13. Crystal

 

 

Waking up in a cold, empty bed was not at all the way Crystal wanted to start her very last morning on the farm.

"Cody?" she called softly, sitting up. His side of the bed was cold, which meant he'd been up for a while.

Maybe he got up to start coffee and make breakfast. That seemed like something he'd do. Except she didn't smell any coffee, or cooking smells ...

She got up and padded to the window, naked and barefoot, and leaned out. His truck had been parked behind the house when they had fallen asleep. Now it was gone.

"What the hell?" she murmured, anger stirring in her chest. "You know I was leaving this morning, you jerk-bear!"

Did he think it would be easier to sneak out the back door, leaving her before she could leave him? But that hardly seemed like him.

Then the note on the bedside table caught her eye, and she sagged with a rush of relief. "Don't leave without saying goodbye," she murmured, picking it up. "Yeah, but saying goodbye would be a lot easier if I knew where you were."

She touched the claiming mark briefly. There was a general sense of Cody, but nothing specific enough to actually locate him.

However, she had a feeling it wasn't going to be hard. There was really only one likely place he'd be.

She put on her last clean T-shirt (the suitcase was going back full of dirty clothes, most of them really dirty, covered with actual dirt and grass clippings) and paused only long enough to grab a piece of toast from the kitchen before she went out into the crisp, fresh morning.

She knew about the road between the two neighboring properties from Cody and the others talking about it, but she'd never had to find it herself. Turned out it wasn't hard; all she had to do was drive along the well-worn ruts of Cody's truck.

It was a pretty little road, not too terribly rough. It wound through a band of woods before emerging in a pasture above a cluster of houses that she assumed—or at least hoped—was the Circle B. This wasn't an empty field like the ones around her farmhouse. There were actual cows here, small scattered clusters of jet-black cattle, lounging around doing whatever cows did. They raised their heads with lazy interest as she drove out of the woods.

Do I just drive through the field? Is that allowed?

The ruts and crushed grass continued on ahead, so she decided to assume she wasn't breaking some unspoken rule of good rural behavior by doing so. She drove very carefully and slowly, since there were actual live cattle wandering about, which was the only thing that kept her from colliding with a gate across the middle of the road where it passed through the fence.

Well, of course you'd need gates to keep the cattle in, she reasoned. She closed it carefully behind her after driving through.

At her farm, it was pretty straightforward to figure out where to park—there was only one house and one barn to deal with—but this place was really more like a compound, a circle of houses and barns, plus one trailer, with a big open yard in the middle and a bunch of trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles scattered around. She didn't see a single small car like hers in the bunch. Once again, the thought of selling the Honda and buying a truck flitted through her mind, but then she reminded herself firmly that there was no point. She wasn't staying on the farm, even though the thought sent a dart of pain through her heart.

And then she noticed that people were waving to her from the porch of one of the smaller houses. That bright red hair was Tara, and ... was that Cody beside her? Yes, it was; her heart did that little flipping-over maneuver that it still performed every time she caught sight of her mate. She parked and got out.

Cody was already trotting down the steps to greet her with a deep kiss. "Mornin'," he said after their lips were no longer locked.

"Morning to you too," she said, tipping back her head to look up at his wide grin, arms wrapped around his back. "You know, I wasn't the happiest camper when I woke up and found you'd left."

The grin faltered. "Sorry about that. I had an important errand I needed to run, and you haven't got a phone hooked up at the farm yet."

Yet. That word sent another little dart of pain through her. Had he forgotten she was going to have to sell it? Well, she sometimes forgot too, at least for minutes at a time.

"Come on up here, you two," Tara called from the porch swing. "I'm breast-feeding. I hope it doesn't bother anybody."

"Not at all," Crystal said, mounting the steps hand in hand with Cody. "Look, I can't stay long. I have to get packed up back at the farm and get on the road."

"Maybe, maybe not." Tara nodded to the rocking chair beside the swing. "Have a seat."

