Maybe they'd had no choice. Maybe it had something to do with MacKenzie's stepfather. She'd said that she shipped the statue on his orders. So, maybe they'd been forced to send the sculpture. Because—I'm just guessing here—but I doubt her stepdad knew that one of his statues was MacKenzie's new boyfriend.
Pondering these scenarios, I continued down country lanes lined with bare aspen trees. Somewhere along the way, I must have made a wrong turn, but I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice right away. Eventually, I realized I was going uphill instead of down. And that couldn't be correct if I was headed in the right direction. I needed to pull over and check my map.
Looking around, I saw the occasional house tucked back in the trees. Cross streets identified with signs were scarce. Good places to pull off were almost nonexistent, but eventually I found a wide spot on the side of the road. I parked and dug my phone from my pocket. Reception wasn't very good so I got out of the car and leaned against the door. The cold air stung my nose as I called up a map then zoomed in on the Pine Grove area, looking for the street I was on and some of the crossroads I'd passed earlier.
It didn’t take long to figure out that I'd wandered off track. It looked like I could either turn around and go back or I could keep going and connect with the highway further south. As I mulled over my options, I lifted my head and gazed across a wide valley with a road at the bottom…probably the road I was supposed to be on.
On the other side of the valley, a long outcrop stretched across the opposite ridge, ending in a high cliff. As my gaze traveled back west along the rocks for several hundred feet, a movement caught my eye and I sharpened my gaze, hoping to pick out a mountain goat—the kind they use to advertise trucks—the ones that are considered so macho because they smash their heads together. I've never understood what's so manly about banging heads. But if that represents a guy's ideal of masculinity, it doesn't say much for the male gender.
I knew there were mountain goats in Colorado but I hadn't expected to see them below ten thousand feet. I didn't know the elevation of where I was, but I knew it wasn't that high because we weren't above the tree line. Anyhow, the color was right. A sort of medium, golden brown. But it turned out they weren't goats. They were people dressed in brown overalls. Probably a couple of guys out for a hike. Well, except for the fact that they weren't moving. They were standing against the rocks with their backs to me, as if they were watching something.
Okay, now I was getting curious. And wishing I had a pair of binoculars. It had already been a weird day; now it was getting weirder. People don't stand around in the cold for no good reason. I glanced down and checked the map on my phone. The watchers appeared to be very close to MacKenzie's house. I switched to satellite view and picked out her place on the map. Yep. Very close.
So, here's what it looked like to me. Two men were standing on a ledge behind MacKenzie's home, watching her place through the trees. I could see them clearly against the rocks. From her house, she wouldn't be able to see them at all…unless she walked out to the edge of her property and tripped over their heads.
I had no choice. I had to tell MacKenzie and her friends, didn't I? I didn't know why the men were spying on her house but I felt duty-bound to warn them. So, I scooted back into my car and hurried back to her place as quickly as the gravel roads would allow.
By the time I got there, I had a plan. Before I rushed up to MacKenzie's front door with wild accusations and dire warnings, I wanted to see if the two men were still there, and I had to make sure they were watching her house and not doing something else. Otherwise, MacKenzie and her friends would think I was just stalking them. So, I parked down on the road at the bottom of her driveway again and climbed through the woods toward the cliffs, keeping out of sight from the house. The snow was old and I was light enough that I didn't break through the frosty white crust. At least not very often. But my shoes were starting to get wet by the time I reached the top of the hill.
I stayed east of where I expected the watchers to be and climbed to a higher point on the rocks so that I'd be able to look down on the place where I'd seen the two men. They were still there. And they were smack behind MacKenzie's house, with binoculars lifted to their eyes, spying for all they were worth. Maybe I was on the wrong track, but I immediately assumed their spying had something to do with stone angels. And that just made me more determined than ever to warn MacKenzie and her friends.
Silently, I slipped away from the rocks and followed a path of trodden-down snow that wound through the trees toward the house. When I reached the driveway, I headed for the closed garage doors with my head down and my hands buried in the pockets of my ski jacket. But one of the doors opened suddenly, startling me, and I jerked my head up.
