Magic on Changeling Mountain
Chapter 17

The smell of coffee woke Carolyn up the next morning and she stretched as she lay in bed listening. Apparently Tammy was already up and had started the coffee but she didn’t hear her moving around and Carolyn wondered if she had left already. She pushed her legs to the side of the bed and stood up. She stretched again and then heard a moan from the doorway.

“Oh girl, there should be a law.” Colin said.

Carolyn’s eyes snapped open and her arms fell to her sides to pull on the edges of the short nightshirt she had chosen to sleep in last night. “Colin, what are you doing here?”

“Tammy let me in. She just left for work. Want some coffee?” Colin said, as he leaned against the door frame of her bedroom while he enjoyed not only the view of her bare legs but her embarrassment.

“You didn’t answer my question?” Carolyn asked again as she quickly pulled on the sweat pants she had been wearing last night that were in puddle on the floor where she had dropped them when she went to bed.

“Just wanted to talk to you. Alone, without anyone being able to overhear us.” Colin said, as he held out the cup of coffee for her.

She cautiously moved closer to him and accepted the cup. “What about? Go on in the living room and have a seat. I need to visit the bathroom first.”

“Spoil sport.” Colin grinned at her but went on back down the hall and Carolyn detoured into the bathroom. She was still a little groggy from sleep but she was waking up fast. She had dreamt of Colin last night, as she had done many times in the past, but this time it had been different. More intimate. Hell, if she was honest with herself, it had been about as intimate as you can get. Was she really ready to start thinking about choosing a mate? She was going to be 29 years old soon. While women were having babies later and later in life these days, was that what she wanted?

She emptied her bladder and as she cleaned up she realized that, just as she had suspected, her period was starting. It was just a small amount of blood so far but she knew that it would get heavier as she moved around. She inserted a tampon and put a pantie shield in place and pulled up her pants. She thoroughly washed her hands and picked up her coffee as she opened the door.

Colin was standing in front of her living room window, looking out at the woods with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“So what was so urgent you woke me up to talk to me?” Carolyn said.

“Cranky when you wake up, are you?” Colin teased.

“No, not most mornings.” Carolyn said as she rubbed her stomach. The cramps were beginning and she went in search of some aspirin.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” She asked, as she downed two tablets with her coffee.

Colin smiled at her. Right to the point. She had always been like that. Straightforward and honest.

“About………….. ummm. I’m not sure how to begin. I’ve been thinking about it for a while but …… ummm.” The usually confident Colin seemed to stumble over his words.

“Come on, Colin. You know you can talk to me about most anything. We grew up together. I doubt we have many secrets from each other. What’s on your mind?” Carolyn tried to prompt him.

“I never thought this would be so hard but……..hell, here goes. Will you go out with me one night?” Colin blurted.

“What? You mean like on a date?” Carolyn was shocked.

“Well, yeah. Dinner and maybe a movie?” Colin asked.

“What brought this on? I mean, we’ve been friends for years but you’ve never asked me out before. Why all of a sudden?” Carolyn asked warily. She wondered if her father had anything to do with this. What had they talked about on the way to her parents’ house yesterday?

“I’ve wanted to before but since we’ve always seemed to have an unspoken agreement that cats and dogs don’t mix, I just always thought you would turn me down so I guess it was a matter of self-preservation or maybe cowardliness. Which-ever you prefer. But since I will never really know unless I ask, I’m asking. So will you go to dinner with me?”

“Are you sure there’s not another reason?” Carolyn pushed, feeling more and more certain that her father had put him up to this.

“Look, I’ve liked you for years. Admired you even but I kept telling myself “What would a beautiful woman like Dr. Carolyn Masters want with a small town cop and a dog at that?”

“Hey now, you stop that right now. For one thing, you are not a dog! You are a wolf! And a damned handsome one at that. The human side of you is definitely not hard on the eyes either and if you want to start pointing fingers at who is “small town”, I’m just a small town vet. Why would someone who could possibly end up being the mayor want a vet and a cat to boot?” Carolyn ended up teasing him.

“I still think there is another reason but I’ll let it slide for now. Yes. I will go to dinner with you but you are going to have to wait a week or so. Lucinda and Amelia are due to show up here today and if this visit is anything like last time, I’m going to have my hands full for the next few days. Can we say a week from Saturday?” Carolyn asked.

“Oh and Colin, I’ve always liked you too but I’ve always figured that because our animals were so different, we’d never be able to make a go of it but then Tammy made me realize that most everyone in my family has married outside of their own species and have had long, loving relationships. I’m not saying we will end up as mates, but I don’t think we should let that side of ourselves hold us back either.”

