by Sable Sylvan
“Save it for later,” said Savina. “And you obviously can’t handle that hose. Give it here.”
Savina took the hose from Mace and Mace went to scrub the car with towels…but Savina hit him right in the back with a jet of water!
“That was on purpose,” Savina said as Mace turned to look at her.
“Ha-ha,” said Mace before he walked up to Savina and took the hose from her. “At this rate…you’re going to get soaking wet.” He gave Savina a small squirt of water on the shoulder.
“Oh, heck no,” said Savina, grabbing it back.
* * *
“Herb…you might wanna see this,” said Alice, looking down from the bay window at her youngest sister and her fiancé’s youngest brother. They were fighting over the hose and weren’t yelling…they were laughing, smiling, goofing off and giggling.
Herb walked over from the bathroom where he’d been finishing up shaving. He looked down through the window.
“Huh,” said Herb. “I guess Grandpa Morten’s right.”
“Right about what?” asked Alice.
“I’ve said too much,” said Herb. “But…between you and me, I think that we might need to make room for a fifth couple at the wedding.”
“I have a feeling you know a lot more than you’re letting on,” said Alice.
Herb rubbed his temples.
“You know I can’t keep a secret from you,” said Herb. “All right. We’ll take my truck into Dallas and talk about it in the car.”
“You just want to drive your frikkin’ truck,” said Alice, a hand on her hip.
“You caught me,” said Herb, pulling Alice close for a kiss.
“And you…caught me,” said Alice, kissing Herb back.
* * *
The Quincy-Scoville Clan hit Dallas. The Quincy Sisters went to a high end bridal shop with a good selection of gowns and the Scoville Brothers were off to the jeweler’s to get the rings. Savina and Mace had been right. The dresses didn’t matter as much as the girls’ feelings did, and the girls just needed something to wear at the wedding. Of course, in glitzy Dallas, there were many luxury stores, and while Savina had driven, her sisters had found the perfect bridal shop with their phones. Everyone would meet up that evening to go back to the manor. Buying four wedding dresses in one afternoon was going to be hard but if anyone could do it, it was the Quincy Sisters.
The bridal salon was well stocked and each of the sisters went in pursuit of dresses. With the help of some expert sales women, everyone found a dress that was somewhat like the dress they had had before. The only difference was, instead of ivory dresses, the sisters opted for a pretty pink blush, as they wanted to match and there weren’t enough ivory dresses to go around. They had to get some matching shoes, too, so they all opted for some plain and simple pink blush heels that were satin but wouldn’t be very visible under their ornate dresses. Savina’s maid of honor dress matched their wedding colors, so there was no need for her to get a new dress.
Cayenne went for a mermaid gown. The gown hugged her curves before flaring out at the bottom into a pleated skirt. The dress was lacy toward the bottom, and the bottom fishtail had layers of tulle that made it nice and puffy.
Addison opted for an empire waist gown that was simple but looked like something from a Jane Austen novel. Lace was overlain on the underbust of the empire waist, and the gown had rose gold rhinestones along the shoulder straps.
Abigail went for a romantic ruffled gown. It had a corset bodice on the top, but the corset covered most of her bust, leaving her shoulders naked. The ruffles were not overly flouncy and were made of a light fabric that made them more flowy than bouncy.
Alice, however, was not sure of what gown she wanted. She was between a satin A-line dress and a big ball gown.
“I can’t pick,” said Alice, looking at the mirror. “Savina…can I ask you a weird favor?”
“Anything,” said Savina.
“Can you try on the other gown? That way, we can compare the two dresses,” said Alice.
“Me?” asked Savina. “Are you sure I can pull it off?”
“Sure you can,” said Addison. “We’re all around the same height and size. Come on. It’ll be fun!”
“But I’m wearing sneakers,” said Savina, motioning to her shoes.
“Miss…we can get you some heels in your size if you’d like,” offered a salesgirl.
“Okay, okay, I’ll try it on,” said Savina. “You’re lucky I love you so dang much, Alice, but I’m not sure I’d agree to do this if I wasn’t the maid of honor!”