Inside the garage, I caught a glimpse of MacKenzie's bright, coppery hair. It looked like she was on her way out in the car so I picked up the pace, wanting to reach her before she got in her Jeep. As I got closer, I discovered she wasn't alone. Not by a long shot. Not only were Valor and Dare with her, but a bunch of other guys were in the garage as well. They all turned to face me as I took the last few steps.
The guy closest to me looked a little older than the others. Not real old. Maybe nineteen or twenty. My gaze snagged on his tangled gold hair then slipped down to his aqua eyes, which seemed to glow against his tanned skin. He was so incredibly good looking that I wanted to stop right there, whip out a sketchbook and start drawing him. But there was more. Beside him stood another beautiful guy with pale hair pulled back in an elastic band. And behind them was a younger teenager with shiny brown dreadlocks. All of them wore blue tattoos on their necks…even the one at the very back of the garage. This last one had straight, collar-length hair and lake-blue eyes.
It was him.
It was him, all right. Minus the wings. And if I'd thought he was hot as a statue, it was only because I hadn't seen him in living color. He was breathtaking. He was dressed in modern clothes. Jeans. T-shirt. And a black leather jacket. He had the sort of blond hair that's really light on top and darker underneath. I've always found that really attractive on a guy. And his eyes were the same wonderful deep blue that I'd glimpsed when I kissed him. Despite his modern-day disguise, I'd have known him anywhere.
The others stopped in their tracks as I moved closer. Slowly, each of them looked from me to him. For some reason, I thought he'd be as happy to see me as I was to see him. I mean, after all, he'd saved my life. That's pretty romantic stuff. Or at least I thought so. Sadly, he didn't feel the same way.
He scowled as he strode across the garage floor toward me. "What are you doing here?" he growled.
So, um, yeah. I didn't exactly feel welcome.
Chapter Four
"I'm sorry," my angel apologized, but not to me. Instead, he looked around at the others. Apparently, my being there was a problem. And evidently, he thought it was his fault. He stopped about a yard away from me and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at me.
I ignored his incredible accent and tore my gaze from his face. Looking past him, I talked to MacKenzie. "I came to warn you guys that you're being watched."
"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously, like she wasn't sure she should believe me. Like she didn't know if she should be careful of me or this potential threat I was warning her about.
I tilted my head toward the forest behind the house. "Two men. Over on the rocks."
"What were you doing on the rocks?" my blond angel immediately demanded. His tone was so accusing it made me flinch.
"Reason," MacKenzie said his name softly.
At the sound of her voice, he backed down a hair. Evidently, MacKenzie had some kind of hold over him. I wasn't sure that was a good thing or a bad thing. I wasn't sure she wasn't one of them…whatever they were. But she was Valor's girlfriend so I guessed I didn't have to worry about her liking Reason. I just wasn't sure if it worked the other way around.
But his name was Reason. And he had the same wicked accent as Valo
r and Dare. And he had a vivid blue tattoo on his neck, just like the others—except his was different, of course. But everything about him was just so incredibly…hot.
I stuck out my chin. "I wasn't on the rocks when I saw them. I took a wrong turn on the way out of here and stopped on the other side of the valley. I could see them from the road."
He gave me a dark, skeptical look.
I fisted my hands on my hips. "Go over to the park and take a look if you don't believe me."
He exchanged a glance with the oldest-looking one, the one with the tangled gold hair.
"Take Valor and Hooligan with you," ordered the apparent leader of the group.
Hooligan? And I'd thought Valor and Dare were unusual names. Who names their kid Hooligan? Nobody, it turns out. Because Hooligan was the large dog I'd seen earlier. Valor collected the huge beast from the house and left the garage with my unhappy, other-worldly runway model who gave me a sharp look as he backed away.
"The rest of us will watch the girls," the leader told him.
