“Only do five or six push-ups to start. Otherwise your arms won’t want to support you and you won’t have the core stability after the run to hold your position for long.” Those words had Stephanie collapsing face-down in the grass gratefully and I hid another smile. “Wanna try some crunches now?”
“Ye are a sick woman.” She grumbled good-naturedly but still rolled onto her back with me and Jamie and we all locked our hands loosely behind our heads.
“I’m going to do twenty and then ten to each side. You do as many as you want without hurting yourself, fair?” I looked to either side of me and the two nodded wordlessly. “Let’s go.” I heard a lot of heavy breathing as my two companions pushed through their shaking muscles and did their crunches but they did them without complaint and then the three of us laid in the grass recovering when we were finished.
“Same time and place tomorrow?” I asked brightly when we finally pulled ourselves to our feet and while I half-expected them both to back out, they grinned and nodded eagerly at my offer.
“Absolutely. While I agree with Jamie that I’ll probably be in agony by lunchtime, I feel alive and invigorated right now. Look forward to doing it again with you tomorrow!” Stephanie laughed and waved as she headed back to her cottage and Jamie reached out to give my hand a firm shake.
“I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to ya, but welcome to the Cameron estate! Good to have ya become one of us!” He said jovially with a big grin and I smiled back.
“Thank you. I must say, it’s been a pretty easy transition moving here.”
“You ever need anything, just give a shout. See you around Miss Lani!” He called with a wave as he too headed back towards his own little residence and I stood alone on the bluffs, smiling to myself. It had felt good to get a real workout in, but what had made it really enjoyable had been the company. Sure Stephanie and Jamie hadn’t been able to keep up with my pace or go as far as I had but they had been there to try and we had shared a few laughs mixed in with some groans of effort and it had actually made the workout fun.
“Until tomorrow, friends.” I thought to myself as I wandered back to my place for a quick shower before joining the Camerons for breakfast.
♦♦♦
The next two mornings I found Stephanie, Jamie and a few others waiting for me to emerge from my cottage, everyone eager to break their routine and get active. and while everyone was at a different level of fitness, there was never much in the way of complaining, nor did anyone drop out. So by lunchtime on the third day I had an idea.
“Hugh!” I called, jogging to catch up with the elder Cameron as he wandered towards the barn and he stopped to let me catch up, a big grin on his face.
“What can I do for ye, lass?” he asked brightly and I smiled at him tentatively.
“I was hoping you could do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“The next time you go into town, could you try to pick up a few things for me?”
“I’ll surely try. What do ye need?”
“Well, the way so many people have been joining me in the morning for a run and exercises, I’m wondering if maybe they’re bored? I wanted to maybe try to get a game of soccer or touch-football or something going one day, see if anyone is interested.”
“That sounds like a great idea! Give me your list and I’ll make the run into town this afternoon for ye.” He agreed easily and I beamed at him.
“Thanks, Hugh.” I squeezed his arm in appreciation and then turned and went back to my cottage to make my list. Part of me wanted to ask him if I could go along, but I kept my desire to myself. Everyone had been very welcoming to me over the last week or so, I didn’t want anyone to think I wasn’t grateful. And who knew? Maybe they’d think I would try to make a break for it once I was over the property line and therefore wouldn’t let me go, which would just tick me off. No, better to stay put for the time being.
Besides, I had some emails to read. Rachel and Gran had been working overtime trying to find as much information for me as they could and by the look of it, Rachel had scanned three of Mom’s old journals for me so I wanted to sit down and read through them. With Edan home, Ciara was quite happy to stick close to his side and it would seem she had all but forgotten about the visit from the crow. I certainly hadn’t, nor had I forgotten about the two strange men and their swirling, turbulent eyes and I was constantly on edge, waiting. They hadn’t been here to look at Ciara’s art, of that I was pretty certain. My gut told me that had just been an excuse to get onto the property, but what they had wanted was still a mystery to me. Why would that one have been trying to cast a spell in the master bedroom? Did it have anything to do with the crow’s visit? While it had been quiet around here the last few days, I knew better than to think it would last. The two incidents were too random and unexplainable to be coincidence.
Ian seemed to stay out my circle of interaction for the most part and I was completely baffled as to why. I had seen him a few times while doing my morning runs, sometimes he’d be coming out of his cottage as I was walking towards mine, or he’d be heading for the main house as I jogged by and he always waved but that was it. I had found myself being drawn to him as my own crush had formed and had been almost positive that he had felt the same way, so this sudden distance was almost hurtful. Had I done something to put him off?
Not being one who was afraid of conflict, I finally managed to find a moment where the two of us could talk alone, just after I had given my sporting list to Hugh and he had left with it. I spotted the doctor coming out of Stephanie’s cottage, medical bag in hand and I called out to him before he could turn away.
“Doctor! Do you have a second?” he turned to me in surprise and the look on his face was almost one of guilt as I got closer and I didn’t understand until Stephanie’s door opened and she stepped outside too, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. Oh.
