by Tara Rose
“Mancie and Nevada did. I’ll take off five dollars today, just for you.”
Felicity agreed to the price, and then after she paid for it, she steered Maverick east on Juniper Street. “He was trying to get rid of us. I’ve never seen him do that. Never. And I’ve lived here all my life.”
“That grandson of his is creepy. What’s his story?”
Felicity frowned. “I don’t know. No one does. He was a few grades behind me in school, but it’s not like we had so many kids in every class that we didn’t all know what was going on in each of them, you know? He wasn’t in school much, and then the rumors started going around that Mancie was homeschooling him.
He smiled and shook his head. “I didn’t have that experience. I mean of going to a school where I knew what was going on in other grades. I went to a high school that graduated no less than four hundred kids a year.”
“Well, we all know each other’s business here, and if I said that Nevada was in school half the year, that would be stretching it. Mancie was supposedly homeschooling him, but the thing is, she was always moving around, too. Mason has been heard telling people that Mancie goes to college for various things, but as far as I know, she doesn’t even have one degree. And when she returns each time, so does Nevada.”
“Who are his friends? Maybe they know?”
Felicity stopped in front of Sassy Brassy to admire a deep red corset in the window. “He has none. At least, none that I know of. He’s a loner. Nevada Ruiz was of those kids that everyone thought of as odd, but no one paid much attention to, you know? Not the oddballs that were teased. Nevada was simply ignored.”
“I know the type.” He nodded toward the window display. “That’s a nice color, but I think with your red hair something deep green or even chocolate brown would go better. Want to step inside and see if they have anything like that?”
Felicity laughed to cover up her sudden embarrassment. “Are you offering to buy me club wear, Maverick?”
“Actually I was hoping to entice you to model it for me.”
She laughed again and took his hand, steering him away from the fetish shop and down the street. It wasn’t that she was shy to take him up on his suggestion, but she wasn’t sure how to react to it.
“Have you been there?” he asked. “Indulgence, I mean.”
“I’ve been there.” Indulgence was the local BDSM club owned and run by Nash Stonecraft on his estate. She gave Maverick a sideways glance as they passed Faye’s Bakery. “Do you mind going inside here for a second? I want to say hello.”
They walked inside, and Felicity inhaled the familiar scents of flour, sugar, and vanilla extract. Faye still made a lot of her creations right in the back of the shop, and it had always smelled heavenly in here. “This brings back great memories.”
“Oh?”
“I worked here in high school. Faye Bryson, the owner, is the one who encouraged me to go to culinary school after I graduated.”
Faye was behind the counter, ringing up a purchase, but as soon as she spotted Felicity she smiled broadly and waved. “Be right there, you two.”
Felicity walked along the rows of wedding cakes behind a display case. “These are fake,” she whispered. Maverick raised his eyebrows. “This is what I was talking about at the parade when I said I liked the floats. Aren’t they amazing?”
He nodded. “They look real.”
Felicity’s gaze was drawn to a man who wore faded jeans, a red plaid shirt, and dark boots. He stood at a right angle to them, in front of the display of fresh bread near the window. As Felicity watched him, she noticed he kept glancing across the street toward the Sleepy Cat tent.
Her gaze swept over his blond hair and deep blue eyes while she tried to put a name to his face, but she came up blank. There were less than eleven thousand people living in Passion Peak, and while Felicity couldn’t claim to know everyone by name, she certainly recognized their faces. But she didn’t know this man at all.
Faye finished with her customers, and then came around the counter and gave Felicity a big hug. “How are you, sweetie? It’s so good to see you.”
“I’m great, Faye.”
Faye stuck out her hand. “Faye Bryson.”
Maverick shook her hand. “Maverick Orantes. Dalton Metcalf is my cousin.”
“Oh, well, welcome to Passion Peak.”
When he didn’t correct Faye’s assumption that he’d just arrived, Felicity imagined he was getting tired of explaining to people that he’d actually been a resident of Passion Peak for several years now.
