My Heart Laid Bear (Blue Moon Junction) (9 page)

“Marjorie was behind all of this?” Clover said angrily. “Why am I not surprised? That woman is a total— Uh…” She glanced over at her twin sisters.

“I believe total bitch is the word you were looking for,” Moonlight said, sitting up and yawning.

Clover decided to let it go just this once.

“She and Bonnie knew each other from high school,” Sam continued. “She had promised Bonnie that she’d get her invited to the Jamboree if Bonnie helped to run you out of town. Also, Sheriff Armstrong did some investigating and found out that the spot where Autumn was picked up was a state forest. There was never any trespassing complaint. Bonnie lied and took Autumn into her custody with no justification whatsoever. She is facing criminal charges and her career is over.”

“So we’re going back to the boarding house now?” Twilight was yawning.

“Yes, ma’am,” Sam said, bending down to grab their suitcases.

Clover felt as if an enormous iron weight, which she hadn’t even realized was there, had lifted from her shoulders.

After a couple of days of leaving work promptly at five to eat dinner with her family, Clover had agreed to stay and work late again. As usual she was highly skeptical of Sam’s claim that there was urgent work to be done that could not possibly wait until tomorrow and could not be completed by anybody else. And as usual, she was happy to find out what his real motives were.

It was just as well she wasn’t driving home yet, she thought; a thunderstorm had rolled in and was lashing the county with gusts of wind and sheets of rain.

“It looks like a typhoon out there,” Clover said. “I forgot how stormy Florida gets.”

Forks of lightning split the sky, followed by deep booms of thunder. “I can’t let you drive home,” Sam said solemnly. “We’ll have to go to my house to wait this out. Work can wait.”

“Suddenly work can wait? And it’s safe to drive to your house but not the boarding house?”

“I live a quarter-mile from here. The boarding house is five miles away, on winding, treacherous roads.”

“Sam McCoy, I suspect you of ulterior motives,” Clover said happily, and let him lead her out to his truck, protectively holding an umbrella over her head.

They were drenched when they ran into his house. Sam lived in a white two-story Colonial Revival style house, with a gabled roof and columns on both sides of the door.

“Big house,” Clover observed as she stood dripping onto the marble floor on the foyer.

“Very big. My parents raised my brother and me here. Now that they’ve passed away, it’s just Jeffrey and me, although he’s talking about studying abroad.  It’s too empty here.” Sam was casually shucking his clothes as he spoke.

“It is lovely. Your parents had excellent taste in decorating.” She looked at the room beyond him, the broad-planked floor and the arrangement of antiques in a shabby chic style.

“Thank you. By the way, when I said it was too empty here, that was a hint. I have plenty of room here. Room for a big family. Room for a family that I hope will grow even bigger someday.”

Was he really hinting at what she thought he was hinting at? He wanted her and her family of juvenile delinquents to move in with him?

He had his boots, socks, and shirt off now, all piled on a wooden bench that sat under a row of coat hooks.  He looked like a magnificent Greek god, his smooth skin rain-wet and glistening.

“Are you entirely sure that you have anticipated what it would be like to have a large family living here?” she asked. “I’m not thinking of any particular family. Just in general.”

“The house would no longer be so quiet and I’d have fun dealing with the catastrophe of the day. I don’t like peace and quiet. If I did, I wouldn’t have the job that I do.” He was completely naked now, and rock hard. His thick, hard cock jutted upwards to point at the ceiling. “By the way,  what’s wrong with this picture? I’m naked and you’re not.”

With trembling fingers, Clover began unbuttoning her shirt. She didn’t know if she was shivering from being soaking wet and mildly chilly, or from the impact of what he was asking her. Offering her.

Settle down? Here in Blue Moon Junction? Staying in one place would be hugely beneficial to their family. If her parents ever decided to resurface, she could put her foot down. Insist that they stop moving the kids around and wandering around like gypsies.

