by Lori King
“What?” she yelled out. The radiator whined louder, making her put her hands over her ears. She tried again to hear what he was saying, but she couldn’t hear anything. She just sat there like a dummy and stared, until she started to feel heat. She looked down at her feet and found flames coming out from the dash.
“Shit, shit, I’m on fire.” Bloom slapped against her pants. Starting to panic, she tried to get out, but the seatbelt tightened. The flames started growing higher, moving across the dash, and she could see through the windshield that the hood of her car was on fire. She jerked again at the seatbelt but it seemed to tighten with every move. Before she could scream, the door flew open, and the man she had just been admiring yanked her seatbelt so hard that it broke away from the car. Grabbing her by the arm, the man snatched her out of the car.
All she saw was the concrete road coming toward her face. At the last moment her fall was broken, falling against a hard chest. When she opened her eyes, Bloom was lying on top of the man she had just been admiring. What shocked her was how his eyes glared back at her. They almost appeared to be glowing.
“Your eyes?” Bloom squinted. He blinked a few times and it disappeared.
“Are you crazy?” the man yelled. For a moment, she’d thought he was the best-looking man she had ever seen, now that thought was gone. He acted like it was her fault her car caught on fire.
“What?”
“I said, are you crazy? Your car is on fire and you’re just sitting there.”
Bloom turned her head and saw that her car was now fully engulfed. Black smoke billowed out of every window. She could hear popping sounds as the flames grew higher and higher. Everything she owned was in that car. Pushing herself up, she started for her car. She had to get her purse and all her stuff out before she lost it. Before she could get close, she was jerked backward and held in a death grip.
“Lady, your car is on fire. Stop fighting!” the man yelled.
“Everything is in that car.” Bloom whispered in defeat. Nothing she could do now except watch the rest of her car burn. If she thought for a minute that her luck was turning, it was…but it was getting worse. Her legs went out from under her. She wanted to feel the pain of them hitting the hard roadway, but that never happened. The man who was yelling at her was still holding her up. Slowly, he put her down on the ground. All she could do was cry. Bloom hadn’t cried like this since her parents had died.
“Miss? Miss, are you okay? Are you hurt?” the voice asked, concerned. Bloom couldn’t stop crying. Everything she owned was in that car. Everything, including her driver’s license, her debit card, and all her pictures of her mom and dad.
“I think she needs medical attention. What’s her name? Does anyone know her name?” another voice asked.
“She said that everything she owned was in her car. I don’t think she’s hurt. I got her out in time.” She stopped and stared at the man who’d pulled her out of the car.
“Miss, my name is Jacob Weber. Do we need to call someone for you?”
Bloom turned her head and stared up at the other man. That name. “You!” Bloom yelled, pointing her finger at the man. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t written that letter and told me to come here, this wouldn’t have happened. This is all your fault.”
The older man appeared shocked. “Are you Bloom Scott?”
“Of course I am. Why did you have to tell me to come here?” her voice trembled as she glared at her car, now being put out by the fire department. “The bad luck followed me here and now I have nothing.”
“You have your life. That’s all that matters.” The man who saved her pointed out. She couldn’t help but laugh at his comment. She didn’t even have clean underwear.
“Miss Scott, if you will follow me, I can take you to my office. We may be able to work all this out.” Jacob Weber offered. He extended his hand, but she was too pissed off to accept it. She wanted to blame someone. Her chin lifted, daring him to touch her.
When she glanced back, the man who saved her was following. Turning around she asked, “Are you following me?”
“Yes.”
“Afraid I’ll burn the town down next?” Bloom muttered. She was mad at the world. This idea to start over in a new town was just plain stupid. She was a dreamer with false hopes. Damn, she’d wanted this to work out.
Jacob Weber opened the door to his office, allowing her to walk in first. She almost screamed when she saw her reflection. Her hair was sticking up and she had black smudges all over her face.
“Can I use your bathroom?” Bloom asked, running her fingers through her hair. Jacob pointed down the hallway. Walking into the bathroom, she wanted to cry again. Her hair was pulled in every direction, her face had soot all over it, and her eyes looked so puffy she thought they might expand into balloons and start hovering toward the clouds.
Blowing out a breath, Bloom tried to make herself look presentable. She combed her hair down, then grabbed some paper towels and some soap, and washed her face the best she could. Nothing she could do about the puffy eyes, but she looked better. Pressing her hands to her cheeks, she whispered, “You can do this.” Bloom pushed her shoulders back and walked out of the bathroom.
An older woman was waiting for her. “I thought you would like something to drink before the meeting started. I have all kinds of soft drinks and bottled water.”
Bloom smiled. “Water would be great, ma’am.”
“Good, come back to the kitchen with me.” The older woman stopped. “I’m sorry, my name is Rebecca Weber and that old man who caused all of this is my husband.” Bloom lowered her head, smiling. She liked this woman.
“I was mad, and I shouldn’t have blamed him. He was only doing his job,” Bloom admitted.
