“Not just me. This entire clan agreed that it was for the best.”
Kay was speechless. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel or what she was supposed to think about this. The side of him that could be so violent was not something she could really comprehend. Sure, he could be a bit distant, a little cold, but what he was eluding to was a whole different matter.
“And the people who you didn’t want to have this ranch?”
“They are still here, but as regular clan members, they hold no power. I will keep it that way.”
Kay studied his face, letting the conversation fall off. She wasn’t sure what else to ask or if she would want to hear the answers he had to offer. Maybe she would want to know more later, but not right now. Instead, she told him she was tired, and they would talk again some other time. Snuggling into her pillow, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, which was, thankfully, dreamless.CHAPTER FOURTEENKay woke up the following morning in a mood that could be described as foul, at best. Avoiding attempts by Bradley to make her smile, she hurriedly showered, dressed and reported to the barn for her chores. After a quick job of brushing down the horses and cleaning their stalls, she slipped out the back exit of the stables and into the woods that flanked one side.
The coolness felt good after the heat of the sun that bore down in the open pastures around the main portion of the ranch. It was a beautiful place. That, she had to admit. It was hard not to notice the lush scenery, the rolling hills, the deep red poinsettias, the bright yellow buttercups and the incredible dahlias that dotted the landscape. It looked as if someone had used it as the background for some tourism postcard you’d send friends and family from your rural vacation.
Clearing the thicket of woods, she found herself in the center of a heavily covered clearing. Though there were only a few trees dotted about it, there was heavy foliage overhead in the form of vines and overhanging branches that were woven together to create a sort of tent effect over the land below. Sun shone through the slivers between clusters to allow thin beams of sunshine to lighten the darkness beneath.
An odd but strangely familiar smell was present here. It was a combination of compost and something else, something she had only smelled at parties and concerts from a distance. As her eyes focused a bit better, she began to look around. She was standing on the edge of a massive field of pot. Neatly laid out rows grew in this hidden alcove within the forest. As she looked around, she began to realize everything was by design. The overhang seemed to contain a very fine green netting, to keep it from separating, to keep anyone flying overhead and noting anything other than heavy forestation.
She had come out here, intent on stripping down and running, but now she realized this wasn’t the place to do that. No wonder Bradley wanted this ranch. She wondered how many of these little hidden cannabis farms were lurking in wooden areas and if Walter had known about them? She really didn’t know anyone here enough to know who might know about them, perhaps everyone or perhaps only a few. She had a hard time believing it wasn’t, at the very least, a well-known secret. They were bears. The woods were their safe haven. She couldn’t be the first to have stumbled across this place, or maybe one of many.
Ultimately, Kay decided to keep her mouth shut about the farm and to look for more. She wasn’t sure why. It was just a way to kill time, maybe create a little excitement. What she decided not to do was discuss it with Bradley. The last thing she wanted was to bring trouble on herself in her new identification. She couldn’t just keep reinventing herself to escape her questionable choices.
In the following days, she began venturing out alone a bit more while Bradley was still at work. She had yet to find another hidden pot field, but she did discover a lovely stream that led into a huge rectangle of water big enough to frolic and cool off in. Stripping down, she shifted and jumped in, releasing her bear to splash playfully about in the shimmering, clear pool. It was just what she had needed as she climbed out and shook herself off before shifting back into human form and continuing her walk.
Arriving in a large open meadow, she hunkered down in the grass, hugging her knees for a moment before stretching out and laying in the lush clover to feel the sun beat down on her skin. It was beautiful here on the ranch. Why not stay? The consideration of her situation brought her thoughts back to Bradley. Her mind conjured up images of him as she lay there considering what life with him might be like. She knew she had feelings for him, perhaps even loved him. Was it enough to get past her fear of men?