“What can I do for you Miss Kailani?” he asked, using his ‘professional’ voice and I paused, uncertain how to continue. Glancing at Stephanie, who was still standing behind the doctor, I noted the way the pretty young woman looked at him while his back was to her and I realized, that while he may have had a crush on me for a day or two, he had probably realized that I wasn’t completely human while watching me circle the bay a few nights ago. And the young woman behind him clearly had feelings for him and perhaps he had feelings for her too.
“I - “ I stopped uncertainly and then took a deep breath. I wasn’t afraid of conflict, and I always tried to be honest, and this time was going to be no different, regardless of how embarrassing it might be. “I was just curious if I’ve perhaps done something to offend you? I haven’t really seen you over the last few days and I’m hoping it isn’t because I’ve said or done something wrong.” I swallowed hard after I finished and watched Stephanie glance from me to him again as he quickly shook his head.
“Not at all, Miss Kailani. What would make you think that?” he asked, blinking a few times in surprise.
“Well, I know you happened to see me down by the water the other evening and I hope that didn’t make you uncomfortable, or that I wasn’t too frightening.” At my words, I watched his eyes widen in further bewilderment and he shook his head again quickly.
“No, no, not at all. I hope you didn’t feel like I was intruding. It was just so remarkable to see you like that.” He said honestly, a faint blush now staining his cheeks and behind him, Stephanie looked back and forth between the two of us in confusion, a slightly crestfallen look on her face. The tone of the young man’s voice had changed from professional detachment to one of awe and to a girl with feelings for him, that must sting.
“The doctor, Edan and Hugh happened to see me circling the bay the other night.” I told her vaguely in explanation and her face softened.
“Were ye a dragon?” she asked in wonder and understanding and I nodded. This was the first time I had acknowledged being a dragon to anyone on the estate other than a select few, but really
there was no point in hiding what I was. Everyone knew what I was supposed to be, it’s just not many people had witnessed it yet.
Ian thought back to the night he’d seen me change forms and remembered how he had felt watching me undress before stepping onto the stones, and how protective he’d been of me once Hugh and Edan had arrived on the scene. That was why he had tried to keep his distance from me over the last few days; not because I made him uncomfortable or frightened him, but because he was unnerved by how he felt around me. He could so easily lose himself, staring into my eyes for hours at a time. He wanted nothing more than to put his arms around me and enjoy the feeling of my curves up against him. He wanted to rip the elastic out of my hair and wrap his fists in the long strands. And oh god, did he want to kiss me! But he had never felt so reckless after knowing someone for such a short period of time and that sort of scared him. He was the type of person who liked getting to know someone, taking his time to feel them out, work out any clashing kinks in their personalities until their chemistry was natural. He wanted the same kind of love and passion that Edan and Ciara had, just as much as I had said I did, but that was something a couple had to work together to achieve. Or did it just come naturally with no time limit? His previous experiences with women had taught him that what Edan and Ciara had was very rare and he wondered if he would ever be lucky enough to find a woman who would be as consumed by him as he was of her?
“Well, I won’t keep you, and I’m sorry for intruding. I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t done anything to put you off.” I backed away from him and Stephanie and as Ian stood there and watched me go, I watched Stephanie look at him speculatively. While she clearly had feelings for him, I was beginning to wonder if he shared them. She was too uncertain and shy around him, so either their relationship was still in the very early stages, or it hadn’t developed as much as she might like it to have. Either way, there was something there so I quickly turned my back on them and retreated to my cottage two doors down.
I spent a few hours that afternoon pouring over the journals my mother had written that Rachel had been able to scan. The first journal I started reading Mom had started the night she met Dad.
Dear Journal; I met the most intriguing man tonight. The minute he came up to the bar where I was sitting, I could feel this energy radiating from him like no one I’ve ever met before. I could almost swear that he has powers of his own. When he sat down two stools over from me I wasn’t proud - I pulled out one of my little tricks. I swirled my finger around in the air above my own glass, said a few words under my breath and drew a line on the bar with my finger from his direction towards me. You should have seen the look on his face when his drink slid out of his fingers and over to the seat beside me! And when he glanced at me I could have sworn his eyes were like those of a cat - you know, with the vertical pupil - but the second time he looked at me (as he was sliding onto the empty stool between us!) and stuck his hand out in introduction, they were normal. So maybe I imagined it? We will have to wait and see what happens next time we meet up - he’s asked me out for dinner Friday night!
Well, that was interesting. Dad had the eyes of a dragon for just a moment. How was that possible? There was no way that Mom could have imagined it because there was a huge difference - vertical slit pupil versus the regular round! It’s not like she guessed at his eye color and got it wrong.
And Mom was able to sense power in him, obviously it was the suppressed dragon she was sensing, but I wonder how she knew? My parents had always seemed so normal to me as I grew up.
Dear Journal; I just got home from my dinner date with Michael and he is just as exciting and intriguing as I first thought! We talked over dinner about where we were from and I told him I didn’t know much of anything about my background - that I had been abandoned as a baby and had been adopted by Kona. He told me that his parents were Scottish and when I asked if he had ever been there himself he told me he could never go there because his parents had escaped from a fate worse than death while his Mom was pregnant! What do you think he meant by that?
