“The roof doesn’t leak.”
“You know what I mean. That house needs thousands spent on it.”
“Goodbye, Graham,” she said firmly, walking past him and going into the shop.
“Everything OK?” Melanie asked, seeing Alli so flustered.
“I should be asking you that,” Alli said, trying to gloss over her encounter with Graham. Kian didn’t need to know her ex-fiancé had been sniffing around. She doubted Graham would come by again now he knew there was nothing for him here. Neither her nor her shop were going to slip into his hands again.
“Fine. More well-wishers, of course. This sure is a friendly town, and so many of them are people like … me.” Her eyes darted to Alli, who was putting her coat away.
“How does it feel?” Alli asked. “You know … to change.”
“Weird, scary, especially at first. And then exhilarating, like nothing else in the world. You can run across open spaces, roll in streams, catch fish, and roar. I mean, really roar. A great way to relieve stress.” She smiled shyly.
“It sounds wonderful.”
“Well, it is now we are in Bear Creek, was a bit hard in the city. We used to have to drive for an hour to have the freedom we needed.”
“So the farmhouse is perfect for you.”
“Most definitely.” Melanie set her sewing down. “I hope you’ll like it there. Kian loves it, but he would sell and move into town if that suited you better. He would do anything for you.”
“I know. Which is both scary and reassuring at the same time.” Alli walked over to where Melanie was working; she was so pleased with how things had turned out. Melanie was not a shy young lady after all, not when everyone started to come in and be so friendly. After stuttering through the first couple of conversations, she had found her feet, or at least her paws.
“A little bit like this wedding tomorrow. I have already been asked to dance by two boys,” Melanie confided.
“How exciting,” said Alli, pleased Melanie was going to go and enjoy herself. “What are you wearing?”
“My favourite dress, the one with the tear.” She smiled. “I call it my favourite dress because it’s the only one I have, but don’t tell Kian, he’ll want to buy me a new one.”
“That is a great idea!” Alli said, wanting something to take her mind off things.
“What? Kian buying me a new dress he can’t afford is not a great idea.”
“Come on, Melanie. Do you know how many dresses are in this shop? Not just wedding dresses but bridesmaids’, too. Let’s have a girlie afternoon and find something to fit you.”
“I’m a little curvier than I should be for my age.”
“Perfect. We can find something that makes you look grown up. Come on, please.”
“I don’t know. I can’t afford your dresses, Alli.”
“My treat,” she said. When she saw Melanie’s face, she added, “I insist.”
“OK,” Melanie said, allowing herself to enter into the excitement.
“Great!” Alli went to the racks at the back of the shop and began to pull out some of the dresses, inspecting them and then putting them on a pile if she thought they might be suitable. A rather nervous Melanie came to watch, but soon she was pulling dresses out too.
“This is so much fun,” Alli said.
“Ohh, look at this one, it would suit you,” Melanie said, handing an off-white dress to Alli. “Try it on.”
Giggling, that was just what she did. It was the first time Alli had ever tried on any of the dresses. Before, she had always thought it would jinx her chances of finding a husband, but now she had. Well, why not?
Kian hammered in the last of the nails, standing back to admire his handiwork. Over the last two days, he had worked like a demon to get the farmhouse protected from the elements. His muscles ached, but he was happy. Of course, that happiness was magnified by finding his mate. When he wasn’t thinking about what he needed to do next, he was thinking about Alli.
A sound behind him made him turn. There was a car coming up the track. A big, expensive car, the same one he had seen outside of Graham’s house when he had gone to rescue Alli. Kian walked to the middle of the track, the hammer still in his hand. What did this man want? It took some nerve to come up here on his own.
Whatever it was, Kian didn’t want to hear it. From what he had learned over the last couple of days, Graham had a way of poisoning everything he touched. Kian didn’t need anything from the man and so he said, “Turn around and go back the way you came.”
Graham stopped his car and opened the door to get out. “I came with a proposition.”
“You have nothing I want.”
