16. Conner

"Well, isn't she just a breath of fresh air," Conner said, finally breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over the three of them.

"That's just grandmother. I think she wasn't hugged enough when she was a kid," Taryn said.

Everyone laughed, breaking the tension.

"She hates shifters that much, huh?" Conner said.

"It's not just that. She still thinks, somewhere in the back of that addled brain, that if I'm broken and miserable, I'll join her coven. They are doing everything from basic robbery to cleaning out people's bank accounts and ruining people's lives because they think it's fun."

"It sounds like a lot of petty crimes for such powerful witches," Conner said. "A few years ago, we had a witch problem in Angel's Creek. She wanted to kill all the mundane humans and control the supernatural world."

"To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if she was up to something like that. She just hasn't told me about it because I can't be trusted. She knows that I would do whatever I had to do to stop her."

"Me, too," Taryn said.

"Do you have another set of particular skills that would be beneficial to her cause?"

"Potions," Beth said. "A few pinches of this and that combined with a spell, and I can do a lot of good or a lot of bad. Technically, I could create a potion that would have wiped out the Gestapo."

"Eye of newt, leg of toad," Taryn intoned gravely, making Beth and Conner laugh again.

"What about Taryn?"

"Her skill goes beyond just calming and curing animals. She could force them to do her bidding, even against their will. Just as she can calm a raging bull, she could cause a sweet little bunny rabbit to attack," Beth explained.

"I could see how that would be useful in the dark world," Conner said.

"What she doesn't get is that I would rather die than hurt an animal. Making it do something against its will is the same as torture, and I would never do that," Taryn said fiercely.

"I know you wouldn't," Conner said. "You are a good person and wouldn't harm anyone or anything on purpose."

"No, I wouldn't," Taryn said. "Except when I kick your butt at Sorry!"

Taking the hint from her, they returned to their games and pizza. They purposely forgot Matilda and had fun.

After Taryn went to bed, Conner hugged Beth. "I had a great time today."

"Me, too."

He knew that Beth watched him carefully inspect his truck before he got into it. His paranoia would have been almost comical if the danger hadn't been so real. Conner was certain that Matilda wouldn't plant a pipe bomb under the driver's seat. She would go for something a lot more spectacular. However, he wasn't about to take any chances. He breathed a sigh of relief when he got back to his hotel. Conner texted Beth to let her know he was back safe.

Micah was still awake when Conner called.

After their usual greeting, Micah teased, "Life must be really interesting for you to call me again so soon. Sometimes, I go two weeks without hearing from you."

"I know. I'm bad about calling," Conner said. "I haven't talked to Mom and Dad in a while. I guess I should call and let them know that they are grandparents."

"They'll be thrilled and want to drive up immediately to meet her."

"Which is why I haven't told them yet. I'm trying to wrap my head around it first. The last couple of days have been crazy. When I'm not at the rodeo, I'm with Beth and Taryn."

"How does that feel?"

"I like it," Conner confessed. "I probably won't move on with the rodeo when this huge event is over. I want to spend more time with Taryn. She's easy to love. Taryn started calling me Dad right away, which I thought was weird, just because I figured that she wouldn't be comfortable doing that so soon."

"You're a good guy and she can sense that. Plus, she knows that you didn't walk out on them willingly."

"That's what Beth said," Conner replied.

"Speaking of Beth, how are you two doing?"

"Great. She's a wonderful woman. I definitely have strong feelings for her. I'm just trying to figure out whether they are from the past or if I'm really falling in love with her."

"My guess is that they are a combination of the two."

"That's my thought. There is a lot about her to love," Conner said. "I don't want to leave until I can sort everything out."

"Sounds like a smart plan," Micah said.

"Our Kelly problem will move on when the rodeo goes. Regardless of how much she thinks she loves me and wants to be with me, she won't stick around. She is way too much into her role as queen of the rodeo and her time in the spotlight. Matilda, however, is going to be a whole other story."

"And the problem is, you can't fight a witch. They can turn you inside out with a snap of their finger."

"Yep. All I can do is wear a protection medicine bag to ward away any dark magic, but even then, if the witch is powerful enough, she can work around that. Instead of casting a spell on me, she can cast one on the bull."

"Sounds like a hornet's nest," Micah said.

"I know, but short of leaving, there's not much I can do about it."

"Take care of yourself," Micah said.

"I'll do my best," Conner promised and hung up.

The next morning, after they took care of their horses, Conner took Taryn to the mountain to shift. They raced and Taryn showed him all her favorite spots in the woods. They were exhilarated but tired when they got back to the truck.

"You are going to be too exhausted to race tonight," Conner said.

"Nope. I'll be good, but you're the old man. How are you going to stay on the bull and horses? I strongly suggest a nap."

"You might be on to something. A nap sounds good."

They got back to the fairgrounds in time to listen to the afternoon announcements, line up, and whatever else the rodeo manager had to say. Conner was only half listening because it was usually the same - play nice, have good sportsmanship, junior events go first, and so on.

Beth had already arrived, so they ate lunch and walked around for a while before they went back to the rodeo grounds.

Conner looked around and noticed that Matilda was in the stands, sitting away from Beth so she couldn't see her mother. Matilda caught her looking at him and grinned.

Great. I'm going to need a crash helmet or something. There has to be something I can do to protect myself.

Taryn did well as usual. She came in first in barrel racing and second to Jenna in the breakaway roping. The announcers stated that the two young ladies were people to watch because they were dominating the field in the junior categories. Once they graduated to the regular categories, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

He caught Taryn eyeing the bull riders again. Conner knew that Taryn was dying to try it, but he didn't want to upset her mother. He felt bad for her because he knew exactly what it felt like to be caught between two boulders. However, since Taryn really was a lot like him, Conner had a sneaking suspicion that she would give in. If Conner was a betting man, he would guess that Taryn would end up bull riding by next season.

Conner had to force himself to focus when it was time for the bull riding. He wasn't afraid to get on the bull because of what the bull might do to him. He was more worried about Matilda.

You cannot let that witch control your life.

With that mantra playing in his head, he got on the bull and rode for the full eight seconds without any issues. Feeling a little better, he did the bronc riding events with confidence. He won first in the saddled and second in the unsaddled events.

It was time for his final event -- steer wrestling. He looked up in the stands and saw Matilda. She stared down at him, as though she were in a trance. She had a blank look on her face.

"Not a good sign," he muttered as he walked toward Zephyr.

The horse seemed to be a little nervous. Conner petted him and talked to him softly until their name was called. The hazer was a man he had worked with on multiple occasions and was very talented. Conner trusted him implicitly.

"Ready?" Conner asked.

"Yep." The man grinned.

"Let's do it." Conner nodded and the gate was opened. The steer shot out. Conner and the hazer waited until the steer had reached the designated spot and they shot after him. Conner was about to slide off of Zephyr when the huge horse stumbled, going down to his knees.

The crowd gasped.

"What the hell?" the hazer asked, pointing to the ground in front of Conner. A huge rock was embedded in the ground in front of Zephyr.

Conner looks up in the stands where Matilda sat. She gave a little wave and then disappeared into the crowd.

The clowns herded the steer back into the chute while the rodeo manager hurried over to see what the problem was.

"How did that get into the arena. It is combed every day before the events start to make sure there is nothing in the arena."

You wouldn't believe me if I told you that it was a witch with a personal vendetta against me,Conner thought.

Rage built up inside of him as he petted Zephyr, assuring the horse that he didn't do anything wrong. It was one thing to go after him. It was entirely different to do something that could hurt his horse.