Quinten (Fairplay Shifters Series Book 3)

by Serena Meadows

  As Penny was packing that afternoon, she thought about all that Evelyn and Walter had told her. She wanted it to make no difference, wanted to hold onto the anger she felt, but as the sun set, she realized that her anger had faded a little. As with everything in life, nothing was black and white, and she knew that she’d do as Annabelle’s parents had asked, no matter how difficult it was.

  She wasn’t the kind of person to turn her back on someone who needed help, but it was a new experience to try and help someone who didn’t know they needed it. It didn’t help that somewhere deep inside her, Quinten’s story had touched her, had made her look at him differently.

  He would probably be upset if he knew that she’d been told about his past, would see it as a violation of his privacy, but she was glad that she knew; it might make it easier to deal with him. What it didn’t make better was her attraction to him; what had once been only a physical attraction had changed when she’d learned all that he’d been through, and that was going to make it harder to deal with him.

  Sighing, she closed her suitcase and headed downstairs reminding herself that nothing was black and white. If she was lucky, Quinten wouldn’t stay long in Fairplay; after all, the tiny mountain town couldn’t be anything like what he was used to. Hopefully, by Christmas, Quinten would be gone, the issues with the council would be settled, and life could go back to normal, although she had no idea what normal was any longer.

  Chapter Six

  ***Quinten***

  Quinten shifted in his seat wishing again that he’d found a way to travel without Penny. She’d fallen asleep a few minutes ago with her head resting on his shoulder, and it was driving him crazy to be this close to her. It had been bad enough when they’d been jammed into the small seats next to each other, but now she’d fallen asleep, her body resting against his making him tingle all over.

  The flight was less than half over, and then they had the car ride into the mountains which she said would take at least four hours; how he was going to keep it together for that long he wasn’t sure. His attraction to her had only gotten stronger and watching her sleep had created a tender spot inside him that he didn’t like at all.

  It would have been so much easier if he’d been dealing with her brothers, easier to remember that they were the enemy. But this woman didn’t look like an enemy; she looked like an angel: a green-eyed angel. Cursing the path his thoughts were taking, he shifted slightly, hoping she’d move, but all she did was settle herself a little more comfortably on his shoulder, sending waves of tenderness washing over him again.

  When the flight finally landed, Quinten felt like he’d been tortured, especially when Penny woke and smiled at him sleepily, her eyes still clouded with dreams. He was the first one out of his seat and Penny had to practically run to keep up with him as he strode down the terminal, no idea where he was going, but relieved to be off the plane.

  He was just about to step onto an escalator when she asked, “Do you have any idea where you’re going?”

  He looked around and realized he’d been going the wrong way, “Sorry, I’m just used to leading.”

  Penny shook her head but didn’t say anything more until they were at the car rental and he asked for a four-door sedan. “Umm, that might not be the best choice. Let’s try for something a little more rugged, an SUV or a truck with four-wheel drive might be the best idea.”

  “I don’t really like driving those big vehicles and they’re terrible on gas. We’ll take something smaller,” he said, dismissing Penny’s suggestion.

  She took a breath so deep, he could hear it from where he was standing, then grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the desk. “Let’s get something straight: this is my home, my territory, I know what’s up in those mountains and you don’t. You’re not going to drive, you’re not picking out the car, and if you dismiss me the way you just did again, you’ll be finding your own way to Fairplay and the ranch.”

  Then she stomped back over to the desk and began talking to the rental agent again. He was so stunned, he didn’t move for a few minutes, only stared at Penny wondering if he was mad or turned on. Finally, mad won out, and he crossed the room and joined her, ready to make his wishes known. But Penny already had the keys to their rental in her hands, and there wasn’t much he could do at that point but swallow his pride and follow her.

  Once they’d gotten on the road, he couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. “You know, I did grow up in on the East Coast; we have snow there too,” he said when he saw the streets.

  Penny turned and looked at him. “We’re still in the city. Do you see those mountains in front of us, the ones all covered in dark clouds?”

  Quinten looked at the mountains looming in front of them. “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s where we’re going, and the forecast is calling for heavy snow and winds all day. If it was dark out, I wouldn’t even attempt this drive, and I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Penny said, her voice taking on a lecturing tone he didn’t like.

  “I still say I could have handled it; this is my investigation,” Quinten said stubbornly.

  “Yeah but it’s my life that would be in your unskilled hands. I’m driving, and that’s the end of it, after we get to the ranch you can drive around all you want, but I’m not going to be with you,” she said, ending the discussion and bringing silence to the car.

  Again, Quinten was confused by the mix of anger and desire he felt after her outburst. If he was a smart man, and he was, he’d get this investigation over with quickly and get as far away from Penny Brooks as he could. But something deep inside him told him that he wasn’t going to do that, that he’d begun something that he had no control over and should have stayed away from.

  As they began to climb into the mountains, the snow got heavier, and roads became more difficult to navigate. With each incline, each twist in the road, it became more difficult to see, and Quinten had to admit that Penny had been right. He would have never admitted it to her, but if he’d been behind the wheel, they would have turned around long ago.

