“That’s where you and I differ, Mom. I prefer to fix my own problems.”
“You do take after your father.” Mabel stepped onto the sidewalk, but stopped and looked across the street. “I wonder what’s going on?” she asked, pointing at the group of men gathered around the back of a pickup.
Eve could see that the tailgate was down, and it appeared a large, dead animal was holding everyone’s interest.
“Somebody must have shot a bear.”
“That looks like Johnnie Dempster’s truck.” Mabel nudged Eve toward the street. “Go see his trophy, and ask Johnnie how much it weighs.”
Eve gaped at her mother. “Why would I want to go see a dead bear?”
“To be sociable,” Mabel said, exasperated. “You’ve been back in town two months, and I can count on one hand the number of young men you’ve spoken to. Go on. Go admire Johnnie’s bear, and at least pretend you’re interested.”
Eve handed her mother the store keys and walked across the street. If she didn’t go fawn all over Johnnie Dempster’s dead bear, she wouldn’t hear the end of it all day. Only once she got there, she couldn’t get close enough to see it, much less tell Johnnie what a great hunter he was. There were so many men crowded around the back of the truck, all unusually silent, that a person would think Johnnie had shot Bigfoot.
Eve shouldered her way into the crowd, pushing past Barry Simpson, the Shop ’n Save manager, only to have him grab her arm and pull her back.
“You don’t want to get any closer, Eve,” he said. “It’s not a pretty sight.”
She frowned up at him. “I’ve seen dead bears before, Barry. My dad used to hunt.”
“This one wasn’t shot,” he said, pulling her farther away from the truck. “It’s all mangled to pieces.”
“Did it get hit by a truck?” she asked, craning to see.
“No, it was eaten.”
She snapped her gaze to Barry. “Eaten? But what would eat a bear? They’re at the top of the food chain.”
Barry shook his head, his brow furrowed. “That’s the question of the day. We’ve called in the state biologists. Hopefully they can tell us.”
“Coyotes can’t bring down a bear, can they?” she asked, inching her way back toward the men. “Unless the poor thing was sickly,” she speculated.
“Don’t look, Eve,” Barry warned, reaching for her.
Eve spun around to avoid being caught again, and ran directly into a rock-solid chest that felt all too familiar.
“And just why are ye so determined to see a dead animal?” Kenzie asked, taking hold of her shoulders. “Are ye wanting nightmares?”
She tilted her head back to look up at him. “Did you see the bear?”
“Yes.”
“And are you going to have nightmares?”
His eyes took on a sudden gleam. “Probably.”
“Well, Mr. Gregor, I’m not the squeamish type. My nightmares tend to run more toward being smothered.”
He nodded, the gleam intensifying. “I could see where that might be an ongoing worry for someone your size.”
He guided her out of the way as a dark green pickup pulled in beside Johnnie Dempster’s truck. Two state biologists got out, and the crowd parted.
Eve got a clear look at the bear and instantly spun away. Kenzie immediately ushered her toward the gathering crowd of women across the street. Maddy and Susan were standing with Mabel and several other women, watching what was happening in the Shop ’n Save parking lot.
Susan’s eyes narrowed, her gaze darting from Eve to the man walking beside her, his hand at the small of Eve’s back.
“What’s going on?” Maddy asked.
“Something ate a bear,” Eve said with a shudder, stepping onto the sidewalk. “Half of it was gone, and what’s left is…it’s not pretty.”
Maddy wrapped her arm around Eve. “Why on earth did you go over there?”
“Because I am a good daughter.”
“That’s just terrible,” Susan interjected, and when Eve looked up, she realized Susan wasn’t talking to her. “What could eat a bear, Mr. Gregor?”
Kenzie smiled at Susan, but Eve knew he didn’t have a clue who she was.
“I’m Susan Wakely,” Susan said, pulling back her jacket and sticking out her chest to expose the tiny brass name tag pinned on her ample bosom. “I waited on you at the bank the other day.”
