Third Time a Charm: Wolves of Gypsum Creek

by Serena Meadows

  She nodded, still unable to speak. Then with her face turning red, she said, “I thought it was me. I mean, I didn’t think I liked this.”

  “I think that’s a story I’d like to hear later, but for now, just let me say that I’m glad you liked it,” he said, smiling at her. “But just in case, maybe we should try that again.”

  Sophie slapped him but opened her legs to him when his hand slid down her stomach. “Well, I guess that might not be a bad idea,” she said before his mouth came down on hers.

  ***Jessie***

  The next morning, they had breakfast in bed, Jessie feeding Sophie bites of an omelet he’d made full of fresh vegetables from his garden, eggs from the chickens and milk from the cows. “I’m going to get spoiled staying here with you,” Sophie said, opening her mouth for another bite.

  “Good, then maybe you’ll never want to leave,” he said, then wished he hadn’t.

  She was silent for a long time, then she asked, “Your brother is the reason you don’t leave, isn’t he?”

  Jessie nodded. “He’s been there for me all these years; we need each other.”

  “You told me that he’s your opposite. I’m not sure I know what that means,” Sophie said, taking their empty plates to the kitchen.

  Jessie waited until she’d climbed back into bed and pulled her into his arms. “My brother is trapped in his wolf form. He thinks just like you and I do but can’t ever become a human.”

  Sophie was silent for a long time, then asked, “Does he hate it? I mean, would he rather be human?”

  Jessie nodded. “It’s hard for him; he’s stuck out there with the rest of the animals, not quite one of them, but not a human either.”

  Sophie sat forward and looked at him, “I’m glad you’re a black werewolf then.”

  Jessie was shocked to hear her words; had never thought he’d hear anyone say them as he certainly wasn’t glad to be a werewolf. “I never thought I’d hear anyone say that to me; not even my grandfather would have said that.”

  “Well, he would have if he could see you now, Jessie. You’ve become a kind and caring man, and if people just gave you a chance, I think they’d see what I see,” she said, then laid her hand on his cheek and kissed him.

  Jessie gathered her into his arms and held her tightly to him, unable to speak, the emotions inside him so new and so raw he almost couldn’t process them all. Unable to think of any other way to show her how he felt, he slid her down onto her back and covered her mouth with his.

  What followed was even better than the night before, each learning that the more they were together, the more the passion grew. Jessie was quickly learning how to drive Sophie to the edge and then take her over it in a rush of pleasure, and Sophie was learning that she too had the power to give Jessie pleasure.

  It was almost noon before they crawled out of bed, their bodies sated. Sophie got dressed and headed straight for the kitchen. “I think it’s time I cooked for you,” she said. “Don’t you have some chores you need to do?”

  Jessie smiled at her, his heart feeling like it was going to burst. “I do have some things I need to take care of in the garden. Fall is here, and I need to harvest the last of the vegetables.”

  “I’ll make us some lunch, and then I’ll help you,” she said, giving him a kiss and shoving him out the door.

  He walked out to his gardening shed in a daze, his heart and mind full of Sophie. It almost seemed too good to be true that she’d become a part of his life so easily, a part of him not trusting the happiness that he was feeling. Never had life given him something so wonderful, and there was a part of him that was just waiting for it to be taken away.

  Right then and there, he promised himself that he’d do whatever it took to keep Sophie in his life, he’d even move if he had to. His brother would understand, and they could visit. The cabin would always be his since no one else was brave enough to live on this land.

  It might be good for him to join the world, see what life outside the mountains held. They could still come to the mountains a few times a year, make this a vacation cabin; of course, he had no idea what he would do in the real world. Realizing where his thoughts had taken him, he laughed out loud, then brought himself back to the present.

  He had an acre of vegetables and fruit to harvest, and it wasn’t going to happen without him. Grabbing a stack of bushel baskets, he headed for the cornfield, thinking that this felt right; he and Sophie together on the mountain.

