O'Malley: Summer (Shifter Seasons Book 7) Read online

  “Normally I would tell him to get it himself but since you are a friend of O’Brian’s from his Army days...” Elvie swept away from them with a dramatic swish of her long skirt.

  “You found your mate.” O’Malley looked up at O’Brian and a warm rush of love for his old friend swept over him.

  “I did. I came here to find myself. There is an ancient path that men follow to leave behind who they were and find who they are. I walked that path and walked right into Elvie who was here for the same reason. It was as if fate had guided us here at the same time and so we decided to stay.” He showed them to a couple of worn-out chairs. “We live a simple life, but that life is filled with love and happiness.”

  “No one can ask for more.” O’Malley took Hannah’s hand. She’d hardly said a word since they’d been invited in.

  “Is that what Karl was looking for?” she finally asked.

  “It is. We’d been in contact for some time. Then suddenly he asked if he could come and visit.” O’Brian shrugged. “I said of course.”

  “And you told him about the pilgrim’s path?” Hannah asked as Elvie brought a tray with a pitcher and four cups.

  “He already knew. He said he’d been thinking over his life and he wanted to change, to forge a new life. I think he hoped he might find his woman here, too.” O’Brian smiled kindly at Hannah. “I’m not implying he was unhappy. Only that he wanted to settle down and have a family. Something that had eluded him.”

  “Karl never really talked about having a family.” Tears misted Hannah’s eyes. “He kept his emotions bottled up.”

  O’Brian picked up the pitcher and poured a deep amber liquid into each of the four glasses while Elvie rattled around in the small kitchen area in the room beyond. She came back to her mate carrying a tray filled with fruit and cheese and a loaf of fresh bread.

  “Here. Drink this. It soon loosens your tongue and unbottles your emotions.” O’Brian passed the cups around.

  “So you got Karl drunk?” O’Malley asked, taking a sip of his drink. “Warming.” It was like a spiced mead made with wild mountain honey, if he wasn’t mistaken. “This is the drink of a bear shifter.” He raised his cup to O’Brian.

  “Oh, you are a bear?” Hannah asked in surprise.

  “He is, a big old bear,” Elvie said and tugged on her mate’s beard.

  “Elvie is a snow leopard.” O’Brian kissed her on the cheek. “O’Malley here is a cougar.”

  “Good to meet another cat.” Elvie looked at Hannah. “And you are not a shifter.”

  “No, I’m not. I just a plain old human.” She took a sip of her drink and licked her lips, savoring the taste.

  “There is nothing plain or old about you,” Elvie assured her. “Since you have captured this cat shifter, there must be something very special about you.”

  “I haven’t captured anyone,” Hannah replied but she shot a questioning look at O’Malley.

  “Oh, I thought you two were mates.” Elvie’s eyes narrowed as she watched O’Malley closely.

  “Are we mates?” Hannah’s direct question knocked him sideways and he took a large gulp of his drink as he tried to formulate an answer.

  “Of course you are,” O’Brian did the answering for O’Malley. “I could see it the moment I set eyes on the two of you.”

  “We haven’t gotten around to talking about it yet,” O’Malley told his friend.

  “Then let’s talk about it right now.” O’Brian refilled all their cups and O’Malley picked up a piece of bread and cut a chunk of cheese in the hope it might blot up some of the alcohol that was threading its way through his veins. O’Brian wasn’t wrong, the liquor did seem to make his tongue loose in his mouth.

  “O’Brian, leave these two people alone. They can talk about things when they are good and ready.” Elvie’s warning to her husband was met with a cowed expression from O’Brian. “The man hardly gets to meet anyone new. And since he already knows all the business of everyone in the village, he is like a child in a candy store when new people arrive here.”

  O’Brian shook his head. “You make me sound like the town gossip.”

  “You are the town gossip, my love.” Elvie looked at her husband with such devotion, it made O’Malley’s heart tighten in his chest.

  “Can we talk about Norton?” O’Malley steered the conversation back to the real reason he and Hannah were seated at the table with one of his old soldier buddies.