The smile that split Colin’s face was almost comical. He looked like he was going to start jumping up and down for joy.

“Ok. A week from Saturday then. I’ll come pick you up and we’ll go somewhere nice for dinner.” Colin said. He shoved his hands in his pockets because what he really wanted to do was to wrap his arms around her and kiss her silly.

Funny, he couldn’t think of any other woman that had the power to make him feel like a junior high school kid with his first crush. Hell, come to think of it, she had been his first and only crush. No other girl in school had ever been able to hold a candle to Carolyn, nor any woman in town since then. Sure he had dated but never with the same girl more than once and the last time had been several years ago. His heart just wasn’t in it. He knew who he wanted but had always felt he couldn’t have her. Not if he didn’t try! His little inner voice had been trying to convince him of that fact for a long time!

“Well, I’d better get going. I’m on duty soon. Let me know if you need any help with the stranger. I’ll be keeping an eye out for him.”

“Ok. And Colin, I’m glad you stopped by this morning. You just made my day look a whole lot brighter.” She said and stepped up to him, raised up on her toes and kissed him on his cheek, causing him to blush and grin at her.

“See you later.” Colin said. He had to get out of there or he was going to do something he knew he would regret. He could smell her scent and knew she was coming into her time of the month. He highly suspected that was the reason she wanted to wait a week and not because the witches were going to be there. It would be better this way. If he came around while she was in full heat, he might not be able to control himself.

Colin left with a light heart and a big smile, not to mention that the front of his khaki pants were getting a bit tight behind the zipper. Carolyn stepped out onto the porch to watch him as he drove away and Colin waved goodbye. Carolyn waved back and hid her smile behind her coffee cup. When he was far enough away, she put down her cup and transformed into a cat. She jumped off the porch and leapt and jumped with joy, like a kitten playing in the leaves.

She rolled around in the leaves and then transformed and lay on her back and looked up through the tree branches. “I’m going to remember this day forever.” She thought to herself, locking what had happened so far this morning away in her memory. She wanted to always remember how nervous Colin had been asking her out and the look on his face when she said yes. Her mother had told her of when her father had first asked her on a date and of how she had locked those memories away deep in her heart.

As she lay there, she realized that she was getting cold and stood up to brush the leaves off of her. She ran back into the house and took a shower to get ready for her day. She had a big smile on her face as she walked all the way to the clinic. She was going to fix a puppy and give an older dog its rabies shot today.

Cindy was at the clinic when she arrived and kept watching her as she seemed to float around the clinic. She didn’t realize she was humming until Cindy questioned her about it. “What’s got you in such a good mood today?”

“If I tell you, do you promise to keep it a secret?” Carolyn asked.

“Sure.” Cindy said, her eyes glittering as she sat down on the stool behind the counter and waited for Carolyn to share her secret.

“Colin asked me out. For a date.” Carolyn said.

“Well, it’s about time!” Cindy replied.

“What do you mean?” Carolyn asked, more than just a little surprised by Cindy’s reaction.

“Well, I think just about everyone on the mountain knows you two are perfect for each other, except you two, of course. I’ve seen how he looks at you and how you look at him.”

“Nonsense. Colin and I grew up together. We’ve been friends since we were little children.”

“Exactly. That’s what makes it so sad. You two have been right under each other’s noses but can’t see beyond the end of your nose as to who your perfect mate is.”

“Oh really? So everyone on the mountain has been talking about us but not to us? No one has ever even suggested that Colin and I date, at least not to me.”

“Would you have asked Colin out if they had?”

“NO! Certainly not. That wouldn’t be appropriate. I would have felt like a fool.”

“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Colin is just a wee bit shy. I think he started to ask you that day that Tammy went on her dream quest with Harvey Two Moons but he chickened out. I think he felt it was not the right time with all that was going on and especially since Sebastian showed up. I think he thought he had lost you for sure then.”

“How do you know all of this?” Carolyn asked. “Does Colin confide in you?”

“No, not me. My brother, Ralph. I overheard them talking and Colin admitted that he’s had a crush on you since high school.”

“Since high school? Really?”

“I was just in grade school but I seem to remember that you were very popular in school. You dated and had friends both on and off the mountain.”

