by Eileen Green
With autumn setting in, the grass was dry here in the valley. Also, with the dry hot air from the fire, it had turned a lot of greenery into brittle fodder. They were having to supplement feed for the cattle and horses. It was going to be a long chore-filled winter, and the meteorologists were predicting it was going to be arriving in the next few weeks.
Cade was setting out salt and mineral blocks at each hay feeder for the cattle. They had already worked on the water troughs along with the hands, making sure the water lines were clear and functioning. Once the snows arrived, the work would be easier to maintain the feeding schedules. Also, the pastures that had the creek running through it would provide moving water from the hot spring that sat a half-mile up the mountain.
“I don’t know,” Cade responded as he grabbed another block. “She’s been worried about Marlowe all this time. I hated that Mom might not make it and never see Marls again. She was like a daughter to Mom, and we all hoped she would be a daughter-in-law too. Hopefully, she’s singing our praises to Marlowe.”
Cole moved another bale to the feeder before sitting on the side of the pickup. “We can’t lose her.”
Leaning up against the pickup and then crossing his arms on the edge, Cade sighed. “I told Billy to fix her car to where it won’t start. It’ll give us a few extra days.”
A chuckle sounded from Cole. “Wow. I was going to pull some wires. Glad I didn’t do that.”
The two men stood there in the silence, their faces up to the sun. Cole couldn’t ignore the feeling that was welling within him, and he could feel the same vibes emanating from his brother. He closed his eyes and called his alter ego.
In less than half a minute, Cole had transformed into his cougar and was shaking his fur in his freedom. Glancing over, he saw that Cade had done so also. Cole leaped from the bed of the truck and streaked toward the burned-out area that was the east part of the ranch, knowing they wouldn’t run across any humans. They were free to run through the remains of trees and brush, letting their minds work on their current dilemma with Marlowe.
* * * *
Dante Kingston watched the two Younger boys in their cougar form run through what was left of the forest. They had made it to the edge of their property that bordered the federal land Dante worked in. He had grown up in Passion and had left when he went to school to become a Forest Service worker. He had come back when he had been offered the position in the national park east of Passion. He had been lucky, as he could have been stationed anywhere within the U.S. or its territories.
The devastating fire that swept through his forest had been heartbreaking, not only for the loss of the trees that had stood sentinel for decades but for the animals who hadn’t been able to outrun the flames. It would be a few years before animals made their way to their part of the forest, and even more time would pass before new trees would make an impact on the mountains.
Dante still had a job to do. He was surveying the square acreage that would need to be replanted come spring. If it had been summertime when the fire had hit, trees would have been replanted by now. They would have had a chance to establish themselves in the soil before the winter snows blanketed the mountains for the winter. At this elevation, the mountains wouldn’t be clear again until the spring thaw began.
Very little would need to be tended to during the winter months for Dante. He would go to work in his office during the day, doing practically nothing, and then at night, he would go home to a lonely house.
He had heard about Marlowe Sanderson being back in town from his cousin Jasper, the sheriff. They had hung out with Cade and Cole after she left town, trying to get them to move on, but those two were hooked on the woman. Their dedication to wait for her return had given Dante and Jasper hope that one day their mate would enter their lives. It was only a matter of waiting.
Sighing deeply, Dante was beginning to believe he and Jasper were destined to be alone. It was hard to meet new people, new women, in a small town such as Passion. Sure, there were tourists that came through, but it was hard because they were usually only there for a day. During the winter months, the hotels would fill up with skiers and snowboarders. There were visitors from the ski resorts that filled up. They were gone during the day and would eat dinner at the restaurants in town or hit up the bars before they headed back to their rooms.
Oh, well. Back to work.
He stepped back up to the theodolite, a tool used in land surveying and engineering, on the tripod he had set up on the road just behind his government-issued SUV. He was able to measure areas and record them with near accuracy so he could do his job with ordering trees. For twenty minutes he measured and then measured again as he recorded his information on the map he had. He would move the theodolite to each new spot and repeat each motion.
It made him sick whenever he skimmed the sights across the skeleton of an animal who hadn’t been able to outrun the flames. There were too many of them out here, but thankfully, none of the shifters had been caught out in the fire. They had all been accounted for once the fire had begun to move westward toward Passion. Other towns and people weren’t as lucky as Passion, and the townspeople were ready to help out those less fortunate.
Dante was ready to move onto a new section when something caught his eye. He scanned the small area again and found the spot again. There was a skeleton there, but it wasn’t what he was expecting, at all. He grabbed his phone and dialed Jasper’s number. Once his cousin answered, Dante said in disbelief, “I found a human skeleton.”
Chapter Four
How could this day get any more screwed up? First the fall. Then the car. And now this!
Marlowe had forgotten how big Jasper Kingston was. Actually, he seemed taller and more muscular than when they were younger, and now he seemed more imposing as he stood next to the fireplace in the Youngers’ living room.