“Did you two watch the parade?”
“Yes. And then I bought this.” Felicity pulled out the wind chime and held it up.
“It’s gorgeous.”
“I thought so, too. Mancie and Nevada made it.” Felicity caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced over to find the stranger watching them intently. Should she say something? He quickly averted his gaze, and she cut her attention back to Faye because she realized she’d just been asked a question. “I’m sorry. What?”
“I asked if you knew when Nevada had returned. I didn’t realize he and Mancie were back.”
“I’m not sure, to be honest.”
“He certainly doesn’t like me,” said Maverick.
“He just met you,” said Felicity. “And he obviously takes the legend seriously. That’s all. He was just trying to explain it.”
“What did I miss?” asked Faye with a gleam in her eye.
Felicity told her about the conversation between Maverick and Nevada in the tent.
“I thought he was going to jump over the display table and deck me,” said Maverick.
Faye waved her hand in the air. “Oh, don’t be silly. Nevada isn’t a violent person. He’s just passionate. And, you know, Mason is right. That whole mess with Trace Coleman has started up again this year.”
“Dalton told me it’s nothing.”
Faye frowned at Maverick. “I’m afraid your cousin is wrong about that. It’s a bit more complicated this time.”
Felicity sneaked a surreptitious glance at the stranger from under her lashes. While he was now in front of the cake decorating supplies, at the opposite end of the shop, he could certainly still hear them. His body language gave Felicity the uncomfortable feeling that he was listening to every word, but she couldn’t very well say anything. Who was he, and why was he so terribly interested in their conversation?
“What do you mean?” asked Maverick. The expression on his face was one of amusement. Clearly he wasn’t buying any of this, from the Legend of Sleepy Cat on down to why Trace Coleman was back in town.
“I don’t know what Dalton told you, but it’s not only a matter of Trace trying to get into Van and Rowena’s house this time.”
“Van and Rowena Whitney?” asked Maverick.
“I didn’t realize you knew them,” said Felicity.
“Dalton introduced them at the party on Labor Day. They own a home on Arapaho Lane, right?”
Felicity nodded. “It’s a restored Queen Anne that Rowena’s great aunt left her, and when they were remodeling it, they found stocks hidden behind the walls.”
Maverick grinned. “No shit?”
“No shit,” said Faye. “And Trace Coleman has been trying to get into the main house at Mystic Ridge Enterprises as well.”
“The sheep ranch?” asked Maverick.
“Uh-huh,” said Felicity. “The sheep ranch owned by Mateo Alvarado, one of the wealthiest men in town. Trace is targeting historic homes and wealthy owners.”
Felicity cut her gaze toward the stranger, but his back was still turned. He was squatting down now, peering at the cake pans. She shook her head slightly. No way was he that interested in the supplies. His body language practically screamed at them that he was listening. Couldn’t Faye and Maverick see that?
“And not only that, but I overheard Van and Rowena talking about some old documents that Nash found in his basement. And that they have somethi
ng to do with Trace’s family.” Faye sounded as if she was telling them military secrets.
The man straightened up and left without a word or a backward glance into the shop. Felicity watched him walk across the street. “Who was that?”
Faye shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before.”
“He was listening to us.”
“Let’s see where he goes.” Maverick’s voice held a teasing note as he moved toward the front windows. “Maybe we should call that detective…what’s his name? The only who gave everyone in this town his personal cell phone number?”
“Tommy Farley,” said Felicity. “And this isn’t a joke. That man was hanging on every word we said.”
“How could you tell?” asked Maverick, a big grin on his face.
“His body language.”
Maverick chuckled. “Okay, Felicity. If you say so.”
“I guess we are a bit suspicious of newcomers here,” said Faye.
“Even me?”
Faye blushed. “Oh, no…I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I’m teasing you, Faye. Hey look…now he’s standing in front of Expressions Salon. I wonder if he needs a haircut? That’s very suspicious behavior.”