Cody promptly plunked himself into the chair and pulled Crystal into his lap, clasping his arms around her waist.

"I have a feeling I'm missing something," Crystal said as Cody began to slowly and contentedly rock them. "You two look like the cat that swallowed the cream. Uh, did Cody tell you that we found my grandpa's 'treasure' yesterday?"

"He did," Tara said, nodding. "I'm sorry, hon."

"It's all right." Crystal blinked fiercely against the threat of tears. "My grandfather's treasure is water. And I can understand completely. For a farmer, water is the greatest treasure there is. But it's not going to be able to save me from having to sell the farm."

"Hmm," Tara said noncommittally. She rocked the drowsing baby. "Crystal, what do you know about the M&M Foundation?"

"Like the candy?" Crystal asked hesitantly.

"Man, nobody west of the Mississippi has heard of it, have they? It's practically a household name on the East Coast." She gestured to herself. "That's M&M for Max and Maureen, my parents. It's a nonprofit that provides grants to charitable causes."

"Oh, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?"

"Something like that, yes. My dad made a killing in the stock market back in the eighties and nineties. He decided to use the money to help people. Together, he and I run the foundation and decide where to allocate grants. With me so far?"

"I guess so," Crystal said. "I'm not sure why you're talking to me about it. I mean—" She stopped, and the smallest flutter of hope began to ignite in her chest. "Is it possible that medical bills are the kind of thing your foundation might be able to help with?"

"Not directly," Tara said, and Crystal's hope faded, only to have a spark rekindle when Tara went on, "But even before Cody came to me this morning, I'd been talking with Daisy about a new project. You'd never guess from talking to her, but Daisy's family runs a big publishing empire. She's an heiress."

"Oh, wow. You're right, I never would have guessed." Daisy seemed like the ultimate down-to-earth country girl, fresh-faced and innocent-looking, with a head of golden hair that was made for wearing flower crowns.

"The M&M Foundation can always use new sources of funding, and Daisy and I have been discussing the possibility of investing some of her family's profits into the foundation as a tax write-off." Tara's face grew brilliant and animated as she spoke. It was obvious that she truly enjoyed exploring the ins and outs of the business world. "So we were thinking about setting up a new subsidiary of the foundation. We just hadn't quite figured out what to focus on. We're already doing a lot of work with kids, funding after-school programs and helping build shelters for homeless youth, that kind of thing. Cody suggested that a nonprofit to help families with their medical debts might be just the thing. And it would be exactly the sort of cause that my father would feel strongly about, since my mother passed away from cancer a number of years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Crystal said, covering her mouth with her hand.

A brief shadow of old pain passed through Tara's blue eyes. "It's—well, it's not all right. I'm sure you understand that it'll never be all right. But I was very small and don't remember her well. The point is, I'm sure my father would be all over the idea."

The hope in Crystal's chest had grown into a warm flame, still tentative because it didn't seem real yet. "Tara, I don't know what to say—"

"Don't get too excited," Tara warned her. "There's still an awful lot of work to do. Daisy and I need to get our dads on board, and your mom would need to go through an approval process, although ... if the situation is as dire as you say, I can guarantee you she'll be approved, if I have anything to say about it. And, as one of the people who runs the foundation, I certainly do!"

"It's bad," Crystal said. "She's in danger of losing the house and having to declare bankruptcy."

"Then there's no time to lose. I'll contact Daisy and we can get the process started right away."

Cody hugged Crystal tightly from behind. "Where's all the excitement?" he asked, his voice playful. "I was expecting more delight and less confusion."

"I—I'm just having to adjust," Crystal confessed. "It's too much to take in all at once."

"Then maybe I shouldn't lay the other thing on you quite yet." He kissed her right above the claiming mark, sending a happy shiver through her.

