Malsum Pass

by Forrest, Kimberly

  After a quick dinner of two pre-packaged microwave meals, Riley suggested a movie. “Nothing scary,” Tara said, “I’ve hit my quota of scares for the day.”

  “Why don’t we watch one of yours?” He asked. “I’d like to see one.”

  Tara smiled and blushed a little with happiness at how sweet that was. Not many men would volunteer to watch a chick flick, not with all of the options available on Netflix. “We don’t have to do that.”

  They settled on one of her first movies about a socially awkward and extremely sheltered home schooled girl taking her first stumbling steps in society. She leaned against Riley’s shoulder, careful to lie on her side so that nothing touched the back of her head. His arm was wrapped around her waist and the fingers of his other hand gently caressed her arm; the up and down motion so light that it almost tickled. Riley would chuckle lightly at the funny parts and she would bounce a bit on her chest which made her smile.

  Whether it was how relaxed she was with Riley, or the result of her traumatic day, before the movie was over, Tara was sound asleep.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Tara slowly came awake to discover she was in her bed though she didn’t remember putting herself there. She blinked, sniffed, and smiled. Judging by the smell of bacon and coffee, Riley was making her breakfast.

  She was upset with herself for having fallen asleep last night. She had really been looking forward to getting her hands on Riley again. The kisses they had shared had been amazing and she wanted more of them, she wanted to touch him and be touched in return. She wanted to make love with him.

  She sighed. Despite having her brains rattled and the doctor’s orders, she had been hoping last night he would initiate sex. He certainly wasn’t indifferent to her, but obviously Riley had been ruled by logic and concern for her health rather than his hormones. Just my luck, she thought.

  Tara blew out a frustrated breath. The barbecue was today and guests would be descending when what she really wanted to do was lock the doors, close herself in with Riley and spend the day in bed. She looked out the window to see if there might be any dark clouds looming, but the day looked sunny and bright. Perfect.

  She got out of bed, happy she wasn’t dizzy when she stood, and went to take a shower. Washing her hair was a bit painful, when her fingers brushed her bruised head, but overall, she felt pretty well.

  Her hair braided, and dressed for the barbecue in a pair of jeans, her favorite royal blue V-neck top, and black sandals with blue rhinestones she headed down the stairs for breakfast.

  “Riley?” She called out with a smile.

  “No, honey, he had a council meeting so I came to fix you breakfast.” Addie answered from the kitchen.

  Tara sighed, so much for any thoughts of a morning quickie on the kitchen counter. “You didn’t have to do that, Addie; I’m feeling fine this morning.”

  “It’s no trouble. I had to come up anyway to help set up for the barbecue. Your grandpa and Vahl will be along shortly with the picnic tables, grill, and the rotisserie for the pig. Guests will start showing up around eleven, and don’t you worry about your mac and cheese. I’ll be sure to put it in the over in plenty of time.”

  Addie motioned for Tara to sit at the kitchen table, so she pulled out a chair. Addie set a heaping plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, and buttered English muffins in front of her, plus coffee and orange juice. “Wow, that’s a lot of food.” Tara said her eyes wide.

  “You need your strength, honey, what with your injury and the transition in a week. Don’t you worry about your figure; you’ll burn that off with no problem. It’s just we old folk who have a problem working off our appetites.” She said patting her cushy middle.

  Tara laughed, “I wasn’t actually thinking about my figure, but my ability to move after all of this, Addie.”

  Addie smiled. “I’ll just have your grandpa roll you out in a wheelbarrow.”

  Tara took a few bites and washed it down with the juice. “Was this a regular council meeting or was it called because of what happened yesterday?”

  “Yesterday” Addie confirmed. “They need to decide whether they should continue to harbor the felines and risk more coming after them and putting the pack in danger or buying the ladies two airline tickets and putting them on a plane headed west.”

  “That man, the cat shifter; did he survive?” Tara asked, taking another bite of food.

