The tree rustled and I suspected she and all the trees whose ancestors had stood on the land for centuries had witnessed shifters changing to their animal form and passed that knowledge down.
Maybe that was what Aunt Mollie had talked about. Shesaid this place was special, but especiallyduring that one Christmas when the reindeer appeared.
“She knew about the magic.”A gust of wind swept through the farm, setting all the trees to singing and I blinked away tears of both joy and sadness, wishing I could hug her.
“I love how you talk to them.” Roscoe was at my shoulder. He was so close, if I turned around, our faces would be inches apart. “But I should go.”
“No!” Yikes, that was too loud. “No, I need a favor. Am I allowed to see all of you?” I clarified with, “Your reindeer. Not, you know…” Gods, I should learn when to shut up. But I did want to see the rest of him.
“I can do that.”
Shoot, he was getting naked. My face burned and I told myself to look away. I imagined the trees covering their eyes with their branches.I slapped both hands over my face but peeked between my fingers. Oh my! He was… well… he was… I had no words to describe what I was seeing. I gulped and fanned my face.
Where the man had been standing, there was now a magnificent reindeer. This creature was more regal than any animal I'd seen in nature documentaries and the creature’s dark eyes were similar to Roscoe’s when he was serious.
“Holy shit.”
The transformation back to human form was justas smooth and within moments, Roscoe was standing in front of me again, pulling his clothes on, but not before I took a good look at what was between his legs.
“So.” I was trying to think of what to say that didn’t include the words cock, dick, or length. “That's not something you see every day.”
My face flamed again and I flapped the air with one hand wanting to shove those words inside me. “A reindeer. You don’t see reindeers every day.” Except he did. He was one and so was his family. Ahhh!
“Thank you for not freaking out.”
“The day's still young,” I said with a grin, and was rewarded with one of Roscoe's smiles.Lucky me.
SIX
ROSCOE
We'd been working on the barn construction for most of the morning, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than Reed. My skin sizzled when he came near even though it was December and might snow later.
“Looking good!” Zelda called from below.
Damn. There was amusement in her voice and I glared at her. But she’d known me since I was a calf and even though I was the Alpha, she would ignore the scowl.
“You two work well together.” She shrugged at yet another warning look and wandered away.
“Your family seems pleased with how things are going.” A smile played on Reed’s lips. There was something about how he spoke that I wondered if he picked up on what Zelda had been doing.
“They're pleased about our progress.” Thatsentence could have referred to me and Reed. I kept calm though my insides were churning and part of me was stiffening.
Erik appeared with coffee and a not so innocent expression plastered on his face. "Thought you might need a break.”
Each time I drank coffee here I thanked the goddess that Reed hadn’t made it.
Erik cleared his throat. “Roscoe, didn't you want to discuss that paperwork with Reed?”
Paperwork? I stared at him before I twigged to what he was doing. My brain couldn’t come up with anything other than, “Ummm yes maybe. There are some details we should go over.” But Reed didn’t appear to have heard.
Erik grinned and left and I sighed. My pack wouldn’t stop their maneuvering until Reed and I had alone time.
We worked through the afternoon, but my reindeer was tired of my go slow routine. Not the building work, that was speedy, but my relationship with Reed. He was demanding I tell him he was my mate and mark him, and his restlessness was hard to ignore. My body jiggled as he rocked from side to side.
From the corner of my eye I noted wood chips entangled in Reed’s hair. I should have said nothing becauseeveryone had them on their clothes and hair, and he’d shower when he got home. But my reindeer was shoving me and I allowed him to push me toward our mate.
Reed smelled of pine which was his default scent. “You've got something in your hair.” I picked out a wood chip but my fingers lingered longer than they should have. He leaned into me and whispered his thanks. It was a small thing, nothing really and yet I was convinced sparks flew.
