“Oh, great. One more thing to worry about,” Sophie grumbled, hugging first Layla, then Cara. She looked at her friends. Both reminded her of Amazon goddesses, Wonder Woman. Tall, trim, and powerful, with flowing dark curls and ice blue eyes. Identical twins who couldn't be more unalike.
Except that, unlike Wonder Woman, they had the ability to become wolves when they wanted to. In her book, that made them just about the most magical things she'd ever seen.
When she'd arrived in town, broke but excited for her new life, Layla had been the first person she'd run into, as if it was fate that the girl who had been her best friend through elementary school was now there to greet her. Layla and Cara had welcomed Sophie into their circle of family and friends immediately, and Layla and Sophie had picked up their friendship as if they'd never been apart. And for the first time since she'd left Copper Falls as a teenager, she hadn't felt alone.
Another thing she'd lose.
No. She wouldn't. She'd find a way to stay in Copper Falls, even when she lost her house. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go.
“What's wrong?” Cara asked, watching her with concern.
Sophie shrugged. “I got the letter today. It's over.” She looked down, told herself she would not cry. The twins came and folded her into a hug, the three of them standing in Sophie's flower-filled front yard. They made Sophie feel safe, loved, and she held both of them tight.
“You can stay with us. You know that,” Cara said softly as Sophie forced the tears back. “I know it's not the same. I know this land calls to your blood. But it's something.”
“It is something. Thank you,” Sophie whispered.
“I could bite someone in the ass for you if you want,” Layla said, and the three of them fell apart in a fit of teary giggles. They were just starting to pull themselves together when the rumble of a motorcycle distracted them. All three turned toward the sound, to see Calder rumbling down his driveway, and then turning onto the road, heading in the opposite direction.
Layla glanced at Sophie. “Is that who I think it is?” she asked as she stared after him.
“Maybe. Calder Turcotte?” Sophie asked Layla.
Layla looked after him. “I didn't know he was moving back here. He's still friends with Bryce, but I haven't seen him much at all the past few years.”
Cara laughed. “You mean the very same Calder Turcotte you used to drool over in Mrs. Redleaf's class?”
“I didn't drool over him,” Sophie said, laughing.
Layla looked down the road, in the direction Calder had headed. “I thought he was living out at his father's place. Imagine that. Sophie and Calder in the same place again, all grown up,” she said, giving Sophie a sly look.
“Not for long if I don't figure something out,” Sophie said. “Anyway, I believe we have a book club meeting scheduled,” she added, steering the twins toward the house.
“Taskmaster,” Layla grumbled, and Sophie laughed. The three friends walked into the cozy house. Sophie poured them drinks and they sat in the living room.
“Wuthering Heights. Have we all read it?” Layla asked, popping an olive into her mouth.
“Yes,” Cara and Sophie chimed.
“Thoughts?” Layla asked.
“Heathcliff was a scary asshole,” Sophie said.
“Passionate, though,” Cara said.
“And Cathy was a jerk,” Sophie added.
“Yep.”
“I'd do him. All in favor?” Layla said.
“Aye,” Sophie and Cara chimed.
“Good. Awesome book club meeting, ladies. Now tell us about Calder,” Layla said, tucking her feet under her body.
Sophie rolled her eyes, and as the candlelight danced and the hard cider flowed, she told the tale of her embarrassingly clumsy goat capture, including the fact that Calder didn't remember her. Layla gave her hand a gentle squeeze at that.
“You should bake for him,” Cara said. “The man would be putty in your hands.” She took a sip of cider. “Um. You did bake something for tonight, didn't you?”
Sophie laughed, and Layla threw a pillow at her sister.
Sophie got up. “Yeah. I made those triple chocolate cookies you like so much.” She went into the kitchen, picked up the cookie jar, and carried it back to the living room with her. She plunked it down on the coffee table, and Cara and Layla both attacked it immediately.
“I had no idea wolves were such fans of cookies until I met you two,” Sophie said with a smile, settling down in one corner of the sofa again. Layla was snuggled into the other end of the couch, and Cara had claimed the cushy chair Sophie liked to sit and read in sometimes.
“Not just any cookies, though. Wolves are picky that way,” Layla said. They were all silent a few minutes as they indulged in chocolatey, gooey goodness.
Layla licked some of the chocolate from her thumb. “So, when's the auction?” she asked quietly.
“Next Saturday,” Sophie answered. The room went silent again, for a different reason.
“Are they doing it here?”
Sophie nodded.
“You should come down to the diner,” Cara said. “You don't need to see that.”
“I want to see it. I guess maybe I'm hoping no one will bid on it.”
“You know that's not going to happen,” Layla said. “Some hunter will snatch this place up like that,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Or someone will buy it for their vacation home. Don't hang around and watch it happen, Soph.”
She sighed. “I'm hoping maybe I can convince whoever wins it to let me buy it off of them in payments or something. I know it's a long shot, but I have to try. I mean, in the time I've been here, I managed to save almost ten thousand of what was due. If Danny Franklin wasn't such an all-or-nothing jerk, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. I'd pay more than the place is worth just to keep it.” She paused. “Honestly, they'd make money.” She didn't know at that point who she was even trying to convince. “I just can't lose this land. It's the one thing that's ever been mine. My magic is finally becoming something, and I know it's thanks to this place and the power here. I feel like I belong here,” she finished quietly.
