That brought her thoughts around to Riley – she could no longer think of him as the rude arrogant slightly amusing ass; at least not right now - not after he had just been so nice to her. He could easily have mocked her fear, yet he’d been understanding and supportive instead.
Riley Cooper the man was absolutely gorgeous but he was stunningly beautiful as a wolf. The fur on top of his head and down his back were black, while the sides of his body and hind quarters had been a gray down to his fluffy tail that ended with a black tip. On his face was a brow of black that muted to gray around his golden eyes and down his nose and then white on the sides of his muzzle, neck, chest and underbelly. He’d been bigger than she expected, but it made sense considering he was a big man.
When he’d shifted back and held her in his arms and kissed her, Tara felt every nerve ending in her body come to life. She had had boyfriends before but had never felt quite as aware of a man as she did with Riley. Sex had been rather disappointing in her experience. It never quite matched up to her expectations and she always felt something must be missing inside of her because everyone else seemed to enjoy it – so it was obviously her deficiency. After a while she took on the attitude of why bother. In fact, she hadn’t even dated anyone in over two years, too busy in her imaginary world of screenwriting to bother with the real world unless it involved research (which usually meant Google or Wikipedia). But something about Riley just made it all click – light bulb over the head – so this is what it should be like; the smell of him, the taste of him, the feel of him it just all suddenly felt right, and intoxicating. She wanted more.
Tara heard a vehicle pull into the drive and grinned. It must not have taken very long to roust the hunters since he’d been gone only about twenty minutes. She went to the door and pushed it open, but an SUV parked in the driveway instead of Riley’s truck and a stunning blonde woman emerged from the vehicle. She looked to be a few years younger than Tara and was dressed in a white blouse and black pants with the most impractical pair of black stilettos Tara had ever seen. She stopped with surprise at seeing Tara on the porch but then smiled and waved a hand tipped with long, bright red nails.
“You must be Tara!” she said, rushing up the porch and Tara couldn’t help but wonder how the woman could do anything more than stand absolutely still in those shoes.
“I’m Constance Tully, Margaret’s daughter, and it is so nice to meet you. Oh my gosh, you look so much like your brothers.” She gushed, vigorously pumping Tara’s hand when she held it out. “Is Coop around?”
Tara actually felt an honest to goodness growl build in her throat and her eyes widened. She cleared her throat to push the sound back. Obviously Doctor Bascomb was right and it wouldn’t take much to push her wolf forward. Something like jealousy was doing a damn fine job right now.
“How do you know Riley?” she asked and then wanted to kick herself right in the ass. Well that was the most stupid question ever, ninny head.
Constance didn’t call her out on her stupidity though; she just gave a long high-pitched giggle. “You’re so funny! Everyone in this town knows everyone and everyone’s business.” She said, waving her manicured hand about. “He knew I’d be stopping by today before I go in to work. I work at Flora’s Hair Design. You be sure to come see me for any beauty needs.” And then in a whisper despite there being no one around to overhear, “Flora’s old so unless you want an old lady perm, don’t let her touch your hair.”
“Riley went to take care of some hunters that were spotted near here; he didn’t think he’d be gone long.” Tara said, “Is there something I could help you out with or a message I could give him for you?”
“Well, I’m sure you know how Conner’s birthday is next week. He said he doesn’t want any fuss, but what fun is that?” She giggled again. “Everyone knows I’m about as good as Lucy at keeping secrets, but this was so important that I’ve just had to keep it zipped and it sure hasn’t been easy!”
Tara nodded, she hadn’t known Conner’s birthday was coming soon but she kind of wanted Constance to get to the point of why she was here looking for Riley.
“Anyway, everyone also knows that if you want something done in secret, Coop’s the man.” And then, again in a whisper, “never play poker with Coop. He doesn’t know the meaning of ‘playing for fun’.”
Just then, Tara spotted Riley’s truck pulling in and wished she had a little better idea of what was going on between him and Constance.
Constance spotted Riley and started squealing and jumping up and down. “Oh, Coop! I’m so glad you’re here. I told you I’d be stopping by today but I have to get to work.”
Riley just shook his head with a grin. “You’re going to hurt yourself jumping around in those shoes, girl.”
Then he turned to Tara and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “Hey, sweetheart” He said.
Tara gasped when she got a good look at him. “What happened to your mouth?”
He chuckled, “Your daddy happened. Let me just get the envelope for Connie and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Riley went through the door and Constance kept bouncing like a wind-up toy. “I’m so excited!” she said. “I had Riley arrange the whole thing. I’m taking Conner to Las Vegas for a weekend.” Again she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m hoping to pour enough liquor down his throat that he’ll take me to one of those chapels and I’ll come back as Mrs. Conner Pierce!” She let out an ear-splitting squeal of delight.
There was a certain glint of madness in Constance’s eyes and she wondered whether her feelings for Conner were actually returned. She hoped for this woman’s sake that they were. That much enthusiasm shouldn’t be wasted on unrequited love.
Riley returned with a thick manila envelope and handed it to Constance who looked like she might faint with ecstasy at seeing her plan start to come to fruition. “It’s all in there, Connie. I’m sure you two will have a really good time.”
