Mac (Winter - Shifter Seasons Book 3)

by Harmony Raines

  “Fate. Yes.” Mac nodded. “When can you start?”

  “That’s it, no interview? No need for references?” Saffron glanced at Kassia.

  “A trial,” Kassia suggested as she tried to smooth things over. “Why don’t you start Saffron on a two-week trial?”

  “Yes.” Mac nodded in agreement. “Can you start now?”

  Saffron nodded and looked at her watch. “Sure.”

  “Saffron has to be back in Bear Creek this afternoon. She has a meeting at the school.” Kassia spoke to him as if he were a child.

  “At the school?” Mac asked, his interest piqued.

  “I moved to Bear Creek with my sister and her two sons,” she explained. “We have a meeting with the school principal this afternoon. I have to be back in time. My sister doesn’t have a car and she isn’t well enough to walk there.”

  “Great.” Mac nodded. “Great.” His brows knitted together. “Not about your sister being unwell. About you starting work now.”

  “Why don’t you show Saffron your office?” Kassia prompted. His soon-to-be sister-in-law was being extremely supportive while also finding the whole situation extremely amusing.

  “It’s messy.” Mac wished he’d had time to tidy it before his mate arrived.

  If it was tidy, you wouldn’t need a PA, his bear told him. And we need a PA.

  We need Saffron.

  “It’s my job to organize everything for you,” Saffron told him confidently as the three people headed toward his office. “So, don’t worry about anything.”

  “Mr. Griffiths.” Mac suddenly remembered why he’d been heading outside in the first place.

  “Mr. Griffiths?” Saffron asked. “Is that an employee?”

  “No, he just called to say he has a tree down blocking his driveway. I was on my way out to deal with it,” Mac explained.

  “Then why don’t you leave me in charge while you go?” Saffron suggested.

  Because I never want to leave your sight again, Mac thought.

  His bear guffawed. Don’t say that out loud or Saffron will get in her car and run for it.

  “Let me just show you the appointment system.” Mac went around his desk and clicked the mouse. His screen was filled with a calendar that was color-coded for his employees.

  “Okay, I get it,” Saffron said after staring at the screen for a couple of minutes. “I can handle it. If there is anything I’m unsure of, I can make a note of names and numbers and you can call them back when you return.”

  “Thanks.” He let out a long sigh of relief. Not just because he’d found his mate but also because he was confident Saffron could handle things here at the office.

  You should have taken on an assistant years ago, his bear told him.

  I was waiting for the right one, Mac answered.

  “And what about this pile?” Saffron placed her hand on the stack of papers on his desk.

  “I haven’t had time to sort through them.” He looked at the pile apprehensively. “I don’t have time to explain my filing system.”

  “Okay, why don’t I go through them and sort them into categories and then into date order. If we don’t have time for you to go through everything today, then we can do that tomorrow.” Saffron smiled with confidence and a weight lifted from Mac’s shoulders. He was no longer in this alone.

  We were never alone, his bear told him. We always had Hex and Beck by our side. Well, we always had Hex by our side.

  Yet, that wasn’t how Mac had felt. He’d shielded his brothers from most of the day-to-day running of the sawmill. Mainly because he liked to keep on top of things himself so that he knew exactly what was going on.

  You are a control freak, his bear told him.

  Not true, Mac replied.

  I know, his bear answered. You have kept tight control over everything so that the business never failed. But now it’s time to let go. It’s time to delegate.

  “That sounds like a plan.” Mac backed out of the office, his eyes fixed on Saffron.

  “It’s okay. I won’t mess anything up.” She smiled confidently.

  She has dimples, his bear sighed.

  Now who sounds ridiculous? Although, Mac had to agree, Saffron’s dimples were cute and he longed to kiss her full lips.

  “I trust you,” Mac replied, his eyes darkening.

  “Okay.” Kassia clapped her hands and then ushered Mac out of the office. “I’ll walk you to your truck and then I am going to make Saffron some coffee. I’ll hang out here for a couple of hours and make sure there are no hiccups.”

