Page 40 of Roses Are Dead
“And sweetgrass.”
I stacked the bundles and pulled out a small besom. “Are you planning a ritual?” He had way too much here. I pulled open another bag.
Crystals spilled out and hit the counter hard. I ran a hand over the faux stone hoping that they hadn’t scratched the new counters. There were at least a dozen stones in the bag. Onyx, quartzes of varying size and color, tiger eyes, moonstones… “Bear?” This was too much.
“Open this one.” He held out a plastic bag.
I peeked inside. The bundle of black fabric didn’t tell me anything. I shook it out and stared at the pattern.
Zoe leaned in. “Whoa, that’s seriously cool. Where’d you get it?”
“I stopped by a place in Mechanicsburg.”
“Crystal Dawn had one like this in the shop. You know, she could have shipped all of this to you at a discount,” Kate observed.
I brushed my palm down the fabric. The black cotton was printed with an intricate pattern of roses, feathers, candles, and crystals. It wasn’t a Norse design. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Bear picked it out especially for me.
“I picked up a little table. It’s in the back of the truck. As soon as I get it in, you can spread that out and set up.”
There was a crease of worry between his eyes.
“You shouldn’t have.”
His beard moved again. “Too late now.” He grunted and retreated to the garage.
“He bought all this?” Zoe whispered.
“Looks like it,” Kate whispered back. And then a smile grew on her face until the smug satisfaction was plain to see. She glanced at the door to the garage and back to me, then leaned in. “Don’t you dare hurt him. Zoe and I do carry guns, and we’re not afraid to use them.”
She straightened as Bear banged the table against the wall. I rushed to help him with an end but he wouldn’t let me. All the while, I tried to put my emotions and thoughts into neat boxes where I could analyze them later, because things were moving too quickly for me to keep up. He positioned the table next to his. The two altars engulfed the entire length of the wall.
Zoe handed me the cloth. “Go ahead.”
I spread it out. The black of my cloth matched the dark fur on his. The design was completely different, however. His altar had red runes painted on the white inside of a smaller hide, mine was a combination of lavender, gold, and deep metallic violet. But once I got it straightened, it almost looked like they belonged together.
My nose prickled. I forced down my emotions and began opening bags. All of the items needed a good cleansing, but I wasn’t about to complain. “You know I can’t use these right away, don’t you?”
Bear shrugged. “Do or don’t do what you want.” He glanced at Kate and Zoe, then leaned in and smelled my hair. “May I?” His hand hovered in the air, not touching me.
I realized we had an audience. I took his hand in mine and leaned in. I put my head against his chest and tried to make the hug not look awkward. This wasn’t like riding on the back of his bike where my only thought was self-preservation when I wrapped around him. This time, I was acutely aware of his body heat, the broad expanse of his chest, the difference in our heights. The top of my head barely reached his shoulder.
Moreover, he had a nicely tapered difference between his chest and his belt. It wasn’t narrowly cut like body builders. However, I could wrap my arms around him at his waist, but I doubted my fingertips would touch if I tried that around his chest.
And best of all, he smelled like leather and trees. Not a cologne, just naturally outdoorsy smelling. I liked it. The scent was grounding, and moreover, safe. I glanced up at him, searching his expression for something that told me I was doing this right, or that it would all be okay. I hadn’t felt safe like this since…
I broke the embrace, embarrassed to be caught off guard like that. I tried to smile and put on a happy mood so Zoe and Kate wouldn’t catch on.
“Since when do you intrude on witches dancing skyclad?” Kate asked.
Bear stiffened. His mouth fell open. He glanced around, searching for the traps. “I…”
He was obviously in grave peril. I decided to toss him a rope. “I took a walk down your running path.”
His mouth snapped shut. “I didn’t look.”
Funny, when he lied, his eyes shifted to the left. I poked him. “You did. Don’t lie.”
“Yeah, well Zoe doesn’t need to hear this.”
