She could practically see the gears turning over in his pretty head.
"I guess with the railing and a few electrical issues. Refinish the floors next. Fresh paint. A new fridge. I think that's about it inside. You'll need to wait for the spring to fix the outside, but I can pull down those shutters for now."
"Okay, then." He stood straight giving her a curt nod. She shied away from the realization he was looking at her again, but this time she felt naked rather than judged.
"I'll just get dressed now. Watch the chicken, would you?"
His eyebrow raised as he noticed Hazel in the corner of the room.
Without waiting for a response, she nearly ran to the bathroom and slammed the door. Her magic pulsed with life and her heart almost beat from her chest.
8
"Annie. You need to stop. You can't keep meddling in everyone's life."
The door to the cafe slammed behind him, the bell ringing as it bounced back and forth.
"Well, good to see you too, Caleb."
He slunk back and slouched. The way she looked at him made him feel like he was a child again.
"Come here and sit down. You do not tell me what I can and cannot do young man. You don't know what's best for you. That bear of yours won't last long single. Maybe you can't see it, but I know these things."
Scratching his head, he didn't know where to start. "How do you know and why does it matter?"
Annie paused. She stopped wiping down a table and left the rag behind.
"Perhaps we've waited a bit too long on your orientation? You understand the forest and the portal, but I don't know that you realize that this town only keeps that forest under control with a balance. Do you think this town has survived as long as it has with just a couple of witches? Do you think it was chance you happened to come here?"
He shrugged. The weeks after learning of his best friend's death were fuzzy. It should have been him, instead, he'd only be wounded. He was the special forces team, but he was a shifter and his friend a human.
"I can't say I remember how I got here. The first few months out of the hospital are blurry. I remember waking up at some point in the forest and stumbling my way here."
Annie nodded. "You were in rough shape. The magic, Caleb, the magic called you here though. Your bear knew what to do. He followed the instinct. You didn't shift for months when you first came here. I'll admit Evelyn enjoyed having you as a pet, but we do enjoy this version of you too."
He shook his head, trying to bring back any memories. Those were his dark days, when he let his bear keep them alive while he checked out. He was regretting that choice right now.
"I don't remember much, I guess. I woke up here one day and remember seeing the hardware store for sale."
"Right. Well, remember or not, you were called here. We watch over that portal in the forest, and your bear is what makes you valuable to us."
Caleb shook his head. "That makes no sense." He loved this town, but they were all a little off their rocker. Maybe he wanted to question everything; it would mean that Marci could be a mistake. He could return to his old life of Frank snoring on the floor and suffocating loneliness settling around him, drowning out the pain and sadness of a life he'd left behind.
Annie set down a glass in front of him.
"I swear. You get grumpier and grumpier every day. Evelyn was right. She swore that if we got you your mate, you'd finally find your purpose. A broken shifter isn't very helpful if pixies get out, or if random creatures crawl out of that damn portal. You need to mate that girl already. I did the heavy lifting..." she snorted. "Well, perhaps that was the wrong phrase since I did walk in on you doing some lifting of your own."
He nearly choked on his iced tea. "Annie! I have no intention of mating her. I have no intentions to lose control like that again either. That was a mistake. Maybe you should spend more time on that forest and less time on me."
She tsked. "Oh, dear boy. The forest is protected the best I can. Witches are still too close to human, and those pixies play awful tricks on humans. I might be a part of the coven here that wards it, but shifters help control the forest within. Introducing some new blood here, and a young shifter at that, really adds life to the town."
He needed to start paying attention. Maybe they'd told him everything when he'd first gotten here, but he obviously hadn't paid much attention.
"Look. I appreciate everything. This has been the one place I've felt at home. So don't take this the wrong way, but I have no intentions of laying down roots, and a mate would be more roots than my life has room for."
Annie howled in laughter. "You, my dear little boy are still that -- a little boy. You will push away everything we throw at you, but that bear in there is getting restless. We know your past and I bet you still don't understand yourself, not really. Your purpose would always lead you here. This is your fate, and that woman you are fighting against."
Annie came and sat down next to him.
"You can't fight fate. I sent the call, and you answered. If that bear of yours can't remain focused and in control, you will become useless and a danger. Just because we have magic here, I still couldn't step into that awful forest. If a pixie ever got out, a shifter would be the best defense to get it back. We need to work on our initiations into this town. I swear, it's been sixty years since our newest member, and we forget ourselves."
He wanted to laugh, that explained why most of the residents were so old.
He nodded. "You sound a little crazy; you know that right?"
Annie shrugged.
Sitting there he took a look at himself. Her words did sound familiar as if he'd heard them once before. He'd have some words with his bear for ignoring things, at some point. Maybe they had had this conversation before? The only thoughts that were clear to him, as if the rest of his life had been an endless nightmare, were the thoughts that involved Marci.
Closing his eyes, he swore under his breath.
