Oberon Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Welcome to Oberon

by P. G. Forte

  “You know, I used to train dogs,” she mentioned, casually. “I could probably give you some tips on how to get her to stop pulling like that.”

  “We do okay,” he grumbled, and then added, almost apologetically, “I haven’t had her all that long. And I really haven’t had a lot of opportunity to work with her since I got her, so...”

  “She doesn’t look very old,” she said, aware that her teeth had begun chattering. She forced herself to speak clearly. “How long have you had her?”

  He hesitated before answering. “Awhile,” he said, shutting his mouth with an air of finality once it had been said. Saying nothing more until they’d reached the center.

  She led the way up the stairs and across the porch. The building the center was housed in was an old cottage, its cedar shingles weathered to a soft, fawn brown. The clean smell of the rain-washed wood mingled with the smoke from the fire she’d lit earlier and the intoxicating pine scent of the surrounding trees.

  “Don’t let go of your dog just yet,” she cautioned over her shoulder as she opened the door. A low growl issued from the darkness inside the cabin as she reached inside to switch on the light. “Quiet, Selke,” she ordered. The little dog came slowly towards her, still stretching his stiff muscles. His stump of a tail began wiggling in ecstatic greeting when he was finally close enough to recognize her. Selke was twelve years old now and neither his eyesight nor his hearing was what they once were. Siobhan knew that in a few years she’d probably be facing a painful decision where Selke was concerned. A lot sooner than that, an inner voice had been insisting for some time now; but she just wasn’t ready to hear it.

  She kicked off her boots and pulled off her wet socks and then her jacket as the two dogs acquainted themselves with one another. “Here, let me have that bucket,” she said. This time he did not demur, which either meant that he was too tired or too cold to put up any more of a fight, or—just maybe—he recognized that they were on her turf, now. She hoped it was the latter.

  “We need to get out of these wet clothes right away.” She nodded towards the bathroom. “You can change in there. Take a shower, too, while you’re at it. It’ll warm you up. You’ll find towels and dry clothes in the cabinet.”

  There were lines of strain on his face, but there was something approaching humor in his eyes as his glance flickered over her. He managed a weak smile as he said, dryly. “I seriously doubt that any of your clothes are gonna fit me.”

  “Listen, you’d be surprised at the number of people I end up having to clothe after they fall in the water,” she said, trying hard not to return his smile. “Not to mention all the stuff that gets left behind after field trips. I’m sure you’ll find something.”

  He nodded, accepting that, and turned towards the bathroom. Siobhan carried the buckets to the back of the room, where several lab tables had been set up. Then she went through the kitchen and into the small efficiency at the back of the cabin, to change her own clothes. She was surprised when she heard the water go on in the shower. She’d been almost positive he’d ignore her suggestion. It pleased her to realize he was capable of taking direction, after all. Besides, if he really was all that concerned about hypothermia, it was the only practical thing to do.

  Not that she was being impractical by skipping her own shower, she told herself, as she pulled on a pair of black leggings and a soft charcoal gray pullover. She might still be shivering, but she wasn’t the one who was shortly going to have to go out into the cold again. She had all night to take a shower. Besides, there were other ways to raise her internal temperature. Right now she was feeling more hungry than anything else.

  She was in the kitchen when Ryan emerged from the bathroom a short while later. He was barefoot, she noticed. His feet were all long toes and big knobby bones. With feet like that, he was probably a good runner. A frisson of nerves unsettled her. Definitely the kind of guy any woman could be excused for overreacting to on a dark, deserted beach. Big and tough and no doubt fast as hell, when his leg wasn’t bothering him. His skin was pink from the shower, and the short gold hairs that covered his forearms glistened as he came toward her; seeming, somehow, to take up way more space than was actually necessary. She resisted the urge to back away from him.

  His wet, blond hair gleamed darkly in the lamplight, and he was carrying his wet clothes bundled in one large hand. Siobhan indicated a plastic bag he could use for his clothes, and tried hard not to stare at the rest of him.