  “He was in pretty bad shape as of this morning; being thrown around by a bear tends to do that, but he was still living. He regained consciousness during the night and they were able to get him to answer some of their questions, but otherwise, it doesn’t look good for him. He has a lot of injuries and they don’t expect him to linger much longer.

  “But that’s enough of that talk, today is a happy day and you’re letting your food get cold. Eat up.” Addie finished with a smile.

  Riley showed up about a half an hour later and greeted her with a small kiss “How are you feeling sweetheart.”

  “Much better, thank you.” She answered and then noticed he held out his hand palm up so she could see her gun.

  “One of the men brought this to the meeting, recovered from the site.”

  “Thank you.” She took it and placed it on the table. “I never even thought to ask someone to get it.”

  He winked. “I’ve got your back, sweetheart.”

  “Have you eaten, Coop? I can whip something up for you if you like.” Addie asked.

  “I’m good, Addie, thanks. They had coffee and donuts at the meeting.”

  “Donuts!” Addie huffed. “That’s not a real breakfast. I’ll fix you something.”

  Tara’s eyes were dancing with amusement as they met Riley’s rolling eyes. He laughed, “Much appreciated, Addie.”

  “Was anything decided at the council meeting?” She asked Riley, wondering if he could even discuss council business.

  Apparently he could, when he told her “According to the cat, he came upon the man that Lily had killed just after it happened. He was alone and he didn’t call anyone because he didn’t want to take the time and chance losing their scent.” He winked, “Feline noses aren’t as good as canine’s. Anyway, he saw them jump on the train and thought he could retrieve the females on his own.”

  Tara nodded. “So chances are no other felines are aware they are here?”

  Riley nodded. “The council still wanted to get them the hell out of here, so they brought the women in to tell them they would buy them a plane ticket to any feline shifter community out west they wanted to go to. But Lily brought up a good point. All it would take was their pictures being sent out on the shifter network and any one of those feline communities would feel honor bound to return the women to Florida.”

  “Shifter network? Like Twitter or Facebook?” Tara asked smiling.

  Riley chuckled, “Something like that.”

  “So are they letting them stay?”

  He nodded. “At least for now, which reminds me of something else I wanted to talk to you about.” Riley stopped and smiled his thanks at Addie who set down a plate piled higher than even Tara’s had been. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to make the trip to New York tomorrow with you needing to recuperate and all. We’ll probably have to put it off.”

  “What’s this?” Addie interrupted. “Why do you want to go to New York? You’re not leaving are you? I mean, I know that feline probably shook you up but –“

  Tara cut in when she saw how upset Addie was getting. She’d forgotten that she hadn’t told anyone yet. “It’s all okay, Addie, I’ve decided to stay in Malsum Pass permanently. Riley and I had made plans to drive to New York tomorrow to pack up my things for the movers.” She smiled at Addie’s obvious delight.

  Addie looked thoughtful for a moment and then her face split in a huge grin. “I’ll tell you what, you let me talk to L.J. first, but I don’t see any reason why he and I can’t take a couple of the pups down there and pack up your things. I’ve
always wanted to go see one of those Broadway shows and this will give me the perfect opportunity to have your grandpa take me.”

  Tara’s mouth fell open. “Oh, Addie, that would be too much. You and Grandpa don’t need to do that for me.”

  “Too much?” Addie scoffed and waved her hand in dismissal. “We’ll make the pups do most of the work and I can see some sights. I’ve never been to a big city.”

  “Are you sure, Addie?” Tara bit her lip. She didn’t want to put her family to any trouble but Addie looked so excited she also didn’t want to deny her this opportunity.

  “Goodness, I can’t wait to tell L.J. we’re going to New York City!” And that, pretty much settled it.

  Riley cleared his throat. “What I was getting around to asking is what you plan on doing with the furniture in your apartment. I’m assuming it’s yours and not the landlord’s.”

  Tara hadn’t thought of that. “I guess I’ll have to get a storage unit or maybe sell stuff. I’m not sure. I certainly don’t need any of it. There are a few things like my hope chest and cheval mirror I’d like to keep, but most of it was bought cheap at Ikea that I had to put together.” She laughed.