“Speaking of which, you better have a killer bachelorette party lined up,” said Abigail.
“Trust me, I’m gonna knock your socks off,” said Savina.
Savina walked with the salesgirl to the dressing room. Twenty minutes later, Savina was teetering down the floor toward the wedding dress podiums.
Savina stood on the last free podium, and when she saw herself, she couldn’t help but gasp.
She could barely recognize herself. Savina never wore this kind of clothing. The only thing that gave away the fact that she was indeed the woman in the mirror was the fact that the woman in the mirror shared the same shocked expression she knew was on her face. She waved a hand, and the figure in the mirror waved back. Savina couldn’t help but give a little, careful twirl.
Savina turned back to face the mirror. The dress had a ballroom style skirt that made her look like she was a cupcake topper. She looked as if she were one of those wedding cake toppers of a bride…but that drew into question who would be her groom. She couldn’t help but imagine a certain man with crimson red hair standing next to her. It would be a man with a tailored suit, who had given her a ring. His eyes would be as blue as the Norwegian sea. His palms would feel as they’d felt when she snatched the garden hose away from him. He’d be standing next to her, ready to…
It was silly. Savina dashed the thought from her head, or at least, she tried to. Why the heck had she just had a daydream about Mason frikkin’ Scoville as her fiancé, waiting for her at the end of an aisle, at the end of her story? There was no way that Savina would ever even get close to having that kind of relationship with Mace. No frikkin’ way. It had to be a mix of the hormones released by her sisters, along with the wedding junk in the store. Savina had never been the kind of girl to fantasize about a wedding. She had no thoughts on centerpieces, but right now, the centerpiece of her imagination was her and Mace, dancing under a spotlight for their first dance. Had she gotten food poisoning or caught the flu…or caught something even more dangerous: friendship and feelings?
“Do you like it?” asked Addison.
“I think it’s…” started Savina.
“I think it looks better on Savina than it could ever look on me,” said Alice with a naughty smile. “I’ll go with the A-line dress. I like the satin a lot. Do you happen to have blush shoes in a flat style that would match our shoes?”
“We do. Would you like a pair for your sister?” asked a salesgirl.
“However did you guess?” teased Alice. “Yes, please. No offense, Savina, but I think you have enough on your plate without having to worry about learning to walk in heels.”
“Enough on my plate?” asked Savina, stepping down from the podium.
“You know, with the hot sauce competition and all?” asked Alice. “Or did you already forget?”
“No, I didn’t forget,” said Savina crossly. “I’m gonna win that thing. You’ll see, Alice. My sauce will beat everyone else’s!”
“Uh-huh, sure it will, kid sis,” said Cayenne. “Let’s get out of these dresses and get home. I look frikkin’ gorgeous…but my dogs are barking, my stomach is growling, and there’s a competitor in Dallas whose restaurant I have a love-hate relationship with. I love the food, hate that we’re not the ones making it.”
The Quincy Sisters got changed out of their wedding clothes and left with a car full of shoe boxes and garment bags loaded into the car by the salesgirls. Thro
ugh dinner and the drive back to Fallowedirt, Savina couldn’t get that disturbing thought out of her head. The only thing worse that the fantasy that she’d had, wearing that silly fairytale wedding dress, was the fact that the fantasy didn’t feel wrong. It felt right, too right, but there was no way that Savina could ever, ever pursue that fantasy. She didn’t even want to, but…well, Savina had her reasons not to pursue something with Mason.
Chapter Five
That Wednesday, Savina got up, got changed into her uniform (jeans and a shirt with The Feminine Mesquite’s logo on it), and pulled on her red hoodie. She got breakfast and got in the car with Mace, who took the driver’s seat, but when they hit Main Street, they didn’t stop.
“Uh, you missed our stop,” said Savina.
“No, I didn’t,” said Mace with a wicked grin. “We don’t have work today.”
“We don’t?” asked Savina, folding her arms.
“I told Herb we needed to take a personal day,” said Mace. “Remember that promise I made you? About the peppers?”