A fate worse than death? Really? That seemed a little excessive to me. Yes, there were times when I wondered if I was more dragon than human, yes I couldn’t leave the property without a chaperon, yes I had the freaky reptile-cat eyes. But at no time had I ever thought that this was worse than being dead!
Dear Journal; Well, we’ve done it now. I’m pregnant. I have always been afraid of having a baby, that I’ll pass my own witchy spell-casting ability on to it. But oh! Michael’s fear trumps my own BIG TIME! Holy shit! He’s a shape-shifter! Both he and his dad are apparently able to change into dragons!! Yes - dragons! Big fire-breathing creatures that I THOUGHT were mythical. Granted neither of them have ever changed - that’s why they ran away from Scotland - that’s where they turn. We’re also hoping that the baby is a girl - apparently every single one of his ancestors were born males (is that even possible?) so if we have a girl, and we never go to Scotland or Ireland or Wales or anywhere near those islands we’ll hopefully be okay. God, what do I do? I guess I could terminate the pregnancy but I don’t think I could actually go through with it. Someone out there is my mother and she abandoned me before I turned one and I’ll never know why. I so desperately want to have a child of my own that I can love and hold and raise and be proud of because that’s what I missed out on for so many years of my life. By the time Kona found me at the orphanage I was too old to be coddled but it felt so good to finally have someone around that understood me. Maybe I can offer that to this little being too? And if they turn into a dragon? May they always fly around rainbows...
My eyes filled with tears as I read that entry and I closed my email down and covered my face with my hands.
“I love you Mom and Dad.” I whispered brokenly into my palms before wiping the tears off my cheeks. Mom and Dad had been gone for a couple of years now and I usually didn’t cry when I thought of them anymore, but to see Mom’s thoughts about how she had wanted me, no matter what I might become, because she had wanted to love me and hold me and encourage me just about broke my heart. It also made me realize that, yes I wasn’t completely human but I was still capable of loving someone and of being loved. Mom had known what Dad was and she had loved him more than anything. I had countless memories of the two of them “sneaking” kisses when they thought I wasn’t around, of Dad giving Mom’s bum a pinch when she’d walk by, of the way she looked at him as they’d put their arms around each other and the look of peace on her face whenever he gave her a hug. So she could cast spells and he could breathe fire - who cared? We all had our little quirks, that’s what made us who we are.
That thought made me suddenly ashamed of myself for my earlier weakness when I’d seen Ian and Stephanie together. Yes, they knew each other far better than he and I knew each other; they had unknown years of proximity together. Yes, I wasn’t completely human but I still had a heart and feelings and as long as I stood on two legs and not four, I was me. I was Kailani Williams, the twenty-eight year old woman who loved life and that’s what mattered. So maybe Ian wasn’t going to be the man for me, but then, was I looking for a relationship? I didn’t want to be like my ancestors, who settled down here because they had no other choice. Yes, Ian was good-looking and he was friendly and easy to be around, we’d enjoyed a laugh or two together and hopefully we’d be able to continue to do that. I wouldn’t get in between him and Stephanie, I had started to enjoy her friendship over the last few days when we’d been working out together and I didn’t want to lose that.
“Get a grip woman. You’re starting to sound like a softie. What would Rachel think of you like this?” I muttered to myself, staring up at the wall above my laptop monitor. Giving myself a firm shake, I went back to my emails and opened a different journal of my mother’s, hoping to find out more about her ability to be a “protector”.
Chapter 8
“Whatcha got there, Miss Lani?” Jamie called out from one of the horse paddocks as he saw
me tack a piece of paper to the exterior door to the barn.
“A sign-up sheet for a game of soccer this evening before dinner! You all seem so eager to join me for my workouts, let’s see what you’re like with a ball!” I called back with a laugh and he wandered over to the fence, leading a pretty cream-colored mare behind him, a look of interest on his face.
“Aye, sounds like fun! How many do ya need to play?”
“As long as there’s an even number, I’m game. It’s not much fun kicking a ball around by myself.” I came to stand in front of him, reaching a hand out to stroke the broad nose of the horse he had with him and he grinned at me.
“I’ll do it! And I know a few others who might as well. Where are we gonna play?”
“Hugh told me there’s a wide open area to the north-east of the estate by the wall that would be perfect. I’ll put a few flags out to indicate goal markers if there isn’t anything already suitable like shrubs or rock outcroppings.”
“You’re on lass! We’ll see you before suppertime!” He gave a cheery wave as he turned and led his horse back into the middle of the paddock to continue her exercises and I laughed and waved back before turning and heading for the main house.
When I walked into the kitchen, I started to greet Alice and Will with a big smile when I realized that I had walked in during an argument between Edan and Ciara. Alice saw me from where she and Will stood in the far doorway and she gestured for me to join them so I discreetly moved around the perimeter of the kitchen to join the two chefs as the husband and wife faced off against each other.
“I am not moving out of our room Edan! No bloody bird is going to chase me out! Why would you even suggest such a thing?” Ciara cried angrily, her usually pale complexion flushed and her eyes shining with unshed emotion and the big man before her ran a hand down his face tiredly.
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