Hunter's Choice (8 page)

Jessamine

My mouth felt dryer than a desert and like it
was stuffed with cotton at the same time. I lay in my bed and had no
recollection as to how I had gotten into it, then I tried to move. The pain it
caused had the whole nightmare rushing in on me like a rogue wave on the beach.
Crashing into my consciousness and sweeping any sense of security I had away
from me.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position
with a moan. Everything hurt. I was stiff and sore from head to toe and what’s
worse, someone had shut off my alarm. The sun rode high in the sky and I had
missed the morning feeding.

“Hey, you’re up.” I looked up. Aaron was
smiling at me from the door way. I scowled at him. Wasn’t he supposed to be in
school? I motioned in the air like I was writing. He brought me a whiteboard
and dry erase pen.

Aren’t you supposed to be in school?
I flashed the sign in his direction and his eyes got really wide.

“Jess it’s after three o’clock, school lets
out at two…” he said.

I covered my face with my hands and groaned,
as much from the pain of moving and at how bruised my face was than at how late
it was. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and gasped.

“Hunter!” Aaron called and I heard the thud of
boots on the carpeted stairs.

He appeared in the door way, the breadth of
his shoulders imposing. He wore a deep green tank top today, tucked into faded
and stained blue jeans. A brown leather belt with a round disc for a buckle
held his pants securely to his hips. The buckle was an elaborate knot work. I
couldn’t remember the exact name of it, but I think it was Irish or something.
His hair was pulled into a tangled pony tail and remained reminiscent of his
feathers, a light brown shot through with streaks of white.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

I hurt everywhere and slept all day.
I wrote. Hunter’s full lips quirked up on one side.

“After last night, you earned it love.” His
voice was melodic and held an accent that was decidedly
close
to
English.

Are you British?
He
laughed.

“Welsh.” He affirmed his nationality, he
sighed.

“You look a sight, let’s get you in a shower
and into some of your own clothes. Aaron, help Charlie outside?” He looked to
the much younger man who nodded, eyes wide and fixed on me.

Do I look that bad?

“Yeah, and then some Jess.” Aaron answered
honestly, “I’d hug you but I don’t know if I’d hurt you.” He backed out of the
room and I heard his cascading footsteps as he went down the stairs.

I stood up and it was a bit too quickly. I
waited for the vertigo to pass and faced Hunter.

Are you some kind of were-owl or something?
He laughed.

“Or something.” He crossed his arms over his
chest and the play of muscle beneath his skin made heat curl low in my body. I
closed my eyes and shambled into my bathroom, slowly. He turned on the shower
and asked me where the towels could be found.

Hall closet.

He returned with one and I shooed him out with
my hands and took my sweet time getting undressed and under the hot spray. I
also took my time in the shower, letting the heat ease my stiff muscles. When I
got out, I combed my hair and braided it, frowning at my blurry image in the
mirror. I wiped away the steam and cringed at my reflection. One half of my
face was water colored in every shade of bruise imaginable from hairline to
chin. The other half was clear except for a deep dark ring of bruising around
the eye. The cuts didn’t look like they would scar real bad, which was good.

I sighed. I was a hot mess, there was no
denying that. I closed my eyes and went back in the bedroom. I pulled on a pair
of straight legged sweats and one of my most comfortable college sweatshirts.
It was gray with a purple U and W outlined in gold on it. I put on thick socks
and picked up my whiteboard and pen. I erased the last messages before Charlie
or Aaron could see them.

I padded downstairs and found the house was
empty. Charlie was heading into the barn, Aaron was near the aviary and Hunter,
well, he was nowhere to be seen. I felt my shoulders drop in disappointment. I
sighed.

“I’m right here love.” His voice came from
behind me, a soft caress against the senses. I turned around. He smirked at me
and I could see the garage door standing open behind him.

Winter…

“He’s fine. Went after the live prey you left
him. Should probably move him into the pen you had me in.” he said the last so
softly I almost didn’t hear it.

Aviary.

“What?”

Aviary. Not a pen. I was trying to build up
your flight muscles in your wing and your leg before I released you. I guess
you couldn’t wait to get out of here.

“Ah, no, you have that all wrong.” He eased
past me and into the kitchen, going to the stove. He pulled the lid off a pot
simmering on there and a pungent odor rolled out. I covered my nose and mouth
with my sleeve.

“Don’t make that face love, you and I are
about to drink this.” He ladled out two mugs of the foul smelling liquid and
tried to hand me one.

What is it?

“
It
is a restorative tea. Will help
with the bruises. It tastes better than it smells.” He clinked mugs with me and
I choked down a swallow.

“Ugh!!” I made a face. He laughed and took
another healthy swallow.

“One cup love, it’s all I ask.” He turned back
to the stove and I saw the line of bruising peeking out from around the straps
of his tank. I winced, remembering the sound the broom handle had made
impacting his flesh. I let out a gusty sigh.

I choked down the rest of the tea obediently
and closed my eyes. My stomach roiled in protest before becoming quiescent
again. Hunter turned from the stove and smiled faintly at me.

“Thank you.” He said and took the mug. I wiped
my board clean.

Thank YOU. If choking down some nasty tea
is all it takes to make you happy after what you did for me yesterday then pour
me another cup.
He laughed.

“What would make me happy is fixing up some
things around here for you that you and Charlie just can’t do. I’ll start with
filling in the washouts in your driveway. That broken window in the barn could
use fixing, the gutters need cleaned, that felled tree needs to be chopped up
and I think you have a roof leak or two?”  He was searching my face and all I
could do was stand there and blink.