  “I may have a solution for you. That cabin they’re going to put the felines in doesn’t have any furniture. The women can reimburse you if you want to sell it to them.”

  Just then Addie squealed like a teenager. “L.J. just pulled in the drive! I can’t wait to tell him the news!” and she ran toward the front door practically screeching her husband’s name.

  Riley raised a brow. “L.J. will be lucky he’s not permanently deaf if she keeps carrying on like that.” He said with a laugh.

  With an opportunity to be momentarily alone, Tara didn’t waist anytime in moving from her chair and sitting on Riley’s lap where she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. He immediately and enthusiastically returned it, his hands skimming over her back and hip. When they heard the front door open and more excited squeals, Tara pulled back with a smile. “Good morning.” She said.

  “It sure is now, sweetheart.” Riley said with a grin.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The barbecue was much bigger than Tara imagined. It seemed, just as promised, everyone in Malsum Pass came out to welcome Tara. As soon as Tara saw Jacob she gave him a huge hug, happy to hear that he was recovering just fine. Conner and Zack both insisted that they should get big hugs as well considering they had to stay with Jacob last night and ‘entertain the pudding brain’ as they put it. So she was passed from brother to brother to be picked up and squeezed.

  Sherry Pierce still hadn’t completely warmed up to the idea of her husband having a daughter with another woman, but she gave Tara a small smile and a nod before moving off to find her friends.

  Tara got to meet Addie’s son and wife as well as their four boys who immediately went in search of sweets. Flora of Flora’s Hair Design, her husband and kids and all of their grandkids, as well as a number of young men who were referred to as the pups though they all gave their names.

  Lucy of course showed up bearing pies and told Tara that Riley had her bring an extra for Tara to put aside for Sebastian Black. She also introduced Tara to her husband William who was the cook at the diner and rarely left his kitchen.

  Margaret Tully came with her husband and Constance. She noticed Constance was dressed Daisy Duke Style to show off her figure to best advantage and again she was sporting insane stilettos in red today. She went straight to Conner who gave her a smile, pat her on the head and then went back to his conversation with the men. Tara noticed Jacob smile at Constance and try to engage her in conversation, but like Jacob had pointed out; it was like Constance didn’t even see him. It wasn’t that the girl was being rude; rather she only had eyes for Conner. Tara just shook her head and smiled sadly; she wasn’t sure who she pitied more, Constance or Jacob.

  She got to meet the elders, all of whom were older than her grandfather, who each took her hand and told her how honored they were to welcome her to the pack. Tara had to admit that she felt a little teary eyed at being so easily accepted.

  She even got to meet the feline women and the men who were set to guard them. Riley, who had stayed pretty much by her side, whispered in her ear. “It wasn’t fair that the men wouldn’t be able to come because they were pulling guard duty, so we told them to bring the women.”

  At one point an extremely tall, muscled man came into the yard. His long black hair and equally long black beard was matted, but it looked like the man had made an attempt at smoothing both. He was dressed in a T-shirt that had a big yellow smiley face on the front, incongruous to the rather menacing look of the man, faded jeans with several thread bare patches around the knees and pockets, and work boots that were heavily worn and stained.

  Riley stepped forward to shake his hand. “Sebastian, I’m so glad you came.” And then his brow lifted and he grinned. “A smiley face?”

  “It was the only shirt I had that didn’t have holes in it and it wasn’t stained.” Tara realized that this was the bear shifter who saved her. She also noticed his voice was deep and it seemed to rumble when he talked. It was no surprise that people were slightly afraid of him.

  She went to get the pie she had put away just for him and approached. She watched the bear shifter’s nostrils flare. “This is for you,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me and Jacob yesterday.”

  Riley said, “Sebastian this is Tara, she’s Tarvahl’s daughter and L.J.’s granddaughter.”

  Sebastian’s attention was on the pie. “I smell raspberries.”

  Tara nodded. “It is.”

  “Raspberries are my favorite.” He rumbled, not taking his eyes off the pie.

