ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (247 page)

Forrest watched the house as he transformed into his human form.  He would have to knock on the door and hide along the side until Rain could bring him some clothes.  What a mess this all turned out to be!  He hadn’t wanted her to find out like this!  Damn Scott! 

Rain heard him step onto the porch and went to the door, swinging it wide.  Forrest gazed at her with his fist raised to knock, his eyes large and shocked.  Rain looked him up and down before he could bend double, both hands at his crotch. 

“Get me some clothes, please.”  He said tightly.  The cold was seeping into his human skin at a rapid rate. 

Rain went numbly to his room and rummaged through his chest of drawers in the dark.  She brought him another pair of boxers and what she thought felt like sweat pants.  She went to the door, keeping her head turned, and held them outside. 

“Thanks.”  Forrest mumbled.

The “You're welcome” was automatic and spoken without warmth.  Rain returned to the couch and sat slack with her hands in her lap. 

Forrest peeked inside.  He wasn’t sure what her reaction would be.  He had an irrational fear that she would be sitting there with his shot gun, ready to blow his freak head off.  When he saw her sitting there, quiet and white faced, he felt guilty for having had such a thought.

“Hey.”  He said, and sat down beside her. 

“Hey yourself.” 

“I guess you want an explanation?”

“What’s there to explain?  A naked man turned into a big cat in your backyard.  You changed into a bear and chased him.  All normal stuff here.”

My God, she’s in shock
.  Forrest turned her gently so that she was facing him. 

“I didn’t want you to find out like this.” 

“I once read a romance about werewolves.  Are they real?”

“Yes, but some shift into just regular wolves.”

“Are the vampires real?  What about ghosts?”

“Vampires are real…”  He said slowly.  “Don’t know about the ghosts.” 

Rain nodded.  “This is a bit much.”

“I’m sure it is.”  He tried to put his arm around her, but stopped as she stiffened.

“How about witches?  I always thought they were cool.”

Forrest ran a hand along his jaw.  He was surprised she hadn’t mentioned the long gnash on his face. 

“Well, I think some are taught, but the strong ones are born with certain gifts.” 

“Oh.”  She looked at him with scrutiny, her nose wrinkling.  “You have a dripping cut on your face.” 

“Yeah, I do.”

Rain stood and went to the bathroom.  She came back out with the first aid kit.  “So, let’s clean it, or will you supernaturally heal?”

“I will heal much faster than you would, but it won’t happen quite as fast as you think.” 

“Fine.  Let’s clean it anyway.” 

Forrest stilled her hands with his own.  He had to know how she really felt.  He hated to push her, but it was essential that he know.  Sara had loved him with all her heart, but she had never completely reconciled what he was in her mind. 

“I need to know how you feel about this.” 

“How I feel?”  She pushed her head backwards on her shoulders.  “I just found out, Forrest!   I don’t rightly know how I feel!” 

He let go of her hands with a sigh. 

Rain began cleaned his wounds by dabbing a peroxide filled cotton ball to the area. 

“You know, I’ve heard cat scratches can be nasty.  I wouldn’t want you to get cat scratch fever.” 

Forrest smiled lightly and looked into her beautiful pale eyes.

The ride into town was a little easier than the day before, and Forrest was grateful to see a power truck heading up the road just past his driveway. 

“Power should be on before we get home.” 

“Uh huh.”  Rain murmured, her head resting on the window. 

Forrest looked at her with concern.  They had stayed up talking until after three and she was exhausted.  She had insisted that he get her up in time to take care of Galadriel before she had to get ready for her first day at work.  She was still recovering from the wreck.  He should have thought of all of this beforehand.

*****

Rain slid off the seat when he pulled up to the store. 

“Hey, have a good day.  I’ll be here at five.” 

“Ok, grizzly.”  Rain replied with a yawn. 

Grizzly
?  Forrest shook his head and snickered.

Rain was waiting outside when Forrest pulled up.  Dark circles were under her eyes. 

“Did you get off early?”

“Not really.  Just a few minutes, but she paid me until five anyway.  Here.”  She said and held out a paper bag for him. 

“What’s this?” 

“Ruth Ann’s famous gingerbread cookies.”

She twisted in her seat and looked at him hard.  “Did you know she does a gingerbread workshop in that place?”

“Uh, no…I didn’t.”

“Well, let me tell you, five and six year olds have
no
business trying to make gingerbread houses!”

Forrest laughed and put the truck in drive.  “Other than that, how was it?”

“It was good.  I really like Ruth Ann, and she seems to like me.”  She gave him a sidelong look.  “She had a few questions about us.  She said it was about time you settled down.” 

Forrest twisted his mouth.  “Oh yeah?  What else did she say?”

“That Sara was a lovely woman, but you can’t grieve forever.” 

Forrest nodded, but didn’t say anything.  Ruth Ann was right, he couldn’t grieve forever, especially with a woman like Rain sitting beside him.  She was all he could think about all day.  He had caught himself checking the clock every few minutes, only to agonize when he saw that it was still hours until he had to go get her.  He had brushed the horses, fed and watered them again, chopped wood, read.  He had even washed a load of clothes, throwing the clothes in that she had on when she had wrecked her car.  He didn’t want her to know that he had driven to town at three and just wandered about.  He had a gift for her tucked safely in the inside pocket of his jacket.  Hopefully he could give it to her Christmas morning. 

“Is the power on?”

“Sure is.  Came on an hour after I got back.” 

“Good.” 

Both Forrest and Rain were shocked to see a little white hatchback sitting in his driveway when they returned.  A man of about forty with a balding head stepped from the car and regarded them coolly.

“I’m Jack Turner, and I’m here to assess the damage of your car.”

“Oh thank you!”  Rain said. 

