The Ranger

“You have to be kidding me.” As she crossed the long bridge that was the state line between Maryland to West Virginia, Hazel looked at the gas gauge of her car and sighed. “Dammit. I guess I better stop somewhere.”

Finally seeing a small service station, Hazel parked at the pump then got out and stretched her legs and arms as she looked around from behind her dark glasses. After going inside and buying some snacks to keep her busy for a few hours until the next pit stop, Hazel swiped her card then closed her eyes.

“Eleven more hours to Savannah then it’ll all be over.” Hazel trilled her lips as she leaned against her little red coupe and waited for the gas nozzle to click. “I can’t wait to get the hell off this planet. Father was right, this place is awful. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking coming here.”

After barely escaping Massachusetts with her life, Hazel drove nonstop down the East Coast to go find her guardian so he could get her back to her family in the Realm. Her father was an Earthborn witch and he’d warned her that, as exciting as it sounded, there was nothing but trouble brewing on Earth. It only took a year for Hazel to see that for herself.

As her long skirt blew in the breeze of the abnormally warm Fall afternoon, something inside Hazel told her to look at the building next to her.

Noticing the bulletin board at the tiny office beside the gas station, Hazel twisted her lips to the side and took off her designer sunglasses as a piece of paper with a little round house caught her attention. Once she put the nozzle back in the pump, Hazel walked to the board and read over the flyer. “Oh, that’s adorable and it’s so inexpensive. I just have to see it. Savannah will still be there tomorrow.”

Unpinning the flyer from the cork board it rested on, Hazel looked at the address then went inside to ask about it. As the little bell over the door dinged, Hazel peeked around the corner at the pretty blond sitting at her desk. “Hello there. I was wondering if anyone was available to show me this little house.”

Luckily for Hazel, the agent had an hour to spare. “Sure. Let me get my bag and I’ll drive you over.”

Hazel parked her car then climbed in the realtors Mercedes. Seeing a bottle of lotion in the console, Hazel asked, “Do you mind if I use a little of that? I’ve been driving for ages and I feel so disgusting.”

The realtor looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

Driving into the park entrance, the pretty woman turned to Hazel and said, “I’m happy you came in. This house has been on the market for nearly two years and I haven’t had one person look at it in all that time. I’ve dropped the price as low as I can. It’s a steal really.”

“I suppose it’s just my lucky day then, I was supposed to be moving back home today.” Hazel smiled to herself. What she said was more or less the truth. The destination wasn’t really important.

“You definitely aren’t local with that accent. Where are you from?” asked the realtor as she glanced over to Hazel in the passenger seat.

Hazel looked out the window at the trees and the lake as it came into view. “Wales.”

The realtor, having no idea where that was, said, “Oh! You sounded British to me.”

Hazel chuckled to herself and nodded. “Yes, that’s what everyone says.”

Pulling into the long driveway, Hazel clasped her hands together as the house from the flyer appeared at the bottom of the hill. “Oh, look there it is. Awe! I’m so in love.”

The realtor smiled to herself as the relief of having an interested person with cash in hand made her breathe a little easier. It wasn’t often that someone Hazel’s age had that much money in the bank.

“Oh, this is just perfect.” Stepping out of the realtor’s car on to the gravel driveway, Hazel looked over the small round lake house as she pulled her dark blonde hair up into a ponytail. “I can’t believe I’ll live right on the water. It’s just lovely. I’m so excited.”

The leaves had just begun to fall in the late October breeze, and it smelled earthy like dirt and fresh rain in the West Virginia mountains. The trees still kept most of their cover and were bursting with fiery red, yellow and orange leaves.

Hazel took off her sweater and tied it about her waist as she followed the tall, leggy blonde up the stairs to the door. “It’s still quite warm though isn’t it?”

The realtor turned as she walked towards the stairs and nodded. “Yes, it won’t get too cold until late next month or maybe even December.”

Hazel bit her lip as she looked out to the water. “That’s splendid. I don’t really like the cold much anyway.”

When the realtor opened the front door, a heavy waft of stale, mildewed air invaded Hazel’s nose and stung her blue eyes as she entered the doorway. The home had obviously been closed up for a long time and needed a thorough cleaning. “Oh, my. Does the furniture come with it as well?”

The realtor nodded as she looked over the quaint home. Hazel seemed very excited, most first-time buyers fall in love with the first house they see. It was an easy sale for the veteran real estate professional. “Yes, all of it. It’s also on well and septic so your bills won’t be much, and the state keeps the roads clear since it’s technically a state park.”

As Hazel looked out the wall of windows that lined most of the front and side of the home, she glanced up to the beautiful big log house that sat on the hill beside her. “Oh, dear. I’ll definitely need some curtains, won’t I? I bet the bloke that lives there can see straight inside.”

The realtor laughed to herself and twisted her lips to the side. “Trust me, honey. You won’t mind at all once you get a look at him. He’s the forest ranger here and he is unbelievably handsome. You’re going to be thanking me for years for showing you this house.”

Hazel raised her brow and pushed out her lips. “Really? I can’t wait to meet him.” Before she came to Earth, she was under the watchful eye of her family and they were all psychics which put quite a damper on Hazel’s love life. While she was living up North, she’d discovered the joys of sex and that genie couldn’t be put back in the bottle.

As she bobbed back and forth to try to get a better glimpse up at the house, the afternoon sun hit her face and made the honey blonde highlights in her hair shine like gold. “I wonder what the house looks like inside. I bet it’s just fabulous.” Hazel’s polite, slightly British sounding accent seemed out of place in the backwoods of West Virginia.

The realtor trilled her lips as she leaned against the bar in the kitchen and looked through her phone. “That’s the million-dollar question. I haven’t met anyone who’s ever been inside. He’s quite mysterious and doesn’t get a lot of company. I hear he’s single also.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Hazel chuckled at the realtor. “Well, that is definitely a perk of living here isn’t it?”

Without even looking at Hazel the realtor nodded. “It’s just the two of you back here too. All the other homes are vacation rentals for people in the city. You’ll have that sexy bastard all to yourself most of the year.”

“That settles it then. It’s perfect, I’ll take it,” said Hazel as she took another look around. She wasn’t sure why she was staying, but her mother always told her to follow her instincts.

The realtor glanced up from her phone and smiled. “Great, since you’re a cash buyer, that’s going to get you a big discount and you’ll be able to close quickly. You could probably move in this weekend if I can get the lawyer to get all the paperwork ready.”

“Oh wonderful,” said Hazel as she crossed her arms and backed away from the glass.

Turning away to inspect the rest of her new home, a figure finally moved in the window at the house across from her. The Ranger had felt Hazel’s presence as soon as the car pulled into the drive and he could smell the warm vanilla lotion that she slathered on during the car ride over. Mixed with her natural scent, it made the Ranger growl low in his chest and lick his lips.

Whatever love potion this little witch’s body had brewing was working on the Ranger. Pressing his hand against the glass as she walked across his field of vision again, he traced the curves of her body with his fingertips. “You’re never leaving this town again princess.”