Mystical Xmas: Paranormal Romance Anthology Box Set Read online

  Once Tase gets to her apartment he knocks and then walks in. Adara is on the couch with her leg propped on with a pillow on the coffee table. He walks over to her and starts to wrap her ankle.

  “Here we go. This should help it heal quicker.”

  “Thanks. You know you didn’t have to do this.”

  “I know.” Tase smiles. “So when did you move here?”

  “Just a few weeks ago. I came here because of a job, but then they laid me off.”

  “Oh, you were one of the people who came for that new corporation that was going to be starting here then huh?”

  “Yeah, turns out they decided not to do it and waited until after I moved here completely to change their minds.”

  “Wow. That was a shitty move on their end.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “So are you looking for work?” At this point, Tase has finished wrapping her ankle and has taken his jacket off to get comfortable while he talks with Adara.

  “Yeah, I haven’t been able to find anything though.”

  “Well, I can talk to my dad and see if we need an extra set of hands around the farm.”

  “That would be wonderful! Oh, wait, I don’t know anything about farming. I’m from a big city.”

  “Well, that’s okay. I can teach you.”

  Adara smiles and fidgets. She can now see how broad his shoulders are. He really is a built as she thought, but now she can’t stop wanting to see him with his shirt off.

  “I have to head back to the farm, but I will stop by tomorrow to check on you and let you know what my father says.”

  “Thanks so much.”

  With that, Tase leave and heads back to the farm.

  ♥Five♥

  Adara can’t seem to stop thinking about Tase. She thinks about the way his arms wrapped around her when he helped her get back to her apartment. They felt so strong, yet gentle. His eyes had softness to them when he spoke to her, like he was attracted to her or something. His hands were gentle as he wrapped her ankle as well. He showed compassion she has never seen in anyone else. It ran deep in his blood, and it attracted her to him more.

  She must have sat there for an hour or two just daydreaming about Tase. All she could think about was seeing him with his shirt off. She wanted to feel every muscle that was hidden underneath it. Adara wanted to feel his hands running up and down her body. She thought about what it would be like to kiss him too. She started to get a bit comfortable and moved her leg to the side sending a pain through her ankle again. It snapped her out of her fantasy.

  Adara realizes that Tase just offered to help her get a job working on his farm. How is she supposed to work if her ankle is sprained? She really hopes it’s just bruising and not sprained. She needs the job more than anything right now. Tase would just be a bonus. She couldn’t help, but smile at herself for the thought.

  Adara is starting to feel a bit better knowing that she may have a job. Not only a job, but there is a slight chance she will end up with a companion as well. Maybe she isn’t a Scrooge after all.

  She spends the rest of the night relaxing and watching movies. She really can’t do much with her ankle being mess up, but at least things are starting to look better for her now.

  Adara starts to fall asleep while watching a movie and finally decides to move. She gets up turns the movie off. While heading to the bedroom to go to sleep, Adara realizes her ankle doesn’t hurt as much as it did before. Maybe it is just bruised after all.

  ♥Six♥

  Tase has always been an early riser, it come with living on a farm, but this morning he woke up really early. Usually he woke up around five to feed the cattle and get his day going. Today he woke up at four o’clock and couldn’t wait until he could go back over to Adara’s.

  He had talked with his father about Adara helping out on the farm. His father agreed to pay her since he was getting old and they needed the extra help. He made sure to let his father know she was from a big city and would need training, which his father didn’t mind. In fact, his father said it may be comical to have a city gal learning the ropes of the farm. Tase was pleased his father was willing to help her out. Besides, his father has always enjoyed having humans around. It helps them blend in without being caught.

  Tase has already feed the cattle and plowed the roads after last night’s snow fall. It is only eight o’clock now. He is really starting to feel antsy and wants time to go by faster. He can’t wait to tell Adara his father does need help on the farm, plus he wants to see her again.

  He remembers her ankle and hopes it’s just bruised and not messed up to bad. He really wants her to start helping with the animals as soon as possible.

  After a few moments of thinking about things, Tase goes to tend to the chickens and horses. He still needs to feed the horses, and make sure no coyotes were able to get into the chicken coop.

  Tase tries to keep himself busy without thinking about Adara so the time goes by quicker. He works so hard that he almost forgot he was supposed to go back over there. After he finishes up brushing the horses and putting them back in the stables for the day, he heads back over to Adara’s to check on her ankle.

  ♥Seven♥

  Adara wakes up feeling much better today. Her ankle isn’t as sore, and she can walk better on it. She still has a bit of a limp, but it should go away in a few days. At least she hopes it does. Knowing that Tase will be coming over sometime, Adara takes a shower and gets dressed.

  She puts on her tight blue jeans, and her favorite Toby Keith shirt that hugs her body. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail and she puts on makeup. She is finally feeling like she is getting back to her old happy self, so she may as well dress like she is.

  If Tase wasn’t coming around, and she didn’t have the chance of getting a new job, she would probably lounge around the house in her pajamas all day. It has been what she has done since she lost her other job.

