Adored By The Rancher: Mail Order Brides Box Set

by Dreams, Brittany

  “Sorry, that was just the alarm,” she tried to reassure him. “You know to keep the store safe… So… where do you want to start?”

  Asher didn’t say anything but just looked around. He took small steps, studying everything.

  As far as the store went, Dawn and her business partner and best friend, Sarah, went to great effort to make it look nice. Chosen for the location, which was just steps from downtown, but offered free parking, surrounded comfortably out of the wind by larger buildings, coffee shops, book stores, and other small boutiques, Dawn had felt it was a great location for what the store offered.

  She and Sarah had refinished the original hardwood to bring back the shine. For the walls they had just used a deep red paint but colorful fabrics, art, and handcrafts adorned most of the wall space anyway.

  Every month Dawn would painstakingly change all the displays as well as the art and crafts on the walls. Sometimes they even brought old trunks, vintage cameras, or an antique bed in to display quilts, pillows, or other items.

  Dawn tried to imagine what Asher saw when he looked at the shelves of homemade candles in mason jars, the displays of handmade pottery and brightly painted animals, imported from small villages all over the world. Sarah was really good at finding fair trade partners. Dawn was not, and it was one of the many things Dawn appreciated about her best friend; the willingness to put in countless hours online and on the phone, often times trying to speak a language that Dawn barely knew existed.

  Asher approached the wall where most of the art, wall hangings, and décor were placed. He touched the trailing lace on something Dawn called a bohemian dream catcher. She made them all by hand, entirely from upcycled materials. She used old embroidery hoops, hand crocheted doilies for the center, and long trailing amounts of ribbons, lace, beads, feathers, and whatever else she could find for the bottom décor.

  Next to that was a display of handmade pairs of mitts and toques, as well as shoulder bags all patterned brightly. Beside the rack of skirts and stand of mitts was a shelf against the wall displaying moccasins and mukluks, all handmade and hand beaded. Dawn’s mother knew a woman in her late seventies, who was absolutely amazing when it came to making them. Her family lived up north, she along with them. They hunted and tanned all the hides they used to make the moccasins and the woman and her daughters did all the bead work.

  From his silence, Dawn was worried that Asher hated everything. A thousand thoughts swirled around in her brain, most of them at how unimpressed he must be.

  “There’s a room in the back,” Dawn pointed. “Sometimes we hold classes there to teach people how to make some of the items we sell in the store. Or sometimes if it’s not that busy I go back there and craft while the store is open. Kind of like a really good multitasking system.”

  Asher said nothing. He picked up a garland of small fish shapes strung together. They fish were brightly colored and made from scraps of fabric left over from Dawn’s quilting. They were strung with twine and, Dawn thought, very cute. Those little garlands were often the store’s best sellers. Along with the little catnip mice Dawn made out of scraps.

  Asher walked towards the back, stopping at a section of jewelry. It was in large part made by Dawn’s mother and grandmother. They used glass beads to make necklaces, bracelets, and earrings of all color and variety. Dawn also made a small portion of the jewelry but she didn’t have the patience or the talent for it like her mom and grandma did.

  There was another section of woven baskets, another of Sarah’s finds, and then a stand with exotic teas and chocolate. Another very popular section. Finally they were back at the door.

  “Don’t you like anything?” Dawn asked, trying, and failing, to keep the hurt from her voice.

  Asher looked shocked. “Like it? Everything is beautiful. Many things I have not even seen before. Shane told me you are very talented. He is right.”

  Dawn blushed furiously, melting with relief. “I didn’t make everything.”

  “Show me. I want to know what you did.”

  Flustered, Dawn took Asher around the store and pointed out what she had made. He nodded seriously, his eyes taking in every single detail. Dawn didn’t know why she cared what Asher thought, but she knew that she did.

  “I would like to make you something,” Asher said quietly. “Shane suggested in that sense, I might make myself useful.”

  “Sure-” Dawn stammered. “What would you like to make?”