“You do belong here, in Copper Falls, whether it's on this land or not. Right?” Layla asked. Sophie nodded, not trusting her voice.
Cara changed the subject, and they spent the next couple of hours talking and eating, and when Sophie escorted her two friends to the woods not too far from her house, they talked and laughed as the twins removed clothing and shoes, and Sophie watched her two friends change, their skin becoming silvery fur, limbs changing, popping as the shift overtook them. It was a mesmerizing, magical process, and every time Sophie saw it she still couldn't quite believe it. They each picked up their bundle of clothing in their jaws, then bumped her legs with their foreheads and loped off into the night. She felt grateful that, if nothing else, she still had them.
Now she just had to get through the auction and convince whoever won her house to let her have it back.
Chapter Two
It never fails, Sophie thought as she pulled herself out of bed the morning of the auction. When you're looking forward to something, it feels like time drags, as if the minutes are hours, and days feel like weeks. Dreading something, you can count on time flying.
She'd spent the last two weeks calling lawyers and begging for more time and trying to make deals… all of which she knew was pointless. The decision had been made, and all her pleading and cajoling had earned her was the knowledge that Danny Franklin, who was calling in his lien, needed the money because he owed a bunch of back payments for child support and was feeling his own kind of heat. It just made her dislike him even more.
She forced herself out of bed and into the shower, feeling like she was dead on her feet. It felt like she'd barely slept at all. She'd woken several times, either worrying about the house or sure she'd heard something outside. After a shower and a strong cup of tea, she felt almost human again.
Sophie pulled on her usual yard work ensemble: torn, worn jeans and a faded t-shirt, slipped her feet into the grungy old sneakers she wore for working outside, and headed out.
Yes, some jerkoffs would be around in a couple of hours to snap up her family's home. Still, there were animals to feed, goats to milk, and vegetables and herbs to harvest.
She set about her work, her mind clouded, almost hyperaware of everything around her. She was a jumble of emotions as she tried to focus on the beauty of the place, to etch it into her memory. Alongside that was a good dose of grim determination. She patted the three female goats' heads, murmured to them softly as she milked them. She'd make another batch of soap today, and finish off the candles she'd planned to make the day before.
Soaps, candles, balms, teas. These were the things that had kept her afloat since hearing about the debts on the property. Her full-time job as a maid at the Falls Resort didn't pay all that well, and her second job as a clerk at one of the many local souvenir shops had just ended, now that tourist season was over. It was her handmade goods, which she sold wholesale to local shops and online, that had been responsible for helping her put a dent in the debts. Or so she'd hoped.
Still, there was only so much soap one woman could make in a year. It hadn't been enough.
Sophie let the rhythm of the daily chores, the sounds in her quiet little corner of the world, soothe her. She harvested herbs to dry for tea blends, and was in the house hanging bunches of them from the rafters in the kitchen when she heard the car doors slamming on the road. She glanced at the clock over the stove.
Eight fifty. She stood still, forced herself to breathe around the way her stomach twisted, the way her heart was breaking. She felt her magic, usually so placid, barely there, really, rising within her. It did that sometimes during moments of stress.
She listened to more car doors slamming. Too many. She'd held a ridiculous hope that no one would show, that she could buy herself more time. She knew better, of course. Nice location, in a beautiful part of the state. The twins had been right. Her little cottage was attractive as a hunting camp or vacation home. She had a feeling none of those interested in buying the property knew what the true value of it was. She was only just beginning to learn that herself.
Her mind flashed back to her former home, and the reason she'd left. She remembered being hopeless, almost completely lost. Terrified. She closed her eyes and her nightmare was there, a pair of inscrutable gray eyes, a cold voice that promised her destruction.
Copper Falls and, even more, her family's land, had been her salvation. She'd given up hope, and then, suddenly, there was a light amid the darkness, purpose in her life.
She couldn't, wouldn't, go back to the way things were.
She walked out the back door, and around to the front. There were over a dozen people on the gravel driveway, along with two official-looking men carrying clipboards and wearing badges. She recognized one as the lawyer for the lienholder, gave him a cool nod. She guessed he and the other man were running the auction. She looked around and was shocked to see her two best friends in the crowd. She made her way toward them, resisting the urge to throw an elbow at one prospective buyer who was commenting that all of the “messy” plants had to come out so he could put in a lawn.
She gritted her teeth instead.
“What are you two doing here?” she asked as she walked up to Layla and Cara. They hugged her.
“If you're going to insist on watching this shit, you shouldn't have to do it alone,” Layla said. Sophie rested her head on Layla's shoulder.
“Misery loves company, huh?” Sophie asked, trying to make light of it, even as something died inside as she watched the people gather near her porch. She moved closer so she could hear, Layla and Cara still beside her.
“And no matter what happens here today, you won't be alone. Right?” Cara said.
Sophie squeezed her hand and faced the auctioneer, who had taken his place on the crooked front steps.
