Bigfoot and the Librarian

by Linda Winstead Jones

  “The party…”

  “Is winding down.”

  “It’s for me so I really should…”

  “The residents of Mystic Springs will jump on any excuse for a block party. I promise, their feelings won’t be hurt if you leave the festivities a little early. Most of them won’t even notice.”

  No, they hadn’t come here for her, she realized that. “I should help clean up. There’s such a mess out there.”

  Clint looked at her hard for a moment. “You should let me take you home where I will pay you the attention you deserve for the next few hours.”

  Marnie’s heart skipped a beat, again. Her insides fluttered and between her legs… that was a bit more than a flutter. There were reasons she should stay away from Clint, but at the moment she couldn’t think of even one. “Okay.” The Milhouse boy exited the restroom. Marnie took the red-headed kid’s arm and walked with him to the front door. If she all but dragged him along, well, it wasn’t her fault that the boy was slow.

  Long after midnight, Clint was still awake. Marnie slept beside him. She was a cuddler. He’d never been much of a cuddler himself, but where this woman was concerned, he liked it.

  Her bedroom was a bit cluttered for his taste, but he liked it because it was all Marnie. The scent, the colors, the shoes and the clothes… it was all her. Her bed, her most private space, the air she breathed. He reached out and stroked her hip, and in response she scooted closer to him. She didn’t wake up, she simply sighed and shuddered before her breathing returned to a deep, easy rhythm of sleep.

  He wouldn’t wake her, much as he’d like to, but if she came awake on her own he wouldn’t let her go back to sleep too soon. No, he’d kiss her, stroke her, and then he’d be inside her again. He willed her to wake up but she didn’t, so he watched her sleep.

  If this continued, and there was no reason to think it wouldn’t, eventually he would have to tell her the truth. How would she take it? She might be relieved to know she hadn’t been hallucinating when she’d seen him. She might be horrified and head straight out of town. If this was more than a fling, and he thought it might be, she would have to know what he was.

  It had been a long time since he’d thought of a woman this way, since he’d pondered what an actual relationship might look like.

  Even if he could hide the truth from her, a permanent relationship would eventually mean children, most likely, and he could not surprise her with a child who would go hairy in his teenage years. He also remembered his mother talking about some of her strange symptoms during pregnancy. If this turned into more, Marnie would have to go into it with full knowledge of what she was getting into.

  But not today.

  Marnie sighed in contentment. This was a nice way to come awake in the pre-dawn hours, with Clint’s lips on her neck and his strong arms around her. His skin was hot; so was hers. You’d think they’d be tired of one another by now; they were not.

  He rolled her onto her back and then he was inside her. She needed him, wanted him. She would never get enough of him. For a moment she looked up at his face. She could barely see him, since the sun was not yet up, but light from a nightlight in the hall, and from the bathroom — had she left it on last time when she’d gotten up a couple of hours ago? — allowed her to study him.

  Had she once thought he was not beautiful? He was. Hard, rough, big, and beautiful. And the way he made love to her… she was no virgin, and no one would expect her to be at her age and with a couple of serious relationships under her belt, but she had never experienced anything like this. There had been no awkwardness between them, no hesitation, and to be honest no orgasm had ever hit her so hard. Four times.

  Five.

  Marnie made a very un-sexy noise, in the heat of the moment. Clint growled, as he was prone to do. The sex was so good, so overwhelming and somehow alarming, a surprising I love you came to her lips. Fortunately, she was quick enough to stop it from escaping, even though her brain was muddled and still entirely — almost entirely — on how his skin felt against hers, how he fit with her as if they’d been made for each other, how warm and wonderful this moment was.

  She liked Clint and she loved the way he made her feel, but it was far too soon to even think that she might be in love with him. Love at first sight had never worked out well for her. It was fiction, and belonged in the romance section of the library. And still, she wondered…

  “You’re kind of amazing,” she whispered.

  He smiled down at her. “So are you.”

  I love you.