“Really.” Graham got out, although he looked nervous, especially when he took his sunglasses off and put them on top of his head. Kian was sure he could see the whites of his eyes. Undeterred, he said, “I thought we might come to some arrangement. I was interested in buying this farm and the couple next to it. As I told Alli, I want to build some houses here. But you own the land I need.”
“Bad news for you then, isn’t it?”
“Yes, you could look at it that way. But I thought I might make you an offer. You see, I spoke to Alli today.” He paused to let that bit of information sink in. “And she was concerned about how you two were going to afford all the work that needs doing here. I know she’s eager for you to get married. But really,” he gave a little derisory laugh, “You can’t expect her to live here with you. Not until this house has some mod cons. She’s not cut from the same cloth as you and your sister.”
“Leave.” Kian clasped the hammer tighter in his hand.
“So I thought I would offer you enough money to buy a nice little house in town where you two will be cosy.”
“Leave!” Kian shouted, the hammer now raised above his head.
As Kian took one step towards Graham, he scuttled back to his car, got in, and disappeared down the track. Kian would have found it funny, but Graham’s words rang in his ears. How was he going to pay for all of the repairs? Without Alli’s money, he didn’t know. And he wanted it finished so desperately, so they could be here together.
“Don’t you scrub up well,” Alli said.
Kian looked down at the suit he was wearing and adjusted the collar. “Not exactly work clothes.”
“Good, because this is our day off, and I want to spend every minute with you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Alli would have gladly stripped the suit from his body if they had time, but the wedding started in an hour and she had promised Drew she would go over and do any last-minute alterations to the dress. Not that there would be any, but she always offered the service, it gave the bride peace of mind.
“Later,” he said, kissing her hard and fierce, his hand going to his bottom and pulling her close. She felt him harden against her and she couldn’t resist slipping her hand down to stroke him. He gasped against her mouth.
“I want you to think of me all day,” she said, hopefully in a sexy voice, she wasn’t always sure if she didn’t sound more like she had just run a marathon.
“I would be anyway,” he said. “But I don’t think I will last all day. Perhaps we can skip out for an hour, say you have to check the shop or something.”
“Naughty,” she said, but his hand slipped under her skirt and slid into her wet sex, showing her just how naughty he could be. “Damn, Kian. We need to go.”
“You started it, my love.”
She released him, straightening her clothes as he pulled back from her. “I love weddings, but I would much prefer to be here with you for the whole day.”
“Tonight, we can satisfy every craving you have.” His hand cupped her breast, his thumb rubbing over her nipple.
She groaned, but pulled away. “We have to go,” she said, taking his hand and kissing it. “I will just have to imagine these on my body.”
“I will imagine much more intimate things.”
“I bet you will.” She locked the shop and looked him up and down again. “You really look insanely sexy in that suit.”
“He laughed. “Don’t get used to it. It’s a loan.”
“Who?”
“Will. He and Freyja came over this morning. Do you know they have just had a baby?”
“Yes, she is the daughter of the council leader of Bear Bluff.”
“Well, they came to see if there was anything they could help with. Seems they are also another one of your many satisfied clients.”
“Oh, yes. Theirs was the wedding of the decade. He is very rich and she is very well connected. The biggest party Bear Creek had ever seen; most of Bear Bluff descended on the town too.”
“I like that it’s so close-knit here,” Kian said as they walked to the car.
“So did you accept their help?” she enquired.
He looked embarrassed. “Will has a team of plasterers. He said if I get the materials, he will send them over for a day.”
“That’s fantastic, I know you said that the plastering alone would take you weeks.”
“I can’t accept the offer,” Kian said, shaking his head.
“Yes, you can.” Her voice was stern, as was her expression. “Do you know why Bear Creek is so close-knit? It’s because people help each other; they pay it forward. If you refuse their help, then what happens if they need help and it’s something you can do? They would feel bad accepting it. The whole thing spirals down to nothing. When we see them at the wedding, say you would appreciate their help.”
“It’s not how things work where I come from. In the city it’s all so faceless.”
