“You must have spoken to Caleb Parker when you came down the mountain.”
“Yes. The young kid in the ski rental area.” Zach slapped his forehead. “He saw us. The three of us, I mean. We weren’t thinking. And we weren’t subtle.”
Adam nodded. “Don’t freak out. There was no way in hell we were going to keep the matings of our kids a secret from the world forever. I’m surprised more people haven’t wigged out before now, actually.”
Sharon grabbed the bowl her father handed her. “Several people at the hospital got a little jumpy when they saw Rebecca with Griffen sometimes and Miles at other times.” She turned toward Laurie. “She even quit that job and took a job on the reservation at the hospital in Sojourn.”
Laurie froze. She hadn’t considered that problem. “Jeez, she had to leave her job because she was with two men?”
Sharon nodded. “She’s a very good friend of mine. I hated what they drug her through. Regular people I’ve known my entire life. Judging. Made me sick.”
“Humans, of course,” Zach added. “It’s a tiny bit easier on the reservation. A larger population is shifter on the west side of the reservation. They’re far more understanding.”
“So what happened? Were people talking about us at the lodge?” Corbin asked Adam.
Adam nodded as he took his seat and picked up his fork. “Yeah. I just wanted to warn you. We’ll support whatever decision you kids make. But you need to know what you’re up against. There are a lot of people in this area who aren’t going to look fondly on the arrangements of my sons. In particular, there’s a church in town that tends to run a bit fundamentalist, and the members have been known to go slightly ballistic on occasion.”
“Ballistic?” Corbin asked.
“Picketing and stuff,” Sharon responded.
Carlie spoke next. “Caleb Parker is a member of that church. His parents go there.”
“What should we do?” Laurie cringed. The damage was partially done. They’d been spotted on the first morning. It was hardly possible to go back now.
Adam took a deep breath. “Not sure. Let’s see if the rumors and innuendo die down in a few days. It’s amazing how fast a wildfire can spread. I heard people mumbling to each other the moment I arrived this morning. Craziness.”
“No one said anything to me,” Carlie added. “But then again, I’m not the sort of woman people mess with.”
Zach and Adam both laughed.
“That’s for sure,” Adam said. “I didn’t mate a weak woman.”
Laurie hoped she had half the gumption Carlie had, or her life was liable to become a nightmare.
Carlie continued, “The majority of our staff is shifters. The few who are human will have to deal or move on. That’s their prerogative. It’ll be tough for them to make that sort of choice since jobs aren’t easy to come by in this area, and we’re considered the cream of the employment crop. We treat our employees extremely fairly, pay them well, and provide benefits. If they want to walk away from that, so be it.
“As for the rumors, the members of the Church on the Hill like to stick their nose in everybody’s moral business. I assume they’ll weigh in on this swiftly. I’m not going to lose sleep over that either. Bunch of meddling ninnies.”
Laurie nearly laughed out loud at that. “How have Griffen and Trace gotten away with their relationships so far?”
Zach swallowed his bite and spoke. “They’ve been living slightly under the radar on the edge of the reservation for a while now. Griffen doesn’t respond to innuendo at work at the resort, and Trace is a deputy here in this county. The sheriff is a shifter, so he understands, and he doesn’t tolerate shit-talk from his deputies.”
“Probably most people have assumed what they hear is rumor and nothing more. But they’re growing more suspicious as yet a third brother falls into the ménage category.” Adam took another bite and moaned around the flavor. “Delicious as always, hon.” He set his hand on Carlie’s and squeezed.
If Zach and Corbin still loved Laurie half as much as Adam clearly did Carlie after thirty years, Laurie figured her life would be perfect.
»»•««
“Can you believe it?” Ada shook her head and pursed her lips as she continued to whip her knitting needles back and forth in her lap.
“Believe what?” Mary asked. She’d arrived late and just sat on the sofa in Ada’s small living room where the ladies of the Church on the Hill met once a week for Bible study and knitting prayer shawls. Mary had never been interested in knitting, but she came to the meetings anyway and sipped coffee while the others worked.
Florence gasped. “Haven’t you heard the news?” The older woman pressed her palm against her chest as if someone had died.
Mary widened her eyes. “Is everyone okay?”
Florence shook her head. “No. Some people are destined for Hell. And that’s not okay. It shouldn’t be okay for anyone. And it’s our job to spread the word of God and make sure people are informed that their decisions affect their destiny.”
“What happened?” Mary fought against rolling her eyes. When old women got together and decided to speak in cryptic terms, she had to battle for patience.
Ada set her knitting needles down. “Those Masters boys happened, that’s what.”
“The Masters? You mean Carlie and Adam’s kids?”
“The very ones.” Florence leaned forward, lowering her voice as if what she had to say were a secret, and if she spoke too loudly, the neighbors might hear. “From what I hear, several of them are living in sin.”
Jesus. Was anyone going to spit out their concern?
Mary had only been in town about six months. She was marginally familiar with the Masters family only because everyone in town was. They owned and operated the ski resort, one of the most lucrative businesses in Cambridge.
Mary waited for someone else to speak. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of asking a third time for more information.
