I followed Eli up the road to where his home was. The older man questioned me pretty extensively on who I was and how long I would be here. I could tell that he was very concerned for Grace's safety. He stopped at the end of his driveway and turned to me, "Sam I hope you understand where I'm coming from. I only want to see to the safety of Grace and with you being new here and then the slaughtering of my cattle…" I held up my hands and nodded to him, "Mr. Eli I certainly understand you being protective of Grace. I also understand your apprehension over me being here and being an outsider and then all of this happening all at the same time. I assure you that I mean no harm toward Grace. I will protect her if anything should happen while I'm here."
Eli reached up to stroke his beard as I talked before nodding, "I believe you Sam. You seem to be an honest man so until I see otherwise I will trust you. As far as Grace goes she is like a daughter to me. Her Pa and I were friends for years you see." I ran my fingers through my hair and nodded my head once, "I understand Eli. Now let's take a look at those cattle." Eli turned and headed up the driveway then before stopping halfway up and climbing nimbly over the wooden fence. I followed him easily until we stopped at the edge of the woods where the grass had been turned bloody by the slaughtering of six head of cattle.
I began to walk around the mess and examine it as well as I could from the safety of the blood free grass. Eli stood in one spot with his hands in his pockets and watching me. When I circled around to the back of the carnage I was able to look at that cow closer. It appeared as if the heart had been ripped out. I was fairly sure we were dealing with a werewolf and I knew that last night had been the last full moon. That also meant that I would have to hang out around here for a month until the next full moon to catch this thing. I stood up and cleared my throat, "I think I know what we're dealing with here but I'm going to need to do some research. It may require me to be here a while. I'm going to get back to Grace's and talk to her about how long I may need to stay."
With that said I shook Eli's hand and headed back up the road to the inn. The walk was not really far but the sun was unusually hot for September. Soon I was back at the inn where I found Grace picking a few last vegetables from the garden. She placed the vegetables in a basket sitting on the ground and stood to walk toward me as I neared.
When I looked up from picking the last of the tomatoes and cucumbers I saw Sam walking toward me. His blue tee shirt was wet with sweat and his hair was sticking to his neck. I had a sudden realization that there were butterflies flitting around in my stomach at the sight of him. He had such an easy way about him that it didn't matter to me that he was an Englisher or that I had found the weapons in his room. "Hi Sam. You look like you're a little warm." Well that was a crazy thing to say. Of course he is warm, he's just walked from Eli's house to here. Sam smiled sweetly and I felt those butterflies stir again at the sight of his dimples.
"It is very warm for September isn't it? I see you're still getting a few vegetables. Are you going to do something with those later?" I picked up the basket and let him see the tomatoes and cucumbers, "I thought I would do a little salad with these. Do you like cucumber salad? I have an onion that I can cut up to add with these." Sam ran his large hand through his damp hair. I noticed that it curled a little on the ends when it was damp and I struggled with my feelings. "I haven't had cucumber salad but I think I would like to try it." "Alright then it's settled. Why don't you go and clean up and I'll finish fixing lunch, then we can talk." I had a sense that he wanted to tell me something. I'm not sure why I had that sense but it was there. "That sounds like a really good idea. I won't be long." I caught myself watching as he sauntered toward the house. I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. I missed Eric terribly and it was times like this that brought it out the worst.
After we had lunch I asked Grace if she would like to go for a buggy ride. I had noticed a buggy in one corner of the barn the other day and since the day had cooled a great deal I thought a ride would be nice. "So I noticed the buggy in the barn the other day. Would you like for me to hitch the horse to it and we can go for a little ride. Maybe you can pack a picnic and we'll stop somewhere and enjoy a little snack." I looked at Grace as her gaze fluttered up to mine, "Ummmm…..sure that sounds nice. Do you know how to harness the horse?" I smiled a little and lowered my gaze for a second before answering, "I think I can manage."
When Grace had packed the picnic basket she walked down the steps from the porch to the buggy that I had waiting on her. I took the basket from her and gave her my hand so she could climb the steps and take her seat. I soon joined her, taking the reins and urging the horse forward. It had cooled off considerably and there was a pretty good little breeze. The horse clipped along at a good pace as we traveled. Grace pointed out local landmarks and where the best places were to get baked goods and even furniture. "Let's turn here. I know there is a good place to stop." I followed her instructions and I was glad she had suggested it. This place was beautiful!
I parked the buggy and helped Grace down before reaching into the back and grabbing the basket. Grace opened the basket and took a large quilt from it, placing it under a huge oak tree she sat and then patted the quilt beside her, "Come on and get comfy." She folded her legs under her demurely and I joined her, laying my long legs out in front of me. "So I went out and looked at those cattle. I'm afraid that I may have to bother you by being in your inn for a while longer. Maybe even a month or more.", I was afraid that Grace wouldn't want me hanging out that long. "I would be more than happy to help around the ranch since I know you haven't had a man around to do the heavy stuff in a while."
Grace looked down at her hands and then back up at me. "I would be honored to have you in my inn for as long as you need to stay. And you know I could use a man's help. What about your brother? Will you be looking for him as well?" I cleared my throat, "I have a feeling he's holed up somewhere with a woman. He tends to be a bit of a ladies' man." Grace blushed prettily and looked away. After a second she looked at me again, "If he's as handsome as you are I'm sure I can see how he would appeal to the ladies." I didn't know what to say to that so I simply smiled at her for a long second before I bit the bullet and leaned forward. Placing my finger below her chin I turned her face toward mine and leaned in slowly until my lips met hers. I felt a jolt of electricity as our lips joined.
Just as soon as our lips parted and I felt myself being lost in her green eyes, a crack of thunder sounded above us. Pulling away quickly we looked up just in time to see a menacing dark cloud being blown in our direction. "We should get back to the inn and quickly. That storm will overtake us before we make it back I'm afraid.", Grace said as she stood and grabbed the basket of food. I followed her after I grabbed up the quilt and slung it over my arm. I helped her into the buggy and then climbed in behind her just as the large drops of rain began pelting the earth around us.