  She held the pie out closer for him to take and he gently took it from her, before he smiled revealing perfectly even, gleaming white teeth amidst all that matted beard. He gave her and Riley a nod, rumbled “Nice to meet you and thank you for the pie.” Before he turned, looked around suspiciously like someone may try to steal his treat, and quickly left.

  “He’s not going to stay?” She asked Riley.

  “Hell, sweetheart, I’m surprised he showed up at all. Sebastian doesn’t like crowds much, or people at all really. He likes to be alone.” It made Tara feel even more honored.

  She looked around at the crowd of people. Several picnic tables had been set up to accommodate all the food that seemed to cover every surface, and everybody just milled around with plates in hand. Two huge gas grills were set up on the deck with her father and grandfather grilling hot dogs, hamburgers, and some chicken breasts. While down on the lawn, what resembled a barrel cut in half held a pig speared from mouth to tail that was rotating over the fire. Tara shuddered a bit since the pig still looked like a pig rather than cut up pork as she had imagined. She had no problem with eating meat, but she just couldn’t watch piggy’s face as he turned on the spit and she really didn’t care if that made her a hypocrite.

  There were coolers that contained sodas of all different varieties, bottled waters, juice boxes, and several choices of beer. She couldn’t help but wonder if there were any beverages left in the grocery store in town.

  A few inflatable pools had been blown up and filled with water for some of the children. Tara thought it was rather chilly, but the kids seemed to be enjoying it. Some of the older kids were engaged in a game of football while others were exploring the ledges. The men seemed to have gathered into groups laughing and chatting while the women did the same and that’s when she really saw it. What they had been saying since the beginning: there were so few women. And even fewer female children. In fact, looking around at the dozen or so children, she only spotted two little girls.

  It was as if Sherry Pierce had read her mind as she approached. She waited for Riley to engage in conversation with one of the men before she quietly said. “We need women desperately in this town.”

  Tara said nothing but nodded.

  “I don’t dislike y
ou, you know. In fact, I hope someday we’ll have a good relationship, but I was very jealous.” Tara looked at her questioningly, and Sherry continued. “Vahl’s mother wanted so badly for me to have daughters, to do my part to save the town, and I had boys instead. Beautiful, wonderful boys who I love heart and soul, but to that woman I was a disappointment. It didn’t matter to her that it’s the male that determines the sex; she wanted granddaughters and I never gave her one.”

  Tara put her hand on Sherry’s arm and when the other woman didn’t pull away she gave it a little squeeze and Sherry smiled.

  “I see the way Coop looks at you; the way he hovers around you. He’s staked a claim and every man here knows it.”

  Tara blushed and couldn’t stop the pleased smile that spread across her face.

  Sherry smiled back. “He’s a good man – strong, healthy, well positioned in the community. You chose well, Tarvahla Mason. Your grandmother would be pleased.”

  “I’m sorry she was so hard on you, but I wish I could have met her.” Tara said sadly.

  Sherry nodded, looking equally saddened. “She would have loved to have met you, too.”

  All of a sudden Conner poked his head between the two of them. “Why am I seeing such faces? This is a party!” And then he yelled over his shoulder, “Let’s get some music playing and liven this place up!” Before he gave both their shoulders a squeeze and moved on.

  Sherry’s smile was much brighter after that. “See why I love my boys?” She winked and walked off to socialize.

  It was late by the time everyone had left and the remnants of the barbecue cleaned up and packed away. It had been a great day, but the best part of the picnic in Tara’s opinion was when someone unraveled a volley ball net and set it up. Several of the men, including Riley got into position to play. Very shortly after that, the shirts began to come off as the men worked up a sweat and Tara got to see her favorite scene from Top Gun pretty much be reenacted before her eyes as she watched Riley’s muscular form flex, ripple and glisten as he played. She had to fan herself several times but she was smiling and cheering for her man the entire time. She could barely take her eyes off of him. Now, Tara was tired, but she was also eager as she grabbed Riley’s hand and smiled up at him. “You’re staying aren’t you?”