  Who would ever have thought that O’Brian would have settled in a small town like this? his cougar asked. The guy was always the life and soul of the party. I would never have expected him to come here on a pilgrimage to find himself.

  We all hide who we truly are and what we truly need, O’Malley answered.

  “Norton. Karl. Yes, we kept in touch a little after I left the Army.” O’Brian frowned. “When we were serving together, he asked me a couple of direct questions about shifters.”

  “He knows I am a shifter,” O’Malley said. “He saw me shift when I rescued someone in an ambush.”

  “Ah, that might explain it.” O’Brian glanced at Hannah. “Don’t get me wrong, I like your brother, it was just strange.”

  “At least someone liked him,” Hannah said pointedly at O’Malley.

  “Oh.” O’Brian chuckled. “I remember now. You and Norton did have a prickly relationship. It started when you beat him at poker that time.”

  “It did?” O’Malley asked.

  “Karl is a great poker player, he used to beat everyone all the time back home.” Hannah took a sip of her drink she was barely touching. Probably because she wanted to keep a clear head and not allow the alcohol to loosen her tongue.

  Which is probably a good idea, his cougar warned.

  “He might have been great back home, but I beat him fair and square,” O’Malley recalled the incident. The squad hadn’t been together long, and Norton had beaten everyone until O’Malley took him on. Norton’s frustration at losing had bordered on anger. They had gone from the best of three to the best of five. Finally, Norton had reluctantly admitted defeat.

  I don’t think he ever played again, his cougar said. At least not with the squad.

  “So, you kept in contact and then you came here.” Hannah was trying to keep them all focused on Norton.

  “Yes. I came here to find myself and found Elvie instead,” O’Brian glanced at his wife adoringly. “Although, in finding her, I did find myself. The self who was happy to live off the land and raise a brood of children.”

  “It’s a good life,” Elvie nodded. “Simple but good.”

  “Norton asked to visit you here?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes, we spoke on the phone one time and he asked if he could come here. I think he was in a dark place, not sure what he wanted to do with his life and where he fit into it.” O’Brian glanced at O’Malley. “You will agree that is a familiar feeling when you leave the forces.”

  “It is.” O’Malley swirled the liquor around in his glass. “I opened my bar. I poured everything into it. O’Malley’s and building up my own business kept me sane.”

  “I didn’t know Karl felt that way,” Hannah admitted. “He always had a plan. Sometimes it was work, sometimes it was traveling.” She looked toward the door, her eyes unfocused. “Although, the jobs never lasted long, and he would take off for weeks at a time to see the world. He never settled at anything for too long.”

  “I think in those times he was trying to find himself. The part of him that was a free-thinking individual.” O’Brian sighed, looking suddenly tired.

  “I think we should all get some sleep.” Elvie finished her drink and began clearing the remains of the food from the table. “Tomorrow with clear heads is the time for talk. We will make a plan and go find Karl.”

  “We don’t expect you to come with us,” Hannah assured them.

  “We can talk about it tomorrow,” Elvie repeated.

  The hour was late, and the lady of the house had spoken. As O’Mal
ley got unsteadily to his feet, his only thought now was that O’Brian had said there was a bed he and Hannah could share. Singular.

  Did this mean he was about to spend his first night by his mate’s side?

  Chapter Ten – Hannah

  Hannah almost giggled as she saw the bed. It wasn’t exactly big, and it didn’t exactly look comfortable, but she figured at this point she could sleep anywhere. And it was good of O’Brian and Elvie to offer them somewhere to sleep.

  “It’s not much,” Elvie said as she bustled into the room with clean sheets. “But it’s more comfortable than it looks.”

  Hannah went to the bed, which looked as if it was made of pallets and dried straw, covered in a white sheet. Placing her hand on the mattress, she then turned around and carefully lowered herself onto it. “You’re right. Very comfortable.”

  “O’Brian has spent more than a few nights on that mattress.” Elvie’s eyes misted with tears as she looked over her shoulder. The two men were still talking in low voices, not about Karl, but about the time they served together. “My husband still has demons he cannot conquer, except when he has had too much liquor.”

