by Tara Rose
He watched for a few more minutes to see if the man would leave, and then finally decided that he’d chanced it enough. Most of the residents of Passion Peak might be downtown for the craft fest and parade, but all it would take is one nosy neighbor who’d stayed home this morning, and he’d find himself on the wrong end of a local cop.
As he made his way back downtown, he walked on the opposite side of the street as the Sleepy Cat Peak tent. Nevada was still inside, but it was his mother and grandfather who spoke with customers. Nevada was busy arranging pamphlets on a table and looked very uncomfortable. Kane wondered why they’d bothered bringing him along at all. Cleary he didn’t want to be here.
It had been easy to find out by asking casual questions that Mason Ruiz was head of the Legend of Sleepy Cat Peak society right now, but people had been far less forthcoming about his daughter and grandson. Kane was used to a certain amount of suspicion from small town residents, but that wasn’t what he’d run into.
It was more like everyone knew that Nevada existed, and that he and his mother would disappear from town for months at a time, but no one seemed to know where they went when they left. They simply accepted it, and when the pair returned, everyone behaved as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Kane loved a challenge, and figuring this out would be a fun one.
He ducked into a place called Unique Boutique. As he glanced around the near-empty shop, he frowned. Didn’t they have a normal clothing store here? This place looked like the set of a reality show featuring loudmouthed teens or college kids. Who actually wore this stuff?
The woman behind the cash register was a blonde who was loudly popping her gum. It’s a gesture he would have expected on someone about twenty years younger. She narrowed her gray eyes at him. “May I help you?”
Her tone wasn’t exactly welcoming. Either she treated everyone this way and her regular customers didn’t care, or there wasn’t another shop like hers until you crossed the mountains into Denver or at least Boulder, and no one who frequented this place would drive that far for torn jeans or off-the-shoulder crop tops that barely covered a girl’s boobs.
“Just came in to look around, miss.” Normally, you couldn’t go wrong with “miss” or “sir”, unless you were in the south. Then, every woman was “ma’am” even if she looked underage.
“Name’s Zoe Ewing, and I own this shop. I haven’t seen you around here before.”
Kane moved closer and stuck out his hand. After staring at it for a second, she finally shook it. “Kane. I’m passing through on my way to Salt Lake City.” It wasn’t true, but it would explain why he was on this side of the Rockies, in the northwest corner of the state, so that she might not ask too many questions. He wasn’t quite ready to tip his hand about Trace Coleman. He wanted to see how it played out first.
Her suspicious gaze softened somewhat. “Welcome to Passion Peak, Kane.”
“Thank you. Is it all right if I look around a bit?”
She waved a hand toward the center of the shop. “Sure. Let me know if you have questions.” She looked him up and down. “Men’s stuff is on the left side.”
“Thank you, Zoe.” Kane gave her a quick smile, and then he strolled toward the direction she’d indicated. There wasn’t much in here that he wouldn’t feel ridiculous wearing in public, but he hadn’t ducked inside to go clothes shopping. He’d hoped to overhear more conversation or learn things about the town, but clearly he’d picked the wrong day to hang out in shops.
There were only two other people in here, both older teen girls who gawked at him and twittered behind their hands. Kane could only take so much of that, so he wandered over to the T-shirts. He found some solid colored ones that he could wear under another shirt, or wear to bed, and they were on sale, so he chose three and took them up front to pay for them.
“You found something.” Zoe sounded surprised. Kane didn’t imagine she had too many thirty-six-year-old men in here as regular customers.
“Can’t go wrong with a T-shirt.”
Zoe no longer looked suspicious. Now, she looked flirtatious, but that was just as bad. Worse, even. Kane wasn’t here for female company, although he wouldn’t turn it down under the right circumstances. But having a fling with a local while he was on a hunt had never turned out well for him, so he tended to avoid getting into the situation to begin with.
“Are you planning on staying in town for a while, Kane?”
“That depends.” He handed her a credit card for his purchase.
“On what?” She finished ringing up his purchase and handed him the receipt to sign.
“On whether I get the information I’m looking for.”
While she waited for the machine to spit out his copy of the receipt, she gave him a thoughtful look. “What information do you need? I’ve lived here all my life. My great-great-grandparents were part of the original settlers.”
Kane smiled and pocketed his receipt. “Sounds like you’re the person I was looking for.”
His words had the desired effect. She blushed a little and touched her hair. The teens came up behind him, still twittering, and Zoe looked annoyed again. Kane stepped aside to let them dump their mountains of clothing on the counter. “I’ll wait.”
Zoe smiled again, and Kane reflected that once upon a time, she must have been badly hurt or was just a bitch underneath it all, because the gesture was clearly a forced one for her. As she rang up the teens’ purchases, he strolled over to the front windows to avoid their curious stares and silly whispers.
The street was still jammed with people, but now that the parade was over, the occasional car passed by, although everyone was driving slowly because both sides of the road were lined with tents and craft booths. Why hadn’t they simply closed the road? The scene in front of him was a traffic accident or two just waiting to happen.
