You’ve probably heard it before but there’s something therapeutic about cooking. There was a certain joy to be discovered in creating something exquisite from items that, on their own and without some magic touch, were quite ordinary.
I don’t always do it for therapy but my life lately has been full of things that set my nerves on the edge. All that nervous energy has been channeling itself out of my system through hours I’ve spent cooped up in my kitchen, at home or in the bakeshop I inherited from my mother, stirring wonders both in the pot and in the oven.
Which is why on this late Friday morning, I’d left a wonderful man in my bed, slipped on a robe over my cotton nightie and padded down barefoot to the kitchen to get started on a mushroom-and-meat cannelloni recipe I wrote up the night before.
I took out the glass dish from the oven and carefully peeled the foil cover off, the steam wafting up to my face and filling the room with the juicy scent of tomatoes and earthy notes of cremini mushrooms.
“That looks and smells heavenly,” a husky male voice said behind me as a muscular arm slinked around my waist and warm lips brushed against the nape of my neck.
I smiled and tossed the oven-mitts aside before turning around in Jack’s arms.
“You’re just in time,” I said before pressing a brief kiss on his chin. “It’s all done and ready for you to take home.”
Jack tilted his head and laughed softly. “I’m getting a little too spoiled with these home-cooked meals, Ollie, but I’m not going to complain. I love your food as much as I love spending time with you.”
My eyes fluttered close as Jack leaned down to kiss me slowly and sweetly.
Yes, Jack Whitfield, the same guy I’d put aside during our first date to scramble to Tristan’s rescue. He’d stayed away after sensing I was involved with Tristan and at that time he’d been right. I thought there was something there too with the handsome, charismatic immortal who was sweeping me off my feet and playing my hero several times but the day after the disastrous opening of the Mansion, after we survived a were-demon invasion and made passionate love twice, he withdrew from me. He emerged from his meeting with Devon looking somber and with all that he had to deal with at that time, I could understand why but I didn’t expect him to never call me again after he drove me home later that day. He didn’t even get out of his car—just gruffly asked if I was feeling better as I’d gotten banged up the night before and then told me to call him if anything bothered me.
I thought I’d let him off the hook at that time, attributing his odd behavior to stress but it’s been almost a month since then. When I didn’t hear from him after a week, I decided I knew the answer and it was one that stung like hell.
Let me back up here and give you a little idea about Tristan Black.
He came to Willow over a month ago after purchasing the Ruddard Mansion and turning it into a luxurious bed and breakfast. Other than being a wealthy entrepreneur, he is also a powerful, supernatural being accompanied by an odd gang of mixed supernaturals made up of two female vampires, Irina and Arabella, Cage the werewolf and whatever Stigger is. The first time I ran into him he was buck naked having sex with a crazy demon-woman who tried to attack me. That should’ve really been enough reason for me to stay away from him other than the obvious endangerment of my life getting involved in otherworldly business.
I knew he was going to break my heart. He made no pretenses about wanting me nor did he deny his wandering tendencies. I walked in on him playing saddle with a vampire bar-owner after he came to her to further ‘investigate’ the appearance of the were-demons. I also got some bitching from the gorgeous event-planner he had also slept with in the past.
So yeah, I had enough reasons to convince myself that he was bad news. And for a while, I was pretty good at keeping my distance but the man could kiss like his life depended on it. He saved my life a few times, cared for me like I was something precious and admitted to me that there was something between us he wasn’t quite used to but was prepared to explore. By the end of it, I had softened up, let my guard down and let him in.
It felt like swallowing acid but I finally acknowledged to myself that he came to take what he wanted from me and when he had, he decided it was high time to move on. And move on he did.
I had felt like marching up to the Mansion with my shotgun but I told myself that despite everything, I had some self-respect left. I was an adult and had to live with my decision, no matter how poor it was. I resolved to stay away, painfully dodging people asking me about him after we went to the Mansion’s opening party together and gave the impression that we were dating.
I called Jack to see if he wanted to go out for dinner again with me to make up for last time. I made dinner at home and he came with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine. He didn’t bring up Tristan at all.
