She smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing I like touching you, then.”
They walked a while in silence. The deer path turned into a paved one and he noticed the trees were changing the farther along they went.
Hayden looked around and let go of his hand long enough to wrap her swords in her cloak. “This is the park behind my house.” Hayden stood on her tip toes and kissed him softly. “If at any point it gets to be too much, you let me know.”
He nodded. This was going to be a long year.
*****
I glanced up at Jasper. I could see the pain in his eyes and knew he was trying to hide it. We had reached the street that ran along the park. I looked both ways before crossing then jogged across before any cars showed up.
“What were you looking for?” Jasper was looking around, tense.
I smiled. “Cars.” I pointed to a Honda CRV parked in a driveway.
“They’re dangerous?”
“Well, no. I mean, you don’t want to get hit by one because then they can hurt you. They’re like wagons. Without horses. I’m hoping my dad still has my truck so we can get around.”
We crossed another street and walked up my dad’s driveway. My ’85 Dodge one ton was covered, my mom’s car parked behind it. My dad’s SUV was missing and the house was dark.
“It must be poker night. Shit. I hope they still leave the spare key at the back door.” We walked into the back yard and I checked the usual spot under the flower pot on the deck. I smiled. “Come on.” I unlocked the door and turned off the alarm.
“What was that?” Jasper peered at the keypad.
“It’s an alarm system. It’s connected to wires and sensors all over the house. If anyone breaks in and trips a sensor an alarm goes off to alert us.” I looked back at him and realized that nothing I had said would have made sense to him. “I’ll explain it better later. Actually, dad can explain it to you. He’s great at things like that.”
I turned the hall light on and Jasper’s eyes widened. “I thought there was no magic here.”
I wanted to laugh but managed to keep it down. “There isn’t. It’s called electricity. It’s…” I tried to think back to high school science. “You know what? We’ll keep all the magic looking stuff for when my dad gets home.”
I scribbled a quick note letting my parents know it was us in the house in case they got home and we were upstairs.
I looked at the clock. “Nine thirty. We have a good two hours until they get home.” I smiled. “I’ll show you the shower.”
He laughed. “I finally get to see this mysterious shower you always talked about when you first crossed.”
I took his hand and led him up the stairs to my room. “This is my room.” I put the swords and dagger under my bed and motioned for him to give me his. He handed it over absentmindedly, too busy looking at the drawings and pictures on the walls.
“Is that Dodge?” He chuckled at a picture of my horse the first day I had gotten him.
“Yeah. He was so little.” I laughed. “Remind me to take that one back with us so I can show him.”
I led the way to the bathroom and started the shower.
Jasper watched the steam rise and shook his head. “No magic?”
“None. There’s a machine that heats up the water.” I stripped and stepped into the shower.
He smiled at my sigh as the water hit me. “Are you coming in?”
I watched him undress and got my usual rush at seeing him naked.
“Shlova.”
I looked up and saw him standing with his eyes closed.
“Oh! Sorry. I didn’t think you would feel it here.” I pulled back on my feelings and he smiled.
“I felt them last time you were here.”
“But you were over there. I thought because there’s no magic here, you wouldn’t be able too.”
“I don’t think I feel it because of magic.” He stepped into the shower with me and I let him stand in the spray while I shampooed my hair.
“So, what do you think?” I nudged him out of the way so I could rinse and handed him the shampoo bottle. “You don’t need lots. It’s liquid soap.”
We switched spots again and he smiled. “It’s nice. We should figure out how to make one at home.”
I watched him rinse. The bubbles ran down his chest, over his hip, and along his legs. I moved closer to him and looked up into his eyes. The pain was still there. I put a hand on his waist and the pain dimmed. More than anything I wanted to make that pain disappear.
I pressed myself against him and dropped my shield a bit. His skin was hot from the water. I groaned.
His hands cupped my face and he brought his lips down to mine. “In here?” His voice was just a whisper against my skin.
I nodded and he lifted me so that my legs were wrapped around his waist. He thrust up into me and I moaned. “Oh, god.”
He turned and pushed me up against the wall. He barely moved at all, simply letting me slide down the wall and slowly moving his hips. He filled me completely. His breathing was hard in my ear.
My head was spinning, every nerve in my body on the verge of exploding.
Jasper caught the change in my breathing and stopped.
I lay pressed against the wall, shaking with my need for release. “Jasper.” I could barely think.
He pushed up into me and caught his breath as I clenched around him. He thrust harder, impaling me against the wall.
It took everything I had not to scream with pleasure. I projected how he was making me feel and he groaned. He gave three more quick thrusts and I felt him swell inside of me. That feeling alone was enough to make me come again.
He looked at the water which was starting to get cool. He set me down and I quickly turned the taps so that more hot water came out of the shower head.
I kissed him softly. “Are you sure you can handle this?”
He nodded. “Do you remember when Ream almost killed me on the ridge?”
