by Zoe Tasia
The toilet was newer and had a small handle that went two ways, one way for number two and one way for number one. I guessed he hadn’t seen such.
“It was a surprise to me, too. Kay had to enlighten me.” I explained and left him to it. No way was I going to ask him if the result was number one or two.
When he returned, I offered the whisky. Everyone wanted a glass, which in the States was fairly unusual. Kay and Greg preferred it neat, but Amberlee and I had a cube of ice in ours. I savored the scent and sipped. “This is such a treat, Amberlee. Thank you.”
Her cheeks dimpled, and she sipped her glass.
A wolf’s long howl pierced the air. Amberlee splashed whisky on her hand. Kay tsked and brought a towel from the counter for Amberlee to dry herself. Thank goodness the girls weren’t home. This creature was starting to make me very uneasy.
“Sorry, Amberlee. Apparently, there’s a wild wolf in the area, and he or she—”
“He,” Greg interrupted.
Okay, this guy can sex a wolf? “He seems to be fixated with this cottage. At least this area. We’ve seen him over by Kay’s too.”
“I think he may be more fixated with you,” Greg said.
“Why would you say that?”
“Wolves can be like that. Something about you attracts it.”
“Well—any ideas on how to distract it?”
The wolf howled again louder. It sounded like it was just outside the door. Amberlee edged her chair closer to Kay. Greg stood and walked to the door.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to check.”
“Do you think that’s safe?”
“I’ll be fine. Stay inside.” He opened the door and slipped out. I paced. The howls escalated to snarls.
“Do you think he’s okay?” I asked Kay.
Amberlee rubbed her palms on her legs.
I peered out the curtain, but could see nothing in the pool of the porch light. “I’m going out.”
“Becca, Greg said to stay.” Kay pushed her chair back and stood, but before she could say more, I opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind me. I could just make out Greg and the wolf—no, two wolves standing near the edge of the forest.
“Greg!” I called out. He turned to look at me and when he did, one of the wolves darted in and nipped at him.
Chapter 15
I LOOKED FOR A WEAPON. Seeing a hoe, I grabbed it. While Greg dodged the first wolf, the second darted in and snapped at him. Wild animals are supposed to be afraid of people! I ran toward them screaming and waving the hoe in what I hoped was a menacing way. I raised the hoe to slam the sharp end on the smaller of the wolves when Greg blocked me.
“No, don’t hurt them.”
“They’re trying to bite you.” I sidestepped Greg, determine to swing the hoe at the creatures, but Greg gripped the shaft, preventing me. Though the wolves backed off, their hair still bristled on their backs.
“They dinna mean to. They dinna understand and react emotionally.”
“Well, I’m about to go all emotional on their heads with this,” I said, trying to shake it loose from Greg.
He pointed to the wolves. “Look—”
The larger one nipped at the smaller one’s heels. The smaller one barked once but allowed itself to be herded back into the forest. When the smaller one disappeared, the other turned and howled at us, then it followed.
When we returned inside, Kay was speaking earnestly with Amberlee but stopped when we entered. The women finished up their whiskies and thanked me for the invitation. I worried about them walking home alone, but they seemed fine about it, especially when Greg reassured them that the wolves had moved on.
When I turned back from the door, I saw that Greg had begun clearing the table. “You don’t need to do that,” I said as I took the whisky glasses from him.
“Nae bother. ’Tis the least I can do to repay your hospitality. Long has it been since I’ve been invited into someone’s home.”
“Well, I’m glad you could make it. I’m still not completely clear on exactly what you do in the forest. Who owns the wooded area?” Why would he live there by himself? I knew he was a mourning widower, but I still thought it was unusual. Perhaps if it was also a part of his job, it would make more sense.
“No one owns the forest—or all do,” he said enigmatically. He smiled at my furrowed brow. “That dinna really answer the question, did it?”
“No, not really.”
“I guess you could say the National Trust owns it. They are responsible for the treasures of our land.”
