Until You: A Malsum Pass Novel

by Forrest, Kimberly

  He nodded and handed her his helmet. “I don’t have a spare so you go ahead and put that one on. I’ll get you back there in no time.”

  Susan was grateful he hadn’t insisted on knowing why she was a hot mess of despair and quickly pulled on the helmet and straddled the snowmobile. Unfortunately, her hurt over Sebastian had dimmed her enjoyment of riding one of these machines and she continued to quietly cry as the snowmobile took her further and further away from Sebastian.

  By the time they arrived at the Cedars, Susan had made up her mind that she wasn’t going to run away. She was made of sterner stuff than that. She was a Fuller and a bear, and like her father said, she wouldn’t run away with her tail tucked between her legs like a coward. Sebastian may have hurt her, and she may not want to see him ever again, but the main reason for her being here hadn’t changed, so here she would stay until she heard from her sleuth.

  When the snowmobile stopped, the man offered her a gloved hand to assist her from the back of the sled and she handed him back his helmet as she dismounted. “I’m sorry that I got the inside of your helmet a bit wet.” She said with a grimace.

  He waved away her concern. “Are you going to be okay?” He asked. “Is there anything I can get for you?”

  She shook her head and sniffed as she gave him a watery smile. “I appreciate the ride. I just need to be alone for a bit.” She said.

  He was still frowning but nodded and she noticed that he waited until she was inside the bed and breakfast before he put his helmet back on and left.

  There was a roaring fire in the large fireplace in the main room while a family of two adults and three teenage children occupied the couch and floor area watching some sort of action movie. Susan assumed they were the Murphy family and she hoped they didn’t notice her as she tried to sneak past them to the stairs.

  Margaret Tully, the owner came out of the doors to the kitchen just then, wiping her hands on her apron. “Oh, Miss Fuller, you had a phone call while you were out.” She said and then noticed Susan’s face and gasped. “Oh, my dear, are you okay?”

  Susan cringed, hating that anyone would see her like this. “I’m fine, Mrs. Tully, really. Did the caller leave a message?” She asked, hoping it had been her father.

  Margaret seemed confused for a moment and then remembered, “Oh, yes, yes, indeed. I wrote it down for you, just a moment.” And the woman bustled off to retrieve it. She returned only a minute later with a sealed envelope emblazoned with the logo for the bed and breakfast.

  Susan nodded her thanks and gripped the envelope in her hand, and headed up to her room to read it. She tore open the envelope and discovered the message wasn’t from her father but from Jack Wade, one of her father’s partners at the law firm.

  Susan picked up the phone in her room and quickly dialed the number listed on the message. Jack answered after three rings with “Jack Wade.”

  “Hi, Jack, this is Susan Fuller. I got your message and I’m concerned about my father. I haven’t been able to reach him.”

  “Suzie Q, thank God!” He said and Susan winced at the nickname her father’s friend had called her almost her entire life. She disliked it almost as much as, Bug. He continued with, “Listen, the reason I called is because I wanted you to know that things have improved with the felines so you can come home.”

  Susan’s brow scrunched with confusion. “That’s great, Jack, but why isn’t my father calling me to tell me?”

  She heard Jack clear his throat on the other end and knew he did that when something made him uncomfortable. Dread pitted in her stomach and the prolonged silence wasn’t helping. “Jack?” She prompted.

  “Look, Suzy Q, I hate to tell you this but your dad was injured. He’s going to be fine though.” He rushed to assure her.

  “What happened?” She asked, hating that she wasn’t at her father’s side right then. She stood up, tucked the phone between her shoulder and her ear and pulled her suitcase out and dropped it on the bed. She needed to be with her father.

  “I don’t know if you’ve been seeing anything on the news or the internet, but this war stirred up a whole heap of trouble and has all eyes on us.” Jack said.

  “I saw some things,” Susan confirmed as she threw handfuls of clothes in her suitcase, “that’s why I’ve been trying to get hold of my dad.”

  “Well, we arranged a meet with the cats. They hadn’t wanted all the attention on them either and it was agreed to call a cease fire and come to terms.”

