Untamed (30 page)

Chapter Seven

Colton watched Memory sleep as dawn lightened the sky, filtering in from the opened French doors to the breakfast porch. Making love with her had definitely been an act of bonding for him. He couldn’t rationalize or explain it, but he knew without question that she was
his
woman, the one he’d wished for.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Memory’s voice was husky from sleep.

Colton wondered how long she’d been awake. “Morning, gorgeous.”

“Hmmm, yes it is,” she said with a smile and ran one hand along the side of his face. “I’d so love to shoot you.”

“Damn, darlin’, you sure know how to hurt a man. I thought I was pretty good.”

She laughed and gave his ear a playful tug. “Take pictures of you. And no you were not pretty good.”

“No?”

“You were spectacular.”

“Well, hey now, I’m starting to like the flow of this conversation.”

“Hmmm, well, I better shut up before I give you a swelled head.”

He took her hand and guided it under the covers. “Too late for that, sugar.”

Memory laughed in utter delight and Colton pulled her to him. He hadn’t forgotten his resolve to talk to Mirriam, but right now, he had the chance to make love to the woman of his dreams. He’d be a fool to turn his back on that, and one thing his mother had not done was raise a fool.

* * * * *

Memory had her camera out of the case and was firing shots left and right as Colton turned off the main road and onto the private road. The countryside was gorgeous, rolling pastures, massive oaks and everything green and lush.

The entrance drive of the Marsh Ranch was half a mile long. Each side of the road seemed to be fenced pastures, vast expanses of thick grass giving way to big patches of trees and shade.

“How big is your ranch?” She asked as she maneuvered to shoot around him and capture two horses running alongside the fence.

“It’s a little spread. About five square miles.”

“Is that a lot of acres?”

“A little over three thousand.”

“Three thousand?” Memory lowered her camera. “You call three thousand acres a little spread?

“For a ranch, yeah. It used to be bigger, but I sold part of it to buy Mirriam the dance school in Charlotte.”

Memory fell silent, watching Colton as they pulled through the gate. It was clear from the expression on his face and the way his eyes moved over the land that he loved it. She wondered what it would feel like to be so attached to a place. More important, it said a lot about him that he’d been willing to sell part of it to help someone he cared about.

As they rounded a curve, the house came into view. It wasn’t a large place, but it was well-maintained. Crafted in all natural wood, it had two levels. The bottom level boasted of a wide porch that appeared to wrap around the house. Wooden rocking chairs and a porch swing mixed with enormous terra cotta pots overflowing with plants, giving the porch a welcoming “come take a load off your feet” appeal.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured appreciatively, snapping more photos.

“It is to me,” he agreed in a voice that sounded as close to reverence as she’d ever heard.

Colton parked in front of the big detached garage to the right of the house. Memory put her camera back in its case. Colton reached in the back seat to get her luggage while she gathered her camera, laptop and shoulder bag.

It hadn’t taken much convincing for him to get her to agree to stay at the ranch. While the bed and breakfast was lovely, she’d never been on a ranch and was eager to roam around and take photos. And there was the matter of spending more time with Colton. That was the real appeal.

Colton led the way inside the house. It was as neat and tidy inside as it was out. Hardwood floors scattered with colorful woven rugs, and what might be called a rustic style of furnishings and a preponderance of house plants gave it an inviting feel.

Memory had no problem discerning that the bedroom where he put her things in was his room. That brought an unexpected wave of emotionsto the foreground, something she was trying hard to avoid. She might be able to admit to herself that despite the improbability of it, she’d fallen in love with Colton in less than a day, but she sure didn’t want him to be know it. At least not yet. Not unless he gave her some kind of indication that the feeling was mutual.

Colton led her to the back of the house where an enormous set of French doors led out onto a huge screened-in sun porch. “See that house over there, just before the barn?” He pointed through the stand of trees that bordered the back yard.

“Yeah.”

“That’s where Fred and Irene live. Fred’s my foreman and Irene takes care of the house for me. Fred’s probably not in the house much during the day, but you can find Irene there—or here. If you need anything while I’m gone, you go get Irene. Okay?”

“While you’re gone?”

“I need to go talk to Mirriam and see if there’s anything else she can tell me about the crystal.”

Memory pulled the now-enlarged crystal from beneath her shirt. “Maybe you should wear this. Show it to her.”

“No, you keep it on.”

“But she might want to see—”

“No.”

“Okay. So when will you be back?”

“I don’t know. I’ll call when I’m on my way. Give me your cell number, and keep your phone on you.”

She recited her number, then programmed his number into her own phone. “Is it okay if I wander around and take some pictures?”

“You do anything you want. I’m going to stop by and tell Fred and Irene that you’re here then go see Mirriam. I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

Colton leaned down and kissed her gently. “Be back soon.”

Memory watched him go, then turned and went back inside. For a while she wandered the house, familiarizing herself with the layout and getting a feel for the place where he lived.

She could feel the love that had had collected in the house. This was definitely a place where love lived. What would it feel like to live in such a place?

That question inspired fantasies she’d shoved aside for too many years. Dreams of a husband and a home, of family and belonging. Memory forced the thoughts away. She couldn’t let herself go there. It opened the door to getting hurt. Besides, she had a family. Rom and the people she worked with.