“It’s not likely to be something I’m going to forget.” I could still picture clearly how Ream, in wolf form, and stepped on Jasper’s ribs, puncturing his lungs. He had then ripped his throat open with his jaws. By the time I had been able to get to him, it had almost been too late. He had lain on the ground, the blood soaking into his fur. “I still feel like crying when I think of it.”
He smiled at me. “Don’t cry. It turned out alright. I’m just bringing it up because if I survived that, and I survived my time in the cave, I’m pretty sure I can survive this. At least here I’m not actually dying. It just feels like it.”
I turned the knobs again and reluctantly turned them off when it was obvious we had used all the hot water.
I handed Jasper a towel and watched him wrap it around his waist. “I’ll go get you some of my dad’s pants. They’ll be a bit big, but until we can go shopping tomorrow, they’ll have to do. Yours are filthy.”
I pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of sweat shorts and went hunting for the smallest pair of shorts or pants my dad might own. My adoptive father wasn’t a big man width wise, but at six and a half feet, he was much larger than Jasper’s six even.
I went to my dad’s closet, looked through his selection of pants and settled on a pair of khaki cargo pants. I went to the dresser to find a belt.
“Oh, mom. You kept them all.” My throat tightened at the sight of a small box that sat open on the dresser. In it were all the letters I had written my parents since crossing to Quelondain.
“Is everything alright, Shlova?” Jasper came up behind me and rested his chin on my head.
I nodded. “Yeah. I just saw that mom kept all the letters I sent them. You know, I’m so busy over there, I forget how hard it must be for them.”
“You make them sound like terrific people. I can’t wait to meet them.”
“They are terrific. They’ll love you.”
He smiled at me in the mirror. “Maybe I should be dressed when they get here.”
I grabbed
the belt and pants off of the dresser and laughed. “Here.”
We headed back to my room and he pulled the pants on.
I had to laugh. Even with the belt on the pants barely stayed on his hips. I rolled the legs up, stood and grinned. “We definitely need to go shopping for you tomorrow. Lucky for you, I had a savings account before I left.” I pictured him in a pair of wranglers and smiled to myself.
Jasper yawned and lay back on the bed. I crawled in beside him and snuggled into his chest. I didn’t hear my parents come home.
*****
I woke to the sun shining in the window, the smell of coffee brewing, and the sound of laughter coming up the stairs. I took a deep breath and savored the coffee smell, stretching under the covers.
I got up, pulled my hair into a ponytail and headed down the stairs. I couldn’t help but grin at the scene that awaited me in the kitchen. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever let myself think that I would one day find my father and my mate having coffee together.
My dad and Jasper were both leaning on opposite counters, each with a cup of coffee in their hands. My dad was in his pajama pants and Jasper was wearing a pair of dark green camouflage colored cargo shorts. These were a bit big but were staying on much better than the pants I had found for him yesterday.
“Good morning, Shlova.” Jasper’s eyes lit up with his smile.
My dad put his cup on the counter before turning towards me. I took three big steps to reach him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Morning, dad.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Morning, Hayden.” He let go of me, looked at me closely and smiled. “That’s quite the tattoo.”
I grinned. “That’s my official healer’s tattoo.”
My dad pulled a cup out of the cupboard and filled it with coffee for me.
I smiled and added cream and sugar. “Thanks.” I walked to Jasper and gave him a soft kiss. “Where did you get the shorts?”
“Your father lent them to me.”
“Your cousin Tyson came to spend the weekend a few months ago while your aunt and uncle went out of town. He forgot these here.” My dad smiled. “He’s a bit more Jasper’s size than I am.” My cousin Tyson was sixteen years old and already six foot one inches tall.
I grinned up at Jasper. “You look good in them.” He smiled back at me, knowing full well what I was thinking. Good was the understatement of the year. “So what was so funny before I got down here?”
My dad started laughing. “Jasper was telling me a few stories.”
“Don’t believe anything he tells you, Dad. If the stories are about me, he’s lying.” I blushed.
“I would never lie about how stubborn you are, you know that, Shlova.” Jasper laughed and hunched over a bit to absorb the slap I gave him. I noticed that now that we were in this world his slightly Scottish sounding accent was a bit more noticeable.
My dad laughed even harder. “I agree with Jasper. No one could exaggerate that fact.”
I stuck my tongue out at both of them.
“What’s so funny down here?” My mother came walking into the kitchen looking just as beautiful in her pajama pants and t-shirt as she would have in an evening dress. Her long blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail. The blue colored shirt she had on made her aqua green eyes bluer than normal. At five feet eight inches tall I always thought she made a great match for my dad.
I could tell she was fighting back the tears when she crushed me into a hug. She took a few deep breaths before looking down at me. The tears won the battle and rolled down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t believe you’re here.”
A lump formed in my throat and I realized I was crying too. “It’s ok, mom. I missed you guys so much.”
She smiled and wiped her tears while I did the same. My dad gave us both a hug, his grey eyes looking a bit misty.
Jasper appeared holding a cup of coffee for my mom.
She took the mug and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” She laughed at the surprised look on his face. “Not just for the coffee. Thank you for everything you’ve done. Taking care of Hayden, keeping her safe.”
