by J. K Harper
Skidding to a stop, his heavy body sliding through the snow, Cortez managed to halt halfway up the hill. His breathing harsh, he swung his head around, scenting as hard as he could. There. Just a whiff, but it definitely was a big cat shifter. Bastard. The roar had been far enough off that he knew whoever it was wasn't coming closer. He bellowed out his own last enraged roar, claiming this section of the woods, claiming this spot in Deep Hollow, home of the Silvertip bear clan, as his. This was his home. Threatening intruders weren't welcome. His roar dropped down into echoes, ringing through the tense silence until they faded.
There was no answer. Sniffing again long and hard, Cortez could no longer scent the other one. He must've left. Smart cat. Shaking himself to dislodge some snow that had scattered down from pine branches above as he thundered by the trees and shook them, Cortez turned and headed back to the cabin. He moved quickly, but not so fast that he would come bursting into the clearing and scare Haley anymore that she probably already was. But when he pulled up to the shell of his cabin, he stopped short and stared.
Haley stood right in front of his little man cave door, but it wasn't open. She hadn't gone in. She stood there, in the open, braving the terrifying noises as she waited for him. He could tell she was scared, sure, but she hadn't hidden. That crazy pride swelled in him again as he saw how brave she was. Very slowly, he moved toward her, huffing gently, trying to let her know that she was safe. That it was him.
"Cortez?" Her voice was faint, but steady. He bobbed his head once at her, keeping his distance. But then she moved, walking toward him. He stood perfectly still, keeping himself as quiet as he could as she approached.
She was about three feet away when her feet slowed, bringing her to a stop when she was maybe a foot away. Very carefully, her eyes locked on his, she reached her hand out. "Is it okay if I—touch you?" Her voice was softer, but still steady.
In answer, Cortez dipped his head down and tilted it toward her. Haley's hand, her soft, gentle hand, reach forward to touch the side of Cortez's face. Her fingers pushed into his thick brown fur, reaching up to very tentatively touch him on his forehead just above his eyes. "Oh," she said, her voice now a delighted whisper. "You're so soft. I didn't know your fur would be this soft. And even though you're so big"—again, he couldn't help the swell of pride that rushed through him—"I'm not afraid of you, Cortez. I can trust you. It's really you." She gently stoked the fur on his face. "I saw Jessie touch Shane, when he was in his bear form, and I wondered what it would be like. They seemed so happy and easy together. Now I know." The pure wonder and happiness in her voice soothed over him, rippling into his hide, his bones, his soul, with sweet satisfaction.
They stayed like that for a few moments longer, Haley's hand buried in Cortez's pelt as she stood beside him. Tiny little woman beside his enormous grizzly bear. Tiny, brave, powerful. Finally, he softly whoofed at her and moved away. Pacing around to the back of the shed where she couldn't see him, he shifted back into his human form. The change crackled over him fast and hard, making him stumble and grimace.
"Haley," he called out. His voice still sounded hoarse, low. "I keep a spare set of clothes in the shed. Uh, do you mind turning your back for a second while I come around the corner and go in there?"
Her laugh pealed out. "You're asking me that because you're, ah, naked, right?" Laughter and something he was pretty sure sounded like interest stirred beneath her words.
"As buck naked as the day I was born."
"Okay." She giggled again. "My back is turned."
Cortez checked around the corner of the building just to be sure. Hell if he didn't want this gorgeous woman to see him naked, but he didn't think either one of them was quite ready for that. It wasn't really the time or the place. She indeed stood with her back to him, her golden curls escaping beneath her hat and floating down the back of the heavy navy blue jacket she wore. God, she was so pretty just standing here, at his place, surrounded by the thick piles of snow and sheltering trees.
Quickly, Cortez ducked inside his shed, pulled on the spare set of clothes he kept in there, shoved his feet into a pair of boots sitting by the door, and came back out. "The coast is clear."
She turned instantly, the amazed smile still in her face. Her eyes widened when she saw him. "Your eyes. They're still—they're still different."
