Page 7 of Time to Stirrup Love (Harmony Glen #10)

Chapter

Four

T he town hall was decorated and residents were milling about. It was all so nice and everyone was happy to be there. Ogram the troll had sent some goods from his farm, and Dorvak had a lot of pastries and breads that smelled great.

Sebastian the town librarian was selling tickets for the meat draw. The money would go to a town charity fund. Finn had his ticket clenched in his fist.

Everyone was happy and chatting and Finn hated every second of it.

He crossed his arms and sat in the corner, watching Liana out of the corner of his eye because he knew she was a chicken farmer and he hated chickens with a passion. They scared the bejeezus out of him.

Not that Liana was likely to bring one of her chickens to the community dinner, but there was a small chance that she could, so he avoided her at all costs.

It was best that Finn just stayed in the corner, with his back to the wall and his eye on the exit.

So far, Margaid hadn’t come in. Part of him was happy about that and another part was disappointed.

Usually, he didn’t attend these things. Except Pearl had lectured him about being neighborly and forced him to go.

So here he was, trying to be social, but for the most part he really just liked to keep to himself.

In his youth he’d been somewhat of a womanizer, but social and community stuff, he was not comfortable with.

He was all for the spirit of Harmony Glen.

Before the Great Revelation, this had been the only place his parents were allowed to live comfortably and without judgment.

For that, he would never, ever leave Harmony Glen and that’s why he loved this town.

So fiercely.

It was home and safe.

He just hated all the small talk.

Every last bit of it.

“You’re glaring again,” Pearl said, sitting down next to him.

“Am I?” he groused.

“You can be all tough guy cool broody alpha you want, I don’t buy it,” Pearl responded.

“I don’t like social events.”

“I know, and you never attend them, so why are you here? You don’t usually listen to me, so you can’t blame me. Are you waiting for someone?”

Finn rolled his eyes, because he knew what his sister was hinting at. Ever since she met Margaid, she’d been hinting at it. It was annoying as heck.

“I’m here because you and mother are both here and it’s my duty as a business owner, and?—”

“You can come up with all the excuses you want. You’re waiting for Dr. Davis. Just admit it and I’ll leave you to stew in this shadowy corner by yourself.” Pearl sat back, a smug smile on her face.

Finn opened his mouth to say something further, when Phineas approached them.

Phineas was a gill-man, if he had to put it in layman’s terms. He was orphaned at a young age and was about two years older than Pearl.

Finn and his late father sort of took Phineas under their wing and helped him survive at his late parents’ place, which was a swamp area just outside the great Harmony Glen borders.

So, Phineas wasn’t really a townie, but he still belonged.

Phineas always lent a hand to Finn when he had tourists out and about. In a way, Phineas was sort of like a son to him.

“Hi Finn.” If Phineas could blush under his green gills, Finn would swear that he was as he looked at Pearl with his big yellow amphibian eyes. “Oh, hey Pearl. How are you?”

There was a faint tinge of pink on Pearl’s cheeks. “I’m good, Phineas. How are you?”

“Good.”

Finn rolled his eyes and tried not to smile.

It was clear that Phineas was completely smitten with his younger sister and vice versa.

But they were both young, even at twenty and twenty-two respectively, and both denied that the other had those puppy love feelings.

He found it endearing, but the protective part of him wanted to throttle Phineas right where he was standing for even glancing at his sister.

“Now that we’ve established we’re all good, do you want to sit down, Phineas?” Finn asked.

Phineas tore his gaze from Pearl. “Uh, sure.”

Pearl became a bit more subdued, her white hair hanging over her face, and she began to play with the ends of it, like she always did when she was nervous.

“So,” Finn said, breaking the conversation. “What have you been up to lately, Phineas?”

“Not much. Managing some of my wild rice out at my place. I thought about trying to grow cranberries in my bog and the peat moss is always a big seller.”

Finn smiled. “That’s good. You’ve got plans.”

Phineas shrugged. “I suppose. I mean, what else is an orphaned swamp monster supposed to do?”

Pearl smiled up at him. “Anything you want, Phineas. The world is opened up.”

Phineas smiled at Pearl tenderly. “I suppose it is.”

“Pearl, can you come over here for a moment?” their mother called from across the room, motioning from the kitchen in this rental space in the basement of the town hall.

“I better go,” Pearl said, quickly. “I’m glad you came out tonight, Phineas. It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Pearl,” Phineas answered, wistfully watching her walk away.

