“Good; ‘cuz I want it done in a month,” Brody stated firmly.
Austin forgot about the bacon enough to respond with; “A month!”
Brody continued in a steady voice. “I want the land cleared and ready for spring planting. While you’re doing it, I want you to get in touch with Commodore’s down in Beachton. I want you to negotiate delivery of twenty thousand fir seedlings at the end of the month, and I want you to organize twenty men from the other tribes to come and help you plant them out. You’ll supervise the planting gangs and manage all of their work time, pay and everything.”
Austin stared at his brother. “Are you serious?” he asked quietly.
Brody didn’t smile. “Can you handle that?”
Austin’s face broke into a big grin. His brother trusted him. He had loaded him with even more responsibility and the management of a massive job. He could only be doing that for one reason. He knew what Austin wanted to ask him, and he wanted to prepare Austin for the responsibility awaiting him as a married man.
Austin cleared the silly smirk off his face and got serious. He could forget about seeing Aurora for a while. Even if he married her, he would be busy with this job for the foreseeable future. “I can handle it,” he said with all earnestness.
Mona interrupted with a harrumph. Austin’s head whipped around to face his scowling mother. “How’re ya doin’, Ma?”
“How am I doing? I’ve only been heartbroken since you left. That’s all, but you don’t care about that. All you care about is bringing that Cunningham into my house when you know you’d drive me into an early grave with that.”
“Listen, Ma….” Austin started trying to explain.
“Don’t ‘listen Ma’ me, young man. You know I can’t stand the Cunninghams, and what do you do? You turn around and bring one of them here and lay her on the couch like the Queen of Sheba. What’s an old woman to think of her youngest son when he does things like that to deliberately hurt me? You know my heart isn’t strong. I could have dropped dead from a heart attack.”
Austin caught a pained look on Star’s face, but neither she nor Brody interfered. Austin had to fight this battle all by himself, and he could only look forward to more of the same in the future, if he had his way. “You never had a problem with Aurora before. She’s been a guest at this table a hundred times in the last five years.”
“Not my guest. I could handle having dinner with one of them as a peace offering, but that! I don’t need to see them moving in here and having the whole Farrell tribe waiting on them hand and foot, thank you very much.”
“Come on, Ma. That’s taking it a little too far,” Austin tried reasoning with her.
“Too far!” Mona exclaimed indignantly. “I’ll tell you what’s taking it ‘too far.’ Taking it ‘too far’ is seeing your own sons stab you in the back with one of those vipers. Taking it ‘too far’ is cozying up to them and making them into your friends when you know they won’t do anything but cut your throat the first chance they get.” She finally sat back, finishing her rant, breathing hard, and looking hatefully all around her.
Star swallowed hard. She didn’t eat anymore, but kept her hands in her lap.
Brody spoke up. “Hold your horses, Ma. That’s my wife you’re talking about, and if I understand rightly, Austin cares about Aurora just as much.”
Mona opened her mouth to say some other hateful thing about the Cunninghams and her worthless sons marrying them, but Austin cut her off by pushing his chair back. He rose to his full height in front of his mother. “That’s okay, Brody. You made your point, Ma. If that’s the way you feel, I won’t bring Aurora around you anymore. Just remember I said that if you don’t see me again for a good long time.” He pronounced his edict in calm, firm, resolute syllables.
He pushed his chair into place and stepped away from the table. Star jumped up. “Don’t leave like this, Austin. Don’t let her spoil this family for us.” She pleaded with him.
Austin turned to Brody. “I don’t know how you can sit there and let her say these things about your own wife. I won’t put up with it.” He barely restrained his anger.
Brody shrugged. “What can I do? She’s our only mother.”
Austin nodded and crossed the room to the front door. “I’ll be seeing all of you around. I’ll be busy down in the timber lot, so don’t be surprised if I don’t make it home for meals most of the time.”
He yanked the door open and strode away behind the barn. When he knew no one could see or hear him, Austin kicked the corner post of the woodshed so hard he bruised his toe. “Father Christmas!”
