Hunter's Choice (11 page)

Hunter

I breathed deeply the scent of lavender,
vanilla and what I was now absolutely certain was sandalwood as I held her soft
lithe form against me. She was warm and I longed to taste her but I refrained.
The temptation nearly finished me though.

I was stunned that she believed me. Telling
the story of my parents had always been a painful thing to me. A popular myth
to most humans in Wales, I had left the country with some of the first waves of
pilgrims. Living aboard a cramped ship as a man for months had been one of the
hardest things I’d ever done in my long life. When you live in quarters that
cramped, there was no opportunity to take to the air without suspicion of
witchcraft or other devilry falling upon you.

Gwydion had not meant to half curse me in his anger,
though we were not close, he had done his best to lessen the blow done to me.
Through great magic he had given me the option of shifting between my accursed
form and that of a man.

My father had been much less forgiving. We
knew I was his, but Llew Llaw Gyffes, Lord of his lands and mighty king would
not be swayed. Convinced in his bitterness at his wife’s betrayal that I was a
product of her and Gronw’s union he had cursed me to an unhappy childhood,
without a father and without a mother, left to the servants and his uncle for
the raising.

I suppose that Jessamine and I were similar in
that regard. Charlie had told me that she was raised by her mother’s aunt and
uncle. What had become of her mother and father he would not say, just that
Jessamine had come here when she was seven and had been here, with family that
loved her, ever since.

Jessamine sat back on her end of the couch and
smiled at me. Despite her battered appearance, she radiated warmth and
understanding. My heart sighed in relief and I felt as if the burden upon it
lessened some. I smiled wanly at this incredibly lovely creature and wished
fervently to lessen the burden upon her heart in the same way.

“You look tired.” I commented.

I am a little. I feel like I am stiffening
up again.

“Would you like me to take you to see my
brethren?” I asked.

You mean the owls?

“Yes.”

I thought you’d never ask! I feel weird
having not seen my fly babies today. Poor things. Sorry for asking but are
there any others like you? That can change?

“No, I am the only one of my kind. Any
children my mother had after she was cursed, well, there is no human formed
half to them so they are what they are, owls only. Still, we are related to a
certain extent so I consider them brothers and sisters all… My winged brethren.”
I told her this as we moved down the hall to the garage door. We went into the
small area and up to the owl she’d named Winter. She smiled broadly and the joy
upon her face was unmistakable.

Gods above and below, she was beautiful when
she smiled like that. Not even her injuries could contain it.

“H-h-hey beautiful boy.” She whispered and I
smiled. She did okay, using her voice and her words around me.

“Jessamine, may I ask you something?” I
ventured.

“Y-y-y-es.” He looked up at me quizzically,
her stormy blue eyes alight with curiosity.

“Why did you speak to me, and the owls as you
do?”  Hurt flickered in her eyes and she cast them away from me and back to the
Snowy owl on the perch, just opposite the chicken wire.

“Y-y-you, don-nn-nnnn’t judge.” She said
finally.

“People, hummm-mman’s judge. Thinn-nnk because
I sss-ss-tutter, that I’m-m-m stupid.” She huffed out a breath, clearly
frustrated with herself for not being able to get the words out.

“You are not stupid.” I said softly. “You are
one of the smartest, loveliest and bravest women I’ve ever met and I’ve been
around for a very,
very
long time.” I whispered. I was rewarded with a
deep blush that swept up her delicate throat, painting her creamy skin a light
shade of pink where it wasn’t purple, red or black.

“Th-th-th-thank you.” she had some trouble
forcing it out, but I appreciated that she tried with me. I could tell talking
didn’t come easy for her.

We visited the outdoor cages and pens next,
she smiled at and had softly spoken words of encouragement for every one of her
charges. I worried about taking her into the barn so soon after her ordeal
there, but she didn’t so much as hesitate.

She did, however, pause inside the door. It
was as if nothing had ever happened in here. Aaron, Charlie and I had washed
the blood from the concrete, thoroughly cleaned the cages and had even gone so
far as to move things round so it would look different in here. Jess smiled at
me over her shoulder and went to the nearest enclosure with an owl in it.

About midway through her visits, we heard
Charlie’s old truck lumber down the drive. I stepped out of the barn and waved.
He sauntered over at a slow pace.

“She inside?” he asked.

“Visiting.” I answered succinctly. He shook
his head and smiled.