  No time for that now though, she has a hunk to impress and a possible job. For the first time in a month things are starting to look up for her. Christmas is just two weeks away and she wants to be able to enjoy her holiday without being depressed or angry.

  Once she is done getting ready she hears a knock on the door. Tase must be here already and it’s only twelve. It looks like she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t wait.

  She heads over and opens the door; sure enough, Tase is standing on the other side.

  “Good afternoon.” She greets him.

  “Good afternoon, to you too.” Tase replies while walking in. “It looks like you are walking better now.”

  “Um, yeah. It doesn’t hurt as much today.”

  “Good, hopefully you will be fine in the next few days.”

  “I hope so.”

  “So, I talked with my father and he has agreed to hire you.”

  “Really! That’s wonderful! When do I start?”

  “Whoa! Slow down killer. We need you walking better before you start. I was thinking Monday. It gives you the next four days to let your ankle rest.”

  “Oh yeah, okay. I should let it heal first.” Adara says remembering her injured ankle.

  “I wanted to give you a tour of the farm though. Do you feel up to it?”

  “I would love to see it!” Adara exclaims.

  “Great! We can head out as soon as you are ready.”

  “Okay, just let me grab my jacket.”

  With that they headed out to the farm. Tase lived on the other side of town, about six miles from main street. His family owned a good hundred and twelve acres with over twenty horses, about thirty cattle, and god only knows how many chickens. Adara is in for a surprise when sees how many animals and how much land needs tending too.

  ♥Eight♥

  Tase can see the excitement on Adara’s face as they pull into the property. She is smiling and looking around like a kid would in a candy store. He keeps pulling up into the circular driveway in front of the house and puts the truck in park. He gets
out and heads over to Adara’s side and opens the door. Once Adara gets out of the truck she looks at the house in amazement.

  It is an old ranch house that sits two stories high. It’s red with white trim, has a matching barn off to the side, and is on the front side of the property. Adara love it already and she hasn’t even seen the rest of the property.

  Tase takes her inside and shows her the house first. It is beautiful. Everything is made out of real cherry hardwood and is all original from when the house was first built. The décor is earthly and simple. It has the typical farm equipment throughout and is well taken care of. She had no idea that a house could be kept in such pristine condition for over a hundred years. It is amazing.

  After the tour of the house Tase takes Adara out back to show her the chicken coop. She can see a man and woman working over by it in the barn. As they walk over the woman approaches them.

  “So Tase, this is our new hand?”

  “Yes ma’am, this is Adara. She will be starting Monday. I just wanted to give her a tour of the property before she starts.”

  “Well, nice to meet you Adara. I’m Mrs. Doubleton and this is my husband Mr. Doubleton.”

  “It’s nice to meet the both of you. Thanks so much for this opportunity.”

  “It’s not a problem dear. We needed some help around here anyway with us getting up in age.”

  “I understand.”

  “Well, I’ll let you two be off. Tase honey, don’t forget to get your father’s leather strip when you head back to town.”

  “I won’t momma. I’ll be back later tonight with it.”

  Tase and Adara headed over to the chicken coop. He showed her what to look for to make sure no coyotes got in and killed any chickens. He also showed her how to collect eggs and feed them. After they finished up there they headed further back into the property toward the horses and cattle. It was a bit of a walk, but Adara’s ankle was still doing okay and she was enjoying the time on the farm. There was a lot to remember, but she was sure they wouldn’t be hard on her once she started. It was definitely going to be a new experience for her though.

  ♥Nine♥

  “So, your mom seemed really nice.”

  “Yeah, she loves meeting new people and is happy that we will have help around her now.”

  “Yeah, she seemed like she was.”

  Tase smiled at Adara. She couldn’t help, but smile back. They were almost to the horses and she could smell something horrible in the air.

  “What is that smell?” Adara asks grabbing her nose.

  Tase laughs. “It’s the horses.”

  “Horses smell bad?”

  “No, when you have a lot the manure builds up creating the smell. We dry the manure out and use it as fertilizer during the spring.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know you could use poop as fertilizer.”

  “Horse poop.” Tase chuckles. “Horses don’t really digest their food the way we do so it still has a lot of enzymes and protein in it that acts like a fertilizer.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  Once they reach the horses Adara is in awe. She can see so many different one. Big ones, little ones, white ones, black ones, some have spots. Some are all brown. She is more excited now than she was before. She walks up to the stables and reaches out and rubs one on its nose. The horse nays at her making her jump back. Tase laughs at her some more.

  “It’s ok, it won’t hurt you. It was just his way of saying hi.”

  “I didn’t expect it.” Adara says shyly.

  “It’s okay, you will get used to be around them.”

  “I know.” Adara smiles.

  The finish up the tour after seeing the cattle, Tase shows Adara how to shovel manure, and how to feed the horses and cattle. He takes her to where they hay is stored and shows her tricks to get the bales in the truck by herself. She tries a couple times, but is unable to move the hay. So, Tase tells her to get him when she is ready to feed the animals so he can get the hay in the truck for her.