  “Thanks,” Mac said as he turned around and Kassia linked arms with him.

  “For what? Finding your mate?” She giggled, her body shaking with excitement. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Neither can I.” He headed toward the storeroom where the tools were kept. “Thank you.”

  “You are more than welcome.” She let go of his arm as he opened the door. “And anyway, it feels as if I’m paying it forward since Martha was there for me and Beck at the beginning. If she hadn’t talked me into inviting Beck over for dinner, we might never have gotten together.”

  “Do you think Saffron knows about shifters?” Mac asked as he focused on work and gathered the tools he needed.

  “I don’t know. Do you want me to go fishing?” Kassia cocked an eyebrow. “I won’t give anything away. But also, if she shares stuff with me in confidence, I won’t break that confidence either. It’s not just shifters who keep their word.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to,” Mac agreed. He looked in the direction of his office. He could sense her there. She was seated in his chair, her hand no doubt on the mouse he’d held so many times.

  “It’s just…” Kassia looked over her shoulder in the direction of the office, too.

  “It’s just what?” Mac paused, sensing Kassia was holding something back.

  Her eyebrows knitted together. “She didn’t put her last job down on her resume. She said she left it off because she didn’t want anyone asking her employer for a reference.” She pressed her lips together as she turned to face Mac. “I wouldn’t have said anything, only this is your business and if she had a problem with her last employer, it might affect your business.”

  Mac picked up his gear and headed out to his truck. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

  “And fate would not have sent you a mate who might endanger everything you’ve built here,” Kassia said. “Would it?”

  Mac shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  Kassia stepped forward and hugged Mac. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thanks, Kassia.” He sniffed loudly and she let go of him. “Okay. I have a tree to go and move.”

  “Do you want me to tell Beck?” Kassia asked suddenly.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you to keep secrets from him but the last thing I need is for my entire work crew to come back here and go stare at my mate.”

  Kassia laughed. “True, because if I tell Beck, then he’ll tell Hex and soon all of Bear Creek will know.”

  “I’ll tell them tonight.” Mac closed the tailgate on his truck and went around to the driver’s door. “Maybe by then, I’ll believe it, too.”

  “It’s real, Mac. It’s real.” Kassia watched him as he started the engine and drove away, leaving his mate behind.

  It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. All he hoped was that she would still be there when he returned.

  Then you’d better work hard, his bear told him as he settled down to sleep and dream of their mate.

  Chapter Four – Saffron

  Okay, you can do this, Saffron told herself as she clicked on the calendar that filled the computer screen. A quick cursory glance reassured her. She’d used a similar system before.

  Her gaze switched to the mess of paperwork on Mac’s desk. That, on the other hand, was going to take some effort to organize.

  Taking off her jacket, she swung it around and put it on the back
of Mac’s chair before she picked up the first piece of paper and examined it. It was an invoice for a chainsaw repair.

  She needed room to make separate piles for all the invoices. Walking around the desk, she moved a box that was sitting on a counter onto the floor and tidied away several empty coffee cups into the sink in the corner of the office. Then she set to work.

  “Do you enjoy this?” Kassia asked as she came into the office with two cups of coffee.

  “I do.” Saffron looked up, her cheeks flushed from poring over paperwork. “Oh, thanks.”

  “Mac has a coffee machine in here somewhere, but I thought you might like some fresh coffee.” Kassia handed the hot mug of steaming coffee over. “And I thought you might like some company.”

  Saffron glanced at the pile of papers on Mac’s desk, it was already a third smaller than when she’d started, she could afford a coffee break. As for the company… Yeah, she could afford that, too. Saffron liked Kassia, she seemed open and genuinely concerned for Mac. Making friends in a new town could be hard and Saffron planned to take every opportunity to get to know people and fit in.