One of the first things I had done when I arrived in Scotland was to become a member. We took advantage of it often, especially since we lived in the Grampian region which was awash with castles, standing stones, and the like.
“So, you take care of the land?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“Does that pay well?”
“’Tis rewarding.”
I searched my mind for other topics as I filled the sink. When I reached for the wash cloth at the same time as he did, our hands met. A thrilling zing ran up my hand and arm. I didn’t want him to move his palm which covered the top of my hand. We froze like that, then he cleared his throat and pulled away. “Would you rather I dry?” he asked, finding the towel.
“You really don’t need to do this,” I protested.
“I’d like to. Perhaps with the girls gone, you would enjoy my company a little longer?”
I hadn’t been looking forward to the night without them. The girls rarely had spent a night away from me since their dad died. I suppose I had been overprotective. Even now, though I trusted the Samms family, I had misgivings about my decision. It was nice to have Greg here. If left alone, I would probably worry myself into a frenzy. Having him here was...distracting, in a good way.
“Unless you had other plans for this evening?”
“No, I thought I might read a bit, but that was it. Tell you what, why don’t we leave the dishes for later and sit and have another glass of whisky and talk—unless you would prefer tea?”
“Whisky would be grand.”
I couldn’t remember which glass was whose, so I removed two clean glasses from the pantry and poured another glass for each of us. Good that he chose whisky. Tea combined with worrying over the girls would probably assure me of little, if any, sleep. Hopefully, the whisky would have the opposite effect.
We moved to the sofa and sat at either end. As I nursed the drink, I asked, “How long has your family lived here?”
“In the 1800s, my kin moved to the island. The family has been here ever since.”
“I’ve been doing some research about this place—at the library and in the newspaper archives. There are photos. It doesn’t appear that much has changed here over time.”
“True, we like to keep things the same.”
I wondered if it would be all right to ask him more about his family or if it would be too personal. Americans tended to come off as brash to many Europeans. I didn’t want to ask any awkward questions—or any more awkward questions. I took another sip of the delicious whisky when my phone rang.
“Excuse me.” After the girls texted, I’d plugged the phone in to recharge. I really didn’t expect anyone else to call. I checked the phone and recognized the Samms’ number. I hoped everyone was okay. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Shaw, I don’t mean to alarm you, but Jessie’s in hysterics. I can’t get the whole story out of her, but she said she saw a small creature sitting beside her sister. I swear I couldn’t find anything of the sort. She said it was grayish, and we are a farm, so the occasional mouse isn’t unheard of, but she said it was larger than that.” Voices talked in the background, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. Then Jess came on the phone.
“Mom—that thing I saw around Tate was back! It’s creepy, and I think it’s the reason Tate gets sick. When Mrs. Samms came in, the thing disappeared, but now Tate’s so pale, and sh
e won’t answer me!” Jessie’s voice grew shrill with panic.
Mrs. Samms came back on the line. “Tate does seem unwell. I can’t get her to answer my questions either.”
“I’m on my way. Thanks for calling me.”
“Wait, Mrs. Shaw. We’ll bring the girls over. I know you don’t have a car.”
I reluctantly agreed. I ended the call and turned to Greg.
“Trouble?” he asked.
“Something’s wrong with Tate. The Samms are going to drive the girls’ home.” I paced in front of the window mentally hurrying them.
“Is she ailing?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong. Sometimes she seems fine, and then she gets all wan, tired, and lethargic. I’ve taken her to the doctor, and we’re waiting on test results. Jess swears she sees some creature around Tate when she has these spells.”
“Creature?”
“Something small and grayish. I’m sorry, that isn’t much help, but that’s the best description I’ve gotten from Jess. She says it’s like smoke, hard to see.”
“Hmmm.” He grew quiet.
I was beyond making conversation and, though we kept drinking the whisky, I paused often to look out the window. I’m sure it didn’t take long at all, but it seemed to take ages before I finally saw the truck headlights. Mrs. Samms climbed out, carrying Tate in her arms. Gavin had driven and helped a shaky Jess toward the door. Too impatient, I didn’t wait and ran outside to meet them. I took Tate from Mrs. Samms.
