Page 3 of Garr

“To The Well. I’m not letting him get drunk and start a fight with the entire bar. It would take all of us to calm that bastard down, and I am not in the mood.”

CHAPTER TWO

Five years later…

“Macie, it’s good to see you,” smiled Garr.

“Garr, it’s nice to see you,” she grinned. She was fucking gorgeous. Curves like a winding road, full breasts, narrow waist, and all that damn hair flying in her face.

“So,” he said, clearing his throat, “are you done with school?”

“No. I’m finishing my master’s, then I’m going to get my PhD.”

“In music?” he asked.

“No. I mean, I love music, and I love playing with Mom and the others when I’m home, but I don’t want that as my job. I’m getting a degree in weapons engineering, just like Montana. She’s always been my inspiration and she’s been a great mentor for me. During the summers, I’ve been working at G.R.I.P.”

“No shit?” he smirked.

“No shit,” she laughed. “You were just never home to see me. A bunch of us are headed out to The Well. Are you coming?”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure,” he nodded, surprising himself.

They took several of the boats to the bar that had been visited by Belle Fleur boys and girls for generations. The food was just simple bar food in south Louisiana, but the beer was cold, the music was hot, and the dancing was so much fun.

At first, Garr didn’t ask Macie to dance, but when he noticed that every other man in the place was asking her, he couldn’t sit still any longer.

“How about a dance, Macie?” he said, holding out his hand.

“About time you asked, Garr,” she smiled.

The band immediately began playing a slow tune, and Garr wanted to shoot them all. Slow meant holding her close, smelling her, feeling her against him. Her fragrance filled his nostrils, and he couldn’t let her go. Not for the next song or the one following that. He held her all night until they left with the others.

“I leave to head back to base tomorrow,” he said, walking with her to her family’s cottage. “If I give you my e-mail, will you write?”

“I’d be honored,” she said, smiling at him. “Take care of yourself, and come home soon, okay?”

“You too.”

She stood on her toes, kissing his cheek, and he grinned at her. He wanted desperately to take her mouth, taste her, make her his, but it was too soon, too early, too everything!

Garr kept his promise to Macie, writing to her and waiting for her responses. They talked about everything. Things that were happening in her graduate program, things that were happening at home, and how wonderful their night of dancing was for both of them.

They would try to coordinate coming home for holidays, and sometimes their days would overlap, and sometimes they wouldn’t. It always seemed as though there were far too many people around them to truly enjoy time alone.

Retired and working full-time for Voodoo Guardians, he smiled when she walked into the cafeteria with her parents. He knew that she was coming home for good, starting her new job at G.R.I.P., and he knew that now they could truly start getting to know one another. Although in truth, they’d known one another her entire life.

When Mama Irene recruited everyone for the holiday decorating, they were more than happy to team up on the trees in the cafeteria. The big tents were going up, someone was working on the Sugar Lodge, and everything smelled like Christmas.

Beast III was always at the feet of Macie. Just like the original Beast who defended and protected Macie’s mother, this one was determined to do the same. Macie wondered if the dog could sense their family connection, then just shook it off.

“Hey, you haven’t told me what you want for Christmas,” said Garr. Macie laughed at him, shaking her head. “What? Is that funny?”

“No. It’s not funny at all.”

“Well, then, what do you want for Christmas?” he asked. Macie set down the box of ornaments and took Garr’s hand, pulling him behind the tree. “Macie? What are you doing?”

“Garr, don’t you think it’s time you did more than just kiss me on the cheek?” He stared at her, wide-eyed, unsure of how to respond. “I mean, do you even like me like that? Do you want to be more than just friends?”

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