It was an amazing second date. After dinner, we pushed my small boat out to the lake which my parents’ sprawling two-story country house overlooked and slowly rowed around while the sun set. He walked me back to the house and as we stood by my front porch, he took my hand and kissed me.
Several more dates followed after that. Jack worked as a firefighter and lived next town in Hillside and we drove back and forth to spend time together.
It was easy being with Jack. He’s quite hunky with his well-built body and rugged looks and has an easy-going, down-to-earth nature. He made me laugh. He was always a sweet and nice guy. He never pushed me to take things to the next level and I surely wasn’t in a hurry. Best of all, he was normal—until that night we were cuddled in my couch while a thunderstorm roared outside and he finally told me that he was a werewolf.
I had jumped away from him as fast as I could, reeling back in shock. I haven’t had to talk about anything supernatural since that day of the brunch at the Mansion and hearing it come from someone I’d thought of as perfectly normal doubled the shock.
He’d sighed and smiled at me wryly.
“Please don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about,” he had said, his eyes showing his doubt. “You’ve been in the company of Tristan Black and his friends. I assume you know what kind of people they are.”
The supernatural kind—of course, I knew. I just wasn’t expecting that he did as well.
“I’m from a small pack in Hillside,” he had continued. “We knew it wasn’t good news when we heard that Tristan Black was setting up shop here in Willow. The otherworldly traffic in the area was already increasing more than we were comfortable with and his presence was the last thing we needed.”
I hadn’t been sure what to say next.
Obviously, Jack knew what he was talking about but I wasn’t sure I was at liberty to confirm or deny what he thought I knew about Tristan’s otherworldly business.
I had taken a deep breath and looked Jack in the eye. “How do you know all of this about Tristan, assuming you’re right?”
He’d smirked and sat back in the couch. “Everyone in the supernatural world knows of Tristan Black. No one really knows a lot about him but we know enough to be careful. Especially right now. When I saw him drop you off that morning after our date, I debated whether or not I should tell you right then and there but you seemed to know what was going on under the surface. I stayed away because he made that very clear to me in my head when he told me off without letting you hear it.”
“Then why are you here with me right now?” I’d asked, unable to stop myself.
He’d smiled tenderly at me. “Because I think you’re worth it, Ollie. I don’t really know what Tristan means to you but I’m willing to take my chances.”
I didn’t press it further.
I was happy with that answer and as far as I was concerned, Tristan was out of my life.
Jack’s admission of his supernatural side dampened my enthusiasm about the relationship a bit but not once had I been poisoned, thrashed around or stalked by demons in the last few weeks we’ve been spending time together so I decided to let it go.
It was easy to forget all of that about him because Jack seemed as normal a boyfriend as one could possibly be—taking me out to dates, bringing me flowers, coming over for movie nights and spending time with me and my friends. His being a werewolf had not once come up.
And sure the attraction wasn’t as overpowering as it had been with Tristan but Jack was so easy to like and I naturally adored him. I haven’t slept with him because after the Tristan fiasco, I decided I should probably be a little bit more careful next time, but we’ve progressed to snuggling in bed now, with him working graveyard shifts lately. After he got off at five in the morning, he would come by and climb into my bed and we’d snuggle the rest of the early morning away until I needed to head out for the bakeshop.
I had today off so we stayed in bed longer, just talking and watching the morning news.
“Are you still going with Patrick and Will to the lake this afternoon?” Jack asked as he pulled away.
I nodded and smiled. “Will’s got a new, snazzy boat and wants to show it off. They wanted you to come but I told them you had to work.”
“Tell them I’ll go next time, I promise,” he said with a grin before grabbing his dark blue plaid shirt that he’d draped over the back of one of the dining chairs. He shrugged it on over his white undershirt and I stepped closer to help him button it up. “We can go fishing this weekend if you’d like.”
“I have to work this Sunday because Mary Anne needs it off but we can go after we close,” I told him as I took out a smaller glass dish from the cupboard and transferred half of the cannelloni to it. “There’s plenty of sunshine right now. I’ll try to leave early but we should be fine.”
