INGA
Another winter had blownacross Newfoundland in an endless parade of snow and ice and nor’easters, locking down the island for months that sometimes felt they would never end. But as always, it melted away to a soft vibrant spring filled with an explosion of fresh green and returning birds and new life.
Inga Nilsson loved this time of year best. Spring on the island was chilly by mainland standards, but as a polar bear shifter, the fresh, brisk air energized her. She felt bouncy, almost jittery, full of life and energy.
At least she usually did.
This spring it was more of a restlessness, tinged vaguely with a sad, lonely feeling.
Both her older brothers were married now. Big brother Tor was going to be a dad this summer, while Eren and his mate Lucy spent months at a time out on the family fishing boat, as Lucy’s thriving bookkeeping business was run over the Internet and could be done from almost anywhere. And when they were home, they had their own little house up the hill.
So it was just Inga and her dad in the big family home built over the water, with the trap door through which they could dive in their polar bear forms into the chilly, refreshing depths of thebay. Sometimes she felt as if they were rattling around like two peas in an oversized pod.
To give full credit to her dad, Inga had to admit that Stieg Nilsson had cleaned up his life a lot in the last couple of years. The loss of their mother, many years ago, and the struggles of the local fishing industry had left him a deeply unhappy man, drinking heavily and looking for meaning in life as his kids grew up. Inga suspected that what had given him new meaning was the presence of his two new daughters-in-law, the new life they represented, and particularly the news that he was going to be a grandfather. He had found purpose again as the patriarch of a growing clan.
All of which was wonderful, and she was happy for him, and for them. But she couldn’t help feeling as if she was being left behind. Her brothers both had settled into their adult married lives, and her dad was settling happily into his role of father-in-law and, soon, grandfather. She knew already that he was going to be a wonderful grandfather, with age smoothing out the push-pull between indulgent love and overcorrecting paternal authority that had made her brothers’ teen years difficult.
Her friends and age-mates were all getting married, too. The Westerly sisters, Wyona and Juanita, her close companions since they were all schoolgirls together, had kids. And just about everyone else in her age bracket had either settled down or moved away.
Inga adored Westerly Cove, with its pretty, colorful houses and the gargoyle statues that made the town unique. But the singles scene in Westerly Cove was ... not great. Inga knew every eligible bachelor within fifteen years of her own age. They were mostly decent guys, but they were .... hmm.Single for a reasonwould be a good way to put it. Also, she could solidly confirm now that her brothers had met their mates that not a single oneof the paltry handful of unmarried men in her broad age bracket werehermate.
So what was there for her, then? She didn’t enjoy being her dad’s live-in housekeeper, even though he was doing a bit more nowadays to pull his own weight around the house. She had worked various temporary or summer jobs, ranging from pulling nets on fishing boats to housekeeping at the Westerly Inn, none of which seemed likely to set her up for a career.
She also had part of a marine biology degree, which she’d had to quit in her third year, partly for financial reasons and partly because she was, at the time, concerned about her dad and wanted to be closer to home. Quitting college was still her biggest regret. But it wasn’t as if marine biology jobs were in great supply, and she had probably already missed the window to apply for a summer internship or similar position this year.
Westerly Cove often had research vessels around in the summer, a source of low-level anxiety for the shifters, who worried about discovery if they were being watched that closely. Inga supposed that if one of them did show up again this year, which was likely, she could talk to the researchers about the possibility of going into that as a career.
And what if I get halfway into it and drop out again, what then?
Inga looked around the living room with a sigh as she slung a backpack of essentials over her shoulder. The house was beautiful, with its colorful rugs and wooden furniture and the big picture windows looking out to sea. She really did love it here, and she looked forward to seeing her future nieces and nephews playing on the big old pieces of handmade furniture.
I just need a few days to get my head together.
This was the first time this spring that the weather was nice enough for Inga to feel comfortable taking a boat out by herself. Her dad had gone out on a several-day trip with some of hisfishing buddies, enjoying the spring weather himself. Although he would surely hear about it from Tor and Bernie, she left him a note pinned to the fridge telling him her plans, in case he got back when no one was there:
Dear Dad,
I’m going to Mom’s cabin for a few days. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine! I just need to clear my head for a bit.
- Inga
She turned awayfrom pinning it to the fridge at a knock on the door.
“Come in. Is that Tor?”
The door opened, and her heavily pregnant sister-in-law Bernadette—Bernie—pushed her way inside.
“It’s both of us. I was afraid we’d missed you.”
“Nope, still here.” Inga moved quickly to relieve her sister-in-law of a large overnight bag. “Did you two decide to stay down here, then?”
Bernie nodded. “For a couple of days, anyway. We’ll see if it actually helps.”
The house really didn’t need housesitting with Inga and her dad gone; someone coming by to water the plants a couple of times a week would have been fine. But Bernie had been making subtle complaining noises, as her pregnancy grew closer to its due date, about staying at the lighthouse on the point. Technically the lighthouse wasn’t that far away, but picking up anything from town or visiting anyone required either a short car ride, or a walk down the steep and rocky path that was becoming increasingly untenable for Bernie in her current state.
Since Inga was going to be away for a week or so, having Bernie and Tor at the family home for a while seemed like theperfect solution. There would be someone to keep their dad from subsisting on beef jerky and microwave pizza (she’d seen how he ate when no one else was around), Bernie would get to put her feet up and enjoy visits from neighbors who didn’t have to go all the way up to the lighthouse, and both she and Tor would be closer to town in case any complications came up with the pregnancy. So far it didn’t look like there was any reason to worry, but Inga thought they would both feel better away from the isolation of the lighthouse for a little while.
“When is your dad coming back?” Bernie asked.