Cortez nodded, walking to her. "My bear is still riled, so you can see it in my eyes. He'll simmer down."
She swallowed and looked up at the wooded steep hillside rising up behind his cabin. "Was that another shifter? What happened? Whoever it was, it didn't sound very friendly."
Cortez's mouth set into a line as he too peered up the slope. "No, he wasn't. That was a mountain lion shifter. A strange one, not from around here. We have a lot of strange shifters in town all the time, just being tourists or visiting friends, but that was an angry, challenging call. The guests up at the lodge have some pretty strict rules to abide by while they're here. Brawling and challenging are not allowed."
"Challenging," she echoed softly, her eyes still troubled as she looked into the snowy forest. "But why?"
Cortez shrugged. He'd have to tell the rest of the clan about this. Shifters just coming into town to check out the lodge or go on a tour or hell, just coming for a cup of coffee, was one thing. Shifters coming in and getting all territorial was another. "I don't know. Sometimes they're just out looking for trouble, especially if their animal is too aggressive and they don't have good control.” He could hear the unyielding tone in his own voice as he added, "But we'll definitely find out."
Silence pocketed them for a few minutes as they both looked into the woods. Haley shivered suddenly. Cortez automatically reached forward, put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close to him. He was half shocked at the unplanned action, but Haley didn't stiffen or pull away. Instead, she leaned into him. "I do know there are bad shifters in the world," she said in a soft voice. "I've heard about them from my friend. But you."
She tilted her head up to look at him. She looked so damn cute, tucked under his arm like that. He just wanted to pull her close to him and hug her. Damn, he wanted to kiss her. Holding fast to some shred of willpower, he restrained himself and waited for her to go on.
"You, Cortez, are good.” Her voice was soft but firm as she spoke. “I tend to be very guided by my heart, I always have been. It's part of being a creative person, I guess. I don't know. Listening to my heart tells me that you are good person. Bear. Man." She looked slightly more confused with each word she tried.
Cortez laughed. "Yeah, I'm all those things. Whatever you want." Reluctantly, he glanced at the time. Damn. "I kept you for about an hour now. You probably have to get back to work. Even though it's a Saturday. Right?" He tried desperately not to sound judgmental or needy as he said that.
Haley sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, pulling it gently between her teeth. He almost groaned at how sexy that little move was. Damn, he was about to get a boner out here in the middle of the forest, with pretty little Haley tucked up under his arm looking at him with the sweetest little mouth he'd ever seen.
Then she surprised the heck out of him. "Cortez, you're right. Life isn't only about working. I want to have some fun. Please show me how?"
8
The storm rolled dark and quiet over downtown Deep Hollow as Haley and Cortez strolled along Main Street.
Haley had gone into town quite a few times by now, since pretty much every day she went to the Mountain Muffin. She thought she was familiar with it. But right now, walking beside Cortez, feeling momentarily free of deadlines and obligations and stress over her future, it looked different. Cozy, charming, bright with possibility. Even though the dark skies and impending snow seemed to have cleared the sidewalks, welcoming lights beckoned from the cute businesses along the street. Everything here felt so content and safe.
It also felt safe because of Cortez. She glanced over at him as they walked. After she'd out of the blue told him that she wanted
to go have fun, he'd said it was too late in the day go on an outdoor adventure, but there was some fun stuff to do in town that he could show her. They drove into town and parked both their cars at the Walker residence, then headed on foot into the downtown area from there. She'd startled herself, pushing aside work, asking specifically for him to take her to have fun, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Every moment she spent with Cortez felt like the right thing to do.
As they walked under the old-fashioned streetlamps that graced Main Street, which were slowly flickering to life in response to what seemed like an early dark from the heavy, low clouds above, Cortez's hand brushed the back of hers. He looked over at her and gently caught her hand in his. She smiled at him, squeezed his hand, and looked ahead of them. "Okay, fun-meister. What do we do first?"
"Fun-meister?"
"That's your title for right now."