  She’d been almost right about the clothes. The pale gray sweatpants he’d chosen were a tad short, but they fit him well enough; but the faded blue T shirt was stretched tight across his chest and shoulders and didn’t begin to cover his bulging biceps. She was more than a little annoyed by her reaction to him. She took martial arts classes several times a week with any number of young male hardbodies; she should be inured to the sight of one by now.

  “There’s hot tea in the pot on the table,” she said, pointing. “Pour yourself a cup. You can add some brandy to it, if you want.”

  “Sounds like an odd combination,” he observed, as he picked up the brown earthenware pot. “And I thought alcohol was a bad idea for exposure. Doesn’t it cause your body to release even more heat, or something?”

  She nodded in acknowledgement. “Yeah, I heard that, too. But my first rule is to always go with what works. And that seems to, so- listen, are you hungry?” she asked briskly, as she set out plates. She ignored the speculative look in his eyes as he gazed over his shoulder at her. She hoped he wasn’t getting any wrong ideas, just because she hadn’t wanted to have his hypothermia on her conscience. “I didn’t have any dinner yet tonight and I’m starving. I made enough for two, if you want some,” she elaborated.

  “All right,” he answered slowly. “Thanks.”

  “Have a seat, then.” She was aware that he was still watching her intently as she ladled tomato soup into two bowls, and she felt her frown deepen.

  “So, tell me something,” he said, his voice breaking the awkward silence. “Do you live here? Or do you just keep really weird hours? I mean... you’re not, by any chance, going to all this trouble just because you think you need to rescue me, are you?”

  She looked at him in surprise. Was that all that was bothering him? Maybe he hadn’t jumped to any embarrassing conclusions, after all. Maybe he was just trying to get his bearings. “No, I live here,” she said as she placed the bowls on the table and went back for the grilled cheese sandwiches. “I have an apartment in the back. We have to deal with a lot of injured or orphaned wildlife, from time to time. And since so many of them require round-the-clock care, it’s convenient to have someone on call, so to speak. Especially for those two o’clock feedings.”

  “Yeah? And who’s we?”

  “Oh, you know how it is,” she answered with a slight shrug, as she slid into the chair across from him. “I work with a lot of volunteers. Mostly college kids, or people who’re in-between jobs. Plus some retirees and a handful of freelancers with odd schedules.”

  “Uh-huh.” He reached for half a sandwich and she tried not to stare as he swallowed most of it in one bite. “So, basically, it’s just you, right?” he asked, with a slow smile.

  She was stung by the smug satisfaction in his tone. “Hey,” she replied, hotly. “That’s not fair. I mean, sure it slows down pretty dramatically in bad weather, and I’m not saying there isn’t a fairly rapid turnover, or that I don’t get my share of weirdos, from time to time, but there are a lot of really dedicated people out there, too, you know.”

  “You mean it’s not true what they say?” His eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t get what you pay for?”

  She glared at him, outraged by his snobbishness, until it occurred to her that he was just teasing her. “Oh. Very funny,” she mumbled, as she concentrated her attention on her soup. For a few minutes neither of them spoke. She was aware of the sandwiches disappearing at a surprisingly rapid rate, and she wondered whether she should offer to
make more.

  “How’d you get into this line of work, anyway?” he asked after a little while.

  She shrugged. “Well, I had to do something when I came back to Oberon. And you’d be surprised at how few job opportunities there are for Marine Biologists around here. So, I figured I’d start this place; you know, run a few programs for kids, after school and summers. It was just the nature center at first. But then people began calling about injured animals they’d found. Or stopping by with them. They didn’t know where else to take them, so they brought them to me. Before I realized what was happening I’d added pens and tanks and the whole infirmary.”

  His next question caught her by surprise. “So have you always lived alone?”

  “No.” She shook her head and took refuge in her soup, again. Time to change the subject. “No, not always. But what about you? What brings you down here tonight? It hardly seems like a good night to go for a walk.”

