Ursa Major

by Mary Winter

  The man turned. His dark eyes narrowed. He looked nothing like the brothers. “You must be Sarah.” He tapped a button on the coffee maker and it hummed to life. “I’m Johnny Phillips.” He didn’t hold out his hand, tucking them instead into his pockets and leaning against the counter. “I understand you caused quite the scandal up here. You’re heading back to Washington D.C. today.”

  For someone she didn’t know, he sure had a lot of information on her. From the tone of his voice, if she hadn’t decided to fly back today, she had no doubts he’d take her to the airport himself and put her on the next plane back to the lower forty-eight. “You must be Liam and Cameron’s brother.”

  “Younger brother. Blake is the baby of the family and my twin,” he said.

  At least that sounded civil. “Look, I’m sorry for any problems I might have caused. I came here to do my job and do it well. I promise I won’t bother you or your brothers again. And the report I write will do everything possible to keep further drilling from happening up here.” Sarah sighed. She was tired, she realized. The emotional roller coaster of finding out about Liam, making love to him, and now leaving, was taking its toll.

  Johnny poured her a mug of coffee and handed it to her. She used the distraction to go to the fridge and add some half and half to it. When she turned back to him, Johnny still leaned against the counter with his own mug of coffee. “I’m sure you will,” he replied.

  Frankly, Sarah wasn’t in the mood to be bullied. Upstairs, she heard Liam moving around and her attention involuntarily lifted to where his bedroom was. She’d heard the shower still running when she came downstairs, the mental images of him standing naked beneath the spray nearly enough to make her follow him into the bathroom and not come out until they both were satisfied.

  “Liam cares for you, you know.” Johnny said, almost as if he sensed the direction of her thoughts.

  Of course, they probably showed all over her face. He didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out there was something between his bother and her. “I care for him too. And that’s why I’ll make sure that nothing happens here.” She licked her lips and brought the steaming mug to her mouth. Taking a sip, she thought of the fancy cappuccino machine back in her apartment. Somehow, it wouldn’t compare to the coffee that she’d drank here.

  Johnny strode forward. Under other circumstances, Sarah saw that he could be a very dangerous man. As it was, he glared at her, as if she were single-handedly responsible for the problems between Cameron and Liam. “Look, I’ll be direct because we don’t have much time until my brother comes down and takes you to the airport. You know things that few other humans do. You do understand that it wouldn’t be wise for you to reveal them. Go back to Washington D.C.. Write your report. And forget about anything that’s happened up here. That’s the best thing you can do for all of us.”

  Sarah stiffened. How dare he tell her to get out of their lives! What right did he have? “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

  Johnny moved forward enough to pin her between the counter and his body. She had no doubt he could be a very dangerous man. “These are my brothers and my people. It’s very much my business. Go back, Sarah. You may think you belong here, but you don’t.” He backed off and glanced toward the stairs. A few moments later Liam descended.

  They must have excellent hearing. Liam seemed to be able to hear things before they happened and now Johnny. She vowed while she was here to watch them closer.

  Liam nodded at her, the smoldering look in his eyes the only hint that something other than friendship had passed between them. “I have to go into my den for a bit. Johnny, play nice.” With those words, he disappeared down the hall.

  Sarah battled the urge to follow him. Instead she remained where she was, determined not to let Johnny get to her. “Yeah, play nice.” She fixed him with a saccharine sweet grin. Ducking around him, she went to the coffee pot and topped it off. “So you’ve warned me back to D.C. and told me not to reveal any information. Anything else you’d like to glower at me about before Liam takes me to the airport?”

  Johnny grinned. “I can see why Liam likes you.”

  “Oh?” She didn’t want to get into this conversation with Johnny, but if she gained insight into Liam’s character, then it was worth it. “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re stubborn, like he is. You fight for what you believe in. And you’re passionate about it.” Johnny grinned. He set his mug down on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Liam picked well. Too bad he has to send you back to Washington, because you probably could have made it out here.” With those words, he turned on his heel and headed in the direction of Liam’s den.

  ~* * *~

  Liam didn’t need to look up to know Johnny had entered his den. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. He’d been about to contact the Quintursa, hoping for some more information before he had to take Sarah to the airport.

  “She loves you, you know,” Johnny said without preamble. He closed the door behind him, then took a chair on the opposite side of Liam’s desk. “You stupid, foolish bear. You sure got yourself into trouble this time, didn’t you?”

  Liam didn’t bother with answering his brother’s question. He knew the truth as well as Johnny did. “So what do you think the Quintursa will do?”

  Johnny shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. I came back because Cameron called. I’m not on official business, and I would think, if the Quintursa wanted you, or she, out of the picture, I’d have been activated. Family ties aside, I’m the closest agent. Cameron’s pissed. He thinks you’re a hypocrite, even though Gillian was years ago. Can’t say as I blame him.”

  “What would you have me do?” Liam leaned forward and drew a deep breath to control his temper. Damn it, it wasn’t like he’d asked for this to happen. He never asked for Sarah to show up, never asked to fall in love with her. Never asked her to return his feelings. He closed his eyes and drew a shuddering breath. “What would you have me do, Johnny? What?”

