“Well, I guess that means I would need a little bit of training,” Estelle said. “But basically, I have a good idea of how things are run. I just need this internship to get my bachelor’s degree in business management.”
“No shit?” Blaine said, raising a brow. “That’s impressive.”
“Thanks…” Estelle said. She normally didn’t feel shy around people, even when they were praising her, so it was strange that she suddenly had the urge to look down at her hands and avoid Blaine’s serious brown eyes.
“All right. Let’s get you started then.”
Blaine seemed inexhaustible, and soon, they were going through the rigors of training for the job. After about two hours of having the job explained in detail to her by the man in charge, he looked at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
“You want to see the mines?” he asked.
Dumbfounded, Estelle nodded, and Blaine grinned.
“Great. But this time, we take my car.”
3.
Blaine wasn’t sure what made him think the kid would be able to make her way through the mines. She was dressed to the nines, and knew exactly what it took to accentuate her supple curves. Yes, that dress seemed to hug her in all the right places. Most men would think she was too much woman, too heavy really, for them, but Blaine appreciated a woman who could carry herself. It meant more to him than miles of legs on a skinny blonde ever could.
“All right, kid. This is it,” Blaine said, parking his car and stepping out.
“Wow,” Estelle said.
Blaine had brought her to the base of one of the nearby mines, where there were still people bustling around, even though twilight was falling.
“We just found a huge deposit of gold,” Blaine confided in her. “And it runs all throughout the mountain. We think this used to be a riverbed, so we’re trying to find out where it came from. Knowing the source is kind of a big deal. We’re going to make a lot of money from it.”
“That’s great!” Estelle said, her baby-blue eyes shining. “I’m glad your business is doing so well.”
“Yeah,” Blaine said, caught off-guard by her positivity. She was genuinely happy for him. She didn’t seem to realize that the company barely needed the money; except to pay for the cost of mining. He’d received a huge inheritance from his family, who had been treasurers for the bear clan since ancient times. The only thing being disputed about his inheritance was the deed to the mountain, but that would be taken care of shortly.
It was strange showing a bubbly young woman around the site. On most days, he was lucky not to get the death look from every single person he encountered. He was used to seeing crotchety bear shifters and tired humans around, exhausted and discouraged about the portals. But Estelle was neither of those things. It was strange.
“Well, anyway, it means we’re going to be really busy,” Blaine said. “We need as much help here as we can get, but we need people we can trust.”
“Then why did you hire me without even seeing my application?” Estelle asked, frowning at Blaine. His eyes lingered on her full lips; they looked soft from where he was standing. Tempting.
But no. He couldn’t let himself get swayed by physical attraction. Not only was it wildly inappropriate, but even if she was his age, it was impossible for him to be in relationships. He was just the kind of guy who sowed wild oats. And besides, after the last time…
“It’s way easier to know who you can trust before the person you’re judging knows you’re judging them,” Blaine said, pushing thoughts of the past away. They had no place in his reality anymore. It was just a horrible situation that didn’t need to be remembered. Not now, and not ever. And it especially didn’t need to be repeated.
“You’re right about that,” Estelle said thoughtfully. “Besides, you’re a bear shifter, aren’t you? You have better senses than humans have.”
“Well, you’re not wrong,” Blaine said with a slow nod. “It’s not foolproof but they do help out when push comes to shove. Works good enough for me, anyway.”
He was still feeling raw from the memories of the past attempting to surface in his mind. But he knew he was stronger than the memories. He just had to steel himself against them again, just like he had been doing since it happened. Even if that meant Jack was right and he had changed.
“Come on,” Blaine said, eager to get his mind off the past.
Estelle followed him into the deep mine and he handed her a helmet. She turned the little light on right away and he grinned.
“Scared of the dark?” he asked.
“No,” she said, looking him square in the eye. “I am nervous about the things that could be lurking in the dark, though.”
Blaine nodded. “Fair point. Come on. This is one of the new mines. We’re waiting to blow the top open until we know just how much quartz we’re dealing with…this is kind of a special operation.”
“Special how?”
“Well…just a pet project, really. And we can always use some extra hands, so if you feel like helping out in the field, you’d want to come here. We’re looking for quartz here, and finding more than we know what to do with.”
“Quartz? Really?” Estelle asked, looking closely at the wall. “Isn’t that powerful?”
“That’s what they say,” Blaine said.
“Blaine, who the hell is this?”
Ken, a dirty know-it-all of a man came up behind Estelle and glared down at her. “She don’t look like she belongs in a mine. Maybe at a department store trying to get girls who are prettier than she is to buy things.”
Ken laughed harshly and looked around for someone else to enjoy his top of the line entertainment with, but there was no one. Blaine glared fiercely at him, the blood boiling in his veins.
“Meet your new boss, you asshole,” Blaine growled.
Ken flinched away and looked at Estelle in a panic. “What do you mean by that, man? You’re my boss.”
“Well, I hired someone to help me out with the paperwork, and she outranks the muscle. So…you should probably apologize. Unless you want a problem.”