“Bid starts at twenty-five thousand dollars,” he said. “Raise your paddle number to bid.” He started, and the bid went from twenty-five thousand to over fifty quickly. It kept rising. Up to fifty-five, then one bidder dropped out. At sixty, the other man dropped out, and it was down to a kindly looking older woman and a thirty-ish looking guy wearing a camouflage jacket. Sophie was setting her hopes on the older lady. Yes, the woman was a stranger, but she'd been remarking to the man next to her that maybe she'd just do some renovations and resell it for more. An investment. Someone like that, she could negotiate with.
The woman beat out her opponent. He gave up with a shake of his head, and Sophie felt a little bit of hope.
“And a new bidder joins in at seventy-five thousand,” the auctioneer said. Sophie looked around in confusion.
Behind her, toward the back of the crowd, was the new mystery bidder. Calder. She glared at him, and he didn't seem to notice her. She'd only caught glimpses of him since that first fiasco with Merlin. Other than hearing his motorcycle drive by, and the occasional clanking noise from the garage, he'd been scarce.
She guessed she knew why, now.
He and the woman battled it out, up to ninety. When they hit ninety-five, the woman shook her head in irritated defeat.
“Going once. Going twice. Sold to the gentleman at the back for ninety-five thousand dollars,” the auctioneer said. Sophie stood and glared at Calder as he talked to the two men. He paid her absolutely no mind. They exchanged paperwork, then Calder walked back across the road without even a glance in her direction.
“What. An. Asshole,” Layla growled.
Sophie watched as he walked around the back of his house. “Maybe I can work something out with him,” she said. “He said he didn't want neighbors. I didn't think that included the one house across the road from him.”
“Cool off a while before you try talking to him,” Cara said softly. “Remember, you have a place to stay. I know this house means a lot to you—”
“It means everything to me,” Sophie said. “I'm finally learning about what I am. What I can do. I can feel my ancestors here. It's like I'm finally getting a glimpse of where I belong.”
The twins hugged her, and then prepared to leave. The rest of the cars had already driven off, including the auctioneers.
“This place reeks of bear again,” Layla said. “Have you heard anything?”
Sophie shook her head. “There's really not much around here for them to eat. They'll move on,” she said. After a few moments, she watched her friends climb into their little black convertible and drive away.
She glared across the street at Calder's house. Later. She'd deal with that later. She turned and went into her house, climbed back into bed. Wouldn't be such a bad thing to start the day over again.
Chapter Three
When Sophie opened her eyes, she glanced at the clock and realized she'd been asleep for over three hours. It was past noon. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept that late.
Well. Yes, she could. But she preferred not to. She grimaced and sat up. She went into the little yellow bathroom and splashed cool water on her face and just generally freshened herself up a bit. Not too much. She wasn't concerned with impressing the asshole, just trying to get him to work with her. She pulled her long mass of brown curls up and secured it loosely with a clip, then she stepped into her sandals and headed out.
She crossed the road, and the first thing she noticed was Calder in his driveway, hunched over the engine of the ugly blue car she'd noticed the other day. It was some kind of classic car; lots of chrome. Calder's back was to her, and she hated herself a little for admiring the view.
Sophie walked up the driveway, scuffling her feet a little in the gravel so she wouldn't startle him. Though why she cared was beyond her. When she was a few feet away from him, Calder stood up straight and slowly turned around, those icy eyes watching her every move as she made her way toward him. He picked up a rag and started wiping grease off of his
fingers, gaze still fixed on her.
Sophie stopped a couple of feet in front of him.
“Do you have a minute, Calder?” she asked softly, trying not to sound emotional or put out. Even if she did kind of want to claw his eyes out.
“I was expecting you sooner than this,” he said.
“I needed some time to calm down,” she answered. “Look, I know you don't want neighbors, but I swear I'm quiet. I'll keep my goats away from you, and you'll never even know I'm here.”
He didn't say anything, just watched her with that hard look in his eyes.
“We can work out some kind of payment thing. I mean. You paid a lot for it and it'll take time, but I swear I'll pay it. I'll get another job or…”
He held his hand up. “Stop.”
“Please,” she said quietly, looking into his eyes.
He looked away, shook his head. “You're the only neighbor I have. I get you out of the way, I've got a hundred solid acres that are all mine.”
“Calder. That house has been in my family for over two hundred years. I need it. It's the first place I've ever felt belonged to me. Please,” she said again, and hated the desperate note that had crept into her voice.
“It really means a lot to you, huh?”
“It does.”
He was looking down, and his eyes started slowly but surely making their way up her body. She forced herself to remain calm, to not run at the way he looked at her. So many memories. Enough to make her want to puke. Enough to make her wish she'd brought her gun. “How much are you willing to do to save it?”
“I'm not a whore, Calder,” she said.
“I never said you were.” Calder stood there watching her. He hadn't meant to make that implication about her sleeping with him. His senses were out of whack, standing there with her, just as they'd been the day he'd found her goat in his yard. That mass of dark, shining curls, brown eyes. Soft curves everywhere, the kind of body that gave a man plenty to hold on to, soft places to sink into. The smell of her, something clean and wild. Warm.
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