“Yeah and Colin was one of them. We hung out together all the time but he never expressed any interest in me at all. He never asked me out or showed any sign of interest other than friendship. I remember one year, someone stuck a Valentine’s card in my locker at school but they didn’t sign it so I never knew who it was from. I wonder if it was Colin?”

“I’d bet money, it was. Speaking of money, can I get my paycheck today? I leave for school next week and want to get a new outfit before I go. Oh and I brought the list of books. I’m really hoping you have some of them that I can borrow. I promise to take good care of them and to return them once I’m done.”

“Sure. Goodness. I can’t believe you leave in just one short week. I’m really going to miss you, ya know.” Carolyn told her as she made out her paycheck.

“I know and I’m going to miss you too. I’m going to miss working here. Any luck finding someone to take my place?”

“No but then I haven’t really been looking all that hard. Especially with all that’s been going on lately.”

The owner of the puppy they were going to operate on showed up just then and Cindy took it in the back to get it ready while Carolyn talked to the owner.

“The actual operation only takes a few minutes but we have to knock them out and then wait for them to wake up. I won’t release him back to you until he’s fully awake and able to eat and drink something. Why don’t you leave him with me and go get your errands done and I’ll call you when he’s ready to go home.”

The lady, Mrs. Carrington, agreed that she did have some things to do in town and gave Carolyn her cell phone number.

“Thank you Dr. Masters. I’ll look forward to getting your call.” She said and then left the clinic.

Just as she was leaving, Carolyn’s rabies shot patient showed up. Carolyn decided to give the rabies shot before she did the operation and asked Cindy to put the puppy, a half grown German Shepherd, into one of the kennels and come help her as her rabies patient was a full grown St. Bernard, called Rusty.

Rusty did not like coming to visit her and would growl and had snapped at Carolyn more than once. It only took once for Carolyn to demand that his owner now bring him in with a muzzle on. Putting a muzzle on a dog was not Carolyn’s favorite thing to do but neither was getting bit.

Between Carolyn, Cindy and Rusty’s owner, Mr. Brown, they managed to trap Rusty between them and the wall and Carolyn managed to give Rusty his rabies vaccination shot. She also inspected his paws and ears for ticks but he was clean. Mr. Brown thanked her, paid the bill and left. He had no trouble getting Rusty out the door, unlike getting him in. Carolyn was beginning to think she was going to have to give him his shot in her flower bed, which luckily enough was currently empty of any flowers since winter was due to set in soon.

With him gone, Carolyn and Cindy turned their attention to the Carrington dog. Cindy had prepared the shot that would knock him out and the young dog was no problem to get up on the table. Carolyn administered the shot and the dog went quietly to sleep within minutes. She quickly performed the operation to remove his testicles and then stitched him up. They carried him back to the kennel area and put him down on a nice soft bed. She sat and watched as he began to wake up and checked his reactions. He was coming out of it very well.

“Good. It looks like he’s going to be just fine. His pupils are reacting and his reactions are improving quickly. Let him get fully awake and then give him some water. If he does well with that, let’s get him something to eat. What time is it?”

“A little after 10. What time are they supposed to get here?”

“I’m not really sure but I am sure they will show up at meal time. My mom said she will feed them lunch but then they are on their own. They will be staying at my house this time. My parents don’t want to say they are not welcome but in reality they are not, at least not as house guests at their place. They just about ate my folks out of house and home the last time and never offered to do a lick of work the whole time they were there. My mom was exhausted after they left.”

Well, I can stay with him if you want to go home. I can call if anything goes wrong and it’s not like you are all that far away.” Cindy offered.

“Great. I’ll go home and check on this list of books for you.”

Carolyn went outside and walked around to the back of the clinic and transformed. She ran home and jumped up on her porch and looked around before she transformed back into her human form. She pulled her house key out of her pocket and unlocked her front door.

She thought about when she had left the house just two short hours ago and a big smile returned to her face. She got a bottle of water out of the fridge and then went over to her bookshelf to look for the books for Cindy. She had all but one and she found an old carry all bag that she never used anymore and stuffed them inside. She carried them out to her jeep and set them on the front seat. She was just about to go back inside when she heard a car coming up the road. It was Tammy.

Tammy pulled into the driveway and parked next to Carolyn’s jeep.

“Have you heard or seen them yet?” She asked as she got out of her car. Carolyn reopened her front door for Tammy and then followed her inside.

“Nope, not yet but I’ve been down at the clinic all morning. Neutering one dog and giving another its rabies shot. My mom said they said they would be here by lunch time of course. Mom has agreed to feed them the one meal but then they are on their own for the rest of their stay, which hopefully won’t be but a couple of days at the most. Have you cleared your work calendar so you can train with them while they are here?”

