Page 14 of Goldie and Her Bears (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 3)

“That is the question of the day, isn’t it?” Kai said. “If you can’t make yourself useful, I suggest you give us room to work. You’re distracting me with all your questions.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I’m told about what happened.”

“We don’t know what happened,” Kai snapped.

I snorted. “Well, with the way you treated her yesterday, I can hardly blame her for wanting to leave, but the question is why. Jasper, didn’t you tell her you would take her to her family’s cabin today?”

“I did,” he said, voice straining from his concentration. “But clearly, that wasn’t good enough.”

His head nodded toward Kai in a barely noticeable motion.

“Don’t look at me. I didn’t do anything,” Kai said, standing on the defensive.

“No? You did plenty when you behaved the way you did with her,” I said.

“Oh, so this is my fault?” Kai asked, stepping back from Cassie’s leg and tossing the rag onto the back of the couch. He glared at me with disdain in his eyes. Almost as though he dared me to blame him again.

“Well, you did go after her,” Jasper said. “All because she came into our home and slept in your bed.”

“And you almost shifted in front of her,” I added. “After literally dragging her into this very room.”

“But if you had a little more compassion, and reacted much calmer, she might not have decided to take matters into her own hands and leave,” Jasper finished.

“Unbelievable!” Kai snapped as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re honestly blaming me for this? I’m not the asshole who put the traps out there!”

“No, but you’re just as guilty,” I said.

“Look, I didn’t force her to leave in the middle of the night and get caught in a bear trap. She did that on her own. It’s not my fault she’s too stupid to learn the dangers of the woods. She was better off not coming here in the first place. You two are the ones ogling over her like two sick puppies.”

“Watch it, Kai,” Jasper warned.

“Or what?” Kai challenged.

I sighed. This was going nowhere fast. At least nowhere conducive to Cassie’s healing. “Enough. You have just as much fault in this. Yes, she was careless. But you didn’t exactly help to make her feel welcomed. As usual, you push everyone away. Have you done it enough now? Are you satisfied?”

“I didn’t ask her to leave and hurt herself! I carried her all the way here. Is that not enough for you two? Does that not mean anything?” Kai’s defensive tone bounced off the walls of the cabin.

Both Jasper and I stared at him for a moment.

“Screw you.” Kai switched his gaze between the two of us. “Screw both of you and the stupid girl.”

He turned around and stomped down the hall to his room. Minutes later, he stormed out of the front door, further cracking the wood in it. I was surprised it closed all the way. It would have to be replaced, but for right now, Cassie’s leg needed the attention. The sooner the wounds are sealed up, the sooner she would stop losing blood.

“You mentioned calling Marcus?” Jasper said, voice full of worry. “Now would be a good time. I can’t get the bleeding to stop.”

I nodded and ran toward my cell phone on the table. I grabbed the phone and started to dial his number as a letter caught my eyes. It sat with the pen on it. I set the phone back on the table and picked up the letter.

“Hey, Jasper…” I said, turning around and facing him.

“What?” he asked as he continued to work.

“She left us a letter,” I said.

“What do you mean?” he asked, pausing in his sewing to press a rag against still seeping wounds. He settled his gaze on me this time.

I held up the letter and read the short and sweet words she had penned before rushing out in the middle of the night. “She felt like her trip was a huge mistake. She mentions everything ending in disaster and wanted to spare us that heartache of more mistakes, so she left. She apologizes for leaving in the middle of the night and invites us to coffee if we are ever in Seattle.”

Jasper sighed. “Fucking Kai.”

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