Page 4 of Beauty and the Beastmaster

After being directed into town instead of away from it, and taking a short nap in her car, she’d gotten her gas and then decided to grab a bite to eat at the bakery down the street. The owner there had taken a liking to Mia, and had admired Gabi’s hair. One thing led to another, Gabi mentioned that she’d once worked as a hairdresser, and Ivy had mentioned the town hairdresser wanted to retire but couldn’t find anyone to take her place, and now… here she was.

No one seemed to mind paying cash. She’d never had anyone question that request; they didn’t even seem to find it odd. For a while Gabi and Mia had lived in the room over the beauty shop, but last fall they’d moved into a small house near Mike and Cindy Benedict. The rent was outrageously low, and Cindy sometimes babysat, so — win-win.

Would Cindy want to watch Mia once her own baby was born?

Gabi thought of that now and then, but she didn’t worry about it. She and her baby were safe. They’d made a life here. No one would find her. How could they? She had no bank account, no social media presence, no ties that might point anyone in her direction. She’d been using a fake last name since stopping here, but she’d kept her own first name, and Mia’s. If she’d realized they’d be here so long maybe she would’ve changed those, too, but it was too late for that. She hadn’t filed taxes last year and wouldn’t this year. She hated that; she’d never been what anyone would call a rule-breaker, much less a lawbreaker, but there was no way around it.

There was a phone — a really old landline — in the shop she could use if she needed one, and the grocery store had a rack of disposable pre-paid phones near the register. Not that she’d been tempted to buy one. Who would she call?

There would be challenges ahead; she knew that. She’d handle them as they came. To worry about the future was a waste of time.

She literally lived one day at a time.

The dogs, and Silas, ran in the other direction, heading back toward his place. He was the veterinarian and animal control specialist for Mystic Springs. Some called him the critter guy, but not Gabi. That nickname was too undignified for a man like him.

One of the dogs headed to the beauty shop entrance. It was the same bloodhound that had decided to rest on her business’s doorstep almost every day for the past two weeks. Before that it had just wandered over on rare occasion, and had obediently returned when Silas called.

Other dogs had dropped out of the pack and been replaced by newcomers as the months went by, but the bloodhound stayed.

For the past week or so when the bloodhound stopped at her door, Silas came to fetch him rather than moving on and calling out to the disobedient dog. He’d look inside, nod in Gabi’s direction, and sometimes even smile. She had no choice but to return the greeting of a simple nod, an acknowledgement of one person to another. She’d even caught herself smiling. Not that she intended to, it just happened. A couple of days ago she’d gone to the door to make sure everything was okay, and she’d asked for the dog’s name. Judge. Looking at that somber face, the name seemed appropriate.

Sometimes her heart would leap a little when she saw Silas. He did have a great voice. Deep but not too deep. Smooth, somehow, but not polished. And to be honest, there was something about his smile and those dark eyes that made her clench and tingle where she hadn’t been touched in a very long time. When that happened, she made herself remember their one, bad date.

Her mantra became, I don’t need a man. I don’t need a man.

What she really meant was she couldn’t trust a man. Not any one of them, no matter how much they made her tingle.

Silas looked down and chastised Judge, then opened the door to Gabi’s shop. “Got anything this afternoon? I could use a trim.”

His dark hair was getting a little long, but why now? Why not keep going to whatever barbershop or salon he’d been going to? “It looks fine to me,” she said casually.

Eyebrows lifted slightly.

Gabi sighed. It didn’t make sense for her to refuse to cut his hair. Might as well get it over with. “I have an opening at two.”

He nodded and left, running to catch up with his dogs. Judge followed. The bloodhound glanced back once. Silas did not.

“I don’t need a man,” Gabi whispered. “I don’t want a man.”

The tingle that worked its way through her body called her a liar.

* * *

Silas ran toward home, the pack a short distance ahead and Judge trotting along beside him, only occasionally veering off to investigate an interesting smell or noise. He himself felt the stir of smaller animals, birds, even insects who were drawn to him, who were disturbed by his presence. They didn’t move close, not without invitation, but they connected to him on a level no one outside Mystic Springs could ever understand.

With a scowl on his face, Silas looked down at the bloodhound who once again ran beside him. “What is it about the beauty shop that makes you stop there nearly every damn day?” Something was up. The dog had been drawn to the beauty shop well before Jenna had mentioned Gabi’s name and Silas’s part of her scheme.

Judge didn’t answer. He was too caught up in the exhilaration of the run, the smell of the woods, a squirrel not too far away.

Silas had been mulling over Jenna’s request for the past week. February had gone and March had arrived, while he’d pondered. Like many in town, he saw the appeal of complete isolation. Not everyone agreed which is why Jenna and Donnie, and whoever else they were working with — they’d kept that information to themselves — wanted to keep their plan quiet.

According to Jenna it would be Silas’s job to get Gabi Lawson out of town, to make sure she and her kid were well away from the town limits when the spell went down. Did she know about their one date months ago? If she knew much about that night, she would’ve gone to someone else.

Clint’s new wife had been certain he and Gabi would be well suited. She’d wanted to play matchmaker and had been very disappointed their dinner together hadn’t been more successful. Neither of them had wanted to be there. Gabi wasn’t chatty and neither was he. When he’d gotten the phone call about the bats in Lilian’s attic it had almost been a relief.

It had been stupid of him to suggest they try again. At least she’d been smart enough to shut him down.

He had less than three weeks until the equinox. It would arrive at a late hour, which meant getting Gabi out of town for the day wouldn’t do the trick. Jenna wanted all the Non-Springers gone before she cast the spell that would isolate Mystic Springs and the people who lived here.