Firefly Hollow (34 page)

“So where did it come from? Your mother?”

Owen fell back on the bed. “Yes. It comes through the Wells family.”

Sarah leaned across him, her weight on one arm. The position caused her shirt to ride up, revealing the edge of her panties. Owen stroked the smooth skin of her legs, soothing himself almost as much as he was trying to sooth her.

Sarah, however, seemed remarkably calm. “So Eli… he’s a shifter?”

“Yes.”

“And his kids?”

“Four of them are.”

She frowned. “But not all of them? How come?”

Owen shrugged. “Genetics. It’s like blue eyes or curly hair, as far as I can tell. I got the gene; Harlan didn’t. Sometimes it skips entire generations. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, which makes the condition that much more dangerous.”

“Did you always know you were a shifter?”

“No. I found out the hard way when I was thirteen. My mother was afraid to tell me; she had hoped I wouldn’t turn out to be a shifter. She didn’t get her wish.” He rubbed his eyes, remembering the weeks and months that had followed his first transformation. “That’s why I’m telling you now. I won’t go into a marriage unless you’re aware of what all that entails, exactly. She didn’t tell my father until I was four years old. He never had a choice in the matter. I don’t want to do that to you.”

Sarah rubbed her hand across his chest, curling her fingers in the hair and tugging. “So if we have children who are shifters, what does that mean, exactly? Do they have to go into training when they reach a certain age? I’m guessing that’s why you were sent to London, to Eli, right?”

“Yes. I had to go through what I did because of the way I was taught about shifting. Eli’s kids had a much easier time of it. They were told as soon as they were old enough to understand and keep a secret.”

“Do parents know right away if a child has the gene or not?”

“Some do; some don’t. Sometimes the signs are dormant until the children reach puberty, and sometimes it’s apparent from the time they start to walk. Every child is different.”

She appeared to consider his words, a slight frown between her eyes. “Okay. So do your cousins change into deer, also? Or are there other creatures, like bobcats?”

“Like Minerva, you mean? It really depends on the person. Most people can only change into one animal, and a few can change into two.”

“Really? What about you? Can you change into something other than a deer?”

Owen sat up, tipping her back so that she was lying across his legs. “You’re enjoying this a little too much,” he teased. “Are you sure your family doesn’t have a shifter somewhere you aren’t telling me about?” He slipped his hand under her shirt, moving it up the soft skin of her abdomen to cup her breast.

Though Sarah’s eyes softened, she didn’t let him distract her. She covered his hand with hers and used her free hand to pinch him under the arm.

“Ow!”

“Answer the question, please. I can tell that you don’t want to. That must mean you do change into something else. So what is it?”

Resigned, Owen confessed. “A wolf.”

Pushing his hand aside, she slowly sat up. “A
wolf
? As in a howl-at-the-moon wolf?”

“Yes.”

She stared at him, mouth open in shock. “A black and gray wolf, by chance?”

Owen nodded tersely. “Yes.” He watched her put two and two together.

“That was you, all those years ago. You’re the one who saved me from the snake.”

He couldn’t read her expression. Given that he’d pretended ignorance on several occasions, he almost expected her to slap him and storm out.

Instead, she sagged back and teared up. “How long have you been looking out for me?”

“Since that day. Does that change things for you?”

“No. It surprises me; that’s all. I was expecting the deer, not the wolf. I have to get my head around it.” She pursed her lips and studied him with a considering gaze. “Is that something you’d let me see you as?”

He looked down at the place where her hand rested on his belly. He trailed his fingers across hers. “Why would you want to see that again?”

“Owen. You can’t seriously not know.” When he shrugged, she sighed. “Oh, my dear, sweet Owen. If I could turn into a creature as magnificent as a wolf, wouldn’t you want to see
me
?”

Chapter Forty-Seven

F
ROM THE STUNNED LOOK ON Owen’s face, Sarah realized that he had expected a much different reaction. At first, she was a little insulted, but then remembering what he’d told her about his childhood, his confusion made more sense. She brought his hand to her mouth and placed a kiss on his knuckles.

“I don’t know,” he finally answered. “That’s something I’ll have to think about. The wolf… it’s the deepest, darkest part of me. I only go there when I’m in the worst place mentally. I don’t want to show you that right now. Not today, anyhow. There’s been enough darkness today.”

Sarah touched his face. “Okay. So is shifting pretty much like you explain it in the
Tobias Hedge
books?”

“For the most part. It’s a lot less magical, but the basic mechanics are the same. There’s no glow, no mist, just a physical transformation.”

“And you can do it at will?”

He shrugged. “Most of the time. If I’m getting sick, which is rare, or if I’m extraordinarily tired, it doesn’t work. And I can prevent it from happening, though that’s harder when I’m upset. That’s how Jack figured it out. I lost my temper.”