He nodded, but still seemed reluctant to leave. I assumed he didn't trust me though I don't know what he thought I could do to harm four very fit-looking guys who were way taller than me. "Okay, Victor," he finally said, then disappeared.
"Are you sure they'll be safe?" I questioned the one he'd called Victor. Despite the chilly reception I'd received from Reason, I was still worried about him. Those two men on the rocks looked serious about whatever it was they were doing. They looked like professionals. And for all I knew, they might have guns.
"They'll be okay," Victor assured me. As he turned his gaze on me, his entire demeanor changed. He sent a friendly smile my way then introduced me to the others. The slim one with the pale blond hair was named Defiance. And the one with the dreads was Havoc. "You already know MacKenzie and Dare."
"That's right," I said, and smiled.
"It's cold out here. Would you like to come inside?" he asked, but it didn't sound like a question. It kinda sounded like I was going inside whether I wanted to or not.
I motioned toward the Jeep in the garage. "Weren't you guys on your way out?"
"Change of plans," he answered pleasantly and waited for me to join him before sauntering toward the back of the garage and the door that opened into the house. "MacKenzie tells us you're going to school in Boulder, m'dear."
"That's right," I answered, surprised by his quaint expression and wondering why they'd even been talking about me. I wondered if it was a good thing, like someone found me interesting. Or if it was a bad thing, like they might have to get rid of me now that I knew about them. Although I wasn't sure yet what it was I knew. They were stone guys who could come to life and sometimes they had wings. I wondered if that was enough to get me killed. "Classes start on Monday."
"We just finished lunch," Havoc said. "But I'd be glad to fix you something if you're hungry."
"I'm good," I lied from a throat that had suddenly gone dry. I hoped he wasn't thinking in terms of a last meal.
Inside the house, the main floor was decorated in brown leather and green upholstery that matched the dark trim around the doors and windows. I followed Victor through a small mudroom into the kitchen then down a few stairs into a family room where several pieces of dark wicker furniture were grouped around a glass-topped coffee table. A desk with a computer monitor was tucked into the corner while a stone fireplace took up one wall and a bay window filled up most of another wall. It would have been a comfortable room if I hadn't been so nervous.
As Victor waved me into one of the wicker chairs, the overhead lighting gleamed along one of the silver bands he wore on each wrist. I took a seat and explored the pattern on the tapestry cushion while the rest of my new friends made themselves comfortable. While Dare started a small blaze in the fireplace, Havoc perched on the edge of the seat in the bay window, his legs stretched out in front of him. Defiance propped his shoulder on the wall beside Havoc and watched me intently, almost disapprovingly. Not liking what I found in his face, I shifted my gaze to MacKenzie on the sofa. "So, who do you think those guys are?" I asked just to break the silence.
MacKenzie gave Victor a worried look.
But Victor didn't seem too concerned. "We'll know more when Rees reports back with Valor."
So, we made small talk while waiting for the guys to come back. It turned out that Victor was Reason's brother and the other guys in the house were his cousins. When I'd surprised them in the garage, they'd been planning to drop off Dare at his girlfriend's before heading to Denver.
MacKenzie asked me how I liked Colorado and I told her I loved it so far. But I wiggled my toes in my wet shoes and shot a longing look at the fire that Dare had coaxed into a hearty blaze. "I'll probably enjoy it a lot more when I get some snow boots."
"I'd advise you to get a pair before you do much more spying," Defiance suggested dryly.
"I wasn't spying," I told him flatly, my gaze snagging on his chipped tooth, which gave him a bit of a dangerous aura.
"No, you were just walking through the woods in the snow…very close to MacKenzie's house," he pointed out darkly. "While hiding your presence from us."
When he put it that way, it didn't sound very good. I could have protested my innocence but I was kinda tired of his attitude. So I ignored him and studied the tapestry cushion again until I heard a door close with a heavy click, and footsteps in the kitchen. Then Reason came down the steps into the room with Hooligan trailing him. I jumped up without thinking, so relieved to see he was safe. Then sat down quickly to hide my emotions…a bit late.
