by Powell, C. G. ; Lavender, Cait; Rayns, Lisa; Hardin, Olivia; Nelson, Stephanie; Schulte, Liz
My ranch was a piece of an old granite quarry, and parts of the ravine that ran through it still had chunks of rock cut out of the side. Peppered with scrub oaks, manzanitas, and bull pines, it was beautiful to me. When I got close to my land, I spotted some horses out to pasture and herds of Angus and Herefords grazing on the hills. I could breathe here.
What would I do if it was all taken away? It was the only constant thing in my life; my grandpa’s ranch, my ranch. What would happen if it was gone? I supposed I could get a job working for another ranch or maybe train horses, but there wasn’t much out there for a girl who only had a high school education. Not only that, I’d be homeless. Everything I owned was in the fifteen hundred square foot trailer on the property, and I doubted my cousins would be magnanimous enough to let me continue on living there. At first I’d hoped my mother and aunt would speak up in defense of me, since they both knew it was Grandpa’s wish to have me continue running cattle on the ranch, but my mother couldn’t be prevailed upon to leave her bottle of vodka, and my aunt was swayed by her children.
I still didn’t understand how my grandpa could have raised me so well and screwed up so badly with his own two daughters. He’d never volunteered information about how my mom had turned to booze and men and my aunt to the mood-stabilizing medication, and I hadn’t asked. Maybe I would inherit the insanity of the previous generation. Oh hell, I hope that ball wasn’t rolling at me. It seemed I was already going crazy if I saw things like a wolf in California.
I thought about the night before. I couldn’t have been the only person to have seen the wolf in the area. I decided after I unloaded the trailer to swing by the store and say hi to Jesse. She might have overheard any of the old men saying something about seeing a wolf around town. It was an unusual enough occurrence to have those old-timers salivating over the weeks of gossip and hearsay it’d provide.
Jesse was my best friend. She and I had bonded over stale pretzels in the bar our mothers lived in when we were little girls. She hadn’t been rescued from out of that life like I had, but she managed to survive by practically living with my grandpa and me when her mother brought strange men home night after night, and we endured. She married her high school sweetheart the summer after graduation and had since worked at the general store. Her husband was a kindhearted boy who was also the deputy sheriff. He was my age, but I still thought of him as the boy who fell in love with Jesse in junior high.
I’m happy for Jesse. I just wished I could have settled down with a nice man like she had and be content. A nice, hot man, I thought wistfully. Someone exciting, different. But I lived in a small town with men I’d known since they were in diapers, which made the phrase ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ really start to apply. I hadn’t had a boyfriend since Dawson Smith in sixth grade. I’d slapped him when he tried to kiss me, and that pretty much ended things between us. We still weren’t on speaking terms.
I pulled the trailer down my driveway and over to my covered barn. Reggie, my blue merle Australian shepherd ran over to my truck. He was getting old and a little arthritic in the cold months, but I loved him like family. Heck, he was my family.
“Who said I don’t have a boy to come home to, huh Reg? Did you miss me?” He just gave me a doggie grin and jumped in the back of my truck.
“I guess so.” I laughed. I didn’t think there would be any rain soon so I left the truck and trailer where they were to tackle another day. I wasn’t up to the exhausting task of unloading all of the alfalfa at the moment. Over fifty bales would take several hours, and I wanted to make it to the store to see Jesse before it got dark.
“Come on Reg, let’s go see Jesse! I’ll buy you a hot dog.” I hopped into my treasured 1972 lemon yellow Blazer. Grandpa had bought it new, and I’d inherited it when I turned sixteen. I loved it fiercely. I turned on the radio and tuned it to KISS country and listened to Miranda Lambert.
I sang along at the top of my lungs, belting out one of her newest hits. The top was still off of the fully convertible Blazer and I enjoyed the feel of my hair blowing in the cool wind. I knew I’d have to put the top on eventually, but every time I did it always made me a little sad, so I procrastinated as long as possible.
The early afternoon sun warmed my wind-cooled skin as I pulled into the general store’s parking lot. The building was old and separated into two spaces. One side was a general store and café and the other was a bar. It wasn’t that busy since the lunch crowd was through, so I brought Reggie in with me.
“Hey Jesse. What’s up?” I called.
She turned with a look that revealed she was suprised to see me. She was always mischievous, but why was she surprised to see me? I stopped by all the time.
“There’s our lucky troublemaker. You’d better tell me what you did to get that hot piece of uniform after you!”
About the Author
Cait Lavender is a twenty five year old wife and stay at home mother of one in Central California. Living on a cattle ranch and raising her daughter doesn’t afford her much leisure time, but when she has a spare minute or two she loves riding horses, baking and reading everything she can get her hands on. She grew up loving the written word and creative writing and finally decided to work on her dream of becoming a published author.
She has a short story, Cowboy Moon, and a full-length novel, Hunter Moon, both available on Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
She’d love to hear from you on her
Facebook author page,
@caitlavender on Twitter
Blog - http://www.caitlavender.com
When Opportunity Haunts
By Stephanie Nelson
~ 1 ~
I parked my bike in the small lot designated for the renters of the apartment complex. I eyed the second floor windows and could see her shadow pass. Pocketing my keys, I walked up the rickety staircase to Gwen’s unit.