Finally, Ada continued, “Three of their boys are practicing polygamy.” She said that last word as though she’d taken the Lord’s name in vain.
Seriously? In Cambridge? Polygamy? She wanted to reserve judgment until she had more definitive information, since these ladies were undoubtedly speaking out of turn.
Ada shook her head as she resumed her knitting. “I knew that family was bad news years ago. Four boys. Tsk. And then a girl. That poor girl is probably filled with sin being raised on the heels of those hooligans.”
That sounded absurd. “Lots of people have five children. What’s wrong with that?”
Ada’s gaze shot up. “Oh nothing’s wrong with raising more of God’s children, but that family does not go to church. Heathens.”
Mary blinked in shock. Lots of people do not go to church, she thought. I don’t think God intends for us to judge them. She had to swallow her strange reaction to these women. If she’d been present for this same conversation a few months ago, she would have had an entirely different reaction. But now…
“My grandson Ed the Third told my husband that…” She cleared her throat.
Mary nearly rolled her eyes at the way Ada said “husband” as though Edmund were royalty instead of the seventy-year-old pastor of their church.
Ada continued, “His friend Caleb, who works at the resort, said that he saw a woman come down the mountain the other day with two men.” She released her knitting needle in her right hand to fan her face as though it were suddenly too hot in the room. “One of those men was a Masters. The other was a deputy from the reservation who moonlights here in Cambridge at the resort.”
Ada rolled her eyes. “Don’t even get me started on those Indians being employed here on our side of the lake while we have hardworking white men all over the place without decent jobs.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, those boys were with a woman—a redheaded hussy who just arrived in town. The chit was with them. As in with them.” She covered her mouth after stating that last part.
Mary stiffened. A redheaded woman? Darnit. She’d met a redhead just that afternoon. The sweet woman who’d come into her preschool looking for a job. She was new in town also. What were the chances two redheaded women had just moved to Cambridge? “Is it possible this kid Caleb exaggerated? Or maybe even made the story up?”
Ada gasped and set her hand over her heart. “Not a chance. Caleb’s a sweet young man. His parents have been members of our church for decades. If he said that Masters boy was with the deputy and that redhead, it’s true.”
Mary didn’t particularly care about the gossip of a bunch of old women, but she didn’t want anyone to judge her, and she’d finally carved a spot for herself in the community. She didn’t agree with everything they touted, but she’d been a member of a similar congregation her entire life before moving to Cambridge to open her own preschool.
She hated to admit it to herself, but if she wanted to remain respected in the community, she wasn’t going to be able to hire Ms. Laurie Hamilton to work with small children. Not if this was the kind of chatter building up among the residents.
Darnit.
Her hands shook as she set her coffee cup on the end table. Her life had never been so confusing, not until she moved to Cambridge. Suddenly her world was upside down. Everything she’d ever believed in seemed questionable. Including her religion.
Considering the number of things she’d discovered about herself in the last six months, who was she to judge others for their personal choices—with respect to race or sexual orientation?
She shuddered inwardly at the idea of a woman sleeping with two men, however. The idea seemed ludicrous. Who would do that? How on earth did they manage to share? Surely Ada was misinformed. Hopefully.
She wanted to run from the house, leave the church, and never look back. But she couldn’t bring herself to do that. At twenty-eight years old, she was now a business owner in a small town, and she’d never been happier nor more depressed in her life.
What did God have in store for her?
Chapter Eight
Laurie slumped down into the enormous stuffed chair in Zach’s living room and blew out a breath. She was so frustrated she could scream.
“What happened now?”
“Remember that preschool I was so hopeful about last week?”
“Yeah. The one on Third Street? They sounded very interested.”
“Well, it turns out they made a ‘mistake’ and don’t actually need to hire anyone at this time.” She mimicked the owner’s words in her sing-songy voice.
Corbin leaned over the back of the chair and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, babe. That stings.”
“I don’t believe for one minute that woman hadn’t heard the rumors about us.”
Zach sat on the footstool in front of her and grabbed her knees. He winced. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to do to make this better. You could always come work at the resort, if you really want a job. But if that isn’t your thing, you know we don’t care if you work or not.”
Corbin grinned at her from above. “I’ve grown fond of your cooking. Beats my minimal BBQ skills any day of the week.”
She frowned. “I’m not spending my life cooking and cleaning for two men, so get that notion out of your head right now.”
“Teasing, babe,” Corbin continued, “Just trying to make you feel better and reinforce the fact that we don’t care if you work or not.”
“I know you don’t.” She groaned. “But working with kids is my passion.”
“How about trying the reservation?” Corbin righted himself and circled to sit on the arm of the chair. “We have more shifters on the rez, tribal members, in fact. I’m betting you’ll find a better reception there.”
“I could do that.” It wasn’t a bad idea.
Zach squeezed her knees. “Rebecca’s human and Caucasian, and she was easily accepted at the hospital where she works as a nurse.”
Laurie chewed her bottom lip. “Okay. I’ll give that a try.”
“In the meantime, how about we go for a run?” Zach stood and hauled Laurie up in front of him by her hands. “There’s still a few more minutes of daylight. We can hit the uninhabited side of the mountain and cover several miles.”
