by Lena North
“I grew up here by the water, and moved straight back after Uni. I can’t even imagine living a mile away from the shores,” he said.
“Like me and the mountains then,” Mac said, but he was watching Snow intently.
The mood shifted again and became tense and uncomfortable in the same way as when we just met.
“Not me. I could live by the waters, or in the mountains, or in the foothills outside Prosper. Maybe even out on the plains, although I have to say that it would be my least preferred option,” I blabbered, trying to ease us back onto safer ground.
“Oh yes, totally agree,” Snow added, apparently trying to do the same. “The plains are just so very… plain?”
I laughed at her little joke even though it wasn’t all that funny. The atmosphere shifted again, and then Mac made some comment about the plains and about Treville. We chatted for a little while longer but then he moved to get up.
“We should get back, Wilder. We have to shower and get ready for dinner,” he said, and added, “Paolo will have guests tonight, and we didn’t bring fancy clothes, but we can at least clean up a little.”
“Fantastic,” Dante rumbled. “We’ll be there and if you’re not wearing a suit, then I certainly won’t either.”
A suit? I snorted at the thought of Mac in one, and he frowned at me.
“I do own a suit,” he muttered, which made Snow make a snorting sound too.
“Only one?” she asked, and I thought it sounded a bit condescending but Dante chuckled.
“Well, I hate them, so I’ll wear jeans and a tee tonight and tell everyone it’s to make you feel more welcome,” he said jovially.
They wore suits to a small family dinner in this little village by the sea? Jesus, I thought. Next, they’d expect me to wear a dress.
***
Dinner was strange. Totally and unequivocally odd and weird.
A huge buffet was served in the kitchen, and small high tables were placed all around the dining area and through the living room. There were no chairs and when I picked up a plate to grab some food I found a plastic claw like thing attached to it. A quick glance around the room indicated that this was so you could hang your glass there. Clever, I thought, although I couldn’t get the glass into the contraption so I decided to stand at one of the tables instead.
When Mac and I had walked into the kitchen, there had been a lot of people there already, and I’d stumbled a little at the sight of them. The men were dressed in dark suits, and most of them also had a vest and some kind of colorful scarf around their necks, tucked into the shirt. The women had dresses, all of them, and for the first time I wished I’d been a dress kind of woman because they were gorgeous. Their outfits were similar in cut, but they had chosen different colors and patterns, and it looked to me like a swarm of happy butterflies fluttered through the room.
Paolo welcomed us, loudly, and told us to mingle. At first, I felt a bit uncomfortable in my jeans and blouse, but my pants were at least black, and the top Sloane had given me was lovely, although it showed a bit more cleavage than I was used to. Mac had faded jeans and a skin tight black tee with no print at all. He’d pulled his hair back in a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck and added a thick leather bracelet to his left wrist. Compared to the strict men in their suits he looked a little wild and a lot gorgeous. I could see the women eyeing him and held on to his hand a little tighter, knowing that this probably was the reaction he usually got wherever he went.
Then Dante suddenly appeared, pulling a smiling Snow along. We laughed all four of us, because they wore clothes similar to ours, although Dante’s jeans had definitely been ironed and Snow had a flowy tank top that looked like a shorter version of the dresses worn by the other women.
Dante seemed to know everyone and introduced us to so many that their faces started to become blurry after a while. His father was apparently the mayor in Marshes, although he was away on a trip, so we didn’t meet him.
They drank a lot of wine, much more than what I was used to, which wasn’t surprising at all since I wasn’t used to it at all, and I didn’t like it. Girls were walking around with bottles, constantly topping up our glasses, so it was impossible to keep track of how much you’d had and I’d started to look around for some water when Mac suddenly twisted me around. Then he swapped our glasses, quickly and since he did it between our bodies, I didn’t think anyone noticed that I suddenly held his empty glass. He winked at me, and I grinned at him.
Paolo’s mother was there, and I thought that she seemed absolutely awful. Her face was pinched, and she had wrinkles that in no way looked like she got them from laughing. She greeted us just as loudly as her son and gushed over both of us, but she had a hard glint in her eyes that I didn’t like. When she scolded her son for not bringing me to Marshes sooner, she did it with a playfulness that I thought sounded completely fake, and I noticed several of the others glancing at her with looks that ranged from surprised to openly scornful.
After several hours of walking around exchanging pleasantries with what felt like thousands of people, that in reality was around fifty, I pulled back into a corner, wishing I could sit down and have a cup of coffee. Mac had swapped glasses with me several times so I hadn’t had much wine, though I wondered what state he’d be in before the evening was over. Everyone was getting slightly tipsy, and laughter echoed through the room. It was a cheerful crowd, and I suddenly realized that I might be tired, but I’d actually had a good time. The people in Marshes were friendly and happy, and I didn’t think it was an act they put on.
“Are you tired, my girl,” Paolo said quietly next to me, and I twitched before I could stop myself.
I hated it when he called me his girl, and he couldn’t quite pull the endearment off credibly which made it even more nauseating.
“I’m so sorry, Paolo, but yes – I’m completely exhausted,” I said, smiling at him. “Maybe everything that has happened has caught up with me, or maybe it’s the wine? I’m not used to it, and maybe I liked it a little too much?”