It was true, some things had gotten away from
me and Charlie. I just wasn’t strong enough or was kept busy by the owls or at
work… I didn’t want Aaron getting hurt either… I wiped my board clean and
hesitated over it with the dry erase pen.

I can’t pay you anything, money is tight as
it is. I can give you room and board, a ride into town whenever you need it… I
might be able to pay for supplies you need but for the most part you’ll have to
make do with what’s around here. I don’t know, it hardly seems fair.

“I learned a very long time ago that life is
far from fair. You’re going to need the extra help around here, at least for a
few days and I like to keep busy, so the extras are a bonus if you want to look
at it that way. I like it here Jessamine.” He took a step or two forward
closing the gap between us. In a much lower, much softer tone of voice he spoke
his next words:

“I don’t know what I would have done if it
weren’t for you on that highway. You picked me up when countless other cars
just passed me by. I wanted to come and give back, I never… I never meant for
any of it to go like this. Those two were a very unwelcome surprise. I should
have killed them.” His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. I swallowed
hard and thought for a minute.

Everything happens for a reason. You would
have had to lie about who, or at least what you are if things hadn’t happened
the way they did, right?

“Probably, yes… it’s what I’ve done for a very
long time.” He admitted.

Well now you don’t have to lie, at least
not to me. That has to be something right? Freeing, sort of?

He smiled at me and shook his head, I think in
wonderment.

“Even after all of that you still manage to
find something good?” he asked. I erased what had been written.

Yeah, well, I guess I’m naïve that way.
I couldn’t keep the bitterness off my face.

“I don’t think so,” he tipped a finger under
my chin so I’d look up, I did but not without flinching away from the gentle
touch, he withdrew his fingers quickly and scowled, but not at me.

“You’re pure goodness woman. A naïve person
lacks experience, and is typically too trusting. I see the skepticism in your
eyes. You know how things work, you willfully go against the grain and try to
make a difference. A positive one, even with the odds stacked against you. You’re
the best kind of person there is and I see it in you plain as day.” he stepped
around the counter and went to the door.

I blinked several times, eyes misting at his
words. He was being too nice. He’d been nothing
but
nice and I wasn’t
quite sure what to do with it.

“Not sure what you want to do about dinner but
I can’t really cook for shite, if you’re not up to it, Charlie said he’d cook…”
I looked stricken and he laughed.

I’ll cook, send Aaron in, maybe he could
learn a thing or two. I’ll consider this cooking out of self-defense if Charlie
was planning on coming in here. Canned chili over microwaved mac and cheese is
about the extent of his skill level. He would have starved without my Aunt Margie
around.

He came forward and took the board out of my
hand and read it. He laughed and shook his head, handing it back.

“I’ll send the boy in.” he slipped out the
back door and I watched him go, swallowing hard. The only thing better than
watching Hunter walk towards me was watching him walk away.

I huffed out a sigh. I didn’t think for a
minute that the feeling was mutual. I mean who in their right mind, owl
creature human thing or not, would want someone like me? I shook my head and
tried to clear it. I had things to do.

I set about the kitchen, moving slowly but
effectively. I pulled down the ingredients for pie and two ceramic pie baking
dishes. My boys were heroes all the way around yesterday, getting the owls
taken care of despite me being down for the count.

The message light on my answering machine was
blinking and I hit the play button while I moved about the kitchen. The voices
coming through with message after message of well wishes made my eyes burn with
tears. I smiled and let them play out as Aaron came into the kitchen. One of
the messages was the animal hospital telling me to take as much time as I
needed, reminding me I had plenty of sick leave and vacation time. Aaron sidled
up to the counter.

“Pie? For dinner?” he asked smiling.

You guys earned it. Go get me three boxes
of hamburger helper out of the garage pantry, pick all three the same flavor
and get me three lbs of hamburger out of the freezer. I’m going easy on myself
sorry for the ghetto meal after doing so much out there the last couple of days.
L

Aaron laughed and shook his head.

“Jess, you’re standing right in front of me
looking
like hamburger, you don’t need to draw a sad face to tell me you feel bad. I
cook hamburger helper at my house for me and mom all the time. Let me do that
and tell me what I can do to help with the pie so you don’t kill yourself.” He
rolled his eyes and stood waiting for orders.

Nice try. I was born at night, not LAST
night. The secret of pie stays with me grass hopper. You are not ready. Get the
dinner stuff, wash your hands and get to work.

“Yes ma’am!” He saluted me with a grin and I
smiled which turned into a slight grimace when the cut on my lip pulled.

I set to work on the pie. A few minutes later,
Aaron came back into the kitchen with his arms brimming with ingredients. I
pointed to where he could set up and cook and he nodded, chatting amicably away
about how my fly babies were doing out there. I smiled and kept an eye on him,
but what he’d said was true, he indeed knew his way around a box of hamburger
helper.

He was one up on Charlie that was for sure! If
it didn’t involve open flame and time honored tribal tradition then Charlie was
pretty much hopeless when it came to feeding himself. My aunt had spoiled him
that badly.

I sighed. I wondered if Charlie had called
them. I knew he probably had, they were probably on their way right now. At
least I had a mundane explanation for Hunter, I wasn’t sure about the rest but
we hadn’t exactly had time to discuss things further. I was being pretty
patient but I really wanted an explanation and soon as to what he was.

Ever since I was a little girl I had believed
in my heart of hearts in magic, but when you get older, that belief like so
many others, was slowly stripped away. When I was seven I had lost faith in
such things, by the time I was eight I had been ready to believe again thanks
to my Uncle Dave. I put the pies in the oven and started to clean up but Aaron
shooed me away.