  Especially since Nina planned to spend the rest of her life here in the hope that Evan was not really dead and might one day walk back into her life. Since Bear Creek was where Evan was born and raised, this is where she figured they should live. She also wanted the boys to feel closer to their father and share the same love of the mountains and the open countryside.

  “Are you okay?” Kassia ducked her head and tried to catch Saffron’s eye.

  “Yeah. Just memories.” She swept those painful memories away. Her sister, once happy and vibrant, had faded like a summer flower as the long, hot days retreated and fall took a hold. It was as if Evan had brought warmth and light into Nina’s world and now that he was gone, she was in eternal shade.

  “I was worried you were upset because you’ve been thrown into the deep end here.” Kassia looked around the office. “But I think you have it under control.”

  “Starting to. I like organizing things. It gives me a sense of purpose.” She gave a short laugh. “Not that my life is ever this organized. It’s an external trait, not an internal one.”

  “Life is meant to be messy,” Kassia said. “It would be boring if it wasn’t.” She rubbed her forehead. “But I do know what you mean. Before I moved to Bear Creek, I was engaged to a man who used me to smuggle diamonds. There was this whole police sting and he went to prison.”

  “That’s not the kind of messy I’d enjoy,” Saffron admitted in surprise.

  “But then I came to Bear Creek when Aunt Betsy sprained her ankle in the snow. If I hadn’t gone through what I’d gone through, then I wouldn’t appreciate just how good a man Beck is.” She smiled wistfully. “I wouldn’t have found my happily ever after.”

  “I’ve given up on finding a happy ever after,” Saffron admitted. “And right now, I’d settle for a happy for now.”

  “Are things that bad?” Kassia asked with concern. Or was she probing for any information she could pass on to Mac? Saffron needed to be careful and not give too much away.

  Like her instant attraction to Mac, the most eligible bachelor in town, even though she’d gotten this job by insisting she had no interest in relationships. Which she didn’t.

  But damn! If Mac Winter didn’t look at her with enough heat in his eyes to melt the snow.

  “This job would make all the difference,” Saffron admitted. “It’s what I’m good at. I know I came to the diner looking for a job, but I don’t think I’d have been very good at it.”

  “Oh, me neither,” Kassia laughed. “The diner belongs to my aunt, but she’s still off her feet with a sprained ankle. Carol is running things, I tried to help out, but I just got in the way.”

  “Wait, your aunt still has a sprained ankle?” Saffron asked. “Has it taken long to heal?”

  “No, she only sprained it a week ago…” Kassia stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Saffron.

  “So, you are engaged to a man you’ve only just met?” Saffron asked.

  “Yes,” Kassia squeaked in reply. “It sounds worse than it is,”

  “I didn’t mean to imply it was bad,” Saffron told her new friend. “Just a little unusual.”

  “A little.” Kassia shrugged. “But when you meet the right person and you know without any doubt that they are the one for you…”

  Saffron looked closer at Kassia. She seemed completely normal. No hair sticking out of her ears or anything like that. Damn, it was tough trying to figure out if she’d made the right decision coming to Bear Creek. Had they moved here for nothing? Had Nina been truthful about Evan and their children? Were shifters real?

  Nina had been so convincing. She’d been so adamant that Evan had the ability to shift into a bear and that their offspring, Wes and Jonas, would soon experience the same unique trait. Nina had wanted to come to Bear Creek so that the boys might meet other shifters and perhaps find someone who could help mentor them in the ways of shifters. But how did a person go about finding out if they were in the presence of a shifter?

  Asking a stranger if they had fangs and claws under their skin seemed a little impolite.

  “My sister got married fast. It was a whirlwind romance. My mom certainly didn’t approve but they were happy. So very happy.” Her eyes misted with tears. “Right up to the end.”

  “I’m sorry. How did it happen?” Kassia asked gently.

  “Nina’s husband volunteered for mountain rescue. Not around here…” Saffron put her coffee cup down on the counter and turned to the desk and the stack of papers that needed sorting through. Putting things in order distracted her from her unordered life. “There was an accident…”

  “I’m so sorry,” Kassia said kindly. “That must have been a terrible shock. I can’t even begin to imagine how your sister felt.”

