Read Online Fated Souls by Becky Flade - Free Book Online

filled with Native American art and knick-knacks. Wolves were the dominant theme, not surprisingly, but there was a series of beautiful, seemingly hand-carved, stone wolves of varying poses that she instantly fell in love with. But the price of only one was a bit steep for Maggie’s budget and she wanted the entire line. As she battled again with desire and reality, the aging clerk, obviously Native American herself, approached.
    “You like those?” the clerk asked.
    “They are exquisite and a little out of my price range right now. Did you carve them?” Maggie replied. The woman snorted.
    “No, I commissioned them from an artist on a reservation in Nevada. If you don’t mind my asking, do you have Native American ancestry?”
    “Yes I do, a little on my mother’s side, but I know woefully little more than that. I’ve always meant to research the genealogy but haven’t gotten around to it.” Maggie glanced longingly at the display once more. “It was a pleasure meeting you. Have a good day.”
    Maggie was nearly out the shop door when the woman called out to wait. The storekeeper hurried over, grabbed Maggie’s hand, and pressed something cold and hard into Maggie’s palm. She instinctively wrapped her fingers around it. “You take this, it was meant for you,” the small woman said. “He was meant for you. Never doubt it. And don’t doubt yourself.”
    Maggie thanked the woman and quickly exited the mall. Only when she was safely locked in the rental, her purchases on the passenger seat beside her, did Maggie look at the gift she’d received. It was the largest of the stone wolves, the signature piece of the collection and the one for which Maggie had yearned the most.
    Maggie placed the small carving in her bag and started the car, music instantly filling the vehicle. As she got closer to Trappers’ Cove, the strange episode was pushed aside by the nerves and excitement Aidan’s invitation and admission generated. She’d never had a man want her more than breath itself. It was a heady, powerful knowledge and she was giddily aroused by it. She knew he was finally beginning to trust her. She wondered, briefly, if she would be able to leave once she had her answers and thought perhaps she wouldn’t.
    As she neared the town’s borders, the farms, spaced so far apart by sweeping meadows and broken by forests, gave way to small, almost suburban-like homes. When she entered the town officially, the homes gave way to stores and the like. She parked at the inn, but on a whim, Maggie walked down to the diner. All the little homes littering the outskirts of town had given her an idea. Even if she had enough time for a nap before nightfall, she was too keyed up to rest and she could write in the forest by lamplight with her wolf by her side.
    Ma greeted her from across the diner, waving her hand around the place in general, which was Ma’s idea of seating a guest, and Maggie chose a stool at the counter. If she could rent a small place from someone locally at less than what the inn was charging a night and stock a small kitchen with meals she could make, she could stretch her limited income a little further. She could stay a little longer.
    Ma hurried over and took Maggie’s order for fries and a Pepsi, tsk’ing about how Maggie ate but hadn’t put on an ounce that she could see, and then ran to answer the phone, yelling Maggie’s order at Old Man as she raced by his window. About halfway into the greasy, delicious fries, Ma settled down at the counter to chat, just like Maggie had hoped.
    “How you doing, honey?”
    “I’m good, Ma. You wouldn’t happen to know if anyone around here has a small place with a working kitchen they’d be looking to rent?” Maggie repeatedly dunked her fry in ketchup while Ma mulled it over.
    “I guess the inn is getting pretty expensive, huh?” Maggie nodded and popped the fry in her mouth. “You know what? The Blacks have a cabin that’s been sitting empty since