He shrugged out of his jacket and threw it over the back of the sofa. His black T-shirt clung to his chest, leaving little to guess about his physique. The guy was ripped, back and front and all the way down his arms. His jeans weren't exactly what you'd call tight but they definitely fit his long legs. I was a little surprised by his old emo belt. I mean, nobody wears white belts anymore. Nobody except a few guys on the PGA tour. The somewhat effeminate belt looked even stranger with a ridiculously long knife dangling from it.
"Where's Valor?" MacKenzie asked anxiously.
"He'll be back in a minute. He's watching to make sure the men leave."
That didn't seem to please MacKenzie.
"From a safe distance," Reason added then shifted his attention to me. "Come with me," he commanded quietly.
Obediently, I got to my feet. Hooligan followed us as Reason led me up the three stairs to the kitchen and around the corner into the dining room.
"Stay here," he said then turned to the huge dog. "Watch her, Hooligan. Let us know if she tries to leave. Bark if she pulls out her phone."
I gave the dog an incredulous look. Did he actually understand all of that?
"He understands," Reason warned me as if he could read my mind, which was an unsettling thought. I wondered why my phone was off limits and decided he didn't want me calling someone and telling them where I was. I guess I should have been worried but I wasn't. Not really. There was something about Reason and the rest of the guys that made me feel they weren't bad people. In fact, there was something about them that made me feel uncommonly safe.
"Could Hooligan watch me from over there?" I asked, backing away from the gigantic creature and positioning myself behind a heavy wooden chair.
Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought Reason's expression softened. "You're afraid of dogs?" he asked.
"Just the really big ones," I lied. The truth is, I'm scared of dogs period. Big dogs. Little dogs. Even little dogs that are friendly.
As if Hooligan knew I was afraid of him, he settled down on the other side of the room to watch me. Turning his head and resting it on his paws, he eyed me from beneath his shaggy brow.
"What kind of dog is he?" I asked.
"MacKenzie say's he's a wolfhound."
"He doesn't look much like a wolf," I pointed out. The dog was tall and lean with long legs, a square face and a scruffy gray coat.
Reason gave a lo
w chuckle. "Wolfhounds were bred to hunt wolves."
That sounded like a dangerous dog. "Good doggie," I muttered. "Don't eat Elaina. Elaina probably tastes bad."
Reason cut me a wry smile then stopped to ruffle the dog's head before leaving. "Take care of her," he murmured.
So, there I was, trapped in the small dining room for I didn't know how long while they talked about me in the family room. At least, I assumed they were talking about me. I should have brought a book. Or my eReader. I looked around. Got up and stood at the window, gazing outside and thinking it would be nice to live in the middle of the woods like this. I wondered if MacKenzie ever skied down the driveway after a snow. It was definitely steep enough.
I turned back around. Besides the dining room table and chairs, the only other furniture in the room was a corner bookcase with three shelves above a small cabinet. I checked out the pictures on the top shelf. There was a largish photo of MacKenzie and another smaller one of her with a lady that was probably her mom. The middle shelf held an antique tea set. Beside the blue and orange china sat a small rod of wood. I picked it up, wondering at its significance then returned it to its original position, trying to make it look like I hadn't messed with it. On the bottom shelf, I found a bunch of school notebooks leaning to one side and I reached for one. I wasn't snooping. I just didn't have anything to do.
Valor's name was penciled neatly on the notebook's yellow cover and I flipped through the wide-ruled pages. Then flipped through again, when I realized what I was looking at. The first pages were filled with letters of the alphabet. The next ones held simple words. Then simple sentences. Someone was learning to write. And Valor's name was on the cover so I assumed he was the "someone". But why was he only just learning to write at his age? I returned the notebook to the shelf and reached for the next one. This one had Havoc's name on the outside. It was pretty much the same as the first, but not as neat. One thing was clear, though; these guys definitely weren't from around here.
The Greystone Bundle (Books 1-4) Page 42
