“Our home is stable!”
“Is it?” Mom’s voice was tinged with polite disbelief. “Carmody is the sort of child who would benefit from a full-time mother.” She paused. “And a father.”
“Do you have someone in mind?”
“As it happens, my Aunt Meredith has a new ophthalmologist. A perfectly lovely unicorn. He’s unmated. She immediately thought of you.”
“Aunt Meredith lives in LA,” Samantha pointed out. “I hardly think I’m going to start dating a guy from California.”
“California can always use qualified nurses.”
“Let me see if I understand you, Mom. You want me to take my child away from the only home she has ever known. To move to Los Angeles where, except for Aunt Meredith, who lives in a retirement home, I have no family.” Samantha permitted herself a glare.
“Away from my family and friends in Mystic Bay where sensitives of all kinds are able to be open about being paranormal. Carmody and I are supposed to go live a strange town, in a strange state, on the off chance that I will be able to obtain reliable child care, even though I will be engaged in shift work. So that I can pursue a unicorn presently unaware of my very existence.”
Araminta set down her glass with a small clatter that betrayed her unsettled emotions. “When you put it like that, of course it sounds crazy. But if you are ever to have a mate, you will have to put yourself out there.”
“Thanks, but no thanks, Mom. I’ll take my chances in Mystic Bay.” That part of her life had died with Rafael in Kilauea’s lake of magma. She was a widow without ever having been a wife. She wasn’t going to leave the security of Mystic Bay to pursue any man. Not even a unicorn.
Araminta picked up her glass and sipped. Samantha did the same. Carmody ran over to show her a bouquet of dandelions. Samantha fetched a jam jar to put them in.
“I was talking to Virginia Peterson today,” Mom continued when Samantha sat back down.
As if nothing had been said before. A unicorn does not grind her teeth.
“Her receptionist is leaving at the end of the summer. I suggested you as a replacement.”
Samantha grabbed this olive branch. “I’ll give Dr. Peterson a call.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
West Haven,
Rafael~
“Hang on to the handrail, son,” the skipper said kindly and clearly. “Watch for the switchbacks on the stairs.”
Rafael froze on the dock he had just stepped out onto. “And this is the only way to the cottage?”
Capt. Sully Sullivan chortled. “The only way. The Reynolds have never had road access.”
Rafael gritted his teeth and climbed, his cane slung over one wrist. He was panting and hauling himself up by the railing long before he got to the top. Howard Fricking Taft. He was totally out of shape. Apparently those strolls in the rooftop garden had not been adequate exercise.
Behind him Sully took the stairs like a young man. From the timbre of his voice, and the smell of his oilskins, Rafael had pegged him as an old man. Ahead of Rafael, Herb and Sandy Mulcaster were toting his perishables up the steep stairs. Taking the steps two at a time and chatting as they went.
Complaining would just make him look weak and foolish. If this was one of Cam’s practical jokes, it certainly was a doozy.
“I thought the Reynoldses were bears, not fricking goats,” Rafael growled. The boat ride from Friday Harbor had been wearying enough, a fricking staircase was the last straw.
Sully laughed again. “Bears every one.” He had plenty of breath for laughing.
As if the stairs weren’t enough of a problem, the sunlight was battering Rafael’s senses. He hadn’t expected that either. But the morning mist had given way to a blazing afternoon. It was a relief to arrive at the top. Herb took his arm and led him into deep and soothing shade. He resisted his impulse to wrench his arm out of Mulcaster’s grasp.
“You’ll have to watch out for the trees,” Herb said. “Um, I mean, you gotta learn where the trees are.”
The air was full of the scent of firs. A clean, piney, pure scent. It relaxed him, even though Mulcaster still hadn’t let go and he didn’t like being handled.
“Two steps up,” Herb said briskly.
And then Rafael was standing on a porch with boards under his feet instead of rough ground.
“Got a couple of rocking chairs out here,” Herb continued. “You want to rest for a bit, Major?”
As if he was some doddering old man. “I’m fine,” Rafael lied, trying to lean less hard on his cane. “Just show me the chairs.”
