Country mage a slice of.., p.1
Country Mage: A Slice of Life HaremLit Fantasy Adventure, page 1
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Country Mage 1 Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Thanks
Other Work
Special Thanks to...
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Copyright 2022 Jack Bryce
All rights reserved.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.
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To redheads with the courage to wear pigtails worldwide.
Country Mage 1
Chapter 1
The lawyer’s office was as cold and lacking in personality as the lawyer himself. For the past few hours, the man had gone through the details of James’s father’s last will and testament, listing off what went to whom.
And nothing went to James.
The company went to James’s brother — but James wouldn’t have wanted to manage that anyway. The bulk of the remainder of James’s father’s inheritance would be used to set up a trust for two cousins that James did not get along with at all.
What the whole affair really came down to was this: he’d inherited nothing from his father.
So far.
He let out a long sigh as the lawyer closed his briefcase, pushing back his chair. “There is one last thing,” the man said, fixing his cold eyes on James.
James perked up, as did his brother and sister-in-law — the only two who had actually bothered to come.
“A cabin in the woods,” the lawyer muttered as his gaze shifted to his papers. “He left a cabin to you, James. ‘for your happiness’, he wrote.”
“For my... happiness?” James shifted his gaze to his brother. “I didn’t even know dad had a cabin?”
His brother just shrugged. They weren’t really close, and it was obvious his brother just wanted to wrap this up.
James felt numb.
Numb, confused, and shocked. He didn’t need money or anything — he had fostered no expectations about the inheritance, but he had hoped for some kind of reconciliation. A gesture of love from the father he’d been at odds with nearly all his life.
Something with meaning.
And he got a cabin.
He nodded dumbly, feeling as though he should say something profound and meaningful about how important this gift was to him, but all that sounded in his head was, “Why a cabin?!”
He shook his head at himself, trying to clear away the cobwebs. His hands trembled so much he barely held his grip on his glass of water as he took a sip.
The attorney gave a soft smile and continued talking as if James hadn’t spoken at all. “Your father specified the cabin is free of any mortgage or debt.”
A cabin...
“Well, young man?” the attorney said. “Are you not pleased with your gift from your late father? Will you accept the inheritance?”
James swallowed. “I just...”
A tiny thought fluttered into his mind, like a stray butterfly. What if this was some sort of cruel joke? Some sick prank pulled by his family?
James’s cousins, the ones his father was close with, were real dirt bags. They never liked James — the black sheep — and it wouldn’t surprise him if they’d had the cruelty to play a joke on him. Send him out in the sticks chasing a cabin that didn’t exist and laugh their asses off when he returned all dejected.
“What does the cabin look like?” James blurted out. “How do I get there? Is it... When was dad last there? Is there anything... special about the place? I mean, why did he even own that cabin?”
The lawyer stared at him blankly before turning to James’s brother for help.
“No idea,” James’s brother replied coolly.
“Let me see if there’s something in the papers,” the lawyer said, heaving a tired sigh as he began looking.
“Ah!” he said. “It says here the address is…” He quirked an eyebrow. “1 Forrester Trail… Tour County?” He cleared his throat and said, almost to himself, “Never heard of that place.”
But James had.
Tour County.
And despite the hardships of the past few weeks, those two words conjured a smile on his face.
A happy memory.
It looked like there was some meaning to his father’s inheritance after all.
“Tour County,” James’s brother murmured. “Isn’t that where dad went hunting a couple of times?”
James smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I went with him once.”
“Oh,” his brother said, studying his nails.
“It was a nice trip,” James said. He knew neither his brother nor the lawyer cared, but he felt like saying it anyway, as if the words could help the memories manifest.
“We spent four nights in a bed-and-breakfast in town,” he said, and considered his memories of the trip for a moment. “There was something really special about it…”
He remembered driving up to Tour County with his father. It had felt as if at some indeterminable point in their journey, they crossed through a portal into another world. Colors were more vibrant, the scents of the forest fresher, and his blood seemed to flow faster and thicker.
Tour had utterly charmed him, and it had the same effect on his father.
But after the trip, James forgot all about it — as if it had never been. In fact, he didn’t recall reminiscing about the trip even once.
Not until now.
He chuckled. “I can’t believe dad actually bought a cabin up there!”
“Yeah,” his brother said, impatience edging his voice. “Well, I guess it’s yours now.”
“Will you accept it?” the lawyer asked.
That was a very practical question, and it brought to mind a number of objections. A cabin had to cost money, even if it had been paid off. Maintenance, taxes, other things — James had never owned real estate before. He’d have to get into all of that.
Maybe he could sell it?
But he had no idea what the market was like. He remembered Tour was undiscovered; there had been no other hunters there for the season.
And then there was his job.
His apartment.
He had bills to pay, obligations in the city.
“I don’t know,” James muttered. “I have no idea what to do with a cabi
“Well, if you don’t accept it, we’ll have to think of a way to get rid of it,” the lawyer said, returning to his papers. “We’ll sell it, and the money will then go to the heirs who did accept.” He nodded at James’s brother, his sister-in-law, and then James before rising from his chair. “Thank you all for coming.”
“Hold on,” James’s sister-in-law said.
She gave James an empathetic look. “Are you sure, James?” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m certain your father meant well, James. He just wanted you to find happiness... whatever you choose to do. Is it worth thinking about this before you say no?”
She had a point.
Maybe this was a chance for him. A way to change a life he wasn’t really enjoying so far. And even though he had been at odds with his father, James still wondered what the intention behind this ‘gift’ had been.
Maybe it was acceptance of who James was?
A gift ‘for your happiness’?