  “In my first life- my human life,” Asher paused and a shadow passed over his face, but then it was gone. “I was a carpenter I suppose you would call it.”

  “Oh.” Dawn hadn’t known what she expected Asher to say he had been, probably something along the lines of some great warrior but not a carpenter. It seemed a peaceful occupation for someone who had such raw power contained within his body.

  “I also went to war when it was required of me. But I never had the heart for it. Seeing new lands, raiding, defending our village and farmland, that was required. But I liked the quiet much better.”

  “Can you read minds?” Dawn asked, half shocked and half accusing. She blushed when she realized that Asher probably understood just how attracted to him she really was.

  Asher paused. He half nodded. “I am very perceptive to emotions and body language. Usually I can guess and the other times, I suppose I hear it when I want to.”

  “You’ll have to tell me more about that later.” Dawn said. She wanted to fully understand what Asher was capable of so she could plan her defense. It would become very trying to have her every emotion and thought laid bare.

  “I do not do it on purpose- to invade your privacy or to steal something you consider to be yours. I am sorry if I have offended you.”

  Dawn shook her head. “No, you haven’t. I just- it will take some getting used to. I would love to have you make something. I guess that you could work in those rooms Shane showed me. I assume they’re going to be yours for the time being. I can try and help you find wood and tools.”

  “That would be appreciated. You are most kind.” Dawn blushed for the thousandth time that night. “We should go. I want to be back well before daylight.”

  “It’s hours off yet. Besides, I won’t spontaneously combust.” Asher grinned wickedly, his fangs punching out. He was so incredibly handsome, standing there like some mysterious, fantastical anachronism, Dawn could have died.

  “Yah well… I wouldn’t know, would I? I don’t know how any of this is supposed to work.”

  “And I am equally as out of place in your world. I think though, we shall both learn faster than we think.” There was a glint in Asher’s eyes that told Dawn he was speaking of more than just the things Shane wanted them to learn. His eyes promised something more and an undercurrent of desire swept through the room.

  Chapter 6

  Asher appeared the next evening, as soon as it was dark, in the kitchen. Dawn was sorting through the cupboards and fridge, making a grocery list that extended on and on. She was exhausted from lack of sleep. After returning from her store the night before she’d helped Asher carry down some furniture through the secret passage to the room that would be his. His strength was astounding. He could lift and maneuver an entire couch or bed by himself.

  Dawn was waiting for darkness wondering when her guest would appear. She expected him to use the secret passage, not to just appear out of thin air in the kitchen.

  “Holy shit!” She exclaimed, jumping a mile in the air.

  “Sorry. I suppose Shane didn’t tell you we could materialize like that.”

  Heart racing, Dawn set her grocery list down on the table. She leaned against it. Asher looked as good as he had the night before. He was clad in a black t-shirt that strained to cover his broad chest, his black leather jacket and a pair of faded jeans that looked used but clung to him in all the right places. His long blonde hair was done in a braid that hung down his back. He was freshly shaved, a feat which told Dawn there must be running water plumbed
in under the house as well. He’d applied either aftershave or cologne and the woodsy scent wafted in the air between them.

  It was no easy feat to tear her eyes off his body and she knew she was blushing furiously. Her pulse had spiked again. It was all the more humiliating for her to realize that he could easily read the fact that she was incredibly turned on.

  “Do you… eat food like a normal person as well… or just blood?”

  “Food also.”

  “Hmm. Well I was planning on going to the grocery store since there’s not a lot in the house. Would you like to come with me? I could teach you how it’s done now.”

  Asher dug in his back pocket and to Dawn’s surprise, produced a black wallet stocked full of fake ID’s and credit cards, even a driver’s license. “Shane set up everything I need. If you would show me how this counts as money now, I could pay.”

  “Oh… yes, I think you’ll find everything is quite different now. You can still hunt for food but I wouldn’t know the first thing about guns or permits or what not. I don’t even know when hunting season really is. Buying food now is probably much like a medieval market times a thousand…” Dawn realized she was rambling to cover up the fact that she was painfully aware of Asher’s proximity.

