Page 9 of Time to Stirrup Love (Harmony Glen #10)

Chapter

Five

M argaid woke up the next day, not rested.

When her alarm went off, she shut it off with a groan and rubbed her eyes before reaching for her glasses.

All night long she’d tossed and turned because she couldn’t stop dreaming about Finn.

Strange erotic dreams that left her feeling completely horny and frustrated.

She was still trying to figure out why Finn had followed her home and was lurking in the bushes.

She had a feeling that he was just trying to make sure she got home safe.

When she discovered it was Finn who had been following her, she was completely at ease, because something told her, deep down, that he would never hurt her. Even if his actions were a bit weird.

And why he felt he needed to shift? She didn’t understand. She much preferred his true form.

She had a feeling of safety around him, even if he was grumpy and drove her a bit squirrelly. Not to mention she was completely lusting after his form.

As her eyes adjusted to the morning light, she saw it was overcast. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to cancel their time out on the lake today. She was simultaneously looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. Mostly because she wanted to ask him about last night.

And she knew that conversation would be awkward.

Reluctantly, she got up and got ready for the day.

She’d decided she was going to need a lot of coffee to make it through, so she filled up her thermos with black coffee and a shot of espresso or four.

It was bitter, but it was just how she liked it.

Once she was ready, she loaded up the gear she’d need for the day, made sure she had a change of clothes, and drove down to the docks.

There were clouds over the lake, but the sun was trying to come through. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all? As she got out of her truck, Pearl came outside from the back of the bait and tackle shop.

“Morning, Dr. Davis,” Pearl greeted brightly.

“Good morning. Look, you can call me Margaid. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

A sly smile crept across Pearl’s face. “Oh?”

“Well, I’m going to be out on the lake a lot over the next year and you live here, don’t you?”

“Right.” Pearl smiled, nervously. “Although, I’m sometimes up at the farm market. I sell a few sea glass beads and my mom crochets a few fun things.”

“Ogram doesn’t just sell produce?”

“No, he has also makes space for products by local people.” Pearl held up the big brown paper bag she was carrying. “Want to look?”

“Sure.” Margaid was curious. She was always so impressed by people who could do arts and crafts. That was definitely not her jam. She was, without a doubt, a science nerd. As she peeked in the bag, she was a little bit taken aback by some of the crocheted creatures. “Are those…”

“Phalluses. My mom is a bit of a witch, in a sense. She says that phalluses bring good luck. Mostly, I think tourists buy them because she makes them out of chenille yarn and they’re quite soft and squishy.” Pearl reached into the bag and pulled one out, gripping it. “Here, try it.”

Margaid didn’t have a chance to refuse as the crocheted penis was shoved into her hand. Pearl was right, it was fuzzy and squishy. She gave it a good squeeze in her palm. “It is fun to squeeze.”

“See? Am I right or am I right?” Pearl said, pleased.

There was a horrified gasp behind her. “What are you doing, Pearl?”

Oh. No.

She closed her eyes and opened them to see Finn standing there, his arms crossed and staring at them both with a look of horror.

“She’s squeezing a cock,” Pearl teased.

Finn rolled his eyes and picked up her gear, turning abruptly to march down the dock to his boat.

“Well, today will be fun,” Margaid said, handing the crocheted wiener back to Pearl.

“Oh, ignore him. When he was young, he was a bit of a ho.” Pearl put the penis back into the bag. “He’s so prudish now, since our father died, and he forgets I’m twenty I’m a legal adult.”

“Yeah, but you’re still his little sister,” Margaid said softly. “I see his point.”

“I don’t. Anyways, I better let you get to work and I have to drop these off at Ogram’s. It was good to see you again, Margaid.”

“You too.” Margaid picked up the remainder of her gear and headed down the dock to Finn’s boat.

His face looked like thunder.

This was going to be a long day. Maybe she needed five shots of espresso?

“Morning,” she greeted brightly, trying to ignore his grumpiness.

Finn grunted in response.

“Really? That’s all I get as an acknowledgment?”