  “Exactly what you’re doing. Send her back to her world. She might last in ours, but who knows if she’ll regret it. I hear she has a sister back there. A family. I don’t know if she’d like not being able to see them very often, or hiding secrets from them. Seems like to me from the data the Quintursa has that they’re close. So call the Quintursa. Tell them that she knows. They need to know it before they find out on their own and think you have a reason for keeping secrets from them. Then, send her back home. Forget about her. In time, maybe it won’t hurt so bad.” Johnny spoke like a man who know what he was talking about.

  Liam didn’t press. He knew his brother had gone into service for the Quintursa shortly after college. He spoke little about what had happened during his college years or what he did in the service of his people’s governing body. Liam never asked. He figured it wasn’t his business. Now, he wished he knew.

  He nodded once. “I will.”

  “Now, Liam. You have to do it now before she leaves.” Johnny leaned forward and shoved the phone across the desk. “I think they’re waiting for your call. Your actions here could make, or break, this situation.”

  Liam stared at his little brother. Memories of them playing outdoors, the four brothers tossing snowballs at each other filled his mind. Snow forts and snowmen had made up their halcyon winter days. In the summer they raced along the meadows, changing into their forms and romping with other grizzly bear cubs to learn lessons taught by nature, not man. Johnny had once been the clown of the family. Somehow, between college and the Quintursa, that carefree young man had gone, leaving this stoic warrior in his place.

  Liam picked up the phone. He hit the button that would take him directly to the Quintursa. They answered on the first ring.

  “Liam, we were expecting your call,” the agent said. His voice held no trace of emotion, no hint of what might happen.

  “I wanted to let you know that Sarah Doyle has learned about us. She’s seen me shift and has be
en a part of our moon ritual. She is going back to Washington D.C. this morning and I do not anticipate any problems. She will not tell anyone and she will write the report that we need her to write.” Liam kept his voice even, not wanting to reveal more than the basic facts about his and Sarah’s relationship.

  “I see. We expected this to happen. She is returning to Washington D.C..”

  Did the Quintursa agent doubt him? Did they think that he’d keep Sarah here, his prisoner? He knew what the consequences would be for a mortal kept among them. He wouldn’t subject her to that kind of alienation from her family. “Yes. In fact, I take her to the airport in about an hour.”

  “I see. Is there anything else you wish to report?”

  Damn it, why wasn’t the Quintursa agent getting mad? Where was the lecture he expected on being a proper Homo interans ursa and keeping the mortals away from their affairs? “No, there isn’t.” He refused to tell them that he loved Sarah. He refused to give them that much control over his life.

  “Very well, then. Take her to the airport and do not have any contact with her once she returns to Washington. We will have one of our operatives intercept the report and ensure that it furthers our agenda. Is that clear?”

  “Yes,” Liam answered, though the thought of any other of his kind getting close to Sarah had him stifling a growl in the back of his throat.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to reveal to us. We will learn the truth of everything.”

  Liam clenched the phone so hard he heard the plastic crack. “No. Nothing at all. If that’s all the information you have for me?”

  “It is. Thank you.” Those two words were the only concession he’d get from the Quintursa that he was walking a dangerous road. A moment later, Liam hung up the phone. “There, I did it,” he snarled at Johnny. “Are you happy?”

  “No, and neither are you,” Johnny drolly replied. “But it’s done. The Quintursa is right, Liam. I know it hurts like a sonofabitch, but you have to forget her. You have to go on and leave the mortals to themselves. It’s safer that way.” Johnny rubbed his left arm.

  Liam followed the motion, but knew better than to ask. Johnny didn’t elaborate. “Thank you. I suppose they could have sent in an agent and just killed us.”

  Johnny nodded gravely. “Yeah, they could have. Consider this your last warning. Make sure she gets on the plane, brother. This is one mess I don’t want to clean up.” He rose from his chair and left Liam sitting there, staring at the closed door long after his brother had gone.

  He spent the next forty-five minutes in his den under the guise of taking care of business. And he wasn’t completely lying. He had a short two-day trek planned next week for a wildlife photographer and his wife. Some minor arrangements needed to be made as well as a list of purchases to make while he was in Deadhorse. He should stop by and see his parents, though he figured his mother would detect immediately what had happened. And he wasn’t quite ready to deal with the formidable matriarch of the Phillips clan. Madder than a mother hen protecting her cubs didn’t begin to describe her when she thought one of her sons might be in danger or have done something foolhardy.

  Liam released a sigh and glanced at the clock. Time to do the adult thing and take Sarah back to the airport. He opened the door and found her standing at the large windows overlooking the back yard where they’d held the ritual. From the dining room the stone slab wasn’t visible where he’d made his offering, but he knew it was there. He figured Sarah did too.

  “Are you ready?” He figured the question wasn’t necessary, but he didn’t want to just bundle her into the car as if she were nothing more than a suitcase. He glanced at the door leading to the garage and saw her luggage waiting. So this was it then. She really would be getting on a plan and leaving Alaska, getting out of his life for good. He took a deep breath.