“Yes, of course. Mrs. Wakely,” Kenzie said with a nod.
“It’s Miss Wakely, but please call me Susan.” She stepped closer to him, her expression horrified. “How terrible for that poor bear. I can’t imagine what could have eaten it. And to think I walk home from work every evening, all alone, right past a very dark section of woods.”
Eve stifled a snort.
Maddy wasn’t nearly as circumspect.
“You would be wise to find another way home,” Kenzie said. He looked at Eve. “If you will excuse me, I’ll go see what the biologists think happened to the bear. I’ll tell you tonight when you get home,” he said, turning and walking back across the street.
Dammit, he hadn’t really said that in front of everyone!
Susan glared at Eve. “What did he mean, ‘I’ll tell you tonight when you get home?’ Is he living with you?”
“Of course not. He bought the Bishop farm, and is letting Mom and me stay there until we can find a rental.”
“Where is he staying?”
“He’s camping out down by the ocean.”
“I saw him first! You had your chance with Parker and blew it. So back off and give someone else a chance for once.”
“Oh, for the love of—This isn’t a contest, Susan, and Kenzie Gregor is not some prize.”
Maddy took hold of her arm. “It’s no contest because Eve’s already won. But Parker’s someplace in Brazil, last we heard. Why don’t you go look him up, Suze, and give him our regards,” she said, dragging Eve toward the store. “That witch,” Maddy continued once they were inside. “Doesn’t she know that poor-little-frightened-me act doesn’t work on real men? I wanted to puke when she batted her false eyelashes at him.”
“But why did you have to say that I had won in front of half the women in town? Now everyone’s going to think I’m chasing after Kenzie.”
“Good, let them. Did you ever consider that maybe we just did the man a favor?”
“How?”
“If everyone thinks you and Kenzie are a couple, all the women in town will leave him alone. Can you imagine what it must be like to be rich and handsome and single? By pretending you already got him, you’re actually saving him.”
“That has got to be the most outrageous thing to ever come out of your mouth. And besides, it’s a big fat lie.”
“It won’t be, as soon as you have your affair with him.”
Eve gaped at her.
Maddy opened the door. “I’ve got to go to work. Sarah and I will come over again tonight, and I’ll bring Mom this time. Then maybe you and I can head over to Oak Harbor and find you a sexy new outfit. It’s hard to get an affair going when you dress like an elementary-school teacher.”
“I am a teacher. And I don’t need a new outfit, because I am not having an affair!”
“Of course you are, silly. Not for yourself—for me. See you at six,” she said, disappearing up the sidewalk.
Eve stepped out of the store and searched the thinning crowd for her mother, but she didn’t see her anywhere. Dammit, now where had she wandered off to?
She ran inside to check the back office, and was just heading back to the front of the store when her mother walked in.
Eve took a calming breath, determined not to let her panic show. “You didn’t go see the bear, did you?”
“No, I was over at Ruthie’s. I left you a note.”
“You did? Where?”
“On the counter,” Mabel said, picking up a piece of paper.
“Oh, I hadn’t looked there. What’s interesting at Ruthie’s?”
“I asked her to order a book for me.”
“But Mom, we really don’t have money to buy books right now. We need to watch every penny.”
“Books are not a luxury, Evangeline; they’re as necessary as food.”
“I know the Anderson motto,” Eve said with a sigh. “It wasn’t an expensive book, was it?”
“I have a few dusty old dollar bills tucked away,” Mabel said, setting her purse behind the counter and walking back to the front door. “I’m going to the library. Feel free to call and check on me.”
Eve glowered at the door Mabel softly closed. Dammit, not smothering her mother was driving her insane!
Kenzie finished pounding the nail in the board William was holding, and straightened with a scowl. “Mind telling me what possessed you to go after a bear?”
“I was needing a good fight, and the only thing I could find around here to give me one was that mangy old bear.” He made a disgusting face. “It was so tough I nearly choked to death.”
“From now on, when you feel the need to take out your frustrations on something, you come see me.”