“Jess!” he called, “Come on now! You need some
rest! They’ll live without you for one day.”  He was smiling wistfully and I
let my smile join his. Jessamine poked her head out of the barn and the small
smile that played on her lips and danced in her eyes made it worth bringing her
out here.

She was resilient. She slowly moved in our
direction and the three of us walked back toward the inviting glow of her
house. She stopped at the foot of the stairs leading up to the little deck off
her bedroom and I nodded, guessing her intent. She went to Charlie and hugged
him.

“Aw, go on kid. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He
smiled and let her go and she looked like she wanted to hug me again and oh how
I wanted her to, but then she inclined her head and gave a little wave
goodnight and ascended the stairs alone.

Charlie gave me a little pat on the shoulder
and we both entered the house through the kitchen.

“Lock up, I’m going to bed.” He stated, and
with his old military ruck sack over his shoulder, he disappeared into the
downstairs bedroom.

I turned out lights and locked the doors
against the outside world, and with a silent mental sigh took up my own
aluminum framed hiker’s pack and ghosted up the stairs. I fought myself not to
pause outside Jessamine’s door and listen, and instead moved up the hall and
into the second guest bedroom, leaving the door open behind me.

I was not a fanatic of enclosed spaces.

I dug through my pack which was admittedly
limited in clothing options and found a pair of cotton lounge pants in the
bottom. I changed into them, securing them with the drawstring at my hips. I
stretched out atop the covers and cradled my head in my hands as I stared at
the ceiling.

This must have been Jessamine’s room as a
girl. The ceiling sparkled in the diffuse light of the moon that poured through
the window, giving the illusion of star scatter. I closed my eyes in vain.
After being mostly nocturnal for so long, I was unused to this diurnal
lifestyle and found myself wide awake. So I continued to stare at the ceiling
and the insides of my eyelids until sleep finally came forth to claim me, all
the while turning thoughts of Jessamine over in my head.

It was going to be one very long night.

Jessamine

I was running late for work. I pulled on my
scrubs and hastily pulled my hair into a pony tail. The birds needed to be
cared for and I was pressed for time. I clattered down the porch steps from my
bedroom and leapt over the last three. I didn’t even break stride as I moved
swiftly across the yard to the barn. I went through the door and stopped cold…

This wasn’t real… this couldn’t be
happening... The two men who’d attacked me were broken and bloody on the
concrete floor. I swallowed hard and made to take a step back but the one with
the sores on his face, his hand shot out and grabbed my ankle.

He was incredibly strong, and fast as he
wrenched me off balance. I let out a little bleat of terror and tried to back
away but he was climbing my body. He grinned and blood seeped out of his mouth
around his broken teeth.

“We weren’t done playing with you!” he
wheezed. I screamed, long and loud and struggled harder against his groping
hands.

“Jessamine!” light flooded the barn and I
opened my eyes to see Hunter standing in the doorway to my bedroom, the door
flush against the wall, his hand flat against the light switch.

I dragged in several breaths, and stared
across the expanse of carpet between us. Hunter stood in a pair of gray pajama
bottoms that hung low on his hips. His caramel colored eyes a bit wide, were
framed by the wild tangle of his hair. He looked every bit the wild creature
his other form was and here he was, trying to take care of the poor beat up
girl with the horrible stutter.

I let myself feel the stab of self-pity and
tried valiantly to let it go.

Hunter took a cautious step into the room as
my eyes misted with tears. I rounded my shoulders, hunching in on myself as the
first sob shook me and the careful walls I’d put up around myself in the
hospital came crumbling down. I’d been able to fool myself for a while that I
was okay, but I knew deep down that I wasn’t. Who could be after something like
that?

A low sound, like that of a tortured animal
swept through the room and it took me several seconds to realize that the sound
was coming from me. The side of the bed dipped and I was pulled tight against
solid warmth. His breath ruffled the hair on the crown of my head as he made
quiet soothing noises.

I wept bitterly against him, his arms bracing,
a protective barrier between me and all comers. We stayed like that for a long
time. Hunter a rock and me, an emotional wreck upon him until I coughed and
hiccupped the last of my ugly cry.

“I-I-I’m s-ss-s-ssorry.” I stammered out.

“Shhh, nothing to be sorry about. You’ve been
through a lot in a short amount of time. This sort of thing is to be expected,
love.” We were quiet for a long stretch until finally he asked,

“Nightmare then?”

I nodded bleakly against his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?