  Once they get back to the house, Tase makes them some sandwiches for lunch. It’s only two in the afternoon and he wants to show her where they buy the hay from and what stores carry their supplies.

  After they eat, they head out and he shows her the rest of what she will need to know. They head back to her house and part ways for the next few days.

  ♥Ten♥

  It has been three days since Tase has seen Adara. He can’t seem to get her off of his mind. He finds himself daydreaming about what it would be like to kiss her. He thinks about how soft her skin must feel, and how cute she would look lying next to his larger frame. He wants to run his fingers through her hair and run a trail of kisses down the side of her neck.

  It has been taking him longer to complete his tasks on the farm because of this distraction. His mother keeps questioning him about the likes Adara, but he keeps avoiding the topic. He hasn’t even been able to ask her out on a proper date yet.

  She will be starting tomorrow morning. He is excited to spend an entire day with her. Hell, he will be spending just about every day with her from now on. It will give them both plenty of time to get to know each other. He really wants to ask her out, but was raised to court a lady first.

  He plans on using the time they spend on her training to court her like his father had done with his mother. His father had worked at his mother’s family horse ranch before they were mated. He started when she was only sixteen. He courted her by taking his time with her horses and helping her train for shows. After about two years he finally asked her father to mate her and was given the opportunity. Now, they have been mated for over thirty five years. Both, his father and mother, come from lone wolf families. It was just how it was all those years ago.

  It was the kind of relationship Tase wanted. He wanted to court his woman, make her feel special before he mates her. He didn’t know if he would ever mate Adara, but he knew he was going to court her. He just couldn’t stand not being around her and they have just met.

  He hopes she feels the same because she is going to stop by tonight to remind her to be at the farm at five in the morning. That is when they start working around there. Once he is done with his jobs for the day, he goes and cleans up to head over the Adara’s.

  He arrives at Adara’s and knocks on the door. Hopefully she doesn’t mind that Tase decided to show up tonight. Adara opens the door and is surprised to see Tase. She lets him in and they decide to have dinner together.

  Adara offers to cook instead of going out to eat. She has already thawed some chicken and there is more than enough for the both of them. They have a wonderful meal and talk for a bit afterward. Once it gets late Tase heads home feeling better about being able to see Adara.

  ♥Eleven♥

  It is way too early for Adara to be awake. She isn’t sure if she will ever get used to be up at five in the morning. She is just happy she has a job and today is her first day. She can’t wait until she gets to learn everything and be able to handle things on her own. Adara likes to be independent and having to learn a new job over again is frustrating, but will be worth it in the long run.

  The farm has been around for three generations and will continue to keep prospering as long as they have the help they need. So, this job could be one for life and that is what she needs.

  Once she is done getting dressed for her new job she heads outside to wait for Tase to pick her up. Last night they agreed that he would pick her up and bring her home during the days that she works. They also decided that she will work Monday thru Friday from five it the morning until two in the afternoon and on Saturdays from eight in the morning until four in the afternoons.

  Her pay will be based on how well she progresses, but once she knows what she is doing she will be bringing home eight hundred dollars a week. She is getting paid more doing this than at her old job.

  Tase shows up pretty quickly and they are one their way to start the day. The first thing Adara does is check the chicken coop. From t
he looks of things nothing was able to get in, but they sure tried. She was trying to carry a roll of chicken wire over to reinforce the side where they tore a whole and stars to drag it instead. Tase couldn’t help but get his dad to show him how Adara was making progress. They laugh about it for a few minutes and then Tase heads over to help her.

  “That was cute you know.”

  “What? Are you making fun of me?”

  “Maybe a little.” Tase says with a huge grin.

  “Just you wait; I’ll be able to handle all of this in no time.” Adara replies in a matter of fact tone.

  “Okay. Calm down city girl. We will turn you country yet.” Tase chuckles and walks off.

  Tase brings back some lunch for him and Adara and they sit to eat and chat. They talk about city life compared to country life. Tase pokes fun at Adara for her ways of accomplishing her job. It is his way of courting her. After they finish eating they get back to work.

  Adara works her way over to the horses, which still kind of scares her, and then the cattle. Tase helps her with the bales and goes about his own business working on the farm equipment for next spring.

  After work Tase takes Adara out to dinner. He took her to his favorite restaurant on the edge of town. Adara enjoyed the little mom and pop owned restaurant. When they finish he takes Adara home and sits on the couch.

  “There is something we need to talk about.”

  “Um, okay. You look like this is serious. What is going on?”

  “Well, I’m not sure how to tell you. It’s kind of complicated.”

  “Just tell me. I’m a big girl I can handle it.”

  “I’m a wolf shifter. I can turn into a large wolf and howl.”

  “You’re joking right.” Adara laughs then quickly realizes Tase believes what he is saying.