Rebecca put her hand on hers. “Oh, dear, I think you can milk this and get him to buy you some clothes. That’s what I’m telling him, anyway.”
Bloom laughed.
2
“Take a seat, Bloom.” Rebecca motioned for her to sit in the chair next to the man who’d called her crazy. Pushing her hair away from her face, Bloom glanced around the room. She narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the man sitting next to her was in a lot of the pictures with Rebecca and her husband.
“Is everyone ready to start?” Jacob asked. She nodded. “Okay, then. Well, again, Bloom, we are sorry for your loss. Your grandmother was a great woman. She was good to everyone here in Mystery, and to all of us,” Jacob added.
She needed to find a way out of this town and to get her life back on track, and that meant that Bloom needed to listen to the man. She felt bad for wanting to take something from someone she had never met. Unfortunately, at the moment, she didn’t have a choice. She was broke. Actually, she didn’t have two dimes to rub together.
“Bloom, your grandmother was very specific in her will. So much so, she hired another lawyer to make sure her wishes were carried out.” Jacob motioned to the back of the room. She turned around and found a man leaning against the wall. He looked very young, like an eighteen-year-old, with blond hair and blue eyes. Not old enough to be a lawyer. He was wearing a suit with a bow tie and wore small-rimmed glasses. When she studied him closer, she got the feeling that he was an old soul in a young man’s body. He was very cute, handsome even, but right now he did nothing for her. “Bloom, this is RJ Walker, and he was asked by your grandmother to make sure that her wishes were carried out. I still have no clue why…I would have made sure her wishes were carried out,” Jacob muttered, shaking his head.
“You know why,” RJ said. She glanced back and he nodded his head at her. Turning back around, she had to ask herself why her grandmother would have two lawyers. How much money did this woman have, and why had her father never mentioned her?
Jacob Weber cleared his throat and started, “Let’s start the reading of the will. First, Rose made you, Bloom Scott, the primary beneficiary of her estate. That includes all of her money and the house commonly known as Scott Manor. Now, here is
the kicker regarding the land that the house sits on: Rose gave you fifty percent of the land and Freeman Butler fifty percent of the land. That also includes the business. You only own fifty percent of the Scott Butler Farm.” As Jacob mentioned the other beneficiary, he motioned his hand toward the man sitting next to her.
“Also, Bloom, Rose stated that you will have to stay here in Mystery and work the farm and run the business with Freeman for one year before you can get any of the money,” Jacob added. “You can only have enough money for expenses. That is it.”
“Dammit.” Freeman Butler jumped up, shaking his head.
Bloom stared up at Freeman. She didn’t want anything to do with him, either. It couldn’t be that much money and she sure as hell didn’t want to stay here working with him. She would sell her half to him and get the hell out of town.
“Questions?” Jacob asked.
“How much money are we talking about?” Bloom asked.
“Figures,” Freeman spit out, moving to the side of the room and leaning against the wall, watching her.
“Hey, mister, I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t know me, so hold your judgment. This is all new to me. I just lost everything in that fire, so forgive me for wondering how much money there is. All my money was in that car. I have nothing, and I don’t know anyone here. So get off your high horse, you ass.” Bloom was pissed now. The man in the back snorted then started laughing.
“What the hell are you laughing at, Walker?” Freeman said through gritted teeth.
“You. Give the girl a break, Free. She just got to town, and she didn’t even know her grandmother was alive, from what Rose said.” RJ said, rolling his eyes.
“You stay out of this. I don’t know what the hell Rose was thinking when she included you in this, but stay out of my business.”
“Can’t do that Free, because Rose put me in it. That was what Rose wanted, and you know I follow through on my promises.” RJ smiled. His smile was strange, somehow. His teeth seemed different. Shaking her head, she looked back at RJ again and saw nothing. Apparently, these two men had a past, but she wasn’t involved. Right now, she just wanted to get this over with. She had enough on her own plate. She sure as hell didn’t need to get involved with some kind of argument between the two men.
She turned back around and asked again, “How much money?” The room fell silent as Jacob glanced over at RJ.
Bloom looked behind her at RJ and waited. “If you stay one year and run the business with Freeman, you will get one million dollars.”
Bloom steadied herself on the desk before her as her jaw hit the floor. One million dollars. The man said she would inherit one million dollars.
“Bloom, there is a catch to this, too. If you don’t stay the whole year, then the money, the land, and the house will all go to Freeman.” RJ announced the part that had her gasping for air. A wheezing sound came out instead of a breath. She was having a panic attack.
“Bloom…Bloom, are you okay?” Rebecca ran over to her, pushing her hair away from her face. “Bloom, can you breathe?” She shook her head and started to panic when she tried to take another breath and couldn’t. “She’s not breathing!” Rebecca screamed.
“She’s just having a panic attack,” Freeman said calmly. He reached over and took out a brown bag he had in his coat pocket. He emptied fruit on the desk then held the bag up to her mouth. “Bloom, breathe in slowly. Calm down. Close your eyes.” He took her hand and put it over his chest. “Feel my heart beating. Take a small breath in when I do.” She closed her eyes and started to see spots. She did what he said and took in a breath when she felt him breathe in. “That’s good. Take another one. Very good.”