A low chuckle made him spin around in a hurry. Brody stepped around the woodshed with a grin the size of Vermont plastered across his face. “Feel better now?”
Austin whirled back the other way. “No, I don’t. I’m still spitting mad at her, and I won’t forgive her until she learns to behave herself in polite society.”
“Polite society! Surely you can’t mean Austin Farrell.”
“I mean Star Cunningham and Aurora Cunningham. You shouldn’t let her around your wife and son if she says insulting things about the Cunninghams right to their faces. Don’t you have any balls at all?” Austin allowed his frustration to run wild.
The grin evaporated off Brody’s face. “I might be your brother, but I’m also your Alpha. Get yourself under control, son, before you say something that could get you in deep bull manure.”
Austin kicked the dirt at his feet. “Sorry, man. I’m just blinking mad.”
Brody took compassion on his brother and tried to explain. “She used to make me mad like that, too; but nowadays, I understand she does it because she’s powerless. Think about it. She used to be able to drop a suggestion in Dad’s ear and affect the whole tribe, maybe even the whole mountain. She could get just about anything she wanted that way. When Dad died and I became Alpha, she had to let all that go. Now she can only make up impotent remarks about the Cunninghams, and that doesn’t affect anybody by herself. She can’t stop me making peace with the Cunninghams. She can’t even stop them coming into her own house. She can’t stop her own grandson being one of them. She’s harmless.”
“She is definitely not harmless, and I’ll be jiggered if I sit at the breakfast table and listen to her say something like that to Aurora’s face. I’ll leave this stinking mountain before I live that long.” Austin’s anger still remained at a high level.
Brody’s eyes flashed. “I know you want to talk to me about Aurora, so listen to me and listen good, ‘cuz you know how I hate to repeat myself. I know you want to marry her. I can see it written all over your face. Everyone can see it. Star can see it. Even Ma can see it. That’s what’s making her so brutally nasty.”
“I only came back here to tell you about Aurora, and now you saddle me with this timber lot job. If I’m gonna marry her and raise my own family…”
Brody held up his hand. “Stop right there, Cochise. You can’t marry Aurora without Ma’s approval. You know that, as well as I do.”
Austin froze. “She’ll never approve of it. You can’t keep me away from my mate by laying impossible conditions on it.”
“Think about it, Austin. Ma’s your last surviving parent. If you marry Aurora against her wishes, it really would kill her.”
“So what do you suggest I do?” Austin asked forlornly.
“Just hang around a few days, maybe a few weeks. Wait for her to calm down. When the shock wears off, she’ll be ready to talk sense. You can get her off by herself in a quiet corner and explain that you’re mated to Aurora.”
“She won’t approve it then, either.”
“She’ll cry and get sad and tell you how she feels about the Cunninghams. Don’t argue with her. Just let her say her piece. When it’s all finished, she’ll accept it the way she accepted Star and me.”
“You want me to wait a few days or a few weeks? I don’t think I can do that.” Austin replied sadly, shaking his head.
“If I was
in your place, I would concentrate on finishing this timber lot job before you do anything. Until it’s finished, you’ll be too busy to get married anyways.” Brody commented logically.
“I suppose that’s why you came up with this project, to keep me too busy to get married.” Austen spoke with a hint of resignation.
“I came up with this job to give you a chance to win Ma over. If this thing between you and Aurora is the real deal, she’ll still be waiting for you when you finish. You can get Ma’s approval and ride off into the sunset with Aurora.” Brody countered.
Austin turned away with his hands on his hips. “You really know how to screw a guy over, don’t you?”
“I’m doing this to help you, Austin. If you’re gonna marry Aurora Cunningham, you’ve got to live on this mountain and be respected as a man. You won’t do that without Ma’s approval, and once you get it, nothing can stop you from building the life of your dreams. Take it from me. I had to get Walker’s approval before I married Star, and that was a lot harder than you getting Ma’s approval.”
