by Tara Rose
“Good morning, stranger.” A woman with gray hair pulled back into a bun and a kind, weathered smile plopped down a cup of steaming coffee in front of him. “I’m Doli Nakos, and this is my diner. Did I guess right? You look like you need some of this.”
“I do indeed, Doli. My name is Kane.”
“Welcome to Passion Peak, Kane. What can I get you to eat this morning?”
He glanced at the plastic menu sitting crooked in its metal holder, but there was no need to read it. Every diner in the country like this one served the same things, when it came right down to it. “What do you recommend?”
“Eggs, hash brown casserole, toast with homemade blackberry jam, and a piece of peach pie for dessert, also homemade.”
Kane never ate that much for breakfast, but it sounded heavenly right now. If he wasn’t careful in this town, he’d be doing more eating than hunting. “That sounds perfect. Make the eggs scrambled and the toast wheat, please.”
The beaming smile she gave him was worth it. “Coming right up. I’m here by myself this morning, so if you don’t mind, I’ll talk while I cook. Folks don’t stop by much on Sunday mornings any longer. I’ll have a bit of a crowd once church services are over later this morning, but right now, this is about typical.”
“Have you lived here all your life?”
She cracked open three eggs and put them in a frying pan, then took a chunk of casserole from a pan inside a refrigerator under the grill and placed it on a dish. “Oh yeah. My ancestors were miners. They settled this town before it was a town.” Doli placed the dish in the microwave above her head and stirred the eggs, then put two slices of bread in the toaster.
“So you must know everyone in town, then.”
“I sure do.” She stirred the eggs a bit more, added a dash of what looked like cream from a small pitcher, then sprinkled something on top from a shaker next to the grill.
“What do you know about the Ruiz family? I visited the Sleepy Cat Legend tent yesterday.”
More egg stirring, and then she reached into the fridge again and pulled out a tiny metal holder with pats of butter and a small container of jam on it. Once she’d scooped his warmed-up casserole and his eggs onto a plate, she popped up the toast and presented it to him, along with the butter and jam. She produced a rolled-up napkin containing silverware from underneath the counter, and then she opened the large fridge at the end of the counter and cut a slice of pie for him.
“This looks wonderful, Doli. Thank you.”
She placed the pie in front of him with a clean fork next to it. “My pleasure. So you were asking about the Ruiz family?”
Kane tasted the eggs. “Wow. These are great. What’s in them?”
She smiled, showing a few missing teeth. “My secret. Buttermilk, but just a touch, and a combination of garlic salt, oregano, and red pepper. Gives them a kick, but the milk tempers it.”
“Really delicious.” Kane didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious wolfing down his food in front of her. She was probably used to seeing people do that anyway. She walked over to the cash register as the elderly couple approached the counter, then once they left she glanced over at the teens. Picking up the coffee pot, she moved from behind the counter.
Kane watched her refill their cups and heard her ask if they needed anything else. They declined, and she returned to stand in front of Kane as he ate. “They come in here drunk every Saturday night,” she said in a near-whisper. “By the time they leave every Sunday morning, just before the church crowd starts coming in, they’re sober.”
Kane turned to watch them for a few seconds. If any of them were twenty-one yet, he’d eat his spoon. “Where do they get the booze?”
Doli shrugged. “The two boys are brothers. Darren and Dillon Masterson. Their father is Jeff and he works for Van Whitney. Van owns a restoration business here in town. Jeff is divorced and his wife took off years ago. No one knows where she is. The kids just run wild. I think Darren, the older one, is supposed to graduate from high school this year.”
Kane used the toast to scoop up the rest of the eggs and casserole. He’d met Jeff last night at The Saloon, but he didn’t see the need to tell her that right now. Doli refilled his coffee cup as she continued talking. “The blonde girl is Kaitlin Hill. Her mother is Cathy, who lives across the street from Van and Rowena Whitney, over on Arapaho Lane.”