“Jack knows?” Sarah sat up and pulled away. “For how long?”

Owen sat up, as well. “Since the day we had the fight. He guessed, and I had to tell him. And I’m pretty sure your dad knew, and your mom.”

Sarah was flabbergasted. Her hurt must have shown on her face because he rushed to explain.

“I hated that I didn’t talk to you first, but Jack wouldn’t exactly wait for answers. And what with the funerals and all the work related to those, I haven’t had an opportunity to discuss it with you. Until now. Please don’t be hurt. I didn’t deliberately tell him and not you. And your dad guessed, I think. He never flat out told me that he knew I was a shifter, but the implication was there. God, I’m such a screw-up.”

“They never said a word to me.” She closed her eyes, feeling a little foolish that she was the last person in her family to know about Owen’s gift. When she looked back at him again, his misery was plain to see. Some of the sting faded. “Is there anything else, anything
at all,
that you haven’t told me? If so, please just blurt it out now. I can’t take any more surprises.”

“That’s all. You know everything.”

She let out a sigh. “I’m crazy for doing it, but I believe you. But if you ever hide something from me again, I’ll have your...” She glanced down at his lap. “Well, it won’t be pleasant.”

Owen cringed. “Cross my heart. You know everything.”

After a gentle kiss, Sarah pulled back. “So did you start to change into the wolf when you and Jack were fighting?”

“No. My eyes flashed.”

“Flashed how?”

He sighed. “It’s easier to show you than explain. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. When he raised his eyelids, his irises had taken on a golden hue that glowed in the dim light coming through the windows. The pupils had shifted a little, also, taking on a more animalistic slant.

“Whoa. That’s… wow!”

He blinked, and his eyes were back to the warm, sherry brown Sarah loved. She touched the skin around his eyes and shook her head, astonished. “Does your vision change when you do that?”

“A little, but not much. I know you have a lot of questions, but can they wait? I’m starting to get a little hungry.”

When her stomach growled, they both laughed. “I guess I’m a little hungry, too.”

She followed him downstairs, where Owen insisted she have a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen bar. “You’ve cooked for me several times. It’s only fair I return the favor,” he teased. “Is soup and grilled cheese sandwiches okay?”

“Of course.” She watched him move around the kitchen with competence. “I guess you have to be fairly self-sufficient, living alone.”

He opened a large jar of soup and emptied it into a saucepan. “I do okay. The soup’s Amy’s. She makes a huge batch every time she knows I’m heading down there and sends it home with me.”

“Eli and Amy sound like wonderful people. You’re lucky to have them.”

“I know. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if they hadn’t been there. Speaking of them, I’ve been thinking about something. I wanted to run it by you first, though.”

Sarah propped her chin on her hand. “Okay. I’m listening.”

“They lost everything in the fire. Furniture, clothes, everything. And I have that house sitting over there.” He pointed in the direction of his parents’ house. “It’s full of furniture that’s going to waste. It wouldn’t fully outfit them, but it’d go a long way. There are a few pieces I’d like to hold on to, but I’d like to give the rest to them. I don’t plan on ever living in that house again, unless you want to.”

With a frown, Sarah tilted her head. “I wouldn’t force you to go back there, not as much as the place bothers you. For goodness’ sake, give it to them. You don’t need my permission to do that. It’s your house, Owen.”

He buttered the bread for the sandwiches. “It’ll be your house soon enough.”

Sarah wet her lips. “You say that, but I don’t recall any formal proposal. So maybe it will be, maybe it won’t.” When he looked at her with consternation, she gave him an innocent look. “What?”

He went to the stove and turned off the burner, then came around the end of the counter. “You stay right here.” He dashed upstairs, but returned in less than a minute, a fierce look on his face. When he held out his hand, Sarah’s heart soared. With not a little anxiety, she placed her hand in his.

Owen drew her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. She let her hands rest lightly on his chest, and as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t meet his eyes. She felt incredibly shy, and to her shock, terribly afraid.

He touched her cheek with his hand. “Look at me.”

Sarah shook her head and buried her face against his chest. “I can’t.” She laughed. She bit the knuckle of her thumb.

“Sweetheart, if you don’t look at me, I can’t show you what I have in my hand. Sarah, come on. Please?”

Drawing on her courage and feeling somewhat ridiculous for being so missish, she managed to raise her head.

Owen smiled and gave her a brief kiss. “That’s my girl. Now, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for several weeks now. Thanks to a whole load of bad luck, I’ve had to wait longer than I expected. I want you to know that I’m not jumping in here blind.”

“Okay.”

