Jane was sure there was steam coming off her clothes as her body heated. There was something about Galen Sinclair that spoke to her in every way possible.
“Go shower. I’ve got this.”
“Just shout if you need anything else.”
“Will do. Enjoy your shower,” Galen called out to her as she tried to hurry down the hall as much as her heavy wet clothes would allow.
6
“Enjoy your shower? I’m such an idiot,” Galen muttered to himself as he began mixing up the stew his family had made for more generations that Galen could count. He was trying to think of the perfect thing to say for a date, but this wasn’t a date. And why was he making his family’s special stew and shortbread for a patient? He’d never cooked for any woman in the past. “She’s not your girlfriend.” Idiot, he told himself again.
The second Galen touched Jane during his exam, he was a goner. He’d thought of nothing else. It was strange. Very strange. He was a man of science and extensive education. He did not believe in love at first sight. Lust? Heck, yes. That was explained by pheromones. This was something completely different. It was as if his whole being demanded he be in Jane’s presence.
Galen let out a long breath when he heard the shower turn on. It took all he had not to push open the bathroom door and offer to help Jane in the shower. He was like a man possessed. Galen closed his eyes for a second and shook his head as a childhood memory shoved it way to the forefront of his mind.
He had been a young boy. No older than six when his Nan came to visit his family in America. She came every winter to stay for two months and then he’d go spend the summer with her.
The memory played out in the stew he was mixing. The same stew his Nan had been making when she told him of the Legend of the Selkie. They were seals that could shed their skins when on land to appear human. They were both loved and feared. It was said that if a human saw a Selkie without their skin, they would fall madly in love. However, no matter how romantic the story began they all ended in heartbreak.
Sure, they were nothing but old legends, but his Nan had told him to take the warning given in the story. Like with the Selkies, not everything in life was as it seemed.
“What a miserable freaking night.” Samuel grumbled for the hundredth time as he trudged next to Slade.
Yes, it was the mother of all thunderstorms and they were sludging through the woods surrounding Moonshine Hollow. Slade would rather be doing anything else, especially if it meant being with his true love. The wedding planning had been weighing heavy on Zoey. No matter how he tried to talk to Grand Mistress Lauren and Grand Master Linus, they were set on it being the wedding of the millennium.
“You know Zoey has been having visions. We need to protect our people,” Slade finally responded.
“Does it have to be tonight?” Samuel complained.
“Am I making you miss a hot date?” Slade tried to act innocent in his question, but he knew it would annoy Samuel. Samuel had a crush on Polly, a very cute and sweet fire power witch. The thing was, the Claritase and Tenebris had been separated for so many centuries they didn’t know what to do with each other now. Dating was much different hundreds of years ago.
“You know I don’t,” Samuel snapped. He was a fierce warrior, but not so fierce when it came to gathering the courage to ask Polly out.
“Then stop complaining and let’s finish this search. And the reason for doing it tonight was because of the noise of the rain. If there are rogue Tenebris hunters still out here, they wouldn’t hear us coming.”
Slade was on high alert under the hood of his black raincoat as they marched through the woods. The smell of the rain, the darkness of the woods, and the sinking of his feet in the wet leaves all seemed to heighten Slade’s senses.
He didn’t know what it was, but something was wrong. Something had the woods quiet, and it wasn’t the storm. Every ounce of magic in his body was unsettled.
“Slade!”
Slade began running toward Samuel the second he called out. They had been walking about twenty feet apart while they searched a popular hunting area for humans. Using his flashlight instead of powers, Slade scanned the area.
“Down there,” Samuel said with a frown.
Slade lowered the light and cursed. A man lay on the ground in a heavy camouflage jacket. He scanned the area and found the tree stand the hunter had been in. His rifle was still up there.
“Should I call it in?” Samuel asked.
“I don’t see a bullet wound,” Slade said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of exam gloves. It took a bit to slip them on, but then he was able to bend down and push the man over to his back.
This time both he and Samuel cursed. This man didn’t die of a gunshot or stab wound. He also didn’t die from falling out of the tree stand. The electric burn mark on the middle of his head told the two men exactly what had happened and who had done it.
“Tenebris hunter,” Samuel said with disbelief. “Zoey was right. There is something bad in the woods.”
A cold chill ran down Jane’s spine as the hot water washed over her. The feeling was there, but then it was gone—Ian. It had to be. And here she was in the shower daydreaming of the human man in her kitchen. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t possibly have a fling with a human right now. Especially not a doctor.
He would notice the abnormal things, like her ability to heal from minor injuries far too quickly. Or the fact that her blood was different from human blood on a molecular level that only the Goddess who created them knew about. In those small differences, the Goddess had empowered the witches their ability to help heal others and to help the then newly emerging human civilization. They had done so for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations had called them healers . . . until the witch trials. Then when former Grand Master Alexander of the Tenebris attacked the Claritase to steal their powers they had been forced farther underground.
