by Lori King
RJ nodded sadly and walked back into the living room and up the staircase. She followed at a slower pace, but RJ being the gentlemen he was, waited for her and walked beside her. “Your bedroom is on the second floor. She had it designed just for you.”
“Of course she did.” Bloom’s answer was sarcastic, but she’d had enough of the cat and mouse game her grandmother was playing from the dead.
RJ opened the door to her bedroom, and of course it was the same bed, bedspread, sheets…hell, even the pillowcases were the ones she picked out of a magazine.
She could tell RJ was waiting for her opinion, and when she didn’t say anything, he blew out a breath, “You don’t like it?”
“I do. Doesn’t give me much to work for, though. She’s done it all for me.” Bloom sat down on the bed and leaned back. She was so tired. This was all so confusing. “Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.”
“It will, Bloom. Take a hot shower. The kitchen is stocked with food, your favorites, of course.” RJ turned his head to the side. “You may not understand this now, but you will. It will all fall into place.”
Bloom closed her eyes. “Whatever you say.”
She could feel RJ get up and stand at the door. “Talk to you soon.”
Bloom didn’t move or open her eyes. She was so tired that she drifted off to sleep with half her body on the bed, her feet still on the floor.
6
“Is that her?” Paul Edwards asked.
“Yeah,” Sunny Michaels answered. “Did you hear that Rose didn’t even give the Alpha fifty-one percent? She split it fifty-fifty.”
“This is bad. Real bad,” Misty Roberts muttered.
“What’s your dad saying, Sunny?” Rusty Weber asked.
“Only that we can’t shift in front of her. We all have to be on our best behavior. She doesn’t even know we exist,” Sunny answered. They watched as the vampire escorted her into the house. “Oh, and she has to stay a year and work the farm with the Alpha, and if she doesn’t then all of Rose’s estate will go to the Alpha. I guess we’re stuck with her.”
Rusty laughed. “Well, maybe not.”
* * *
Free stood over the bed, watching Bloom sleep. She still had on the same clothes from the fire, but he couldn’t make himself move. She was so beautiful asleep, with her mouth closed. Not talking.
“Why are you standing over me?”
“She’s alive! I saw RJ leave, but never saw you come out or any lights come on, so I’m doing my best to get along with you, checking up on you.” Free answered like he didn’t care.
She sat up, and when she did he watched as her eyes crossed and she fell back down. “Hey, are you okay?” Free asked, leaning over her again.
“I’m a little nauseated. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”
“Why don’t you take better care of yourself?” Free barked out and went back downstairs. Damn humans. She was probably one of those that didn’t each much of anything. Now he had to cook something for her. Well, he didn’t, but he’d promised to try and make this work. He didn’t understand why Rose had done this, but the land was hers to do with what she wanted. At least now his name was on the deed, and his pack had a say in how the company was run. Who was he kidding? Rose always let him have his say. She made sure he was a partner in every way except on the deed, until now. Now he was a partner to a human who didn’t even know that shifters existed. How this was going to work was beyond his reasoning. Everyone said to give it a try, that she would get tired of the work and leave, then he would get it all. But all his life, he had been told that the Scotts were their friends and family, and hoping that she’d leave just didn’t seem right.
He heard the shower come on as he took out the casserole Rebecca had made for her. He put the dish in the oven and waited, his thoughts still on the human. Even Rebecca liked her, but he couldn’t understand Bloom. Shit, who was he kidding? He hadn’t even tried. He had to keep his head in the game. Right now, he had to keep the farm going, along with all the new projects. The strawberry patch would be very profitable if they could get the crops to come in, but something wasn’t right with the soil. He needed this to work. It was his idea and Rose had trusted him to make it work. They had spent a lot of money buying the plants and getting the soil ready, but nothing yet. Now he had to explain all of this to someone who didn’t want to be here and knew nothing about farming. It didn’t matter how pretty she was, she didn’t belong here.
Free was just taking the casserole out of the oven when Bloom walked in. “Come sit and eat.”
“You sure are demanding,” Bloom muttered, but she sat down at the table. Damn, she was beautiful. Her hair was pulled up with some type of clip and she smelled delicious.
“You should take better care of yourself. We are very busy on the farm and if you’re going to be part of it, then you need to feed yourself.” Bloom narrowed her eyes at him. He could tell she was going to say something, but she stopped herself. “Go ahead, I know you want to say something.”
Dropping her fork on the table, Rose asked, “Why are you being such an ass to me? I haven’t done anything to you. I’m sorry Rose put me in her will. I can’t change that, but I won’t tolerate you badgering me every chance you get. It’s like a sore and you keep picking at it. Why? What did I ever do to you?”
Free could see the tears in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. For the life of him, he didn’t have an answer for her. He watched her chest rise and fall quickly. Why was he acting like this? She hadn’t even known about the farm or Rose until a couple of days ago. Knowing that her car had burned up and everything she owned had gone up with it, he felt ashamed. It wasn’t like him to be rude. His eyes were glued to her lips as they trembled.
He lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Bloom. You’re right. You don’t deserve it. I knew what Rose wanted and I shouldn’t be shocked, but I guess I thought she would change her mind. This property means a lot to me and my family and we have everything invested in it. If it fails, it will be because of me, and I can’t let that happen.”
“I don’t want to hurt you or your family. I just want this to work out for both of us.” Bloom reached out and touched his arm.
He could feel a warm tingling feeling radiate up his arm before he jerked back. Free got up and started for the door. “Eat up. I’ll be in the barn in the morning if you want to learn about the business.”
He couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Free rubbed his arm where she’d touched him. He was in so much trouble now. It was her beautiful face that drew him in, and now her touch made him feel things he shouldn’t. She was a human and she had no clue he was a shifter. This would never work out.
7
Bloom watched as Free jerked away from her touch as if she were diseased. Well, at least she knew where they stood with each other. He didn’t like her, but he was going to work with her, and that was as far as it went. Figures – with the way the workers had stared at her, they apparently felt the same way.
She picked up the fork and started eating. She was going to meet him bright and early in the morning and learn everything she could about the farm. They would just have to get along. “Wow, this is good,” she muttered to herself. Once she was full, Bloom wrapped the casserole back up, washed her plate, and went back upstairs and fell onto the bed, exhausted. She reached over and set her phone for six in the morning. That was the last thing she remembered until she heard the noise.
At first, she thought she was dreaming, but she pinched herself and realized she was awake. It sounded like someone was walking up the stairs. Jerking up, Bloom got out of bed and ran over to the dresser and kneeled down beside it. Her heart was racing so fast she thought she was going to pass out. Who was in the house? She hadn’t even checked to see if the doors were locked. She had no clue how many doors she even needed to lock. Why hadn’t she asked? Not the smartest move, and what if some wayward killer got inside the manor? Wouldn’t she deserve to meet an end she had
seen in so many horror movies? Her door was still standing wide open and the footsteps were getting closer now. She had no weapon and whoever it was didn’t care that she could hear them. God, please let me get through this night and I will lock the doors next time. They were almost at her door. She wanted to close her eyes, but knew if she did she would never open them again.
“Leaveee.” The voice was deep and it vibrated the room, it was so loud. Bloom covered her ears. Her body shook so hard she fell back on her butt. RJ said that the house was haunted and it was. She couldn’t move, and if the ghost wanted her, she would be easy pickings.
Courage, she needed a lot of it. Bloom decided that if the ghost wanted her then he had to show himself, and she wasn’t leaving. The voice sounded like it was standing outside her door. Why didn’t it come inside and show itself?
Jumping up, Bloom rushed toward the door and turned on the light, then marched out into the hallway. “Show yourself,” she shouted, but nothing was there. She looked down the hallway and found nothing. All the doors on the floor were still closed. Where did it go?
As she passed the light switch, Bloom turned it on and rushed downstairs and started turning on lights. She tried to open the front door, but it was locked. Then she remembered the back door was in the kitchen. Running toward the kitchen, she flipped the switch but saw nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. What was going on? Why would the ghost want her to leave? Did she even believe in ghosts? She tried the back door, and it was locked, too.
She couldn’t find anyone or anything that would have made that kind of noise. Nothing made sense. Bloom left the lights on and slowly walked up the stairs toward her bedroom. It was already midnight and she knew there was no way she was going to get any sleep. She was wired and jumpy, and every noise was going to keep her up. She didn’t even want to go back to her bed. She felt too vulnerable lying there waiting for something to happen. Instead, she pulled the comforter off the bed and brought her pillow with her to the bathroom. The floor looked very clean, and for some reason, she felt safe. She lay her comforter down and locked the door.
She knew that she couldn’t be late tomorrow or it would only give Free and the staff something else to blame her for. She placed her phone beside her and willed herself to close her eyes. Finally, after her heart stopped beating so fast, she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Free sat down in the rocking chair on his front porch. He couldn’t eat and he sure as hell couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about Bloom. When she’d touched his arm, all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her, but he couldn’t. His new partner was off limits.
Rose had been different. She was raised with shifters and they were her friends. Shifters had been in her life since she was a little girl, and even thought of them as family. But Bloom was raised in the city of Chicago and she didn’t have a clue about him or his pack. They had to be very careful and not let her find out. He gave her one week of hard work on the farm before she ran back to the city. This girl was a city girl through and through, and he doubted she had ever gotten her hands dirty.
Buck walked up on the porch and sat down. “What’s got you so riled up?” Buck Michaels was his beta and his best friend, and Free knew he was concerned.
“Nothing.”
Buck sat down beside him and lit his pipe. Free waited for him to say something, but the man quietly sat, staring out into the woods.
“I told her I would show her the property tomorrow,” Free blurted out. He felt like a kid telling his dad what he did wrong.
“I think that’s the right thing to do,” Buck said. Free turned his head and stared at his beta, and he could see the outline of his face when the embers in his pipe lit up.
“Why do you say that? You know how much we have to lose.”
“I do, but it was what Rose wanted, and maybe she will fit in and get to know all of us,” Buck added as he blew the smoke out of his mouth.