“You are the best, Coop! Thank you so much!” And with one final high-pitched squeal that made both Tara and Riley wince, Constance ran down the steps to her SUV in those ridiculously high heels before backing around in the drive and heading back toward town.
Riley shook his head, “That girl is going to be disappointed, but there’s no talking her out of it.”
“Conner doesn’t feel the same about her?” Tara guessed as she followed Riley inside.
He shrugged, “He likes her well enough, but he’s only twenty-five. He’s not looking to settle down for a while yet. Connie on the other hand has been talking non-stop about marriage for the last two years. One of them is going to have to give and I highly doubt it will be Conner. I can’t see it ending well.”
Tara nodded and sat down on the couch. “Why did she have you plan the trip? I mean, unless someone was looking through her browsing history, all of that can be done on-line.”
Riley went to the kitchen and grabbed a soda out of the fridge. “You want one, sweetheart?”
When she shook her head no he continued. “Connie has a bit of a problem with credit cards and got so deep in debt she’d never climb out, so Margaret, her mother, bailed her out but made Connie promise never to act so irresponsible again.”
“I see, so she gave you the cash and you put it all on your card.”
Riley nodded, “Exactly, and if she trashes the room or does anything to add extra charges to my card she knows I’ll take it out of her hide.”
“Why you?” Tara asked. “Why not her mother or anyone else with a credit card for that matter?”
He sat down on the couch and leaned his head back. “Probably because I’m one of the only ones not telling her what to do; everyone thinks they’re giving her well-meaning advice, but it’s only made her dig her heels in deeper to get what she wants. She’s a big girl, she needs to make the mistakes and live with the consequences.”
Tara angled toward him on the couch and touched his swollen lip. “Why did my dad hit you?” She asked with concern.
Riley grinned. “You’re his daughter, sweetheart, and he needed to make sure I had honorable intentions.”
“Do you?” she asked grinning as well and batting her eye lashes.
He laughed and pulled her onto his lap. “Not right at the moment.” He said before slanting his mouth across hers.
God he tasted so good. Tara ran her hands up into his hair, and then down his back. She wanted to touch him and gripped his T-shirt to pull it up in the back and slid her hands over his smooth, hot skin.
She could feel Riley’s erection under her backside and she couldn’t resist wiggling a bit to tease him as his kisses moved hotly over her jaw and down her neck. She threw her head back to give him better access and one of his large hands cupped her breast. Her nipples were aching painfully and she wanted to scream yes, please to urge him on, but she suddenly heard a knock and they both froze.
Riley mumbled “You have got to be kidding me.” His head falling to her shoulder with a groan.
“Hello? Coop? Tara?” Tara recognized Addie’s voice and sighed as Riley lifted her off of him.
“Come on in, Addie.” He said as he grabbed one of the throw pillows on the couch and placed it on his lap. Tara grinned at him and he scowled.
Addie bustled into the living room all smiles. “Oh good, you’re both here. I stopped by the house, Tara and figured you couldn’t be too far. We have to nail down the specifics on this barbecue. I’m thinking day after tomorrow.”
“Wow, that’s fast, Addie. Isn’t it?” She looked at Riley and Addie who both shook their heads.
“Malsum Pass doesn’t need much of an excuse or weeks of planning for a get together,” Riley said “We’re more of a ‘just do it’ kind of town.” Then he pushed the throw pillow off his lap, obviously recovered. You know, Addie, Tara and I were planning on going in to town for lunch and there’s another little project I’d like to get you involved with. Why don’t we head down to the diner and talk?”
Chapter Fourteen
The barbecue was easier to plan than Tara thought since Addie told Lucy it was day after tomorrow and pot luck at Tara’s place and Lucy volunteered to get the word out to the town. Malsum Pass had a neat and highly efficient grapevine. According to Addie, the entire town would know of the invitation in less than two hours.
The project that Riley had mentioned was letting Tara hear some transition experiences and Lucy volunteered for that as well. Riley said that he didn’t mind sharing his story, and they could include other men if Tara wanted, but hearing from females may be more relevant for her and she had to admit he had a point.
So now here she was at Addie’s house with her grandfather, Riley, Lucy, Margaret and Constance Tully, as well as her father and her step-mother Sherry (shocking Tara with her presence).
Addie was happily buzzing about, putting out an assortment of beverages and snacks for her guests to enjoy while Margaret and Sherry were discussing whether the transition was easier or harder than childbirth. Sherry was making the argument that it was easier than birthing the first child, but she wouldn’t say the same about the second and third as those were easy deliveries for her.
Transitioning was being likened to labor? Could she hyperventilate now? Tara swallowed hard. “I don’t know if I can do this.” Tara mumbled under her breath.
Lucy, who was sitting next to her, obviously heard and patted her arm. “What you need to take away from this is everyone’s experience is different in the transition, just like labor is different for each woman. The point is that you’ll be able to hear what made it easier, what worked for some and not for others, what they would have done differently; that sort of thing.”
“My grandmother gave me a couple shots of whiskey and put me in a tub. The whole thing was a blur.” Her grandfather said, “But I wouldn’t recommend going that route, I was so sick and dizzy I wanted to die. They had to pull my head out of the water several times since I kept going under.”