He pushed her hair back off her face with one hand, keeping his other arm firmly around her waist. “You mean the world to me. I knew from the first time I saw you, when you were fifteen… remember?” Sarah nodded, and he continued, “From that first time, I knew you were special. When I saw you again that summer before you left, I told myself it was a good thing you were going. Because I knew you could break my heart without even trying. It wasn’t until you came back last fall that I realized how deep I was already in. And then we got to know each other, and I didn’t want out anymore. I didn’t want to hide anymore. So with that in mind…” He went down on one knee.

Sarah could scarcely breathe she was shaking so hard. Her hand came up to cover her mouth, and she realized she was crying.

Owen held up a trembling hand. Nestled in his palm was a blue velvet box, and as Sarah blinked tears away, he opened it.

“Sarah Jane Browning, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

So overcome she could barely see the ring, Sarah just nodded wildly. She tried to answer, but she couldn’t speak. She settled for throwing her arms around his neck. She almost knocked him over with her enthusiasm, but Owen quickly recovered, and he stood, wrapping his arms around her to lift her off the floor.

“Is that a yes?” he asked in between kisses.

“Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes!” Crying and laughing at the same time, Sarah hugged him so tightly he grunted. “I love you so much, Owen. I would be very happy to be your wife.”

He pulled back enough to kiss her. When they came up for air, he whispered, “I love you more than you can know.”

After several minutes of kissing and touching, Sarah finally calmed down enough to ask for her ring, and Owen slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly.

“Your mom gave me your ring size before she left for Georgia,” he confessed.

Sarah gazed down at the ring with amazement. It was a beautiful piece, a large star sapphire, surrounded by a swirl of diamonds. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I wanted something that matched your eyes.”

“Oh, Owen. I love it. Thank you.”

His stomach growled in response, and they both laughed. “I guess we’d better eat, huh?” He finished putting the meal together and came around to sit beside her at the bar.

“So what kind of wedding do you want?” he asked.

Sarah thought about it. “I don’t know. A few weeks ago, I would have said something similar to what Jack and Gilly had. Now, though? After everything the family’s been through, I don’t think that’d be appropriate. Does that make sense?”

Owen ran his hand down her back. “Sure, it does. I’m sorry. I guess if you want to wait a few months, we can.” Sarah sent him a look, and he sighed. “Yeah, I guess not.”

She leaned over and kissed his bare shoulder. “It’s okay. We can always do a big to-do for our first anniversary if we want. What’s important is that we’re together.” She looked down at her soup and blew out a breath. “I’d like to be married before Mama and Kathy leave. And I’d planned on going back to work next week, probably Wednesday.”

“Okay. Then why don’t we go to the courthouse tomorrow and get our marriage license, and then plan on getting married Monday? That’ll take care of the three-day waiting period. Is that enough time for you?”

“I think so. I’ll recruit Gilly’s help. Are you okay with getting married at the house? I’d like Kathy to be there, and I doubt she’ll leave to go anywhere else.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Sure, that’s fine. Do you think it’d be okay if I invited Eli and Amy to come up? He’s an ordained minister. It’d be kind of nice if he were the one who married us.” Owen frowned. “Maybe we should clear all this by your mother before we plan everything and just show up in her parlor on Monday.”

Sarah smiled. “Do you really think she’d mind as long as you marry me?”

“Probably not, but I’d rather make sure first.”

“Then we can do that. But even if she says no, I’d still like to plan on Monday.”

He picked up her hand and kissed the back. “It’s a date.”

Owen walked her home that evening, and they made the announcement to the family.

“We don’t want to have a big celebration right now, given the circumstances,” Sarah explained after the congratulations were given. “But we’d like everyone to be with us when we say our vows.”

Eliza hugged her, then Owen. She stepped back and took one of each of their hands in hers. “Of course we’ll be there. Do you want to have the wedding here?”

Sarah smiled at Owen. “We were hoping to, actually.”

They obtained the marriage license the next day, and all the women threw themselves into planning the wedding, even Kathy, who said, “I want you to be happy. And this gives me something to focus on. Something to hope for.”

Before Sarah knew it, Monday rolled around. The ceremony was set for one o’clock.

As Eliza helped her get dressed, her mother kept sniffling back tears. “I am so happy for you both. I think you’ve found a good man, Sarah Jane. I hope you have decades of happy years together.”

“So do I,” Sarah whispered.

Jack was waiting at the foot of the steps and offered his arm to her. “You sure about this?” he murmured. Sarah sent him a chiding look, and he grinned. “I’m teasing. I like Owen.”

“I know. I like him, too.”

As they went into the parlor, Sarah only had eyes for Owen. Standing in front of the fireplace next to his uncle, he was so handsome in his gray suit that she could hardly stand it. He’d shaved the beard, and as Jack escorted her across the room, the smile she loved so much spread across Owen’s face. Jack placed her hand in Owen’s and gave her a quick hug.