  By the time they’d reached the pass that led to the valley of South Park, he was drenched in sweat and feeling lucky to be alive. More than once, he’d considered zapping himself out of there, but his pride wouldn’t let him, so he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

  After a steady climb, they turned a corner, and he heard Penny sigh. He opened his eyes to find them coming down a steep incline into a valley like none he’d ever seen. Ringed with mountains, it stretched as far as he could see, tiny dots in the distance the only sign that it was inhabited.

  “Welcome to South Park, some of the most beautiful but dangerous country in the state,” she said, slowing the car so he could get a good look.

  ***Penny***

  Once they dropped onto to the valley floor, the snow let up and all she had to deal with was the wind. She had both hands firmly on the wheel because the gusts were still strong enough to push the truck around when they hit, but Quinten seemed not to notice, and she couldn’t blame him.

  The recent snow had coated the valley in a blanket of white, the mountains around them hooded in the kind of puffy clouds that looked like cotton candy, and other than the wind, it reminded her of a winter wonderland. She couldn’t help but smile at Quinten who had his face pressed against the window like a kid in front of a candy store. She couldn’t wait until he saw this same scene in the brilliant sunlight that would follow the storm the next day.

  But her pleasure with him only lasted until they got to the ranch and out of the car, exhausted from flight to Denver and then the drive through the storm she wasn’t ready for his dismissive remark when he saw the ranch.

  “This is it? This is the ranch? I thought it would be bigger,” he said, then wrinkled his nose and asked, “What is that smell?”

  “That smell is our lively hood; this is a cattle ranch after all,” Penny said, coming around the side of the car to stand next to him.

  “I guess I
just imagined something else, something bigger and a lot less smelly,” Quinten said, clearly unaware he was insulting her.

  “Well, I’m not sure what your idea of a cattle ranch was, but this is it. Most of the herd was sold off for winter, the rest are in a pasture not far from here, which is why you can smell them,” Penny said, impatiently.

  Quinten must have read her annoyance because he quickly said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you, it’s just that I was led to believe that you were rich.”

  Penny looked at him, then laughed. “We do okay, but most of our wealth is tied up in the land and the contracts we have with the Forest Service. Some years we might be considered well-off, but after a bad year, things can get pretty lean around here. Come on, I’ll show you the manor house,” Penny said, shaking her head.

  ***Quinten***

  Quinten followed her onto the porch, trying to remember where he’d gotten the information that the Brooks family was rich. Then he remembered it had been in Deacon’s testimony that Annabelle was after Justin’s wealth, but as far as he could see there wasn’t much here to be after. It didn’t make sense, but then again, Deacon had been Annabelle’s fiancé; maybe he made that part up.

  Even if that was true, it still didn’t explain how a witch like Annabelle Simons had gotten mixed up with a shifter. And although he’d heard the story of why Joslin Simons had married a shifter as well, it still bothered him; it felt like too much of a coincidence. It occurred to him that Deacon might have gotten it backward: maybe the shifters were after the Simons money, maybe they weren’t as comfortable as Penny liked to pretend.

  Penny opened the door and stepped inside, so he followed her, only to be forced back a step when a man grabbed her and swung her around before giving her a big hug. Jealousy raced through him, until the man said, “It’s good to have you back, sister; it’s not the same here without you.”

  “I’m glad to see you too, Steven, but don’t think I don’t know that you’re just glad to see me because now you won’t have to do my share of the work,” Penny teased, linking her arm through his.

  Her brother opened his mouth to reply, but the appearance of an older woman in the doorway to what he assumed was the kitchen stopped him. “Well, it’s about time you got here; we’ve been waiting for hours. How were the roads?” the woman asked before hugging Penny.

  Penny started to reply, but an older man came out of another doorway; he had silver hair, and wore old jeans and boots. “Hi, daddy,” Penny said, then crossed the room and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Her father accepted the kiss, then grabbed Penny by the shoulders and looked at her. “You look well enough,” he said, then noticed Quinten standing by the door.

  He started to step forward, but Penny’s father gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks. “Is this him?”

  Penny sighed. “Yes, daddy. This is Quinten.”

  For the first time in a long time, Quinten wasn’t sure what to do: whether he should step forward and introduce himself or just stay where he was. Suddenly, all the eyes in the room were on him, and besides Penny’s parents and brother, there were five other people in the room. He was quickly beginning to feel cornered, especially when Penny’s father was staring at him the way he was.

  But her mother came to the rescue. “It’s nice to meet you, Quinten. I’m Samantha, and this is my husband William,” she said, shooting her husband a dirty look. “You two must be starving; dinner’s ready if you want to come on into the dining room.”

  “It’s nice to meet you both,” Quinten said, finally brave enough to speak.

  “I think dinner sounds like an excellent idea; we’ll finish the introductions later,” Penny said, walking back over to him and taking his arm. “I’ll show you where the dining room is.”

  Penny led him through the living room and down a long hallway, past doors that he assumed opened onto bedrooms, to a huge room the spanned the entire length of the back of the house. It had a table in the center large enough to seat twenty comfortably, and in each corner, there were smaller tables. Along the back wall, there were huge picture windows that faced the mountains, giving everyone a perfect view.