“Who needs daylight?” Corbin asked. “We can go as far as we want. Unless you’ve gotten some sort of nighttime visual impairment,” he teased.
“Ha ha.” Zach headed for the door, dragging Laurie alongside. He grabbed her coat and tossed it to her and then put his own on while Corbin stuffed his arms in his sleeves.
Ten minutes later, they pulled off the road and parked out of sight at the base of a section of the mountain uninhabitable to humans. It was too steep in that area and heavily wooded.
Laurie got excited. She hadn’t shifted since the night she met her mates. In fact, she hadn’t shifted for several weeks before that, either. And she hadn’t run free with them yet. From her spot between the men in the front seat of Corbin’s truck, she tugged off her mittens and then her coat. “If you two don’t hustle, you’ll find a shifted female wolf between you in this car. I’m not going to wait so you can ogle me naked first.” She grinned at Zach and then Corbin.
Neither man commented, and moments later, they all three jumped from the truck into the snow, shifting almost the second they hit the ground. The snow was too cold to stand around in bare human feet.
Laurie stopped in her tracks and stared at her mates. She’d seen Zach before, and his deep brown fur was as gorgeous as she remembered. She had not seen Corbin in wolf form yet. He was stunning. His fur was the same black as his hair, and when he blinked his eyes and nudged her with his nose, she noticed his irises were the same shade of brown as in human form—almost translucent.
“You’re beautiful.” Corbin lifted a paw and set it on hers. “Your fur is the loveliest shade of red. I would recognize you anywhere. I’ve never seen another shifter with quite that color of fur.”
She lowered her head, finding it difficult to take his compliment. “Thank you. You aren’t so bad yourself.”
“Are you two done yapping? We can run while we communicate, you know. Let’s go.” Zach nodded his head behind him and then took off through the snow.
Laurie followed Zach, and Corbin took up the rear. They ran hard, climbing the side of the mountain at a rapid pace. Laurie was breathing heavily, but invigorated when they finally came to a clearing and plopped down on their haunches to rest and admire nature. The sun had gone down, and the sky was clear enough they could stare at the stars.
So quiet.
She loved the solitude afforded to shifters. They could easily go where no man could manage and enjoy peace and quiet. A soft snow fell around them, each flake twinkling in the night air.
A star twinkled above her and then flitted out, falling across the sky in a streak of light.
Nature was an amazing being.
Suddenly, a shadow fell across her as though in direct contrast to the unbelievable view, darkening her mood before she even glanced in its direction.
“Shit. Holy fuck.” Corbin jumped to his paws and lifted his head in the direction of the same smoky substance Laurie had spotted.
Zach breathed heavier at her other side.
Laurie cautiously stood and stepped forward.
“Babe…” Corbin began.
“It won’t hurt me.” Instinctively she knew that to be true. The spirit wanted her attention. It was trying to tell her something. It was not there to harm her.
The smoke coalesced in front of her eyes, drawing together until it formed the shape of some sort of creature. It reminded her of a black bear, but that might have been because of the darkness. It floated closer.
Corbin stepped partially in front of her, setting a paw out in her path.
She ignored his overprotective stance and inched forward.
It seemed to her as though the spirit looked directly at her even though it had no discernable eyes, and she wondered if Corbin and Zach though
t the same thing of themselves.
So personal.
Intimate.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
A coyote howled in the distance, and instantly the black cloud sucked in on itself and vanished, leaving not a trace of evidence it had ever been there.
For several moments, the three of them stood rooted to their spots, breathing heavily and communicating nothing.
“Well, it’s hard to deny that happened,” Zach muttered into her head.
She eased onto her haunches, needing to process what she’d seen. Definitely it was a similar apparition to the one she’d seen last week on the slopes, but that time she’d been too stunned to appreciate what was right in front of her.
This time she was more prepared. She tipped her head to the sky once more and stared at the crescent moon. Reaching out to Melinda, she called to her half-sister. “Melinda? You happen to be shifted?”
Seconds ticked by and then, “Laurie?”
“Yeah. Listen—”
“Laurie,” she interrupted. “Holy shit. Seriously? Is that you?”
“Yeah. What’s the matter?”
“I’m fucking cooking dinner. That’s what’s the matter.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt… Wait. Did you say cooking?” Laurie stiffened. In human form?
“Yes. How the hell…” Her voice trailed off in Laurie’s head.
Laurie stood upright and paced the clearing. She could sense her mates hovering around her, but ignored them. She thought they might have been trying to speak to her, in fact, but she remained focused on her sister and the unbelievable. “You aren’t shifted?”
“No. I’m standing in the kitchen, probably looking like a zombie. My mates are staring at me strangely. I think they’re trying to get my attention, but they’re blocked. I can only hear you.”
“And I you. Weird.”
“God. What happened?”
“I just saw one of those spirits. Or maybe the same one. Who could tell?”
“Where?”
“Back side of the ski mountain. We went for a run. Stopped in a clearing. It was so peaceful, and then bam, the black smoke coalesced into a shape like a large animal and hovered in front of me.”
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