"What? There's more, and you're not going to tell me?" She kicked playfully at him with her heel. Brand-new optimism was starting to settle in under her rib cage, and she felt as light as a feather. "I swear, Cody, if you don't let me know what you're talking about right now—"

"I talked to Alec this morning about me moving off the ranch. It went way better than I was expecting. He's fine with it. So if all of this goes through—"

"Which I'm going to do my best to make sure that it does," Tara said, smiling.

"—then I'm fully prepared to move onto the farm with you."

"I can't believe this." Her voice came out small and breathless. "It's like I'm getting everything I ever wanted. I really don't know what to say. Uh. Thank you seems much too small, but ... thank you?"

"Family helps family," Tara said gently. "And you're Cody's mate, which means you're our family too."

"I keep telling her that." Cody kissed the side of her head. "Maybe eventually she'll believe it."

"It's not that I don't believe it," Crystal protested weakly. "It's just ... it was always just me and Mom and Dad, and then Dad died and it was basically just me and Mom. This is a lot to adjust to—Oh, gosh, Mom. I have to call her and tell her about all of this. And—there's so much to do. I have to call the bookstore and somehow arrange things. I'll be quitting my job, but I want to give them proper notice—and ..." She trailed off, losing steam. "And lots of things," she finished faintly.

Cody rocked her and kissed the top of her head. "Just take it one thing at a time. People are here to help you. It'll be fine."

"You know the other thing you should probably do." Tara tilted her head to indicate the big house across the yard. "You should go introduce yourself to Alec. He lives in that big house, and he's your alpha now. You should get to know him." She smiled. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite. At least not anymore."

"Yeah, that's right!" Cody gently decanted Crystal from his lap so they could both stand up. "C'mon, I'll introduce you."

Crystal wanted him there, but she wasn't sure exactly what made her change her mind—maybe something in the expression on Tara's face, or some glimmer of knowledge from her own diluted shifter ancestry. Whatever it was, she had a strong feeling that there was a right and a wrong way to handle this. She squeezed his hand and pushed him back. "No, I appreciate it, but I think this is something I should do by myself."

"But—" Cody began, and then he hesitated. "You're right. You should. But I'll be right here across the yard if you need me. I'll always be here if you need me."

"I know." She kissed him, gentle and lingering, and then left him on the porch with Tara and walked across the yard.

Charmian was just coming down the steps with a large leather case in her hand, looking crisply put together as usual, when Crystal got there. "Morning," she said cheerfully. "I'd chat, but I'm off to work, and my clients usually can't wait."

"Morning," Crystal greeted her, with a curious glance at the case in Charmian's hand. She realized that no one had ever told her what Charmian did for a living, and she wanted to ask, but didn't want to appear rude. "Um ... is Alec home?"

"He sure is. Just go right in."

In spite of Charmian's invitation, Crystal hesitated on the porch until Charmian had driven away, and then screwed up her courage and knocked on the door.

She had to knock twice before she heard footsteps within. A moment later, the alpha of the Circle B clan opened the door.

Tall, dark-haired Alec was one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen, but in a very distant way. His eyes were a clear blue that made her think of chilly winter skies. All things considered, Crystal thought, trying not to flinch back, she vastly preferred Cody's more approachable good looks, the warm humor in his eyes and his easy grin.

And it wasn't just the cool expression. There was an air of authority around Alec. She might not be a shifter, but she had shifter blood, and she could feel it like the heaviness of the air before an approaching thunderstorm. When Alec turned his chilly blue eyes on her, she felt an instinctive urge to drop her eyes and bow her head, offering submission.

A direct stare in the eyes might be seen as a challenge, and she had absolutely no desire to challenge an alpha predator in his own den.

He still hadn't said anything or smiled.

"Hi," she said, trying to look at him without looking him too directly in the eyes. "I'm Crystal. Uh ... Cody's mate?"

After a silence that probably felt much longer than it actually was, Alec stepped back. "Come in." His voice was quiet and a little gravelly, as if he didn't talk much, though nothing like Gannon's guttural rasp.