  “I’m sorry.” Hannah’s experience with her father and brother left her able to empathize with Elvie. The demons of the past were real to many soldiers. Did O’Malley have the same demons?

  “It’s not your fault.” Elvie placed the clean sheets down and began making up the bed.

  Hannah wearily stood up and helped. “It must be easier, with you both being shifters.” She glanced sideways at Elvie. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked such an intrusive question.”

  Elvie straightened up. “In some ways yes. I suppose.” She brushed Hannah’s hair back as it fell forward when she bent down to pull the sheet over the bed. “O’Malley is one of the good ones. I hope you can see that.”

  Hannah stood up and looked Elvie in the eyes. “I can. I’ve only known him….” She arched her eyebrow. “I’ve known him less than a day and he has dropped everything for me and come halfway around the world to help me look for my brother.” She wiped her hand over her eyes. “This is crazy.”

  “No, it’s not. You love your brother and O’Malley loves you.”

  “Loves me?” Hannah shook her head. “You heard the part about us knowing each other for less than a day.”

  “You two are mates. You know it in your heart. He knows it in his heart. It’s love. You just don’t recognize it as such.” Elvie went back to making the bed. “At least not yet. But you will.”

  “And there is no mistaking that feeling? For a shifter?”

  “Oh, no.” Elvie’s face lit up, her eyes were filled with love. It was like a pure light that shone from her. “If that is what you are worried about then forget it. There is no mistake. None.”

  She said it with such conviction that all Hannah’s doubts and fears were brushed away. “I wish I could feel that way.”

  “You just need to open your heart and believe in him. Believe in what you truly feel.” Elvie cocked her head to one side. “You are Army stock, am I right?”

  “Yes. My grandfather, my dad, my brother. They have all served their country.” Hannah swallowed down the lump of emotion welling in her throat. “My mom died when I was just out of high school.”

  “I’m sorry.” Elvie pulled her into a warm hug, reminding Hannah of when her mom used to hold her.

  “I picked up the pieces. I tried to put them all back together.” Hannah hiccupped as she fought her tears.

  “And you are still trying which is why you are here to find your brother,” Elvie murmured.

  “Yes.”

  Elvie took a step back and placed her surprisingly strong hands on Hannah’s upper arms. “Did anyone ever help to put you back together?”

  The air puffed out of Hannah’s lungs. “No.”

  “O’Malley will. He’ll gather up each small piece and make you whole if you let him.” Elvie gave a small laugh and let Hannah go. As she continued to make the bed, she said, “The pieces will never all go back the same. You must have found that with your family. Parts get lost, they get misshapen, but you learn to be whole without them.” She looked toward the two men. “Until the liquor lets the demons loose.”

  “Thanks, Elvie. For the bed and for the talk.” Hannah hadn’t ever opened up to another person about her feelings. Perhaps O’Brian’s alcoholic brew hadn’t loosened her tongue but it had loosened something else. The part she kept hidden away. Her emotional self.

  When her mom had died that was how she’d coped, she’d quashed her own feelings and emotions as she helped her father and brother cope with theirs.

  “You are most welcome.” Elvie smoothed her hands over the clean bed and then walked toward the door. “As you look for your brother, you will walk the same walk he walked. The walk countless pilgrims have taken as they try to find themselves.”

  “And maybe I will find myself?” Hannah asked, unsure of who she really was.

  “Maybe. You’ve already found a part of yourself. You and O’Malley will do just fine.” Elvie slipped from the room, leaving Hannah alone with the bed.

  One bed. Hannah walked around that one bed. It wasn’t big. There would be enough room for her and O’Malley, but it would be a squeeze.

  “I can sleep on the floor.” O’Malley stood in the doorway.

  She jumped, flustered by the man who was her mate. Embarrassed that he had read her thoughts. “No, I’m sure we can fit.”

  Hannah couldn’t look at him. She didn’t completely understand this whole mates process. What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to behave? If he knew that she believed they were mates, would he expect them to consummate their relationship?