  “She slipped away from us. I moved in with her to help care for the boys. They missed their dad terribly. For the first few months, they lost their mom, too. Then, slowly she came back to us. But she’s not herself and I don’t know if she ever will be.” Saffron took a couple of invoices and placed them on the invoice pile.

  “When I lost my mom…Well, I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, but I was an adult. I didn’t depend on her as much as I had when I was a child, but it was still the hardest thing I’ve ever lived through.”

  “Nina’s tried hard to find happiness again. She threw herself into watching the kids grow up. But there is a part of her missing. A part of her that died when Evan died.” Saffron went back to the sheaf of papers. “When she first met Evan, I was kind of jealous that she’d found love. A love so strong that she knew without a doubt it was forever. But then to watch her fade when Evan died.”

  Her forehead wrinkled. She didn’t say the next words. Saffron didn’t tell Kassia, a woman she’d only just met, that she had come to the conclusion she would never let herself love a man like that. She would never give part of herself to a man.

  However, she’d never experienced the same feeling of true love. Real love. Yes, she’d flirted with it and sometimes lost her heart temporarily. But never wholly and completely.

  But then she’d never fallen in love with a shifter.

  She shook her head. If they were real.

  “Oh.” Saffron went around the desk and sat down heavily in the chair, her elbow resting on the edge of the desk, her head in her hand.

  “Are you okay?” Kassia quickly put her cup down on the desk and went to Saffron. “I’m sorry, this had brought back a lot of memories for you, memories I’m sure you don’t want to relive right now.”

  “It’s okay.” She inhaled deeply and sat up. “It’s always there just under the surface. But this move has kind of dredged everything up. I’m scared I’ve done the wrong thing bringing Nina and the boys here.”

  “Moving is always a big step. But Bear Creek is the perfect place for two teenagers. If they like the outdoors, the mountains are a great place to expl
ore and let off steam. And the kids here are pretty good. We don’t have a lot of trouble from teenagers and no drug use, the sheriff has zero-tolerance.” Kassia stopped talking and glanced out of the window. “Why did you pick Bear Creek?”

  Saffron stiffened before she blew the air out of her cheeks. “Evan came from here. He grew up here. He used to tell the boys about his escapades and adventures. I’m sure some of them were embellished but he loved it here.”

  “Ahh, so the perfect place for a new start.” Kassia nodded. “Like coming home.”

  “Like coming home,” Saffron said. “Evan brought them here a few times for a vacation, but they can’t really remember it.”

  Saffron jumped as the phone rang. Quickly wiping away her tears, she breathed in and out a couple of times to compose herself before she answered it. “Winter’s Sawmill, Saffron speaking, how can I help you?”

  There was a pause, the person on the end of the line was breathing a little heavily. Saffron’s heart raced, was this a prank call?

  “Saffron, it’s Mac.” Mac’s voice wavered before he took another deep breath and steadied it. “I was just calling to see if everything was okay.”

  “Everything is fine,” she reassured him. “I’m wading through your paperwork and no one else has called.”

  “Great, I’ll probably be here for another hour. I’ll try to get back before you leave but if not, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He paused then said, “Unless you would like to go to dinner tonight and talk things over without the distraction of work.”

  “Dinner?” Saffron repeated. She hadn’t been out for dinner for months and then it had only been for work. Oh, wait, this would be for work. “Sure.”

  “No pressure,” Mac added, sensing her apprehension.

  “No, I’d like that.” Saffron needed this job and Mac was right, if the sawmill was busy then it made sense to go to dinner and talk without any distractions.

  “I’ll pick you up at seven,” Mac said. “Can you write down your address and cell phone number?”

  “Sure, I’ll leave it on your desk. Unless you get back before I leave.” Her heartbeat increased in tempo as she found herself hoping he would get back before she left. She wanted to see Mac again, there was something about him. Something incredibly distracting.