The Spirit Tree (23 page)

“Can I borrow a phone?”

Samuels grinned. “Yours is in the glove box. I confiscated it from the locals. I figured you’d want it when we found you.”

“How did you know you’d find me?” I opened the glove compartment and pulled out my phone.

“Because you are the most resourceful woman I have ever met.” He chuckled and walked away.

I took resourceful as a compliment, though I didn’t feel resourceful at the moment.

Bryson picked up on the first ring. “Hello, Tessa?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” I had no idea what he knew, if anything. The sound of his voice brought tears to my eyes. I’d screwed up. Worse, I’d caused Bryson to worry.

“Thank God. Are you okay? Where are you?” He had every right to be angry, but he sounded relieved.

“I’m fine. I’m not sure where I am, somewhere in Ocala. Paul Woods is dead. I’m sorry I ran out on you. I thought I could handle it.”

“We’ll talk about that later, for now I’m glad you’re okay. Figure out where you are so I can come get you.”

“I’m with Samuels.”

Bryson drew a deep breath. “I wondered what was going on when he ran out of here last night. He told me it was work. I’m not surprised. A lot of people have lied to me lately.”

“I’m sorry, Bryson.” Tears ran down my cheeks. “Are you still at the hospital?”

“Yes, but now that Woods is dead, I’m going to the tribal house to get some sleep.”

“That’s silly. Go to my apartment. It’s closer. I’ll meet you there.” The knots in my stomach tightened. Now that the danger had passed, Bryson would leave me.

“Go home, get some rest. Go see Aaron at the hospital. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.” He disconnected the call before I could protest.

I dialed Mae, and the answering machine picked up. “Hi, Gram. I’m just checking in. Everything’s good. Aaron is doing better. Love you.”

I stared at my phone, debating the wisdom of calling Bryson back. More than anything I wanted to make things right with him, only he didn’t want to see me. Samuels paced a few feet from the car, talking on his phone. I imagined it would take quite a while for him to finish up and drive me home.

I stepped from the car, feeling like I’d been put through a meat grinder—everything hurt. Samuels hung up and walked back with a serious expression.

“What’s wrong? Is it Aaron?” I braced myself for more bad news.

“No, Aaron is fine. They’re moving him out of ICU this morning. It looks like I’m going to be stuck here for a while. I can send for an officer to come from Orlando to take you home.”

“That will take hours.” The farmhouse and forest crawled with police officers.

“I’m sorry, Tessa. It looks like you’re stuck with me for a while, and they still need to get your statement.” Samuels put his hand on my shoulder and eased me back into the car.

“Can you call an ambulance for me? I feel weird.” I drew some of the heat from my belly into my skin.

“You do look flushed.” Samuels reached in and placed his hand on my forehead. “Holy smokes, you’re burning up. Stay here. I’ll have someone call for an ambulance.”

Samuels walked into the forest and spoke to one of the local officers. I didn’t have much time or privacy; people milled about everywhere. I wrote a quick note, slipped out of the car, and crouched behind the rear bumper. My spirit animal blazed to the surface, changing my form in a heartbeat. Anyone with eyes would know this was no ordinary bird, with my feathers burning bright in the morning sun.

Samuels broke the tree line and stopped. He stared at the bright orange-and-red bird sitting next to his car with a piece of paper dangling from its beak. The human part of me chuckled several short chirps. I flew the short distance and landed at Samuels’s feet, lifting my head.

Samuels glanced over his shoulder before taking the note, which read, “Samuels, I’m going to fly home. Tessa.” He looked at me wide-eyed and shook his head. I launched into the air, my feathers catching fire as I soared higher and higher. In the distance, Samuels laughed.

The time and the miles passed as I flew through the midday skies toward Geneva. Not a cloud in the sky, and the air grew hot, but I reveled in it. The aches and pains of my human form faded into memories as I stretched my wings and soared on the breeze.

I circled the tribal house. The fire pit sat empty, and only a few people milled around the grounds. The idea of walking naked through the front door made me queasy. I swooped low, over the rooftop, and cried out. With any luck, Bryson would hear me.