Still, it was a huge, life-altering decision. She didn’t want to rush into it, because if things didn’t work out for them, she might have to uproot them yet again.

Better to concentrate on the here and now…like how he’d moved to help her unbutton her shirt and was hungrily ripping it off her.

“Before I make any decisions, I’d need to see how comfortable the bedroom is,” she said, stepping out of her pants.

“Let me lead the way.”

She followed him, marveling at how completely comfortable she felt being naked with him. Walking through the house naked. She didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious about the rolls of fat on her stomach or her fleshy thighs.

The bedroom had pine floors and a king-sized bed with a black-and-gray plaid comforter that looked silky and smooth.

            
 
Sam sprawled back on the bed, all long limbs and swelling muscles…and his muscles weren’t the only thing swelling. His cock jutted up proudly from its nest of curls, twitching slightly. Clover couldn’t take her eyes off it. She desperately wanted him inside her, stroking her skin, moaning as he thrust into her.

              She walked towards the bed, aware of his eyes on her heavy breasts, her thighs, the soft curve of her stomach. It wasn’t the evening chill that had her nipples hardening to sensitive points.

              She straddled him, savouring the pressure of his rigid dick against her pussy as she kissed him thoroughly, flicking her tongue against his and sucking on his lower lip. He returned her attentions with tender passion, running his hands down her back and over the fleshy curves of her hips and ass.

              He moaned into her mouth and flexed his hips upwards, pressing his cock even more firmly against her core, and she sat up, her chest rising and falling as she took his erection into her hand and guided it towards her entrance.

              Her pussy was slick and slippery with excitement and she savoured the feeling of his heat as she rubbed the head of his dick against her, up and down, mingling his precum with her own juices. Sam shifted eagerly beneath her, grasping her hips and fighting to take the maddening friction without thrusting inside her.

              Clover held his cock firmly against her opening, then sank down onto his shaft, relishing the feeling of his girth stretching her, the sweet slide of him into her slick depths.

              He moaned his approval and she began to move above him, hesitantly at first but then with more assurance as his gasps and groans told her that he was as lost in pleasure as she was. She ran her hands over his pecs, drew her fingers down over his flat belly and watched his abdominal muscles as the gentle touch of her fingertips tickled him.

              Sam reached up and grasped her breasts, kneading the ample flesh. Every time she came down onto his shaft, taking him deep, he gave a little roll of his pelvis that made her quiver and made her pussy squeeze wantonly around his hot, hard length.

              Clover began to move faster, rising up over him and throwing her head back, riding him with an increasing intensity as unbearable pleasure started to build inside her. Sam responded with a needful groan and began to buck up from the bed, his hips rising to meet hers again and again, pushing him even harder and deeper inside her. Her head swam as she ran her hands over his sweat-slick chest. He panted with the effort of holding back his orgasm.

              “Touch yourself,” he groaned. “God…please…” He clutched her hips, fingers making shallow dimples in the soft white flesh. She could feel his cock throbbing inside her, and his balls were drawn up taut, ready for his release.

              Obediently, the throbbing in her clit too intense for her to feel any embarrassment, she worked her hand into the apex of her thighs and rubbed her clit in delicate little circles, a sensual contrast to the deep, rolling in-and-out of Sam’s cock. Almost at once the pleasure-pain of intense orgasm snatched her away, shuddering through her body and making her cry out again and again.

              Sam chanted her name over and over, then his words became a wordless shout of triumph as he drove into her and spilled himself in her slick, spasming pussy.

              She collapsed on top of him, exhausted and quivering, the rolling aftershocks of her orgasm still running through her.

              When Sam’s penis slipped from her minutes later, she braced herself with her arm so she could roll over and take her weight off him, but he wrapped his arms possessively around her.

              “No, don’t move. I want you in my arms. It’s where you belong, Clover Jones. With me.” He stroked her hair and she tucked her face against his throat, breathing in the heady scent of his skin and basking in the heat of his body.