“No way,” said Savina. “You found someone who sells them, in Texas?”
“Well, so, that’s the thing,” said Mace. “We’re going to have to do something pretty frikkin’ crazy today.”
“You’re hijacking another plane?” asked Savina.
“Close,” said Mace. “Don’t worry about it, Sav. You’ll see when we get to our first stop.”
“Our ‘first’ stop?” asked Savina. “Why do I feel like we’re going to get in a buttload of trouble?”
“Oh, we are,” said Mace. “They don’t call me a bad boy for nothing.”
Mason kept driving the car through Bright Star County until they reached the tiny Bright Star County Airport. The airport was used for small local flights, so usually, the Scoville plane flew in and out of Dallas instead. All that was on the tarmac was a helicopter.
“Okay, what the heck is going on?” asked Savina.
“No time to explain,” said Mason. “We’re not making good time as it is.”
“Uh-huh, sure,” said Savina. “You don’t expect me to believe that you’re gonna fly that chopper, now do you?”
“That I do,” said Mason. He closed the door to his side of the car and opened Savina’s side.
“I’m not getting out of this car,” said Savina.
“You can walk, or I can carry you,” said Mason.
“Then you’re going to have to carry me,” said Savina, narrowing her eyes.
“Whatever you want, honey,” said Mason. He undid Savina’s seat belt and lifted her up in his arms, shutting his door with his free hand and pressing the lock button on the car remote before walking with Savina in his arms to the helicopter.
Savina was shocked. She hadn’t actually expected Mason to lift her up and carry her. He was carrying her like she was nothing more than a bag of apples! She had curves and the natural heft that came with them, but Mason was cradling her as easily as she could’ve cradled a baby. His chest was firm, warm, and that surprised her. Then she remembered that polars and other big shifts ran hot, real hot.
Had Mason just called her ‘honey,’ or had her ears deceived her? What the heck was that supposed to mean? Was it a slip of the tongue? Was it a reference to the time she’d accidentally called him ‘sugar’? And why did he have a way of calling her ‘honey’ like he meant it, like it was her name?
“Hello, Mr. Scoville,” said a grizzled man with white hair and a flannel shirt. “Mr. Asher sends his regards.”
“Hey, Pete! Tell Lance I say hi,” said Mason.
“Now…you aren’t planning on doing any human trafficking, are you?” asked Pete nervously. “You know Mr. Asher wouldn’t approve of that, what with what happened to his wife, Zelda.”
“I’m not human trafficking,” said Mason. “She just refused to get out of the car.”
“Now, miss, is this man, uh…trafficking you?” asked Pete.
“No, I’m just making things difficult for him,” said Savina. “Let me down, Mace.”
Mason put Savina down. Savina brushed herself off.
“Savina, Savina Quincy,” said Savina, extending her hand.
“Peter Charleston,” said the grizzled man, shaking her hand. “I work for one of Mr. Scoville’s friends, Mr. Lance Asher.”
“Can’t say I recognize the name,” said Savina.
“I’ll explain in the chopper,” said Mason. “You ever flown in one of these before?”
“No, is there something I gotta know?” asked Savina.
“This chopper only holds two people,” said Pete. “Mason’ll be flying, and you’ll be next to him. You strap in, the way you would in a car, but you’ll need to put on your headset. It’s soundproof, so it keeps the sound of the chopper out. You can talk into the mic, and Mason’ll hear your voice through his headset. It works the same way vice-versa.”
“And Mason’s really going to fly the chopper?” asked Savina.
“That’s right, miss, and don’t worry…he knows what he’s doing,” Pete assured her.
“What makes you so sure?” asked Savina.
“Oh, I’ve seen him fly before,” said Pete. “But I guess that’s a story he’ll have to tell you…once you two are in the air.”
“Fine, fine,” said Savina. “I’ll get in the dang chopper. But Mace, you owe me that story.”
“If that’s all it takes to get you to get in the helicopter, I consider myself dang lucky,” said Mason. “Thanks, Pete. I’ve got it from here.”