"Hmm. I like it.” He smiled down at her, the low light catching the sheen of dark gold brown stubble on his cheeks. Ooh, she liked that. “I think to start off, we both deserve a little treat. How do you feel about chocolate?"
"How do I feel about chocolate? I feel very good about chocolate. Exceptionally good. Do you mean hot chocolate?"
"Nope. I mean the best damn little chocolate distillery west of the Rockies."
"Chocolate distillery?" She sounded as puzzled as she felt.
He chuckled and pulled her forward. "You've definitely spent way too much time working and not enough time exploring Deep Hollow. I'm going to introduce you to the Silvertip Chocolate Company. Can't believe you haven't been there yet, woman." He gave his head a disbelieving shake. "The Mountain Muffin is great, but they don't do chocolates like the chocolate store. This way."
He was right. She hadn't yet made it to the chocolate distillery—and who knew such a thing existed? Clearly, she'd been missing out—because it was on one of the side streets off the main drag. She'd been so stressed about producing, so focused on writing so she'd be able to pay her bills, get her life back on track, that she really had been single-mindedly marching from the house to the bakery every afternoon, then back to the house again. She really hadn't explored town. Glancing almost shyly at Cortez again as he propelled her into the little store, she remembered his comment when they had first met. Life wasn't all about working. Okay, fine. He was right.
In the store, her eyes widened and her grip on his hand tightened. "Oh, heaven," she murmured, eyes darting around to take in the chocolatey joys of the little store. They were surrounded by chocolate truffles, bars, clusters, ganache, pralines, all sorts of fancy little concoctions. Oh, she'd died and gone to yummy chocolate paradise. But… "Distillery? I still don't understand that part."
Cortez took her shoulders and gently turned her around to the left. "Oh, wow! Okay. Wow." It was an actual distillery. Tall, gleaming pillars connected by a little network of metal tubes hunched above squatting copper pots. A man peered into the one of the pots, adjusted a knob on the side of it, then returned to a pan filled with little chocolates set onto a silver counter.
"So what you're telling me is that there's alcohol in some of these chocolates. What you're telling me is that I've entered culinary paradise?" She thought she might drool at all the delicious-looking little confections on display behind the glass cases of the sales counter.
Cortez nodded, raising his hand at the guy working in little distillery room, who waved back. "Damn right. They've got whiskey, rum, absinthe, liqueurs, brandy, vodka, and they put them into the chocolates through a distillation process. It's all made right here, and it's all really good. What's your pleasure, beautiful?" He grinned down at her. A bone melting smile.
Haley was ready to swoon from the deliciousness of the chocolate spirits in the room and the sexy big man next to her. "Anything. Everything. It's all my pleasure." She laughed. "You're right, Cortez. I admit it. Having fun is good."
"Damn straight it is, woman. Okay. We'll get a sampler. You'll like that."
Two minutes later, Haley was biting into her first ever pear brandy chocolate truffle. One teeny little bite, and she was having a delicious party in her mouth. "Oh," she moaned after the decadent taste that had her closing her eyes in rapture. "This is definitely the best chocolate I've ever had in my entire life. This is one of the best things, period, that I've ever had my entire life," she added, opening her eyes. “Why, it's—”
Cortez's expression stopped her short. He stared at her, his eyes transfixed on her mouth before moving back up to her eyes. He was close to her, so close to her. His scent surrounded her, all big wild man scent, so electrifying. She saw the bright flash of his bear in his eyes. Caught that wild and free streak she had witnessed earlier when he changed into that enormous bruin right in front of her, then gone charging up the mountain like he was an entire goddamned army on his own. Ready to protect her from whatever danger growled out there. They stared at each other for a long moment, the rest of the luscious truffle in her hand momentarily forgotten, sensuous energy whispering and twining around them. A slow shiver of anticipation rolled through her, dancing on her skin. Was he going to kiss her?
No, dang it. The moment abruptly passed when from behind the counter the clerk called out in a chirpy voice, "Your sampler box is ready. I'll ring you up."
