CHAPTER SEVEN
Clara pushed the huge barn door open, driving the four-wheeler into the cemented aisle, then backing it into one of the empty stalls and latching the door. A soft nicker caught her attention, followed by another gentle call from the opposite side of the small barn.
“I hear you,” she said, smiling as she opened the top half of the stall door so the gentle gelding could stick his head out and sniff her.
She did the same with the second stall, rubbing the mare’s face affectionately when she pushed her nose into Clara’s hand. She hadn’t mentioned the horses to Mason because he’d been agitated by the four-wheeler and by her improving the road. He had probably assumed she’d purchased the four-horse stock trailer to carry the four-wheeler by mistake, not realizing that she’d loaded the feed and four-wheeler in one section and the two horses on the other side of the divider. It turned out, with the right amount of money, she could have anything delivered, including two well-trained horses, enough feed for two months, and a new four-wheeler.
“I didn’t even have to touch my savings account,” she said to the gelding, which was the color of the sun with a black mane and tail.
The mare pushed against her again, vying for attention, her deep red coat so beautiful against her flaxen mane and tail.
She hadn’t been around horses since her last summer camp as a teen, but with the help of the internet, she remembered how to saddle and bridle a horse, and taking care of them wasn’t that hard. Once they settled into their new routine and the pastures dried out from the deluge, she would turn them loose to graze during the day, bringing them in at night when the predators that were known to roam the mountains would be out.
Even if Mason was the only bear in the area, there were sure to be mountain lions and other animals that were a threat to the pair. The fence was practically impenetrable, but with the windows and top half of the stalls being barred, the barn was by far the safest place for them. She only needed one horse, but when she’d heard these two were for sale as a pair, she decided to take the leap. They would be happier together, which was better for them.
The previous owner had sent a sheet with them, explaining what they ate for each meal and everything else she needed to know. Carefully measuring, she dished up their grain in the deep rubber bowls she’d purchased at the feed store then carried them to each stall. She’d already filled the corner of their stalls with enough hay to keep them busy all night, but twice a day, they would need the grain to ensure they were getting everything they needed from the hay and from foraging in the pastures.
“Smells like new tires,” she said of the bowl, wrinkling her nose as she set the food down for the gelding first.
He dove right in.
“I guess it can’t be that bad if Sunshine loves it,” she laughed.
She gave the other bowl to the mare, who was already nodding her head up and down in excitement.
“I’m hurrying, Rain,” she said. “I’m still figuring all this out.”
“Figuring all what out,” a familiar voice said from just outside the barn. “Listen, I just want to apologize for my behavior earlier.”
He stopped, staring at Clara, who had turned with the rubber bucket still in her arms while the impatient mare started eating.
“What the hell?” he said, running his hand through his hair. “Where did you get horses?”
“Same place I got the four-wheeler, the trailer, and the truck.”
“You bought horses?”
“Just two. I thought it would be nice to ride around the mountain. Plus, I have two, so you can ride with me.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I mean, unless you’re afraid.”
He stared at her, clearly shocked. Smiling at him, she set Rain’s food down and motioned him over.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” she asked, tilting her head up so she was looking into his eyes.
“They’re gorgeous, but what are you doing? Why would you even buy horses?”
“I’ve always wanted horses of my own, and now I have a place to put them. Do you like horses?”
“I do, but that’s not really the point.”
“What is the point?” she asked innocently.
Rain, already finished with her grain and bored with the hay, nudged Clara roughly to get her attention. Not expecting the sudden push from behind, Clara stumbled and fell forward.
She felt Mason’s arms wrap around her, stopping her fall and holding her close.
“Sorry about that,” she said, putting her hands on his chest to help her find her balance. “She’s a little pushy.”
“I see that,” he said, laughing softly. “I think you two are a good match.”
Clara shook her head, but she couldn’t help smiling.
“You’re right. We’re both a little stubborn, but I actually thought she’d be more your speed.”
“I’m not riding a horse.”
“Scared?”
“No. I don’t have time.”
“You have time to shower twice in one day,” she quipped, laughing at her own joke. “I’m actually sorry about that. I didn’t think about the mud until it was too late, and well, you pissed me off. You’re kind of bossy and a little difficult to deal with at times. I should have turned around and apologized instead of laughing.”