Stepping inside, I laughed when Gwen jumped at my arrival. She was at the sink, her long dark hair falling down her back. She turned to face me, a frown on her face. Her eyes were mesmerizing and watched me with uncertainty. She still didn’t know what to think of me and I loved that. I loved getting a rise out of her. She’d caused a certain part of me to rise enough, the least I could do was return the favor.
“You could knock,” she snapped.
I grinned. “Why would I knock? I live here.” The tough attitude she portrayed fooled most, but there was a fragile woman behind the façade, and it stirred things within me, things I didn’t want to feel.
Gwen was beautiful. I knew from the moment we met I had to have her writhing and moaning beneath me. But her beauty wasn’t what captured my interest. A strange connection stirred between us. I knew she wouldn’t be someone I could just walk away from. She wasn’t like the other females I slept with. Somehow she’d wrapped me around her pinkie and had me second guessing my original plans. I still had every intention of sleeping with her. It was the leaving part I was having trouble with.
“Whatever,” she huffed going back to the dishes. Her apartment left a lot to be desired. If I wasn’t so intrigued by her, I wouldn’t have stayed. This place was a shithole. Her friend, Fiona, decided to stay in Moon while she studied magic. When I found out, I made it my mission to talk Gwen into letting me stay. I’m an opportunist and took advantage.
“Feel like taking a fieldtrip?” I opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a longneck. Popping the cap, I took a swig and watched her profile. I made her nervous. The evidence was clear in her tense muscles, quick glances and the way she kept her distance almost afraid standing too close would lead to touching.
“Our last fieldtrip didn’t go so well,” she mumbled then spared me a glance.
“This one will be better,” I told her.
“And what would this fieldtrip entail?” She abandoned the dishes, crossed her arms and gave me her full attention. Today, she wore tight jeans paired with a V-neck sweater that showcased her cleavage. It was a good thing I was wearing my
sunglasses so she couldn’t see what I was really focusing on. Not that her face wasn’t as beautiful, but like I said, I’m an opportunist. The girls were on display which made me a willing admirer.
“A little bed and breakfast called, Clover Grove. There’s a spirit that needs extracting.” I laughed when her face changed from suspicion to disgust. Gwen was a rarity I was learning. Although a spirit walker, she didn’t want a thing to do with the spirits.
“No, thanks. I have a shop to run.” She turned her attention back to the sink and began to scrub a plate.
“Hmm, I didn’t take your for a coward.” I took another swig of my beer and walked into the living room.
3
2
1
“I’m not a coward!” Gwen bit out as she followed me. Baiting her was almost too easy. My back was turned towards her so she couldn’t see the smile on my face. If I knew anything about the woman, it was that her pride was bigger than Texas.
“It’s okay, I’ll handle it and you can ring up knick-knacks for customers.” I sat on the sofa and flipped on the television. The best part of my day was when I was giving Gwen a hard time. She made it so easy.
Resting her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow at me. “I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work. I’m not going.
“Fine,” I said uninterested.
“Fine,” she repeated but didn’t move. I looked up at her and waited. I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind as he debated whether she should prove me wrong. She bit her lip, a gesture that was more out of habit than thought. I watched her full lips curl inward and wanted nothing more than to taste them again. But she’d made it clear she was in love with the vampire. She didn’t know it yet, but she had feelings for me too. As much as I wanted to get up from the couch, push her against the wall and explore her body, I wouldn’t. I would place myself in her path and make it so she couldn’t ignore what was right in front of her. Eventually she’d come to her senses.
Moving into her apartment was step one.
“How long will it take?” She finally asked.
“Should only take a night,” I told her. “You said you were interested in what I did…” The girl was more curious than a cat, that curiosity had often gotten her in trouble.
“I am, but you could just tell me,” she said.
“I could, but showing you would be more fun,” I smiled.
Gwen stared at me, fighting a smile. “Fine, but only because I don’t want to be left alone.” She turned and headed back to the kitchen.
The last couple weeks were hard on her. She’d spent the last couple days crying, even though she tried to hide it from me. I hated when women cried. I wanted to track down the prick vampire and run a spike through his chest for causing her so much pain. I’d kept my mouth shut though, she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to hear me bitch about him or attend his funeral.
“Leave the dishes,” I said leaning against the doorframe. “Go pack a bag.”
“We’re leaving right now?” she asked surprised.
“Should have left an hour ago.”
She headed towards her bedroom and I smiled in victory. I walked down the hall and stood in her doorway. She was on all fours as she looked for something under her bed. If heaven existed then it was right here in front of me. My dick stiffened as I imagined what I could do to a body that beautiful.
“Do you mind?” Gwen snapped when she caught me watching her.
“Not at all, carry on.” I smirked. “You may want to bring something warm. I hear Massachusetts has a lot of snow. She stopped what she was doing and stared at me.
“We’re going to Massachusetts?
“Yep, Salem.”
“Salem and witches have a bad history,” she noted with a frown.
