She pictured the mountain lion in her head, and in another moment, she felt the change—the Shift—begin deep inside of her. She looked up to see Mark’s golden eyes sparkle as his form began to waver, and then they were standing head to head, on four legs instead of two. Addy felt suddenly intimidated—Mark as a bear was not only more than a foot taller at the shoulder than she, he now probably outweighed her by two-or three-hundred pounds. She shied back, warily. Then the bear proved he was still Mark by rolling over on his back. Belly up, he looked back at her, grinning.
Addy let out a not-quite playful scream then pounced on him, and the tussle was on. First one then the other would pounce and roll over. She would run away, but Mark had no difficulty catching her. Addy knew from experience that bears were much faster than mountain lions—she had once only just managed to escape a real one, because she had been light enough to climb out on a limb, cross to another tree, climb down, and run away before the bear could get back on the ground—but Mark would let her get ahead of him, just so he could circle around and “attack” from another angle.
Almost an hour passed before, exhausted, Addy returned to collapse under the big maple tree once more, panting. Mark lumbered up and plopped down beside her. He wasn’t even slightly winded.
“That’s not fair, you know,” she said, as she Shifted back to herself without any noticeable effort. It seemed suddenly so easy, and she realized it had a lot to do with how relaxed she now felt about the whole thing, thanks to Mark’s presence and understanding.
Mark was laughing as he, too, Shifted. “You started it,” he said, lying beside her, propped up on one elbow. “You’re a pretty good pouncer.”
Addy blushed, embarrassed by how good it had felt to physically play with him. Another “first” in her day.
“And you didn’t have any trouble Shifting in either direction,” he said. “Did you?”
She met his eyes, then, as golden as her own. “I guess not. It’s never been like that for me before. Did you pick it up that fast?”
“Shoot, no. I was three when I started training, but real control didn’t come until I hit puberty. It was like that with all of us. Since you’re a mature adult, who’s had years of experience Shifting without any guidance, it makes sense that you should pick it up faster than we did. After all, you don’t have to learn how to Shift. You only have to learn how it feels to control it.
“And to not be afraid of it,” he added, gently cupping her face in his hand.
Addy wanted to pull away from him—or at least, she thought she should want to pull away from him—but she had never been able to trust anyone—other than Granny—the way she already trusted this almost stranger.
When she didn’t pull away, Mark leaned in to lay his lips on hers. His kiss was as gentle as his touch, but she felt it all the way to her toes. He didn’t push her, but she suddenly found herself kissing him back.
When he finally ended the kiss and sat back, she thought they were both trembling. She sat up and turned away from him, confused.
“Maybe I shouldn’t’ve done that,” he said, and she heard regret in his voice.
She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder at him.
“Why did you?”
Mark smiled. “Because I like you. I think you’re beautiful. And so far, it’s been a really good day.”
Honestly shocked by his words, Addy abruptly stood, not certain if she believed him or not. When he came slowly to his feet beside her, she looked at him again. There was nothing in those deep golden eyes that offered anything but complete honesty, and after a moment, she surprised herself by reaching for him and kissing him back.
This time it went on longer, and as the kiss deepened, she felt something inside her shift, which had nothing at all to do with mountain lions or bears. This time, when they broke apart, they were both short of breath.
“Maybe I shouldn’t’ve done that,” she offered shyly.
He smiled. “Why did you?”
She took a deep breath. “Because I like you, too.”
Mark’s smile broadened into a grin, and he kissed her once more, hard and fast.
“We should get back.”
“Definitely.”
He took her hand, and their fingers locked.
“Shall we Shift or stroll,” he asked.
“We’d better stroll,” she said, glancing at his teasing eyes. “Bear hunting season is only a week away, and I don’t want to take any chances.”
Mark laughed and pulled her along.
“So, does this mean you’ll go to Nashville with me?” he asked after a time.
Addy sighed. “I think I want to. I think I have to try, anyway.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Addy,” he said, his voice sober, now.
“I know.”
She glanced up, and their eyes met once more.
“Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“For trusting me. It means a lot.”
“Okay. Then you’re welcome. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For believing in me,” she said. “For believing I can really do this. And for offering to be there to pick me up, if I fail.”
He stopped and pulled her close to lightly kiss her brow before taking both her hands and stepping back. “You’re not gonna fail, Addy.”
“You haven’t even heard me sing, yet.”
Mark smiled. “I don’t have to. I’ve heard you speak, and I’ve played your music. That’s enough.”
With that kind of faith, Addy supposed it was.
15