Blaine glared at Ken, who backed away. He was a coward at heart and always had been, and when he knew Blaine was angry, he grew scarce fast. Estelle looked between Ken and Blaine, clearly not looking forward to a brawl, and to Blaine’s surprise, she stared Ken right in the eye.
“What’s your name?” Estelle demanded, stepping in front of Blaine. Blaine shrugged at Ken. He was at her mercy now.
“Um…”
“Well that’s quite a name, Um. Was your mother illiterate or did she just run out of names? Had a lot of kids, did she?”
“You watch your mouth about my-”
But Estelle was just getting started. “You think you can walk around here like you own the place? What don’t you understand about consequences? You act like an ass, and you get the same thing right back at you. It kind of works both ways too. You don’t act like an ass and the people around you might not treat you like you’re treating me right now. Do you even think about how degrading comments can affect people, even a random stranger? And it’s pathetic you pick on people you’ll never have to face again anyway. What’s that say about you?”
“Well, I…”
“I’ll tell you. It says you’re a freaking coward, that’s what. And whether you feel all big in your britches by spewing that shit or not, it says far more about you than it says about me, that’s for sure.”
“It’s just that…”
“What? Spit it out.”
Blaine watched the exchange, unable to hide his amusement. He had been sick and tired of Ken’s attitude for a long time now, and somehow, without even laying a finger on him, he was tucking his tail between his legs, ready to run away.
“I’m sorry. What did you say your name was again?”
“You can call me Ms. E. Get back to work, man. You’re wasting time.”
Ken scurried away and Estelle rolled her eyes, turning back to Blaine almost a
s if she had forgotten he was there.
“What were we talking about?” she asked without missing a beat.
“Quartz?” Blaine guessed.
“Right, sorry. I lost track. That guy was rude as hell.”
Blaine grinned.
“Yeah, he’s an asshole. And really, he’s always been that way. I don’t know what to do with him…”
“I’d be surprised if he acts out again, at least for a while. There’s plenty to work on right now without him acting like a dick. Keep him extra busy. I bet he feels bored and unchallenged. And even if he doesn’t, the more shit he has to do the less running of his mouth he’ll get done.”
“Hm,” Blaine said, leading Estelle deeper into the mine. “I do believe I’ve made the right choice bringing you on board, Ms. E. Welcome to the team.”
***
The tour of the mine went well, but Estelle and Blaine both decided she would be more useful behind a desk than in a mine. It wasn’t that she wasn’t strong. Actually, he showed her how it was done and she was a natural at it. It more had to do with the idea of sticking a girl like her in a dark hole with a bunch of guys like Ken. It didn’t particularly appeal to any of them.
And so, Blaine drove Estelle back to the building so she could get her car.
“Come on,” he said. “I’m going to take you to your cabin.”
Estelle nodded and followed him slowly and carefully down the winding mountain roads, until they finally came upon one of the five properties with cabins built. He had chosen this one specifically because it was sparsely occupied. One family of three lived about six cabins down, and the rest were, more or less, deserted. The majority of the men preferred to live closer to the mines they were working on, and where these cabins sat was the entrance to one of the few known ancient tunnels.
Chaz and his family guarded the site, so he knew they would also be able to keep a watchful eye on the human, both to keep her from getting underfoot and to keep her out of harm’s way should the time come.
“What do you think?” Blaine asked once Estelle got out of her car. She stared at the cabin and then looked at Blaine.
“Are you sure this won’t cost me anything?”
“Oh, there’s a small price to pay,” Blaine admitted. “There isn’t any internet or cell phone connection for miles. If you want any of that shit, you have to drive about twelve miles out of your way to go into town. They have a tower there where your phone would work. But, otherwise, no, this isn’t going to cost you anything. Just so long as you take care of the place.”
But Blaine could tell he wouldn’t have any trouble of that kind. Not with this girl. She seemed to take great pride in keeping herself well-kept. And upkeep of the home could often be predicted by the way a woman carried herself. At least, that had been Blaine’s limited experience. Not that he wanted to think about that right now.
“I can’t thank you enough for all the kindness you’ve shown to me,” Estelle said, turning to Blaine, her eyes round and grateful. There was just something about her he couldn’t help but like. That was rare, though, and he tore his eyes away.
“You won’t have anything to thank me for if you do your job right,” Blaine said. “This isn’t charity. This is work. Hard fuckin’ work. And if you last a week here, I’ll be surprised.”
Estelle’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak, but she had nothing to say that Blaine wanted to hear. Instead of listening, he got into his car and slammed the door shut.
If this girl thought he was some kind of a bleeding heart who was just handing jobs away to her out of pity, she was sorely mistaken. He would have to remember this when he got her to work the next morning. Then they would see whether or not she felt like thanking him.
4.
Estelle was stunned as she watched Blaine speed away from the cabins, but she couldn’t let the man throw her off. The whole situation was vaguely overwhelming, and so she knew she would just have to take it a step at a time. It was weird that he had suddenly gotten negative with her like that. She had thought she and Blaine were getting along pretty well.