  I love you, too.

  No, not yet. They had time. They had all the time in the world for I love you.

  Chapter 12

  After a quick breakfast and half a pot of coffee, Marnie and Clint rushed out of the house. She’d showered and put on a fresh clean outfit and some makeup. Clint had joined her in the shower, but wore yesterday’s clothes since he didn’t have any at her house. Would he? Soon? She would be glad to make room for his clothes in her closet. She’d even give him a drawer, if it meant he’d sleep over on a regular basis. It was possible a neighbor might see them leaving together, but she didn’t care. She was a grown woman, unattached and available for forming what might be a serious relationship with the local hunk.

  Clint insisted on walking her to the library. He didn’t really need to insist, because no way would she argue the point. She liked his company. It was nice to have him beside her, wonderful to understand that he wanted to be there on this beautiful morning.

  Saturday was a half day at the library. What would she and Clint do this afternoon? Well, besides…

  She’d never been so decadent, so impulsive. She liked it.

  Decadent or not, she was determined that there would be no sex in the library. Not again. It was undignified, and very much unlike her. The sex had been great, but if she hadn’t drunk so much wine she never would’ve given in to the attraction that had overwhelmed her when she’d seen Clint.

  Another reason to be thankful for wine.

  After a week with only a handful of Mystic Springs residents visiting the library, she was surprised to see a man waiting at the door. He paced, but casually, indolently. He didn’t appear to be impatient, just a bit ADHD. She had not seen him before, not even last night at the block party/reception.

  For a moment she wondered if he was part of a cleaning crew. Not a single cup or crumb remained on the street or sidewalk. There was no evidence that a party had taken place here last night. But no, he didn’t look at all like a janitor or trash collector.

  The man was tall, but not as tall as Clint — who was? — and had longish, curling dark hair that was mostly caught up in a man bun. Not her favorite hairstyle on a man, but some could pull it off. His build was slender but not thin, and his clothes were definitely odd. Almost every man around here wore blue jeans. This man’s trousers were black, and not made of denim. He wore black boots and a jacket that had to be too warm in this heat. He turned to face her, his movements languid as if he didn’t have a care in the world. And was that… a brocade vest? A waistcoat?

  The man smiled as she approached. Holy cow, he was pretty. Not handsome, not manly in the traditional sense, but pretty.

  “Who’s that?” Clint asked in a lowered voice.

  “You don’t know?” Marnie responded. “I figured he was a…” What had Clint called the locals? Ah, yes. “A Springer.”

  “Nope.”

  “There you are,” the man said. “You must be Marnie Somerset. At least I hope you are.”

  He had a British accent. That was unexpected. If she were a shallow person…

  “I am.”

  The man offered his hand, and she took it. Up close, she finally recognized him from his picture.

  “I’m Nelson Lovell. I came as soon as I could. Pleased to meet you.”

  Clint didn’t let it show that he recognized the name, but he did. Nelson Lovell, Bigfoot hunter.

  Marnie looked a little surprised by Lo
vell’s presence at her place of work, but not much. She wasn’t shocked, and she knew exactly who and what he was. “I thought you might respond by email. I really didn’t expect you to come here.”

  “I was in Atlanta speaking at a conference, so it was no trouble to pop over.” Lovell smiled at her, and then he looked to Clint.

  “This is my friend, Clint Maxwell,” Marnie said. “I haven’t even told him what I saw.” She looked back and up at him, and she blushed. She hadn’t blushed when he’d fucked her in the library, or when she’d climbed on top of him in her bed.

  But she blushed now.

  Marnie had called in a Bigfoot hunter. She’d screwed him senseless and made him believe she belonged to him in a primal and undeniable way. She’d smiled and touched and teased and laughed, and then she’d brought his greatest fear to his damn door. He’d been so sure she was the one, that she was special, that she was different, but this proved he’d been wrong.

  Nelson fucking Lovell.

  He wasn’t even a very good writer.

