Page 11 of Time to Stirrup Love (Harmony Glen #10)

Chapter

Seven

“ T his is going to be awesome,” Phineas said enthusiastically.

“Right,” Finn agreed.

He was very thankful that Margaid had agreed to hire on Phineas for some odd jobs and that the ministry would allow her to do that.

Phineas had been so excited for it, but he also hadn’t stopped talking since Finn picked him up this morning.

Phineas’ bog/homestead was just on the outskirts of Harmony Glen.

In the opposite direction of the farm market and the lake.

Still, it was worth the backtracking to come in and give the young lad an opportunity. Although, the endless chatter was getting to be a bit too much for Finn.

You don’t seem to mind it too much when Margaid prattles on.

Finn ignored that thought. With Margaid, it was different.

They’d been opening up and he was thrilled that she wasn’t freaked out by his faux pas with following her and being shifted.

And she’d been so kind and caring when he talked about his dad.

And she shared a bit of herself too. About not having a family, her mom’s passing.

Yet, she was strong and didn’t let it weigh her down.

There was something admirable about that.

The problem was, Harmony Glen wasn’t her home.

She was going to leave and he couldn’t. Here he had responsibilities, a business, friends and family.

Harmony Glen was his home.

The town motto mentioned people staying for happily ever afters, and maybe, just maybe, he could convince her to stay?

Why? That niggling little voice asked. One thing he always wanted was someone to share his life with, he just never met the right mate.

Females were only ever interested in him because of his looks as a human and he’d managed to glamour them so they would never remember his ears or his mismatched colors, when they did see his monster form, they only wanted the novelty of playing naughty cowgirl.

Back then it had suited him just fine, but it left him feeling a bit lonely. He knew the kind of love his parents had. It was pure and devoted. Could he really have that? He wasn’t so sure.

“Here she comes, at least I think that’s her truck,” Phineas said, interrupting Finn’s thoughts.

“Looks like it.”

Margaid pulled up and got out of her truck. “Good morning to you both! I didn’t expect to see you here, Finn.”

“Phineas needed a ride,” Finn remarked, heading to the back of her truck to help with the gear. There wasn’t much and it was all packed in a big rucksack that looked bigger than her.

“I’m saving up for a truck,” Phineas stated. “I’m into peat.”

“So I’ve been told,” Margaid said, smiling at Phineas tenderly.

“I can take that, Finn.” Phineas slipped on the rucksack. “We’re headed to the punchbowl, right?”

“Right.” Margaid grabbed another bag out of the backseat of her truck and then locked it. “You can show me the way.”

“Sure can!” Phineas agreed eagerly.

“Well,” Margaid turned to Finn, “I guess we’ll head off.”

“Do you mind if I tag along?” he asked.

Phineas stood behind Margaid, grinning like a smug idiot, and Finn was ready throttle him and that knowing smile.

“Sure,” Margaid said, stunned. “It’s going to be boring.”

“I’m used to your boring collections. Besides, I’ll have to give Phineas a ride home and I don’t have anything else to do today. I wouldn’t mind the hike.”

“Well, let’s go.” Margaid started walking and Phineas quickly walked ahead of them on the trail, while Finn fell into step beside Margaid. Neither of them said anything as they hiked, following the Harmony River.

“Tell me about this punchbowl at the top of this river,” Margaid said, finally breaking the silence.

“The devil’s punchbowl? Not much to tell. It’s a natural formation, very deep and fed from below, but the exact source is kind of shrouded in speculation and old lore. There are a few waterfalls in the glen, we’ll pass them on the way to the punchbowl.”

“It’s an interesting name.”

“It’s not a formal name from a map, but a lot of the lifelong townsfolk call it that because it’s somewhat of a mystery, and there are lots of old tales about it due to its depth.

You’ll find a lot of places have the name with devil in it.

Why are so many ski slopes names Devil’s Arse or Devil’s Elbow or something absurd like that. ”

Margaid giggled. “Devil’s Arse? Can’t say I’ve ever skied down a slope like that. Then again, I don’t really ski.”

“Me neither,” Finn agreed. “I know I used to come up here when I was a kid and swim in the summer. Fun to swim under a waterfall. And when we were still in hiding, it was pretty safe for me and my dad to swim here. My mom could take Pearl to the beach because she blended in. Except on nights of a full moon.”

“Why? What happens on a full moon?”

“Female glashtyns shift whether they want to or not.”