  Chapter 15

  ***Sophie***

  Sophie leaned out the door and called to Jessie to tell him that lunch would be ready in a few minutes, then began to set the little table. She’d done her best to create something delicious for lunch and was proud of what she’d achieved. Cooking had never been her thing, but she’d also never had anyone she wanted to cook for.

  When Jessie came in the door, he took a deep breath and said, “Something smells good. I’m starving.”

  “Sit down then, it’s ready,” she said, walking over to the stove and taking the lid off a pan, releasing a burst of steam and the smell of garlic, onions and spices.

  She was just setting steaming plates of spaghetti down on the table when there was a knock at the door. They looked at each other in surprise, then Jessie jumped to his feet. “Go hide in the bathroom until I see who it is,” he ordered.

  Sophie got up from the table but didn’t move any farther “I’m not hiding in the bathroom Jessie; it’s not Mac and Gus, they wouldn’t knock.”

  Jessie looked like he was going to argue with her but then they heard Danny’s voice. “It’s just me, Danny,” he said.

  Sophie waited for Jessie to answer the door, but when he just stared at it, she pushed past him and opened it. When Danny saw her, he smiled, then looked around her at Jessie, who’d come up to stand behind her. He looked so scared, she felt bad for him, so she opened the door farther and smiled at him.

  “What are you doing up here?” Jessie demanded before she could say anything.

  She elbowed Jessie in the ribs, then said, “Hi, Danny. Do you want to come in?”

  He looked from her to Jessie, then stammered, “Umm, I don’t think… I mean...”

  Sophie wanted to laugh, but instead, she said, “I just put lunch on the table, and there’s plenty if you’d like to join us.”

  She looked behind her at Jessie who had a scowl on his face but when he looked down at her, she raised her eyebrows at him. “Yes, Danny, join us,” he finally said and stepped back inside.

  Danny shot through the door then looked around nervously. Sophie guided him to the table and got him a plate of food, then sat down across from him. “What brings you all the way up here?” she asked, then took a bite of her food, hoping the men would do the same.

  The tension in the room was palpable. Danny was so nervous he dropped his fork, and Jessie clearly didn’t trust him, if the scowl on his face was any indication of what he was thinking.

  Danny looked at Jessie, then quickly away and back at Sophie. “George has Mac and Gus locked up in the jail on kidnapping charges, but I don’t know how long he’ll be able to hold them. They’ve been making phone calls all morning, and I don’t think the people they called were very happy.”

  “What does that have to do with us?” Jessie asked, some of the distrust gone.

  “I heard them talking about getting even. I think they’re going to call in their pack,” Danny said, not as nervous as he was.

  “They have a pack?” Sophie asked, not sure what he meant.

  Danny nodded. “They’re part of a big group of wolf-shifters who basically run the moonshine business around here.”

  “You mean like the mafia or something?” she asked, not sure she believed him.

  “I guess so. All I know is that there’s a lot of really bad guys out there who are really pissed off, and Mac and Gus are feeding that anger. They want you dead, Jessie, and I don’t even want to think about what they might do to Sophie,” he said, then p
ushed his plate away.

  There was a long silence as Sophie and Jessie absorbed his words, then Jessie turned to her and said, “I think you should leave the valley, Sophie; it’s just not safe for you here.”

  Sophie shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere, Jessie I know I’m safe with you here, and out there, I’ll be alone.”

  Jessie reached out and took her hand. “Sophie, I don’t know if I can protect you from a pack of wolf-shifters; if you leave, they might just let the whole thing go.”

  “You and I both know that’s not going to happen, Jessie. We started something, and we’re going to have to follow it through,” she said.

  “She’s right,” Danny said. “I know my cousin, and he’s not going to let this go. You embarrassed him twice and took Sophie away from him. He wants to get even and save his reputation.”

  “How long do you think the sheriff can keep them in jail?” Jessie asked, getting up from the table to pace.

