Legends of Havenwood Falls 2

by Belinda Boring

  Initially, Daniel wanted to wait until they were on a date to kiss her, but the longer they touched and the closer they moved together, the more he felt his control slipping, like a tethered rope giving way thread by thread. Any concerns about her being human vanished, replaced with the overall sensation that this was right. Tilting her head slightly, he leaned in and captured her lips with his.

  He’d heard others tell of their experience kissing their mate for the first time, and he’d thought they were exaggerating. Nothing could have prepared him for the earthquake that shook him from within—the force of two souls coming together and colliding. Not until they consummated would they be fully joined, and Daniel ached for that joining with every cell of his two beings.

  A car horn blasted from nearby, breaking their connection, and they slowly separated. Colleen’s cheeks were flushed a gorgeous pink, and her lips glistened from their kiss. Brown eyes, dark with lust, stared back at him. Drawing in a shaky breath, she moved back, slipping free of the gentle hold he had on her head.

  “Wow,” she whispered and touched her lips.

  “Wow is right.” He raised their joined hands and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. That’s when he noticed the time.

  “Crap, I’m going to be late.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” she announced and stood up with him, slipping her hand in his. It felt so natural, like something she had done countless times before.

  “You don’t have to work?”

  “No, I had today off, but I came here hoping you’d show.”

  “I’m glad you did.”

  “Me too.” She grinned and tugged on his arm, urging him to move. They walked hand in hand through the square and crossed Main Street at the crosswalk by the high school. Daniel told her how he and Mickey had found Herschel Ross. She gasped at the gory details and squeezed his hand when she thanked him for taking care of the man.

  When they reached the entrance to the parking lot for Burger Bar, Daniel turned to say goodbye to Colleen, but she wanted to see the jobsite, so they continued on. Catcalls and whistles greeted them. Mickey stood in front of the crew with a big grin on his face.

  “Way to go, boss!” he said and clapped Daniel on the shoulder. Colleen turned beet red at the attention.

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get to work,” Daniel said with a laugh. The beginnings of the structure had been put in place, steel beams forming a grid. They had a tight schedule to meet the developer’s deadline. Daniel explained this to Colleen as he took her inside the Airstream, which he had cleaned considerably in Herschel’s absence, and showed her the blueprints and plans. Her face scrunched up like she had bitten into a lemon when she looked at the rendering.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “It just looks so industrial. For the longest time before you started building, this empty dirt lot just sat here. Everything was barren. So many trees and shrubs were cleared to make room. I just wish the environment was taken into consideration.”

  “I agree with you.”

  “You do?” She looked up at him. They were side by side, leaning over the table, and he couldn’t resist moving over and kissing the tip of her slightly upturned nose.

  “I do. If I ever build something of my own, that’s not part of someone else’s design, I’m going to preserve as much of the natural environment as possible.”

  Smiling, she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “That’s good.”

  Reluctantly, Daniel had to say goodbye. He needed to work, and he liked to be alongside his crew.

  “Friday night. I’ll pick you up for our date at say seven o’clock?”

  “You know where I live?” Colleen asked.

  Daniel, realizing his misstep quickly, recovered by laughing and smacking his forehead. “Of course not. That was going to be my next question.”

  Colleen found a piece of paper on the table and grabbed a pen. She wrote down her address in perfect penmanship. She even drew a little map.

  They left the trailer, and Daniel walked her to the edge of the Burger Bar parking lot, where she turned and, standing on tiptoes, pecked him on the cheek. This caused another chorus of catcalls and whistles, which made her blush again. Daniel watched her walk away, amazed at how easy she was to be around. Having overcome the obstacle of asking her out with success, the next hurdle was the actual date, and if their relationship progressed, that’s when Daniel would face the biggest challenge of all: telling Colleen he occasionally turned into a mountain lion and that she was his fated mate.