  “Yes. I should like it if you would take me there. May we go right away? I’m starving.” He licked his lips in an incredibly erotic manner, his pink tongue darting out between fangs that were only half extended to touch his bottom lip.

  Dawn’s entire body went haywire. She tore her eyes away, rushing out of the room to get her car keys and her jacket.

  On the way to the supermarket, which was open until midnight, Asher seemed fascinated by the city. He was becoming accustomed to riding in the car, and Dawn figured he was better able to sit back and enjoy the lights.

  “Do you like what you see?” She asked.

  Asher shrugged. “Everything has changed so much. There is so much I don’t understand. But then there is so much that has stayed the same.” Dawn didn’t ask him what he meant. She already knew. Technology had changed dramatically over the centuries, but people really did stay the same deep down inside.

  Dawn pulled up into the huge grocery store’s lot and parked the car in one of the parking slots. “How did you used to get your food, I mean, when you were alive?” Dawn plugged a dollar into the grocery cart to free it from its brothers in bondage at the cart terminal.

  “Hunting, trade, markets, farming.”

  Inside the store Asher seemed dazzled by all the colors and the packaging around him. Dawn gave him the job of pushing the cart, as it was easiest for her to keep an eye on him that way. Then she was also free to pick out the food.

  “How do you know what to get?” Asher asked.

  Dawn shrugged. “I don’t know. I never make a list; I just get what I feel like. And I get enough to last awhile, so that I don’t have to do this often. Maybe once or twice a month.” Dawn paused, wondering what Asher even liked. “If there’s anything that you want, just let me know and we’ll try and find it.”

  “I will trust you,” Asher replied. He smiled that charming grin of his that never failed to send Dawn’s stomach into a riot of butterflies.

  The two maneuvered through the store with surprising ease. Dawn was ever conscious of Asher’s presence. Grocery shopping had never been such a thrilling experience before. The cart was soon packed full.

  Dawn had been dreading passing by the meats section and she had purposely saved it for last. She hoped Asher would be able to resist the smell of blood on the raw meat. Sure enough, Dawn turned her back for one second and Asher was gone. The full cart was just behind her, but he was no longer behind it. Fuck! A shiver of apprehension ripped through Dawn.

  “Asher?” Dawn called, not too loudly, as if they were just a normal couple looking for each other.

  She didn’t have to search far before she saw him up ahead. Dawn ran, not caring about the old man who was shaking his head as she passed him. Asher was sniffing a club pack of raw steaks. Underneath the steaks, on the Styrofoam tray, the blood had pooled. To Dawn’s horror, Asher ripped the wrap off with his teeth and sucked out the blood from the packaging. When that delicacy was finished he picked up one of the steaks and took a bite.

  The people around them were now staring openly. Dawn ran up to Asher and grabbed his arm.

  “What are you doing?” She asked furiously. She noticed right away that his fangs were sticking out. “Put those away!” Dawn hissed, hoping he would know that she meant the fangs, and the not the steak. Thankfully he closed his mouth. There was blood dribbling down his chin and he had spilled some down the front of his t-shirt. Dawn grabbed the steaks in one hand and Asher’s arm in the other. She could not have budged him with her own strength if he had not wanted to move. Thankfully he came with her, letting her drag him back to the cart. Dawn put the ruined pack of steaks in, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. When she opened them she noted the people around them staring.

  “Sorry, excuse my brother,” she said cheerfully. Because people didn’t want to be caught openly staring at them, they moved off and left them alone. Dawn rushed down the nearest aisle where she rounded on Asher angrily. “What the hell did you used to do back in your time? Attack the butcher’s stalls in the markets?” Dawn hissed.

  “You forget that Markets were largely held during the day and unless we had a human willing to purchase food we just scavenged and hunted.” Asher leaned closer to Dawn’s face and whispered. “I am sorry, I do not know what happened, I just could not control myself. Even after your blood I am still starved.”