She was sitting on the couch that faced the tile-covered fireplace, with Cade on her left side and Cole on her right. They were crowding her as if trying to offer solace once Jasper told them the reason he was there. Coraline sat in a dark blue velvet wing-backed chair that Marlowe knew to be an original piece from the previous house, an antique. Everyone seemed sad but also upset.
“I don’t understand,” Marlowe mumbled as she wrung her hands together in her lap.
She was trying not to cry, but she couldn’t help it. The bombshell she had been handed was beyond disbelief. It was changing her entire life.
Jasper was upset as he tried to explain Dante’s findings. He scrubbed his hand down his handsome face and then handed Marlowe the necklace she had given her mother the Christmas before she disappeared. “Your mother had been buried up in the forest. The grave was shallow from what we could tell, but the dense underbrush most likely concealed it. I-I believe she died of a blow to the head for there is a lot of damage there.”
“So, she never left me intentionally?” She knew she sounded stupid as she fingered the gold heart on the chain, her only lifeline to her mother now, but she couldn’t help it. This whole ordeal was confusing and shocking.
Cade slid his arm around Marlowe’s shoulders and pulled her into him. Cole laid his hand on her thigh. She felt the support they were offering her, but she knew it was only because of the circumstances.
“There is no road up there that would take her out of town. It was one of the old logging roads,” Dante responded as he walked behind the couch to the wing-backed chair next to Coraline. He had gotten a cup of coffee Coraline had set out on the bar in the corner.
Marlowe was amazed at how big the house was now and how modern it was inside compared to the exterior, which lent an air of times past. The Youngers had spared no expense in decorating. It wasn’t ostentatious. It was homey yet provided ease and comfort for the people living here.
Growing up as Danny Sanderson’s kid, she lacked for many things most kids took for granted. Food, clothing, and a warm, dry house. Marlowe’s mother, Marjorie, worked hard to at least have four walls aroun
d them. Danny took most of the money Marjorie made and drank it away, constantly telling her he was in too much pain to work himself. He had been in a car accident when he was around twenty-three, and his back never recovered. However, Marlowe knew the man was lazy and didn’t want to work.
Their house was cold and drafty after a tree branch had damaged one of the walls and roof in the living room when Marlowe was seven. Her mother had been after Danny for years to fix it so they didn’t have to suffer in the wintertime. Rainwater leaked in through the roof, and the cold seeped in through the crack in the wall, but her father was too lazy to do the repairs. Marlowe would change into her cat to stay warm, but Danny hated that she and her mother could shift. He was abusive when he was drunk and only slightly less abusive when he was sober, which wasn’t often. He drank away the money for the necessities in life, and if it hadn’t been for Coraline after her mother had disappeared, Marlowe would have starved.
Marlowe had been threatened by Danny to never reveal the abuse to anyone. She couldn’t help if others saw the aftereffects of it or they guessed what was going on. She never did come out to say anything about it, nor did she deny it. People would always draw their own conclusions.
“Baby girl, are you all right?” Cade asked her. Had Marlowe missed something?
Glancing around the room, she saw the concerned faces of people she loved and who had been friends at one point. Now, she felt all alone. She felt abandoned, again.
“Huh?” she uttered.
“Do you remember if your mother packed up anything when she left?” Jasper inquired as he came around and sat on the coffee table before her. “I’m sorry, Marlowe, but we’re going to have to build a case against your father. He is the only one who would have wanted to hurt her.”
“Why would you assume my father killed my mother?” She very well knew the answer, but she had to hear Jasper out.
Coraline gasped while both Cade and Cole turned toward Marlowe. Neither man removed their hands from her, offering her support, and no matter what they’d done back then, Marlowe could use the support now that her world was crumbling even more than before.
“Your mother was a very private person,” Coraline said softly. “She was my best friend, but she kept so much to herself. I suspected abuse, and I even pointed it out to her. She would just laugh it off when I pointed out the bruises, but I knew. When she disappeared, I knew I had to look over you, because most of the time your father was drunk or verbally abusive to those around him. It was best that you came out here often to play or to study so that I could keep an eye on you.”
“If you all suspected abuse, why didn't anybody do anything about it?”
“Suspecting and proving are two different things.” Jasper took a deep breath. “It's easy to accuse someone, very easy, but you have to have the proof, and when the victim won't corroborate the accusation, then there's not much that can be done. I know that it's a hard thing to accept, but the victim has to be proactive in accepting help. We know that you, as a child and as a young adult, were probably afraid to say anything. And I'm sure that your father probably threatened you and your mother from saying anything.”
Marlowe never imagined that this trip back home would come to this. With how she’d gotten hurt, run into the Younger boys, and now told that her mother's body had been found, and everyone knew about the abuse from her father, this was all too much for her.
Jumping to her feet, she ran for one of the French doors, threw it open, and then bolted outside. As she darted across the back deck, she heard the exclamations of surprise and the movement of everyone. She just needed to stay ahead of everyone.
Fur erupted on her skin as she willed her bones to contort. As she changed, her body bulking up, she heard the tears of material and soon the scrubs that she wore were left behind in tatters. It was only a few seconds before she was down on all fours hurdling over the railing and landing on the lawn behind the house. She leapt over the fence and out across the pasture toward what was left of the forest.