  He smiled a little crookedly. “Actually, it seemed like the perfect night for it. But it wasn’t really that long of a walk. I just live at the other end of the Marina. You know the new apartments on Admiral Drive?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I do. They’re very nice.”

  “Yeah, I like it there.” He sighed, leaning back in his chair and gazing around the room while he sipped his tea. When his eyes returned to her face he was smiling. “You know, though, I still can’t figure out what you do with those rocks you were collecting.”

  “Well, if you’ve finished eating, we can go inside,” she answered, returning his smile. “And I’ll show you.”

  Back to Top

  * * * *

  Chapter Four

  * * * *

  Ryan glanced around the room while he waited for Siobhan to set up the rock she had promised to show him. The large L-shaped space apparently functioned as both museum and classroom. His eyes took note of the book cases and chalk boards lining the walls, as well as the large, rather messy desk, set beneath the window in the shorter leg of the el.

  Several glass display cases stood about the room. Tonight, their collections of feathers and bleached bones and fluid filled jars of who-knew-what were lost in the shadows. But he remembered them well from the last time he’d been here, the previous September.

  Back then, the cases had all been shoved against the walls to make room for a cluster of tables that had been set up in the center of the room. Tonight, however, the tables were arranged in two parallel rows. A half-dozen Plexiglas tanks, each accompanied by a magnifying lens and a small amber-shaded desk lamp, were stationed on each table.

  But the change in the furnishings wasn’t the biggest difference between that other time and now. There was an intriguing intimacy to the place tonight that had not been noticeable then. It was probably the lighting, he decided, after giving the matter a little more attention. A variety of fish floated slowly and serenely through a fantasy seascape in the large, lighted aquarium, but beyond that and the desk lamps, the only other light in the room was that cast by the fire which burned with a warm, red glow in the old brick fireplace.

  Unless he was mistaken, that fireplace was also the only source of heat the old cottage had. Outside, a cold wind gusted in the darkness, yet the atmosphere inside was cozy and warm.

  The two dogs stretched out in front of the fire was a nice touch, too. Although he would never have figured Siobhan for the cocker spaniel type. It didn’t fit with his image of her, somehow.

  She seemed more like a pit-bull, he thought, suppressing a grin. At least, that had been his impression the very first time their paths had crossed.

  He thought about that now. Thought about how her radiant expression of welcome and relief had turned to fury in one blink of those amazing eyes. Catching him completely off-guard and obliterating all the soft, warm pleasure he’d been feeling only an instant before. Not that he’d had any business feeling like that, he reminded himself now. He’d been on duty, after all, investigating a homicide that had just been discovered.

  And if by doing his job, he’d caused her a little inconvenience, well that was too damn bad. Still, it had been a shame. Although, maybe the pit-bull reference wasn’t too fair, either. She’d probably been more like one of those Italian greyhounds – all wide-eyed and worried.

  He turned back to watch her as she worked. She sat hunched over one of the small tanks, peering intently at the rock she’d placed in it. He was as captivated by the loose tendrils of mahogany hair glowing against the ivory of her skin, as he was by her intense concentration.

  There was something really sexy about the way she focused. He found himself wondering what all that intensity would be like in bed, and nearly groaned aloud as he felt his body tighten in response to the idea. Shit. If that was all it took to give him a hard on, he’d obviously been celibate for way too long.

  The thing was, he hadn’t felt much like dating since his injury. What was the point, after all? He doubted whether he’d recovered either the stamina or the mobility he’d need to make love to a woman properly, and there was nothing he liked about the idea of having to make excuses for his deficiencies to a new partner.

  Nor had he had any desire to hook up with any of his former lovers, in hopes of a mercy fuck. It hadn’t left him with a whole lot of options.