And besides, James would like to go up there once more. It’d be good to remember that trip.
Maybe he would stay overnight and return in the morning?
Surely it wouldn’t be too much trouble if James needed some time to consider. Especially since they’d already made such a big fuss over everything else, including all the gifts and letters that had poured in from their many distant relatives. The whole affair surrounding his father’s death and inheritance had taken weeks already.
James looked at the lawyer. “Can I have a look at the place before I decide?”
“If you insist,” the lawyer said with a tired sigh. “But the sooner you can settle this, the better for all concerned.”
James nodded. “Yes. It won’t take long. A few days.”
Chapter 2
James drove north in his banged-up old sedan. He was alone, and that gave him some time to think. Or at least to pretend he was thinking, so that he could ignore the churning in his mind and concentrate instead on what he should do once he saw his father’s cabin.
Should he accept it? The truth was, he’d been in a bit of a rut ever since he dropped out of college.
His parents had groomed James for a life as a highly educated, upper-class businessman. That was what they had been, of course, but nothing about that life interested James.
James loved the outdoors, he loved honest work, and he loved a good book by the fireplace. And even though he’d ended up in the city for a job, he didn’t care for it much.
Was that why his father gave him the cabin... for his happiness?
He took a left at the first sign saying, ‘Welcome to Tour County’.
As soon as he crossed the county line, he sped up — a little faster than usual, actually. There weren’t many cars out on these back roads.
His thoughts kept turning over the same questions over and over again.
How far away from civilization would this cabin be? What kind of condition would it be in after all these years without maintenance? Would it have electricity or running water? If not, how did he plan on making it comfortable enough to live in?
James had been to the town of Tour once before, years ago, on the hunting trip with his father. That was one of the few pleasant memories he had about the man, and he remembered the town well.
James pulled off onto the shoulder just before he entered the town limits to give the place a good look before he ventured in. It wasn’t very often that people drove this way. Tour was just a hamlet.
Most houses were small and basic. During their trip, his father had told him Tour was an old town that had grown to accommodate a farm or two and a very modest logging industry. After new laws pertaining to the logging industry, the work had died down and hardly anyone lived there anymore. Most tourists wouldn’t come out this far, even if they wanted to visit the woods.
And even if someone found their way out here and decided to stay awhile, they’d probably turn around and head right back to the bigger logging towns when they realized they had nothing else here except nature and trees.
But here, just outside Tour, was the perfect spot to park his car and reflect on the trip he had taken here with his father. There was a pleasant stream nearby, too. Perfect. There was something about the babbling of water that calmed his mind.
He remembered they had laughed, and his father had taught him many things about hunting and outdoorsmanship. In fact, the man had seemed changed out here. Relaxed, in touch with nature.
Prior to the trip, James and his father had not been on good terms; the man wanted James to be something he was not: a ruthless, callous businessman, a shark with a singular focus on money.
Just like his father had been.
James was not like that — he never would be.
But out here, his father had been different. His expectations for James changed, and his own stress receded.
This place had called out to James back then — and it still did so now. He smiled slightly to himself as he turned over the sensations in his mind — the fresh air, the beauty of nature, the peacefulness of it all.
They had spent the four nights at a small bed-and-breakfast in Tour, and James remembered sitting by the fire, reading in content silence.
A pleasant memory.
After that, things got back to normal, and James took his rightful position as black sheep of the family again. His father’s disappointment returned, and they never caught the feeling of wonder and freedom that they had shared in Tour again.
James took a deep breath of fresh air, scented by the surrounding pines. Already, some of the magic he had felt back then returned. Everything was more vibrant out here — more alive.
With a smile, he stepped back into his car. He took one last look in the mirror at himself.
The face that stared back at him seemed older somehow. More tired and worn out, although he didn’t feel like he looked that bad. A little worried, yes. But well... more adult.
So he stopped worrying about what others might think and focused on what he needed to do.
James turned over the engine and pulled out. He let his fingers gently glide across the steering wheel as the scenery flowed past.
He drove through the small town; it was exactly as he remembered it, with a single street down the center and some smaller roads branching off. He paid little attention to it, focused now on following his navigation’s instructions to reach the cabin.
Soon, a clearing appeared ahead, with an old barn nestled among some tall pine trees. He slowed down a little as he approached a large gate made of heavy timbers held together with big metal clamps. On the other side stood a rickety old fence with holes in it where branches were growing through the gaps.
His navigation told him this was the place.
“That can’t be,” he told himself. “This is a barn, not a cabin.”
He looked around to see if there was a farmhouse nearby. Just when he was about to give up and head back to Tour and ask for directions there, the door to the barn swung open and a woman came out.
And what a woman!
To say this woman was the hottest farmer’s daughter James had ever seen was an understatement.
She wore overalls and a work shirt that hung loosely over her firm breasts, nipples poking at the coarse fabric. Her ginger hair was tied back in a loose ponytail that reached halfway down her slim and toned back.
And even her overalls couldn’t conceal a thick ass that would put most Instagram models to shame. And when she slammed the door shut and turned so James could see her face, his heart just melted at the sight of those big green eyes and plump lips.
“Hot damn,” he muttered to himself, feeling his need rise.
She stopped short as soon as she saw him staring, then walked toward the car.
She halted in front of the window, James still gaping at her, and stood with her hands on her hips and stared straight into his eyes before breaking out into a grin.
She made the universal sign of rolling down the window, and James pushed the button, his sedan’s window barely complying.
“Hello there,” he said.
The girl stuck her hand through the open window. “Howdy yourself. You must be new to town.” The smile widened on her pretty face.