  You can do this. You have to do this. His mental pep talk did him little good. He reached out his hand, as if he could touch her though she stood across the room, then let it drop to his side. Sarah hadn’t turned to face him.

  “I’m ready,” she said, though her voice held the thick sound of stifled tears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it’d be this difficult.”

  “This place gets to you. It crawls under your skin and doesn’t let go.” Kind of like you. He moved toward her luggage. “There’s a chance you may be contacted by someone in Washington D.C.. If you are, I don’t want you to ask about me. I’ll be…” He searched for a word. “I’ll be here, giving my tours, doing what I do. If you’re not contacted, that doesn’t mean anything is wrong. It just means that my people trust you to follow your heart.”

  Sarah rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window. “Liam, if I followed my heart, we both know I wouldn’t go back to Washington D.C..” She straightened and squared her shoulders. “But I understand what you’re saying.” For the first time since he entered the kitchen, she turned to face him. “Don’t worry I’ll make you, and your people, proud.” She took two steps in his direction, then stopped, almost as if she didn’t trust herself to be near him. Instead, she went her luggage and slid the strap of her laptop case over her shoulder. She picked up her purse with her free hand.

  Liam understood completely. Moving close enough to pick up her suitcase brought a hint of her lavender scent to his lungs. He instantly grew hard. Down boy. No more of that. His body refused to listen. He smiled, not quite sure what to say. A simple “thank you” might be enough, or it might be seen as not enough. Instead, he opened the door leading to the garage and hit the button to raise the door. He took her to his truck, setting everything in the backseat, before helping her into the passenger side. If his fingers lingered a bit too long on her leg, or their gazes meshed a couple more moments than was necessary when he shut the door, neither said a word.

  He hadn’t seen Johnny, though his sport utility vehicle was still parked on one side of the driveway, Liam noticed as he pulled out. He figured his brother would either give him the old Quintursa party line or simply hound him over driving the woman he loved to the airport and out of his life. Cameron wasn’t anywhere to be found, though Liam had seen bear tracks leading away from the house. I’m sorry, brother. I’ll explain things. I’ll make it up to you. He knew he couldn’t let the rift between them go on for too long.

  Sarah didn’t speak on the way to the airport, and really, Liam couldn’t think of anything to say that hadn’t already been said. He ached for her. The tendrils of her hair escaping from beneath her cap begged for his touch. She nibbled on her lower lip, her hands clasped in her lap. She kept her gaze directed out her window, her head turned away from him just enough for him to barely see her in profile. He didn’t blame her.

  The drive would be a long one if neither of them talked. He thought about fiddling with the radio to see if he could get a station, but decided to leave it quiet in case she wanted to speak. Having the radio on might give her the impression that he didn’t want to chat with her, and he did. If he came up with something to say.

  He wondered if this was how Cameron felt when Gillian’s internship was up and she had the option of staying on, maybe working on her degree out of Anchorage or going back to the lower forty-eight. In the end, with some help from his parents, she’d chosen to go back to school in Billings. At least it wasn’t Florida, but a thousand miles, two thousand miles, it really didn’t matter. Cameron couldn’t follow even if it had been ten miles, at least not according to their parents.

  The airport appeared on the horizon. Sarah’s expression was unreadable as she stared out the window. He thought about mentioning that they were nearly there, then pressed his lips together. She knew. It showed in the tense set of her shoulders, the way she kept her hands primly clasped in her lap. He wouldn’t ruin these last minutes together by stating the obvious. He’d let her lead, because soon enough she’d be gone, and he would be alone again.

  ~* * *~

  Sarah cursed every trite word that flowed through
her mind. Staring at the landscape provided an opportunity to etch it into her memory. Liam sat behind the driver’s wheel. His face held no emotion, no regret, no traces of anything showed in the lines of his body or his features. She had her pictures, her paper, and her memories. Sarah supposed they’d be enough.

  She glanced out the windshield and saw the airport. Her stomach fell. The gravel road changed to paved and then, he turned into the parking lot.

  “I don’t know…” Liam’s words trailed off.

  Sarah turned to him. “Don’t,” she said. Leaning across the bench seat, she brushed her fingers across his lips, his cheeks, the strong line of his jaw. She inched so close their breaths mingled. Closing her eyes, she kissed him. Just a gentle, lingering touch of mouths, though she wanted more. She yearned to slide her tongue across his lower lip, to kiss him as long and as deep as she wanted. But that would lead to things they couldn’t do in the front seat of a truck, especially sitting in the airport parking lot. When she pulled away, they both were breathing heavily. “I have to go back, but I’ll never forget what happened here.”

  She opened the truck door.

  “At least let me help you with your luggage.”

  Sarah closed her fingers around the handle of her suitcase. “Don’t make this more difficult for either one of us.” Hefting the laptop bag over her shoulder, she made a quick check to be sure she had everything. Well, everything except her heart, she’d left that in Liam’s keeping. She nudged the truck door closed with her hip, then head held high walked across the parking lot to the airport terminal.