  “The county judge won’t be here for a few days, and it’ll take at least a day after that, so maybe three or four days,” Danny answered.

  “Okay, that should give us a few days to plan,” Jessie said, sitting back down at the table. “But for now, I’d just like to finish my lunch.”

  They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Danny asked, “Aren’t you scared to live up here?”

  Jessie looked at Danny, an amused look on his face. “Oh, the ghosts don’t bother me. I leave them alone, and they leave me alone.”

  Danny’s eyes got big. “You’ve seen them?”

  “Yes, many times,” Jessie said, trying to suppress a smile.

  Sophie wasn’t sure if Jessie was teasing Danny or if he was serious. “What ghosts? Everyone keeps saying there’s scary stuff up here but never says anything more.”

  Jessie took the last bit of his lunch, then sat back in his chair. “An entire family died up here on this mountain: mother, father, and four little kids were found dead in their beds,” he said, then got up from the table and began to clear it, not saying anything more.

  “And?” she asked, getting impatient.

  “You tell her,” Jessie said to Danny.

  Danny leaned forward in his chair. “Well, the story I heard was that Molly Swensen was a witch. She made a pact with the devil, then tried to get out of it, and he killed them all, taking their souls. Now their spirits can’t rest because they have no souls, and they walk this mountain looking for them.”

  Sophie looked over at Jessie. “You’ve seen these ghosts?” she asked, not sure she believed the story.

  “I have, but the story you told, Danny, isn’t anything close to the truth,” he said, drying his hands and walking over to one of the overflowing bookcases. “When I tore down the old cabin to build this one, I found this.”

  He set an old leather-bound book down on the table between them. “It’s Molly’s diary, and it tells a much different story.”

  Sophie reached out and picked up the book and thumbed through it to find that the pages were all full of spidery handwriting. The ink had begun to fade, but the words were still clear enough to read, so she opened it to the first page and read the first entry.

  “She was a witch,” she said when she’d finished.

  Jessie nodded. “That’s true, but she never made a pact with the devil; it was another kind of devil that killed them all,” he said, taking the book from her hand.

  ***Jessie***

  Jessie knew that he’d hooked them both, so he flipped through the journal to the page he was looking for and began to read. “The preacher from town was here again today. I don’t know why that man can’t leave us alone or where he gets his crazy ideas. He preached to me for nearly an hour about the practice of witchcraft and its ties to the devil and warned me that I would meet a certain and terrible death if I didn’t change my ways, all the while eating my food and drinking my coffee.”

  Jessie paused for effect, making sure they were both listening carefully. “I don’t understand his attitude. I’ve never done anything to harm anyone, have only used my gifts to heal, yet he’s convinced that I’m evil. When he talks, he has this look in his eyes that scares me; the only saving grace is that the people of the valley don’t listen to him. But I fear that he will do me harm one day, that he will bring to fruition what he sees as just punishment.”

  He closed the journal and set it back down on the table. “The last entry was about another visit from the preacher. He brought them a loaf of bread and Molly talked about feeding it to her family for dinner. They were all found dead in their beds the next day.”

  Sophie sucked in a deep breath. “The preacher killed them all just because he thought Molly was a witch,” she said, her voice quiet. “No wonder they can’t rest; that’s terrible.”

  Jessie picked up the book. “This is kind of an interesting read. It actually helped me quite a bit when I was trying to figure out how to live out here on my own. She was an amazing woman who never would have killed her family; she loved them. It’s all in there.”

  Danny whistled. “I don’t know which is better: the real story or mine.”

  “Now that we’ve gotten that all out in the open, I have work to do out in the garden,” Jessie said, pleased that Sophie wasn’t afraid of the ghosts and ready for Danny to get out of their hair.

  Danny stood up. “I guess I’d better be going. George is going to wonder where I got off to. Thanks for lunch.”

  “You will keep us posted on anything you find out, won’t you?” Sophie asked, walking with him to the door.

