ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (243 page)

“In that huge mug?  I don’t see how you can taste it.”  She smiled playfully. 

Forrest returned her smile, amazed at how easy they were around each other.  Virtual strangers, yet they were joking about coffee.  It was better than a tension filled room he supposed. 

“You should call your insurance company.” 

“Oh, yeah…I should.”  Her slight frown seemed out of place. 

“What’s wrong?”

Rain shrugged lightly.  “Not very good with life matters.” 

“Oh.”  Forrest wasn’t sure what she meant, and didn’t have time to ponder it.  A sound entered the room which made him curse softly.  Most don’t pay attention to the gentle, almost indecipherable hum which comes from electricity running through a home; but once it cuts off there is a sound and then an odd silence follows. 

“Damn power just went out.” 

“Great.”  Rain breathed.  “Do you have a generator?” 

“Yep.”  He sighed deeply.  “It’s in the barn.” 

Rain stood and Leonidas came to her side.  “Maybe I could help you?”

Forrest shook his head, careful to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.  She was just trying to help after all.  “No, that’s not a good idea.  As a matter of fact, you need to just lay back down and rest after you finish your toast.” 

Rain nibbled at the toast, and watched as Forrest shrugged back into his parka. 

“Do you really need to hook it up?”

Forrest stared at her blankly. 

“I mean, you have a fireplace and a land line.  Won’t it be ok until the power comes back on?”

“Sometimes when the power goes out up here it takes a long time, days even, for it to be restored.” 

“Then wait a little while.  At least until the snow stops.”

“Alright.”  He said slowly, and hung his coat back on its usual hook. 

The little deer lifted its head and struggled to stand.  Its wobbly thin legs fought with the blanket, a baying noise coming from its mouth.  Rain and Leonidas were on the little deer in a flash.

“Shhh.”   Rain cooed.  “You can’t be up and about yet.”  She began humming and the deer gave up the fight, choosing instead to stare at her with its large liquid eyes. 

“You have a talent, I think.” 

“Not really.  Animals just respond to body language and tone of voice.” 

“Yeah, I guess.”  He watched her a moment longer, before coming to sit on the floor beside her.  Her hair fell in a wavy partition, and he fought the urge to brush it back so he could see her face. 

“So, tell me, what you do in Orange Virginia.”

Rain hesitated.  Once she told him what she did for a living, he would be disappointed and just look at her like she was a waste of human space.  It wouldn’t be any different from how her mother and father talked about her current job. 

She peeked out from behind her hair, moving it over her shoulder.  “I’m a supervisor at a fast food restaurant.” 

Forrest nodded, sensing more than seeing her embarrassment.  “People need to eat, right?”

Rain waited for the punch line.  When none came she smiled shyly.  “Yeah, they sure do.” 

“How long have you done that?”  Forrest shifted his weight and hugged one knee to his chest. 

“A little over a year.”

“Does it pay well?”

“Ummm…no, but I can afford a loft apartment and my car, so for now it’s fine.  At least until I can do something else.”

Forrest wanted to keep her talking.  He liked the way her voice rose and fell with little effort.  It reminded him of ocean waves gently lapping the shore.  Her tone was perfect, not low and not high, just steady.  That also made him think of the ocean. 

“What else would you want to do?”

Rain ran a hand along the deer’s neck, willing it to lay down again.  “I have a partial bachelor’s degree in English, but I thought I would become a rock star.”  She laughed heartily, and Forrest wondered if it were a joke.

“Really?”

“My…Trevor, he was my husband…he had a rock band.  They were very good.”  She moved her hands as if they could help her explain better.  Her bracelets clinked together.  “They were a grunge old school kind of mix.”

“Like Nirvana?”

Rain smiled in appreciation.  “Nirvana had been a big influence, but it went deeper than that.  Trevor had a dozen or more “favorite” bands.”  She made quotation marks in the air.  “And they all influenced his music in some way.  Led Zeppelin, for example, and Pink Floyd.  But he also indulged in the harder stuff like Godsmack.”

“Yeah, I like them.” 

Rain’s eyes widened.  “You do?”

Forrest laughed and pulled his leg in tighter.  “What?  A man living in the woods of West Virginia can’t listen to anything but country?”

“Well, Bluegrass too.”  Rain’s smile was easy. 

“So, you were part of his band?”

Rain’s face darkened.  “I wanted to be.  He allowed me to cover a Stevie Nicks song once, and he even brought me on stage to sing Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life”, but other than that I was just a groupie married to the lead guitarist and vocalist.”

“Did he cut an album?”

She shook her head.  “No.  They working on one when he died.” 

“Can I ask how he died?”

Rain was silent for so long, that Forrest was afraid he had offended her.  When she finally answered, her voice was thin and reedy, like it was being pressed and forced through a space that was too small. 

“He blew the side of his head off.” 

Forrest sat in stunned silence.  Leonidas lifted his head when the tension changed, and stared accusingly at him.  Forrest swallowed and licked his lips.  It explained the spent casing in her purse. 

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have pried.” 

“It’s fine.”  She replied tightly and tried to stand, her body once again stiff.

Forrest reached for her and pulled her to her feet.  He lost his balance slightly and his body leaned in towards her.  Heat from her face and neck radiated out to him and the smell of her skin shot images of wild natural things through his mind.  Before he could stop himself, he snaked a hand behind her neck, his own heat rising.

“What are you doing?” 

Her words were like a slap, breaking the spell.  She hadn’t yelled or even snapped.  Rather, her voice was laced with wary caution. 

“Sorry.  I lost my balance for a moment. 

Rain nodded, choosing to ignore the blood rushing to his cheeks. 

“I think I will lie down for a bit.” 

