I have just enough time to eat and drive over to the retail shop. A smile forms on my face as I think about the day Sierra and I arrived. The image of Annie popping through the office door with maple candy and her bouncy curls comes to mind. She's who trained me in basic bear ways when I changed, and she has become a good friend as well as my sister-in-law.
Tomato and garlic tantalize my tongue, and the beefy sauce on my spaghetti feeds my need for protein as I swallow a mouthful. Annie runs the gift shop for the Bear Mountain Tree Farm. That first day, she took Sierra and me on a tour of the businesses that make up the company, and I look forward to making the rounds again as an insider.
The drive over to the store is quick, and the weather is warm enough for me to crack my windows open. The earthy scent of fresh grass is a promise of summer to come. While I'm not near the ocean any longer, I imagine the warm months are easy to enjoy with the number of lakes close by.
I'm relieved to find the parking lot empty when I arrive. Wanting to be the familiar face greeting Lily, I had feared she might get here first. The heavy, clear glass door opens to the aromas of maple and pine, scents that have begun to smell like home to me.
Annie glances up from the counter, where she's unwrapping new items from plastic. “Hey, Carly, how are you feeling today?”
“Hungry but good.”
She grins. “I can imagine. I have lasagna planned for dinner, and there's plenty.” Annie is aware of my new love for pasta and makes sure we have leftovers in the fridge at all times.
“Ian is coming. He's quite excited to meet Lily.”
“Yes, I'm sure he is.” Annie gets a faraway look in her eyes, and my heart aches a little thinking about how she lost her mate. While I don't know the whole story about how he died, I know she believes she'll never love again. I hope it isn't true.
She inhales sharply and straightens up as if she's shaking off memories. “I'll go get the maple candy. It seemed to work pretty well the last time.” She winks.
“It sure did.”
A distant memory comes back to me. Sierra and I saw a bear the day we arrived, and I never asked about it. “Does someone send a bear to escort us here? Because Sierra and I saw one on our way here, and I hope they’re doing a better job of being stealthy this time. It's creepy.”
Annie replies, “No, this is the first I've heard of such a thing. It must be one of the other clans.”
We don't need to speak to confirm what we're both thinking. The escort was sent by the Veilleux Clan.
34
Chapter 4
Lily
Hot breath tickles my sweat-slicked skin as I trace the outline of a tattoo on the guy’s huge bicep. A low voice rumbles through me as the muscled man who just made me scream says, “You’re so beautiful.” He pulls out of me, and it’s as if he’s taking a piece of me away for safekeeping. I whimper and am about to speak…
Bands of sunlight filter through my blinds as I wake. Today’s the day. I’m so out of here. Last night I packed my car and threw my room-cleaning clothes, sneakers and all, in the dumpster behind the motel as if I was shedding my skin. I'd been running the place for so long I don't think it occurred to me I was allowed to have a life.
After I shower and dress, I grab my last bag and the list. I should feel guilty about leaving my mother with nothing but directions for keeping the business running. But I don’t, because nothing I can do will make her deal with life outside a bottle of Mr. Boston coffee brandy.
The scarred wood floor creaks under my feet as I walk through the living room toward the front door. Leaning over the couch, I kiss my passed-out mother goodbye for the last time. Her sour smell turns my stomach as I place my note on the coffee table.
She’s no longer my problem.
* * *
The moment I had the first bear dream, I knew I was meant for a lot more than Grand Junction, Colorado. Catori, the old Indian woman who scared the children in my town by knowing things she shouldn't, confirmed it. She told me I was destined to save a clan, and here I am. Ready to save the black bear.
Well, that's not the only reason. The man in my dreams is calling me, too. Carly and I have been texting since the day she and Sierra gave me my tattoo. She says he's quite real and anxious to meet me.
I glance out at the grass that leads to pine trees on the side of the interstate just before I get off at the Bangor exit. I don't know when it started, but I've had the strangest feeling something is following me, and the flash of black I see in the woods every once in a while has me convinced.
When I get off the highway, I pull over at a gas station to check my phone for the final directions. The breeze that greets me when I open the door of my car carries the scent of pine mulch from the freshly landscaped flower beds.