Finn cleared his throat gruffly. “You know I’m your friend, but I am her brother.”

“I know,” Phineas murmured. “Sorry, Finn. I don’t know what to say around her. I have a hard time talking to people since my parents died. You know that.”

Finn understood that. He still had his mom and Pearl, he wasn’t completely alone like Phineas, but he understood how the young one was feeling.

“You just have to seize the day, but when it comes to my sister, you have to be careful what you seize. If you understand me?” Finn warned playfully.

Phineas chuckled. “Right. Gotcha. I saw you were out all day on the lake.”

“Are you tracking me?” Finn teased.

“I was cruising around under the waves,” Phineas remarked. “Saw your boat go by. I didn’t think fishing season had started. Certain species are still spawning.”

“I know. There’s a marine biologist here tracking the populations for the next year. Also monitoring the health of the water too.”

“Ah, that explains it. They said some human was tromping around their spawning grounds.”

“They?” Finn asked, raising an eyebrow. “Since when do the fish talk to you?”

“I listen in.” Phineas grinned. “Before they see me and they scatter. It’s just something to do.”

Finn shook his head. “Eaves dropping on fish is just something to do, huh?”

“Whoa, who is that?” Phineas asked, elbowing him and pointing at the door. “She’s new.”

Finn looked up, knowing that it was most likely Margaid who had walked in, and he wasn’t wrong.

Her red hair was down, brushing the top of her shoulders.

She was in a cute sundress that hugged every inch of her voluptuous curves.

She had a few curls in her hair, pinned back from her face.

She looked completely different from the outdoorsy biologist he’d seen earlier.

Even the one who had been curled up practically naked on his couch. When those big baggy pants she wore dropped to the floor, he got to admire her long legs and he knew underneath that oversized shirt, there was nothing.

When he went to wash the clothes and the towel she’d borrowed, he’d drank in her scent and it made him hard as a rock. It made him think a bunch of naughty things about her and him.

Mine, a little voice purred inside his head.

He’d managed to get control of himself, but now, seeing her dressed up and trying to make a good impression on the people of Harmony Glen, made his hard heart melt a bit.

“That’s the biologist. Dr. Davis,” Finn said, finally finding his voice and hoping that Phineas didn’t notice how now he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.

“ That’s the marine biologist? Wow, the fish never mentioned anything about her.”

“Would fish really notice that?” Finn asked dryly.

“Nope, but Magnus certainly has,” Phineas said, nodding in Magnus’ direction.

Instantly, he sat up straighter and noticed Magnus materialize and stride his way through the crowd, making a beeline straight for Margaid. He clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.

Mine, the voice said again, a bit more ferociously.

That ancient beat in his blood seemingly wanted to take over and claim his woman, because that instinct coded into his DNA was telling him that Margaid was his and only his.

“Has he?”

Phineas looked at him. “Why don’t you step in? It’s clear you want to.”

“Why would you say that?” Finn snarled.

“You have literal smoke curling out of your nostrils. Thought only dragons did that? Apparently glashtyns can too.”

He touched his face and saw remnants of smoke. Huh, apparently, he did breathe smoke when he was a bit riled up.

“Oh look, she’s turned him down,” Phineas whispered. “He’s coming this way.”

“I’m going to get a drink.” Finn stood, because he didn’t really want to talk to Magnus right now and didn’t need the colorful play-by-play that Phineas was whispering in his ear because it was just fuelling the fire that was burning in his blood.

The last thing he needed to do was give in to his ancient tendencies, run off with the new human in town, and let everyone in Harmony Glen see him completely unhinged.

Finn ignored Magnus as he walked by, somewhat defeated, and headed straight for the table that had a line of punch dispensers in a row. He grabbed a glass and picked one, unsure of what he’d picked. Right now, he didn’t care.

“Hello, Captain Clague.”

His spine stiffened, his heart hammering between his ears hearing her voice behind him. His fist curled around the glass and he tried to collect his composure. “Hello, Dr. Davis.”

He turned and tried not to stare at her, but the low cut of her bright-green halter dress gave him a nice bird’s-eye view straight down her ample cleavage. Instead, he took a drink out of his glass and realized he was drinking down basically pure lemon juice.

He winced.

“Tart?” Margaid asked, a smile hovering on her lips as he tried to not make a face.

“It’s fine.”

“Hmm, your face suggests otherwise.”