Chapter 9 #2
I laughed. We sat in the sun, watching the leaves rustle and talking about their Wiccan friend, Crystal , and the times they helped out at her shop in Maine . They reminisced about the festivals they took part in.
My side of the conversation explored similarities of practice and finding out more about these two. They’d moved here when Kate reconnected with Zoe’s father. He’d been the leader of the Destroyers chapter here until that point, then got a promotion and was now the regional president.
“ This is the first trip he’s gone on solo.” Kate said with a furrowed brow.
“ Are you worried about him?” I kicked myself as soon as I said it.
“ He’s quite capable, I worry about everyone else. He’s bound to be short-tempered by the time they make the next stop. He called last night to check in. I kind of have a confession that I knew your name already. I didn’t want to seem like a creeper or anything.”
“ How’d he find out my name?”
“ Bear ,” Zoe offered. She busied herself by helping me crush the wild mint and chamomile I’d found.
“ Oh , right. That must have been who he was talking to.”
Kate mused with a shake of her head, “ They gossip worse than we do. Oh , that reminds me, there’s a ride this weekend. Are you going with Bear ?”
He hadn’t mentioned it. “ I don’t know yet. I guess, if I can.”
“ Where do you work?” Zoe asked.
“ Up until four weeks ago, I worked at a pharmaceutical testing lab in Harrisburg . I’d taken it as a temporary job while I’m down here helping a friend who’s sick.
” But Carl ruined that. Luckily , I’d finalized my lease.
Otherwise , I’d be in dire straits. “ Right now, I’m looking for something comparable. ” Or anything, really.
“ I can ask Regina , she’s a nurse. Maybe she knows of an opening. What kind of work did you do at the lab?” Kate asked.
“ Mostly sample testing and analysis. I have a degree in biochemistry.”
Zoe’s mouth dropped open. “ Really ? I want to go into Marine Biology , but I’m worried the transfers from Maine to here screwed up my STEM classes.”
Kate listened while her daughter and I discussed the course requirements and any college application insights I had for her. I found myself opening up about the college I went to and the options there.
A commotion from the front of the house had us all craning our heads as Bear came in. He carried several bags. He dropped them onto the kitchen island when he noticed our group in the backyard.
He didn’t look happy.
Of course, his size, piercings, beard, and tattoos probably had something to do with that. “ What are all of you doing out there?” And he didn’t let us answer before asking Kate , “ Where’s the speck?”
“ Nathan went home.”
“ Who said he could?”
“ Wolf . The alarm is on.”
Bear glared at the fence, and the open gate. “ And it didn’t go off?”
“ I know the codes for the zones.” Kate tilted her head and shot Bear a look that clearly challenged, what are you going to do about it?
He took a deep breath. “ I wasn’t here. You know there is supposed to always be someone here.”
“ Roishin was here,” Zoe supplied.
He finally noticed me. His eyes fixed on my loose hair.
It was almost dry and the oil I’d combed into it made it glisten in the sunlight.
The brown turned slightly golden as it hung loose.
His eyes trailed down to my bare legs and feet and the traces of mud and grass on them. “ How long have you been outside?”
That was directed at me. “ At least three hours.”
His jaw moved, causing his beard to lift. “ Alone ?” He gritted out.
“ No , Zoe and Kate have been here keeping me company for at least an hour.”
His nostrils flared. He turned away from all three of us and took in a huge breath.
I braced for a bellow, or possibly even a blow. But he let out the air and slowly turned back to us. “ Kate ? Please ?” There was a note of begging in his tone.
“ Bear , I’m armed. Zoe is too.”
His eyes didn’t move from her. “ That’s not good.”
“ It’s okay. No one is actively trying to kill me anymore.”
He swallowed. Suspiciously , his eyes drifted to me and back to Kate . “ It’s not safe.”
Of course it wasn’t. I’d forgotten about Carl . I picked up my jars and the ground mixture Zoe had worked on. “ I agree. We should have been inside. You’re welcome to come over, after you lock up your house.”
“ I’ll do that.” Bear strode through the open gate and made quick work of securing Kate’s house before herding us inside.
I pushed one of the bags aside so I had room for my things. “ What is all of this stuff?” There were large bags, smaller bags, and some heavy boxes.
“ I picked up a couple of things.” His face turned red. The lie was evident in the pile of purchases.