“I remember the skin irritation was awful. I wish I had been in a tub.” Margaret said. “It felt like I was lying on hot needles.”
Tara nodded. “I remember that part. It seemed like everything hurt.” Riley who was standing behind her chair put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.
Then Constance spoke up. “What about when your ears start to transition? That was awful! They’d go from ringing to be able to hear things half way across the house like someone was right next to you, then back to ringing.”
“I stuffed cotton in my ears,” Sherry volunteered. “It lessened the loud noises but I still had the ringing.”
Addie nodded. “The ringing was definitely awful, but the muscles feeling like all of them were cramping up at once? I admit I screamed at one point.”
Tara felt Riley rub her shoulder. “Luckily the Doc prescribed Tara something for the pain; hopefully it has a muscle relaxer in there too.”
“I wonder if it’s going to be worse for you, Tara.” Constance said. “You know like how they say having your tonsils out when you’re an adult is worse than when you’re a kid?”
“I think she might actually have an easier time now compared to what she went through the first time.” Margaret chimed in. “I mean, she knows what’s going to happen this time so she won’t be as scared and unprepared. Plus, I’m willing to bet she’s in better shape now, and not to keep harping on the labor comparison, but from what I’ve read labor is much easier on a woman whose body is in shape and active and Tara certainly is that. Who’s to say it won’t be the same for a transition?”
There were several nods around the room and then Riley spoke up. “I’m wondering if a male transition is different from females because not one of you has mentioned feeling the aggression. I don’t know about anyone else, but I had a rather overwhelming urge to attack someone. I had to be held down.”
The women were shaking their heads but Tara saw her father nod. “You’re not alone there, Coop.” He said.
Her grandfather shrugged and then laughed. “I can’t help you with that one, Coop; I was too liquored up to move.”
Next thing Tara knew, Margaret was asking Addie about the recipe for the homemade cheese puffs Addie was serving and the conversation changed to a recipe exchange and how they really all should get together more often.
The men took that as their cue to find a different room to do guy stuff before their manliness was called into question, and Tara found herself laughing along and truly enjoying her evening with this little group of women who had come to her aid.
Riley was giving Tara a ride home later that evening when she said. “Oh, shoot! I forgot I was going to tell everyone the news. Well, Riley, you are the first person to hear that I will be officially staying in Malsum Pass permanently. I called my landlord today to give him notice. Now I just need to find a reputable moving company to go in and pack up my stuff. “
“That’s great, sweetheart. You’re not going to regret it.” He said with a smile but he really wanted to grab her in his arms and let out a triumphant whoop! He kept his hands on the wheel.
“I really like this place, and all my family is here. The thought of leaving just doesn’t feel right. I know I haven’t been here long, but I really feel like I’m home.”
“You’ll be okay with strangers going through your things? I’d be happy to drive down there with you and box stuff up for the movers so they’re just dealing with sealed boxes and furniture. That way you can also throw some stuff you don’t want to wait for in the back of my truck.”
With his eyes on the road before him he couldn’t see her smile but he heard it in her voice. “You need to stop being so nice to me, Riley Cooper or I’m going to start to like you.”
He grinned. “Ah, sweetheart, promises, promises.” And then, “So when do you want to go? I’d say I’d pick you up tomorrow morning first thing, but that would mean pushing to get back before the barbecue if it takes all day to box things up plus twelve hours round trip in the truck.”
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“How about the morning after the barbecue,” she suggested. “Can you take time off?”
Before he could say anything she gasped. “I just realized I don’t even know what you do for work, or even if you work. I know you have a seat on the council and Grandpa said you help him out in the shop from time to time if he gets over loaded, but otherwise I have no idea.”
Riley chuckled. “Technically, I’m the town sheriff; I’ve got the badge and everything. But that just usually means patrolling the woods for trespassers and keeping the town safe which pretty much every male in town does their part. So really, I’m more like a figure head in case we need to call in state troopers or the game warden.” He pulled in to Tara’s drive and parked the truck. “I occasionally get called down to The Stag if a fight breaks out and throw someone in a cell to cool off or sober up. I’ve had to arrest some tourists who tore up their room or tried to skip out on the bill at the B and B.” He shrugged. “Malsum Pass is pretty quiet and that’s the way we prefer it. Really, our biggest problem comes from poachers.”
“So can you be away from town to help me move? We may have to spend the night in New York and drive back the next day. I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Tara asked.
“To get you back here permanently?” He huffed out a laugh, “your dad and brothers, hell, even your grandfather will gladly take on my shifts.”
She smiled. “It’s settled then, road trip, six a.m., the day after the barbecue.”
He leaned forward, cupped her cheek, and kissed her. “You bet, sweetheart.”
Tara suddenly looked nervous, twisting her hands a bit in her lap. She bit her bottom lip. “Do you, ah, want to come inside?” She asked.
Riley groaned. “Oh, sweetheart, you don’t know how much I want to say yes right now, but it’s my night to patrol the woods with some of the younger pups. I can’t leave them on their own, they’re still learning.”
Malsum Pass Page 10