I resolutely shook my head. I so did not want
to talk about it, or think about it,
ever
, if possible. 

I began to relax in Hunter’s comforting hold.
I allowed my eyes to drift shut and pretended, just for a second, that this was
how things could be for more than just a moment. Hunter shifted beneath me and
I grimaced slightly. I was making the man uncomfortable at the expense of my
selfish comfort. I drew back but he held me fast.

“Just a little longer… please?” I nodded,
surprised that he’d want what we were doing to continue. I cuddled back against
him and closed my eyes, listening to the rhythmic ticking of his heart. He
sighed and I relaxed into him. I tried not to think too hard about how
good
he felt. Warm and solid beneath my cheek and hand. My other arm was trapped
between us but comfortably so.

“I wish I could stay like this with you,” he
murmured. I wished so too, enough so that I forced the words out.

“Mm-mm-me too.”

His arms tightened around me and I could hear
the smile in his voice when he teasingly asked,

“Is that an invitation to stay the night
love?” I laughed lightly and nodded. He went very still…

“Don’t tease me Jessamine.” He said at last
and I drew back and looked at him stricken.

He tilted his head to one side, and searched
my face, nodding slowly at whatever he found there.

“All right, I’m sorry love,” he swallowed
hard, “I believe you…” but he pulled away from me just the same and got up. I
huddled down into my blankets when he switched off the light and closed my
eyes. Of course he wouldn’t want a …

My thoughts were interrupted by the lift of
the covers and the return of his warmth as he slid into the bed beside me. I
went to him gratefully, but at the same time apprehensive. He drew me against
him, lying flat and I couldn’t help but smile at how perfectly we fit together.
I rested my head against his shoulder and lay my free arm across his washboard stomach.
Forget six pack, Hunter had eight… I wondered for a moment if that was even
possible but his voice stopped my random hormone induced internal ramblings,

“Thank you for this.” He whispered and I
melted into his side even more.

I closed my eyes. How on earth could this
beautiful son of two gods be thanking me for some mid-night cuddle time? Didn’t
he realize that he was the one doing
me
the favor here? I nodded once
slowly and closed my eyes at a loss for what else to do.

I mean, what exactly could I say?

Jessamine

I woke alone, my nose buried in a pillow that
smelled of crisp fresh air and the great outdoors. Hunter’s smell. I smiled,
remembering the warmth and tenderness he’d held me with and my pulse gave a
little flutter.  I lingered a little longer, breathing in his smell before I
got out of bed. I thought I would be much stiffer than I was actually feeling
and thought maybe that nasty smelling tea of Hunter’s had something to it.

I pulled on thick athletic socks first thing
and then hunted through my drawers for what I would wear that day. I went for
my usual weekend wear of blue jeans, a fitted black tee-shirt and a women’s cut
flannel shirt. I buttoned the flannel most of the way and rolled back the
sleeves to just below my elbows. I picked out a purple and wine colored plaid
pattern, I figured what the hell? I might as well match my face.

I picked up my boots from my little slate
entry way and padded downstairs. I heard Charlie in the kitchen talking to
someone and so that’s where I went. When I rounded the corner I was surprised
to see not two but four people there.

“Oh my sweet baby! Look what they done to
you!” My Aunt Margie bustled forward and I dropped my boots with a hearty smack
onto the hardwood, opening my arms to her. We hugged and I was struck by how we
were the same height. My Uncle Dave was standing behind the lunch counter by
Charlie, his bright blue eyes swimming with tears as he watched me and his wife.

I waved feebly to him behind Aunt Margie’s
back as she clucked and grimaced over my appearance. Hunter was at the stove
looking on impassively and I grimaced inwardly, remembering our conversation
the night before about how his family had treated him. I looked at him
worriedly, knowing that Margie was going to cluck and fuss over me until
she
was satisfied and she wouldn’t quit it a moment before.

“Margie, let that girl alone!” Dave shook his
head over his much shorter wife and heaved a sigh. My Aunt Margie turned and
let me go to him.

My Uncle Dave was tall and lanky, with a full
head of steel gray hair that was getting too long over his ears again. How
could I tell? It was curling haphazardly out from under his old, deep green
Weyerhaeuser trucker hat. His eyebrows were big and bushy and drawn so tightly
together they almost buried his eyes as he scowled at the state of my face. He
wore faded old Levi’s and like Charlie, favored the old fashioned snap-buttoned
cowboy shirts. He had on a light denim blue one on over his typical white
crewneck tee shirt. His rugged old brown forestry boots on his feet. I frowned
at the picture of his old boots on my kitchen floor. He hugged me tighter and I
looked up at him and gave a tremulous smile.