“I was looking for sport, not a slaughtering!”
Father Daar handed Kenzie another board. “You’re such a dumb beast, Killkenny,” Daar said with a laugh. “’Tis Gregor who’d be slaughtering you!”
Kenzie shoved the board at William, poking the beast in the stomach hard enough to make him grunt. “Killing that bear created a problem for us, because now everyone in town is asking what sort of animal could have done such a thing. The least ye could have done was bury the remains. The townspeople are concerned there’s something vicious living in the area.”
“There is,” William smiled darkly. “Me.”
Kenzie straightened from nailing the board. “When people are afraid of something they don’t understand, their first instinct is to hunt it down and kill it.”
“They can try,” William drawled. He snapped his tail in agitation, sending a cloud of dust through the stall. “Men of this time are weak-kneed, soft-boned pansies, Gregor. They’ll be keeping their doors locked and hiding under their beds instead of scouring the woods for bogeymen.”
Kenzie blew out a defeated sigh. “Ye have a bad habit of underestimating people, William. Did ye not see the rifle Jack Stone was carrying the night he came after you on Bear Mountain? And do ye not understand the concept of a firearm? All it would take is a single bullet between your eyes, and Midnight Bay’s bogeyman would be dead.” He pointed his hammer at him. “You hunt to eat, not for sport, and you leave no evidence the next time. Your arrogance is a threat to us, Killkenny. If you’re discovered, Daar and I will be the ones paying the consequences.”
William’s wings twitched, and he looked away.
“What?” Kenzie said. “Goddammit,” he growled when William didn’t answer. “What in hell have you done now?”
“The old woman saw me this morning,” William muttered. “I didn’t speak to her, I swear. I was sitting on a rock, drying my wings after a swim in the ocean. I didn’t know she was there until I heard her gasp.”
“Then what did you do?” Kenzie asked ever so softly. “Did ye dive in the ocean, or fly off?”
“I flew off,” he said, hanging his head. He looked back at Kenzie, his huge dark eyes defensive. “I didn’t think; I just reacted.”
“You’ve done it now, you accursed beast!” Daar said, pointing a gnarled finger at him. “Mabel will tell Eve what she saw.” He looked at Kenzie. “We have to pack up and leave right now. We’ll go back to TarStone, where we’ll be safe.”
Kenzie grabbed Daar by the sleeve when he turned to leave. “Hold on a minute. Let me think.”
“The old woman is crazy, isn’t she?” William said. “Nobody will believe her.”
“He’s right,” Kenzie said, looking at Daar. “There’s a good chance Eve will think her mother is merely confused.” He glared at William. “If you had dove in the ocean instead of flying off, Mabel might have thought that the morning light was playing tricks on her, and that you were just a large seal or something. Ye can’t fly when it’s daylight, William.”
“I still say we should go back to TarStone,” Daar said. “I don’t like the energy around here. I feel trouble brewing.”
“I feel it, too, old man. But the sort of trouble brewing would find us no matter where we go. No, this is where we belong.” Kenzie handed William the hammer. “See if you can do something constructive for a change, will ye? These stalls need to be finished by this afternoon so I can get the pasture fence repaired. Matt and Winter are arriving day after tomorrow.”
“Where are you going?” Daar asked.
“Back into town. Maybe I can get an idea of what Mabel thought she saw this morning.” He took off his tool belt. “Try to work together, you two. But if that’s too much of a stretch, at least try not to kill each other.”
Eve sat behind the counter of Bishop’s Hearth and Home with her chin propped in one hand and absently wrapped a curl around her finger. She let it spring back into place with a sigh, and frowned down at the list of products she thought about selling.
It was a painfully short list. People in these parts were so self-reliant—what they couldn’t make for themselves they usually bought at the big box stores in Ellsworth. She was even rethinking her plan to sell pellet stoves, because most everyone could step out their back doors and cut their own firewood. Why pay for bags of manufactured wood pellets?