  He let Penny lead him to a spot about halfway down the table, then sat down and looked around him as people poured into the room and filled every available seat. Before long, the room was buzzing with conversation, and he began to feel a bit overwhelmed by the number of shifters around him.

  It took all his self-control not to jump to his feet and flee the room as scenes from the night his parents died flashed through his mind. The shifters glowing eyes, pulsing in the darkness as his father pleaded with them to let them all go, and worst of all, the moment when he knew that he had to run to save himself. He was beginning to panic, to hold his breath, when he felt Penny’s hand on his arm; her fingertips were cool on his heated skin, and almost at once the images faded, and he could breathe again.

  Chapter Seven

  ***Penny***

  “Are you okay?” Penny asked, when she saw the look on Quinten’s face: a mixture of panic and fear.

  When he didn’t respond, she put her hand on his arm and asked again. This time he seemed to come back from where ever he’d been. “Sorry, I’m okay. It’s just a little…” he trailed off clearly embarrassed.

  Penny wanted to smile but restrained herself. “I guess it must be a little overwhelming to be in a room with all of us.”

  Quinten looked around the room again, then at her, his eyes wary. “I know what it felt like the first time we went to Simon’s Cove; not everyone was happy to see us. But just remember that we’re people like everyone else; no one is going to change in the middle of dinner and go wild. You’re perfectly safe here,” she said, hoping to reassure him.

  He looked like he didn’t believe her, but before he could say anything, her mother came in carrying a huge tray of steaks, followed by helpers carrying the rest of the food. “Dinner is served,” her mother said, then set the tray in front of her father.

  It took only minutes for the food to disappear and she could tell that Quinten was a little shocked. “These people work hard for a living. Working a cattle ranch is hungry work, and even though it’s winter, we still have a lot of work to do.”

  Quinten only nodded and took another bite of his dinner; he was clearly not interested in hearing anything about the ranch or the people who worked on it. She decided to try another subject and began telling him about the mountains around them and some history about the valley, but he was still disinterested, so she gave up. If he wanted to be anti-social, that was fine with her; it wasn’t her job to entertain him.

  By the time dinner was over, she was so annoyed with his silence that she just wanted him out of her hair. “Steven, would you and Daniel take Quinten over to his cabin? I’m exhausted, and I bet he is too,” she asked, pleased when Quinten looked unhappy with that suggestion. “I just want to go to my room and go to bed; it feels like it’s been forever since I slept in my own bed.”

  Steven looked excited by the prospect, and she wondered if she’d just made a mistake, “Sure, sis, that’s no problem,” he said, then turned to Quinten, “Where’s your luggage or do you just zap up what you need?”

  “Very funny, Steven; our stuff is still in the car,” Penny said, getting to her feet. “We’ll go get it; you can meet us out there.”

  As they were walking to the car, Quinten said, “I’ll meet you here at the car first thing in the morning. I don’t want to waste any time getting this investigation started.”

  Penny stared at him. “First, if we were going to leave first thing in the morning, we wouldn’t be meeting at the car, we’d be meeting at the barn. Have you forgotten that we’re riding, not driving? There are no roads where we’re going. Second, tomorrow I’m going to sleep in, then I’m going to ride my horse for a few hours, then I’m going to take a nap, so I’ll be fresh for the party tomorrow night,” she said, going to the trunk and taking out her suitcase.
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  Quinten clearly wasn’t pleased with her answer. “That’s not acceptable, I’m here to investigate, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Then you’ll just have to investigate on your own tomorrow. I’m taking the day off,” Penny said, then threw his bags at him, slammed the trunk, and walked away.

  ***Quinten***

  He did spend the day investigating on his own, talking to anyone who would give him a few minutes of their time. All he learned after an entire day was that the Brooks family was wonderful, that they cared for everyone as if they were family, and a whole lot more sickly-sweet stuff that he didn’t buy. No family was as perfect as everyone portrayed this one to be, there had to be something lurking under the surface, something everyone was covering up.

  As he got ready for the party, a party he didn’t want to attend but felt forced into, he decided that tonight might provide him with some real insight into the family. There would probably be alcohol at the party, and nothing loosened tongues like alcohol. If he was careful, he might get a glimpse at the truth; just thinking about it made his palms begin to tingle in that way they did when he was close to a breakthrough on a case.

  Penny had been conspicuously absent all day; he’d get glimpses of her but by the time he got to where he’d seen her, she was gone. It was clear that she’d been doing it on purpose, so it had come as a shock at dinner when she’d volunteered to come over to the cabin and take him to the party. He hated to admit, even to himself, that it was a bit of a relief not to have to go alone, so he’d quickly accepted.

  Now waiting nervously for her, he wasn’t sure it was such a good idea; in fact, he was beginning to think it was a terrible one. If it wasn’t for the fact that he planned to get plenty of information tonight, he would have just skipped the party. But he’d already agreed to go, and Penny was probably on her way, which was what was bothering him.