  Chapter 11

  The walk home was a blur. Colleen basically floated down Main Street, ignoring anyone who called her name. She was too busy walking on clouds to stop. Her entire body hadn’t stopped humming since Daniel kissed her. While she’d had her share of kisses, none of them compared.

  As soon as the front screen door slammed closed, her mom appeared at the end of the hallway by the kitchen. She wore an apron over her dress and held a wooden spoon in one hand. “There you are! Sally has been calling here for you nonstop. She’s getting on my last nerve.”

  As if on cue, the phone rang. Colleen dashed into the living room to answer it.

  “Hello, Campbell residence.”

  “Colleen, you have some explaining to do!” Sally’s shrill voice practically shattered her eardrum.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, don’t be a ditz! I’m talking about that stud I saw you looking cozy with, strolling through town holding hands, and not one word to your best friend. How long have you been dating?”

  “Um, well, we’re not . . . not really. We’re going on our first date on Friday.”

  “Gee whiz, Colleen! You all looked real comfortable with each other.”

  Colleen sighed and sat down on the sofa, curling her legs underneath and settling in to tell Sally everything: how it felt like she and Daniel were old friends, not new acquaintances, how he smelled better than anything, and that was when he was sweaty. She stopped short of telling her about the dreams. Those were a little too personal to share.

  “You have it bad,” Sally said with a note of longing.

  “I think,” Colleen peered around to make sure no one was listening before whispering into the phone, “I think Daniel’s the one.”

  “Whoa.”

  “I know.”

  They chatted for a few more minutes, and Sally made her swear she would keep her updated. After she hung up the phone, Colleen remained on the sofa, lost deep in thought. She thought love at first sight was a myth reserved for fairy tales, but the way Daniel energized her, listened to her, and actually looked at her, and especially the way he kissed her, made her believe it was possible. Without even searching for him, she had found the perfect man.

  Apparently keeping her newfound bliss a secret was easier said than done. The moment she sat down at the dinner table that night, her parents zeroed in on her.

  “What?” she asked, the fork in her hand paused halfway to her mouth when she noticed her mom and dad looking at her.

  “You look different,” her mom answered.

  Setting the fork down, Colleen patted at her hair, but everything felt in place. She smoothed her hands over her white sleeveless blouse, but all the buttons were secure. Picking up the cloth napkin from her lap, she dabbed at her mouth, but it came away clean. “Different how?”

  “You’re practically glowing,” her dad said, which made her mom gasp.

  “Colleen Morgan Campbell, are you pregnant?”

  This question caused her brother to spray the milk he was drinking all over the freshly pressed tablecloth, and Kelly’s mouth dropped open.

  “What? No! Oh my word, how could you think that?” Colleen’s bliss extinguished with that one question. Anger and embarrassment made her cheeks burn. “For your information, I’m still a virgin, Mother.”

  Poor David practically choked on this announcement.

  “All right, rein it in,” her dad said loudly. She
looked over at him, and his cheeks were just as red. “Pumpkin, we were just making an observation.”

  This was one of those moments where Colleen realized she was outgrowing her childhood home. She was an adult, yet as long as she lived with her parents, they were going to treat her like a child. Even at work, while she was the assistant manager for the market, her dad still called her pumpkin. She didn’t have the typical boss/employee relationship. Realizations like these made it hard to breathe, like the walls were closing in on her.

  “I’m fine, Daddy. Can I be excused?”

  He nodded, and she folded her napkin, setting it back on the table before grabbing her plate and bringing it into the kitchen. She scraped her half-eaten meal into the garbage and set the plate on the counter next to the sink. Movement caught her eye, and she looked out the window into the backyard. Dusk was setting in, and the shadows were long as the last bit of sunshine filtered through the trees. There, along the tree line, she saw it—a gorgeous mountain lion. Its amber eyes seemed to be locked on her. Instead of fear, she felt comfort with its presence. They stared at each other until she heard someone coming in from the dining room. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her sister.