Mulcaster hadn’t mentioned the table in between. Rafael recovered his balance and mapped the simple porch in his mind. At least that part of his talent still worked. Sort of.
“There are cushions for the rockers indoors,” Sandy chirped. “Mrs. Reynolds keeps them in a cedar box by the front door. Keeps the damp and the mice out.”
Herb halted in the doorway. “To your left, Major.”
Rafael put out a hand and felt a bench. He raised the lid easily. Felt inside.
“There’s a couple of blankets in there too,” Sandy said. “Mrs. Reynolds got to feeling the cold even on warm nights. And there are hooks for jackets above.”
“This here is the living room, with the kitchen off to one side,” Herb said. “You got your refrigerator here. It’s propane. I turned it on two days ago, so it’s plenty cold now. Counter and sink. And this here is the gas stove.”
He set Rafael’s hands on the knobs. “The propane has been turned on. You gotta light the burners with a match.” Mulcaster put a box in Rafael’s hand.
“No electricity?” Rafael croaked.
“Nope. If you get cold, there’s a pretty good fireplace. Draws real good. I laid you a fire,” Sandy said.
This had to be Cameron’s idea of a joke. This place was a fricking deathtrap for a blind man. “I hope you filled the fridge with food that I can eat right out of the package,” Rafael said.
“There’s fresh fruit and bags of salad, if that’s what you mean,” Sandy said doubtfully. “The pantry is full of cans.”
Craptastic. “Thank you,” he gritted. “Can you show me the bedroom?” He was a prisoner in a fire trap. A fire trap with no road access. How the hell did Linc and Cam think Rafael was going to check out his mate if he couldn’t get to her?
“There are two,” Sandy said. “I made up the bed in the bigger one.”
“Right this way, Major.” Herb directed him ten paces to his right and opened a door. He led him into a room. “Stop. This here is the bed. It’s only a double, I’m afraid. Might be a bit short. Night table. Dresser. Window. It doesn’t have a blind or curtains. Mrs. Reynolds likes to see the dawn. Though truthfully, the trees grow right up to the windows nowadays. There isn’t much of a dawn anymore.”
“Do you think you can manage, son?” Sully cut in.
“I’ll have to,” Rafael said.
“It’s a bit primitive for a blind dude,” Sully said. “I don’t like the idea of marooning you out here.”
“Marooning?”
“Hmm. There’s a sailboat and motor launch in the boathouse, but they’re still in winter storage in the rafters. And you couldn’t use ’em anyway. I wouldn’t recommend wandering into the forest without a companion. You’d probably never find your way to the road. Marooned is about right.”
“I like solitude,” Rafael said.
“Yeah? Well, you be careful with that stove, fella. If you burn the place down, the fire department has no way to reach you.”
“Mrs. Mulcaster,” Rafael ignored Sully’s interruption. “The next time you come, could you bring me food that doesn’t require cooking? It doesn’t have to be intended to eat cold, just already cooked.” He had eaten plenty of meals that were less than ideal. He could do so again.
Sandy cleared her throat. The friendliness in her voice was vanquished by discomfort. “That’s another thing. Mrs. Leona Rutherford arrived yesterday. I always take care of Ca
t’s Head for the Rutherfords. Naturally she wants me to come out every day until she goes home. I can’t not go and I can’t be in two places at once. I’m real sorry, Major, I can come on Wednesdays, but that’s it. Herb can come on Mondays, so that’s two days covered.”
“I can’t see that that’s enough,” Sully said flatly.
Sandy made an unhappy noise.
“What business is it of yours, Sullivan?” demanded Rafael.
“I’m Deputy Mayor of Mystic Bay,” the skipper announced blandly. “Part of the volunteer fire department too. And your landlady is an old friend. I’m sure she doesn’t know that she’s rented her place to a fire risk. This cabin is a genuine pioneer structure too.”
“I’ll manage.”
“Famous last words.” Sully said grimly. “You need a housekeeper. Or at least some kind of helper who can come out here every day.” He laid a large hand on Rafael’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, son. We’ll find you someone. In Mystic Bay we look out for our neighbors.”