Slowly, Bloom could feel her breathing go back to normal. She opened her eyes and found Freeman staring at her. “Better?”
She could only nod as a tear fell from her eye. The man took her breath away even when he was being a total ass. Why was she feeling like this toward him?
“Bloom, hun, here’s some water.” Rebecca put a water bottle to her lips. She took a sip and almost choked.
“Slowly. I would hate for you to die and not get a dime,” Freeman said with a smirk on his face.
He hit her low with that comment. Her thoughts went back to her parents. Tears formed in her eyes before she could stop it. She got up and ran to the bathroom before she made a bigger fool of herself.
* * *
“What the hell is wrong with you, Free?” Rebecca asked before she walked out.
Freeman knew he was overreacting. He knew he was being an ass to his new business partner, but every time he looked at her big, beautiful green eyes, all he could think about was how much he wanted her, and it pissed him off.
“I don’t know.” Freeman threw his hands up in the air, before running his fingers through his short, dark brown hair.
“Sounds like you might like her,” RJ announced. Freeman jumped up and got in RJ’s face.
“What the hell do you know about it, vampire?”
RJ laughed, which pissed Freeman off more. He was right. He was infatuated with her and had been since he first saw her picture.
“Gentlemen, not here in my office. Alpha, please!” Jacob calmly pleaded, but he was anything but calm.
“Why are you here, RJ? Why would Rose hire you? What are you hiding?” Freeman demanded.
“That’s between Rose and me. She hired me to do a job, and I plan on carrying it through, so you better get used to it. I’ll be checking up on Bloom on a regular basis. I’m sure you would love for her to fail, but her grandmother wanted this, Freeman, and Bloom is her flesh and blood. Not you.”
Rebecca walked back into the room, furious at all of them. “RJ, Bloom said she has no choice, but she needs some money to buy her some clothes and other items. And Freeman, if you ever say something like that again, you may be my Alpha, but I will…” When he smiled at her, she lost her train of thought. Recovering quickly, she said, “You’re not too big for me to take over my knee, young man.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He could always sway Rebecca. She was the best woman he knew and she was just like his mother. He would never disrespect her.
“Now, when she comes out here, leave her alone with your smart remarks, Free, and if you can give me the money, RJ, I can take her shopping and then drive her out to the house. Is that okay with everyone?”
When she looked at him first with that face, Free knew he was trouble with her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Yes, ma’am,” RJ agreed.
Suck up, Freeman thought.
Then she turned toward Jacob and waited. “Of course, dear. I didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re a man!”
Freeman watched as Bloom walked back into the office. He felt bad when her eyes narrowed, zooming in on his face. He had hurt her with that comment. It must have brought up her parents’ death. He would kick himself right now, but he had to stay strong. His pack depended on it. The land was their home and had been for a hundred years. It was always understood between the Scotts and the Butlers that they would both own the land.
But a granddaughter who knew nothing about shifters was a whole new problem he had to deal with. She could easily find out about them and alert the press, who would think she was crazy…but it also could draw the attention of the crazies that did believe. And those idiots would come looking for the shifters. If she left before the year was up, then it would all go to him, anyway. No, no, no, Free. Stop thinking like that. Rose trusted you and she left the land to both of you, like it had always been planned. He would have to suck it up and make peace with her.
3
Rebecca went to Bloom’s side. “Are you okay, honey?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She walked up to Jacob’s desk and asked, “Do I need to sign something that says I will do this?” The man actually looked shocked. I guess with all the crying she had been doing, he hadn’t known what she would decide.
> Shaking his head, Jacob came around the desk. “No, Bloom, that will fall under RJ’s commitment to Rose. He will let me know the outcome. If you stay, then the million dollars will be placed in your account, and half the business and land will be yours.”
“Bloom, if you will accompany Rebecca and me, we can go shopping for some new clothes and whatever else women need,” RJ announced.
“I guess I’m coming too. As soon as she’s done, I will show her the business and the pack…” Free coughed, catching himself. “The workers…she will need to know them before they come in tomorrow.”
“Let’s go then.” Rebecca smiled. “We can hit Claire’s boutique first.”
Bloom followed Rebecca, along with RJ and Freeman. Apparently, the man wanted to inflict as much pain as he could on her by tagging along. He could have easily waited for her to finish and then meet her at the property, but no…he had to go shopping with her.
Rebecca opened the door for her. The shop was lovely, and the scent of pumpkin sprinkled the air. “Hey, y’all!” A young woman with short blond hair poked her head out from behind some mannequins.
Bloom grabbed her chest. “You scared me.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I thought you saw me. Welcome to Claire’s. I’m Claire Porter, by the way.” Claire’s eyes scanned her from head to toe. Bloom couldn’t help but follow her gaze as she looked down at her blue jeans and shirt. They had black soot stains all over them. She looked like she was homeless. “You’re the girl everyone in town is talking about. I’m sorry about your car.”