Forrest felt a flip happen in his stomach.  Now that this bozo had shown up, would she want to stay on until Christmas?

He looked at Forrest expectantly.  Forrest just stared back. 

“Can we try to remove some more of the snow?”

“Sure.”  Forrest replied and went to his shed.  “The little man wasn’t pleased when Forrest handed him a shovel too, but took it anyway, pushing his glasses back up on his nose and handed Rain his clipboard. 

Barks sounded from in the house, and Rain could hear Galadriel’s
ahhh
attempting to drown out Leonidas. 

“She’s calling you, Momma.”  Forrest said, as he moved the first large shovel-full of snow.

“Excuse me.”  Rain said and trotted up the steps.  She ran back down and took Forrest’s keys from his waiting hand. 

Galadriel took her bottle with a ferocity that told Rain she was ready for a little more than milk.  They had no way of knowing how old she was, but she bet she had been nibbling on a few things in the woods, and not just drinking her mother’s milk. 

Forrest and Mr. Turner walked in as she was about to go back out.  Jack Turner was red in the face and huffing like he had ran miles.  It was obvious he wasn’t used to such exertion. 

“May I have my clipboard?”

“Oh…sure.”  Rain said and handed it over.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Did he say anything?”  She asked.

“Grunting and the occasional ‘My Lord’ was all I heard.”

Rain giggled. 

Forrest looked at her soberly.  He needed to do something that would help his cause for her to stay.  He moved towards her slowly and drew her into his arms.  Rain looked up at him breathlessly.  She had been waiting for another kiss, a real kiss, but was too shy to initiate it herself. 

Forrest leaned in while pulling her to himself, curving his body so she would fit tightly.  He nuzzled her neck before moving his lips to hers and exploring her mouth with a tender intensity that made Rain feel weak.  She responded by grabbing his hair and pulling on a handful.  The deep sound he made spoke of a deep desire.  It wasn’t like the basic sexual need that the faceless women had satisfied before.  It was a deep longing to know Rain from the inside out, to keep her close and explore her many times.  He broke away from her, red faced and incredulous.  It rarely happened, but here it was; he had been gifted a second mate.  Not a pretend mate that one just makes do with because they have made a bad choice.  No.  Rain was the real thing. 

Jack Turner stomped up the steps, and Rain put her hands to her burning cheeks.  She felt weak and elated, confused and overflowing with happiness.  It was a wonderful feeling, and one she hadn’t experienced since meeting Trevor. 

“Well, Miss Cash, the best that I can tell is that your car is in fact a total loss.” 

Rain’s shoulders slumped.  “Really?”

“I’ll have to crunch the numbers of course, and figure out the blue book on it.  You haven’t paid it off?”

“Actually it is.  I made the final payment in July.” 

“Oh good.  Then what ever the payout is after your deductible will come directly to you.  You can use it to put down on another car.”

“Ok.  How soon before I know?” 

He shook his head.  “Won’t be long.  Maybe a week.  It’s cut and dried.  Even with the snow, I could see deer fur.  It’s obvious that was the cause for the wreck.”  He sighed contentedly, obviously proud to have done such a stellar job.  “Will you be at this address?  I need to know for the check purposes.” 

Rain looked at Forrest.  She wanted him to say, “of course she will be here”, but when he didn’t she had to decide for herself. 

“Just send the check to my Orange address…since it will take a week anyway.”

“Might take longer with the holiday happening on Friday.”

“Sure.”  Rain said, and rubbed her arm. 

“Have a good day!”  He said cheerily, obviously happy to be leaving. 

Forrest looked at her when he left.  “Are you…staying…until Christmas?”

“I told Ruth Ann I was.”

That was enough for Forrest.  It gave him another three days until Christmas Eve.

******

It had seemed like a lot of time, but the days were slipping by too fast.  Before he knew it, it was Thursday evening.  The next day was Christmas Eve. 

“Where are your decorations?”  Rain asked as she climbed into the truck. 

“My what?”

“For the cabin?  There’s not even a pine scented candle in there, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve!”

Forrest didn’t know what to say.  He hadn’t decorated since Sara’s death.  Rain must have picked up on the vibe.  She laid a hand gently on his arm. 

“Do you at least have a tree?”

“I had one…”

“I haven’t spent a dime of the money Ruth has given me this week, and she handed out bonuses today.  I have an extra fifty dollars.  Can I buy you a tree?”

Forrest hesitated.  “I don’t know.”

“Please?  I always have decorations at my apartment.”

Forrest relaxed.  Why not?  “Ok.  Let’s buy some stuff.”

It was almost ten before they arrived back home, but they had eaten dinner and had a tree with decorations.  Forrest felt terrible that Rain had spent almost all of the money she had earned so far.  She simply laughed and insisted it was like free money: she hadn’t expected it anyway.  Forrest had a suspicion that she had snuck off, while they were out, to get him a gift.  It touched him deeply.

*****

“Are you really going to make me decorate this perfectly good tree like this?”  Forrest jokingly asked. 

“What?  The Lions have blue and white.  Well, this tree incorporates
both
teams, its blue white and silver.”

“Yes, but I see a lot more dark blue balls and bows than light blue ones.” 

“The sale was on the dark blue.”  She replied primly. 

“Uh huh.” 

When they had the decorations completed, Rain turned a slow circle in the living room and admired their work.  Blue and white lights lit the tree, and she had threaded matching ones along the mantle inside the garland.  Forrest even had a wreath on his door.  The first one that had hung there since Sara.

“I love it.”  She said contentedly. 

Forrest looked around the room and sighed. 
I have to stop thinking like this!
”  He chastised himself. 
Sara’s gone and Rain’s here.  I loved Sara, and I always will, but now I love Rain as well.  After less than a week…I love her.