“His hair looked all right to me,” said Faye under her breath. Felicity agreed with her, but didn’t want to say so in front of Maverick.
Maverick glanced at Felicity. “I definitely think you should call Tommy.”
“All right, smart-ass. Faye, it was good to see you. We’re going to go now and follow the stranger.” Felicity placed her wind chime back into the bag, wondering why she suddenly felt so cold inside. What the hell was going on with her today? First the weird vibes inside the Sleepy Cat tent, and now her disquiet about this stranger who had definitely been interested in what they were saying. She obviously needed to get out more often.
Once she and Maverick were outside again, Felicity glanced up into his handsome face. It was time to change the subject “You asked about Indulgence. Yes, I’ve been in there. How about you?”
“A few times. I was a regular at a club in Boulder before I moved here.”
There was an undercurrent to his voice that Felicity caught. “You sounded sad just now. Did something happen in Boulder?”
“A long time ago.”
“Is that why you moved to Passion Peak?”
He stopped in front of Taylor Drugstore and looked in the front windows, but Felicity had trouble believing he was suddenly fascinated by potty chairs and crutches. “You ask very direct questions, Felicity.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
He glanced at her, and the look in his eyes nearly made Felicity gasp. It was a combination of lust and intrigue, and it was the most emotion she’d seen in his gaze to date. “No. I like it. But there is something I’m trying to figure out, only I’m not sure if I should ask.”
“Ask away.” Her voice came out breathy, but she could hardly help that. This man had an aura about him that made her want to obey his every command. He’d said he had been a regular at a BDSM club in Boulder. Did that mean he was a Dom, like his cousin? That would be sweet.
“All right then. I’m trying to figure out if you’re submissive. You don’t act like most of the subs I’ve met, but every now and then, I see a spark of something in you that makes me think you might be.”
Oh my…talk about direct questions. “I do consider myself submissive, but I want to make it clear that I’ve never been in a Dom/sub relationship.”
“Are you looking for one?”
“I don’t know, but I’m open to the possibility.”
“Well, in that case, let’s add dinner afterward to our hiking day on Thursday. My place. I’ll cook the entrée, and you can take care of dessert. What do you say?”
Felicity nodded because she suddenly couldn’t speak. If she’d misinterpreted his double entendre, she’d eat the wind chime she’d just bought. Thursday was going to be the most interesting day that Felicity had had in a very long time.
Chapter Two
Kane Easton strolled past the giant totem pole on Juniper Street a third time. Who puts a forty foot monolith in the center of a street? There were enough flowers planted around it to suggest it had been there a very long time. Sure, they’d had the good sense to put a traffic circle around it, but it was right in the center of the busiest street downtown. The courthouse faced it on one side, and what most likely passed for City Hall in this cow town did so on the opposite side. It was obviously a local hick attraction, judging by the number of residents standing around pointing at it.
He’d seen totem poles before in other towns. They weren’t all that uncommon. He was only looking at the pole because of the pretty red-haired woman walking close to it with the tall cowboy-looking dude. Kane shaded his eyes and watched her. Both had come out of the bakery not too long after he had and were now pointing toward the totem pole, talking.
She’d said she worked in the bakery during high school, which probably meant she’d grown up here. And before that, he’d spotted her inside the Sleepy Cat Legend tent, buying the wind chime she’d pulled out of her bag. She’d also said that Mancie and Nevada had made it, but it sounded like she didn’t know them any better than the rest of the town did.
He’d overheard dozens of people this morning remark on the fact that Mancie and Nevada Ruiz were back in town, but other than that comment, no one seemed to know shit about them. Were they protecting them for some reason? That’s how small towns were. Kane had seen enough of them to know. The residents of his hometown of Winston, Connecticut would protect each other with their lives, unless they hated you. Then they’d turn you over to the local sheriff faster than you could say “stranger.” Obviously the locals here didn’t have any reason to rat out Mancie and Nevada Ruiz.
