A Witch's Journey

by Tena Stetler

  Lathen patted the seat she’d vacated. “How about we relax and enjoy the full moon?”

  She peered up at the moon and back to him. “Doesn’t that stir something primal in you?”

  With a half laugh, half snort, he wrapped his arm around her as she settled in beside him. “That’s a myth. Werewolves phase whenever the mood strikes. Not because the lunar configuration dictates. Do witches in their pointy hats fly on their broomsticks across the night sky during the full moon?”

  She harrumphed. “Of course not.”

  He shrugged. “Same thing. So when can we expect your parents?”

  “They haven’t called back, so just showing up is probably what they have planned.” She frowned.

  “Anything I should know before they get here?”

  “Nope. Dad’s easy going, Mom—well, she’s a take-charge kind of person, but…”

  “So should I plan on spending the nights at my place while they’re here?”

  “Nope, I like things the way they are. How about you?” she asked.

  He leaned over and brushed his lips over hers. “Uh huh.”

  They slipped into a comfortable silence, her head cuddled on his shoulder and his cheek resting on top her head.

  The blaring sound of his phone shattered the quiet. He yanked the phone from his belt and glared at the screen. “Not tonight, Matt.” He turned the phone off.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Look What the Full Moon Dragged In

  The next morning after feeding Ember, Lathen grabbed a piece of toast and orange juice. He turned on his phone, as he followed Pepper and Kaylee to the beach where the osprey hunted her own breakfast. Ember cut him off as he ambled down the path looking at the phone’s screen. There were three more messages. He joined Pepper sitting on the retaining wall to the marine enclosure and played the first one. “Hey, Lathen, it’s Matt. Nothing’s broken, so don’t worry. But there is a stranger asking for you around town. He didn’t leave a name, only said he’d go back to your place and wait. I didn’t want to send him out to Pepper’s before talking to you first. Since my first encounter, Roark and Rob called me. He’d been to their places asking questions also. Call me when you get this message.” Lathen listened to the other messages, which said the same thing, no name but a description of a big guy.

  “What do you make of that?” Pepper asked casually, sliding her pack off her shoulders and dabbing at the extra butter on her toast with a paper towel. She took a swig of the orange juice she’d brought along, bit into the toast, and looked expectantly at him as she chewed.

  Lathen scratched his head, popped the last bite of toast in his mouth, and finished the orange juice in his glass. “I don’t know. Not expecting anyone. I was rough on a couple of suppliers when the material didn’t show up on time, but…they’re too far away to make it personal.”

  He shrugged. “Guess I’ll go back to my place and see if he’s there.”

  Pepper picked up her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and whistled for Kaylee. “I’m coming with you.”

  “No, you’re not. I have no idea who this person is, and I’d rather find out without putting anyone in danger.”

  “You haven’t told me much about yourself, your time in the special forces, or why you took up residence here, with no friends or family. If there are skeletons in your closet, it’s time to call them out.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s probably nothing, and I’ll be right back.”

  “I’m going.” She flounced up the path. Stopped to close the aviary door after Kaylee flew in. Ember raced ahead and scrambled over the front to the back seat of the truck when Pepper opened the door.

  Lathen shook his head at the wet paw prints and got into the truck. Who the hell is looking for me? On the way to his cottage, he ran through all the possibilities in his head. The man wasn’t a local, or Matt and Roark would have known him. A tourist would have no reason to look him up. He’d spoken with Jim and Les, the other survivors of his SEAL team, a couple weeks ago. It wouldn’t be either of them, though they were both big guys.

  When he left the service, he made it abundantly clear his hacking days for the government were over. Turning onto his street, he slowed, drove around the main house to his cottage, and saw a large black SUV, clearly a rental, parked in front with one occupant. Appeared to be male. He drove past and returned to the main road, pulled off to the side, and stopped. Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he glanced over to Pepper.

  “What wrong?”

  “Nothing, just thinking. You and Ember stay here. I gotta check out that car.” He leaned over and pulled something from under his seat, tucked it in his waistband, and opened the door.