"I want to tell you we have it under control. My bear and I are fine." His bear let out a roar and began pushing for a shift." Caleb started to sweat, fighting the need. "I won't be taking a mate." His bear snarled, posturing. Caleb bit back against the pain of fighting back his soul. He sucked in a sharp breath as the pain changed, and he realized his bear wasn't the cause of the soul-deep ache.
"Caleb, don't war with yourself. That bear knows what you need. Shifters aren't meant to be alone and don't you go about thinking you can be different."
He gritted his teeth. "Fine. Maybe he wants something, but I can't. Having people you care for means you have something to lose. To be taken away."
"Oh fiddlesticks. You already have plenty to lose. Don't lie to me, but I know you care about Evelyn, or you wouldn't put up with her antics. You help everyone here. You care about this little backward town, and it cares for you. That's why we found your mate for you."
He shook his head. "I knew it. She purposely breaks things, doesn't she?"
He purposely ignored the bit about Marci. What if she didn't want to stay here, in this town? What if she went back to - the idea hurt, what if she went back to her old life and got married.
His bear blew out a snort. Yeah, they were slowly getting on the same page. Although, the bear was back to questioning his human side, which Caleb started to agree was valid.
"Evelyn thought that if you were getting constant work you'd pull out of your depression until we could find your mate. I don't think she was wrong, but it hasn't seemed like enough for you."
His finger traced the rim of the cup. He couldn't remember when he'd taken a step back and saw what he'd become. He'd merely woke up one morning and realized that he couldn't remember what it was like to live as a human and that's when this town had appeared. The days still blended into pain. He barely remembered signing paperwork for the hardware store. He'd taken his savings, everything his life had been worth on deployment and reinvested it. Not that his mind would ever heal no matter what steps he took.
He'd been discharged for the PTSD. Not because of his injuries. His paranormal magic healed the physical wounds. Some days he considered his brother to have been the lucky one instead of being the one left behind.
"Caleb, do not go back there."
She set the cake in front of him.
"We know your past. Do not go back there. It no longer exists. Move forward. Go make a move on that fine young woman down the street."
This town creeped him out at times. "You're scary; you know that?"
Annie smiled. "Yes dear. I'm well aware. But as long as I'm on your side, you're safe. And, I am on your side. What do the kids say these days? Team Caleb? Evelyn is on your side too. Promise us that you'll keep yourself safe, out of those dark thoughts, and learning to trust. A mate only comes around once."
He stiffened. "How do you know what I've been through? Two years and you never asked."
Her fingers tip tapped on the table.
"You didn't want to talk. Don't hold it against us, but a little hair and a drop of blood can go a long way to tell someone's deepest darkest secrets. Or at least their past."
He scowled. "Great. What else do you know?"
She smirked. "How do you think we were able to seek out your mate?"
He grumbled and stood up.
"If I had a mom I would say I didn't need another one."
He took a few steps towards the door. He was done being angry, that had stopped a few months ago. The past ate him up too much. The energy it took to lose someone was the main reason he didn't want to find his mate. He didn't want the friends. He didn't want to miss anyone.
He did need purpose though - something he'd been missing for a while. He paused a few feet from the door.
"The forest..."
He didn't turn but could hear the shuffle of chair legs against the tile floor.
"What about it?"
"I'm supposed to guard it?"
He could make out each breath as it left her lips.
The scent of coffee, tea, sweet sugar, and lemon flitting through the air.
"Yes, wasn't that clear when you came here, dear?"
He flexed his fists. "Not exactly. I thought they were all stories you guys used, sort of like tourist bait. Until I realized the spells you used would compel humans to leave that area, and they'd never know it existed. Marci sees it; she seems to think the magic is different. I told her what I know, but when exactly were you going to tell me about that place?"
The darkness of the evening cast a shadow around the small shop.
"When you were ready to hear it."
He gave a subtle shake of his head. "You act as if I'm some child or that I don't know about magic."
He turned around as she sighed.
"Caleb, come sit."
He didn't move at first. But why wouldn't he hear Annie out? This was the only place he'd ever felt safe. Felt like he had a home and maybe the purpose of guarding the forest was why? Perhaps it wasn't. He'd never know if he didn't listen though.
He took a step back and grabbed a chair. Fine. He'd listen.
"Okay. What, Annie."
She smiled. "The magic here called you. I dug around the best I could to see who was coming to us. We need new blood every now and again, and you were it. But why? We didn't know either. I saw the coldness in your heart, the broken shards of a man with secrets."
He grunted.
"I know you're an orphan raised in a mostly human world. I know the boy you grew up with was killed while you served in the military together. Both those facts alone only tell us some about you. For whatever reason though, you're who the magic has chosen and that fact makes you our business and ours to care for."
She took a sip of her tea. "That forest is older than humanity I'd guess, but that doesn't matter much. All portals are watched out for, because before they were, creatures from every dimension and realm wandered freely causing a lot of havoc."
He lifted his brow. "Okay."
She leaned in closer. "Think dinosaur extinction, dear. I don't know when the first witch appeared, or the first shifter. That's all up to the history books, but I do know that guarding this gate has been in my bloodline for centuries. And, now it's yours."
