by Joyce, T. S.
A problem for another day because right now, she had a hungry bear-shifter to feed, hay to haul, and shit to do. And a puppy to wrangle because Miki was eating something unsavory again.
But when she pulled the puppy away from the horse-crap snack he was partaking in, she really looked at the homestead around her, and it became impossible to rush away from such a profound moment. Her brother and fiancé were talking low, the homestead was clean, the garden tidy and producing, and the hay was building up by the trailer-load. The woodpile was stacked high all along the side of the cabin and, in the distant barn, Momma Goat screamed her contentment. Sure, Miki’s breath smelled like the south end of a northbound horse, but he wasn’t nipping her anymore, and he stuck like glue to her and Ian wherever they went. And off in the field behind the cabin, she had kind neighbors who were helping out.
Elyse smiled at how far her life had come in such a short amount of time. It was because of Ian that she wasn’t struggling and panicking right now, a mere month before the first snowfall would blanket this place in white.
Ian smiled at her as if he could tell she was thinking mushy thoughts about him, and she melted under his appreciative gaze.
Not even the chill or the threat of winter could dampen a moment like this.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, she was bone-deep, canyon-wide, ardently, and utterly happy.
Chapter Sixteen
Elyse gave Joanna a tight hug and waved to her husband as he drove the tractor back toward their own property.
“I’ll bring the cow next week if that’s all right.”
Joanna smiled kindly and dipped her head. “That would be much appreciated. You have a good night now.”
Elyse grinned up at Joanna as she climbed into the tractor with the baler on the back. “I think I’m going to sleep like a log tonight.”
“It was a long day, but a good day. You keep those boys in line.”
With a snort, she waved Joanna off. Elyse had as much a chance of keeping a grizzly-shifter and her half-wild brother in line as she did of controlling the Alaskan weather.
Her muscles had cooled as she’d said her farewells to the Fairways, so she zipped her jacket up to her chin and strode toward where Josiah and Ian were loading the last few bales into the trailer. “I will shamelessly bribe you to fix my hay storage,” she said through a grin.
Ian gave her a grin and asked, “Bribe how?”
“Uncle Jim had this recipe for rabbit stew—”
“Sold,” Josiah said, hoisting another bale. “I’m in. Dinner invitation accepted.”
Ian let off a single booming laugh as he adjusted the stacked hay. “Well, get on then, woman. Josiah and I will be in later.”
With a giggle, Elyse jumped into his arms and planted tiny pecking kisses on his cheeks until he chuckled warmly and hugged her waist.
“Bossy,” she teased.
Ian’s blue eyes sparked in the dim evening light as he leaned in and kissed her soundly. He set her on her feet and gave her backside a swat as she trotted away. And as she left the men in her life behind to bring in the rest of the hay, over Miki’s puppy barks, she could’ve sworn she heard Josiah laugh low. And damn, it felt good to hear that. He’d always been a quiet man, more observer than participant in silly antics, but today, she’d seen him smile more than she could ever remember. Perhaps he’d been as lonely as her trying to make a life out here, or perhaps his worry over her had been heavier than she’d realized. And maybe, just maybe, Ian being here was good for Josiah, too.
Behind the cabin, the sunset painted the sky in vivid shades of pink and orange. Today had been one of those days that felt like summer. Not because it was warm. On the contrary, there was a nip in the air. But when she was a child, she’d looked forward to summers at the homestead all year long. The months in school would drag on and on, and the closer to summer it became, the more she was filled with the glowing feeling that soon she would be in the place she belonged. This place was magic. Here, mom’s yelling and frustration with her and Josiah didn’t exist. Uncle Jim was a patient sort of man, and Marta treated her and Jo like they were her own kids. It wasn’t the impatient love that Mom forced herself to feel for them. Marta and Uncle Jim seemed to always have a smile when they watched them. The unforced kind that said they were really enjoying spending time with her and Josiah.
After Marta died, and then Uncle Jim, this place hadn’t felt the same. It wasn’t a retreat anymore, but instead a responsibility. But today had felt different. It felt like the old homestead again.