I packed up his food while he put his boots back on and I stood by the door to watch him drive off.
I showered quickly and slipped into a new bathing suit I bought for the summer—a dark brown two-piece held together with a gold string. It covered my important parts sufficiently but revealed just enough to be flattering.
I wore denim cut-offs and a loose, white tank top over it and finished the outfit with rubber flip-flops.
I was just twisting my waist-length, honey-brown hair into a loose bun when I heard a knock on the door.
Maybe Jack had forgotten something.
I opened the door and found Devon standing out on my front porch, looking every bit like the fair angel that he is, casually dressed in faded jeans and a sky blue shirt.
My heart skipped a beat.
His shimmering blue-green eyes scanned me up and down briefly before he smiled in appreciation.
“Ollie. You look great. I haven’t seen you in a while,” he said in a friendly tone that instantly put me at ease despite my surprise.
The last time I saw him was more than three weeks ago, when he pulled Tristan into the Mansion that morning of the brunch.
I tipped him a small smile and leaned over to give him a quick hug. He smelled good. “Hey, Devon. It’s good to see you. What brings you here today?”
He looked around and past me as if checking before he shrugged. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I would’ve visited sooner but things have been a little busy. Is this a good time?”
“Sure,” I said, stepping out to the porch. “I was just about to water my garden. Would you mind terribly if we talked outside?”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Not at all.”
He followed me to the side of the house where I had my vegetable garden. It had lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, rhubarb, turnips and potatoes growing in it.
I watched Devon in the corner of my eye as I turned the tap on and poised my garden hose over the plants and he had a look to him that told me he was here for more than just a random check.
He’s a Stellar—warrior angels that police the coexistence of all supernaturals with humans, ensuring that it remained peaceful and a secret. I met him after the first were-demon attack in town and since then he’d been on Tristan’s trail to make sure that no one else got hurt with all of the otherworldly activity Tristan’s presence stirred here in Willow, including me.
“What’s going on?” I asked casually although I turned to look him directly in the eye. “There must be a reason you’re here today when things are obviously busy.”
He smiled although it seemed strained. “I did want to see how you’re doing, Ollie. That’s not an excuse.”
I tilted my head. “But there’s something more, isn’t there?”
He shoved his hands into his pocket and squinted up at the sky. “Yes, you’re right. I’m here to see you about Jack as well. I’ve been made aware that you’ve been spending quite some time with him in the last few weeks. I’m assuming he’s told you about himself.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Devon. I know you’ve got a job to protect innocent humans but I didn’t realize you had to keep tabs on my love life specifically. First, Tristan. Now, Jack.”
Devon winced. “Well, you seem to be attracting the supernatural kind. I’m only looking out for you, Ollie.”
I had started out suspicious of the Stellars but I’ve grown very fond of Devon. He was that straight as a arrow kind of person, playing by the rules all the time. But he showed a lot of genuine concern for those whose welfare he was responsible for, including myself.
I smiled in spite of myself and turned off the tap, dropping the hose to the ground.
I walked up to him. “I know. I appreciate it. Jack’s a nice guy. He really is.”
He studied me for a full minute before sighing in resignation. “He’s decent. Him and his pack have lived very peacefully in Hillside. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into again.”
My smile dimmed. “He’s no Tristan if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Ollie,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see that his eyes were serious. “About Tristan—”
“I know, I know. Diana told me you wanted to make sure he remembered the rules,” I interjected before he could blurt out something sympathetic that would just remind me of my many stupid mistakes. “And I’m glad you did because I would like him to stay as far away from me as possible.”
I fought the tears that lined my eyes and I looked away before Devon could see them.
I had not once shed a single tear after what happened with Tristan. I’d refused to, telling myself he didn’t deserve it. I wasn’t going to start now.
“Come here,” Devon said and before I knew what he meant, he gathered me in his arms for a hug.
I hugged him back, burying my face in his shirt.
“There’s a lot of things going on right now that you’re better off not knowing,” he murmured to me, patting my back gently. “It’s for your own good, Ollie.”