I peeked inside one of the large paper bags. “ Sage ?”
“ And sweetgrass.”
I stacked the bundles and pulled out a small besom. “ Are you planning a ritual?” He had way too much here. I pulled open another bag.
Crystals spilled out and hit the counter hard. I ran a hand over the faux stone hoping that they hadn’t scratched the new counters. There were at least a dozen stones in the bag. Onyx , quartzes of varying size and color, tiger eyes, moonstones… “ Bear ?” This was too much.
“ Open this one.” He held out a plastic bag.
I peeked inside. The bundle of black fabric didn’t tell me anything. I shook it out and stared at the pattern.
Zoe leaned in. “ Whoa , that’s seriously cool. Where’d you get it?”
“ I stopped by a place in Mechanicsburg .”
“ Crystal Dawn had one like this in the shop. You know, she could have shipped all of this to you at a discount,” Kate observed.
I brushed my palm down the fabric. The black cotton was printed with an intricate pattern of roses, feathers, candles, and crystals. It wasn’t a Norse design. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Bear picked it out especially for me.
“ I picked up a little table. It’s in the back of the truck. As soon as I get it in, you can spread that out and set up.”
There was a crease of worry between his eyes.
“ You shouldn’t have.”
His beard moved again. “ Too late now.” He grunted and retreated to the garage.
“ He bought all this?” Zoe whispered.
“ Looks like it,” Kate whispered back. And then a smile grew on her face until the smug satisfaction was plain to see. She glanced at the door to the garage and back to me, then leaned in. “ Don’t you dare hurt him. Zoe and I do carry guns, and we’re not afraid to use them.”
She straightened as Bear banged the table against the wall.
I rushed to help him with an end but he wouldn’t let me.
All the while, I tried to put my emotions and thoughts into neat boxes where I could analyze them later, because things were moving too quickly for me to keep up.
He positioned the table next to his. The two altars engulfed the entire length of the wall.
Zoe handed me the cloth. “ Go ahead.”
I spread it out. The black of my cloth matched the dark fur on his.
The design was completely different, however.
His altar had red runes painted on the white inside of a smaller hide, mine was a combination of lavender, gold, and deep metallic violet.
But once I got it straightened, it almost looked like they belonged together.
My nose prickled. I forced down my emotions and began opening bags. All of the items needed a good cleansing, but I wasn’t about to complain. “ You know I can’t use these right away, don’t you?”
Bear shrugged. “ Do or don’t do what you want.” He glanced at Kate and Zoe , then leaned in and smelled my hair. “ May I ?” His hand hovered in the air, not touching me.
I realized we had an audience. I took his hand in mine and leaned in.
I put my head against his chest and tried to make the hug not look awkward.
This wasn’t like riding on the back of his bike where my only thought was self-preservation when I wrapped around him.
This time, I was acutely aware of his body heat, the broad expanse of his chest, the difference in our heights.
The top of my head barely reached his shoulder.
Moreover , he had a nicely tapered difference between his chest and his belt. It wasn’t narrowly cut like body builders. However , I could wrap my arms around him at his waist, but I doubted my fingertips would touch if I tried that around his chest.
And best of all, he smelled like leather and trees.
Not a cologne, just naturally outdoorsy smelling.
I liked it. The scent was grounding, and moreover, safe.
I glanced up at him, searching his expression for something that told me I was doing this right, or that it would all be okay. I hadn’t felt safe like this since…
I broke the embrace, embarrassed to be caught off guard like that. I tried to smile and put on a happy mood so Zoe and Kate wouldn’t catch on.
“ Since when do you intrude on witches dancing skyclad?” Kate asked.
Bear stiffened. His mouth fell open. He glanced around, searching for the traps. “ I …”
He was obviously in grave peril. I decided to toss him a rope. “ I took a walk down your running path.”
His mouth snapped shut. “ I didn’t look.”
Funny , when he lied, his eyes shifted to the left. I poked him. “ You did. Don’t lie.”
“ Yeah , well Zoe doesn’t need to hear this.”
“ Do too. Besides , Crystal Dawn does it all the time. Not like Roishin’s the first witch I’ve ever known. I grew up my whole life around that sort of thing. More women should go around naked.”
Bear’s face flushed deep red.
“ Zoe ? Please don’t tease Bear like that,” Kate admonished.
They didn’t fear him.
Normal people would, or at least should.