He nodded and put a hand on my shoulder, making me twitch again, and I took a little sidestep, pretending to stumble.
“You can sneak away and go to bed, Wilder. I’ll explain if anyone asks and no one will mind,” he murmured.
I nodded, thinking that this sounded very appealing. My eyes met Snow’s over the room and to my surprise, she nodded, as if she’d heard Paolo’s suggestion and agreed to it when this was impossible. Someone had turned on music, and the noise levels had immediately increased.
Mac was in the middle of the room, together with Dante and a few of the younger men, and someone must have told a joke because they were suddenly all roaring with laughter.
“I think I’ll do that if you’re sure you don’t mind?” I asked Paolo, and added without waiting for his answer, “I’ll tell Mac and then I’ll make my way to our room.”
“Sleep well, Wilder, see you tomorrow. And I’m keeping your phone away from you for one more day, you need to rest,” he said, patting me awkwardly on my shoulder.
I gave him a small smile, walked over to give Mac a quick hug and to whisper in his ear that I headed to our room. He leaned into me and his lips made a trail up my neck. I shuddered, and he murmured, “No need for a nightie tonight, baby. Want you naked in our bed when I get there.”
I knew it was a line and heard chuckles around us confirming that it had been successful, but my shudder wasn’t fake, and my eyelids dropped slightly at the thought. Then I whispered a husky agreement, walked through the crowd and continued to our room.
Since there was no way I’d sleep buck naked, I changed into one of my tee’s thinking that either we’d need to leave within a few days or I’d need to visit the small store we’d seen in the village because I was running out of clean clothes.
Then I crawled into bed and sighed with relief. My ears were ringing from the noise I could still hear faintly, and I felt muscles that I hadn’t
known were tense relax. It took some time but finally I started to drift off into sleep, only to be startled by my bird.
“Wilder, no sleep. Meeting. See with me,” she said.
What did she mean, see with her? I focused on the bird, waiting for her to say something but she didn’t, and I wondered if it was me not listening hard enough. Pushing my thoughts toward her, suddenly my vision changed and I jerked. I had my eyes closed, but I could still see, and I got it then. See what my birds sees, that’s what Hawker had said, and he’d not lied.
In front of me was a ledge outside an open window and I could see part of the room inside. It seemed like my bird was perched there, watching the people inside.
Paolo was there, and his mother stood next to him. I heard movement, but I couldn’t see who else was in the room.
“Told you,” Paolo said and continued, sounding very much like he was boasting, “You said that I’d been a fool, but I was right, wasn’t I?”
His mother frowned and snapped sourly, “You don’t know this, son. You always said she was intelligent, and they could suspect something. They could be here to see what they can find out.”
I pressed my lips together even though I knew that they were somewhere on the second floor and wouldn’t hear me. They were talking about Mac and me.
Then Paolo continued, “It isn’t like that, I tell you. I watched them last night in bed, and she was grinding her crotch against him like a cat in heat. There were condoms all over the room too, they had a friggin’ bag full and had dropped some on the floor even. Besides, her troublesome father would never send her here to spy on us. He’s been yapping for years and years to have her in Norton, so when he finally does, he would never let her risk –”
A man spoke in the background, cutting him off. I didn’t recognize the voice, but I’d met many at the party, so this wasn’t a surprise.
“They might not see it as a risk, Paolo. Does she even know about Farnham?”
I couldn’t hold my gasp back then, and I immediately clenched my teeth hard, but they continued speaking, and I focused on them again.
“She doesn’t know, don’t be stupid. Do you think she’d be here if she did? She’d be in Prosper or at the ranch, scrambling to keep things together. I told them they needed a break and the stupid boy even gave me their phones because they were out of battery,” Paolo sneered, and went on, “Hawker Johns has always been an idealistic fool with a too hot temper. And Wilder has given me puppy eyes all her life, so it’s not a surprise at all that a little bit of fatherly attention brings her to heel immediately.”
I wanted to hurt the man so bad for the callous way he spoke about me, how he had played me all my life, and how he continued to try his best to fool me.
“Can you get her to sell?” the man asked.
“Absolutely,” Paolo answered confidently. “Give me a few more days and Double H is ours.”
“You still need to get one of the Farnhams to sell too. The old man was always so difficult, and it was a clever move to give them that land, I have to give him that,” Paolo’s mother murmured.
Then she turned and started walking toward the door, saying calmly, “You can stay up here just a little while longer. I’ll go down and entertain the guests, so they don’t start wondering where we all are.”
I heard the door close softly, and there was a short silence as Paolo poured himself a glass of something, and took a deep swig.
“We won’t get them to sell without giving them a reason to do so,” the man in the background muttered.
“Of course. That the incident with the equipment went wrong was quite unfortunate, but how was I to know that the woman would be too lazy to do what she always does? We will try again in a few days, maybe with the boy this time,” Paolo said, and my blood froze.
I had to warn them at home.
“Could we use the old ways?” the man asked slowly.