I pulled away to ask what he was talking about but I reminded myself of another resolution I made—keep out of otherworldly business.
“You’re right,” I told him as I stepped away and gazed down at my plants. “I’m better off not knowing more than I already do. My life has been quite nice and peaceful in the last few weeks. I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Would you like me to no longer visit you then?” he asked uncertainly.
I looked at him and grinned. “Don’t be silly. I’d love to have you visit—as long as it’s not to tell me who I should and shouldn’t be dating.”
He laughed a little. “I’ll do my best to stay out of it but if you do need me for anything, just call me.”
I raised a brow in amusement. “Call you? Like on the phone? Is it 1-800-ANGEL?”
He laughed a little bit more and it cheered me up. Devon was probably one of the most serious people I’ve ever known. HIs eyes crinkled when he laughed and his pale blond hair caught the sunlight as it brushed his forehead.
“We don’t have a hotline, unfortunately,” he said. “Just call my name. I can usually pick it up without any trouble.”
My eyes widened. “And you’ll magically appear? Like a real guardian angel?”
“In a way, but more than anything, I’m your friend, Ollie,” he said, some seriousness returning in his tone. “With or without Tristan in the picture, I want to make sure you’re okay.”
I smiled at him broadly. “If you’re not careful, Devon, I’ll think you have a crush on me.”
It was supposed to be a joke but I regretted it the moment it came out of my wayward mouth.
His eyes flickered with what I was certain was guilt but he quickly recovered and gave me a pained smile. “Didn’t I say you’ve been attracting the supernatural kind?”
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, that would correct this sudden turn of events but Devon just looked me with honest eyes that I rested my case.
“Don’t think about it too hard, Ollie,” he finally said with a good-natured smile, clapping me on the shoulder gently. “I have to get going. Let me know if you need me.”
I glanced down at my feet in an effort to think of something to say to him but when I looked up after a second, he was gone.
“Great. Just great,” I muttered as I looked around my now-empty yard.
Devon’s an angel and God knows he’s done what he could to protect me from the consequences of my dabbling in the supernatural but to know how he was starting to feel about me stirred that restlessness inside me again—the same restlessness I’ve managed to keep a lid on since I swore off Tristan.
I decided to take Devon’s advice and not think about it too hard.
After watering my garden and the planters around the house, I went back inside to pack up my straw beach tote with some essentials. I packed the rest of the cannelloni and filled a cooler bag with the mini club sandwiches I made the night before along with an assortment of tarts and cookies.
With my beach tote on one arm and the cooler bag on another, I grabbed a straw fedora on my way out and dumped the stuff on the wooden bench by the front lawn where I was going to wait for Will and Patrick to arrive with the boat.
My parents were one of the lucky few who had been able to afford one of the bigger waterfront lots that surrounded the massive lake that was Willow’s main tourist attraction. They built their house here about thirty years ago, just right after they moved into town where my father came to run the operations of the flour mill opened by the richest person in Willow back then—Albert Ruddard who owned the Ruddard Mansion, the only other waterfront house along the lake which Tristan had bought to convert to a luxury bed and breakfast.
I wasn’t sure why no one else built around the lake but ours and the Ruddards’ property already took up about half of the waterfront real-estate even though we were on the opposite sides of the lake. The rest was taken up by the golf course right next to a thickly wooded area at the edge of the Ruddard property, a state-protected natural park and the public beach where tourists flocked during the warmer season from all over the prairies.
To use the public dock today in the middle of summer was going to be a bit of a nightmare. I’ve already had several requests from people I knew asking if they could use the boat launch down my private strip of the beach. I’d only let one or two people do it while I was home, worried that anything supernatural may show up unannounced as they had been over three weeks ago.
So far so good. Devon didn’t count because he was angel and he didn’t pose any threat to regular humans.
I walked down to the end of the wooden dock and stood there watching the horizon, enjoying the warm sun and clear blue skies. The wind was mostly a cool, refreshing breeze and the water sparkled.
My smiled wilted a bit when my gaze caught sight of a gleaming mansion at the other end of the lake. It appeared very small at this distance but it was all that I needed to remind me of everything I didn’t want to think about.