              If he was really serious about her family of juvenile delinquents moving into his house, she could make love with him every night; fall asleep in his strong arms every night. Her brothers and sisters would be safe. And she would be safe…and loved.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  The recent rainstorms had painted the landscape with a rich green hue, and honeysuckle blossoms perfumed the air. Clover stood outside the boarding house holding a cup of sweet coffee and watching the sun rise.

She’d hoped that she would see Sam this weekend, but he’d told her he had to work all weekend and not to worry if she didn’t hear from him. He’d made a big point of bringing in flowers and chocolate and promising her that he’d make up for lost time as soon as he finished what he was working on, but…Clover couldn’t help but feel there was something he wasn’t telling her.

He wasn’t the only one who was behaving oddly.

Autumn had never been much of a morning person, but that morning she had woken up and gone for a run very early. Clover had woken up to the sound of the front door slamming, and looked out the window to see Autumn in coyote form, dashing down the road.

 Clover was waiting for her to come back so she could try to talk to her.  She’d thought that Autumn would cheer up when she realized it hadn’t been her fault that the social services witch had come after them. No such luck. If anything, Autumn was getting more and more withdrawn these days. When she wasn’t out jogging, she was sitting in her room.

Clover peered down the road, looking for her younger sister. To her surprise, she saw a car, which she recognized as Sapphire’s, heading off the main road and towards the boarding house.

Sapphire pulled up, parked and got out of the car. She had an armful of shopping bags and a big, fake smile plastered across her pretty face.

“Clover! I am so sorry about last week,” she said. “I was just having a really bad day. To make up for it, I come bearing gifts. For everyone. I got you the most beautiful dress – it is to die for. And I got brand-new laptops and smartphones for all the kids.”

“You’re making an awful lot of money as a waitress at a dive bar,” Clover said skeptically.
And that skank biker dude who ran out on you sure isn’t keeping you in this kind of style
, she thought but didn’t say out loud.

Sapphire’s smile slipped a notch. “I am trying to make amends and spend more time with my family,” she said. “There’s no need to imply I’m doing something wrong.”

“Sapphire, I don’t think you understand how horrible and unacceptable your behavior was,” Clover said.  “I dropped everything and brought our family down here when I barely had a cent to my name and I was already dealing with the fact that our parents had to go underground and suddenly I’m the full-time caretaker of four kids.  To get down here I spent almost everything I had on gas for the car and meals for the kids, and showed up here with nothing. I’m lucky that Imogen agreed to house us and wait for me to earn money to pay her back. Otherwise I would have had money for one night at a motel and that would have been it. I did all that based on your lie, and I stormed into Sam McCoy’s office and accused him of being a total asshole and lots of other things. Not only that, but when I finally caught on, you had the nerve to try to act as if
I’d
done something wrong.”

Sapphire’s face had grown more and more sullen as Clover’s voice rose in anger. Clover was surprised that Sapphire was still standing there; normally she would have turned on her heel and stalked off at the first hint of someone calling her on her B.S.

“Fine. I tried.” Then her fake smile reappeared. “Hey, guys!” she called. Clover turned to see Lennon and Moonlight and Twilight walking towards them.

“Hey, Sapphire. I thought I heard you,” Lennon said. “Long time no see. What are you doing here so early?”

“I wanted to make sure you all were home.  I missed you guys! Guess what I have? Brand-new laptops and cell phones for everyone!” she sang out, holding the bags out to them. “Hey, where’s Autumn? Go and get her so she can get her presents!”

The kids all shared one laptop and their cell phones were a couple of years old – they still worked fine, but there was nothing like shiny new technology to set them slavering.

They started rushing towards her to pick up the bags. “Stop!” Clover yelled.

They froze and turned to look at her. “What?” Twilight asked.