Miki bounced up the stairs behind her and into the cabin. She didn’t run the generator unless she needed it, so she turned on the lanterns instead and built a fire in the stove with the pile of wood and tinder and newspapers Ian kept stocked by the door as a habit. She’d left the rabbit out to thaw when she’d made lunch, so she discarded the head and feet and chopped the rest up into twelve pieces. With a private smile for the sound of the four-wheeler and men’s voices outside, she climbed down into the root cellar with one of the lanterns and filled a small basket with the things she needed. Thankfully, the garden had produced more once she’d gotten a hold on the weeds strangling her vegetable plants, and Ian had taken her around the property and showed her blueberry patches and a pair of apple trees that his oversensitive bear nose had picked up. The man had already eaten a tree’s worth of the apples in his constant need to eat right now, but she’d preserved the rest along with a few buckets of ripe blueberries and would have jam and fruit for pies in the winter. She’d never had that before, nor had she known how to can and smoke salmon. Ian had proven himself invaluable.
She picked an onion, the smallest of the potatoes, and pulled a few cloves of garlic from the strands hanging from the rafters, then frowned at an unfamiliar coffee can that sat on the shelf with the jars of salmon. The can made a hollow clunk when she set it down on the small prep table. Inside was a wad of cash, mostly five and ten dollar bills, and a note.
If food gets low, don’t go hungry.
I love you.
Ian
She read it several times to familiarize herself with his scrawled handwriting. She was both flattered and scared at the meaning of this coffee can. Ian was making sure she was taken care of. He was preparing for worst case scenarios, and for that, she adored him even more deeply.
But…
It was early to be making preparations like this, wasn’t it? She still had a month with him, but he was already filling a coffee can with extra money. Maybe he was afraid his hibernation would come early this year. Last night’s pillow talk had brought to light that he didn’t control when he went to sleep, and that some years it snuck up on him.
She stuffed the money and the note back in the can and replaced it on the shelf. She would need that letter from him in dark winter when she was fighting off cabin fever and waiting for him to wake up for their mere hour of time together. Reading his note would be a good way to feel a connection to him when the loneliness became unbearable. That little scribbled paper was the closest she’d ever gotten to a love note. Sure, it was short and simple, but it was the meaning behind it that curled into her heart and warmed her blood. Ian was thinking of every way possible to help her through the cold months, even if he would be as good as a ghost.
Basket of vegetables in hand, she climbed up the steep stairs out of the root cellar and back into the kitchen. Thyme, parsley, bay leaves, butter, sugar, salt and pepper gathered, she seared the rabbit. Once the meat was ready, she got the stew simmering on the stove and finally removed her jacket.
Her muscles were so tired her limbs felt numb, but it was the good kind of exhaustion. It was a fatigue that said she’d had a productive day and would be stronger for it once the soreness left her in a couple of days. She hung her jacket on the coat rack, then strode into the bedroom and scrutinized herself in the mirror. She did this lately because for the first time in a long time, she enjoyed the way her body was changing. There
was no wasting away or new bones protruding. She was on the mend and putting on weight that would cushion and insulate her in the cold months.
Ian liked the changes, too. She could tell because he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her curves now—her ass in particular. God, that man could make her feel beautiful with a touch.
Missing him, she meandered into the kitchen for a quick stir of the stew simmering in the cast iron pot before looking out the window. It was full dark now, and Ian and Josiah had lanterns lit on hooks around the hay storage. The sound of the chainsaw was loud in the stillness of the evening, and she could make out Ian making cuts into posts he must’ve dragged up from the old wood pile. Uncle Jim had always reused everything so he’d torn down the old horse shelter five years back and piled the wood behind the barn. His foresight meant Ian and Josiah weren’t going off into the night searching for wood right now. Her brother was digging a posthole several yards outside of the shelter. Neither were talking, but they both seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Capable Alaskan men—there was nothing quite like them. She was proud of how self-sufficient her brother had become and proud that Ian had chosen her to share his life.