Mason helped set Savina up in the chopper. While she adjusted her headset, he made sure the thick nylon straps of the seat belts were holding onto her firmly. The straps hugged her curves, leaving her with very little wiggle room. Mason’s cock twitched as he saw Savina wrapped up in the restraints, wishing that she was restrained in another way, but Mason told his cock to shut up. Obviously, his cock was in cahoots with his bear, because both of them wanted him to pursue the curvy firebrand.
Mason sat in his seat and got the helicopter ready, flicking switches and pulling on levers and doing stuff Savina didn’t understand. Before long, they were up in the air. Pete was waving at them from below, but soon, he became a little dot in their vision.
“You can hear me still, right?” asked Mason. They’d already tested the equipment.
“Crystal clear,” said Savina. “Pete was right. I can’t hear shizz with this headset on…except for the sound of your voice.”
“It’s kinda spooky, ain’t it?” asked Mason.
“It is,” said Savina. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. I can’t believe we’re up in the frikkin’ air. I can see all of Fallowedirt from up here. Heck, I can even see the Mesquite Manor! So…what was that story you owe me?”
“Oh, you’re interested in that?” asked Mason.
“Of course I am,” said Savina. “You’re a bad boy. You must have a ton of tales to tell.”
“This one starts out kinda sad,” said Mason. “But don’t worry. There’s a happy ending. Once upon a time, I knew this guy, Lance Asher. He’s part of the Asher-Dixon Clan. Ever heard of’m?”
“It sounds kinda familiar,” said Savina.
“They’re a joint clan of bear shifters, mostly grizzly, with some other bears tossed into the mix,” explained Mason. “Heck, they even got a bear that’s blue.”
“A blue bear?” asked Savina. “Now I’ve heard of everything.”
“They’ve got a polar, too, a whole lot of them, actually, up in Alaska,” said Mason. “One of them is Lance, Lance Asher. The Asher-Dixon and Scoville Clans are close, after all. He’s a good deal older than me, but that doesn’t matter so much. We both loved extreme sports and where better to ski and snowboard than Alaska? Heck, I’ve done it all: snow kiting, ice surfing, shovel racing, you name it, I’ve done it. He started a helicopter company because up in Alaska, where there are remote towns and villages, helicopter’s sometimes the only way to get things delivered. He made a ton of money doing that.”
>
“Okay, and?” asked Savina.
“Well, one winter break, I convinced my grandpa Morten to let me spend my winter break in Alaska,” said Mason. “After all, what better way to get in some flying experience? Strings were pulled, and I was set up with a helicopter pilot’s license, even though I was underage at the time. I am a Scoville, and that does come with benefits. I was soaring through the skies helping make deliveries, pro bono of course, and getting in a lot of flight time. However, Lance wasn’t around often. Lance was starting to get a little nervous. You see, Lance hadn’t found his fated mate yet and was worried about mate madness.”
“Mate madness?” asked Savina.
“When a shifter doesn’t find their mate, they tend to start acting in ways they otherwise wouldn’t,” said Mason. “To avoid this, Lance had signed up for a matchmaking service. He met a woman who said she had a daughter he might be interested in. Well, Lance met the girl, Zelda, and was smitten, but…that’s when the woman revealed that the girl had a price.”
“A price?” asked Savina. “You mean…”
“Exactly,” said Mason. “She wanted him to pay money to be with her daughter. He refused, and she kept the daughter locked up in her penthouse. It was a regular Rapunzel story. But of course, what’s Lance gonna do, right?”
“Why do I have a feeling the answer is, ‘something frikkin’ crazy’?” asked Savina.
“Bingo,” said Mason. “And of course, I’m always game for a crazy plan…especially if it’s in the pursuit of true love.”
“Like your true love for fermented shark?” asked Savina.
Mason laughed. “Hey, true love comes in many forms, but I digress. Anyways. We went down to Seattle, got what we needed, and went back up in the air. I flew that dang helicopter to just above the penthouse, and that’s when Lance rappelled down, breaking through the skylight, and saved his princess. Pete was my co-pilot.”