He looked at her. “Where are we headed today?”

“The opposite side of where you took me last time. I don’t need a stream, but I’d like to examine the photic area of the limnetic zone, close to shore.”

“Sure. Fasten your gear down, it’s a bit choppy. Might be rain.”

Finn was barely looking at her. Not that she could really blame him. Not only had she caught him in some weird half shift, his hat had popped off because of his ears, and then he’d walked into a scene where she was manhandling crocheted cocks that his mother had made with his little sister.

On the weirdness scale, that was pretty much out there.

As he readied the boat to leave, she watched him out of the corner of her eye.

She was thinking about his human form and although he was very handsome, she much preferred him this way.

As his true self. Pearl had said that he was a bit of a “ho” in his youth, and she couldn’t help but wonder how he approached the ladies.

Was it the human form or the glashtyn?

She knew there was some prejudice still out there and some people didn’t think it was right for humans and monsters to mingle.

For her, it was about deep connection and she didn’t really care about who she fell in love with.

One thing she knew she needed was trust. And there was just something about Finn, something deep in her gut that was telling her he was the right one. That she could trust him.

Except, it was that grumpiness.

Pearl had insinuated that he liked her, but she had a hard time believing that. Especially when he stormed out of the dinner the moment dancing started. Dancing with Sven and then Phineas had been fine, but that’s not who she wanted to dance with last night.

In her dreams, it wasn’t either of those two she had been riding.

It had been Finn.

The boat trip across the lake and to the other side was a bit longer than yesterday, and Finn hadn’t been lying about the choppy conditions. She’d had worse experiences, but the farther they got from Harmony Glen, the faster the clouds seemed to be moving in.

Finn wasn’t saying much, but he helped her with her gear and went out with her as she collected the samples she needed in the rough water. As she bottled the last specimen, she glanced over at Finn who was watching the sky. Brows furrowed and a look of concern.

“A storm rolling in?” she asked.

He nodded. “Aye. I think we need to head back to the marina.”

“I think that’s a good plan.”

Finn paddled the dingy back to his houseboat and together they got the equipment and the dingy back on board. Once everything was secure, Finn went off to start the engine just a crack of thunder rumbled through the sky, followed by a flash of lightning and then a downpour of rain.

Margaid followed him into the bridge, shaking off her rain gear. “Was this storm in the marine forecast?”

“No. If it was, I would’ve cancelled your trip for the day,” he said tightly. He turned the engine over, but it sputtered, not catching. He tried again. “Damn, I think the engine is flooded.”

“Well, let me help.”

He looked at her like he was going to say no, but then nodded. “Follow me and keep the hip waders on, if the engine is hydrolocked, there’s probably a little bit more than bilge water down there.”

“I know. I’m a marine biologist and I’ve been on my fair share of boats.”

A smile crept on his face and he nodded quickly. She followed him down into the very lower decks where the engine was kept and where all the systems of the boat were. As they got down there, she could see there was a bit more water and it was coming in through a small leak.

Finn got to work, straight away plugging the hole.

She stood there and handed him tools that he asked for, while she got to admire him work.

This wasn’t his first rodeo. After they made sure that no more excess water was getting in, it was time to check the engine which appeared to be, indeed, hydrolocked.

It was nice to work side by side, in somewhat silence, though nothing needed to be said.

In this moment working together, there was nothing awkward about the situation.

As Finn opened the values and removed the plugs, water poured out of it, and then he made sure he dried off the plugs before putting them back in.

“I’m going to manually start from here,” he said. “Fingers crossed.”

“They’re crossed.” And she held up her hands.

He started the engine and after a sputter, it came to life.

They shared a smile together and then headed back up to the helm.

As they made their way outside, the rain was coming down hard and there was a bolt of lightning that struck a tree on the nearby shore.

It was so loud and so close, she could smell the ions in the atmosphere and the crack made her scream.

Finn let out a whinny, like he was terrified, and placed his body over hers, pushing her against the side of the houseboat.

His hard, muscular body pressed against hers.