She refilled Miki’s water and food bowls in the corner near an old blanket he usually slept on while she puttered around the cabin in the evenings. With cute little puppy snorts, he ate hungrily.
An hour and a half later of hammers on nails echoing through the homestead, she had fresh biscuits made, and the stew had thickened up nicely. Apparently Ian could tell the main course was almost done because he led Josiah inside at just the right time and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he tasted a spoonful of the broth she offered him. The groan of ecstasy he elicited gave her a deep yearning in her stomach. Cheeks flushed, she nuzzled her cheek against the scruff of his jaw and murmured, “You go wash up. Dinner’s on.”
Ian leaned closer and clamped his teeth on her neck for just a moment before he eased away from her, leaving her back cold where he’d been so warm before. He did that a lot, and when she’d asked, he’d told her simply that his bear liked having his teeth on her neck. That it made her feel more like his. She didn’t know what it said about her, but she thoroughly enjoyed him getting territorial and laying those sexy teeth on her skin. There was a sense of danger about it, having the mouth of a wild creature like Ian on her, but at the same time, she trusted him completely. With her life even.
Miki was passed out on his blanket by the time they filled their plates and sat down at the table. It was late, and the day had been long and hard, but that didn’t seem to stop Josiah from stirring the shit. “If you saw Elyse when we were younger, you would run for the hills.”
Elyse kicked her brother under the table and pulled more rabbit meat from the bone with her fork. “Piss of, Jo. I’ve been a looker all my life.”
“What was she like?” Ian asked through a trouble-making grin as he slathered butter on his steaming biscuit.
“So one summer, Elyse decided she wanted to have a boy haircut like mine, so she begged Uncle Jim to cut it. Begged and begged.”
“Josiah, stop it.” Elyse was doing her best to hide her laughter. Her brother didn’t need encouragement, and she had a sneaking suspicion where this was headed.
“So Marta told her she wouldn’t look good with a boy cut and forbade Uncle Jim from going anywhere near her with the scissors. But Elyse here, being the head-strong person she is, decided she didn’t need Uncle Jim, and she cut her own hair in the bathroom mirror before everyone woke up one morning.”
Elyse’s shoulders shook uncontrollably with her laughter now, and she set her spoon down with a clink on her metal bowl. “I was sixteen and had always wanted to try short hair. Marie Dryver had her hair cut in school, and she looked so cool I imagined I was going to look the same.”
“Except Elyse shaved entire notches out of the back of her hair, and she was in braces for a pair of impressive buck-teeth at the time. She’d fallen off the porch a few days before, so she was sporting one helluva shiner to boot.”
“And when Marta saw my hair, she burst out crying. I mean…body wracked with sobs kind of crying, and she said my mom was going to kill her. I’d done it at the end of summer and there was no saving the haircut without burring my head completely—”
“Which Uncle Jim did—”
“Okay, but in my mind, it was going to be short on the sides,” she explained, gesturing to her hair, “and longer up top. I wanted to look like a badass.”
“Yeah, but you used sheep sheers.”
Ian was leaning back in his chair belly laughing now, and Elyse’s cheeks were on fire.
“That was the year of no boyfriends at school.”
“That was the one benefit to you looking like a deranged beaver,” Josiah muttered.
“Oh God,” Ian groaned, wiping moisture from the corners of his eyes. “I’m so attracted to you right now.”
Elyse made a single clicking sound from behind her teeth and rolled her eyes. “Thanks a lot, Josiah.”
Gold eyes dancing, her brother murmured around a bite of stew, “Anytime. I’ve got pictures at my cabin. I can show you them when you come pick up the cattle.”
“I’d sure appreciate it,” Ian said, dodging a swat from Elyse. “I want a picture of her to put in my plane anyway.”
“Fantastic,” she muttered.
“When are we driving the herd?” Josiah asked.
“Mmm,” Ian murmured, looking thoughtful as he chewed. “I want to take Elyse up to Afognak in the next couple of days. Maybe get a deer or two. If we can get some venison, I’d feel a lot better about our freezer.”