People heard me and came outside—several in fact, but not Bryson. I circled again and landed in a tree a few yards from the house before hopping to the ground. I shifted into my human form and held my head high as I strode through the front yard and into the building. The woman at the welcome desk nearly fell out of her chair when I walked past her.

I moved down the hall to Buck’s office, relieved to find him sitting behind his desk. “I need a blanket and Bryson.”

Buck shook off his surprise and pulled a cotton blanket from his chair. “Tessa, you can’t walk in here naked. I heard you calling overhead. You have to be careful who sees you.” He wrapped the blanket around my shoulders.

“I apologize. I’ll stash some clothes in the forest before I fly in here again.”

He pressed his lips together in disapproval.

“I wasn’t being sarcastic. It’s smart to put a bag of clothes in the forest for emergencies.”

He nodded. “I agree.”

“Where’s Bryson?”

Buck shook his head and laughed. “You are every bit as stubborn as your grandfather. Bryson is down the hall, last door on the left.”

Despite my mood, I grinned at his compliment. I felt pretty brave until I reached his door. I debated on knocking, but decided against it. Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission. He would have a harder time turning me away once I was inside.

Bryson bolted upright when I came through the door. “Tessa, what are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.” I moved toward him. Sprawled on the bed, he looked sexy as hell, and I wanted to touch him, to curl up with him, and sleep the day away.

“Tomorrow. I’m going back to sleep.” He started to lie down, stopping when I dropped the blanket.

“Then I’ll sleep beside you.” I moved toward the bed, determined not to leave until we made peace.

“You cannot shit all over someone and think sex is going to make things better.”

“I didn’t crap on you.”

“You don’t listen to a word I say. You don’t respect the fact that I’m supposed to keep you safe. You’re so busy running around, you don’t realize when you’re in over your head,” Bryson folded his arms across his chest.

“I came to talk, Bryson. I flew straight here.”

“Tell me what you came to say.”

I snatched the blanket from the floor and wrapped it around my shoulders. My face burned with embarrassment. Never, not once, had I been so bold with a guy—his rejection hurt. I sat in a chair across from the bed and bowed my head, chewing on my thumbnail.

Bryson stared at me. “This isn’t going to work.”

I flinched as if he’d struck me. “What isn’t going to work?”

Bryson stood and grabbed his bag.

“Wait, Bryson, don’t leave. I’ll go.”

“The hell you will. You woke me up to talk. We’re going to talk.” He tossed a T-shirt and pair of sweats at me. “Put them on.”

“Oh. I thought you meant—”

“I know what you thought I meant. You have a tendency to jump to the wrong conclusions.” He turned his back.

I stared at his broad back as his muscles strained against his shirt. His rumpled hair hung to the middle of his back. I’d never seen it so tangled. I slid his T-shirt over my head, and it hung to my thighs. I didn’t need the sweats, but pulled them on and rolled the waist. “I’m dressed.”

Bryson turned around. “Before you say another word, don’t lie to me again. I want the truth.”

My mind went blank as I nodded. “I’m sorry.”

He sat on the edge of the bed.

“I couldn’t tell you where I was going because you would never have let me leave.”

“Wrong. You should have told me what was going on so we could figure out how to handle it.”

“I thought I
could
handle it. Aaron needed you at the hospital. Marvin was in Inverness. There was no other way.”

Bryson drew a breath. “There’s always another way.”

“I should go.” I stood and turned to the door.

“Sit down.”

“Why? This is getting us nowhere.”

Bryson shook his head and motioned to the door. “Then go.”

My lips moved as if to speak, but nothing came out. Was that it? He’d send me away, dismiss me like a child. My anger rose, but I pushed it down. I came here to fix things, not make them worse. “I almost died.”

“Needlessly,” Bryson said.

“No, not needlessly. Paul Woods is dead.” I glowered. “I did what I had to do to take care of the situation.”

Bryson stood, towering over me. “Sit down.”

I sat and he knelt in front of me.

“You lied to me, went off alone, put yourself in danger. You disrespected me, again, and thought only of yourself.” His voice remained calm.

“I didn’t go alone. Samuels sent another officer with me.”

“So you endangered the life of yet another cop?”