I would not cry damn it.

I was struck by the fact that here it was not
even two full days after my little catastrophe and they were here. Just dropped
everything and likely got themselves on the next plane out. My Aunt and Uncle
were the best kind of people there were.

I looked over at Margie who was thicker around
the middle than either Dave or myself. Her hair was white and short and her
hazel eyes sparkled from behind her silver framed glasses. She wore a white
sweatshirt with gray cats on it over her old lady jeans. The kind with no back
pockets that made your butt look big. She had on her black old lady sneakers
with the Velcro closures that I always teased her about. She needed the
comfortable shoes though, on account of her diabetes.

She came up and squashed me in another hug
between me and her husband like they always used to do when I was a kid until I
started giggling and squirming. I did neither of those things now though. I
hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed them.

Hunter was the one who broke the spell of our
little family reunion by pulling the lid off the pot he had simmering on the
stove. My Aunt Margie cried out in dismay. My Uncle Dave took a step back and
eyed Hunter critically but it was Charlie who made the astute observation by
crying out,

“Christian Christ boy! What is that? Boiled
horse piss?” Dave laughed, Margie admonished him about his language and I bowed
my head knowing exactly what it was before Hunter said it.

“It’s a restorative tea. Will help with the
bruises,” and he ladled out two mugs of it.

I groaned inwardly and plastered a strained
smile on my face and took one. Hunter’s caramel colored eyes danced over the
rim of his cup as we stood there letting it cool.

“Cheers love,” he said and I took a deep
breath and chugged as quickly as the hot tea would allow. I couldn’t help it
this morning, I gagged and choked a couple of times.

Having Margie, Dave and Charlie watch me in
horrified fascination as I put the liquid down somehow made drinking it worse
than it had been yesterday.

“Easy, easy okay that’s enough.” Hunter took
the cup put of my hands even though there was a good third of the tea left in
the bottom of the cup. I let him take it all too gratefully.

I looked at everyone in my kitchen and blushed
and shrugged. I felt kind of bad, everyone being here like they were when
really there wasn’t anything anyone could
do
for me. I mean, I was
healing up as fast as I could. Still, it was nice having them here all the
same.

“Well Hunter, I’m glad you were and are here.”
Margie said finally when the silence had gone on a little too long.

“I was and am glad I was in the right place at
the right time too Madam.” He gave Margie an award winning smile which made her
blush which made me grin and Dave smile too.

“What’re you boys planning to do today?”
Margie asked.

I pulled the whiteboard off the front of the
fridge and started writing while Hunter answered.

“Well, I was planning on taking care of the
driveway today. I saw the pile of gravel out behind the barn, I assume that’s
what you keep it for?” he looked at Dave who nodded.

“I figured I would dig out some fill dirt,
maybe create a small fish pond over there.” He indicated a raw unused patch of
yard beside one of the aviaries.

“Fish pond? How do you reckon that?” Charlie
asked.

“There were some materials in an old shed,
looked like someone wanted to put one in at some point but it never happened.”
Hunter was looking at my Uncle Dave who was rubbing the back of his neck.

“I was planning on putting one in, yeah,
supposed to be a surprise for you Margie, but like so many other projects
around here I just never got to it.” He looked a bit sheepish. Charlie was
grinning at him. I held up my long winded sign and knocked on the counter twice
to draw attention to it.

I’m glad to see you guys. Looks like
Charlie already introduced you to Hunter. Hunter is going to be staying here
and help out with some of the projects Charlie and I haven’t been able to get
to on account that we have so many owls to take care of. Speaking of which,
Uncle Dave you need to come with me before you go play with Charlie.

I bounced a little in place with excitement.

“What is it Jess?” Dave asked.

I waved at him to follow me and went for the
Garage, giving Hunter a quick hug as I went by which raised some eyebrows.
Hunter laughed and hugged me back, Charlie called after me,

“Oh yeah, I left that for you to show ‘im!
He’s eatin’ on his own, you should move him today!” I waved over my shoulder
and took Dave’s hand and let him into the garage, flipping on the light.

“Holy geeze Jessamine! Is that your first
Snowy in there?” he asked and I nodded excitedly, grabbed up a board and
between our personal sign language and writing it out began the tale of Winter…