  Mated. Her cheeks flamed red as she imagined being in bed with O’Malley, of his hands on her body, his fingers stroking her skin.

  “I’ve slept in worse places,” he assured her as he stepped into the room.

  “I’m sure you have but we have a long day tomorrow and I’d rather we both got a good night’s sleep. Anyway, I think the tent is probably smaller than this bed.” She busied herself doing nothing. Plumping up the pillows and then straightening the quilt as she hid her flaming red cheeks from him. “So we’d better get used to being in such close proximity.”

  “I’ll go grab the packs.” O’Malley slipped silently out of the room and Hannah let out her pent-up breath. She could do this. She could lie by his side and sleep.

  Or would she be tempted to touch him, to stroke his skin pulled tautly over his toned muscles?

  “Here are the backpacks.” O’Malley dumped the two packs on the floor and crouched down to open his up.

  Hannah stood as if frozen, watching him move. Maybe she should step outside into the cold mountain air. That would be the same as taking a cold shower, right?

  She shivered and O’Malley glanced up at her. This wasn’t going to work unless she forced herself to behave naturally. Hadn’t she done that after her mom died? She’d forced herself to act normal, to sound normal, even as her heart broke and her soul shriveled up.

  Hannah shuffled forward, grabbed her pack and pulled it toward her as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Unclipping the clasps holding the flap closed, she took out her toothbrush, although she had no idea where she was supposed to brush her teeth. Did the house have a bathroom?

  “This way.” O’Malley stood up. “O’Brian showed me where they wash…and everything.”

  Hannah gave a small laugh. “Outside plumbing?”

  “Not quite.” O’Malley inclined his head toward the door. “Come on.”

  She followed him out of the bedroom. There was a small room with a door leading into it from both inside the house and outside. It was basic but functional. Hannah needed to get used to basic once they were trekking across the mountain.

  A sudden panic caused her heart to flutter and her stomach to flip. Sleeping in a bed next to O’Malley would soon be the least of her worries.

  They we
nt back to their room. Sleep was already creeping up on Hannah as she quickly undressed while O’Malley went to fetch a couple of glasses of water. She slid into bed and pulled the covers up around her chin just as he reappeared at the doorway.

  “Here, drink this, it’ll hopefully counteract the effects of the alcohol in O’Brian’s homemade brew.” He handed her a glass of water.

  “Thanks. It was strong. I didn’t drink it all, I hope he isn’t offended.” Hannah shuffled up the bed and sat up, her back against the wall. Sipping her water, she tried not to stare as O’Malley stripped down to his shorts and slid under the covers.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked as he rested his head against the wall and drank his glass of water. “I don’t mind the floor.”

  “It’s cold out there.” Hannah was grateful for the heat emanating from his body. Perhaps that was a shifter thing.

  Or an O’Malley thing. Everything about the guy was hot.

  “It’ll be colder on the mountain, especially at night.” He finished his water and placed the glass down by the side of the bed. “O’Brian offered for you to stay here with Elvie while he and I go and search for Karl.”

  “Oh.” She stared down at the cool water in her glass. “I guess that makes sense since the two of you are shifters and can cover more ground.”

  “That’s true. But I told him you wanted to do this yourself.” O’Malley fixed her with a look that seemed to bore right into her brain. “This is important to you.”

  “This is my pilgrimage.” She looked up at him and their eyes locked together. For the longest time, neither of them spoke.

  “I already told him thanks, but no thanks.” O’Malley took the glass from her and placed it down next to his. Slipping down the bed, he rested his head on the plump pillow but didn’t take his eyes off her. “I thought that would be what you wanted.”

  “It is,” she confirmed. “Elvie said that maybe this is all happening for a reason.”

  “Maybe it is.” He patted her pillow. “Sleep. We have an early start tomorrow.”

  Hannah snuggled down next to him, her elbow brushing against his ribs as she tried to get comfortable. The nearness of him was going to make it impossible to sleep. All she could think about was reaching out and touching him, of pressing her lips to his and trailing her fingertips down his chest.