Kane had just started to take a sip of coffee but put the cup back down at the mention of Arapaho Lane. “And the other girl? The redhead?” Her hair was the same shade as Felicity’s.
“Lives two streets over, on Ponderosa Pine Lane with her parents. That’s Harmony Featherstone.”
“Any relation to Felicity?”
Doli nodded. “Harmony is Felicity’s younger sister. Much younger. She was one of those late-in-life surprises. But Felicity is the only three of those girls who seems to have a brain in her head. Her older sister, Brittani, works for Notus now as an account rep, but when she was younger she hung out with a rough crowd from Rifle. That’s a town south of here. Felicity is the pastry chef at The Cranberry Roost, and she stays clear of trouble. Nice girl.”
Kane nodded, trying hard not to smile like an idiot as he sneaked a quick glance at the teen. Although he could see the resemblance to Felicity in her face and maybe around the eyes, the softness in Felicity’s face and the warmth in her expression was sadly missing in Harmony.
“What do you think of the pie?”
Kane turned his attention back to the pastry. He tasted it, and although it was very good, he still preferred the sweet bread from last evening. “Delicious.”
“I’m glad. I hope you’ll be back, Kane. Are you going to be in town long?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Oh, I didn’t finish telling you about the Ruiz family, did I?”
He shook his head.
“They’re Ute. Mason’s ancestor, whom everyone simply called One With The Cats, is reportedly the person who watched the cat come down from the mountain and turn into his human form.”
Kane’s pulse raced. He had to put down his coffee cup just short of taking a sip again before he dropped it. At this rate, he wouldn’t get any more this morning. But Doli was the only person beside Zoe who had actually spoken of the cat being a shapeshifter.
“But no one has seen that happen since,” she said. “Not even Mason, if he can be believed, that is.”
“Do you believe him?”
She sighed and picked up Kane’s empty plates, then turned to place them in the sink. When she turned around, her lips were set in a thin line. “I don’t like to gossip about him. We’ve been friends all over lives, and my heart went out to his entire family when his wife and Mancie’s husband were killed years ago. They were in a bad auto accident, just outside of Meeker. They’d gone to town to file some papers at the court house there. Meeker is the county seat for Rio Blanco. On their way back to Passion Peak, an eighteen-wheeler took a curve in the road too fast. The road was icy, and the truck rolled over onto their car.”
“That’s horrible. I’m sorry to hear that.”
She nodded. “The whole town was. Nevada was just a baby, and Mancie never remarried. Mason believes in what he’s doing with that legend, and they don’t hurt anyone, you know? Sure, they’re odd and all, but they’re harmless.”
Kane leaned closer. The taste of victory was sweet in his mouth. “So, why the sudden change on your face? And why did you hint that Mason might be lying?”
She watched his face carefully for what felt like long moments, and then finally the suspicion deep in her eyes abated. “Mason is protecting his daughter and grandson, as much as he’s protecting himself.”
Kane almost had a hard-on he was so excited. “Protecting them from what?”
“Their true form. They’re shapeshifters. All of them.”
Chapter Seven
Maverick never got up early on Sundays, but this morning he didn’t mind because he got to drive Felicity to work agai
n. While she took a quick shower, he rummaged in her kitchen and made coffee, eggs, and toast for both of them. When she came downstairs, dressed in work clothes and her hair still damp, he took her in his arms and begged her to call in sick.
Felicity laughed. “I can’t do that. Do you have any idea how busy it is on Sunday mornings and afternoons?”
“Is that why you had to double back like this?”
“Yes. I always work on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings to afternoons. They’re our busiest days. Don’t forget to take your bread home. I came back downstairs last night and put the pan in the fridge. I also had to retrieve my bag and tunic from where I’d dropped them after we came into the house. It’s a good thing I have more than one set of work clothes.”
He grinned while he watched her eat. “Complaining?”