But right now, he was more interested in the so-called ghost hunter named Trace Coleman than in the Ruiz family. Most of the town was also talking about him this morning, so obviously they knew who he was. That was good, and it appeared he’d arrived just in time to do what he’d set out to do, which was expose Trace Coleman for the fraud that he was. It seemed like the residents of this town had already figured out that something was amiss, but did they know the whole story? So while he waited for the right time to reveal what he knew about Trace Coleman, he’d try to find out more about the Ruiz family, because he could almost smell a paranormal tale there.
Kane made his way toward where the couple were now walking, hand in hand, along the west end of Juniper Street. If they caught him following them, he’d have to think quickly. She’d already noticed his reaction inside the bakery when she’d mentioned Nevada. But Kane wasn’t following them right now to glean more information about Nevada and Mancie Ruiz. He was hoping to find out more about her. Then again, if the imposing guy was her boyfriend, he’d have to tread carefully. Homespun boys didn’t take kindly to strangers moving in on their women, no matter which part of the country they were in.
As they moved out of the immediate downtown area, Kane debated whether it would be too risky to continue following them. The streets here were mostly residential, and if they turned around and caught him, he’d have no plausible explanation for his presence. They’d obviously walked downtown from wherever they lived. Most people in this town did, or they rode bicycles. It couldn’t be more than three or four miles from one corner of town to the other. It was almost like being in Manhattan, but without all the tall buildings and traffic congestion.
Then again, this hick town was as far from New York City as it was possible to be without leaving the planet. The tallest structure he’d seen so far was a six story gleaming office building on Sandcherry Road, out near Rio Blanco Lake. The building was obviously one of the newer ones, and it looked horribly out of place among the brick structures that appeared to be from the twenties and thirties.
Only one other building in town was taller than four stories, and that was the Notus building on Sleepy Peak Place. He knew that N
otus owned and operated several wind farms throughout the country, but why they’d chosen this location as one of their hubs was beyond him. The land must have been dirt cheap. From what he’d been able to gather, many of the residents worked there, giving the whole town a creepy Stepford Wives vibe.
When he’d driven past the complex earlier in the week, he’d half-expected to see apartments on the campus, or at least barbed wire and endless security cameras, but it been surprisingly easy to look around, further perpetuating his belief that the town was just fucking weird.
Trace Coleman was here in town, hunting down buried treasure and town secrets yet again, just as he’d done in other places around the country. But Kane had a suspicion that there were more secrets in this town than stolen loot that Mafia crime bosses may have hidden behind the walls and in the ground. Even after he exposed Trace Coleman, he might stick around for a while, just for the fun of it. He loved the thrill of the chase.
For one thing, Mancie and Nevada Ruiz’s story fascinated him, and reminded him of all the tales of shapeshifters he’d heard over the years. Their story had all the earmarks. Disappearing from the town for long periods of time, homeschooling a child, and a cloak of mystery about their life, even when they were in town, that people simply accepted as part of who they were. They might even be using the mountain and its legend as a ruse to divert attention away from their lives. It was brilliant, really. It diverted attention to the past and the legend instead. And it obviously kept their fellow residents from asking too many questions.
Once Kane had tracked down Trace Coleman to Passion Peak, he’d set off from Connecticut for Colorado, after promising his family that he’d exact revenge. It’s not like he had to work back in Connecticut. His trust fund and a string of corporations that his family ran took care of money. He’d arrived here in time to find out that the Labor Day parade had been rescheduled for today. Residents of small towns ate up shit like that, so he’d come downtown to gather information and had hit the jackpot.
Kane stood just to the left of a giant maple at the north end of Arapaho Lane and watched the redhead and her cowboy climb the front steps of a cute brick bungalow. She fished a set of keys out of the small purse she carried and unlocked the front door. Bingo. Did he live there, too? Kane didn’t know, but at least now he had an address.