“You come from Bear Creek now, Kian. And you belong to me.” She kissed him and then she got into the car before he could argue.
Kian folded himself into her small car. She had insisted she drive because all of her equipment was in the trunk. She could cope with any mishap that might befall the bride, the groom, or any other member of the congregation. Alli had learned to turn her hand to anything.
“I was talking to Melanie yesterday and we decided that it might be time to measure up for drapes and other soft furnishings. I can buy the fabric and we can make them up at the shop.”
“Oh, fabrics and drapes. We might be getting ahead of ourselves. It’s still way off being finished.”
“I know, but …” She had to stop at a red light.
“But what?”
She pulled off, trying to concentrate on the road. “OK. So far, the farmhouse makes me feel as if it is
your
house. And it will never be
our
house.”
“I see. Do you want me to sell it?”
“No. No, not at all. But you won’t accept my money, so please let me at least have a hand in decorating it.”
He was silent for a while. “This has all happened so fast. I need a little time to get my head around it all.”
She laughed. “Fast? You try getting used to the idea that half the people of Bear Creek can turn into a bear. That takes some time to get your head around.” She pulled up in front of Drew’s house. “Coming in?”
“No, do you mind? I’d like to give what you said some thought.”
“Sure,” she kissed him quickly and then went into the house.
***
“Champagne,” Alli said, accepting a glass from Kian. “Thank you.”
“I guess you would call it a successful wedding. No one fainted and no one stood up and said they objected.”
“It doesn’t take much to please you, Kian,” said Melanie who had joined them. “You always had simple tastes.”
“Thank you, Melanie,” he said grinning at his sister. “You do look beautiful, by the way.”
“Thanks, it’s one of Alli’s dresses.”
“Ahh, the paying it forward thing again.” He looked at Alli and winked. “I think I do like that idea after all.”
“Good. Because Drew’s dad has offered to come over and help you. He hasn’t got much work on at the moment, and would like to keep busy now the excitement of the wedding is over.”
“I could have quite a workforce by the end of the day,” Kian joked.
“I hope so. Today has made me so excited about us getting married. I have it all planned in my head.”
“I just have the honeymoon planned,” he said, sweeping her up into his arms. “Shall we dance?”
“You dance too?” Alli said laughing.
“Oh, he’s so old I bet he does dad-dancing,” Melanie said, pretending to cover her eyes with her hands.
“I have some fantastic moves,” Kian said, pulling Alli close as the music started. He bent down and whispered in her ear. “I have been longing to take you back to my house and make love to you there.”
She missed a step and nearly stood on his feet. “You mean now?”
“Yes, we could think of some excuse, Melanie is happy mixing with everyone. We could just go back for an hour.”
“Kian, we can’t.”
He kissed her neck as they moved, her body trembling in response. Then he said, “We can do anything we want. You have done your job, everyone is happy, and they will not miss us for an hour.”
She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I don’t know if I want you to be quick.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, and while the music still played, they made a quick exit. As they headed to the car, Alli texted Melanie to say they had to go back to the house for something and they wouldn’t be long. The text back from Melanie said,
“Have fun,”
followed by a smiley face. Alli tried not to feel too mortified that everyone would probably guess where they were going and why.
She drove fast, the streets mostly empty due to everyone being at the wedding. Alli found herself filled with nervous energy, almost as if this was the first time with Kian. Well, it was, kind of. It was the first time in the house they were going to share together. The house where they would raise their children and live together until old age took them. She had dreamed about creating the garden, filling it with scented flowers and a green lawn for their children to play on.
Turning to him, she smiled; he put a hand on her thigh, squeezing it with his fingers. She thought of his big, strong hands, which would complete the work on the house. The kind of house a man would feel proud of, when he stood back and saw all that he had accomplished. She needed to be part of that accomplishment. He knew that now, she hoped anyway.
Beside her, he stiffened; as they climbed the trail leading to the house, he had caught a glimpse of something. “Kian?” she asked, fear in her voice. “What is it?”