She laughed again and shook her head. “God no. Are you kidding? Maverick, last night was incredible. I don’t even have words.”
It had been for him, too. Even the memory of her telling him that she’d given Kane her phone number couldn’t spoil this morning for him. “What time are you off today?”
“I work until four. We close early on Sundays so that John and Bev can actually see each other and their family once in a while.”
“Will I see you later?”
She stopped eating and gave him a lust-filled look that sent his heart soaring. “I hope so.”
“Then consider it done. What time do you have to work tomorrow?”
“Not until four. But don’t you have to work tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Yes, unfortunately. But I can still see you tonight.”
She rose and took their empty plates to the sink. “Then my day from hell just got better.”
“Are Sundays bad?”
She began to rinse the dishes and stacked them in the dishwasher. “They’re awful. I swear the entire town eats there on Sundays.”
“Maybe I should stop by then, since Kane already has?” The moment it was out of his mouth, he wished he could take it back. He didn’t miss how her body suddenly stiffened. Why was he acting like a jealous boyfriend? They’d just spent the night in each other’s arms, making love, and with one sentence he’d spoiled it. She hadn’t given him any indication that she wanted to get involved with Kane. Maverick rose and put his arms around her from behind. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
She finally turned around and looked into his eyes. “It’s all right. It’s just that I’ve never been in this situation before. I’m not sure what to say right now.”
“Say you’ll spend the evening with me after your shift.”
Finally, the warmth returned to her eyes, and he let out the breath he was holding. “I would love that, Maverick.”
* * * *
Kane went back to his motel room before setting off for the woods. In his backpack he placed a flashlight, his small digital camera that could also record video, and a tranquilizer gun, just in case he ran into some of the local wildlife. All thoughts of Felicity were pushed to the back of his mind as he set off on a hiking trail along the side of the mountains. He didn’t want to be seen in town this morning. The thrill of the hunt was back, making his entire body tingle. The gorgeous redhead would have to wait a few hours.
After Doli had told him that Mason, Mancie, and Nevada were shapeshifters, Kane hadn’t been able to ask any more questions because her part-time cook, Alan Kirkland, plus several customers had come in. But it didn’t matter. He now had confirmation of what Zoe had hinted at, and although Kane had been in town less than seventy two hours, he knew he wouldn’t get more reliable information than what Doli had told him.
Once again, Google maps let him know when he was just north of downtown, so he slipped into the shade of pine trees as he explored the area where he’d been last night. The fronds were close in here—much closer than they’d seemed last night—and Kane wondered if he’d been mistaken and had entered the woods at a different spot. But then he finally spotted a barely discernible trail along the ground, with several sets of footprints leading both ways in the loam and mud that had collected at the base of the trees.
“Bingo,” he whispered. As he followed it, insects sang all around, and every once in a while the screech of a hawk could be heard in the distance. The only other sound was his own breathing, quick and shallow now, as his limbs felt light and alive with electricity. He was close. He could feel it.
The scent of animals grew stronger as he ventured further into the woods. It was dim in here, and thin streams of sunlight from overhead made dappled patterns on the ground around him. There was only a slight breeze, and every time the wind stirred, the patterns changed shape and danced in the light.
The trail wound up the side of the foothills, and soon Kane was covered in perspiration. It wasn’t a warm day, but he was climbing, and it was thick in the trees. The air was thin to begin with, but grew thinner as he ascended, making it difficult to breathe. It didn’t help that every nerve ending was on fire, and he began to sense that he was being watched.
He reached into the side pocket of his backpack and took out the tranquilizer gun. If a cougar was hiding in the trees, he didn’t want to be caught off guard. No one knew where he was, and although it wouldn’t be the first time he’d encountered an animal in the woods, he hadn’t yet been attacked by one, and he wanted to keep it that way.