“You laughed?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
They were close, a little too close for Clara’s comfort. She could smell his body wash, and his own unique scent, fresh from the shower after she’d sprayed him with mud. His hair was dry now, and he was wearing clothes, but he hadn’t been out of the shower long, and he’d come directly to her house to apologize.
She felt a little guilty for laughing.
“I did. Not to your face, of course. But to myself. Because I accomplished so much today, and you acted like I messed everything up. I’m having a hard time getting a read on you, Mason Jones, and I’m starting to think you don’t want me here.”
Your move, tough guy, she thought triumphantly.
She could tell her words startled him, but he didn’t back down.
“You’re right,” he said, his hand still on her arm somehow. “When you first came here, I didn’t want you here. I had plans, and you being here threw those plans out of whack. But now that I’ve gotten to know you better, I feel badly for being so rude to you. You have every bit as much right to be here as I do, and I’m really sorry that we got off on the wrong foot. I was hoping I could make it up to you.”
She could feel the truth behind his words, but there was something more. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, and that bothered her. But he was being honest when he said that he hadn’t wanted her around and again when he admitted that he’d been rude. His revelation surprised her, but it was his hand on her arm and the unintended feeling the gesture caused that had her feeling tense.
Despite his claim that he didn’t have time, was he actually attracted to her? That was the missing link, and she was taken aback by that knowledge. You couldn’t fake attraction, no matter how hard you tried. Could the way he’d treated her from the start and his grumpy behavior since be because he was fighting his attraction?
“Make it up to me how?” she asked.
“Dinner, at my place?”
“You cook?” she teased.
“I do,” he said with a smile.
“I’m surprised, but alright.”
“Alright?” he said wryly. “Not the most enthusiastic ‘yes’ I’ve ever heard, but I guess I deserve that.”
She smiled.
“I’m sorry. Yes, yes, I will have dinner with you. Looking forward to it.”
“That’s more like it,” he said. “I’ll see you in an hour?”
“Sounds good,” she said.
She waited, giving him a chance to say whatever was on his mind. When he said nothing, she winked at him knowingly then grabbed a brand-new horse brush out of the gleaming bucket she’d just bought and started brushing Rain’s neck. She didn’t have to look over her shoulder to know that Mason was still standing there, amused by her reaction. Yes, she wanted to have dinner with him. But it was obvious that he was used to women falling all over themselves for a chance to spend time with him.
Not that she blamed them; he was handsome and rich. But Clara wasn’t that type of woman, and she wasn’t about to stroke his ego by letting on how happy she was that he’d invited her to dinner. Maybe it was a fresh start for them and a way for them to figure out how to coexist peacefully on the mountain together and even enjoy each other from time to time. She didn’t want to appear too eager or admit how being close to him made her feel a little unbalanced.
There were some things she preferred to keep to herself.
After getting both sides of Rain’s neck, she gently pushed the mare back so she could secure the heavy bars that let the air flow while still protecting them from critters. She could feel Mason’s eyes on her, his hunger nearly pulsating from his body as he watched her. Back still turned to him, she smiled and looked over her shoulder.
“Dinner isn’t going to cook itself,” she teased. “I’ll be there as soon as I’m done to help you finish up.”
He chuckled and shook his head.
“You are something else,” he muttered then shook his head again and left.
She watched him walk away until he disappeared around the corner, admiring the way he moved as he did, then she turned back to Sunshine and rested her cheek on the horse’s neck while she brushed.
“Man, he’s gorgeous,” she said to the horse, which nickered at her softly.
She patted Sunshine on the neck and eased the top door closed.
“I’ll see you two in the morning,” she said, closing the outer door to the barn and making sure it was secure.
She decided to take the four-wheeler up to the house so she could ride it to Mason’s house. She didn’t mind walking there, but it would be dark before she left, and the four-wheeler was the fastest and safest way to travel in the dark. The bright headlamps and the built-in horn would help deter any animal not charmed by her presence, keeping her as safe as possible in the dark, wild woods.
