by Helena Shaw
“Shit,” Jase muttered. The rise in the earth wasn’t much, but it was enough to notice something wasn’t right. The wrong person looking into the backyard would lead to trouble.
“Look!” Dawn said as she held out her hand.
The snow that had been threatening to fall for weeks had finally begun. White flakes rained down on them, slowly at first, but quickly it grew heavier while Dawn let snowflakes land on her cheeks.
“Well, damn,” Jase smiled as he leaned on the handle of the shovel. “Luck is on our side, for once.”
“I’ll take it,” Dawn said before she caught a flake on her tongue. “Now, let’s get inside before we freeze.”
Scrubbed and swept, her house looked almost like a war hadn’t broken out inside. Sure, a lamp was in the garbage and the throw pillows on the couch had to be turned around to hide the deep slashes in them, but it was enough to mask what had happened. Even better, it was warm.
“I’m going to have a shower,” Jase said, and he had good reason to. Dawn was sweaty and tired, but Jase was filthy. None of the wounds he had suffered were more than superficial, but he was caked in blood, dirt, and God knows what else.
While he retreated to the bathroom, Dawn moved to her still-open suitcase. Somehow, it had survived the battle, and everything inside was unscathed. She took quick stock of what she had packed and then zipped it closed before she dropped it by the front door where the lock was still busted and useless. At least the latch still closed.
She listened to the sound of the shower, and a sudden urge struck her. Just the idea of Jase, naked and wet, sent her body shivering. She’d missed him so, the taste of him, the way he felt on her skin, and she needed him.
Without warning him, she stripped off her own clothes and stepped into the steamy bathroom. Inside, Jase had his back to her while he showered in the glass stall, but she was certain he’d heard her. He was too careful, too observant not to.
“I wondered how long you’d be,” he said without turning around to face her, confirming her suspicions. “Care to join me?”
“Of course,” she said as she stepped into the stall.
It was one of the features that Dawn had really liked about the place. It didn’t have a bath, but the shower was spacious, and there was plenty of room for both of them inside. Even with Jase’s muscular body blocking most of the water, there was enough spray that Dawn’s face was wet and she shivered against it.
“I missed you,” she said as she leaned her cheek on his bare back. “I missed you so damn much.”
“I missed you too,” Jase said as he finally turned to her and used his finger to raise her chin.
“You shaved your beard,” she said with a smile. While she couldn’t deny she’d liked the scruff the time in the woods had given him, it was nice to see him clean shaven.
“I figured it was time to clean up,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind that I used your razor.”
“I was leaving it behind, anyway,” she said. “I, uh, was going to take off.”
“I know,” Jase told her. “But I’m glad you didn’t.”
“I didn’t know if you were coming back,” she said as she let him wrap his arms around her naked body. He was warm against her skin, not hot like Gavin was, but a gentle warmth that made her feel right at home.
“You couldn’t have known,” Jase said. “I would have understood. And I would have found you.”
She didn’t know how true those words were, but she didn’t question them. All she wanted then was for him to hold her, to touch her, to kiss her, and to take her.
He didn’t need her to ask for it. As the water washed away the night’s horrors, Jase began to kiss down her bare body, his lips lavishing comfort and reassurance on her. It was the one thing Dawn had wanted for so long, and she had to work to convince herself that it was real.
Their lovemaking wasn’t rough, animalistic, or forceful, but rather passionate and slow. Against the wall of the shower, Jase slid himself into Dawn’s body and took her while he held her tightly. It wasn’t about pleasure; it was about the closeness they both needed in that moment.
“I hated leaving you alone,” Jase groaned in her ear as his hips moved in time with her own.
“So never do it again,” Dawn moaned as she reached for him. “We’ll take care of each other, won’t we?”
“Yes,” he grunted, and Dawn sensed that he was close. “Yes, always.”