“You can’t give them those gifts until you tell me where you got the money for them,” Clover said firmly to Sapphire.

“I am a waitress. I used my tip money.” Sapphire glared at her.

“No, you did not earn thousands of dollars-worth of tips in the last couple of weeks at that tiny little bar in the middle of nowhere.”

“No new laptop?” Moonlight looked wistful.

“I’m sorry. Go back in the house.” Reluctantly, they turned and went back in, glancing back over their shoulders.

All traces of good humor had vanished from Sapphire’s face. She’d turned from sweet, conniving Sapphire into temper-tantrum Sapphire. “This is bullshit. I’m their sister too. You can’t keep me from giving them gifts.” 

“Since I am their court appointed legal guardian, yes I can. You need to leave.”

“Not until I see Autumn.” Sapphire’s jaw jutted out stubbornly, and she started marching towards the boarding house. “I need to tell her that I wanted to give her these gifts and spend time with my family, and you refused. So she knows that I still care about her. And you can’t stop me.”

“The hell I can’t!” Clover lunged forward and grabbed her arm. Sapphire swung on her with a snarl, and her snout shot out. Fur rolled over her skin.

Clover did the same, growling and snarling as she shifted.  She shot up in height, her clothing falling away as her claws curved out of her paws.  Sapphire was a huge brown bear, almost seven feet tall, but Clover matched her in bear form.  With a roar, she swiped at Sapphire, who swiped back.

The two bears circled each other, snarling and snapping at each other for a minute until Sapphire finally shifted back into human form.

“Fine, I’m leaving,” Sapphire said angrily, and stomped back to her car, naked.

Clover headed back to the house as Sapphire pulled a dress out of her purse and yanked it over her head. Shifters usually carried an extra outfit.

Clover headed up to her room to get dressed, pondering what Sapphire might possibly be up to.  Why was she suddenly so interested in getting close to her younger siblings, when she’d never shown any interest in them before? She couldn’t be after money. None of them had a cent to their name.

It occurred to her that Sam had also been acting strange and withdrawn. Sapphire and Sam, both acting strange. Did Sam know something? She’d had a really strong feeling that there was something that he wasn’t telling her. It was a change, as if he’d gotten some new information and he specifically felt like he couldn’t tell her.

She’d call him after breakfast and see what she could find out.

Autumn still wasn’t back by breakfast, which had Clover mildly worried. Granted, Autumn was a coyote, so she didn’t have a bear’s appetite, but it wasn’t like her to miss a meal. Shouldn’t she at least have called and checked in?

At the breakfast table, Clover’s brother and sisters were pouty and annoyed.

“What does it matter where she got the money?” Moonlight asked, stuffing sausage into her mouth.

“It matters a lot.  I’m sorry to have to play the bad guy here, but she’s up to something.”

“So? Even if she is up to something, how could it hurt us to have her give us presents?” Twilight looked at her skeptically.

“I don’t know if they were stolen from somewhere, I don’t know why she’s even suddenly fascinated by you guys, I just know that none of that was bought with money she earned, and if she won’t tell me where it came from, that means she did something wrong to get it. When I’ve gotten a few more paychecks, I can buy you laptops. And you’re working for Sam — you can put some of your money towards it.”

“Or, we could… Never mind, whatever I come up with, you won’t let us.” Moonlight’s voice was sulky.

Clover rolled her eyes. “Yes, I am the evil big sister who is cruelly forcing you to be law-abiding citizens.” She set down her napkin and stood. “I have to go talk to Sam, guys. I will be back soon, and we can go to town and I’ll buy you something at the ice cream shop.”

“I’d rather have a new computer!” Twilight called after her as she headed outside so she could call Sam in private.

She called Sam on her cell phone as she headed out. It went to voicemail. Now that was different. He always answered her calls.

As she drove to the McCoy’s property, she left a message on his voicemail telling him that she urgently needed to talk to him.. When she got there she stopped by the office building first; he was in his office talking on the phone as she walked in.