She needed to find something unique, something most people couldn’t or wouldn’t bother to make for themselves. But that required capital, and if Mr. Johnson didn’t give her a new line of credit, she might as well hand him the keys to the store.
All she needed were a few measly thousand dollars, but she couldn’t even scape up a few hundred. Parker had cleaned out their joint savings account, and she’d been forced to cash in her retirement fund to keep her Boston home out of foreclosure when she discovered he’d stopped making payments four months prior to disappearing.
Apparently the bastard had been planning his escape for quite some time.
How could she have been married to a man for six years and not know what a self-centered, unconscionable jerk he was?
She felt so dumb. Especially considering she’d had two women friends in Boston who’d found themselves suddenly divorced. As they’d cried on her shoulder and she had sympathized with them, she’d secretly wondered how they could have been so blind. There had to have been signs that their marriages were failing; had they been living in desperate denial, hoping things would get better?
But then it had happened to her.
Too embarrassed to cry on anyone’s shoulder, she had run home to her mama with her tail between her legs, utterly humiliated—and with the added indignity of being broke.
And then to discover Mabel had been hiding her own financial crisis…well, Eve had spent nearly two weeks mired in despair. That is, until the Nordic blood in her veins had finally surged to the front, and that despair had turned to anger.
Her pity party over, Eve had become determined to build a new life for herself and her mother here in Midnight Bay, afraid that taking Mabel back to Boston might make her mother’s illness worse. If only she’d known Bishop’s Hearth and Home was on the brink of bankruptcy, she would have used her retirement money to save their business instead of her house. But since that was water over the dam, she’d spent the last month trying to come up with a plan.
Preferably one that didn’t involve a knight in shining armor riding to her rescue, having learned the hard way that armor tarnished, happily ever after was a pipe dream, and handsomeness and charm were often masks worn by men with agendas.
So…why wasn’t her head communicating that wisdom to her heart? Why did it always seem to beat a little faster whenever Kenzie Gregor stepped into view? And why did her eyes seem to lock on him as he puttered around the farm?
Why wasn’t she immune to his handsomeness and charm?
“Becau
se you’re alive, Evangeline, not dead,” she growled, grabbing her pencil and crossing wood-pellet stoves off her list of ideas. “And because Maddy put the idea of having an affair with him in your head!”
Eve took a calming breath, then crossed off selling fabric and yarns, since Mabel had reminded her last night that there was a wonderful fabric store over in Oak Harbor.
That left tutoring, baked goods, and day care.
She crossed out day care, figuring there were enough stay-at-home moms who were already taking in children to supplement their family income.
Eve tapped the pencil to her teeth. Maybe they could tutor and have a bakery: her mother loved baking bread and pastries, and with her own teaching degree, she could open a summer school for local kids who needed a bit of help with their schoolwork.
The door suddenly opened and Eve plastered an expectant smile on her face at the prospect of a customer—only to have Kenzie walk in.
“Eve,” he said with a nod, stopping in the middle of the store to look around. “I never realized there were so many different kinds of woodstoves, in so many different sizes.”
“That’s because some people use them for heat, and some just want the ambiance of a wood fire.”
He walked up to the counter, a discernable gleam in his eyes. “I prefer a campfire under the stars.”
“To each his own. What can I do for you, Mr. Gregor?”
“I realized that I got so distracted by the bear this morning, I forgot to ask if you would go out to dinner with me tonight.”
“Are you asking me for a date?”
“Yes. I would like to take you to a nice restaurant.”
“Why?”
He shifted uncomfortably.
Eve was instantly contrite. Dammit, she didn’t want to be a bitter divorcée. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I…um, I have plans with Maddy tonight.”
“Tomorrow night, then?” he quietly offered.
Eve hesitated. This was her chance to prove to everyone—most especially herself—that Parker hadn’t scarred her for life. She could go on a date with a handsome man and simply enjoy herself, couldn’t she? It didn’t mean she was looking for happily ever after, or for an affair. It was just a date.
Moonlight Warrior Page 6