  “What are you doing?” Kelly asked.

  “Come look at this mountain lion.” Colleen waved her sister over to the window, but when they both peered through the screen, the big cat was gone. “Oh, too bad you didn’t get to see it. He was beautiful.”

  “He?”

  “Maybe, I don’t know. I saw him in the backyard before one night when I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Huh, I bet that’s the animal that sprayed mom’s bushes. Should we leave a saucer of cream out for it? Adopt a big cat as a family pet? Here kitty, kitty!” Kelly called.

  “You’re such a goof!” Colleen said with a laugh.

  “What are you two carrying on about?” their dad interrupted.

  “Colleen just saw a mountain lion in the backyard. We’re going to adopt it.”

  His eyebrows rose with surprise, and then his expression grew serious. “You girls be careful. Wild animals shouldn’t be approached. You let me know if you see this animal again, Colleen. I don’t like the idea of a mountain lion sniffing around our house and getting comfortable.”

  “Oh, Daddy, relax. Remember, they were here first.” With one final look out the window, Colleen left the kitchen. Grabbing her book from the table in the foyer, she turned on the porch light and slipped out the door to read on the porch. Within minutes she was lost within the pages of Lord of the Flies, her knuckles white from clenching the book so hard. The descent into cruelty and chaos as boys turned against each other and darkness and lightness of humanity fought for dominance kept her enthralled. So enthralled she didn’t hear twigs breaking and leaves rustling as the mountain lion moved close and lay down between the bushes and porch, hidden from view.

  Chapter 12

  Throughout the week Daniel kept a nightly vigil on Colleen, needing to be close to her. Once her bedroom light turned off, he went back to the cabin. His mom actually joined him one night. The older she became, the less she needed to shift, but ever since she had arrived in Havenwood Falls, she told him the call to the wilderness was hard to resist. He enjoyed hunting alongside her. They took down a deer together and feasted on the fresh kill. During one of their many late-night conversations, she confessed she didn’t want to go back to Fort Collins. She, too, had fallen under the spell of the small town.

  So, while Daniel was busy running the Miller’s Plaza job during the day, his mom was working with the local real estate agent on finding a larger place for them to live.

  “But small enough for me to manage by myself when you and your mate settle down in your own home,” she had said with a wink.

  Finding a place to live was proving to be a challenge, though. Apparently Havenwood Falls had been experiencing a surge in population, resulting in a housing shortage. Ross Builders was the only construction company in town, and from what Daniel learned from Mickey, Herschel’s unreliability and surly demeanor didn’t make his phone ring for bids. After cleaning up the Airstream, Daniel imagined Herschel’s lack of organization had something to do with it too. He had unearthed a stack of unpaid invoices and several requests for bids in one of the kitchen cabinets.

  In addition to keeping watch over Colleen at her house, he still met her for lunch in the square at what he considered their bench. They shared more kisses, held hands, and learned more about each other. Daniel opened up about his sister Katherine’s death and his father’s passing. He shared how they moved a lot when he was younger, so he didn’t have close relationships. He learned that Colleen was the oldest of her siblings, and that in addition to reading, she liked to ride her bike and spend time with her friends, several of whom she had known since kindergarten. Their lives were significantly different, but they discovered they had things in common: conserving the environment and a love of cheeseburgers and Elvis Presley’s music.

  By the time Friday arrived, any apprehension Daniel had had over his first date with Colleen not going well was gone. Their lunches together had already forged a strong bond between them, enough that he could sense her emotions, like he was attuned to her specific frequency. Her scent was imprinted on his brain, too, and he could single her delicate floral fragrance out of a crowd, a heady mix of lilac and sunshine.

  Instead of meeting Colleen for lunch that afternoon, Daniel stayed behind to finish paperwork and run some errands. He was in the Airstream, hunched over the table putting together a task list for the following week, when the door opened, and Herschel limped inside.