Finally, the teens were out the door, holding a shopping bag in each hand and laughing at God only knew what. Kane turned around and approached Zoe. “Alone at last.”
She laughed softly, and he immediately reined it in. Charming was one thing, especially if it got him new information, but he didn’t want to be cruel and make this woman believe there was any possibility of them getting together. “So what can I help you with, Kane?”
She leaned forward on the counter, showing off her cleavage. Kane kept his gaze on her face. “I’m curious about this Sleepy Cat Peak legend.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, that. You’d think everyone in this town believed in ghosts or something the way they act about it. Did you visit the tent today?”
Kane leaned against the counter. “Yes.”
“So then you’ve met the Ruiz family.”
“Is that what people think of the cat? That it’s a ghost?”
Zoe glanced to her right and left, even though they were the only two in the shop. Kane tried to control his pulse. The thrill of closing in on another piece of a puzzle was almost as much fun as sex, and he sensed that he was about to get one step closer to the truth. “Not a ghost. More like a half human. Does that even make sense? Like it’s a cat, but it can turn human.”
He forced his face to stay neutral. “Not a spirit, but an actual physical being?”
She nodded. “That’s what some people in this town believe. Mason’s great-great grandfather, or something like that a million years ago, claimed he saw the cat come down from the mountain.”
“Could he have simply seen a cougar? There are plenty of them around.”
“Not like this one. Did you read the literature? The cat he saw had eyes that held intelligence, like a person’s. Mason’s ancestor supposedly hid behind a tree and watched it turn into a human man.”
Kane stared at her, looking for the subtle signs of bullshit or instability that might suggest she was telling stories, but he saw none. It was obvious she didn’t believe it, but someone did. “Did he tell you this? Mason, I mean.”
“Oh, he’ll tell that story to anyone who will listen.”
“Has Mason seen the cat turn into a human?”
“I don’t know. He’s never actually said that to me.”
“Did you ask him that specifically?”
She averted her gaze, but not in a way that suggested she was trying to hide something. Rather, she looked a bit confused. “I’m not sure. I don’t remember. The whole thing is just ridiculous.”
“Has anyone else ever seen the cat turn into a human or seen it emerge from the mountain?”
She frowned, and her face took on an expression that suggested she was weighing her next words. “I don’t know anyone who has, but I do know people who have seen something. Odd things. Especially when…” She lowered her voice until it was barely above a whisper. “Especially when Mancie and Nevada are back in town.”
“Where do they go when they leave?”
She straightened up and shook her head. “No one knows.”
He couldn’t help but grin. “Why doesn’t someone simply ask them?”
“Oh, they do. At least, they ask Mancie. If you ask Nevada anything, he isn’t likely to give you a straight answer. But Mancie gives the same bullshit answer every time. They’re off earning college degrees.”
“Really? In what?”
She shrugged. “Who the hell knows? They’re all very evasive if you try to ask too many questions.”
“How odd. Do they live around here? I mean downtown, close to their merchandise?”
She shook her head again. “No. They pack it all up at night and lock the tent down tight, though who would want to steal all that crap is beyond me.”
“So where do they live?”
“No clue.”
“That must make folks suspicious.”
“No, not really. I mean, anyone who grew up here knows the family, and that’s just their way.”
“Most of the people I talked to today seem to believe in the legend, but not you. Why is that?”
She made a sound that was halfway between a snort and a laugh. “I don’t go for all that mumbo-jumbo nonsense. I don’t believe in ghosts, or vampires, or Bigfoot.”
He chuckled and stood up, stretching as he did so. “Thank you, Zoe. I have to get going, but it was nice talking to you.”
She looked hopeful, and Kane knew he’d stayed too long. “I hope we see each other again sometime. Stop by anytime.”
“I sure will.” He left before she could suggest that they do something together or offer him her cell phone number. It was time to find a place to hang around until Mason and his family packed up the tent and then follow them home. But as Kane made his way down Juniper Street again, it wasn’t Nevada and his mother he was thinking about. It was the cute redhead. He should have asked Zoe her name.
Chapter Three
Maverick leaned over and kissed Felicity on the cheek just before she exited his truck, not caring if everyone standing around smoking outside the employee entrance behind The Cranberry Roost saw him do it. “I’ll see you after your shift. Just text me when you’re ready to go home.”
“Thanks, Maverick. Although I could have walked.” Her smile didn’t look like she’d minded being driven to work all that much.
“I know. But I wanted to drive you.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “It might be my only chance to see you in that sexy chef’s outfit.”
She laughed and opened the passenger door. “You can stop by anytime I’m working, you know.”
“I’ll have to remember that. See you in about seven hours.”
“Okay.” She blew him a kiss as she slid out of the seat, and then Maverick watched her ass move under the tunic, wondering what it looked like naked. He’d like to peel those horrible clothes off her and spread her out under the stars on the cool grass behind his house and make love to her until neither of them could walk. Would he ever have the chance to do that?
He had nothing to do but wait for her text, and he wasn’t sure how to spend the time. He was tired of the craft booths downtown, and although he was a bit hungry, the idea of getting takeout and sitting in front of his computer or the TV until just after ten depressed the hell out of him.