Crystal stepped cautiously into the ranch house and looked around. The front door opened onto a long living room with big picture windows looking out on the staggering vista of the mountains rising above the house. It was the first thing that caught the eye; you couldn't not look at it.

A flurry of small toenails clicked on the hardwood floor, and a small, scruffy dog of indeterminate breed trotted up, wagging its stubby tail. Crystal hesitantly reached down to let it sniff her hand.

"Coffee?" Alec said.

"Uh. Yeah. Sure."

"Make yourself at home," he added, and vanished through a door that she assumed led to the kitchen.

She stood in front of the door for a minute, petting the dog to give herself something to do, and then reminded herself that, while Alec might act a little like a bear, he wasn't one. The worst he could possibly do was yell at her. Steeling her spine, she crossed the room, past large pieces of old, comfortable-looking furniture, to stand in front of the window and look out at the pasture. The dog clicked along behind her in the hopes of more petting.

There was a desk in front of the window, with an open account book, a laptop, and a scattering of pens and receipts. Alec had been working when she interrupted him, she realized, doing some kind of farm-related paperwork. Suddenly his gruffness made a little more sense. A lot of people could be surly when they were engrossed in their work and an unexpected visitor knocked on the door.

"Hell of a view, isn't it?"

Alec spoke from behind her. Crystal jumped and looked around.

"Yes," she said sincerely. "I wouldn't trade the view from my farmhouse window for anything, because it's mine, but this ... this is amazing. You could charge money for a view like this. I mean ... not that you would. Because that would be silly. I'm just saying, there are probably world-class ski resorts that can't boast of a view like this."

Alec nodded, and for the first time he smiled, a quiet glimmer of a smile that lent a touch of warmth to his winter-sky eyes. Crystal got the feeling she might have just passed some kind of test.

"Brought your coffee black," he said, holding out one of the two cups he was carrying. "There's sugar and creamer in the kitchen if you want them."

"Black is fine." She usually preferred some sugar in her coffee, but she took a sip anyway, and found that it didn't really need it; Alec made excellent coffee.

In fact, now that she'd gotten past her initial fear, she found the ranch house very homey and comfortable and nice. She felt at home here, in a way she hadn't expected. Although it didn't look the same, it reminded her a little bit of her family's farmhouse. It had the same sort of comfortable lived-in feeling. It was also meticulously tidy; either Alec or Charmian, possibly both of them, was a very careful housekeeper.

But one thing she couldn't help noticing was all the pictures of babies. She recognized Lexie and Baz in a number of them, mainly because of Tara and Saffron, and occasionally other members of the clan, holding them. But there were also a whole lot of other babies. Babies of all colors, babies in mothers' arms and in bassinets and lying on blankets. The pictures of Lexie and Baz dominated the room, and here and there was a family portrait of people who were obviously related to Alec and Cody, but mostly, she couldn't help noticing all the babies.

"You seem to be wondering about the pictures," Alec said, gesturing her to the couch.

"Er ... yes. I don't want to be rude but ... they can't possibly all be yours, are they?"

Alec's sudden grin was startling and breathtaking. For an instant she saw what must have made his mate fall in love with him. "God, no," he said fervently. "No, my mate Charmian is a midwife. She often stays in touch with the new moms after the delivery, to help them adjust to parenthood, and ..." He shrugged. "I think in some way, she considers them hers. Not really, but on a spiritual level."

So that was why Charmian had said that her clients couldn't wait. "Do you two have any children of your own?" She had only seen Baz and Lexie so far, but since Charmian was older than the other bears' mates, she'd thought maybe their kids were teenagers.

Alec shook his head. The dog jumped up beside him on the couch, and he reached out absently with his free hand to fondle its ragged ears. "No, and Charmian's in her early 40s, so we probably won't. Which is just fine with me. The way things are going, it seems like we're going to have all the nieces and nephews we can handle."