They were promises that she wasn’t sure either of them could keep, but as they found their releases in each other, she didn’t care. It was enough for that moment, and that was all Dawn asked for.
***
“You know,” Jase said as he loaded Dawn’s suitcase into the covered cab of his truck, “I am amazed by what a good shot you are.”
“My dad taught me,” Dawn reminded him as she grabbed the last of her things and helped put them in the truck. She wasn’t bringing much, but with Jase’s truck, she at least didn’t have to leave quite so much of her life behind. “We lived in the city, but he was always a country boy at heart, I guess.”
“Well, he did a damn good job,” Jase praised him. “You all set?”
Dawn shook her head. “Not quite. There’s one more thing I need to do.”
“Don’t be too long,” Jase said. “The sun is coming up, and I want to be on the road before much longer.”
“Just one second,” she assured him as she ran back into the house.
From a drawer in the kitchen, Dawn pulled out a sheet of paper and found a pen. She’d never done it before, and she didn’t know if she’d do it again, but she began to scribble a letter.
“Jim,
I’m so sorry I have to leave without saying goodbye to you and Gabe. For six months, you’ve been like a father to me, and I will never, ever, forget what a truly kind and honorable man you are. Please know I am okay, but for the time being, I have to leave.
I will miss you so, so much, and I promise I will write whenever I can. I’m setting out on a new adventure, but you’ll always be in my heart, and Goosemont will always be home.
Love, Dawn.”
She wasn’t sure when he’d get the letter, or even if, but she folded it and scrawled his name across the paper before she left it on the kitchen table. The rational side of her realized that leaving the letter was risky and ill-advised, but her heart wouldn’t allow her not to do it. Everything, no matter how brief, in the letter had been the truth, and she couldn’t just leave without giving him something.
“He’ll see it,” Jase said as he lightly stroked her back. “I wouldn’t put it past the old guy to come snooping around.”
“I hope so,” Dawn said as she smiled. “He’s a good man.”
“One of the best, I’m sure,” Jase agreed. “Take your time. The road can wait, if you need.”
Dawn shook her head. “It’s okay. Let’s go.”
Like a true gentleman, Jase offered a Dawn a hand as he helped her into the passenger seat of his truck. It was nicer than she’d imagined from the exterior, with a polished CB radio under the dashboard and an updated stereo where an eight-track player used to live.
“You ready to go?” Jase asked her as he inserted the key and the truck roared to life.
“More than ready,” Dawn said. “I don’t know if there is anything left here, not for me, at least. Where are we going?”
“Louisiana,” Jase said. “Message said a family down south needs help with a bit of a ghost problem. Figured it would be good for your first job. You ready to start training as a hunter, Jennifer?”
The sound of the name her mother had given her felt foreign in her ears. Dawn gave her head a shake and stopped him there.
“No,” she said. “Jennifer died a long, long time ago. I’m Dawn, through and through.”
“Okay, Dawn,” Jase said, grinning as he put the truck in drive. “You ready to start your training as a hunter?”
“Yes,” she told him as they began to drive through town. “Y
es, I am.”
Ahead of them, the snow had finally begun to slow as the sun peeked over the mountains. A fresh day had begun, and with it, a new life. A hunter’s life might be hard, and might very well be short, but it seemed like the life Dawn had been waiting for.
Coming early 2015
Coven’s Calling
Book Two in the Night Hunters Series
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who’s read this book, or any of my other releases. Harvest Moon was a labor of love that never would have been possible if not for the generous encouragement and feedback I’ve received from my readers and fellow authors.
Of course, I want to thank the fine people at Wyrmwood Publishing & Editing for all their help turning my first draft into the finished work it has become. With a gentle but firm hand, they’ve guided me to my first complete novel.
As always, I want to thank my family for their love and support. None of this would have been possible without you!
About the Helena Shaw
Helena Shaw resides in a small town in western Ontario. When she is not writing, she is taking care of her two boys and her husband.
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www.helenashaw.com