She hurried up the path to the cabin, head spinning with plans to make the winter tolerable. On the mountain, the first snowfall would come long before winter, and she only had the end of spring and all of summer to prepare. Once fall hit, they would be cut off from the outside world for weeks at a time, and she needed to be prepared. She was already keeping track of how much hay and grain the horses went through every day so she could figure out how much they would need to last them all winter.
“Now, I just need to convince Mason he wants to help me stack all that hay in the lofts,” she laughed to herself, grabbing a towel and heading into the small bathroom off the master bedroom.
She took her time in the shower, enjoying the feel of the warm water on her skin, washing away the mud and the aches of the day. After working from sunup until just before sunset, Clara was ready to unwind and enjoy herself. Talking to herself got old, and if being neighbors was going to work, she was going to have to get to know Mason better.
“Maybe, he’ll share his secret,” she laughed, turning off the shower and wrapping a towel around her.
Fat chance, she thought. Mason wasn’t going to tell her unless he had to. She didn’t have to know him long to know that he preferred to keep his personal life private.
“Some people would rather build a wall than a bridge,” she heard her grandmother say, as she had so many times.
Clara spun, looking around the room. Even though she knew her grandmother was long gone, her voice had sounded so real. It was as if she was right there with Clara in the tiny bathroom. But she knew it wasn’t real, and the pain of her grandmother’s death washed over her as violently as it had when Coral Finch had taken her last breath.
Clara bit back tears, forcing herself to focus on Mason and their impending dinner date. It was a night to look toward the future, not the past. Her life was so different than it was just a week before, and now that everything was going better. She had a lot to look forward to; in just a few short days, she’d found her groove. The city and the life she’d had there felt so distant, it was like she’d imagined them. She was right where she was meant to be; she just knew it.
She took a deep breath, letting it out and closing her eyes. You’ve got this, she thought. The universe wants you to be happy, and this is what your happy looks like.
She took a few more moments to center herself, then she opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in the old mirror. The silver was showing around the edges, and the middle had a weird, double-exposure quality to it. She ignored it while she brushed her long, blonde hair out, frowning at the pastel streaks that were already in need of a touch up. That was one thing she couldn’t get done on the mountain, and she wasn’t sure if the woman who ran a salon out of her home in Little Hope could maintain the colors the way her salon in Seattle had.
Pursing her lips together, she regarded the inch of each strand that lacked color.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, but she couldn’t let it go.
No matter how she styled her hair, her pale blonde roots would show at the base of each of the sporadic streaks that accented her hair.
Blowing air up and out so that it blew her bangs off her forehead, her shoulders slumped and she considered her options. Tomorrow, she would go to Keri’s Salon and ask about touchups. If Keri couldn’t do it, she would have to come up with another plan.
Satisfied for now, she finished getting dressed, strapping on a pair of brown sandals and tucking her hair behind her ears. She was as ready as she was going to get, and her stomach was starting to growl.
She checked her watch and realized that it had been almost forty-five minutes since Mason had left her in the barn. She had fifteen minutes to get over to his house, which was plenty of time on the four-wheeler.
She thought about grabbing her purse then thought better of it. There was no reason for her to take it; it wasn’t like she needed anything out of it. Empty handed, she headed for the door, the hard soles of her sandals clicking on the wood floors.
Movement on the side table near the door caught her eye.
“That’s not where I left you,” she said to the book, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head. “I am not casting a love spell on him.”
The book didn’t budge; already open to a specific page, an eerie gold light was highlighting a certain spell.
Exasperated, she walked up to the book, looked the spell over, then shook her head again.
“My hair is fine,” she said. “Wait, why am I telling that to a book?”
Feeling foolish, she grabbed the book in her arms, but the pages wouldn’t close and the book felt like it weighed fifty times what it normally did.
“Stop it. I don’t have time for this.”
The book flew out of her hands and slammed itself back onto the table top with a loud bang. She took a deep, angry breath, letting it out in a huff and grabbing the book again.
“I’m not playing this game with you.”
This time, the book got so heavy that Clara nearly buckled under the weight of it. She pulled upward, and suddenly, the book was light as air. The force of her tugging pulled the book up too fast, slapping her in the face and knocking her backward. She sat down hard, scowling at the book, which landed on her lap, still opened to the same page.