A familiar ache unfurled in my gut as I remembered all of my memories with Tristan in that massive house, especially those intimate, early morning hours we spent in one of the bedrooms after the were-demon attack.
I haven’t once said his name in my head since that last day I saw him in fear he would hear me thinking about him. Tristan could communicate telepathically and he admitted to having an uncanny sense of my thoughts and emotions. I had hoped he wouldn’t be listening in to my thoughts because I didn’t want him to know how it hurt and so far the only voice in my head had been mine.
“It’s better this way,” I whispered to no one as I tore my gaze away from the mansion at the sound of a truck coming.
I looked up and saw Will’s black pick-up truck pull into the driveway, trailing a huge, gleaming red and gold boat behind him.
I grinned.
It was time to forget a silly heartbreak and have some fun.
***
Patrick is one of my best friends in the world. He managed the bakeshop with me and Mary Anne as they had both worked for my mother who had started the bakeshop shortly after she and my father moved to Willow.
I took over after she died when my twin brother Jesse and I were only eighteen. Jesse went to university in California where he still resides and works and I stayed, expanding our menus and branching out to special-orders for events and occasions.
I mostly come in now and then to help out when we were understaffed or if I have new recipes to do but Mary Anne handled all the books and Patrick manned the kitchen operations. We have a staff of ten people, six full-time and four part-time.
We weren’t a very big business but we’re well-established as a popular bakeshop and café to both locals and tourists.
Throughout all the changes and expansions in the last ten years or so, Patrick and Mary Anne have been my mentors and cheerleading squad.
Mary Anne has a teenage son and Patrick’s been dating Will who owned a large convenience store in Hillside for nearly five years now.
They’re all my self-appointed guardians which is what I reminded myself of as Patrick plucked the half-empty can of beer from my hand.
“No more liquor for you, missy,” he said as he handed me a can of Dr. Pepper instead. “You’re fizzing more than a can of soda.”
I laughed and leaned back in my seat, lifting my face to the sun. “I believe you’re accusing me of being a bubbly drunk. I’m not, I swear.”
Patrick snorted when I lifted my legs and propped them up on his lap as he sat opposite me in the two front seats by the bow.
“We taught you a lot of things but building a higher tolerance for alcohol was definitely not one of them,” he said as he squeezed my flip-flopped feet. “I don’t imagine you’d be going with us for a few more drinks at Kenny’s then.”
“I can go!” I protested, twisting my upper body around to wave at Hailey who was on the other side of the windscreen with her boyfriend, Trent, and Will who was steering the speedboat around.
“We’re going dancing later, aren’t we?” I hollered at her over the pop-country music blaring out of the speakers all around the boat. “Bethany is meeting us there too, right?”
Hailey hung on to her hot pink straw hat as strong gust of wind blew by and leaned over. “I’m all for it if you all are.”
“Totally!” I told Hailey as I scrambled to get up, yelping as I tilted dangerously towards the edge of the boat.
Patrick grabbed my arm and pulled me back down with a roll of his eyes. “That is if you make it. You had three beers and you’re teetering all over.”
I giggled and shook my head. “I’m just having a good time, Pat! Relax! I’m good!”
“Hey, Ollie!” Will called out. “Isn’t that your ex-boyfriend over there?”
I turned to where he was pointing and my eyes narrowed when I saw the Mansion. I didn’t realize Will had been coasting towards Moon Thief Bay which provided a nice, private pocket of beach for the Ruddard mansion.
I spotted a blond head peeking from behind the railing of a small, third-story balcony that I knew was one of the more luxurious suites in the Mansion.
I pulled myself up to stand and quickly spotted nearly two identical dark heads with Tristan, their hair long and lush and bobbing around animatedly as the two brunettes laughed at something he said.
“Will, shut up!” I heard Patrick snap at him but I ignored them.
My mood darkened in seconds, all traces of my drunken giddiness fizzing out.
My eyes grew hot with what I suspected were tears but I turned away and closed them before I started breaking down in sobs in front of all of my friends.