  Marnie unlocked the library door and invited them both in with the promise of coffee. Clint’s initial instinct was to decline and run for home, but he didn’t. Marnie walked in, Lovell right behind her, and Clint brought up the rear.

  The air conditioning felt nice. Clint focused on the cool air as he worked to calm himself down. He needed calm now, he needed the control that normally came to him so easily.

  There were a few signs of last night’s party inside the library, but since the festivities had moved outside pretty early, it wasn’t much. A few cups. One almost empty bottle of wine. A half-empty jug of water with soggy cucumbers floating in it. That might be the remains of a stale sandwich on the end of the front desk. Whoever had taken care of the cleanup outside would’ve been careful to leave the library as it had been when Marnie had left, locking the door behind her.

  Lovell turned his attention to Clint as Marnie headed upstairs at a brisk pace.

  “I was excited to receive Miss Somerset’s email about her sightings. It’s been a couple of years, but hers is not the first Bigfoot sighting from this area.”

  Clint’s response was a grunt.

  “How dreadful it must have been for her to see such a creature.”

  “Yes, I’m sure it was horrifying,” Clint agreed.

  “I have several days before my next engagement,” Lovell said. “And honestly, I have nothing on my schedule that can’t be postponed. I’d like Miss Somerset to show me precisely where she saw the creature. I didn’t notice a hotel as I drove into town. Do you know of a bed and breakfast or a room to rent for a few days? A week, perhaps.”

  A lot could happen in a week. He’d known Marnie less than a week, and look where they were.

  Where were they, exactly? He’d thought he knew, but now…

  “I can’t think of any place, other than Eufaula.”

  “I drove through that town on my way here. It looked charming.”

  He managed to make the word “charming” sound like an insult. A few minutes of uncomfortable silence followed. Nelson fucking Lovell. Clint tried not to growl, he really did.

  Marnie walked down the stairs, a tray bearing three cups of coffee, sugar, and creamer in her hands. She walked carefully, since her hands were full and her heels were high. “Oh, I’m sure there’s someone in town who would put Mr. Lovell up for a few days.”

  The upstairs room wasn’t that far away, and the door had been open. She’d probably heard their entire conversation.

  “I’ll call Susan and ask her for a recommendation,” she added.

  Lovell put too much sugar in his coffee, but ignored the creamer. Marnie fixed her own coffee. She’d need it. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.

  Clint ignored his cup and asked, “Why don’t you tell me what this is about, Marnie?”

  He knew, he knew damn well what this was about, but he wanted to hear it in her words.

  She took a sip of coffee. “I didn’t tell you, or anyone else, because I didn’t want you to think I was crazy. On my way into town, I saw a monster. It was hairy and grotesque, and all I could think of was Bigfoot. It looked like every drawing or grainy photo I’ve even seen. I tried to dismiss what I’d seen as a hallucination, or my imagination, but then I saw it again, in the woods behind my house.”

  Monster. Grotesque.

  “I did some research and came upon Mr. Lovell’s book on the subject. When I emailed him I hoped he might respond, but I didn’t think he’d actually show up.”

  The Bigfoot hunter smiled. “Miss Somerset, you must call me Nelson. I’m sure we’ll become great friends.”

  She smiled back. “And I’m Marnie. Trust me, these days I can use all the friends I can get!” She laughed, and glanced back at Clint with a twinkle in her eye.

  Clint backed away, one step, as if her gaze had the power to burn him. “I need to get home.”

  “Stay,” Marnie said softly.

  He shook his head.

  “I’ll be closing up at noon. Maybe we can…”

  “You’ll be busy getting Mr. Lovell settled and showing him where you saw your grotesque monster.” He took another step back, but didn’t turn around.

  “Tonight…” She began.

  “I just remembered, I have other plans for tonight. Sorry.”

  Her face fell, but then she didn’t realize what she’d done. How could she?

  A woman he’d allowed himself to consider his had brought his greatest nightmare to his home. He could forgive her for calling him a monster, for describing him as grotesque. That was probably true.