Oh well, she couldn’t let that kind of thing bother her. Estelle had vowed, a long time ago, to live in the moment. It was the only way she had survived living in a family full of skinny people who thought that having a little extra weight on the body was some kind of grotesque disease. Thankfully, she had worked hard on building up a positive body image, and it didn’t matter to her what anybody else said, especially not assholes like Ken. She was who she was, and there was no reason in hell to apologize for that.
Estelle distracted herself by going into the cabin to explore. It was already stocked with some of the basics; clean linens, soap, shampoo, and the like. But what it lacked was food. And she was sorely hungry.
She glanced at her watch and grinned. Helen wasn’t going to believe what had happened. There was no reason she couldn’t run to town before her first real shift at the company began so she could stock up on food. She didn’t even have spare clothing. Hopefully, they had some kind of retail outlet where she would be able to get at least one or two outfits until she had time for another three-hour drive back to campus.
Estelle sighed. She had many strengths, it was true, but one thing she wished she could change about herself was her impulsivity. It usually got her into trouble, but somehow, this time, it seemed to have done just the opposite.
Her heart fluttered as she thought back to her first look at Blaine. He was nothing but man. Encountering him had afforded Estelle with a rare opportunity to look inside the mind of a man who clearly had everybody’s best interest at heart, even if he didn’t know how to show it. Sure, he was a little rough around the edges, but she knew that with a little nurturing, things could really turn around for him. She didn’t know how she knew it, but she would stake her life on it.
Estelle set to work making her bed and getting settled in before hopping back in the car. Blaine had given her a tourist’s map of the mountain, and she followed the map carefully, driving slowly down the mountain roads, her heart in her throat every time she looked over the edge at the steep drop below.
Thankfully, she had always been an excellent driver and made it to town in one piece.
“Welcome!” a broad, kind-faced woman exclaimed when Estelle found her way inside a little boutique clothing store. The clothing was astonishing, and Estelle looked slowly through the racks at patterns that vaguely resembled symbols that were once rampant in ancient bear cultures throughout the mountains. She had taken a course on the Oak Mountain bear shifters at SU, and now she was beyond glad she had. Every article told a story.
“You guys, you know, bear shifters…you wouldn’t mind if you saw me wearing these, would you?” Estelle asked. She couldn’t stand the idea of offending anybody.
“Oh no! Of course not!” the woman exclaimed. “None of those symbols are particularly sacred. It’s more like random words. The one you’re holding now says ‘mountain dweller’.”
“I guess I am technically a mountain dweller now,” Estelle said with a short laugh. “All right. I guess I’ll take it.”
It happened to be a very fashionable black dress. She also picked up a red skirt and a couple of blouses–the bear shifters were snazzy dressers, apparently. At least, they were if they were women interested in fashion like she was. The miners all wore simple garments, though the sleeves and collars were embroidered and decorated beautifully with simple and natural designs.
Estelle’s stomach rumbled as she paid, and the clerk laughed.
“Do you mind if I leave my car in the parking lot here, so I can explore a little bit on foot?”
“Of course not,” the clerk said. “Take your time.”
“Thank you!”
Estelle loved to walk through new places; it was the best way to take it all in. Everything went by so quickly in the car that it was almost impossible to register it. And so, she went on foot through the town, gaping at the rustic architecture and l
ooking for a nice sit-down restaurant where she could have some dinner before heading back to the cabin.
Finally, the perfect place sprang out at her from the corner of the road and she walked inside, hit by the sudden, intoxicating scent of food in the process of being cooked.
“Hello,” a young wisp of a girl said. She couldn’t have been more than fifteen years old, and was at least two heads shorter than Estelle. “Just you today, miss?”
“Yep,” she said, wishing, for some reason, that Blaine had come to join her on her first trek exploring Oak Mountain. But he was her boss. That was wildly improper. “It’s just me today.”
“Great! Do you prefer a booth or a window or anything?”
Estelle smiled. “Anything is fine.”
“Right this way,” she said, grabbing a menu from the podium in front of the door and leading Estelle to her table.
The food was unbelievably good, and she left feeling much better than she had when she had gone inside.
“Come again soon!” the young server called.
“I will,” Estelle promised.
Finally, she retrieved her car from the parking lot of the boutique clothing store and got some groceries. Nothing made a house feel like a home quite like a full refrigerator. When she was satisfied that she had gotten everything she needed, Estelle crept down the steep roads once again, until she finally found her way back to the cabin. It was a good thing she had such a good sense of direction, because she had nearly gotten lost in the dense foliage of the trees. Fortunately, she had noticed a landmark; a tree that had been struck by lightning which looked to be about fifty years ago or so, and managed to find the small settlement despite any potential opposition.
It was a lucky break, and she was glad to have had the opportunity she did to have somewhere rent-free to live and a paid internship. She had heard many horror stories from friends about internships gone wrong–people who cared more about saving their company money than creating a future full of competent workers were always being spoken about. Even Helen had dealt with that type of adversity, and she was in the medical field!
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