She could feel every hard plane of him. His face inches from hers, she could drink in that musky smell of him that was also mixed with a bit of grease from the engine.

Either way, it made her pulse race and her blood heat, thinking about what else was hard under his clothes.

“Are you okay?” she asked, finally finding her breath.

“Yeah, sorry.” He looked down at her, but wasn’t moving from his protective stance. “Lightning killed my father.”

“Oh,” she said tenderly. “Well, maybe we should head back to the marina before this storm gets any worse.”

“Right.” Finn stepped back and she was kind of sad that he was no longer pressed against her, but it wasn’t safe to linger out on the deck in a storm that was getting worse. It was much safer for them to head back to Harmony Glen.

She followed him into the helm and sat down in a little chair as he began maneuvering the houseboat through the choppy waters. The rain was pouring down in sheets. The thunder and lightning were getting worse and Finn’s knuckles were white on the wheel.

“You okay?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t much like storms like this,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Because of your dad?”

He nodded. “It’s not the water that kills us.

We can survive underwater just as fine as a selkie or a merman.

I can stay under water like Phineas, but my dad was out on a small boat and a storm like this came up, the lightning struck him.

There was nothing he could do. It killed him.

Burnt up the boat. The coroner at the time said it was drowning,” Finn snorted. “Glashtyns don’t drown.”

“I’m sure that coroner didn’t last long.”

He chuckled. “Nope. He didn’t like it here in Harmony Glen with all the monsters.”

“Well, he sounds like a douche canoe.”

Finn cocked an eyebrow, humor twisting on his lips. “I’ve heard of a d-bag, but not a canoe.”

She shrugged. “I guess you have now. Sorry to hear about your dad.”

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “What about your parents? You said you never met your father?”

“No, he was never part of my life. Raised by a single mom. She died two years ago from cancer.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that.”

An awkward silence fell between them again and she really didn’t like that. Not when she felt like she was getting somewhere with him. He was opening up a bit to her and she was sharing with him. It made her feel close to someone again, but she also didn’t want to dwell on anything sad either.

“So, you followed me home last night,” she said, changing the subject.

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I just…I wanted to make sure that you got home okay.”

“I feel really safe in Harmony Glen,” she remarked.

“And Harmony Glen is safe,” he agreed. “It’s just…”

“I know. I get it. A single female, in the dark in a place she’s not familiar with, but you scared the bejeezus out of me.”

Finn smiled and glanced over at her. “Sorry about that.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Why was I shifted?”

“Right, that was it.” They shared a smile which made her heart skip a beat.

“I didn’t want you to recognize me. It’s how I used to traverse in the regular world, before the Great Revelation.”

“Do your ears always stay?”

He groaned. “They do.”

She laughed softly, remembering the absurdity of the situation. “I’m sorry, but that was so funny.”

“I’m glad it was amusing,” he groused.

“I prefer your glashtyn form, for what it’s worth.”

Which was true. She did. His eyes widened and he looked at her, there was some tenderness there and they shared another smile. Maybe she was thawing this frosty glashtyn’s heart after all.

“No one ever really preferred my true form. It’s fun for a short while…”

“Well, I do.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

Soon they were back to the marina and there was no more talk about shape-shifting mishaps or family. She helped him tie off his boat as the storm was starting to sweep into town. He helped carry her gear to the truck and then stood out in the rain after she’d climbed in.

“Tomorrow?” he asked.

“I’ll be in the conservation area tomorrow. I won’t need your help. So you’re free of me.”

He nodded, but looked a bit disappointed. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you the day after that though.”

“Right. Have a good rest of your day.” Finn turned and instead of heading back to his houseboat, he headed inside the Monster Catch storefront.

She did notice a little bit of disappointment in his voice, but maybe she was hallucinating things.

She was disappointed.

Margaid let out a sigh of regret. She was going to actually miss seeing him tomorrow. They’d laid some groundwork today. Perhaps they could be friends. Then she wouldn’t be as lonely and maybe this year wouldn’t be quite as bad as she thought?