“Yep. Might even go back with them for a few days if things work out. I’m hoping they can show me a lot more than just how to protect myself.”

Just then they heard a car coming up the road and sure enough, it was the witch sisters. They pulled to the side of Tammy’s car, in front of Carolyn’s cottage and parked.

“Hi. Welcome back.” Carolyn said. “Bring your things and come on inside. You are going to be staying here this time.”

The two sisters looked at each other but didn’t say anything. They gathered their overnight bags and followed Carolyn and Tammy into the cottage.

“Oh this is nice!” Lucinda said as she entered the living room.

“There are two bedrooms, each with a queen sized bed but only one bathroom. I would appreciate it if you leave it the same way you’re finding it.” Carolyn said matter of factly. “Just let me get my OVERNIGHT bag and then we can head on up to my folks house. My mom is making lunch today but after this you are on your own for meals.”

Tammy followed Carolyn down the hall to gather up a few things that she had forgotten when she left this morning. Both of them tried not to listen as Lucinda whispered to Amelia.

“See I told you we stayed too long last time and should have helped out while we were there. We could have at least restored their food supply before we left. Sebastian made a pig out of himself every meal while we were there.”

“Why didn’t they say anything?” Amelia whispered back.

“Because they have good manners. It would have been impolite to ask guests to help or to pay for food when they came to help out their friend.”

“Well, we will make sure that we don’t repeat our mistakes.” Amelia said as she swiped a finger over Carolyn’s freshly dusted table surfaces.

Carolyn and Tammy rejoined them and Carolyn said, “Would you like to see the bedrooms?”

“Sure.” Amelia said. She followed Carolyn down the hall. Carolyn showed her the room that Tammy usually stayed in since it was the first room on the right. It was a rather plain room to Carolyn’s eye as she had set it up for guests, whether they be female or male.

Then Carolyn showed them her room and both women agreed that they could tell this was Carolyn’s room. It was decorated to suit her perfectly. It was clean and without a lot of clutter except for the pictures on the walls. Carolyn had pictures of wildlife hung on her walls. Anyone looking at them would just assume that they were pictures of deer or bears or of a beautiful Eagle in flight but they were actually family photos of her family, in their animal forms. One of her favorites was of her mother and sister, when Donna had been a newborn, getting a drink of water from the creek, not far from where the fairies were now living.

Amelia dropped her bag on the bed which meant Lucinda would be staying in the spare room. Carolyn showed them the bathroom and then walked back into the living room.

“I need to run something back down to my clinic but we’ll need to be back here well before 3 o’clock so we had better get going up to my folks’ house, but just let me call and make sure my mom is ready for us.” Carolyn said as she picked up the phone and dialed her parents’ house.

“Hi mom. Lucinda and Amelia just arrived and we are ready to come up. Are you ready for us?”

“Sure, come on. I’ve got lunch almost ready. It should be done by the time you get here. If you see your brother and father on the way here, tell them to come home. They are out looking for the trolls. We think some of them came into the yard last night.”

“Oh, no. What happened?” Carolyn asked.

“I’ll tell you about it when you get here. I’ve gotta go get something off of the stove or it’s going to burn.” Angela said before she hung up.

“Ok. Let me run this bag of books down to the clinic for Cindy and I’ll be right back. Be ready to go. Mom said lunch will be ready by the time we get there and we need to be back here before 3 o’clock.” Carolyn said and quickly left the cottage. She grabbed the bag off of the front seat and ran it down to the clinic. Mrs. Carrington was just pulling up in her car so Carolyn stayed to check her dog out and gave her instructions on how to care for the puppy.

“Keep him as quiet as possible for the next couple of days and no rough housing. The stitches will evaporate on their own in about a week. Don’t let him rub himself on the carpet or any hard surface. He probably won’t but just in case he tries it, it may mean it’s getting infected and then I’ll need to see him again but otherwise just bring him back in a year and we’ll do his updated rabies shot.”

Mrs. Carrington thanked her, paid the bill and left. Carolyn told Cindy, “Here are the books. There was only one on the list that I didn’t have and I don’t remember it so it either wasn’t one I really needed and used it at the library or its’ new, and if that is the case, I’d like to borrow it when you are done with it. The witches showed up just before I came back so I need to run.”

“Go! I’ll lock up!” Cindy told her and Carolyn smiled at her and again wondered how in the world she was going to get along without her.

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