  But he could not forgive her for bringing Lovell to Mystic Springs. Sadly for her, he would not be the only one who wouldn’t forgive.

  Nelson Lovell looked exactly like the picture on the back of his book. If anything, he was more handsome, and he was definitely younger looking. He probably wasn’t much older than she was. He had thick dark hair any woman would kill for, a perfectly symmetrical face, and dark eyes that studied her intently when she spoke. It was obvious he paid great attention to her every word.

  And the accent! It was mesmerizing. Very Mr. Darcy-like.

  Wasn’t he from Oregon? That was what his bio said. Maybe he’d moved there and brought his sexy British accent with him.

  There weren’t many library patrons on this fine summer morning, but Marnie was pleased to see even a handful. Maybe Saturday morning was prime time for the Mystic Springs Library. During a lull in the activity, she called the only person she could think of, the only local number she had in her cell phone.

  Susan Tisdale did not seem thrilled with Marnie’s question, but she did pass along a phone number for a bed and breakfast. Marnie was pleased but surprised to find out that there were rooms to rent anywhere in Mystic Springs. It wasn’t exactly a tourist destination, and considering how welcomed she’d been among the Springers, she could only imagine how a visitor might be treated.

  She would be helpful and friendly to Nelson, even if others were not.

  The Riverside Rest B&B owner, Elaine Forrester, was happy to hear from Marnie and said she’d prepare a room for her new guest right away.

  Marnie straightened the little bit of mess that remained from last night’s reception, tossing away leftovers and wiping down her desk, as well as a table that had been used for cucumber water and sandwiches. She toted what was left of the cucumber water back to the bathrooms to dump down the drain. The container was heavy, but she managed.

  Nelson didn’t offer to help; he walked the aisles perusing books while she worked, but that was alright. It wasn’t his job to clean up her mess, she reasoned.

  Clint would’ve offered, she suspected.

  Now and then Nelson asked about what she’d seen, but they were always interrupted and she never got far. Felicity returned her books and picked up two more. Marnie didn’t think it was her imagination that the little girl with the sunny disposition glared at Nelson Lovell.

  Gabi, bab
y on her hip, stopped in to return a book she’d picked up a couple of days ago. She was on the run, about to head to her shop. The look she gave Lovell wasn’t a glare at all. It was the look of a single woman admiring a handsome man. She didn’t speak to him, though, she just admired the view for a moment.

  After phone calls had been made and the mess from the reception was cleared, a couple of other people stopped in. No one stayed very long, but they did seem to arrive just as she and Nelson were getting into serious conversation.

  By the time all that was done, it was almost time to close the library for the day. Lunchtime. Marnie locked the front door a mere two minutes early, and walked with Nelson across the street to Eve’s. She looked up and down the street, wondering if she’d see Clint, wondering why his attitude had changed so abruptly. She’d been looking forward to their date tonight, but maybe after last night he didn’t see any reason to cook dinner for her.

  He probably didn’t see any reason to woo a woman who’d so enthusiastically jump his bones in her place of work. Too bad. She’d bet he was a great wooer.

  There would be time to figure out what had happened with Clint, and fix it if she could, once she’d seen to Nelson. She couldn’t imagine that he’d be here more than a couple of days.

  As always, the aroma that hit Marnie as she walked into Eve’s was welcoming and tantalizing and made her stomach rumble. “Everything here is so good. You just wait.”

  She sat on one side of a booth and Nelson took the other. As usual, Eve was there right away to take their order. Not as usual, she pursed her lips and frowned.

  “I’ll have the special, whatever it is,” Marnie said. “And sweet tea.”

  “Chicken pot pie,” Eve said without further elaboration. Then she turned to Nelson, who said,

  “Do you have a vegan menu?”

  Eve blinked twice. “No.”

  “Vegan is…” Nelson began.

  “I know what vegan means,” Eve interrupted sharply. “Just don’t have a special menu. How about a salad?”