together, Ernest had never raised his voice or gotten visibly angry, always conscious of how much bigger he was than the smaller shifter.
But the last thing Ernest expected to see while enjoying a leisurely coffee on his porch with Rick, watching the sun rise over the hill before they started work for the day, was a freaking balloon heading straight for their paddocks.The same paddocks he and Rick had stayed up until ten o’clock the night before, marking them off, clearly indicating that nothing beyond a bird was meant to land there.
“You were served with a trespass notice—the police let me know you received it,” he snarled, getting right into Pierre’s personal space.“Rick is calling the police now.And if you think for a single second that your fricking chase crew is going to come in here and spirit you off before the police get here, you can think again.That fucking balloon will stay there as evidence of the fact that you deliberately wrecked thousands of dollars of my crop.Why?Wasn’t stealing my car the last time you left here enough?”
Pierre’s face went white, and he started looking over his shoulder, but Ernest wasn’t going to give him the chance to do even more damage.
“Are you fucking blind?”Ernest poked Pierre’s chest with his finger.“I left three paddocks for you to land in over by the airstrip.Clearly unmarked, the difference could be seen no matter how high up you were.You’ve really gone too far this time.You might’ve thought I was a boring no nothing this time last year, but you’re about to see how energetic I can be—in fucking court.”