  He looked over to where Jessie was standing. “I’ll do my best,” he said, then edged his way out of the door.

  After he was gone, Sophie asked, “Have you really seen their ghosts?”

  Jessie nodded, “Her ghost, but not any of the others, and only a few times when I’ve been over by where they’re buried after dark. She’s always crying when I see her, kneeling on the children’s graves. I think she blames herself for her family’s deaths.”

  “But it wasn’t her fault; it was that preacher and his small-minded ways,” Sophie said, indignant for the woman who’d been treated so badly.

  “I think that’s why she appears to me; she knows that I understand what happened to her. I’ve often wondered what would happen if I made her journal public. If I told her story, she might finally be able to rest in peace.”

  Sophie nodded. “I never really believed in ghosts,” she said, with a little shiver, “But I feel bad for her.”

  Jessie walked over and put his arms around her. “That’s enough depressing talk; let’s go pick some vegetables.”

  Sophie followed him out the door, her hand warm in his, but he could tell that she was still distracted by the story of Molly Swensen and the death of her family. He hoped that she wasn’t thinking that the same thing could happen to her, but when they got started harvesting, she seemed to come out of her dark mood.

  By late afternoon, they’d filled all his bushel baskets and still had a long way to go. “What are you going to do with all of this?” she asked, looking around the gardening shed.

  “Some of it I’ll keep for myself, the rest will magically find its way onto people’s porches,” Jessie said, with a big grin. “I’m like the vegetable fairy, and no one knows it’s me.”

  “You carry all of this down the mountain?” she asked, shocked.

  “Well, usually my cousin is here to help, but basically, yes, I carry it all down the mountain.”

  “Why? People don’t want you around, yet you still give them food.”

  Jessie shrugged, “I can’t begin to eat it all, and I’d hate to see it go to waste, and some of those people would starve if it weren’t for me.”

  Sophie walked over and kissed him. “You’re an amazing man, Jessie, and I’m lucky to have met you.”

  Jessie looked down at her. “No, I’m the lucky one; I didn’t think I’d ever meet anyone who would understand me and how I live, but you do, Sophie.�
��

  “Let’s just say that we’re both lucky,” she said, hugging him. “Now let’s take some of this inside and eat it for dinner. We’re going to have to talk about Gus and Mac, Jessie. Avoiding it isn’t going to make it go away.”

  He nodded, knowing she was right, but not wanting to spoil their perfect day. “Not tonight; tomorrow is soon enough,” he said.

  Chapter 16

  ***Sophie***

  One day bled into two, but Sophie and Jessie still didn’t talk about Gus and Mac; neither wanted to spoil their time together. But on the afternoon of the third day, the subject could no longer be avoided when Danny showed up at the cabin right after lunch.

  He looked nervous and upset, turned down Sophie’s offer of lunch, then sat down heavily at the picnic table. “Mac and Gus will be out tomorrow,” he said, then looked at Sophie. “They’ve been planning what they’re going to do to you for days. I finally had to leave, I couldn’t listen to it anymore.”

  Jessie began to pace, his hands clenched in fists at his side. Danny looked like he wanted to run but stayed where he was. Finally, Jessie asked, “What about their friends from the city?”

  “Mac’s got them pretty worked up from what I can tell. I can only hear his half of the conversation, but it sounds like they’re the ones bailing him out. He’s still planning his revenge on you, Jessie, and I know that they’re involved, I just don’t know how.”

  “Have you told the sheriff about this?” Jessie asked, curious to see what the old man was going to do.

  “I told him, but he says they’re just talking, that it’s all a bluff. He said that you chose to stay up here, Sophie, and that you’re on your own, and that he’s done all that he can do,” Danny said, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen him act this way; it’s like he’s not himself.”

  “It’s because of me,” Jessie said, walking over and sitting down next to her. “Maybe you should go back to town; if you stay here, it sounds like we’re not going to get any more help from the sheriff.”