Of Snow and Roses Read online

  She squeezed her eyes shut, then the memories hit.

  Neve saw Rose running beside her, as a child, then a teen . . . working with her in the garden, washing clothes, playing tag. The memories whirled around her, layering on each other with no rhyme or reason－they were toddlers, sitting at their mother’s knee, then women holding a large spoon, together stirring a potion to aid headaches. They ran through the forest, waded in the creek, and always . . . there at the edge of her vision, was Torbin.

  Keeping watch. Protecting them both.

  She saw him bringing her a bouquet of wildflowers, eyes lowered as he smiled shyly. Reaching out to touch her cheek as they stood in the moonlight. Felt his strong arms around her, the touch of his lips as he kissed her for the first time.

  The first of many times.

  And above it all, she felt the love－the love of her sister like a subtle breeze, blowing over all the memories of their lives together.

  The love of Torbin－for Torbin－crashed over her like a wave in a raging sea.

  Neve’s eyes flew open as the light around them dimmed, until all that remained were a few twinkling sparks around their hands before those too, slowly winked out.

  “Are you all right?” Rose asked, dark eyes concerned.

  Neve inhaled and let out a trembly breath. “I remember.” She reached out and wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck, holding her tight. “I remember,” she sobbed, and Rose rubbed her back in long, soothing strokes. She cried tears of relief, of regret . . . letting go of the horrors of the past few months and rejoicing that she’d found her way home.

  “He wanted us both,” Neve said, finally understanding exactly what that meant. “If he’d gotten us both--”

  Yes, Neve had power. She now realized how much, and it was considerable. But when she and Rose joined together, they became more than the sum of their parts. Together, they created some of the strongest magic in the world.

  That was what Alberich had ultimately wanted. And he’d come so close.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Rose assured her with another tight squeeze. “It’s all over. He’s gone.”

  Neve pulled back, swiping at the tears. “I’m okay,” she said, then looked around. “Where’s Torbin?”

  Rose touched her cheek again－a now-familiar gesture. “I imagine he wanted to give us some time.”

  Neve smiled and hugged her sister again. “I’m glad,” she said. “But I－”

  “－need to see him,” Rose said with her. They were always finishing each other’s sentences. Neve remembered that now.

  She laughed. “I’ll be back.”

  “You better,” Rose said. “I made a pineapple upside down cake for lunch.”

  “My favorite!” Neve said with glee. She remembered her favorite dessert!

  “I know.” Rose rolled her eyes and headed back toward the house.

  Neve knew where Torbin would be. She headed down the path behind the barn that wound through the trees, the sun streaming through the canopy and dancing along the undergrowth. Torbin never liked to be too far away from them, but sometimes he needed his solitude.

  His cave－Neve teased him endlessly about hibernating, regardless of how many times Torbin insisted he didn’t need to－was partially shielded from view by a curtain of vines.

  Neve approached slowly and called out, “Torbin?”

  She heard a rustle of movement from behind the curtain, and a moment later, the bear emerged. Torbin found his bear form relaxing. Human thought was pushed aside, and he operated on instinct and hunger. The world was smaller, as a bear. Sometimes he needed that.

  But right now, Neve needed to talk to the human Torbin. “Could you change back?” she asked.

  A moment later, he stood before her, tall and brave and beautiful. “Everything okay?” he asked quietly.

  Neve cleared her throat. “I remember,” she said.

  Torbin took a step toward her, then stopped. “That’s－that’s good. Rose helped you then?”

  Neve nodded. “Torbin.” She rushed toward him and jumped into his arms. “Thank you.”

  He rubbed her back. “There’s no need－”

  She pulled back and he set her on her feet. “You were there,” she said, reaching up to touch his scruffy cheek. “You were always there watching out for us. For me.”

  He clenched his jaw. “When I couldn’t do anything. When he stopped me－”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s gone,” she said, and suddenly, she had to make him understand. “Torbin, I know now what we meant to each other . . . what we mean to each other,” she said. “But I want you to know, I didn’t need my memories to know that I love you.”

  He stilled, meeting her gaze.