Rafael shrugged his hand off and squared his shoulders. Sully chuckled. “You settle down, Hardy. Wouldn’t be any kind of a fair fight.”
“I’m at least twenty years younger than you,” growled Rafael, ignoring the issue of his name for the moment.
“Fifty,” Sully said comfortably. “But here’s the thing, boy. I can see. And I have a trick or two up my sleeve.”
Rafael found he couldn’t move. He was literally pinned to the spot. Sully had to be some kind of a wizard. He said the only thing he could think of, “Not Hardy, RD.”
“O-kay, Ardee. Here’s what we’re going to do,” Sully declared. “We’re going to find us someone who is prepared to come out here once a day to check on you. You got your cell with you?”
“Of course.” Abruptly Rafael was free to move. He pulled out his phone and turned it on. “Do I have service?”
“You have three bars,” the device informed him.
“You put me on speed dial, son,” Sully said. “I’ll get someone out here if you get yourself into trouble.”
Rafael’s phone pinged. “It’s time for your afternoon medication,” sang the device.
“Where’s my duffel?” Rafael asked.
“Right here.” Herb set it on the bed and directed Rafael toward it.
“Do I have running water?” Rafael asked.
“Yup. But it’s well water,” Mulcaster said. “You have to pump some before you get water. Twice a day in the kitchen and the bathroom both.”
Great. Not. “You better show me those pumps,” Rafael said. “I need some water.” He retrieved his open package of meds, and faced the door. “Where’s the bathroom.”
“What the heck is all this?” Sully was outraged. “You got a goldanged pharmacy in there.”
“I brought a three-month supply with me,” Rafael growled. “Not that it’s any of your business, old man.”
“It’s my business if you’re going to be doped up alone in the woods burning this cabin down.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Mystic Bay
Samantha~
“Actually, you would be doing me a favor. I don’t have time to go out to the point every day. The only access to Mrs. Reynold’s place is by water, and then there’s that switchback staircase.” Virginia Peterson shook her head.
Samantha was sitting in Dr. Peterson’s office. Virginia had taken the chair beside hers instead of the one behind her desk. The cluttered room with its shelves of reference books, and stacks of forms was as familiar as her own reflection. Samantha’s hands itched to bring some order to the chaos.
“I don’t have a boat,” Samantha pointed out. “I’d have the same problem as you.”
Virginia chuckled. “Take unicorn,” she suggested. “You could go through the woods and leap the crevasse. You’re just about the only person on the island who could get there overland in any kind of reasonable timeframe.”
Samantha sighed. “It would mean quitting my job at the gallery,” she protested.
Virginia looked knowing. “Twenty minutes ago you were looking for a nursing position, Samantha. I don’t want to belittle you, but Hope could replace you at the Greene Gallery in a heartbeat. Whereas there’s no other psychiatric nurse in Mystic Bay. And no one else with a prayer of getting out to the Reynolds’ cottage on a regular basis. This job could have been made for you.”
“He should just go back to Portland,” Samantha argued. “A log cabin in the woods is no place for an invalid.”
“Maj. Ardee is not exactly an invalid. He’s one of our many wounded vets, Samantha,” Virginia said sadly. “That cabin is not ideal, but it is the only available one on the entire island. You know that every room, cottage and shack on the island is fully booked through to Labor Day.”
“I was thinking more of doing some general nursing,” Samantha explained. “And being a receptionist. You know, the boring stuff that you handle at the clinic most days: ear infections, coughs and colds, well-baby visits, record keeping.” That she could handle.
“Maj. Ardee needs you more. The poor man is out there, blind, hungry, and doping himself to the eyebrows on too many meds. You know how it is with PTSD. I don’t imagine he’s seen a psychiatrist who knows how to treat a sensitive. His psi is totally messed up. His life force is so weak, I don’t know how he’s still breathing.”
Samantha gulped. “I’m not sure I’m capable of handling someone dealing with real trauma,” she confessed. “Not anymore.”