It had been so long since Jane had helped a human as her mother had taught her. She’d healed some sprained ankles of the hikers she led over the years, but it had been so minor they had said it had been the ibuprofen they’d taken. No matter the strange reaction she had when she was around Galen, she had to keep away from him. It wasn’t safe for her and it wasn’t safe for him.
Jane stepped from the shower with determination. She needed to get tonight over with, recover her memories so she could help the other witches protect themselves from Ian, and never go near Galen Sinclair again.
Oh no. No. No. No.
The image of the man in Jane’s kitchen with the sleeves rolled up exposing strong muscular arms as he ladled heaping scoops of stew into big bowls had Jane frozen in place as her heart seemed to reach for him.
Her body warmed and the need to touch Galen was so strong that Jane was already stepping forward before she caught herself.
“Right on time.” Galen turned toward her, holding two bowls of stew, and smiled. Oh no. She was lost.
“In my family we drink this with whisky, but I also brought some red wine if you’d like that,” Galen told her as he smiled at her. “I’ll put this on the table if you want to pour yourself a drink and join me.”
Jane took a deep breath. He was a human and there was nothing he could do to her. She was the one who was far superior in every way. She could travel anywhere in the world with a twitch of her finger. She could heal broken bones or restart a heart with a touch of her hands. Surely she was strong enough to fight a base emotion like desire.
“Sure. I haven’t had whisky in centuries.” Oh, my Goddess. Jane put on a big smile and hoped Galen thought she was being figurative. Ian had loved whisky and she’d never wanted to so much as touch it after the night of his treason.
She grabbed the bottle and two glasses before joining Galen at the table. Jane decided to drink instead of talk. The first sip went down like a shot of fire. The warmth settled in her belly as her body slowly began to unwind and she took another sip.
&
nbsp; Jane noticed that Galen was waiting to eat until she took her first bite. The old and seldom seen gentlemanly manners brought her to a time when there had been castles where men fed their loves from a shared trencher.
Jane took a bite of the stew and felt transported back centuries to a time she spent in one of those castles. She’d been so young, not even fifty years old, when she’d had stew like this at a castle with her parents before visiting a seer of sorts at some powerful standing stones in Scotland. Her parents had been worried she’d be a target and used for her wealth and power, so they were with humans more often than not. That night they had sat among the humans as they ate, drank, and talked. In fact, it was her last happy memory before her life changed.
Then they’d visited the stones and her fate had been sealed. However, with one bite of stew she was brought back to that happy time. It was magical how certain smells and tastes could bring back such specific memories.
“This is wonderful. Thank you. This brought back a very happy memory for me from my childhood.”
“I’m glad.” Galen smiled kindly at her and Jane knew it wasn’t time to relax yet. He’d started with questions about where she was from, if she were an only child, and what did her parents do. They were all standard questions, but she didn’t have the standard answers humans expected. Instead, she told him the variation of the truth.
“I’m from England. I went to school in the United States when my parents were killed at an early age, so I don’t have an accent now.”
“How where they killed?” Leave it up to a doctor to want the medical details.
“In a fire. I was lucky enough to escape.” Arson in the form of Ian’s fire power.
“I’m so sorry. Do you think your nightmares could have a basis in that trauma?”
Jane took another bite of the stew and let the happy memory of their time in the castle ease her worries for a moment. “I don’t know. I guess it could but I don’t know why it’s started now.”
Instead of letting Galen ask more questions, Jane turned the questioning on him. Only it did more to damage her plans to distance herself from him. She loved hearing him talk. She loved the family stories of his tight little family and his quirky Nan.
Dinner was long done and cleaned up as they continued to talk books and then medicine. Ancient knowledge that Jane had learned about the human body awakened slowly as they discussed his work. Galen was an open book and she loved flipping the pages of his life.
“You’re all set,” he said as he stood up from where he had finished attaching all the required equipment. “I’ll be in the living room monitoring everything.”
“Thank you for putting me at ease tonight. You never did tell me how you ended up in Moonshine Hollow.” Jane snuggled into her bed feeling slightly uncomfortable with the equipment attached, but safer than she had in a long while.
“Let’s just say Lauren made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Now it’s time for you to get to sleep. Good night, Jane. Thank you for the best night I’ve had in Moonshine Hollow.”
Galen bent down and placed his lips on her cheek. It was over before Jane could even sigh in pleasure at the velvet soft touch of them. When her eyes opened, Galen was already out of the door.
7
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. It had been five hours and Galen still couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been for kissing Jane. She was his patient. He didn’t even know her. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He’d just had the best “dinner date” of his life. They’d talked as if they’d been friends forever, even though they were just beginning to learn everything about each other.
Galen stood from the couch and ran his hand over his face. It was one in the morning and he had five more hours to go on the test. She hadn’t fallen into REM sleep until twenty minutes ago.
What was he going to do about Jane?
What could he do? Nothing. He had to step back. She was his patient.
“Maybe Dr. Thurman would take her,” Galen said to himself as he began to pace. “No, I couldn’t do that to her. I care too much to pass her off on him.”
