“Enough, you two.” Keller sighed. “I’m not in the mood to hear you go in circles again. Let’s go. Holly, do you want to sit on my lap again or sit in the back with Garret?”
“I’ll sit in the back,” Holly said. “Your lap is comfortable, but nothing else about being in the cab was.”
“Fair enough.” Keller chuckled.
They hiked down to where Johnny had left the truck in silence. It started to rain halfway through their trek. It was hard to tell how hard it was raining thanks to the thickly woven canopy of bristles, branches, and leaves. The raindrops that did penetrate it were fat and icy, like little water bullets. She was not dressed for this weather. Everything she owned was designed for either Southern California or the muggy heat of Louisiana. She didn’t even own a proper winter coat. A good quality hoodie always did the trick when it got cold. Of course, cold was a relative term.
“I hope I’m not still here by winter,” Holly joked.
Then it hit her.
If she truly was the maiden and she was destined to have the child of the King, she might never leave this place. That child would have to stay here more likely than not. She wouldn’t be able to leave any child of hers even if the circumstances of its birth were something out of a fantasy epic.
This place was her home now.
CHAPTER 18 - Holly
Once they arrived back at the house, Garret departed to see his sister. Holly had never been more excited to borrow clothes from someone before. She was soaked through from the rain with nothing else to change into. She stupidly insisted on sitting in the bed of the truck with Garret on the drive home. She knew if she was close to Johnny, she’d pick a fight with him.
Would it kill him to apologize just once?
It rained buckets the entire ride home. There was an inch of water in the truck bed by the time they got home. Garret did his best to keep her dry, but there was only so much he could do.
Holly stood in the entry room, dripping, shivering and feeling rather stupid. Served her right for letting her anger get the better of her. There was no way she was going to escape this without catching a cold.
“I’ll grab something for you to wear in the meantime,” Johnny offered gruffly without looking for her. Before she could refuse, he came back with sweatpants, a white T-shirt, and the same flannel he wore when they met.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
Once she was dried and dressed, they went to the study. Keller was already there, standing in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that Holly had never seen before.
“Where did that come from?” she asked.
“All of the walls in this room are panels. There’s a whole library hidden behind the family trees,” Keller explained, running his finger down the spine of a book. Something about the movement sent a shiver down Holly’s spine. After her time in the forest with Garret, her body had awakened to the movements of the men around her.
Knowing that Garret could touch her in a way that made her heart soar and her body tremble only made her curious as to what the others could do. Just the thought of it brought a blush to her cheeks. This was not the sort of thing she needed to be thinking about right now.
“How many books are there?” Holly asked, forcing herself to think only of the issue at hand.
“I’ve never counted,” Keller said. “Hundreds, definitely. Possibly over a thousand.”
“All about the bear clans?” Holly gasped, stepping up to the bookshelf.
“Oh, no.” Keller chuckled. “Many of these are from Pearl’s personal collection.” He passed her a book. It wasn’t an old tome, but a flimsy, well-read paperback. The cover depicted a woman in a loosened corset riding a horse in front of a handsome shirtless man. It was a dime-store romance novel.
“Wow.” Holly giggled. “I wonder how many of these Pearl has hidden.”
“That entire panel conceals a shelf full of them.” Johnny pointed across the room.
“And how do you know that?” Keller asked.
“A man can’t enjoy a romance novel?” Johnny shrugged. “They all have tiny print. I used to read them to Pearl when her eyes started to go.”
Holly’s eyes went wide. “That must’ve been an experience.”
“Holly.” Johnny turned to her. “I swear I did not read smut to your grandmother.”
“I didn’t say you did.” She put her hands up. “But if you did, that’s weird.”
“I didn’t. I paraphrased those scenes,” he said.
“Whatever you say.” She struggled not to laugh.
“Can you go back to thinking of me as a manipulative liar?” Johnny said. “That’s easier to cope with than having you think I read softcore porn to Pearl on a regular basis.” He shuddered as the words came out.
Holly knew he was telling the truth, but this was just too damn fun. “Oh, don’t worry. I think of you as both.” She grinned.
Johnny met her gaze, finding humor in her eyes. He shook his head and walked away but not before offering a small smile.
“Okay,” Keller said slowly. “If we’re ready to move past...whatever the hell that was, I’ve found a few volumes containing bear clan myths and legends. The maiden is bound to be mentioned. Let’s start filling in those gaps.”
“Studying mythology is a pain in the ass,” Holly muttered. “There’s no way to fact check, it’s told across dozens of mediums, and cultural splits can create multiple versions of the same story. Even if we fill in the blanks, there’s no promise any of it is accurate.”
“You sound like you’ve done this kind of thing