  “I loved you before I knew I loved you.” She let out a little laugh. “That sounds crazy, but－”

  Neve was going to say more, to tell him how important he was to her, how grateful she was to have him . . . how she never wanted to let him go.

  But Torbin didn’t give her the chance. He pulled her to her toes and took her in a deep, bruising kiss, and every thought flew right out of her head. She reached up to tangle her fingers in his thick hair, breathing in his scent as their bodies pressed together－hard to soft－and she let out a soft gasp when he broke away, chasing his lips with her own.

  “I love you too, you know,” he said, breath warm against her skin. “I always have.” He cupped her face tenderly, his gaze showing her everything now. “Always.”

  Neve smiled up at his handsome face, looking down at her with such adoration it made her heart ache. She thought of all the times they’d had together, and all that lay ahead, a warm satisfied feeling settling in her limbs.

  “I know,” she said, and the truth of it drew them together again.

  After a while－a long while－Neve took his hand and led him out of the forest. “Rose has pineapple upside down cake,” she told him.

  Torbin groaned. “I’ve missed that.”

  Neve laughed, joy overflowing. “Me too.”

  They emerged into the sunlight and walked hand in hand toward home. Whatever lay ahead, Neve knew they’d always face it like this.

  Hand in hand. Side by side.

  “What are you thinking?” Torbin asked, lifting their joined hands to press a kiss to the back of hers.

  Neve shrugged. “Nothing much. Only that I love you.”

  Torbin grinned and pulled her close. “There’s no only about it,” he said. “That’s everything.”

  And with that, he pulled her into another deep, drugging kiss.

  Neve was pretty sure they were going to be late for lunch.

  She was also definitely sure that she didn’t mind at all.

  The MORE Trilogy

  “Reminiscent of the Mortal Instruments series . . . only better!” - Penny Dreadful Reviews

  MORE

  The Guardians

  TWELVE

  MORE Trilogy Complete Series Box Set

  The New Super Humans

  Super Humans

  Super Powers

  Super Natural

  Super Heroes

  Super Humans Complete Series Box Set

  SWEET ROMANCE, WRITTEN AS TAMI FRANKLIN

  Love in Holiday Junction

  Falling for Her Best Friend

  Falling for Her Biggest Headache

  Falling for Her Opposing Counsel

  Falling for the Wrong Guy

  Six Sweet Short Stories, all with a HEA

  . . . And Then They Fell in Love

  Standalone Stories

  Cecilia’s Soulful Heart

  How to Get Ainsley Bishop to Fall in Love With You

  Cutlass

  Magical Holiday Romance

  Second Chances

  Visions of Sugar Plums

  This book was inspired by a favorite fairy tale of mine from childhood, Snow White and Rose Red, so a huge thanks to the Brothers Grimm, whose work lives on more than a century later . . . and to Marjo
rie Cooper, who illustrated the version I read over and over when I was a little girl.

  Thanks so much to Melissa Storm and the awesome team at Sweet Promise Press for inspiring me to write this story.

  Thanks to my wonderful editor, Kathie Spitz, and my awesome proofreader, Rose David at Rose David Editing.

  Thanks to Lindsey Gray for the beautiful formatting.

  Special thanks to the awesome readers at The T.M. Franklin Book Club. You guys are amazing!

  And of course, thanks to my wonderful family for their never ending support.

  T.M. Franklin writes stories of adventure, romance, & a little magic. A former TV news producer, she decided making stuff up was more fun than reporting the facts. Her first published novel, MORE, was born during National Novel Writing month, a challenge to write a novel in thirty days.

  MORE was well-received, being selected as a finalist in the 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Awards, as well as winning the Suspense/Thriller division of the Blogger Book Fair Reader’s Choice Awards. She’s since written novels in a variety of genres, as well as several best-selling short stories...and there’s always more on the way.

  T.M. also writes sweet romance as Tami Franklin.

  Find out more at www.TMFranklin.com

  And to be the first notified about upcoming releases, sales, and giveaways, subscribe to T.M. Franklin’s newsletter at www.TMFranklin.com/Subscribe. All new subscribers get a FREE copy of Unscheduled Departure!