She nodded. "Yes." Her aunts would throw a fit if they found out, but they didn't know Howard like she did.
"Good." He smiled at her. "You must think I'm an awful klutz."
She shook her head, her cheeks warming with a blush. "No." She thought he was the sweetest man she'd ever met.
He glanced toward the front door. "To avoid sustaining further injuries such as gunshot wounds, I'll just make my exit out the back."
She winced. "I understand." As he walked haltingly toward the back door, her heart squeezed.
"Be careful," she called as he eased out the door.
"You're totally smitten," Alastair whispered.
"Hush."
"Not that I blame you. The man nearly killed himself just to bring you flowers."
She shot him an irritated look, then rushed into the kitchen. She spotted Howard through the small window over the sink. He was walking into the woods.
She opened the note he'd left with the flowers. Give me a chance to prove I'm worthy of you.
"Oh, Howard," she whispered. She glanced back at the window.
He was going deeper into the woods. Shouldn't he be going toward the road so he could return to the school and the clinic there?
I'm self-healing. Maybe he didn't need a clinic.
She bit her lip, watching him disappear among the trees. Where was he going? How did he heal himself? Dammit, there was so much she didn't know about him. How could she make an informed decision on whether to trust him, when she didn't have enough information?
She rushed into the foyer.
"Oskar's here," Alastair yelled as he headed for the front door.
"I - I'm going to make sure Howard gets back to his car all right."
Alastair glanced back with a smirk. "Right. Take all the time you need, luv."
"Ah, if you could not mention it to my aunts - "
"Mum's the word." Alastair pretended to zip his mouth.
"Thanks." She slipped out the back door and jogged into the woods in the direction Howard had gone.
After a few minutes, she was surrounded by trees and beginning to wish she'd left a trail of donut crumbs. It would be just her luck to get lost in the woods. The dark, creepy woods.
She snorted to herself. Some Guardian of the Forest she made. All the trees looked alike to her. She glanced back. The house was no longer visible. A deer peeked around a tree, watching her. Then another deer peered around a bush.
"Sheesh," she whispered. "You guys always show up. At least I don't have to worry about being alone in the dark, creepy woods." Though she doubted these two deer could offer her much protection.
The deer ambled closer.
They were bigger than she'd thought. She stepped back. "That's close enough."
They stopped but continued to stare at her.
"What do you want?" Did they expect her to do some sort of guardian thing? What the heck did a guardian do?
She waved a hand in the air. "Carry on, my loyal subjects. Cheerio."
They gazed at her blankly.
Apparently, being a guardian wasn't like being a queen. "Look, I don't mean to disturb your normal routine. I'm just trying to find a man who passed through this way."
The deer sprinted past her, then paused to glance back with an inviting look.
"He went that way?"
They cantered off, and she jogged after them. "I hope you're not taking me to some weird animal ceremony. I never liked venison, okay?" Except in sausage, but she wouldn't tell them that.
She winced. What if they could hear her thoughts?
She followed them for about five minutes, weaving around trees and jumping over moss-covered logs. Then they scampered downhill, moving quickly and nimbly. She slowed down, afraid she would skid on the damp, fallen leaves and hurt herself in the middle of nowhere.
The sound of rushing water grew louder, and the ravine grew steeper and rockier. She picked her way down slowly, grasping the branches of trees to keep her balance.
Finally, she reached the bottom. The trees ended, along with the spongy ground covered with pine needles. A rocky slab extended toward the edge of a creek. The sun shone brightly, and she blinked to adjust her eyes.
The stream serpentined along the bottom of the ravine, tumbling over rocks and meandering around large boulders. Downstream, she spotted Howard, partially hidden behind a pile of rocks. His back was to her, his torso bare. He'd taken off his shirt.
The deer scampered downstream, their hooves clattering on the rocky slab.
He turned toward the sound, and Elsa ducked back behind the tree line. Chicken. Why don't you let him know you're here?
She winced. She wasn't sure he wanted her here. After all, if a man wandered off into the woods, didn't that mean he wanted to be alone? If he had to use some sort of superpower to heal himself, he probably wanted to keep it secret.
But if he was serious about having a relationship with her, then he shouldn't keep secrets. She eased quietly downstream, making sure she was hidden behind trees and bushes. Luckily, the deer had decided to scurry back up the hill, and they were making enough noise to cover any noise she made.
Thanks, guys! She called out to them mentally. Great. Now she was as crazy as her aunts.
She spotted Howard, standing behind a large boulder that was flat on top. Apparently, he had washed his shirt in the stream, for it was wet, and he was laying it on top of the sunny rock to dry. She tiptoed farther downstream so she could see him from behind.
He was standing where the stream made a sharp turn. A wall of granite had impeded its progress, resulting in a pothole where the water was deep enough for swimming.
She winced at the raw and bloody scrapes along his torso and arms. Poor Howard. He kicked off his shoes, then unbuckled his pants and dropped them.
Her breath caught, and she covered her mouth. With his super hearing, she had to be careful not to make a sound. But it was hard, so hard not to whimper when he hooked his thumbs into the elastic waistband of his blue cotton briefs and slowly eased them over his rump.
Oh God. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned, pressing her back against the large tree that hid her. She was as bad as a Peeping Tom. Ogling the poor guy when he was covered with scrapes and blood.
But shouldn't she see how badly he was injured? She opened her eyes and peered around the tree.
Good Lord. Her heart stilled. He had the most beautiful rump in the world. No, the universe. Poetry should be written and songs dedicated to it.
Her eyes widened as she took in his entire form from the back. Huge, hunky Howard.
He stepped into the pool, walking forward till the water was up to his waist. Then he washed the blood off his arms and chest. Was this part of his healing routine? Whatever it was, it was beautiful to watch.
He scooped up some water with his big hands and splashed it on his face. Another scoop, and he raked it through his hair. His biceps bulged. The muscles in his back rippled. Her knees threatened to buckle.
She crouched behind the large tree, but a bush obstructed her view. She eased a branch aside. He had turned and was now facing her. Oh God, lucky break. He might have seen her if she hadn't knelt in the nick of time.
She closed her eyes, chiding herself. You should be ashamed of yourself, ogling the poor man when he's injured.
She opened her eyes and gasped. He was turning gray!
He looked up.
Dammit. She hunkered lower behind the bush. What on earth was going on? A man's skin color didn't just change like that.
She peeked again. Gray! He looked like a Greek god, sculpted out of pewter. His eyes blazed a deep blue.
Her heart raced. This had to be his superpower. This was how he healed himself!
She took another peek and choked. His body was shimmering, growing, changing. Hair sprouted. His face contorted, shimmered, then snapped into sharp focus.
A bear.
Her knees and arms buckled, and she collapsed on the ground. Dazed, she watched him through the branches.
She blinked, and he was still there.
Howard was a bear.
She shook her head. She'd wondered if he could be a wolf or bear, but now, with the proof right in front of her, she still found it hard to believe. But there he was. A huge, freaking bear. Not a cute little panda. A humongous, hulking grizzly bear!
He splashed around in the water, then lumbered out onto the bank and shook himself. Droplets of water shot out in all directions.
Her heart lurched as reality finally slapped her hard across the face. She was about thirty feet away from a grizzly bear!
Panic slammed into her. What could she do? If she ran up the hill, he would see her and chase her down. He? Was it a he? Was there any of Howard in that huge beast?