~ 2 ~
The small plane I’d secured touched down in a tiny airfield an hour from our destination. Gwen fell asleep half way through the flight, her head now resting on my shoulder. She seemed so innocent like this, so vulnerable—so quiet. It was a shame I had to wake her.
I touched her hand and she shivered. I radiated death and as a spirit walker she could feel the icy coldness within me. I groaned as she snuggled closer. Normally, Gwen went out of her way to avoid being physically close to me. It was nice to have this moment, but also bittersweet.
The scent of jasmine wafted from her ebony hair. What it’d feel like to run my fingers through it, to brush it away from her face and … Grumbling, I tucked my thoughts away and stood. Gwen fell sideways, snapping awake with the look of confusion on her sleepy face.
“Mornin’ Sunshine,” I said grabbing our duffel bags. Gwen sat up and looked around as she got her bearings. I smiled that her eye makeup was smudged and she didn’t know it. Girls care way too much about covering their faces, when men actually prefer them natural.
“When we land?” Gwen asked scooting out of the seat and adjusting her coat.
“Ten minutes ago.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“You looked like you were having a good dream. I thought I’d let you finish.” A look of horror colored her face and I laughed at her embarrassment. “I’m fucking with you. Relax.”
“You are such an ass sometimes,” she complained.
*
After stowing our bags in the back seat of the SUV I’d rented, we headed for Salem. Gwen stared out the window and I wondered if she was thinking about the vampire.
“So what’s the story with the ghost?” Gwen turned to look at me and I smiled. Shifting her eyes, she focused on her hands.
“Just a spirit that didn’t move on. Remember when I said that spirit walkers are like Death’s bounty hunters?”
Gwen nodded her head, looking over at me. “Yeah.”
“Well there aren’t a lot of spirit walkers left, so when a ghost won’t move on, we have to take care of it ourselves. This will be good training for you.”
“So long as the ghost isn’t the marshmallow man,” Gwen giggled.
“Marshmallow man?”
“As in Ghostbusters. You have seen Ghostbusters, haven’t you?” Confusion must have shown on my face because she shrugged and said, “It was on TV the other day.”
I smiled at her embarrassment. “Fortunately, no. I get enough ghosts in my day job. Without adding more to it with bad cinema.”
Gwen nodded her head slowly, turning her attention towards the passing scene outside again. It wasn’t like me to hold so much interest in a female. Gwen intrigued me where the rest hadn’t. Her recent moods were like night and day. One minute she was happy and the next pissy and crying. I hated that she was wasting her time and emotions on damned vampire.
“How do you know when you need to extract a ghost?” Gwen asked, bringing her attention back to me.
“I have orders just like everyone else,” I told her. She was curious about me but I tried to keep my privacy. She had enough to worry about without learning about my world. She was young and inexperienced something that both fascinated and annoyed me.
“And who gives the orders?” she asked.
“My boss.”
“Ugh, who’s your boss?” Gwen asked growing frustrated by my avoidance
“I have to stop to get gas. You want anything?” I asked pulling into a Seven11. I hopped out before she could answer. I heard the passenger door close and smiled when Gwen walked around the car with a scowl on her face.
“How am I supposed to learn anything when you won’t tell me what I want to know?” She did this thing with her eyes when she was mad, a piercing look that was supposed to scare me into talking, but it only turned me on.
“Just because you want to know, doesn’t mean you have to know,” I told her and she stalked away from me and into the gas station. I silently laughed to myself.
Once we were back on the road, Gwen returned to ignoring me. She pulled her cell phone out, checked the display, sneered at the thing and threw it in her purse. With an arm propped
on the sill of the window, she rested her head in her hand.
“Since you’re so inquisitive, you wanna play twenty-one questions?” She continued to ignore me, so I nudged her shoulder. We still had a half an hour until we reached the bed and breakfast and I couldn’t stand her silence.
“Who’s your boss?” She asked.
“Hmm, I should have mentioned. The only rule is the questions have to be personal, non-work related,” I paused when she gave me another murderous glare. “I’ll start. “What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?”
“Butter Pecan,” she said.
“My turn. Where’s home for you?”
“I have a few homes, but I stay in New Orleans the most.”
Gwen processed that little bit of information I’d given her. I could almost see her storing it in her brain. Her lips pursed as she thought.
“How’d you come to live in Flora?” This was a question I had thought about since coming to her podunk town. A woman as lively as her should be living it up in a big city, not being held down by corn fields.
“Fiona’s dad knows one of the creators. I heard them talking about it and decided to move there.” Gwen shrugged her shoulders. “I couldn’t stay in Moon.”
I nodded my head. “What’s your favorite band?” I decided to steer the questions to more trivial areas. I didn’t want her to think about Moon and what had happened in that screwed up town. Now that I had her talking, I needed to keep her talking—Anything to keep her distracted from thoughts of the vampire and Moon.
Gwen pursed her lips as she thought. “It changes. Right now I’m really into Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin.”
I grinned because I knew just how much she was into those bands. She’d played the CD’s over and over for the past couple days. I assumed the gritty lyrics helped her channel the depression into anger.