  “We’re going with you.” Pepper reached for the door handle.

  Lathen jumped out of the door, slid over the hood and slammed her door shut. “I’m a goddamned Navy SEAL. I’ve got this. Stay put.”

  Pepper’s eyes rounded as she sucked in a breath and sat back in the seat, arms crossed over her chest. “Oookay.”

  Lathen walked across the road and followed the driveway around the main house until he had a clear view of the vehicle. A newspaper the man was reading obscured his face. Lathen relaxed a little. Hand behind his back on his weapon, he crept to the car and yanked open the door. The man dropped the paper, jerked toward him, then smiled.

  “Kolby. What the hell are you doing here?” Lathen stood dropped his hand from his back and extended it. “Where’s Hayley?”

  “She’s at the SeaCrest Inn. When I couldn’t locate you, we decided to check in a couple hours ago. She wanted to stay and enjoy the view, take a walk while I looked for you again. The people in this town are sure tight-lipped.”

  “We protect our own. Is something wrong?”

  “Nope. Time for you to come home.”

  “We discussed this. I’m not going back to Alaska. I’ve made a home here. I’ve met someone and found my peace with the world.” I hope.

  “Okay…then you should understand. Dad has found someone too, and after all these years, he’s going to get married again. You need to be there. It’s time you both set aside your differences. He was only doing what he thought best—after your injuries and you wouldn’t even try to…Life is just too damn short. You, of all people, should know that.”

  The muscle in Lathen’s jaw pulsed. His lips pressed together in a slight grimace. He paced to the front of the vehicle, changed direction midstride, and returned to his brother. “I’m glad he found someone. He deserves to have a life mate—and be happy. But I’m not going back to the pack lands. I can’t.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “I’m committed to something here.”

  Kolby slammed the SUV’s door. “You could fly up there, attend the wedding, and fly back over the course of a few days. Surely, you can find that kind of time for your family. Can’t you?”

  “Dad doesn’t know you’re here. Does he?” Lathen shot back.

  “I told him I was going to find my brother and have a discussion with him.”

  “And I bet he told you good luck.”

  Kolby laughed. “Not in so many words, but close. Are we going to stand out here and air our dirty laundry for all to hear, or are you going to invite me in?” He nodded to the curtain in the main house’s window that was still moving, as if someone had been looking out and slipped to the side. “By the way, where’s your truck?”

  “His truck is parked out on the road,” Pepper said coming around the corner of the house, Ember close at her side. “Where he left us.”

  “I thought…” Lathen’s hands clenched and unclenched as he shoved them in his pockets.

  “I got concerned when you didn’t come right back. So Ember and I decided to check things out. When it didn’t look confrontational, thought it was safe to surface.” She grinned at Lathen and stepped toward the man, hand extended. “Pepper McKay, and this is Ember.”

  With a shit-eating grin spread across his face, Kolby gr
asped her hand and looked from his brother to her. “Pleased to meet you, Pepper. I’m Kolby Quartz, Lathen’s brother.”

  Lathen took hold of Pepper’s hand. “Could I have a word?”

  “Sure, but only one.”

  He turned to his brother. “Excuse us for a minute.”

  Lathen grasped her elbow and walked around to the front of the main house. “What are you doing?” he hissed through his teeth. “This is family business.”

  “And…Oh—I’m not family. I get it.” She wrenched her arm free. “Ember and I are going back to the truck.” She held her hand out. “Keys, please. Your brother can drive you back to my place to get your truck and the rest of your stuff will be outside.”

  “Now hold on, Pepper. That’s not what I meant.”

  “Keys.” She continued to hold her hand out and tapped her foot impatiently.

  Lathen shot an irritated glance at his brother, then returned his gaze to Pepper. Yanking his hand out of his pocket with the keys, he dangled them above her hand.