She was breathing hard, trying to catch her breath as she fought to control her anger.
“Fine,” she said angrily. “Let’s get this over with.”
Using her finger to follow along, she read the incantation, concentrating with all her might on the way her hair had looked fresh from the salon. When she finished reading the three short lines, there was an audible pop and a blast of wind that came out of nowhere and blew her hair away from her face.
“Whoa,” she said as the book flew out of her lap and back onto the shelf.
She got up from the floor, rushing to the bathroom mirror to look at her hair, a wide smile on her face despite being annoyed at the pushy book. The spell had only taken a few minutes of her time, leaving her plenty of time to get over to Mason’s house.
She skidded to a stop when she caught her reflection a few steps into the bathroom.
“No, no, no,” she shouted, aghast at her reflection. “No!”
Staring back at her was her face, and her honey colored hazel eyes. But instead of light blonde with streaks of pastel artfully blended in, her hair was strawberry blonde. Well, more strawberry than blonde. Her hair was red—perfectly matched to her skin tone, natural looking light red.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. This isn’t what I was trying to do.”
She groaned, grabbing her brush and putting it up into a pony tail, as if that would distract from the fact that her hair was red.
How am I going to explain it to Mason? Clara wondered frantically, kicking herself for letting the book push her into a rushed spell. She didn’t have time to fix it, and as much as she wished she could just undo the spell, she knew that trying it again could lead to another disaster worse than the one that was already staring her in the face.
She was shaking, part of her angry at this insane turn of events that she would have to explain away. When laughter bubbled out of her throat, she was surprised.
“Maybe he won’t notice,” she said to her reflection, still laughing.
But she knew he would.
Defiant, she tilted her chin, squared her shoulders and decided that she didn’t care. Her hair looked good, the soft color flattering. It was noticeable, but not as bold as a dark or bright red would have been.
“It’ll be alright,” she said, still refusing to let something so small ruin her evening.
She stormed out of the cabin with purpose, giving the book the side eye as she walked past the shelf. The book didn’t react, still sitting in its rightful place on the shelf as if nothing had happened.
“You’re going back in the box when I get back,” she said, but she knew she didn’t mean it.
Pain in the ass or not, the book was her only connection to her magical powers. There was no one else to guide her, and aside from a few talents she’d had for years that she didn’t realize were magic, she had a lot to learn about being a witch. Even if the book would’ve allowed her to put it back in the lock box, Clara didn’t have the heart to do it. It just meant too much to her.
She walked out of the house, locking the door as she always did to keep any mischievous critters out of her cabin when she was gone.
She got onto the four-wheeler and rode it down the smooth road between her home and Mason’s. Her hard work had paid off, and the warm sun and near constant breeze had already dried the dirt beneath her tires. The road was nearly perfect, with only a few ruts that she would work on over the course of the next few days.
By the end of her first week on the mountain, the road would be passable, making it more pleasant for the people who would eventually come to live on their quiet mountain. She would miss having Mason and the mountain all to herself, but a little community was exactly what she needed to chase away the loneliness that extended solitude would bring.
The fact that the members of the community would have their own little bit of magic was a plus. She didn’t fear revealing her status as a witch to a bunch of werebears. Maybe not right away, but eventually, she would be able to trust them enough to reveal her secret, and they would share theirs, not realizing that Clara already knew.
A soft smile tilted her lips at the thought of them revealing what she had known since the other night when Mason had accidentally revealed himself. If only he knew that she knew. Would he be so gruff? Would he embrace her presence?
His massive, two-story cabin loomed, so huge yet somehow blending into the landscape so perfectly it was almost like it belonged there. She couldn’t wait to see the inside and enjoy a nice hot meal with a nice, hot man.
Mason met her at the door, arching an eyebrow at her hair, but saying nothing. She parked in front of the door, and he held out his hand to help her off the four-wheeler.
“Thank you,” she said, taking his hand.
“You’re welcome,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “I thought you were never going to get here, but it was worth the wait.”
Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt almost weightless as he led her up the stairs and opened the front door.
If his greeting was any indication, dinner was going to be everything she anticipated and more.