“Good idea.”  He said and turned his body, hoping she wouldn’t notice the bulge at the front of his jeans. 

Rain hung up from her second phone call almost as frustrated as she was after the first one. 

“What did they say?”  Forrest asked, as he tended to the fire. 

“Oh, just that an adjuster would come as soon as possible, and if he or she could determine I did in fact hit a deer, then it can be filed under comprehensive, otherwise it will be a collision claim.  Either way, I’m looking at a five hundred dollar deductible.”  She sat down on the couch slowly and crossed her arms. 

“Your car is going to be a total loss.  I doubt a deductible will make much difference in that case.” 

Rain twisted her lips.  “You really think it’s a total loss?”

Forrest nodded sagely.  “Can’t say for certain, but I would bet that it will be.”  He stood from the fire and took a seat beside her.  “Don’t worry about the collision thing.  I saw the deer myself, and she had obviously been struck by your car.” 

Rain nodded, the thought of a semi-witness cheering her slightly. 

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m just sore, and my head hurts.” 

Forrest stood and retrieved a bottle from one of his many cabinets.  “Here, keep these with you.” 

“Rain opened the top and popped two of the white pills from within, chasing it with a glass of water.  She wasn’t sure what magical properties Forrest attributed to water, but he had kept her glass full since morning. 

Forrest placed his hands on his hips and stared out the sliding glass doors.  He spoke without turning.  “Looks like it’s finally tapering off.”

“Good.”  Rain mumbled. 

Forrest frowned and turned to look at her.  She had curled on one end, with her feet tucked under her like a little girl.  He couldn’t help the half smile that the image invoked.  He walked silently to his room and pulled the comforter from the bed.  When he took it out to her, he paused after drawing he blanket up to her shoulders and tucking it around her feet.  Enough overlapped on the floor, that Leonidas took it as an invitation, and curled up beside her. 

Forrest reached an unsteady hand towards her and brushed a stray piece of hair from her face.  The bruising wasn’t as dark as he thought it would be today, but it still troubled him to see such a beautiful face marred in anyway.  He sat in the chair near the fire and watched her sleep.  What did this all mean?  What twist of fate had brought this strange woman to him?  He tried to dismiss any romantic thought that attempted access to his brain.  He was a bachelor…a widower to be exact, and he had vowed long ago that no woman could ever replace Sara.  He would never allow anyone to even try.  Yet…yet here was a woman similar enough to make him squirm, but different enough from all others to give him a breath of fresh air.  He sensed something broken in her.  He instinctively wanted to fix and mend whatever it was.

With a sigh, he pushed his long legs in front of him and crossed them at the ankle.  What could he possibly offer her by way of emotional help?  He still awoke almost every night, soaked in sweat, after another nightmare about Sara’s death.  Even if he did entertain thoughts of a romantic nature for Rain, how could he ever tell her that his first wife had died because of his own stupidity?  How could he explain to her that he had become arrogant of his own natural gifts, and had put Sara in grave danger?  How could he tell anyone that he had missed an opponent with his huge paw, and had hit Sara instead, nearly decapitating her in the process?  No.  Most didn’t even know what a shifter was, and if they did, a wolf was the first thing which came to mind; not a bear.

Rain could hear voices.  They were distant but loud at the same time.  It was the murmurings of a thousand person chorus.  Someone sat near her and toyed with her hand.  She opened her eyes a little and gazed at Trevor’s serene face.  She struggled to sit up. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Just checking on you.”

“Why?”  Rain looked around the cabin, but it looked murky and dim.  She could see Forrest slumped in his easy chair, a fist supporting his sleeping head.  Trevor followed her gaze. 

“He’s taking good care of you.  I’m glad.” 

“Why are you visiting so much now?”

“I need you to understand.”

“Understand what?” 

His blue eyes darkened, and she was suddenly afraid. 

“You need to understand that it wasn’t your fault.  You need to live again.” 

Rain choked on the sudden constriction in her throat.  She wanted to slap him.  She wanted to scream and claw at his eyes.  Their marriage had been in shambles, she had been in shambles, and so had he.  Why did he take the easy way out?

“Is that what you think?  That I took the easy way out?”

Rain’s eyes enlarged, her mouth working.  “How…”

Trevor sighed sadly.  “It’s ok, Rain.  No matter.  I have to go.”

“No…”

“You know I do.  Let this man help you.”

“He already has.” 

Trevor looked down at her and cocked his head to the side.  “No…let him help you…”

“YOU HELP ME!”  She screamed.  Trevor and the voices left with a suddenness that sounded like a vacuum had sucked them away. 

Forrest jumped and looked across the room at Rain.  A sob escaped her throat as she slept, and her face was contorted in a terrible agony.  He jumped from the chair and took the space in two long strides. 

“Rain?  Rain?”  He turned her onto her back, and wiped furiously at the tears pouring from under her closed lids.

Rain’s eyes began to flutter open.  She stared up at Forrest as if she couldn’t recognize him at first. 

“Are you ok?  You were having a bad dream.”

Rain nodded, a few final tears falling down her cheeks.  Forrest gently wiped them away. 

“Do you want to sleep a little longer?”

“No.”  She whispered. 

Forrest stared intently down at her.  She had a haunted to look. 

“Were you dreaming of Trevor again?”

“Yes.” 

Forrest fought the wave of jealousy.  Why should this woman’s dead husband visit her dreams but there had been nothing of the sort from Sara?  He didn’t have a true understanding nor belief of the other side, and maybe that was the problem.  He had always just believed that when a person dies they just vanish, and their bodies decay, and that’s just the end of it.  Could he have been wrong?

“How many times has he come to you in dreams?”