  “That’s great,” Susan said, “but how was my father injured? What happened?”

  Jack grunted. “The cat that lost his daughter, the one who started all of this, wasn’t so amenable to the truce. In fact he started snarling that all bears deserve to die. He wasn’t right in his head to put it mildly. Well, he attacked and your father was injured.”

  Susan couldn’t hold back the rumble. “I hope he’s been put away for a very long time.”

  Jack cleared his throat again but didn’t make her drag the information out of him. “Their second in command put him down. They couldn’t afford the attention they were getting and saw his continued need for revenge as detrimental to the entire pride and I can’t say as I blame them.”

  Susan nodded even though she knew Jack couldn’t see it. “I’m packing now and I’ll be on the road to the airport in under an hour. Please tell my father that I’ll be with him as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll tell him Suzy Q.” Jack said.

  “And, Jack,” she said before he could disconnect. “Tell him I love him.”

  Susan disconnected the call and resumed throwing clothes into her suitcase. She really wished she had time for a shower so that she could wash away all traces of her humiliation, but she had an almost two hour drive to the airport as it was before she boarded who knew how many flights to get home and it was already mid-afternoon. Less than half an hour later, her room was clear of her belongings and she was heading back downstairs to check out.

  For a brief moment she contemplated heading back out to Sebastian’s to update him on the situation and say goodbye but she discarded the idea. Aside from the time constraint, she just couldn’t see him again right now. She couldn’t relive the humiliation of his rejection or listen to his explanations of why they could never be together as he looked upon her with pity.

  “That message was from home, Mrs. Tully, and I’ll be checking out today.” Susan said as she reached the bottom of the stairs with her suitcase. “It’s time I head back home to California.”

  Margaret nodded and smiled. “Well, it’s been a pleasure having you here, Miss Fuller, even if your stay was shorter than expected.”

  With her bill closed out, Susan walked out the door of the bed and breakfast and headed for her rental. Her chest constricted when she walked by the spot where she and Sebastian had made the snow angels. The imprints had been filled in slightly with a dusting of new snow, but they were still visible; his so much larger than hers. He hurt her, and she may not want to see him again, but she should at least leave him a message in case he came looking for her. While the car warmed up she went back into the B and B to leave Sebastian a note.

  She actually liked this little town and couldn’t blame Sebastian for wanting to stay here. She had met some really nice people like Margaret and her daughter Constance as well as Jacob Pierce and Mike Myers at the garage, but she had no reason to ever return to this place again. Sebastian had rejected her. Her place was in Mariposa with her sleuth. Perhaps now she could finally move on.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sebastian didn’t know how long he sat on the floor of the cabin, first in shock and then with a silly grin on his face. She loved him! He finally recalled the unknown feline shifter that may have come to do harm to his Bug. He jumped up and threw his clothes and boots on. He had tracked Susan down the road until the leftover odor of exhaust from a snowmobile had interfered with his nose and he lost her scent. He wanted to roar with frustration, but decided to stop i
n to check with Riley and Tara Cooper since their house was so close. It was cold outside and Susan may have stopped there. Unfortunately, when Tara opened the door to him, he was quickly disappointed. The upside was that Tarvahl Pierce pulled into the drive on his snowmobile soon after and was able to assure him that Susan was safe and that he had given her a ride to the bed and breakfast. He hung his head in shame however when Tarvahl informed him that she had been crying. It had never been his intention to cause her pain, and his guilt multiplied until the weight in his chest felt like it would crush him.

  Sebastian nodded as three sets of eyes landed on him. “I need to go to her.” He said gruffly, heading for the door.

  “Now hold on,” Vahl said, gripping his arm. “You may want to wait a bit. I don’t know about your lady, but most women don’t want to be seen when they’re all tear streaked and red eyed. She’ll just end up telling you to go away. You should let her get composed, and in my experience, you don’t show up empty handed. If you were an ass, you need to at least show up with flowers.”