Galen stopped pacing. This was nuts. He shouldn’t care so much about a woman he just met. But the fact was, he did care. Galen took a deep breath. He was a doctor. He was trained to assess facts dispassionately and used to thinking rationally. What was he feeling and why? Lust caused by pheromones? Yes. But his heart shouldn’t feel so engaged if it were just lust. Galen closed his eyes and replayed dinner. He revisited his feelings and put them into categories. Lust, friendship, empathy, love, trust, suspicion.
Galen opened his eyes as that realization hit him hard. Even though there was no reason for it, he was suspicious of Jane. There were dots that couldn’t be connected. Times when she’d stiffened. When her answers became vague.
Selkie.
Galen shivered as the voice of his dearly departed Nan echoed as if she were standing right next to him. Selkies were mythological creatures. They certainly weren’t real. Galen shook his head and took a deep breath. He glanced at the equipment and saw that Jane’s brain functions were going crazy. Her pulse looked as if she were running for her life. Her brain function was as if she were awake and solving the most complex puzzle known to man.
Galen ran from the living room and then slowly pushed open her bedroom door. He watched her rapid eye movements as his own eyes widened. Her eyes were moving so fast that he couldn’t keep count.
Galen took a step closer. Not only were her eyes moving, her mouth was too. She was talking.
“No, Ian! I will never give you my power. I’ll kill you first!”
Galen almost stumbled backward as Jane shot up from the pillow as she screamed. Galen watched her carefully, she was still deeply asleep yet sitting up in bed. Her hands were outstretched as if she were fighting someone off.
“Don’t touch me! I won’t you let you do this. I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”
Galen looked over and made sure the video was recording. He was taping her for the entire night and would show her this in the morning. Her hands shot out in front of her, her fingers clawed. “I’ll kill you! I should have done it the last time.”
Galen watched as her hands were outstretched. Suddenly the hair on his arms rose as if he’d touched an electrical circuit.
Selkie.
Galen looked around as if he expected to see his dead Nan standing next to him.
Crash!
Galen’s head snapped to the side at the sound of the front door being kicked open. What the heck? Galen looked quickly back at Jane, caught in the throes of a night terror, and knew he’d do anything to protect her. He flipped the lock on her bedroom door and closed it behind him.
“Jane.”
He heard a male voice call out as he crept forward down the dark hallway. He kept to the shadows as he got close enough to find a man standing there with a hunting rifle held loosely in his hands.
“Jud,” Galen said loud and clear. He’d treated this man two days ago in the clinic. Was he Jane’s boyfriend? Was that what she was hiding?
Jud was twenty-six, about five feet nine inches tall, and he was a country boy through and through. He was a nice enough kid who worked at the distillery in town.
“What are you doing here?” Galen asked as Jud turned slowly in his direction. He raised the rifle and Galen quickly held up his hand.
“Jane.”
“I’m not Jane. It’s me, Dr. Sinclair.”
“Jane.”
Galen took a step closer and realized Jud’s eyes were unfocused. It was almost as if he were sleepwalking. Jud cocked his head at Galen and began to walk toward him with his rifle resting loosely once again in his hands.
“Jane.”
What the heck?
“Stop, Jud.” Galen ordered. He held up his hands, but Jud didn’t stop. Galen shoved Jud back. “What do you need Jane for?”
“Get Jane. Get Jane. Get Jane,” Jud repeated over and over again, giving Galen the shivers.
; Jud shoved back and Galen had to react. He blocked the hallway Jud tried to get down. The force of the hit had Galen dropping down into a Rugby stance. When Jud tried to shove past him again, Galen grabbed Jud’s jacket at the man’s chest and using the force of his body, surged upward and back. Jud went down with Galen on top of him.
“Get Jane. Get Jane. Get Jane,” Jud repeated over and over as Galen and he fought over the rifle. Jud tried to wiggle the rifle free as Galen pinned the barrel down to the ground with his left hand. Galen used the advantage of being on top and sat up, his leg squeezing Jud and holding him in place as Galen pulled his right arm back and brought his fist down hard.
The punch connected and Galen didn’t feel the impact. He was holding the rifle down with one hand and was ready to punch again when Jud’s eyes rolled back in his head.
What the heck was going on? This had to be a nightmare. Galen kept Jud pinned as he pulled the rifle from his grasp, unloaded it, and then tossed it to the other side of the living room before pulling out his cell phone.
“What the hell is going on?” Slade asked Samuel as they looked at the two men they’d just hauled into the jail.
“Get Jane. Get Jane. Get Jane.” Slade could still hear the men chanting from their jail cells.
Slade and Samuel had been taking pictures of the crime scene in the woods as they waited for the medical examiner from a nearby town to arrive. It had taken hours but they’d finally manipulated the medical examiner into saying the hunter had fallen from his tree stand and broken his neck.
It wasn’t hard to manipulate humans’ thoughts, but it seemed the whole night took forever. The medical examiner’s van left and Slade and Samuel were about to leave too when they’d heard boots stomping through the woods.
Moonshine & Mischief: Moonshine Hollow #4 Page 4