“Tate, sweetie?”
Tate looked up at me groggily. “Mama?” She closed her eyes and went limp in my arms. Her head fell back on my chest.
“Tate!” I rushed inside the cottage.
Mrs. Samms followed. “I have no idea what happened. You have to believe me. They were fine one moment and then the next, Jessie was screaming and Tate was like this.”
Greg held the door open and nodded greetings at Mrs. Samms and her son. I sat on the couch and tried to get Tate to stir. Gavin held Jessie’s hand and patted it helplessly.
“I know it sounds crazy, Mom, but something’s somehow zapping the strength from Tate. I don’t know how, but every time it appears, she gets weak.”
Greg gestured to the couch. “May I?”
I nodded and he sat beside me.
“Come on, baby,” I said. “Wake up.”
Tate blinked at me. “I’m sleepy.”
“How do you feel?”
She yawned. “Sleepy—told you...”
I sighed. “Mrs. Samms, Gavin, thank you for bringing them home.”
“It was no trouble. I just feel horrible that she fell ill. I didn’t know she was so delicate.”
“She isn’t, usually. We’ve been to the doctor, and he’s mystified, too.”
“Well, we’ll be going then. Let us know if there is anything we can do.”
The boy murmured to Jess and the family said goodbye.
Tate seemed—faded. When I pressed on her arm, a dent remained, as if she were dehydrated.
“Jess honey, could you make some tea with sugar and milk for Tate?”
Showing how worried she was, Jess didn’t complain but immediately started the kettle. Tate slid off my lap and curled up on the couch, tucking her hand beneath the pillow. I brought the tea, encouraged her to sit up, and left her with her hands around the mug to go get a blanket to wrap around her shivering body. I used a stepstool to reach the blankets at the top of the linen closet when I heard Jess gasp.
Then I heard Greg say, “Aye, I see it too, Jessica.” Then he muttered something in Gaelic.
I rushed back to the room in time to see a hazy outline of something gray, small, and humanoid—the size and shape of a child only with more adult proportions. The hands were overly large and the head too small but with an elongated, gaping mouth. It was pressed tightly against Tate. My stomach clenched at the sight of it.
“What is that?” I gasped.
“Something that has no business here. Away, you wicked creature! Back to where you belong!” Greg slashed his hand where the creature and Tate’s bodies met and, like a knife cutting through bread, the gray thing fell from Tate’s side and lost its shape as it wafted toward the door. Greg leapt up and opened the door. By the time it crossed the threshold, it resembled nothing so much as smoke. It vanished into the night. “She should be fine now. She must have picked it up in the forest that night. I apologize. I should have seen the marks, but didn’t think she had been in the forest long enough to arouse the attentions of the darker fae.”
“What’s fae?”
“Creatures of power.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by that, but let it slide. “Jessie said someone led Tate into the forest that night.”
“Yes, but that which did, while mischievous, isna evil.” He scratched his chin.
“Taking a little girl out of her bed in the middle of the night and into a dangerous forest is pretty darn evil in my books,” I snapped.
In the short time since the thing had left, Tate already gained color. She took interest in the tea and relished it, when before she could barely hold onto the cup and only gingerly sipped it. “Good tea, thanks, Jessie.” She smiled at her sister and her sister, her expression relieved, smiled back.
Turning to Greg, Jessie asked, “How did you make it go away? Can you teach me?”
Greg slowly shook his head, but I didn’t think it was in answer to Jessie’s question. “I dinna understand why such as it was so near the edge of the forest. This is worrisome.” He paced. “I thank you for your hospitality, but I must take my leave. Something is amiss, and I need to discover the truth of it.” He caught each girl’s eyes as he said, “Goodnight, lassies.” He then surprised me by taking my hand and holding it as he said, “I hope that I may call on you again, soon—if it pleases?”
“Um...of course...I would like that. Thank you for...well, for...” I didn’t know exactly what to call what he did.