He hung up quickly, looking surprised. Uneasiness ran through her.

“Hey, sunshine.” He did look genuinely happy to see her, but she still felt as if something was off.  “How did I get lucky enough to have you brighten my day?”

“Well, I left you a message telling you I needed to talk to you,” she said. “I need to ask you a question.”

He looked suitably chastened. “I am really sorry. I’ve been working on something this morning. What did you need to talk about? Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know. You tell me. Something weird is going on with Sapphire. Do you have any idea what?”

There was a long pause before he finally answered. “If I did, I couldn’t discuss it.”

“Are you kidding me?” she yelled at him. “You claim you want a relationship with me, and you’re still keeping secrets about my family?”

Sam straightened up in his chair, his expression turning serious. “You know why I didn’t tell you what Sapphire was up to with my brother. Because if I had told you she was just pretending to be pregnant, you wouldn’t have believed me.”

“That doesn’t explain why you won’t tell me what’s going on right now,” she said heatedly.

“I’m sorry. This involves my work, and at this point I can’t tell you anything further. From what you’ve told me, you’ve washed your hands of Sapphire and have no plans to see her again or let her near your family. Why are you concerned about what she’s doing?”

“Because she keeps coming around and trying to hang out with my younger brothers and sisters, and she had all these expensive gifts she’s trying to give them, and I want to know why. And also what she’s into that she suddenly has all this money to buy stuff like that.”

He shook his head at that. “I really do not know why she’d be trying to hang around your family.” He looked genuinely puzzled.  “You really need to avoid her at this point. That’s all I can tell you, and I’m telling you more than I’m authorized to.”

“I sent her packing and told her not to come back.” She pinned him with a steely gaze. “Why do I need to avoid her?”

“At the moment, I can’t tell you. In the near future, I should be able to.”  He looked at her pleadingly. “As long as you stay away from her, you’ll all be fine. Clover, I hate having to keep anything from you, but this is my job. You know what kind of work I’m in.”

“If this were about anything other than my family, I’d understand completely,” she said frostily. “You know what? Fine. You do your job and I’ll do mine. Let’s keep our relationship strictly professional from now on. And I’m going to get my office moved. It makes more sense for me to work near Blue anyway. Unless you only want me working here as long as I’m your employee with benefits, in which case I quit.”

“Of course not,” Sam said, looking stricken.  “I would never do that to you. Clover, please reconsider. There are reasons why I can’t tell you what’s going on.” But he was talking to Clover’s retreating back as she slammed the door behind her.

She heard the phone ring in his office and she heard him answering it.

Was she being unreasonable? Was she overreacting? she wondered as she drove back to the boarding house. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of ending things with Sam – but she also couldn’t accept him withholding information that somehow involved her family.

She couldn’t see working for the McCoys permanently if she and Sam weren’t together. It would be too painful. What if he started dating again right away? Would he do that to her?

“Argh. Stop it,” she said to herself out loud. She was falling back into her old habits – thinking of herself as the girl nobody would want. She did believe that Sam really wanted her. She trusted him that much.

Still, she had a really bad feeling, a sense of danger hovering near her family.  She needed to know what Sapphire had to do with it, and she couldn’t forgive him for keeping that information from her.

As she parked in front of the boarding house, her cell phone chirped. It was an unfamiliar number.

“Thanks for changing your mind!” the text said. “This is Twilight. This is my new number. We’ll be back after lunch.”

An icy sensation washed over her.

She called the number and it went straight to voicemail.

She tried calling Sapphire and it went straight to voicemail.

She rushed inside to find Imogen dusting the living room furniture. “What happened? Where is everyone?” she cried.

Imogen looked up, alarmed. “They went for a ride with their sister. She came in and said something about you changing your mind, they could have the laptops and cell phones, and that she was taking them all out to lunch… What’s wrong? Should I not have let them go?”