Despite his gruff words, Crystal sensed the underlying warmth, and she couldn't help noticing that the photos of Baz and Lexie by far outnumbered any other feature in the room. Also, there were the parts of what looked like a half-finished wooden toy truck spread out on the coffee table. And then there was the gentle way he was petting the little dog. She guessed that no children in the world could ask for a more devoted uncle than Alec, no matter how he tried to put a stern face on it.

"So, Crystal," Alec said, his voice turning serious. "Cody was telling me that you're trying to find a way to keep your family's farm."

"We're trying." She couldn't suppress a smile. "With Tara's help, I think we might have found a way."

"Good." He didn't smile, but his eyes warmed. "At least Cody won't be too far away."

"You're okay with him leaving?"

"I'm his alpha," Alec said. "I knew he wasn't entirely happy here long before he did. There's something deep in him that wants to have his own home, his own den. He's a nester. I think with you and your farm, he's found what he's been looking for all his life." He hesitated. "By the way, do you have shifter heritage?"

"My mom is a shifter. I didn't inherit the tendency. She's a garter snake." She looked at him curiously. "Did Cody tell you that?"

"No, as your alpha, I can tell."

Your alpha. It was still a very odd thought. "But I'm not a shifter myself ... am I?"

"No. You aren't. But I can sense the tendency in you." He looked at her for a long moment with his winter-sky eyes. "Are you sure your family are snake shifters?"

"Yes, of course. I've seen my mom shift. Why?"

"Do you mind if I do something a little personal?"

Crystal's eyebrows rose, but she nodded. Alec leaned close to her and sniffed at her. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck went up. With Cody, it would have been erotic. With Alec, it was ever so slightly eerie, like having a large predator intrude on her personal space. It wasn't even fear she felt, so much as a feeling of overwhelming power. Then he pulled away and got up off the couch.

"Come with me," he said. It was more of a command than a request—not bossy or overbearing, but spoken with the casual assumption that he would be obeyed. And indeed, she was up off the couch before she'd even realized she was moving.

So that's what being an alpha was.

She followed Alec up the narrow, creaking stairs into an upstairs hallway, where she looked curiously around. Up here, the baby pictures stopped; instead there were old family photos in wooden frames. They seemed to be going back in time. The family photos downstairs were recent. Up here, candid color photos gave way to stiff, posed portraits in tones of faded sepia.

"Ah." Alec took one of those down off the wall and handed it to Crystal.

She took the framed picture carefully. This one was very old. It was a tintype of a severe-faced man with a high forehead and sharp, piercing eyes. Even though Crystal knew that he must have died long ago—this picture was over a century old, maybe more like a century and a half—those eyes still seemed to bore into her, as if his personality had been so fierce and dynamic that some vestige of him still lingered in the photo. In a weird way, he seemed to be looking directly at her. It was almost a relief to hand it back to Alec.

"That's my great-great-grandfather," Alec said. "Most of our family are bears, and have always been bears, but family rumor is that he was something else entirely. Something ... other."

"What do you mean, 'other'?" Crystal's gaze followed the photo as Alec hung it back up on the wall. She still couldn't shake the feeling that this long-dead stranger who was no kin of hers had looked at her across the years.

"No one is really sure." Alec wore a trace of a smile, and briefly, she glimpsed the similarity with the man in the old photo. It wasn't really physical; it was more the way they carried themselves, and something about the fierce directness of their gaze. "But there are those who say we have a little dragon in us."

"Dragons are a myth," Crystal said uncertainly. "They aren't real."

"Really? It seems that the human world used to think shifters weren't real either, before we came out of the shadows and revealed ourselves."

"Well, my family definitely aren't dragons. We're garter snakes. I'm pretty darn sure of that."

"You're garter snakes now," Alec said. "But as your alpha, I can sense a certain kinship between my clan and yours—and it's not from the bear side." That quiet little smile quirked the corner of his mouth again. "Your children, yours and Cody's, will be very special indeed, I think."