“’Tis nothing and only my duty as keeper. I’m sorry that I didna realize earlier. Young Tate should be fine now.” He turned to leave but then turned back. “You and Jessica—you both saw it?”
Jessie tilted her head. “The gray thing leeching on Tate? Yes.”
“Unusual. I would also like to talk to you about that, but another day. Rest easy. Tate will quickly improve and become her old self soon. No lasting harm has been done to her. Best if everyone stays away from the forest, at least until I can look into this.”
I nodded.
After he left, Jessie, who had been frowning, asked, “What was up with him holding your hand?”
I blushed. “I think he’s old-fashioned.”
“Humph.”
I hoped Jessie’s attitude toward Greg would change, but maybe she was right to feel the way she did. David had been so reliable and normal. Greg was reliable, too, after a fashion, but was far from normal. Before he died, David began the preparations for Jessie’s college education. I doubted Greg would have a clue about how to proceed. I was jumping the gun, but I was a mother with two children. I had to think of these things.
“Why don’t you get ready for bed, Jess?”
“Mom, could we all sleep in your room tonight?”
“Yes, I guess it has been an eventful night.” I wasn’t sure I trusted that Greg had indeed rid us of the creature, and no mention was made about how many more crept about in the woods. When we were snug in bed, I reached over to turn out the light then paused. “Jess, are you supposed to go over to the Samms and help Gavin with the horses tomorrow?”
“After the fit I threw, I doubt if he wants me anywhere near him.” Before I could object, she continued. “Plus, his sis will be there, too, and she was looking forward to spending time with the horses. She rarely gets to ride when she’s at school.”
“You may want to text and make sure, Jess.” I hoped she was wrong about the boy, but teens could be cruel at times. It probably was best that I hadn’t said anything about the boy surely
understanding her outburst.
Jessie’s thumbs speedily texted a message on her ever-present phone. She frowned at the screen for a few minutes, and then muttered, “Finally, it actually sent it,” then put it on the table beside the bed.
Chapter 16
THE NEXT MORNING, JESS asked if she could go to the library. She even offered to take her sister. I hoped my surprise didn’t show because Jess wasn’t always keen to include Tate. When in a particularly snarky mood, she once told me if I wanted a babysitter, then I needed to pay for one instead of asking her to watch her sister. Also, Jess rarely darkened the steps of a library. She didn’t read unless it was for an assignment, despite the hours I spent reading aloud to her when she was young, hoping to encourage a mutual love of books. Tate was my little Miss Imagination Girl. She constantly read and her reading level was very high. I had to closely monitor her book selections. I didn’t like to ban any novel, but some topics needed a mother’s weighing in. Stifling my surprise, I told Jessie she could go.
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, I walked the girls to the bus stop and waited with them until the bus arrived. I said I would meet them for lunch. Jess wasn’t sure if she would be done with whatever she had planned at the library and I didn’t know if Tate, despite her love of books, would want to spend that many hours there, nor did I really want to be separated from her that long. Maybe I was being overly protective, but it was tough not to feel that way. Because Tate didn’t seem to understand what happened, I didn’t want to scare her by bringing up the subject. Though Jess had calmed down once Greg got rid of the gray creature, I didn’t want her agitated about something she had no control over. Plus I felt bad about doubting her. And as well I should. She wasn’t one to tell stories or imagine monsters under her bed—it was just so Alice in Wonderland that it was hard to believe.
Today, I had my own plans. Greg elicited mixed feelings in me. He was gruff, but kind, and goodness knows he was utterly gorgeous in that broody kind of way, but something was going on with him, and it was driving me insane. And Kay. She and he, they shared knowledge about...the forest? The island? I didn’t know and frankly didn’t care, but when it involved my children—not to mention my own experiences with the horse and the pond—I wanted to get to the bottom of it and wouldn’t feel safe until I did. I guessed I could just leave. Call Mrs. Grant and explain that it wasn’t working out and hope that she might consider a partial reimbursement, as unlikely as that was, but something made me stubborn. I ran away once from Houston. I wasn’t going to run away from this.