He nodded and smiled. “It’s been my pleasure.”
I started to laugh. “Your pleasure, is it? It seems to me that last night you told me I was the cause of your hair going grey!”
He grinned. “I don’t mind sacrificing the color of my hair to keep you around, Shlova.”
“He’s right, you know.” My dad was laughing too. “Look at what you did to my hair.” His once dark blond hair had more silver than blond in it.
“Ha, ha, ha.” I smiled. “Funny.” I leaned back into Jasper and looked up at my dad. “We were wondering if it would be alright if we stayed here until we could find a place to rent. We have to stay here until next spring.”
Both of my parents’ eyes widened in shock . “Of course we don’t mind.” My dad poured himself another cup of coffee and smiled. “Can I ask why you need to hide?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. I had never lied about anything important to my parents before. I wasn’t going to start now. I knew the truth would worry them, but they had a right to know what was happening. “You’d better pour us all another cup and we’ll go sit down. It’s a bit of a long story.”
We all headed to the dining room and sat around the table. We told them everything from the night I had left after going to the roping jackpot until last night when Damian had warned us to come back. Well, almost everything. I left out the part where I had gone into heat but had failed to conceive. If Jasper noticed he didn’t bring it to anyone’s attention.
By the time we had told our story and had answered all of my parents’ questions it was almost lunch time. Everyone was quiet for a few moments.
I glanced at my dad when he cleared his throat. “Well, Hayden, I always told you you had been put on this earth for a reason. I just had no idea it was something quite as extravagant as this. At least we’ll know you’ll be safe for the next year.”
Jasper grunted then smiled when he realized he had done it loud enough for everyone to hear. He shrugged at me and I laughed.
“So what are the rest of your plans for the day?” My mom was getting up and heading to the kitchen.
I smiled at Jasper’s half naked form. “We need to go shopping.”
“Your bank card is in your top drawer. You’ve sold a few of your prints at the art gallery at the lake. We put all the money you’ve made off of them into your account.”
I gave them both a hug. “Thanks, mom. Thanks, dad.” I headed for the phone. I waited while it rang and smiled when a familiar voice picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Shay!”
“Hayden! You’re here?”
I laughed. “Yeah. We have to hide out for the next year. We got here yesterday. Is Shawn in town?”
“Yeah! It’s his weekend off. He’s here right now. What do you need?”
“Nothing. I thought we’d go for lunch. I’m taking Jasper shopping for some clothes.”
“Oooh. You’re putting him in Wranglers, right?”
I laughed. “Definitely.” I waited while she relayed the information to Shawn.
“Ok. Actually, we’ll meet you at Rider’s. Shawn needs to pick up a bigger cinch. You should see the size of his new colt.”
“Alright. We’ll be leaving in about ten minutes.”
“Sounds good. See you in a bit.”
We hung up. “Let’s go get dressed. We’ll meet Shay and Shawn at Rider’s. We can pick you up a couple pairs of jeans and some t-shirts. Shawn needs a cinch. Then we’ll go for lunch.”
He smiled and followed me up the stairs. “You lead, I’ll follow.”
I changed into a pair of Wranglers and a solid black t-shirt. I searched through the shirts in my closet until I found the one I was looking for. It was a dark blue t-shirt with the picture of a horse and rider spinning. I had won it in a raffle and had never got rid of it even though it had been
a couple of sizes too big.
“Here. This might fit you.” I handed it to him and smiled. It was a bit snug, but from my point of view, that wasn’t such a bad thing. “Well, if you decide you don’t like the cowboy look, we know you can pull off the jock look.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
“Jasper, if we weren’t meeting Shay and Shawn, I’d be tearing that shirt off of you this instant. Of course, you could probably wear a dress and still manage to be drop dead gorgeous.”
He laughed and shook his head.
“Let’s go see if Tyson forgot some shoes here.”
Luckily for us, my cousin was the forgetful type. The black running shoes were a size too big for Jasper, but would do until we could get him his own.
I gave my mom and dad a hug and grabbed my keys from the key holder.
“I moved your mom’s car already.”
“Thanks, dad.” I slipped my bank card into my back pocket and wished I had known we were going to be coming here. My wallet and driver’s license were back at the cabin in Sageden.
Outside, I pulled the tarp off of my truck and threw it behind the seat. After unlocking the passenger door and opening it I made my way to the driver’s side. Jasper’s eyes widened as the truck rumbled to life.
I smiled at him and put the truck into reverse. “Shawn can explain this one to you. I know a bit about motors and that sort of stuff, but not enough to talk about it so it makes sense to you.”
I made my way through the streets and ten minutes later we were parked in front of Rider’s, the only western and equestrian shop in town. I put a hand on his knee and looked into his eyes. “How are you doing?”
He shrugged. “I’ll live.” He smiled, but I could see the pain he was trying to hide.
“Alright.” I watched Shawn’s green pickup pull up beside us.
He hadn’t even pulled to a full stop before Shay was jumping out of the passenger’s side. I jumped out of the truck and met her hug with my own.
Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' Page 24