“Doubt the girl has ever had her hands dirty. I plan to show her the barn, the fields, and the strawberry patch in the morning if she shows up.” Free raised his hands above his head as he got up and started to walk down the steps. He needed to shift. His wolf needed to search the area. “Make sure the pack knows that she doesn’t know about us, so no changing in front of her. I think in a week she will sign over her part to us, and that will be the end of it.”
“Don’t count on it,” Buck muttered. Free heard his friend as he took his clothes off and shifted. Running through the woods toward Scott Manor, he could hear Buck’s daughter Sunny and the other young pups in his pack laughing. He let off a howl and heard each of the kids running toward home. It was late and they had work to do in the morning. If he allowed it, they would stay out all night, talking, but they were good kids so he gave them some time to stay out and just have fun.
He watched as they ran toward their house and once they were near the cabin he took off, sprinting toward the manor. He wanted to make sure that her doors were locked. He had locked the front door as he left, but he needed to make sure she was okay. Why, he didn’t know, but his wolf was restless until the house came into view.
Every light in the house was on. Why? Was she still up, or did she think that the estate would pay the light bill? As he got closer, he shifted and looked in the kitchen window. It looked clean; not even a dish was out. He glanced up at her bedroom window and her lights were on as well. Now that was strange, he thought. She was dead tired and he figured she would be asleep by now. Something didn’t feel right. It wouldn’t hurt if he took a look around to see if everything was okay. He had some clothes stashed out in the barn, and knew where the spare key was hidden.
8
Bloom couldn’t sleep. She hated the fact that she was scared of something she couldn’t see. She had just turned over on her side and closed her eyes when she heard it. Placing her ear to the floor, she heard something. It sounded like someone was walking around downstairs. She got up and stuck her ear to the door. She turned the lights off in the bathroom and continued to listen. The sound was gone, but she stood still and listened harder.
Knock, knock, knock.
Bloom jumped back and fell right into the tub, hitting her head against the tile wall.
“Ouch!”
“Bloom, are you in there?”
Now she was pissed. It was Free all along. He was the one trying to make her so scared she would leave. Well, not this time. Bloom pulled herself up and jerked the door open. “It was you trying to scare me! I should have known.” Bloom pushed her finger against his chest. “No, sir, you will not run me off.”
She ignored the look of shock on Free’s face, but she knew he was trying to play it off. “What are you talking about?” He looked down at the floor. “Why are you sleeping on the bathroom floor?”
“Because you tried to scare me and now that I know it’s really you, I can go and get in the bed where I belong. Get out!” Bloom bellowed.
“Scare you? I just got here. I saw all the lights on and was wondering why, and since I have a key to the house I wanted to check on you.” Bloom narrowed her eyes. Of course, he had a key. He used it earlier to scare her. It made perfect sense.
“Yeah, I really like the voice you used that said, ‘Leaveeee.’ Nice touch. What, did you get a female friend to help you out?” Bloom bent down and grabbed her pillow and comforter and marched back to the bed. “Like I said, you can leave now.”
“Bloom, I’m not the one who did that. I just got here to check on you after I saw all the lights on. I wouldn’t do that to you,” Free stressed.
“Whatever. Since you have a key, can you lock up when you leave and turn the lights off when you go? Also, leave the key on the kitchen table. This is my house until you do something else…hey, maybe you can burn the house down with me in it and that would solve all your problems. Rose left it to me, not you. I have to share the land and farm but not this house. So I will say this for the last time, and then I’m calling the cops. Leave the
key and leave my house.” Bloom jerked the comforter up around her neck and then turned away from him.
“Someone was in here? In the house?” Free demanded.
“It was you, and you know it. So stop treating me like I’m stupid. You scared me, ha ha, you got me. But let me tell you this—you’re never going to run me off.” Bloom turned back over and covered up again.
Bloom screamed when she was lifted off the bed and into his lap. “Listen to me. It wasn’t me. I swear, I just got here. It wasn’t me, Bloom.”
She searched his eyes, hoping she would be able to tell if he was lying to her. He looked like he was telling the truth. “Then who was it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Free got up and sat her on the bed. “Stay here and let me search the house.”
“Not without me!” Bloom jumped up and followed him out into the hallway.
Free turned around and Bloom bounced off of him, she was so close. “Tell me what you heard, exactly.”
“I was asleep, but something woke me up. At first, I thought it was my imagination, then I heard someone walking up the stairs. Umm, then it sounded like someone was standing outside my door and the voice was so loud that…” She hated telling him this, but continued. “It sounded so loud that I had to cover my ears. The voice said ‘Leave.’ It was screaming at me.”
Free narrowed his eyes at her. “The voice said to leave?”
“Yes, the voice said to leave.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well, I got my nerve up and went into the hallway to confront the ghost or whoever was out there, but nobody was there. I started searching the house, leaving the lights on. I didn’t want a repeat performance and I knew I had to get up early in the morning, so I decided to sleep in the bathroom. I felt safer in there.” Bloom blew out the heavy breath she was holding.