  “Now just listen to me. I want to get things settled with my brother. Then I would like to bring him over to your place along with his wife this evening, we can go out to dinner at The Cliffside, and you can get to know them. You know how I feel about you. So please give me a bit of breathing room where my brother and family issues are concerned. I don’t mind discussing the issues in front of you, but Kolby may not appreciate it.”

  She swiped at his hand and snatched the keys. “I’ll think about it.” Pepper paused, then called over her shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Kolby.” With that she sashayed away toward the truck. Pepper called Ember who was still sitting at Lathen’s feet. “Us girls gotta stick together.” The dog gave him a longing look but trotted obediently after Pepper with one more look back.

  “Wow, got a spirited one there. Is it serious?” Kolby asked raising one eyebrow.

  “It’s none of your business.” Lathen looked at the genuine concern and interest in his brother’s eyes. “But yes, she’s the one.”

  “Have you told her?”

  “That is really none of your business.”

  Kolby stared down at the ground, kicked the dirt with the toe of his boot. “I lost the brother I knew. Even though you came home a hero, you were never the same.”

  “Some hero. Eight good men died that day.”

  “I get it, survivor’s guilt. Your injuries were more than physical, but man, you should have let us help. Not shut us out. When you became sullen, angry, and those violent outbursts…” Kolby shook his head. “Being deliberately hurtful to those who loved you, the behavior…Dad as pack leader had to take action. He didn’t want to, but you wouldn’t… Well, that’s all in the past.”

  “Is it?” Lathen turned on his heel and marched toward his cottage. “Coming?” He unlocked the door and pushed it open. It smelled musty and unlived in. When he turned on the light, dust motes floated in the air, and he realized just how much Pepper’s cabin had become home.

  Kolby followed him in, looked around, and sniffed. “Don’t spend much time here, huh? You really are serious about her.” He shook his head again.

  “If you don’t quit shaking your head, it’s going to fall off your shoulders. Then where will you be?” Lathen punched his brother in the arm and moved to open a couple windows.

  Staring wide-eyed, mouth agape at first, then Kolby suddenly roared with laughter. “You haven’t said that to me since we were kids.”

  “Yeah, I know. Been a struggle, but I’ve finally found my place, and we’ll see about the rest. Now tell me about this woman Dad is going to marry.” Lathen plopped down on a well-worn sofa. “I’d offer you a beer, but…all I have is water.”

  His brother settled into a chair across from Lathen. “That’ll work. Dad was taking several people on a guided tour of Denali. She was among them. She’s from a pack in Montana, near the Canadian border. Anyway, they hit it off and exchanged information when it was time for her to leave. They emailed and chatted over the Internet for a few months and Dad decided a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work. Pushed her away, like he always did when a woman got too close as we were growing up. I told him what a dumbass he was being, he exploded, and stomped out.”

  “I bet you were on his shit list for a while.” Lathen snickered, shoved up from the sofa, and ambled into the kitchen. He took a couple of glasses from the cupboard, pushed the ice dispenser on the fridge, and did a tiny fist pump when cubes hit the first glass. When he returned to the living room, he handed his brother a glass of ice water.

  Kolby reached for the glass and snorted. “The funny thing is the next day, Amy—that’s her name—showed up on his doorstep unannounced and took him to task. She doesn’t take any of his shit.” He took a long drink from the glass.

  “I’d like to have seen that.” Lathen took a sip from his glass and wondered what Pepper was doing right then. Probably had a tall glass of iced tea with lemon…his brother’s voice grew louder as it always did when he knew Lathen wasn’t paying attention.

  “Me too,” Kolby said continuing the story. “I heard what happened from Hayley, who met Amy at the nail salon later that week. Dad hadn’t said a word to us. Anyway, Amy never went home, and the rest is history.”

  “So you decided it was time for me to patch up things with the old man,” Lathen said narrowing his eyes.

  “It’s time to be a family again. I miss you. Dad misses you.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “You’ve changed. I could tell that the minute you yanked open the car door and didn’t point the gun at me. Yeah, I saw the gun at your back.”