“He’s not that cute, Ollie!” Hailey yelled smugly. “Jack’s so much sexier!”
Of course, I knew they were lying for my sake. They were my friends. They’d take my side even if they didn’t really know what happened. They just knew that I did not want to talk about Tristan at all.
“We’ll keep going, Ollie,” Will said as he steered the boat away from the bay. “Sorry, I just thought I’d see how the Mansion looked like from the water.”
I didn’t say anything. I just turned to them and flashed them a big, cheerful grin.
“Hey, look!” Trent said in an alarmed voice as he pointed to something in the water just a little further along the bay. “Someone fell into the water!”
I leaned forward to squint at what looked like a small canoe where a girl, somewhere in her early teens, was shaking her head and looking around hysterically.
They were about ten yards away and I could spy some frantic splashing of water a few feet from the canoe.
My eyes grew very warm and suddenly a scene flashed before my eyes—a young boy in red board shorts, twisting wildly under the water and I could hear a girl sobbing and screaming for someone named Rex.
“Her brother’s caught on something,” I suddenly said, my focus and senses sharpening so suddenly the glare of the sunlight in the water seemed to fill my vision.
I dropped the can of pop and before I knew what I was doing, I dived into the water.
My first observation was that the water didn’t seem cool as I expected it to be. It was actually quite hot and as my vision adjusted in the hazy green water of the lake, I looked down and saw a faint glow from the edges of my body.
Mesmerized more than terrified, I held my hand in front of me and stared at the faint orange glow that seemed to be seeping out of my skin.
It didn’t feel any different except for the warmth I could feel spreading throughout me.
I caught a movement in the corner of my eye, drawing me back to reality.
I grew up spending summers in the lake but I’ve never gotten good at keeping my eyes open under water. This time though, everything stood out vividly including the red shorts the boy was wearing.
I surged through and in no time at all, I got close enough to see that a long, slimy green arm was clutching at his leg, its claw-like hands scaly and tipped with sharp, pointy nails.
I looked down to see what it was but all I could see was a jagged form that had the shape and texture of a rock but its scaly green and black accents told me it was only pretending to be a rock.
The boy’s face was contorted in panic and his eyes were squeezed shut as he flailed his arms around uselessly, hoping to push himself up to surface.
I grabbed him by the elbow and kicked as hard as I could on the arm that was holding him down. I winced as sharp pain pricked different parts of my bare foot. The skin was booby-trapped with little jagged ridges.
Pushing my body down, I grabbed the hand that was gripping the boy’s ankles and pried the fingers off with all my might.
I watched as the glow around my hands became more vibrant, the heat in them intensifying, and the arm jerked away and lost grip of the boy’s ankle.
Seizing my chance, I grabbed one leg of the boy’s shorts, aware that my touch might burn him as it seemed to have done to that arm, and yanked him up, paddling my feet hard to propel us back up to the surface.
I pushed him towards the silhouette of the canoe’s bottom and heard the break in the water’s surface just as an arm grabbed my left foot.
I shoved the boy up with all my might until I saw him halfway up through the surface before turning back around to stare at a terrifying face of a lizard-like creature with neon-green eyes.
It had the shape of a man except for the abnormally long arms and limbs and the scaly, reptilian skin.
I lifted my right foot and kicked it in the head and I pursed my lips together to keep myself from screaming as pain prickled the sole of that foot like needles driving in.
The pressure of the water and my shrinking supply of oxygen were clouding my focus and I twisted around with all my might to loosen my ankle free.
It reached forward with its other hand and I threw my weight to one side to avoid its grasp but its sharp claw-like hands grazed my right leg and scraped some skin off my shin.
Pain sprang from that leg and I gasped before I could stop myself, swallowing gulps of water.
I was going to die, dammit.
Panic finally started to rise inside me but I turned at the dull sound of weight dropping into the water. When the bubbles cleared, I saw a familiar form with his tanned skin and dark hair swimming towards me.
Stigger!
I watched as he surged towards me, noticing the lake monster, and suddenly reaching an arm out.