Her cell phone rang and she smiled as she looked at the caller ID. “Hey, Rom,” she answered with a smile.

“I must have the wrong number.”

“Rom, it’s me.”

“Girl, what’s happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You sound different.”

Memory considered it for a moment. “Maybe I am. A little. Rested, I guess. What’s up with you?”

“Same as always.”

“Things okay at The Studio?”

“Aside from not having our best photographer available?”

“Come on, Rom.”

“Okay, I won’t be a whining bitch. Everything’s fine. We picked up three new accounts and are set to do the perfume thing next week.”

“That’s great!”

“So, any idea how much longer you’re going to be gone?”

“Ummm, no. My car broke down so I have to wait to get it fixed. And there’s some things here I want to—investigate.”

“Memory Wells, you’ve found a man!”

She laughed. “Maybe.”

“Okay, so give me the dirt.”

“Not yet. I just met him yesterday.”

Rom sighed into the phone. “Oh god, the discovery phase. I remember that. The excitement, anticipation—the longing… the horrible case of ‘please do me now.’”

Memory laughed again. “Yep, you got it.”

“Well, I’m thrilled. Mem. And I want to hear every single detail—when you’re ready.”

“Don’t worry, you will.”

“Okay. Well, I have to scoot. Call me.”

“I will.”

“Love you.”

“I love you, Rom. Bye.”

Smiling to herself, Memory tucked her phone into the clip on the waistband of her jeans. The morning was perfect and she was eager to see more of Colton’s home. Grabbing her camera she headed outside.

* * * * *

Colton sat at the kitchen table in Mirriam’s small home in the historic district of the city. Once an area that had wasted into near ghetto, it had been revamped and now boasted of well-tended homes and manicured lawns.  It was a place he felt safe for his best friend’s mother to live.

She finished preparing a cup of tea and took a seat across from him. “Now, what brings you here in the middle of the morning, my dear?”

“I need to talk to you about the crystal.”

“That seems to be occupying a dominant position in your thoughts of late.”

“Something happened.”

“With Memory.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised. It was probably pretty clear that he and Memory were attracted right from the get-go. And Mirriam wasn’t blind.

“Yeah.”

She sat silent for a long time, took a sip of tea and sighed. “Are you going to tell me or am I supposed to guess?”

Colton blew out his breath and leaned back in his chair. “She has a crystal. An exact match to mine.”

“Ah, yes.”

“You knew?”

“I suspected.”

“How?”

“Remember the energy I spoke of?”

He did remember. And now he remembered something else. The way his crystal had gone berserk the night he drove by the bed and breakfast where Memory was staying. The night before he met her.

“Something’s happening between me and Memory.”

“Something of a romantic nature?”

He hesitated. It was hard enough to admit to himself that he’d fallen in love with Memory without even knowing her. Admitting that to Mirriam wasn’t something he was sure he could do.

Mirriam’s eyes seemed to take on a flinty edge. “Colton Marsh, you better not tell me it was just sex.”

Once again she surprised him. Mirriam had never voiced much of an opinion about his sex life. She knew there’d been a lot of women in his life, but she’d never offered an opinion on how he conducted his sex life. This was a first.

“No.” He It wouldn’t do any good to lie. She’d always been able to tell if he was lying to her. “It wasn’t.”

“Good. Now tell me.”

“When we…when we made love last night our crystals fused into one.”

Mirriam’s eyes widened for a split second then a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

“Mama, what the hell is it with those crystals?”

“Colton, I don’t have all the answers. All I can tell you is that now the fusion of yours and Memory’s crystals have provided you with a tool of sorts. How its power manifests will depend upon the abilities you and Memory possess.”

“Abilities?”

“Darling, don’t be obtuse. We both know that you possess abilities beyond the norm.”

“You mean the energy hits.”

“I’m not fond of the label, but yes. You have the ability to project energy. Whether it’s a wave of comfort that you send to wash over someone or a blast of pain you hurl against an enemy, you are able to gather the energy from your environment and direct it.”

Colton wasn’t fond of thinking about that particular skill. He’d spent most of his life either trying to ignore it, or learning to master it and keep it in check. And Mirriam was the only person who knew about it.

It’d served him well during missions and on the battlefield and had probably saved his life more than once, but he still wasn’t comfortable with it. Having it meant he had to accept that what he called woo-woo was all too real.

“The question is, what is Memory’s skill?” Mirriam asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You should find out. If it compliments your own then your combined skills, added to the power of the crystal, could prove to be a very effective weapon.”

“Against what?”

“You already know the answer to that. Your new sister-in-law’s sibling told you.”

Colton considered it. ”Dark Fae? You can’t believe that.”

“I won’t get into a debate with you on that topic. And besides, a better question is what does Memory believe? Does she possess skills and if so, will she reveal that to you?”

“Who knows? I guess if I told her about my—ability, she might. Or maybe not.”

Mirriam reached out to pat his arm. “Trust is often slow to build, my dear. While she may be attracted to you, may be desperately in love with you, that doesn’t mean she’s ready to trust you with all her secrets.”

“In love?” He locked onto those words at the expense of all the others.

“Yes. I suspect that as bound to her as you feel, she feels the same. Colton, the crystals wouldn’t have fused unless they were matched.”

He thought about it for a long time. “Mama, do you really think I’ve found her?”