“You never had to get Dad’s approval, and he was your Alpha.” Austen argued stubbornly.
“He gave me his approval when he made me Alpha over Mattox.” Brody replied.
“It ain’t fair, man. You don’t know what you’re asking me, making me wait a month or longer before I can… You don’t know what you’re asking.” Austin spoke in a strained voice.
“I know what I’m asking, and it’s the only way. Get slogging on the timber lot, and the month will be over before you know it. Ma will cool her jets and give her consent. Trust me.”
“If she doesn’t, will you give me your permission to marry Aurora anyway?” Austin asked hopefully.
Brody cracked a grin. “Yes, I will. If you do everything I say and she doesn’t break down in tears over you, I will give you my permission to marry Aurora anyway.”
Austin brightened. “All right, man. I’ll do it your way.”
“Good boy.” Brody clapped him on the shoulder. “Now before you do anything else, I want you to run down to the Mackenzies and deliver a message to Mattox for me.”
“Can’t you just call him on the phone?”
“Not for this. Now listen carefully, ‘cuz this is important.”
Chapter 13
Aurora sat rocking on the front porch when Star came through the gate. She sat down in the rocker next to her sister. “How are you doing?” She asked her quietly.
Aurora nodded, but didn’t smile. “I’m alright,” she uttered tonelessly.
“What’s wrong?” Star worriedly questioned her sister again.
“Nothing; I just said I’m alright,” Aurora answered louder but still without tone.
“Then why do you look so downcast? Did you talk to Walker about Austin?” Star probed some more.
“I talked to him,” was the flat reply.
“And what did he say?” Star kept pulling teeth.
“Nothing,” said Aurora in the flattest tone yet.
Star started out of her chair. “What?” Star flew around to face her sister in complete astonishment.
“He didn’t say anything.” Aurora responded on the end of a sigh.
“How could he not say anything? He either said yes or no.” Star argued in confusion.
“He didn’t say either.” Her voice held absolute truth.
Star blinked. “But that was more than two weeks ago. Did you bring it up with him again?” Star knew this couldn’t be right.
“Walker’s gone.” Aurora muttered the news to her sister, and stared off into the horizon.
“What?” Star yelled in a high, cracking voice.
“Walker’s gone. He’s not here, and he’s not coming back. Dax is Alpha now.” Aurora looked her sister in the eye as she came clean with all the changes at the Homestead.
Star’s jaw dropped. “Are you out of your mind? How could Walker leave and not come back? Where did he go?” Star found herself so confused she could barely think.
“No one knows. He never said a word to anyone. He just vanished.” Aurora replied matter-of-factly.
“Is he dead somewhere or something? Do we need to alert the other tribes?” Star searched her mind for some type of plan to follow.
“He drove away in his truck. He packed a bag, took his wallet and withdrew a bunch of money from his bank account; Dax checked. He left. No one knows where he is, but he’s gone. I don’t have a prayer of marrying Austin now.”
Star stared at her sister. Then she sank back into the rocker and gazed with her across the Homestead. A shadow that was cast over the land, made her old home look different from the way Aurora remembered it. This house; this land; this mountain were nothing but a prison to her now. She hated her family. She hated Bruins’ Peak.
She could understand how someone like Scotia Kerr could throw herself off a cliff when she lost her mate in a freak accident. She didn’t want to live in a world where she couldn’t marry Austin. If she could only get her mind to function for two seconds, she would think of a way to kill herself.
Star startled her out of her reverie by touching her hand. “Don’t give up. It’s not over yet.” She said quietly, but sincerely.
“I haven’t seen or heard from Austin since I got back. He’s probably forgotten all about me. We had a good time while it lasted, but it’s over now. He’ll find someone else to mate with, and that will be that.” Aurora looked down as she despondently replied.
“You know it doesn’t work that way. You two are mated for life. He’s just really busy with this new job Brody gave him; and he has to get his mother’s approval before he can marry you. Don’t give up hope. There’s still a way.” Star tried to bolster her sister.