“Afognak?” Josiah asked, sandy brows rising high on his forehead.
“Have you been there?”
“Can’t say I have, but I’ve heard things about that place. Haunted as shit if rumors are right.”
“Nah,” Ian said, ghosting Elyse a glance. “I’ve spent a lot of time there. No ghosts but there is wildlife as thick as the woods themselves.”
“You have a boat to get there?”
“Yeah, I parked it on Kodiak Island in April. There are a few cabins on Afognak for hunters, and I figured Elyse and I would hole up there for a day or two and see if we can’t fill a couple hunting tags.”
“It’s brown bear territory,” Josiah warned. “Elyse got lucky the first time, but you can understand my concern, yeah? Besides Mom, she’s all the family I have left.”
“I get that. I respect that you are protective of her, and I promise to keep the risk as low as possible. I’m seeing zero sign of big game around here, though, and we need red meat.”
Josiah leveled Elyse with a thoughtful look and nodded slowly. “When will you go?”
“Day after tomorrow. We’ll do a two-day hunt, then come back here and ride up your way to collect the cattle if you have time.”
“Yeah, that’ll work for me. I can come out here on Wednesday and check your animals for you.”
“We’d appreciate it,” Ian said. “We’ll take the pup with us, so it’ll just be the chickens, goats, and horses. If we get anything, we’ll bring you back a roast.”
Josiah’s face lit up, and he ripped open his biscuit. “I do love venison. You planning on getting a bear this season?”
As if she were lightning struck, Elyse jolted in her chair. “What?”
“Bear meat?” Josiah offered her a baffled look. “It’s your favorite.”
Elyse blinked slowly and gritted her teeth against the ill feeling unfurling in her stomach. She couldn’t look at Ian even if she tried right now. “It used to be my favorite, but I don’t have a taste for it anymore.” Her voice cracked and dipped to a whisper. “Too gamey.”
Ian’s hand slid up her thigh under the table, and he squeezed her leg reassuringly. “No plans for bear this season.”
Elyse intertwined her fingers with his against her leg. No plans for bear meat any season. Not when it reminded
her so much of the massive animal that lived inside of the man she loved.
Except for the bones, Josiah scraped his bowl clean, then leaned back in his chair. “Elyse, this stew is as good as Uncle Jim’s.”
“You want to crash in the guest bedroom?” she asked hopefully, stalling for more time with him.
“Nah, I’ve got my own animals to feed. I’m gonna load the four-wheeler in the back of my truck and get going. Ian.” Josiah shook his hand hard. “I will slit your throat if you hurt my sister. Formalities aside, I like you better than her last man. Cole never worked a day in his life, but I can see you’re a real hard worker. I thank you for taking care of my sister.”
Ian huffed a tired laugh. “Brother, you’ve got it wrong. Elyse takes care of me.” He stood and followed Josiah with Elyse trailing behind him.
“Speaking of Cole,” Josiah said, turning around at the door. “His brother was up at my place last week asking about Elyse.”
“Miller?” Elyse asked, shocked to her bones.
Josiah nodded. All the humor had seeped out of his eyes now, and he looked more and more like the somber Josiah she was used to. “He was asking if you were done mourning and ready for a man and followed it directly with asking how your cattle are doing. Shit timing, too, because wolves had just taken one of the calves the night before, so I wasn’t in a mood to answer him. He left pissed.” Her brother dragged his gaze back to Ian. “Be wary of that one, okay?”
When Ian clenched his hands behind his back, Josiah couldn’t see it, but she could. He was shaking, and a deep red flush of anger was creeping slowly up his neck. “Will do. Thanks for the head’s up.”
“Sure thing. Night,” Josiah called over his shoulder as he strode toward his four-wheeler.
Troubled, Elyse watched Josiah straddle the seat of the ATV, rip the engine, and gun it toward the hayfields where he’d left his truck parked on the edge.
“Miller is Cole’s brother,” she explained softly.
“I know.” Ian’s voice was more growl than anything, and he strode out the front door and off the porch.