I shook my head to warn him that the skin was sharp and scaly but I froze when I saw his arm morph into a large, pincer-like form that bit into the monster’s arm, snapping it in half.
I heard a dull howl as the grip on my ankle loosened and the creature stumbled back into the depths and shadows of the bottom of the lake.
Stigger’s hand morphed back into its normal shape and he grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me to the surface just as my lungs started to really hurt.
I gulped in some air frantically as my head broke through the surface and let Stigger drag me behind him until we finally hit the shore.
I collapsed on my back, coughing some water out as I wiped my face and eyes.
After catching my breath and feeling the air return to my lungs normally again, I opened my eyes as I heard some commotion nearing.
“Miss Ollie, are you okay?” I heard Stigger ask and I found him sitting beside me, peering at me in concern.
I nodded and looked up as I heard more voices.
“Did Little Mermaid lose her voice?” a female voice said with a snort and as my vision adjusted against the glare of the sun shining directly down on me, I made out a female form standing over me with two other people.
Two dark heads with long, brown hair and between them a tall figure with a blond head I would recognize anywhere.
“Ollie,” Tristan said as he bent down to look at me, his expression etched with concern.
For a second, my heart rejoiced at the indication that he cared but as the other female giggled, seemingly amused by my near-death experience, I remembered all that the little sign of concern couldn’t outweigh.
I was lying on the Mansion’s shore staring right up at the man I loathed, surrounded by his two newest babes.
I pulled myself up to a sitting position, bracing my feet to support my weight and nearly stumbling forward when pain dug into the soles.
I knew it the moment he touched me—his arms grabbed my elbows to steady me—and I rebelliously shook him away, staggering towards Stigger who caught me easily.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” I hissed at Tristan, my eyes narrowing.
His eyes, the color of blue flames, showed no other emotion but irritation.
“You’re bleeding, dammit,” he said, pointing to my leg. I looked down and saw two angry red slashes on my shin and some more blood staining the sand I was standing on.
“Do you know this girl, Tristan?” one of the women asked and I glanced at her and her other cohort and realized that they looked exactly alike.
Well, what do you know? Tristan’s screwing twins. Why wasn’t I surprised?
“No, he doesn’t,” I snapped at them. “He won’t know your names either when he’s done screwing your brains out.”
I saw the instant darkening of Tristan’s eyes and the flush that spread across his cheeks but I enjoyed the reaction and felt more emboldened by it. “Isn’t that right, Tristan?”
“Miss Ollie, your friends are coming,” Stigger said and I glanced over my shoulder and saw Will easing the boat towards the Mansion’s dock.
I pursed my lips to fight the pain on my feet as I straightened up and supported my weight all on my own. I turned to Stigger. “You know what we both saw down there.”
I glared at Tristan. “Deal with it.”
He looked me up and down slowly and my cheeks flamed at the realization that I was in my two-piece but I refused to let his usual tactics affect me the way they did.
“Goodbye, Tristan,” I said curtly before limping to the dock where my friends were waiting for me.
Patrick looked horrified when he saw me and he hopped off the boat and wrapped a towel around me.
They helped me back up into boat and Hailey sat me down while she mended my cuts with a first-aid kit.
I tucked the towel under my chin as I listened to them tell me about the boy I saved and his sister who hauled him back up into the canoe. Patrick made sure the older girl was calm enough to row back to the beach before they headed out to look for me. I was an excellent swimmer having grown up next to a lake but no one expected me to resurface all scratched and scraped.
I mumbled something out about rocks but they were too nervous and jumpy to pry for exact details. Patrick kept yelling at Will for this stupid idea and Hailey was snapping at Trent to stop telling her what to do because she’d taken first aid training, blah, blah, blah.
The world around me floated away as I curled in my seat and remembered every second I spent under water, struggling for my life.
I remembered the monstrous creature clearly, the inexplicable glow of my body and Stigger’s shape-shifting talents. I shuddered the last of the fear away and realized that what shook me the most wasn’t my close call with death.
It was Tristan and how one touch from him was enough to shatter the walls I’d erected around myself since that day he broke my heart.