“No,” Paolo replied immediately. “It only works on the people with pure mountain blood, you know that. The boy and his parents wouldn’t react to shellfish, though Hawker might…”
He trailed off, and the world as I saw it through the eyes of my bird tilted on an angle, but then it straightened again. I heard a soft, scratchy sound as the bird got her claws into the ledge to keep her balance and then she moved, quickly. She settled in another window, pressing close into the alcove made up by the thick window frame. I hoped it was deep enough to hide her.
“Close the window, you fool,” the man barked. “Look around, you know they have eyes everywhere.”
I gasped again. Did they know about the birds?
“Nothing here, and nowhere an eagle could hide, it would be too big,” Paolo said from the window. “I don’t think she’s the one anyway, I’ve been watching her for years, and she has no clue. I still believe what they said. It’s the other one.”
There was a long pause, then someone murmured quietly in the room. Just before they closed the window, I heard Paolo again.
“It will be good when we have it all set up. My men think they’ve narrowed down the area to search in and having the crystal will be fantastic. Win-win for us all, making us rich and at the same time getting rid of those damned –”
The window closed, and I couldn’t hear them anymore. Slowly I opened my eyes, and my mind was racing. They knew about the birds. They had found something in the mountains that would make them wealthy, but I didn’t understand what they would get rid of? Hawker and his men? The birds? Me? Then it hit me. They’d try to kill Mickey.
“Bird?” I fairly shouted in my head.
“Yes.”
“You need to warn Mickey. Can you somehow warn Mickey?”
I was frantic and started to get out of bed to do something, anything. Then I growled with frustration because what could I do? I was in Marshes, a little bit tipsy and with no cell phone.
“Do not worry. I will go to Double H. I will get word to father’s bird,” the bird said calmly.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Tell him we’ll be there in a day or two. We leave tomorrow or the next day at the latest.”
“Yes, good. Leave. Danger,” the bird said. To my surprise, she suddenly made a chuckling sound and murmured, “You are not naked.”
My brows went up, but before I could ask her what she meant, the door opened, and Mac stumbled in, shouting loudly over his shoulder, “Oh, you’d better believe I will. Tomorrow morning too so we’ll have a late,” he snickered, “laaate breakfast,” he concluded and closed the door with a snap.
“What?” I whispered, wondering if the wine had caught up with him.
He straightened, and I saw that this was not in any way the case.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he sat down on the bed and started to take off his boots.
I told him everything I’d heard and his face got darker and darker. Finally, I was done, and we stared at each other.
“Right,” he murmured. “You sent your bird?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I get why you did, Wilder, but I could have tried to somehow get word through to them with mine.”
Oh. I hadn’t thought about that, and I felt stupid.
“Don’t worry, babe. You probably did the right thing. Our birds don’t talk to the other birds,” he said.
“What? Yes, they do,” I protested, and his eyes widened, so I explained. “Bird promised that she’d somehow get word to dad’s bird.”
“What?” he murmured. “They’ve never done that before.”
I didn’t have the patience to discuss communication channels between our birds, and it seemed a big deal to him, but it wasn’t to me. Not in the bigger scheme of things, anyway.
“What could they be digging for in the mountains, Mac?” I asked. “Is there something there that could kill the birds?”
His face went hard again.
“Not kill. Cut off our links with them.”
Chapter Sixte
en
Snooping
It was dark outside. Mac and I were walking slowly toward the beach with our arms around each other, stopping frequently to kiss and let our hands roam. In the corner of my eye, I noticed movement and knew people were watching, which was exactly what we wanted.
The day after the dinner party had been surprisingly uneventful, considering what I’d heard. We had breakfast late, and it had been hard to pretend friendliness toward Paolo, but I thought that I pulled it off well enough. Mac was quiet, though when Paolo asked him if something was wrong, he smiled ruefully and asked for some aspirin, blaming the wine from the evening before. After we’d eaten, Paolo excused himself, saying that he had business to attend to and that we’d have a quiet dinner in the evening. I stopped him before he left the room, and asked if we could to get our phones back. He protested, but I held firm, saying that I needed to check in with school, and eventually he gave them to us. They had been fully discharged, but he handed me a cable and plug and apologized for forgetting to charge them. I just shrugged and smiled at him as if it didn’t matter, which it didn’t so that part wasn’t hard to fake.
We took a long walk in the afternoon, just Mac and me, following the river away from the village until we were completely surrounded by trees. The area was beautiful with small islands dotting the inlet and trees lining the river. As if in an unspoken agreement, we didn’t talk about anything that had happened at first. Instead, we talked about simple things which in reality meant that we talked about us, and the more we chatted, the more I realized that we were made up the same way. Not at first glance perhaps, but the core of who we were somehow clicked.
Mac spoke more about himself in those hours than he’d done before, and even though it was short snippets of his life, shared as memories or funny anecdotes, it gave me enough to piece together a picture of how he’d become the man he was. I found myself again wanting to hurt his uncle and the rest of that family, but he seemed to have come to some sort of peace with them. He seemed more outraged about my mother, and the way she had been, which I thought was endearing but totally unnecessary. I’d had Willy, I explained, and he nodded, but I could see that he didn’t agree with me.