  “Okay, c’mere,” she said, turning to look at him then. Her lips curved invitingly, excitement shimmered in her blue smoke eyes and it took every bit of acting ability he possessed to continue pretending that he had any interest in looking at some stupid rock. What the hell was he doing still hanging around here, anyway? He should’ve just gone home after getting changed. This entire evening was pointless, except as an exercise in extreme frustration.

  “Come on.” She motioned him forward, impatiently. “What are you waiting for?”

  “All right. What am I looking at?” As he leaned over her shoulder to squint through the glass, he was vividly aware of her warmth and the scent of her skin and the disappointingly demure neckline of her sweater, but there was little else to hold his interest.

  “You tell me,” she murmured mysteriously and he stifled a sigh. It was a rock, all right. Just as promised. No surprise there. A perfectly ordinary rock in a tank full of water. Fantastic. He studied it for a moment longer, anyway. It was mostly gray-green in color, its outlines partially obscured by a healthy crop of vividly green seaweed, and mottled with odd rust colored patches which were either oxidized minerals, he supposed, or some sort of lichen.

  “I don’t see anything.” He started to turn way when ripple of motion caught his eye. The damn thing had moved. He looked closer. “What is that?” he asked, staring in amazement as a rather shapeless, finger sized projection of rock slid slowly across the surface.

  “A sea hare. It’s a gastropod. You know, like a slug or a snail. See there?” She pointed at two projections at one end of the creature. “Those are its eye stalks.”

  “Incredible,” he muttered, staring at the thing in unwilling fascination. Once he knew what he was looking at, it was so obvious, even despite the protective coloration that had allowed it to blend in with the rest of the surface. “So, what’s it doing?”

  “Well, probably looking for food.” Her voice held a trace of amusement. “That’s pretty much all they ever do, really. They eat algae.”

  “Is that what that red stuff is?” he asked, indicating one of the patches he’d noticed earlier.

  “Oh, no. That’s encrusting bryozoan. They’re animals, too.”

  “Get out of here. You’re saying that slime’s an animal?” He turned his head to look at her.

  Her eyes glowed back at him, so bright with humor that, for a moment, he forgot about anything else.

  “It’s not slimy. You can touch it, if you want to. And, no, actually, it’s a whole colony of animals,” she answered, smiling patiently.

  “How can you tell?” he heard himself ask. His voice sounded faint. There was an odd ringing in his ears and her lips seemed suddenly so m
uch closer than they had been an instant earlier, though he didn’t think either of them had actually moved. For just a moment Ryan thought seriously of kissing her, and then sanity returned. He had to keep things cool. He didn’t want to be starting any fires with this woman tonight. Or with any woman, for that matter. Not while he was in no condition to put them out.

  “Well, if you want, we could switch to something with greater magnification, and I could show you what I...” Her voice trailed away as a red tide flushed her cheeks.

  Ryan saw the flash of heat that came and went in her eyes, leaving behind a deep wariness. She stiffened slightly. He heard her breath catch in her throat and he forced himself to pull away.

  “Maybe some other time, okay?” he said as he slowly straightened up. “Right now... I better get going before it starts to rain again. But thank you for showing me this stuff. I guess it was worth an achy shoulder, or two, to drag them up here after all.”

  “Thanks for all your help,” she answered, a little too mechanically. She frowned slightly. “Ryan, wait. About your leg—”

  “What about it?” he asked, coolly.

  “I noticed earlier that it seemed a little stiff. Did you hurt it tonight? I mean, was it something I did?”

  It was tempting to let her think so. To let her believe that there was nothing wrong with him that a couple of day’s rest couldn’t cure. Or even to see what might happen if he played on her sympathies just a little bit. But to what end? He shook his head. “No, Siobhan. It wasn’t anything you did.”

  “Oh. Okay, well, if you’re sure. I’m glad I—”

  “Look, just forget it, okay? It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He retrieved his jacket and shoes from in front of the fireplace, where he’d left them after his shower. They were warm and mostly dry. His dog looked up at him, expectantly as he dressed. “C’mon.” he told her, “Time to go.”