  His face was almost back to normal. The swelling had gone down, leaving sickly yellow bruises behind. Several cuts had scabbed over, and one above his eye had required stitches. The black threads looked like an unruly extension of his eyebrow.

  “McCabe, what are you doing here?” Herschel glanced around the trailer, taking in the changes with narrowed eyes. He licked his lips, and his fingers tapped against his thigh.

  “Working, sir. The developer asked me to continue in your absence. Everything is on schedule.”

  “Good, good,” he said, hobbling over to the table and running a shaking hand over the papers, but not really looking at anything specific. He licked his lips again, and beads of sweat dotted his receding hairline. That’s when Daniel smelled it. Fear. No matter what species, it was an unmistakable stench of old sweat, sickening sweet endorphins, and ammonia. Daniel’s lip curled up in response.

  “Looks like you have everything in order.”

  “We have a good crew. Drew’s cousin came on board, and Patty sent another laborer over, so we’re up to eight now. They’re all hard workers.” Daniel set his pen down and leaned back, watching the nervous man in front of him with interest.

  “It’s a damn shame I have to shut it down,” Herschel said, wandering away to peer out the narrow window that was over the small kitchen sink.

  “What?” Daniel leaped to his feet. “Why?”

  “I need to leave town . . . indefinitely. Circumstances being as they are, I won’t be able to operate this business anymore. I’ll be liquidating everything. Right now.”

  “You can’t do that! The men—their jobs. The building needs to be finished.” Daniel struggled to keep his anger in check. The coward had clearly screwed with someone, and the beating was a warning. Now he was going to run from his problems without any regard for anyone else. “How much do you owe? That’s it, isn’t it? You owe someone money?”

  “Much worse than that.” The color drained from Herschel’s face, making his bruises stand out even more. “When you make a deal with the devil and he comes to collect . . .” He trailed off when there was a loud bang outside, causing him to spasm, and the smell of fear grew, filling the room. Daniel recognized the sound of the dumpster lid behind Burger Bar slamming shut.

  “Give me the chance to buy you out. I’m committed to this job, this crew.” Daniel spoke before thinking
it through. He had a little bit of money saved up, but he doubted it was enough to buy a business. He had to try, though, and he knew if given the opportunity, he’d succeed.

  Herschel approached the table and reached for the ledger, opening it up to the current balance of $6,457.86. He snatched up a pen and piece of scratch paper, then started writing down a figure. He included the amount in the bank account, the excavator, trailer, and an additional two thousand dollars on top for tools and other supplies. In total, in order to acquire a fully operational and established construction business in a town ripe for development, Daniel needed to come up with $19,657.86.

  Fiddling with the edge of the paper, he thought through his options. He could ask his mom for a loan. She had her father’s life insurance money. It might delay her buying a house, but he could build her one.

  “Can I have until Monday to get this?” he asked.

  Herschel licked his lips and ran a shaky hand over his balding head. “Yes, but no later than ten a.m. I need to be gone before noon.”

  “Deal.” They shook hands, and Herschel quickly left the trailer.

  For someone who wanted to disappear, running around town in broad daylight wasn’t the best strategy, unless those looking for him operated under the cover of darkness. Herschel’s comment about making a deal with the devil made Daniel shiver. If he came up with the money to buy Herschel out, he’d make the sure the notice of sale didn’t have any hidden clauses.

  After Herschel left, Daniel closed up the trailer and walked over to PPP Agency to pick up his paycheck. The arrangement Herschel had in place was that they managed all things personnel, from hiring to payroll. It was probably a good thing, as he probably would have screwed that up, too.

  Patty Parker was sitting at her desk, and she greeted him with a big smile. “Daniel! How is everything going?”

  “Good, except . . .” He spent the next few minutes filling Patty in on Herschel’s visit. It was only fair to apprise her of the situation, in case Herschel disappeared and left the agency in a bind.