It had been ages since she had run free as her cat. Living in the big city in these times, when people were in the parks jogging at all hours of the day and night, it was a big chance running around as a cougar. Wolf, bear, and other shifters must have been having the same problems. No wonder Thomas Passion moved out here from New York City way back then.
He had created a wonderland for shifters and humans alike. Passion was a town where people had to be tolerant of others, although about half the townsfolk knew about shifters and another quarter probably suspected. Sightings of animals could be explained off to tourists and those remaining citizens, but no one was called a liar or pushed out.
The cool wind in her face and ruffling through her blond coat felt refreshing as her legs ate up the ground she ran over. It hurt that she was running over charred land instead of brown dirt, but she knew, come spring, green would begin to sprout up along the forest floor. But for now, she was content running free.
Reveling in the feel of freedom, she released a growl. God, that felt good.
Twigs snapped behind her, announcing company. Cade and Cole were cougars, so they were the quickest of the five other people in the living room. Jasper and Dante were shifters also, but they were grizzly bears, and they weren’t able to run as fast as cougars. Marlowe wasn’t too sure what Coraline was capable of at the moment since she was recuperating from the chemo and radiation.
Marlowe dodged to the left, hoping to throw the brothers off, but it was a brief distraction, as they were right behind her again. She leapt over downed trees that had stood sentinel in the forest for nearly a century, along with burnt brush. Her playground as a cub was gone, replaced with black, broken, and dead equipment.
Panting grew louder from behind her, and she could feel hot breath on her tail. She was losing the race. However, it was the body that struck her from the left that caught her off guard and had her tumbling down the hill. She pounced back onto her paws, but both large cats were circling her, giving her very little room to try to escape. Hanging her head, she ceded the chase.
Cole and Cade continued to circle her even after she sat down on her haunches. She watched them warily. Despite the little show of dominance they were putting on, Marlowe raised her face up to the sky and closed her eyes. The air was still acidic with the aroma of smoke and burned wood, but she could smell the fresh air here. The sun was also warm on her face, which was something she missed. Looking around the mountain and the valley below her, seeing the town, lake, and river, she realized just how much she’d missed it. Even the people here.
She also had to admit that, even in her animal body, she couldn’t deny the attraction she had to the two Younger brothers, whether in their human form or their animal. Since she came into contact with them on Main Street, she had absorbed their scents into her body, and she had gotten aroused. Just like she was now.
* * * *
Circling Marlowe allowed Cade to settle his breathing yet stay on guard should she run again. Her face turned up toward the sun gave her a relaxed expression, especially when she closed her eyes. He had to smile.
She had grown into a beautiful woman, even though she had always been beautiful. But there was a maturity to her now. Her cat was also mature now. Of course, that was what happened after twelve years.
Earlier when Cade and Cole had shifted and gone on their run, they had stopped on the edge of the pasture that held the heifers, all five hundred head of them. They had all been bred back in June, so April was going to be a busy month for them. Extra hands would be brought on in March, and then the herd would be separated into smaller groups so it would be easier to monitor them during the stages that would occur for the births.
Neither man had an issue with shifting back to their human state and being naked, so when they had transformed earlier, they’d lounged on large boulders near the river, which was more like a creek now this close to winter. They discussed Marlowe and what could have possibly happened when she le
ft, a discussion they had had so many times.
“Did you see her face when she saw Mom?” Cole had asked. “She always liked her, and Mom loved her. Treated her like her own daughter.”
“Perhaps she’ll stick around some now that she knows about Mom.” Cade hoped Marlowe would stay. Their mother had been through a lot, and he and his brother had their hands full with the ranch. Even though Coraline was on the tail end of treatments and would soon face her reconstructive surgery, she still appeared weak and tired. She had perked up when Marlowe had stepped out of the pickup, becoming a small semblance of what she had been before being diagnosed.
There had been discussions on whether they should try to find Marlowe when their mother had first been diagnosed so she would know. Then she could make the decision to come back or not. If she chose not to, then that would have crushed their mother. Coraline had insisted they not try to find her, to honor Marlowe’s wish of obscurity.
“Only time will tell if she’s going to stay or not,” Cole said sadly. “I just really want to know…”
“Don’t say it,” Cade admonished. “We can’t force her to talk about it, so there’s no sense beating ourselves up about her. We can’t hold her here.”
Cole transformed back into his cat and took off. He was the one that was more emotional and tended to show it. Cade followed suit and followed his brother. Now, hours later, they were watching Marlowe, waiting for her to make her move.
* * * *
A cold breeze swept down the mountainside as she sat appreciating her freedom. The two males around her were irritating. They weren’t leaving her alone, and she had to wonder if it was out of friendship that they remained or a sense of guilt. Could she still trust them as friends?
Winter was going to be here very soon, something she missed greatly. San Francisco was where she lived, but it wasn't home, and she had known that for a long time. She missed nature, the seasons, the ability to release herself into it all at a moment's notice.
