Chapter Ten

 

Jasper set his end of the brown couch down and looked at Shawn. “This is where she wants it?”

Shawn grinned. “That’s what she said.” He stretched and grimaced at the cracking noise his back made. “Ugh, this is the last time I do this.” He went to stand on the porch and Jasper joined him. They gazed into the field by the house.

“The barn’s in not bad shape. I’ll need to fix up the roof a bit, but it should all hold up until spring. I have a load of bales coming in the morning. I’m thinking of going to get the horses in the afternoon.”

Jasper smiled and gave him a pat on the back. “Let’s get the bar-b-q. Then we’ll be done. And hopefully the girls get back with the groceries soon. All of this furniture moving has made me hungry.”

Shawn laughed. “I agree. And I hope they remember the beer. I could definitely use one of those right about now.”

They got the bar-b-q out of the back of the U-Haul and placed it on the deck.

Shawn and Shay’s new house was a three bedroom ranch home situated on a hundred and sixty acres. He had helped Shawn move all of their furniture and belongings during the day while Hayden and Shay had cleaned, put things away, and then had run back into town to get groceries.

By the look on Hayden’s face when she had seen it, he knew that were she still living here, this was the kind of place she would have wanted. He knew she had told him more than once since they had been together that she was happy with their cabin, but watching her here, riding horses, playing with Shawn’s Australian Shepherd, he couldn’t help but wonder. Was she happier here?

He took a deep breath. It had been almost six months since they had crossed over. Shawn had been right. It did get easier.

“There they are.”

Jasper looked down the dirt road to where Shawn has spotted the dust cloud forming as a vehicle made its way closer to the house.

Hayden’s truck appeared over a hill. It was followed by a smaller green car.

He smiled as Hayden stepped out of the truck. She was wearing her jeans and lace up boots and had thrown a dark grey fleece over her red bunny hug. Her hair flowed out the back of her black baseball cap. Her green eyes lit up at the sight of him.

The wind picked up and tugged at his t-shirt. Hayden rolled her eyes at him and he laughed. “You can’t honestly be cold already.” He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close.

“Yes, I am.” She stood on her tip toes and kissed him softly. “I don’t think it’s very fair that your tiger half is gone right now and you still don’t get cold.”

He heard her soft groan as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip.

She grinned up at him. “Stop that.”

“I’m just trying to warm you up.” He grinned back at her.

The green car pulled in beside the trucks and she turned toward it. “I picked up a couple of strays while I was out.”

“Hey, Jasper!”

He looked up, frowned, and broke into a wide smile. He started to laugh. “No wonder Hayden was so shocked when she first saw you in Quelondain. You don’t look anything the same over here.”

Tara and Ben laughed with him. When they crossed over, Ben grew three inches, their ears rounded out, and their earthy colored skin changed so they simply looked tanned.

“I take it the blue bird made it with the note?”

Ben nodded. “We crossed over yesterday. It’s a good thing Tara still keeps her apartment here.”

“Well, you never know what’s going to happen. I like this apartment. We picked up this little car cheap this morning then we went to see how Foxy and Baldy were doing. They’ve been staying at Dale’s.”

“I’m going to go get Macho from the arena and Doc and Duncan from Roger’s tomorrow. If you want to keep those two here as well, you’re more than welcome to.” Shawn put an arm around Shay.

Tara nodded. “Sure. That would be great.”

Everyone grabbed some grocery bags and helped bring them into the house. Shawn fired up the bar-b-q and Shay started to make a salad. Jasper helped Tara wrap potatoes in tin foil while Hayden and Ben brought everyone a beer.

“Jasper? Can you take the steaks out to Shawn?” Shay handed him the steaks.

“Sure thing.”

He walked outside and smiled. Hayden wasn’t going to be very happy. Large snowflakes were falling lazily from the sky.

“It’s been a strange fall,” commented Shawn. “It usually snows in October. Considering it’s almost the end of November, this is a treat.” He took the steaks from Jasper and gave him a quick glance before turning to the bar-b-q. “You seemed kind of quiet today. Is everything alright?”

Jasper shrugged.

“Are you thinking of going back early?”

Jasper shook his head. “No, just the opposite actually. I’m not sure we should go back.”

Shawn stayed quiet and waited for him to continue.

“We have to go back. In the spring, I mean. We have to finish this. I’m just thinking about after that. Maybe we should come back here.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I want Hayden to be happy. She’s happy here.”

“Is she happy there?”

“Yes. At least I’ve never felt anything from her to suggest otherwise. But I was watching her yesterday, riding Shade.” He smiled at the memory. They had been here for merely a week when word had gotten around that she was back in town and she’d gotten a few calls about training. She was so peaceful on the back of a horse. Granted, she had Dodge back home, but this was different. Dodge was her best friend. These were her students and she was a terrific teacher. “I don’t know. I have never been this completely confused in my entire thirty years.” He glanced up at his friend.

“I can’t tell you which is the best way to go. We didn’t have much choice in the matter. Shay almost died crossing over. After that, there wasn’t much thinking to do at all. I can’t live without her. This was the only choice.

“I was going to tell you. I talked with Roger. He said to let you know that once you get back from your trip to Scotland to visit your family, you’re to come back to work. Said you’re turning out better than he’d hoped.”

Jasper smiled. “That’s another thing. It’s not only that Hayden is happy here. I like it here. I like working for Roger. Coming home after work and finding her waiting for me. I feel useful here. There’s not much for me to do in Quelondain now that I’m not on the guard anymore. I hunt, I fix things and protect her. It’s nice to have a job to do again. If we stay there, I can’t go back on the guard. I mean, I’m sure Melana would have me back, but I just can’t leave Hayden for weeks at a time.”

Shawn nodded, knowing fully well what he meant. He had gotten Jasper a job on the cattle ranch where he worked. The owner, Roger, had agreed to take him on and had given him three weeks to prove himself. Thankfully, Jasper was a quick learner and could now rope accurately as well as operate all of the trucks and tractors on the ranch.

Jasper saw a furry red form move by the barn and make its way closer to the house. Cooper came trotting onto the porch and sat beside Shawn, waiting for his pat on the head.

“You know, though. There is one thing I can do for her, whether we come back or stay there. Maybe you can give me a hand.”

“Sure. What do you need?”

Jasper heard Hayden’s voice getting closer through the door. “I’ll tell you later.”

The door opened and he had to remember to breathe as his eyes locked with hers.

Hayden smiled, wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “Why so serious?”

He shrugged. “I was just thinking about things. The future. You, know, things like that. How to keep you happy.”

Her smile and eyes softened and he had to remind himself that Shawn was standing a few feet away. It wouldn’t do to start tearing her clothes off. She pulled him down to her and kissed him softly. “That last one is easy enough,” she whispered against his lips. “It doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing. So long as you’re with me, I’ll be happy.”

He took a deep breath and pulled her close. He couldn’t help but wonder at what point was just having him around going to stop being enough.