  Lathen shrugged. “I didn’t have any idea who was looking for me. I had Pepper and Ember with me, didn’t want to take any chances. You could have called first.”

  “If you’d given me your number. We had a heck of a time finding you. Actually, Hayley found you. She has a friend who does skip tracing for a PI in Anchorage. It didn’t take her long to find you. And here we are.” Kolby raised his arms shoulder high and spread them apart, then dropped them into his lap.

  “How long are you going to stay?”

  “Don’t know. I’ve got six weeks leave I need to take or lose. Hayley just quit her job. And we’ve never been to Maine.”

  Raising a brow, Lathen stared at Kolby. “Why’d she quit her job? You guys aren’t leaving Alaska?”

  Skirting the subject, he said, “Now tell me about Pepper.”

  “Nope, what’s going on, bro? Spill it.”

  Kolby below out a breath. “I’m not allowed… Aww, shit…Hayley’s pregnant. You’re going to be an uncle. But if you let on that I told you…”

  “Congratulations. Didn’t know you had it in you,” Lathen said.

  He grinned. “Well, really it was…”

  “Oh, dude, don’t go there. So that’s the real reason you’re here. Family man brings the stray back to the pack. You taking over from Dad?”

  “It’s not like that, and you know it,” Kolby shot back.

  Lathen took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Pepper is a certified wildlife rehabilitation specialist. She is building the Lobster Cove Wildlife Rescue and Rehab Center with my help. That’s where I spend the majority of my time.”

  “You’re kidding. Right? The tough Navy SEAL, hacker extraordinaire is…what?”

  “Until I met Pepper, I was the town handyman. Made a damn good living too.”

  Kolby’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Believe it. My time is my own, don’t answer to anyone. I took the jobs that interested me, set my hours, rates, and met a lot of nice nonjudgmental people that I call friends now.”

  “I take it Kate at the diner isn’t one of them?” Kolby smirked.

  Lathen gave a half laugh. “Nope, she’s not among them. What’d you do, canvas the whole town?”

  “Just about.” Kolby looked at his watch. “I should get back to the inn. Hayley is probably wondering
what happened to me.”

  “Could you drop me off at Pepper’s place first? Then go get Hayley and meet me back at the rescue in a couple hours. We’ll go out to dinner. I’m buying.”

  “Hey, not going to turn that down. But aren’t you in trouble with Pepper?”

  “Yeah, but it’ll be all right.”

  “She knows the family secret?”

  “Yes.”

  Kolby drove up the driveway to Pepper’s cabin and parked behind Lathen’s truck. As Lathen climbed out of the SUV, Kolby opened his door, stepped out, and looked around. “Nice place she has here. Great view. Hayley would love it. Looks like the construction is about finished. Still got a lot of work to do interior wise?”

  Lathen closed his door and walked around to stand beside his brother, looking out toward the ocean. “We’re getting there. Had back orders on equipment slow us down, but that’s to be expected. Grand opening is planned for late September. We’ll be ready.”

  Kolby shaded his eyes with his hand watching a few gulls swoop and dive over the water. “Dad’s wedding is planned for the third Saturday in August. That’s plenty of time to work around your schedule here and be back long before the grand opening.” He glanced sideways at his brother.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Lathen ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. So many thoughts and feelings bounced around in his head. His relationship with Pepper, his father, the pack, his brother, going home again, and phasing. He had to try and soon. Feeling a little overwhelmed, he sighed.

  As if his brother knew what was going on in Lathen’s head, Kolby grasped his brother by the shoulder and shook him a little. “Dad would love to meet Pepper. You know if you plan to make her your mate, you’re going to have to introduce her to the pack. I take it she’s not a Were? So why not do it all at once?”

  “I don’t have to do anything. No, she is not a Were. But I’ll consider it and discuss the situation with Pepper.” He paced to the front of the truck. “I’d better go in and talk to her. See ya in a couple hours? Oh, nice casual dress is required at The Cliffside.”