I couldn’t say anything without digging myself into a deeper hole. “I never asked you to be my guardian.”

Bryson took my shoulders in his hands. “This isn’t about being your guardian or asking permission. Did you ever once think of what would happen to Mae and Dottie if something happened to you? Did you think of how I felt when you didn’t come back? What if you’d been killed? I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”

“I can’t be killed.”

“Bullshit.” He released me. “A month ago, you didn’t know any of this was real. You don’t understand what you are or the consequences of your actions. You’re not invincible. Even firebirds can be killed. Tessa, I’m falling in love with you, but I’ll not allow you to run over me like I’m some whipped college boy. I realize there’s an age difference between us, but I need an adult relationship.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think.” I hung my head, fighting to hold back tears.

“No. You didn’t.” He stood. “I need to take a walk and cool off.”

“I’ll go. This is your room.”

“Stay, think, cry, beat the pillow. Do whatever you need to do. Stop running for a damned second.” Bryson stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

I gasped when the door closed and I was left alone in the room. I clung to my anger, but it slipped away. Bryson was right. I’d behaved like a spoiled brat. I helped people work out their problems for a living, yet I failed miserably at handling my own.

The talk left me with more questions than answers. I decided to wait for him to come back. We would finish the conversation once we had a chance to cool off. I crawled into his bed and snuggled into the pillow, my mind racing.

I woke in a panic, still half-inside a nightmare and unsure of my surroundings. As the dream receded, reality rolled over me. Outside the window, crickets chirped. I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but Bryson hadn’t returned. I wandered down the hall past Buck’s office. Everything was dark, not a soul in sight.

I hadn’t thought to ask Bryson if my family knew I’d gone missing. I hadn’t thought about a lot of things lately. I went back to Bryson’s room, stripped, and left his clothes folded on his bed, then turned and opened the window. Shifting grew easier with practice, but closing the window in animal form was another matter altogether.

I stretched my wings and flew west toward Apopka. Without being caught up in anger or fear, my feathers remained feathers—no streaks of fire to draw unwanted attention. The quiet country gave way to city lights and traffic, but I flew high above it. From this vantage point, even the seedier side of town looked beautiful.

I landed at the bottom of the porch steps and shifted. The driveway was empty—no visitors to witness me parading around in my birthday suit. I slipped inside and walked straight to my bedroom. “Gram? Dottie? It’s me.”

“We’re in the living room,” Dottie replied.

Clothes were slim pickins at Mae’s. I took most of them home, and what remained was either ratty or too small. Not that it mattered, since I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I pulled on a pair of old shorts and a tank top.

I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days. “I’m going to grab dinner.”

“Okay, dear,” Mae called.

I tossed a leftover carton of Chinese food into the microwave. “Are they delivering Chinese out here now?”

“No, Bryson brought us supper last night.” Mae’s words were clipped.

“That was nice of him,” I said, not wanting to think about Bryson.

“We’ve had quite a few visitors,” Mae said.

Mae and Dottie stood in the doorway with their arms folded. They looked like a two-woman SWAT team. Dottie motioned to a bag on the kitchen table. I peeked into the bag and cringed. My dirty clothes, cell phone, and amulet were inside. I felt like a gnat drowning in a glass of sweet tea.

“You just missed Detective Samuels,” Mae said as she sat. The look on her face said I’d better start talking.

I grabbed the pork lo mein, though it didn’t look appetizing any longer. “I went after Marvin and ended up being taken to the conjurer’s house. I got away, but Marvin didn’t.”

“Detective Samuels told us what happened. What he didn’t tell us is how he ended up with your clothes and phone. Tessa, how could you be so foolish? Not only running after Marvin but changing near outsiders? Have you spoken to Bryson? Does he know about this?” Mae’s eyes were both angry and worried at the same time.

“I messed up. I thought I could handle it, but then everything went sideways. I tried to talk to Bryson, but he was too mad to talk.”

“Give him time, child,” Dottie murmured as she rubbed my shoulder.

Mae shook her head. “What do you plan to do about the other one?”

“Other one? What other one?”

“Aaron. He’s sweet on you.” Mae went to the cupboard and pulled out her whiskey, along with two glasses.