  Tara chimed in at that point. “I don’t know, Dad, if Sebastian waits too long she may think he doesn’t care.” She turned and pinned Sebastian with a look, “But I agree with the flowers.”

  Riley didn’t offer an opinion, but just shook his head and chuckled. “Come on, Bastian, I’ll give you a ride into town and we can stop at the store for flowers.”

  Armed with the only bouquet the store had, a sad bunch of mums in orange cellophane, Sebastian stepped through the doors of the bed and breakfast. Margaret Tully was quick to greet him with a smile, though her eyes betrayed her nervousness as they darted from his face to the flowers in his hand and back again. Apparently his new respectable hair cut hadn’t changed things overly. It was much the same with many of the people in town, especially the older women; they accepted his presence but preferred he keep his distance.

  “Mr. Black, what a pleasure to see you again. What can I do for you this afternoon?” She asked her hands twisting the rings on her fingers in agitation.

  He tried to smile but knew it probably came out more as a bearing of teeth. He didn’t know why she was asking silly questions when his reasons should be clear. Why else would he be here? “I’m here to visit Susan Fuller, ma’am.”

  Margaret’s smile slipped and she looked a bit panicked. She swallowed hard, showing her fear. “I’m sorry, Mr. Black, but Miss Fuller checked out about twenty minutes ago. She said she needed to return home to California.” And then with a hopeful squeak she ran to the desk. “She left a note!”

  Sebastian took the sealed envelope in one hand as the other squeezed the bouquet so hard that the stems snapped. His stomach rolled and he actually felt like he might be sick. She’d left him? He could feel his muscles tighten and his skin itch. He wanted to break something. He needed to get out of there before he gave Margaret Tully and her guests something to really be frightened of.

  He stumbled out the door and leaned against one of the support rails on the porch. He dropped the broken bouquet and tore open the envelope. The note inside read simply Seb, Thank you for your hospitality. Dad has been injured and I must return. It was signed with a simple S. No regards, no love Susan, no phone number to call her or a wish to see him again. He was panting and his heart was beating too fast. He couldn’t seem to bring it under control. Someone stepped up beside him and he growled but it didn’t even faze Riley as he laid a hand between Sebastian’s shoulder blades. “What happened? Wouldn’t she see you?” He asked.

  “She left,” He choked out, his voice sounding foreign to his ears, “back to California.”

  Riley gave him a few pats on his back and then said, “So you pack a bag and go get her.”

  He made it sound so simple but this didn’t feel simple to Sebastian. “She rejected me,” he grunted, “She left me.” He was horrified to hear his emotion choked voice. Dammit, he was close to crying – him! He never cried over women – never – not even when Mary Beth, the love of his life, had betrayed him. Yet, Susan’s absence felt like she’d ripped his heart out and taken it with her. After ten years it had been she who had made him feel like he was living again. In a matter of days, actually a mere handful of hours she had changed him completely and he didn’t think he could go back; he wouldn’t survive it.

  Riley sighed. “I can’t tell you what to do, Bastian, but if you love her, you should go after her. If it was my Tara, there’d be no doubt that I’d already be on my way to the airport. So I guess you have to ask yourself two things: first, do you love her? And second, how far are you willing to go for her?”

  Did he love Susan? Was this riot of emotion in his chest love? If so, it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. He may not be sure exactly what he was feeling but he knew he couldn’t just let her walk out of his life and never see her again. There was something between them and he wanted to see where it led. He had sworn that he would never return to Mariposa but she was worth it. For her he would go back.

  By the time they’d returned to the cabin for Sebastian to pack a bag and had made the trip to the airport it was full dark. As they stood at the ticket counter he felt like a fool when he realized that while he had ID, he didn’t have a credit card to even purchase the ticket.

  Riley smacked him on the back and handed over his own credit card. “I’ve got this, buddy.”

  “I’ll pay you back.” Sebastian grunted.