He could go hang out at The Black Whip, the upscale bar and restaurant his cousin Dalton owned on Cheyenne Boulevard, but he’d never felt entirely comfortable inside it. It wasn’t that he didn’t like hanging out with Dalton, but his cousin was rarely there. And judging by the way Dalton had been looking at Summer Andrews during the parade today, chances were high he was with her right now anyway.
Were they at Indulgence? Dalton was a Dom there, so it wouldn’t surprise him if they were. As far as he knew, his cousin hadn’t dated many women who weren’t in the lifestyle. But also as far as he knew, he’d never been with anyone for very long. Was the lovely Summer, with her emerald green eyes and long blonde hair, about to become another Dalton Metcalf statistic, or would she be the girl who finally melted Dalton’s heart?
Maverick put on his favorite country station as he drove away from the restaurant, chuckling to himself. He sounded like a goddam soap opera, and he had no room to talk. His own dating life wasn’t exactly the stuff of fairy tales. But he didn’t want to think about Tia right now. That part of his life was over, and he didn’t want to return to it. He wanted to move forward.
His Uncle Leland might be a mean old bastard, but he paid Maverick well, and he kept out of his day-to-day business as long as Maverick did his job. He had a beautiful home to live in on the Metcalf estate—right next to Dalton’s house—a nice truck to drive, and job security. And he liked what he did.
The Metcalf companies were all tied together under one umbrella, although that wasn’t on paper anywhere. But Maverick knew how to hide that fact, and that’s why his uncle paid him so well. Doing IT for the company was more about maintaining the public websites for all the various companies so that no one could ever get behind the scenes, or would have any reason to want to dig deeper. It was about coordinating with their PR team to make sure that the world saw only what his uncle wanted them to see. And, if there was a glitch somewhere, Maverick would fix it. But most of that part of his job was routine server maintenance and nothing more.
Maverick had access to everything, including bank records and stock portfolios, but he didn’t poke around in them. Leland paid a team of accountants to move the money from one account to another. Maverick simply did his job and kept his nose clean. He knew there were rumors that had been floating around for decades about illegal activity, but if it was happening, it was on a different system than the one he maintained. Otherwise he would have noticed it.
He finally decided to go to The Saloon on Shoshone Road. It was across town from The Cranberry Roost, but it’s not like he’d have trouble getting back to Sandcherry Road when it came time to pick up Felicity from work. He liked Dan Jeffries, the bar owner, and although the place was a bit run down and the food one step up from fast food, Maverick was more comfortable around the crowd that frequented The Saloon than the people who hung out at The Black Whip.
An old Hank Williams song was playing on the jukebox when Maverick walked in. He smiled and sauntered up to the bar then ordered a Coors from Dan, who shook his hand warmly. “So how are you liking it here in town?”
Maverick took a long sip and then nodded. “I like it. Place is growing on me.” He’d been living here almost four years, but apparently no one realized that except the Metcalfs. He was tired of correcting people, so tonight he was just going to play along. “What’s new with you, Dan?”
“Oh, can’t complain. Business is good and the wife is in Arizona visiting her sister for the rest of the summer.”
Maverick chuckled. It was a well-known fact that Dan and his wife, Sally, got along about as well as a badger would with a coyote. “Well, that’s good then I guess.”
“You don’t know the half of it. So what’s new in your world?”
Maverick smiled, but resisted the urge to blurt out that he’d driven Felicity to work. That was hardly newsworthy, and all he’d done was
give her a ride and sneak in a kiss. It hadn’t even been on the lips. “Same old, same old,” he said instead.
Dan glanced up at the TV briefly, and when a commercial for a fast food place came on, he cut his gaze toward Maverick. “You want something to eat, or just another beer?”
Maverick felt sorry for Dan. His bar was more suited to drinking and shooting the breeze than having a meal in, but Maverick was hungry. “I’ll have a burger and onion rings.”
Dan’s entire face lit up. “Coming right up. But is well done okay? I really don’t know how to cook meat any other way.”
“Sounds perfect.” Maverick would deal with it tonight. He turned toward the center of the bar and surveyed the crowd, nodding at a couple of men he knew by sight only. When the door opened and several voices preceded the men they belonged to, Maverick waved to Van and his crew.
They pulled a couple of tables together and then Van motioned Maverick over. “Want to join us?”
Maverick slid off his stool and took a seat between Larry Wilson and Jorges Fuentes. He knew the men by name only, and that was only because he’d met all of them when they had done some work on Dalton’s house about a year ago. He shook hands with them, and then bit into his burger once Dan brought it over.
“You’re brave,” said Van, grinning, after Dan had returned to his place behind the bar.
Maverick swallowed the leathery meat. “No, I’m just hungry. It’s not terrible. Better than takeout.”
Johnny Dingo chuckled. “Not by much.”
Dan delivered a round of beers to the table then turned his big puppy-dog eyes toward Maverick. “Is the food okay?”
“It’s fine, Dan. Thanks.”
Dan beamed, and then he glanced around the table. “Any of you guys hungry, too?”
Van and several of his crew members exchanged guarded looks.