“You are stronger than you think you are. At least go today and take the poor guy something to eat. It will do you good to walk through the woods and do some browsing. You haven’t been taking enough time for yourself since Carmody was born. Spending time in unicorn will do you a world of good.”
Virginia patted her arm. “Claudia will be happy to pick Carmody up and take her home when she gets Jimmy.” Claudia Rutherford was Virginia’s daughter.
“I guess I could give it a try,” Samantha conceded.
“Great. And when Suzanne leaves, I’d be happy and relieved to have you replace her as my receptionist-nurse,” Virginia said.
An hour later, Samantha parked her little hatchback by the edge of the Old Forest. She set up her saddlebags and frame before she removed her clothes. She had food from the inn already packed for Major Ardee. She added her clothing to the pack before she shifted. It had been a long while since she took unicorn. Keeping an eye on Carmody meant that most of the time she needed both hands ready to deal with her busy daughter.
When she had fully transformed, Samantha walked beneath the frame that held the backpack. Some long-ago Belfast had designed the simple structure that made it possible for a unicorn to load saddlebags without assistance. As soon as the curve of her spine pressed against the catch, the legs of the frame retracted and she was off.
As Virginia had said, it was good to be in unicorn. Samantha felt an urge to gallop, although the denseness of the forest did not permit anything faster than a trot. The saddlebags felt light, comfortable. She was on an errand of mercy. That too fulfilled part of her unicorn nature.
She picked her way along the almost invisible path, pausing only to silently greet a dryad who peeked at her from a mighty oak. Sully had said that once she was past the crevasse, there was a network of partially overgrown trails through the Old Forest to the Reynolds’ cabin.
Samantha guessed that those bears had used it to wander through the forest. People in Mystic Bay acted as if the Old Forest disliked hunters, but what they hated was hunting. As long as shifters behaved themselves and didn’t cut down trees or eat the animals, the trees were content to share their space.
Samantha confined herself to nibbling on some leaves and grasses. Virginia was right about that too. Browsing was invigorating. Somehow wild food always tasted the best and made you feel fantastic. Strong. Centered. She followed the path all the way to the broad gap in the land. The trees grew only within five or six feet of the divide.
Sama
ntha peered over the edge. Broad at the top, it narrowed to a dark slit far below. It went down so deep the bottom was black and indistinct. It bristled with sharp broken stones that reached up like spears.
A few spindly shrubs and weeds had colonized the rocky sides, but frequent landslides kept the edges barren. She estimated the distance across. It was a full twenty feet here. Too far for even a magical unicorn to jump safely. She wandered along the edge looking for a spot where the rift was narrower.
Eventually she found one. Some earthquake had brought the two sides a bit closer together. Well, a mere six or seven feet apart. True, the soil was crumbly and felt unstable.
Fortunately one of a unicorn’s gifts was to tread lightly. No one attempting to track Samantha through the Old Forest would be able to follow her hoofprints. As soon as she passed, they vanished, as if she had never trodden on the spot. She could take off safely.
She backed up, trotted forward, gathered her haunches and lifted off into a perfect jump. She soared across the gap to land lightly on the other side. Her saddle bags had moved slightly and she had to reposition them. But that was to be expected when they were held on mostly by gravity and pressure. Cinches were impossible to fasten without human hands.
She found one of the Reynolds’ trails and trotted down it, enjoying the dappled, sunlit forest, and the sweet grazing.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Reynolds’ cabin
Rafael~
It had been a frustrating week. He wasn’t going to starve, but he had found no means of getting to Mystic Bay and confirming that Samantha Belfast and her kid were his. Not that he thought that there was much doubt. How many unicorns would have been stationed at Tripler?
But he needed to meet Samantha and as soon as possible. These days anonymous bank transfers were a non-starter, and without her consent he had been unable to arrange child support. Besides if Carmody was his, money was the least of his responsibilities as a father.
Fated for the Phoenix: A Shifters in Love Fun & Flirty Romance (Mystic Bay Book 5) Page 6