“Kind of a like a werewolf?”

“Sort of, but unlike werewolf myths which have them rampaging around town eating people, which they don’t by the way, Pearl is fully aware of who she is.

” What he didn’t want to say it was also a fertile time for the female glashtyn.

The moon brought about an abundance of fertility for the females of his kind.

Their blood during this time had very magical healing qualities, just like their horns, and they were sought after.

Full moons were nights that Pearl stayed locked in the house, even if the unicorn side of her wanted to run free across the countryside.

Thankfully, Pearl hadn’t escaped yet and stayed put, but then again, she was young still and didn’t seem to be a in rush to date or anything like that. She wanted to go off to college too, but it was those unknowns that scared him, and financially he couldn’t help her right now.

They continued their hike, talking about nothing in particular, which was nice. Phineas was within eyesight, carrying that heavy rucksack farther up the trail, giving them some space.

It wasn’t long before they finally made it to the punchbowl.

The waterfall from Glen Creek fell gently over the rock ledge into the deep, cool waters of the eroded bowl-like formation.

Around them were rounded shale cliffs, but from where they’d hiked up, they were able to meander their way down the rocks to the water’s edge.

A stone bridge ran across the top of the punchbowl over the waterfall where the trail continued.

Phineas was able to scramble over the rocks, no problem. His scales didn’t seem bothered by the toughness of the terrain.

Finn went first and offered his hand to her, so she wouldn’t fall, as it could be a little bit slick to navigate thanks to the mist from the waterfall. Margaid slipped her tiny little hand into his, trusting him completely.

“Be careful,” he warned.

“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks blooming with pink.

When they got to a flat ledge of rocks, Phineas set down the backpack and continued leaping down to the shore.

She stopped and looked all around. “It’s beautiful, even if it’s named after the devil.”

“I bet they called it that because it’s a pain in the butt to get here,” he groused. “I don’t remember it being that way when I was younger.”

“Because you were younger. You’re older now. Think of how your father felt.”

And Finn thought back about his dad taking him swimming up here.

“Come on, Dad!” Finn called, excited making his way down to the water.

“Finn, just wait for me. I’m old, son.”

“No way, Pops!” Finn called back as his father’s laugh bounced off the rock walls, which made him laugh with joy too.

Finn laughed. “You’re right. He complained. A lot.”

“He did,” Phineas shouted from the water’s edge, his voice echoing in the natural amphitheater the water and the punchbowl provided.

Finn rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be collecting samples?”

“I will when I know what I’m doing,” Phineas complained.

“Oh right.” Margaid chuckled, rummaging her bag to pull out a specimen bottle. “I didn’t tell him what I needed.”

Phineas climbed back up to the ledge. He’d taken off his shirt and his shoes. “What do I need to do?”

“It would be great if you could a sample of the sand or silt at the bottom of the punchbowl, or as deep down as you can get. Then I could see what kind of microorganisms live down there and how they’re thriving.”

“Sure.” Phineas stripped off his pants.

“Whoa,” Margaid, said turning away and covering her eyes. “I hope you have swim shorts on.”

“Nah, it’s okay, though. My junk is enclosed in my cloaca,” Phineas stated. “Don’t worry. I’m not indecent.”

Margaid peeked and Finn was trying not to laugh.

“Oh, so why do you even wear clothes?” she asked, curious.

“Social convention,” Phineas groused. He took the bottle. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. The punch bowl is very deep and I want to make sure I get the right kind of specimen for you, Dr. Davis.”

“Try to get where you think there’s the most biological life,” she instructed.

“Will do, Dr. Davis,” Phineas said.

Phineas headed back down to the water and walked in, holding the specimen bottle. He swam along the surface of the water in the bunch bowl like an alligator before he got to the dead center and dived straight down.

“He’s very excited,” Margaid remarked.

“Indeed. Like I said, he’s always willing to help out and do odd jobs, especially with water involved. We leave the handyman type of jobs to a local named Gabe. Thanks again for giving Phineas the opportunity.”

“It’s my pleasure. I wouldn’t be able to get to the bottom of the punchbowl to get a specimen myself. Even if I could get deep enough, I would have to use a scoop and wouldn’t know what I was disrupting. It’s nice he’ll be able to pick out the right spot.”

“As long as he doesn’t meet some kind of amoeba down there and have a long conversation with them,” Finn grumped, sitting down on a large rock next to her. He’d rather she sat in his lap, or be in his arms.