“I’ll never get Dax’s approval and Austin will never get his mother’s approval. We might as well both be dead.” Aurora saw no way they would ever marry.
“Don’t say that. I used to think mating with Brody was impossible, but we found a way. Walker might come back.” Star said hopefully.
“He didn’t give me his approval when he was here,” Aurora replied. “Something got to him. He’s not Alpha of our tribe anymore even if he does come back.”
“He can’t have just given up.” Star stated in disbelief.
“He did.” Aurora flatly spoke. “You should have seen him. He just sat there staring out the window. He didn’t even hear me when I spoke to him. He was a million miles away.”
“I wonder what could have gotten to him.” Star thought out loud. “He’s such a steady guy.”
“It doesn’t matter now. Nothing matters now.” Aurora descended further into her despair.
Star threw herself on her knees in front of Aurora. “Hang on just a little longer. Maybe you could come back to Farrell Homestead with me and talk to Austin. Once you two see each other again, you’ll know he really does love you as much as you love him. He’s killing himself trying to get back to you as soon as he can.”
Aurora shook her head. “I went back to his den. I never told anyone about it. It was supposed to be a secret, just for him and me. He promised me we would go back there and be together always, but he never came. I’ve been out there five times in the last two weeks. I even spent the night out there more than once to wait for him, but he never came.”
“He’s been working from before the sun comes up until late at night. He has to prove himself to Brody.” Star explained.
“If he really loved me and wanted me, he would find a way to come.” Aurora asserted.
Star hugged her around the hips. “Please, honey. He loves you. You should see him. He’s burning up with love for you. It hurts him to stay away from you just as much as it hurts you.”
“I don’t believe it. I won’t look for him anymore. I gave up. I would look for someone else if I thought it would make any difference.”
Star sat back in the rocker. Nothing she could say would make any difference to Aurora now. “How’s Pop?”
“He’s alright.�
�� Aurora replied. “He just sleeps a lot. He gets tired easily, and he doesn’t take meals with the family. Mama stays with him in the bedroom most of the time.”
“How are they taking the news about Walker?”
“No one has told them. No one wants to alarm them in case Walker comes back.”
“How is Dax handling being Alpha all of a sudden?” Star asked searchingly.
“He’s out of his mind.” Aurora almost chuckled. “He talks on his phone all day long. Apparently he thinks that’s what being an Alpha is about; but he’s too chicken to go look at the papers on Walker’s desk. He can’t handle the math.”
“God forbid he should be our Alpha!” Star exclaimed.
Aurora turned cold eyes on her sister. “He’s not your Alpha. You’re a Farrell now.”
Star snorted. “Tell Mona that.”
“I’ll never be a Farrell, thanks to people like Dax and Mona. They got their way, and Austin and I will never be together. You’re a Farrell. You’re lucky. I’ll always be a Cunningham.”
Star studied her sister for a while. After a long silence, she got up. “I’m going inside to see Mama and Pop. I’ll see you later.”
Aurora stared straight in front of her without answering until Star went inside. See her later? Aurora would never see anyone ever again. What was the point? She heard Star’s footsteps cross onto the carpet and troop down the hall.
Aurora stepped off the porch onto the soft ground. Her feet found their own way through the gate and up the path towards Bruins’ Peak. How many times did Star travel this path to meet Brody on the sly? Aurora would never meet Austin on this path. He was miles away in Farrell territory. He was too busy to think about her.
She let her feet guide her wherever Fate took her. She left the path behind and set off through the woods. In an instant, her hands dropped to the ground and her nose swept the leafy drifts under the trees. Brown fur sprang out of her alabaster skin, and the bear took over.
The bear’s instincts and appetites swallowed her human thoughts so she didn’t have to dwell on the intrigues and complications at home. The bear didn’t think, but the bear longed for Austin more than Aurora ever could. The bear didn’t understand why she couldn’t have her mate. She wanted him. That’s all she knew.
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