  It was then that Dawn finally understood how strong the blood lust was for Asher. He glanced away then finally resumed pushing the cart.

  Dawn dared to reach out and place her hand gently on Asher’s back, just to assure herself that he was still beside her whenever she glanced away. Just touching his jacket lightly sent a thousand shivers of electricity racing up Dawn’s arm. She was hardly able to focus on the groceries. They were pretty much done anyway and she was relieved to see the checkout looming ahead.

  As she instructed him, Asher pulled the cart up to the checkout. Like a true gentleman, Asher insisted that he pile the items on the black conveyer while the clerk scanned them through. He seemed fascinated by the whole thing, though he tried to pretend like he wasn’t. It made Dawn smile.

  Despite Asher’s protests, Dawn pulled a few groceries from the bottom of the cart. When she looked up Asher was looking at her inquisitively, holding a pack of gum.

  “What is this?” He whispered into her ear.

  “It’s gum,” Dawn whispered back. “You chew it but you never swallow.”

  “What’s the point then?”

  She shrugged. What indeed? “I guess people chew it for better breath.”

  He put the gum on the checkout. “I would just like to try it,” he explained, almost blushing. Dawn tried very hard not to laugh. She had never imagined a vampire chewing gum before, but if he ate regular food then why not?

  The clerk looked at them oddly as he rung the package of ruined steaks through. He glanced at the steak then at Asher’s stained shirt.

  “He couldn’t wait… you know… the hanger and all…” Dawn mumbled.

  “Sure,” the clerk stammered. He finished ringing the groceries through in silence.

  Dawn paid for the purchases then moved to the end where Asher was trying in vain for a very long time to open one of the silly little plastic bags. Dawn was often frustrated by them and she could see Asher’s anger growing. Finally he just tore the bag in half then looked at it angrily and at Dawn guiltily.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said smoothly. “We only needed a few anyway.” Dawn took the left over bags, opened them all, handed Asher a few, and took the rest for herself. He watched her for a minute before he started stuffing food into his own bags. It didn’t take long to fill the cart back up with the plastic bags.

  When they reached the
car Asher loaded the bags in the trunk, refusing to let Dawn help. “How do you think I managed when you weren’t here?” She asked dryly.

  “That does not matter. I am here now,” Asher replied. Dawn couldn’t argue with that, so she took the empty cart and returned it, retrieving her coin.

  After Dawn pulled into the driveway and shut off the car, Asher insisted on carrying everything into the house. Dawn let him, as it was always her least favorite part. She opted instead to go in and start putting things away. Once everything was piled up Asher tried to lend a hand and Dawn put up with it until everything was done.

  “We might as well have these for dinner,” Dawn said, looking at the ruined steaks she had placed on the counter. Asher looked at her guiltily.

  “I’m sure they still taste fine,” Dawn said.

  “I’m sure. The least I could do is cook them for you.” Asher nudged her out of the way and Dawn went willingly. She watched him rush around the kitchen, preparing carrots and onions, a pot of potatoes and decided that perhaps it wasn’t so bad having him at her house after all.

  Dawn set the table when the meal was close to being finished.

  “Enjoy,” Asher said, setting a full plate down at the table in front of Dawn. She had brought out a bottle of red wine to compliment the meat and was having trouble popping the cork out of it. Her bottle opener was a piece at the best of times, and it was not one of those better days.

  “Here, allow me,” Asher said smoothly. He took the bottle, plunged his fang in and roughly pulled it back. The cork popped out with a satisfying squeak. He commenced to fill Dawn’s wine glass to the brim. If she hadn’t been so shocked at his little trick she might have told him to stop pouring at a quarter.

  Asher seated himself across from Dawn. He had filled his plate generously, which included most of the potatoes a ton of vegetables and three steaks. “The trip to your supermarket has left me famished.”

  “I can see that.” Dawn couldn’t hold her laughter in any longer and it bubbled forth. “It tastes great,” she said after a few bites. “Thanks.”