A small scrape in the table held his attention, his finger rubbing along the groove.
"Okay. So what do I do again?"
She smiled. "What you already do. Let your bear guide you. He knows what to do. Nothing has disturbed us here for a long time. Those that come through have all done so properly."
He snorted. "So, it sorta sounds like you're the TSA of the paranormal world."
She laughed. "I suppose so. And you, dear, are the muscle to keep them conforming to the laws."
The hum of the fridge calmed his nerves. He could be a protector. That's what he was supposed to be good at, as long as you were human and this was a war.
"Alright. Well, thanks. Let me know if a faerie rings your metaphysical bell. Stop with the matchmaking though."
She pressed her lips and huffed. "You're stubborn. I suppose that's what I get for recruiting a shifter."
He smiled and headed towards the door again.
"Oh, Annie? Do you know anything about the ghost at the inn? It's giving Marci some trouble."
He paused at the door and looked over his shoulder, waiting for her.
"I'll call the Lowensteins tonight and see what's going on. I don't remember them mentioning anything troublesome other than health. Oh, and Caleb?"
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Do stop by Evelyn's and see if she has any new batches of berries for me."
A quick nod and he left.
All this sounded exciting, but truthfully he was still bored and restless. Fetching berries, fixing fences and toilets, selling caulking and screws. He yawned just thinking of it.
Maybe he'd head down to the tree line and see what he could sniff out. Find some adventure chasing a pixie.
His bear had other ideas though, and they all circled the sweet scent of Marci. His jeans grew tighter with each step as visions of her screaming in pleasure flashed before his eyes. He curled his fingers into his palm. He couldn't go to her.
His dick twitched. Caleb could imagine her tight heat stitching around him, and oddly he didn't feel much like heading down to the forest. He felt like tossing aside everything he thought his life should be - all for this woman.
9
Marci sat in bed glaring at the wall.
If that ghost knocked that picture down one more time, she'd exorcise the shit out of it. The ghost, not the picture. This was shit. The only good thing was Hazel cooing in her box seemingly unaware of their uninvited guests.
"What do you want?" She yelled to the wind. Nothing.
Silence. Of course. This was getting to be too much. If this ghost played one more trick...
The doorbell rang, breaking her from her thoughts.
Did she leave Hazel alone or not? "Hazel? You coming?" She asked, tossing a glance to the picture as she walked to the door.
The chicken didn't answer. Hazel pecked at the chicken feed and corn Marci scattered around the dog kennel and Hazel's current home.
She needed a home for Hazel, outdoors, but the temperatures were too cold to build anything. Marci lied to herself, the reality that she liked having company of any kind was the driving force. Once Marci got the ghost under control, she'd figure out Hazel.
She also needed to sleep at some point. Every time she tried though, the air froze around her, and things started to take on a life of their own.
Yawning she padded downstairs. There was an energy about the spirit and Marci could see threads leading to the forest she'd been warned away from. Figures, the thing wandered off but still kept coming home.
She yawned again as the doorbell chimed a second time.
"I'm coming."
The last few days had been painting, dusting, and cleaning nearly round the clock. If the ghost wouldn't let Marci sleep, it at least let her
get something else done. Her muscles ached.
Whoever was at the door better appreciate the effort it took for her to get up and do something right now.
Her heart skipped and energy she didn't think she could muster coursed through her veins at the idea that maybe Caleb was checking in on her.
He hadn't come back after dropping off the paint she'd ordered from him, and rationally she knew he had a life, but this was a small town; what did he have to do?
God, that kiss. The touch of his lips was still the only thing that got her through the icy ghost's temper tantrums at night. Every time that temperamental spirit decided to mess with her, Caleb popped in her head, giving her strength, or distraction, she didn't know which.
Marci groaned to herself as she took the stairs one by one and her calf muscles protesting. It would all be worth it as soon as the house was done. Then she could hopefully stop looking at the four-poster beds in each of the rooms and imagining Caleb taking her on each of them, multiple times. She needed to let him go since chasing him - or any man - was never going to happen. He wasn't interested, fine. She'd move on.
Sheets. She needed sheets, of course, all she could do was see herself twisting the cotton in her fists as his mouth played at the vee of her thighs.
Focus.
Maybe she needed a cold shower. She took the last step and tried to keep reality in focus. A few minor costs and she'd be up and running. This was much better than the initial assessment.
As she pulled the door open, she caught a glimpse of his broad shoulder before opening it all the way. She froze. Good Lord. Get a hold of yourself.
A repeat of day one was not the best idea. Or was it? No.
"What? Did you lose your key?"
She quirked an eyebrow as he worried his lip between his teeth.
"I. No. You said you were good at finding things right?"
Why didn't she hate him? An ache deep within her wanted nothing more than to hold him. She should hate all men. She should be mad he took advantage of her when she'd arrived, although she still wasn't clear who kissed who.
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