  Riley nodded. “I know you will; I’m not worried. Right now you need to concentrate on getting your ass to California and winning your woman back.” He handed Sebastian the credit card. “I don’t know if you’ll need to rent a car or get a hotel room and such, so you hold onto that in case you need it. I know you brought plenty of cash, but a lot of places only accept cards. If you have any trouble using it, you just have them call me.”

  Sebastian nodded, humbled by the extent of Riley’s generosity. “You’re a good friend.”

  “Aw, shucks,” Riley winked. “Get your ass on that plane before you feel the urge to hug me. Go get your woman.”

  “What if she doesn’t want me?” Sebastian asked, revealing his fear and vulnerability.

  Riley clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a little push toward the security checkpoint at the gate. “Then you change her mind for her.” With that he gave a wave and headed back out toward the parking lot. Over his shoulder he called, “When you get back, call me if you need a ride.”

  After several hours of airport terminals and connecting flights, Sebastian’s head was pounding, he was tired, and his temper was dangerously close to boiling over. Worse was the realization that he had no idea where Susan might be. Did she have her own apartment or did she still live with her father? Her note said her father was injured. Did that mean he was at the hospital or was he convalescing at home? And what was the situation with the war? Had Susan flown back here in a moment of anxiety only to put herself in danger? He had to choke back a bellow of frustration.

  He was forced to call for a taxi since car rentals were only available if he had reserved one in advance. He had choked down a stale pastry he had purchased earlier in a gift shop and it was sitting like a lump in his stomach as he paced waiting for his ride. In his impatience to get to Bug he considered just setting out on foot, but changed his mind when he recalled that he didn’t know how far he may have to travel to find her, having a vehicle at his disposal would speed things along. Sebastian decided his best course of action was to head to the law offices of Fuller, Keaton, and Wade where Marcus Fuller’s office staff should be able to provide him with a little more information.

  When his ride pulled up, Sebastian folded his overly large body into the back seat and set his bag next to him. He sniffed picking up the scents of fake pine air freshener, old perfume from a previous passenger, stale French fries, and the non-shifter driver. He was an older man with long snow white hair pulled back at his nape; his face tanned and deeply lined had the appearance of well-worn leather. He was dressed in a
light blue western style shirt with mother of pearl buttons and a large white cowboy sat on the passenger seat. When he heard Sebastian’s desired location he let out an hmmm and shook his head. “I have no problem driving you there, but it’s just past sunrise and they won’t be open. You’d have to stand about and wait for hours. I can drive you to one of the hotels and come back for you once they’ve opened if you like; won’t be ‘til nine.”

  Sebastian grunted in frustration. “Take me to The Lodge, I’ll walk from there.” The driver nodded and they headed out. As they drove, Sebastian took note of the scenery. He’d grown up here and even though ten years had passed, nothing seemed to have changed. It occurred to him then, as he stared at the mountains in the distance that looked so similar to the mountains he had just left, that perhaps he had chosen Malsum Pass not because of how different it was, but because of the similarities. Why had he never seen it?

  Once he was dropped off at The Lodge and the driver paid, Sebastian checked into a room, threw his bag down on the bed and looked out the window. He’d never thought he would come back to this town but Bug was worth it. He tipped his head back and blew out a breath. Where was she? Was she okay? Was she still angry with him? He needed to find her.

  With that in mind, he left the room and headed for the law offices despite the driver’s warning that they wouldn’t be open. He would sit in the doorway if he had to and wait for someone to arrive.

  When he got there, the building was dark, but after a mere fifteen minute wait the door opened and a blonde woman in a black pantsuit stepped out. He recognized her as one of the partners, Nancy Keaton; she hadn’t changed at all. She had her back to him as she locked the deadbolt with a key from a heavily loaded ring. Sebastian heard her inhale deeply through her nose before she said, “I’m sorry, but we won’t be open today. If you’d like to call and leave a message, one of our people can get back to you.” She glanced over her shoulder at him with a practiced smile before turning her attention back to the lock. She suddenly snapped her head back around to him, the polite mask replaced by shock. “Sebastian Black!” She gasped, and fully turned. “I would recognize you anywhere. My goodness, you look so much like your father.”