As he rounded a corner in the trail, Kane suddenly knew why he’d lost track of Mason, Mancie, and Nevada the night before. It didn’t exactly end, but the way was blocked by two gigantic blue spruces, planted so close together that they appeared to be one tree. Kane stopped and listened.
The sound of voices could be heard on the other side, as well as the clink of pots and pans, running water that could be a stream, and the laughter of children. Holy shit. Maybe the entire family wasn’t in the tent, because it sounded like there was a village back there. Was it really possible that they all lived here in the woods, and no one in the town below knew?
He knelt down at the foot of the trees and peered underneath the fronds, which were thinner at this point. The base of what looked like a metal pole blocked his vision, so Kane scooted underneath the trees a bit until he could peer up at it. It was a large wind turbine, and it rested on a clearing in the forest. The cable from it that supplied the electricity must be buried in the ground, because he saw no overhead wires, but clearly the homes built into the side of the hill in front of him had electricity.
He saw lights on inside several of them, and the tinny sound of music from either a TV or a radio split the air. There were at least a dozen homes here, and several people were outdoors, hanging laundry on clotheslines, sitting around on wooden and wicker furniture talking and smoking what looked like long pipes. One man was about to cut up wood with a chainsaw. The sound coming from it as he fired it up certainly proved there was electricity up here. Children played, and he spotted two of them coming from the stream, carrying a large bucket between them that he assumed contained water.
How was it possible that this existed just above the town of Passion Peak and no one knew about it? Was this where the Ruiz family lived? Kane reached into his backpack and started taking pictures, hoping no one would notice. There was no need for a flash because they were in a clearing, so unless someone sneaked up behind him in the woods, it was unlikely he’d be spotted.
He took close to fifty pictures before placing the camera back in the bag and slowly getting to his feet. Once he was on the other side of the blue spruce trees again, he glanced around, trying to figure out how high above the town he was, but the trees were too thick. One thing was certain, though. Even in the dead of winter, there was probably no way to see this tiny settlement from below. The evergreens were simply too thick.
And even the wind turbine wouldn’t be a giveaway. Notus had a string of them leading from their building, heading northeast. Everyone would assume this one was just another in the same chain that stretched into southern Wyoming.
What Kane found difficult to believe, however, was that no one had ever bothered trying to find out where the Ruiz family went at night. Then again, it didn’t sound as though anyone cared, from what he’d heard during the past couple of days. They knew the family was different, but none of them were curious enough to go exploring in the woods.
The hiking trails that it was obvious others used all the time, and that were part of the county’s park system, were further east and clearly marked. No one would come this way. Kane had had trouble following the trail, and he’d known what to look for. They were well hidden up here. And even if someone did get curious and come snooping, there still was nothing to give away what they were.
A sudden breeze kicked up, sending icy hot fear through his veins and causing him to whirl around in a fast circle. Nothing was there. He mentally chided himself for losing his composure, even for a brief instant. That wasn’t like him. He wasn’t in danger up here, and even if someone did spot him, all he’d have to do is say he’d gone hiking off trail. He couldn’t be the only person who’d ever done that.
There was nothing more to be done right now, regardless. He now knew where the Ruiz family went at night. The only thing left to do was figure out how and when to ask more questions, if they would answer them, that is.
* * * *
Felicity was too busy to think much about Maverick or Kane, but she found herself distracted all morning, just the same. Twice she almost forgot to set the timer on a batch of sweet bread she’d placed in the oven, and she did forget to add eggs and baking soda to the carrot cake prep for later in the week, and had to start all over. That wasn’t like her at all.
She finally took her cell phone out of her pocket and put it in her locker so she’d stop checking it for text messages or calls. It was too much of a temptation to keep sneaking a peek at it. Kane had said he’d call, and while hoping he did so made her feel guilty, at the same time she knew it shouldn’t. She and Maverick hadn’t really discussed not seeing other people. She’d told him this morning that she was confused about all this, and he hadn’t seemed to be upset by her saying so.