Cortez blinked and took a deep breath. He gave Haley a searching look, then turned and went up to the counter, paid for the box, and brought it back to her. It was small, but she knew it contained five more delicious truffles, all different flavors. He pressed it into her hands, a smile tugging up one side of his mouth. "For you, pretty Haley. Come on. I'm too restless to sit. Let's keep walking in town, okay?"
"Sure," she said in a dazed voice. He picked up her hand again, his own large and warm and solid around hers. Back out the door into the late afternoon chill, the skies overhead now even more leaden with the promise of the incoming storm. She could almost smell the snow in the air.
They walked down the side street in silence, a comfortable sort of silence like they'd had before. Haley liked it a lot. She glanced at him again, his massive, comforting, arousing presence beside her. What was it about him? She didn't know. He just felt right. He felt so much more right than Justin ever had. She'd never before known how at ease she could feel around a man until she'd met Cortez.
"Down here," he said, steering them left onto another little street. "There's a path that goes by the river, and a bridge that goes over it. There are lights along the path and the bridge. We can walk back up the river on the other side. It'll bring us out at the top of town." He glanced up at the sky. "I'll get you back to the house before it starts dumping snow."
Haley looked around at the postcard perfect little mountain town, the snow on the trees, listened to the burble of the stream she could hear ahead of them. "This is perfect, Cortez," she said softly. "I didn't know what we were going to do when I told you I wanted to have fun, but this is perfect."
"This is pretty quiet and casual. You sure you're enjoying it?" A grin played around his lips.
She smiled back, the taste of pear brandy truffle still in her mouth and a lightness in her heart. "Yeah. Believe me, I'm really enjoying it."
They got to the river path and walked down it to the small pedestrian bridge that crossed over the water. Haley stopped in the middle of the bridge, looking down at the partially frozen creek running just below. "Silvertip Creek, right? It's so pretty.” A content smile curved her lips. “It's so peaceful here."
She watched the water for a few minutes, listening to it run beneath the ice that covered almost the entire creek. The sky felt heavy and still, Cortez felt strong and solid beside her, she felt safe and secure and quietly, simply happy. This moment was precious, and she wanted to hold onto it for as long as she could.
"Haley," he said after another minute. She turned her head to look at him where he leaned against the bridge railing beside her. His eyes studied hers, his face serious. "Why are you here? In Deep Hollow? You've se
en me change into my bear. I told you the worst thing about me, and you listened to it and accepted it. But I know there's a reason you're here that you haven't told me. I think you probably haven't told anyone." His voice got quieter. "I don't want to push you. I just want to know your story. I want to know you, Haley."
She stared at him for a long moment, hearing the river gurgle along in the quiet air around them. "No one has ever done that before," she finally murmured. "No one has ever wanted to actually hear my story. Not a guy, I mean." Not a guy I really, really like, she added in her head.
"I do.” His voice rumbled in deep certainty. “Your story is important to me."
The hushed promise of safety, the gentle invitation in his voice, made her decide. Taking a deep breath first, she plunged right in. "I was married for five years before I came here." She said the words softly, carefully watching Cortez's face. His lips tightened, but he just nodded.
"Justin and I met in high school. Got married right after we graduated, even though my parents didn't like him and disproved." She shook her head, remembering. "I should've listened to them. I was only eighteen and so naive. But I thought I was in love. It wasn't actual love, though. It was infatuation, and I was too young and inexperienced to know the difference. I thought he was so smart, so worldly, and I let him control everything about my life. Because I didn't know that's what it was at the time. I didn't understand that he was directing everything.”
She looked at Cortez, gauging his reaction. He just listened, giving her space to talk. She went on.
“I had always been a writer, a storyteller, and he found out we might be able to make some money online doing that. He wasn't a big reader, but he loved watching movies and had a lot of good ideas. So it ended up that he created all the stories, he came up with the plots, the characters and everything, and then I wrote them. We published under his name, because it was science fiction and he said most of the authors were guys. I didn't mind because I wasn't the biggest science fiction fan, and it was also easy for me to write once he told me what to do. I thought I was just writing down his stories and that I didn't deserve credit anyway."
