A chaise lounge is right in front of the big bay window overlooking the mountains beyond the trees. I move further into the cabin and find the kitchen stocked as well as the pantry. I’ve got enough food here to feed a small army. I run my hand over the granite countertop, remembering all the times my mother would use it to roll out pie crusts during her many baking sessions. I can almost smell the sweet scent that would filter throughout all the rooms.
Walking down the hall to the master bedroom I take in the queen-sized bed that sits in the middle of two large windows. The headboard is what looks like brushed copper. I am pleased to find the thick down comforter and I’m anticipating many cold nights cuddling up in it.
The large bath off my parents’ room has a glass shower with tile on the floor and a wood wall where the showerhead comes out. The bathtub is new or at least new from the last time I was here. It’s huge, big enough for multiple people.
I head back outside to my rental and grab my suitcase and carryon bag and drag them into the house. After I get everything unpacked, I head out to grab some wood to have ready for a fire. Once that’s all done, I find a note stuck to the refrigerator from John, the caretaker, basically telling me everything is ready to use, and don’t forget to open the flew when I start a fire. He also left his number in case I needed to reach him at all.
I pull out my phone and see I have only one bar. I send Lily and my parents texts letting them know I arrived. My bestie wanted to come, to keep me company, but if I’m going to get any clarity, I need to be alone. She understood, or so she said, and made me promise I’d call her if I needed her.
In the living room, I get the fireplace ready, open the flue, and get a fire going. While I let it start burning, I walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water, and I begin pacing.
What am I supposed to do now? Fuck, I thought I'd enjoy the quiet, welcome it in fact, but it seems I don’t like the silence either. I stare up at the ceiling, “whatever clarity I’m supposed to get from this, I’d like to have it now please.” I’m not sure who is listening, but hopefully they hear me.
Merick
The air is crisp and cool as the wind whips through the trees, blowing the last remaining leaves as they flutter to the ground. I remain in the shadows of the night, watching Taryn move around inside the cabin through the windows. I smile, wondering to myself if she truly has every single light turned on inside. It practically glows in the midst of the darkness around us. But I’m thankful, as it gives me a clear view into every room, especially the large bay window where for the last hour I’ve gotten lost watching her perched directly in front of it. A book resting in her lap, a glass of wine in her hand. Her long dark hair is piled on her head in a messy bun, with only a few random pieces hanging freely. A large blanket, one that looks incredibly soft, remains draped over her lap.
I’ve done this a lot lately, lingered and remained distant. To be honest though, I’m tired of keeping my distance, tired of not being able to touch her the way my entire body craves. But I made it this far, I got her here.
Now I have to play this right. This wasn’t exactly the way I imagined our meeting going.
Getting to know her, wooing her, showing her the man I am, enchanting her to a point where she wants me as much as I want her, that was the plan. Make her fall in love with the man before bringing her back to the mountains, before I brought her into my world, that was how I saw this all playing out.
Yet, here we are.
She may think she’s here simply to clear her head, to find her way to something new, but she’s here for me, she is drawn to me, much like I am to her. She is here for us.
The time is still ticking, the window closing fast. We have until the full moon on her twenty-fifth birthday to seal our bond before our chance has passed. The way of our world lies in the hands of me and Taryn, and she doesn’t even know that world exists.
The sound of a door shutting echoes in the night and I step closer to the large row of Douglas fir trees. They provided the perfect hideout. The way the branches lay I can still get a clear view but also it provides enough shelter to remain hidden.
Taryn is so engulfed by the large coat and the oversized boots, that I barely get a glimpse of her face before she gathers an armload of wood and disappears back inside.
After the door is closed, I step out of the shadows once again and move into the clearing that separates the cabin from the forest. A small distance remains between me and her and with each step I take, I feel the urge to shift rise.
Running my hand over the side of the cabin feeling the weathered logs against my palm. I pause near a small window that overlooks the kitchen and into the living room. From my position, I have the perfect view of her from the side. The curve of her jaw, the arch of her nose, the plump look of her lips. The red sweater she wore has slipped off her right shoulder, highlighting the contour of her neck and my lips literally tingle at the thought of kissing over that very spot.
The wine glass is lifted, her lips press to the rim, and as she takes a sip, her throat bobs. Lowering the glass my gaze remains on her lips, her tongue peeks out to lick the droplet left behind. I am so lost in her beauty, lost in the relaxed state she’s in that I almost miss the sudden shift. The tension in her shoulders, the way her back goes rigged as she slowly begins to shift in the chair. Scanning over the space of the cabin, she looks from one window to the next and just as she reaches the small one I am watching her through I step out of view. It’s almost like she knows I’m there.
She stares and her body remains in a state of alert. There’s no possible way she can see me, can she?
Taryn lowers her book to the table at her side, placing her half-empty wine glass next to it. I continue to watch as she moves the blanket to the side and cautiously, she begins to stand, positioning her body to completely face the window that separates us. I don’t move, in fact, I’m not sure I’m even breathing as my heart races.
Ever so slowly and with great care she takes one step at a time closing the distance between us. I know I have nowhere to go, nowhere to run. So instead of ruining everything I’ve spent years building I do the only thing I can, I shift.
Backing away, I shake my head and look up to find Taryn staring out, her eyes wide with what I assume is shock. I know the moment it registers in her mind. The familiarity of once seeing the same form. Only now my size has more than doubled.
I want nothing more than for her to come to me, but she remains where she is watching me, her chest rising with deep rapid breaths.
No longer am I just a childhood dream, a fantasy she thought she created in her mind. I’m real. What she saw as a child, it is right in front of her. It’s a reality I’m not so sure she is ready for.
I’ve been hiding away for several days, in the quiet of the cabin, enjoying the peacefulness. It is a big change from the city. The snow has begun to fall. A light flurry of flakes at first then it grows heavier covering the ground and everything in its path, leaving behind a white blanket. Footprints cannot be hidden, paw prints are clear and distinguished. The last thing I want is to scare her, but the pressure of what’s to come is growing thick.
The days and nights are passing by, quickly closing the window of opportunity.