But there was nothing subtle about this kiss and I needed more.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, I pulled Kalin closer, and she responded by hooking her legs around my waist. Her hands slid through my hair and teased down inside the collar of my shirt.
Something in her chest seemed to hum in content, while mine growled in response. I was all hunger and primal instincts. Tilting her head back, I deepened the kiss.
Her unique scent was driving me wild, lighting a fuse in me. Her clean, warm skin, shampoo, soap, and that inexplicable hint of a caramel. Possessiveness overtook me and I automatically moved closer still.
But, in trying to, I accidentally cracked my knee on the metal dryer and winced. Smooth.
“Oh.” Laughing, Kalin broke the kiss. “That’s what you get,” she teased, her voice breathless. “You okay? Jeez, I felt that go up my spine.”
Also breathless, I stared at her, heart spinning in my chest. This close, all I could see were her brown eyes and how there were flecks of amber around the pupils. But my stumble had slapped me back into the real world. Shaking my head, I blurted out, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that here. I mean, I, uh… Well, I really wanted that to be a hell of a lot more romantic, first of all.” Then, again, I winced, muttering, “Smooth, Young.”
Her eyebrows flew up, but her gaze was a mix of amusement and kindness. Pulling my face down, her lips traced across mine, deliberate, teasing, and mind-blowing.
Involuntarily, my grip tightened even more, and I leaned forward. At this point, I could break both kneecaps for all I cared.
“Damn,” I exhaled when we broke apart, my body trembling a little.
Kalin leaned back, her eyes sparkling, and smiled at me. “Sometimes the best things are left to impulse. No plans.” Her fingers drifted up and down my neck. “Makes it unforgettable.”
Stepping back, I fit my hands around the curve of her waist, right where her hips flared out, and picked her up. Then, setting her down, I gently nudged her in front of me, my hands on her shoulders, and guided her back into the cottage.
“There’s something I gotta to talk to you about.” I swallowed, my nerves bouncing up and down through my body, both from the adrenaline of kissing her and what I was about to ask. “Kalin, listen, I have to know what…”
She slipped away from my grip and hopped up on the bed, settling herself cross-legged in the center. Kicking off my boots, I paced around, resisting the urge to climb up there with her.
“Someone’s jumpy,” Kalin observed dryly. “It’s kinda cute but weird. Stop and come here.”
“No, not jumpy.” I paced the length of the room. “Okay, maybe a little. But only because you said something last night that’s been bothering me. And I’d meant to do this more methodically…”
Kalin rolled her eyes and pointed at the bed.
I walked over and exhaled slowly. Then, in a low voice, I asked, “What did I do to make you think I hated you?”
Her eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around her knees. “Oh.” She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s nothing. Wes, I was overtired and I-I shouldn’t have said that.”
Falling onto the bed, legs hanging off the side, I groaned and looked up at her. “It was that shit I said about secrets and how you can be reckless, wasn’t it?” Kalin’s eyes slid away. “There’s no excuse. I was an asshole, Kay, and I’m sorry.” I blew out a breath, guilt weighing down my shoulders. “But I feel like you should know that it came from a place of fear. That’s why I was so harsh.”
The backs of her fingers drifted across my cheekbone. “What do you mean?” She asked.
Crawling onto the bed more, I rolled onto my back and reached out to hold onto her knee. I’d noticed that since yesterday, I had sudden urges to reach out and make sure Kalin was actually there. Sight alone was no longer sufficient. I needed to feel her skin and the pulse of her heart.
“I’m gonna tell you a story, okay?” I swallowed. “It doesn’t excuse me from being a giant jerk and it’s a bit abbreviated, but…well, you asked me about Hazel, right? Hazel knew less than you did when she first met all of us over the summer, in Montana. Or at least, first met four of us. She and Ben had met before.
“Of course she was curious. She knew Ben had a secret – he’s not the best at subterfuge, not that I’m one to talk – and she knew it involved us. And she knew he was putting up this pretense that they’d never met before.” I let out a sigh. “Sorry, I’m wandering. What I’m trying to say is, Ben was in a state of distraction for weeks over the summer. Grumpy, snapping at everyone, and trying to keep his distance from Hazel.”
“Wow.” Kalin’s eyebrows were raised. “I can’t even imagine that. Or how hard it must have been for him. They seem inseparable.”
“You have no idea.” I squeezed her knee, then looked up at the ceiling, and the events of the summer unfurled behind my eyes. “Of course, unlike you, my reaction was not sympathy. I found it irritating and Rayner, Burr, and I cut him zero slack about it. Cree, of course, did.
“But, see, at first, we didn’t understand – why was keeping our secret any different with Hazel than from anyone else? And I can be hard on Ben. He’s the youngest and he did something stupid five years ago which I took my sweet time to forgive him for. Granted, it was reckless and impulsive, something that put us, never mind him, in a very dangerous situation.” I paused. “But believe it or not, it involved Hazel…”
“Oh,” Kalin said in a small voice.
“Yeah,” I said. “Exactly. So here’s poor Ben, between a rock and a hard place, between his brothers and Hazel. And I’d always been the kid who was by the books, you know? So because of that, I think I can sometimes be harder on Ben than I need to be.
“And Ben felt terrible about what he did. It ate him up inside. And he forced himself into this boxed-in version of himself. He no longer was the reckless, happy-go-lucky guy Hazel had met. He was a brooding jerk, dwelling on the past, and worrying about disappointing us again.
“And while I know I can’t take full blame for that, I also can’t deny that I was part of the reason he was so stressed out. He’d thought if Hazel found out – or worse, if we found out what had happened between him and Hazel – we’d been furious with him again.” Guilt snarled in my stomach. Sometimes being a good brother was the hardest thing in the world. “Fear made him desperate.”
“So what happened with Ben and Hazel?” Kalin asked a moment later.
“Later in the summer, we had to go deal with an Ash Walker one night. It had appeared somewhere it shouldn’t have been able to. And for whatever reason, Ben was initially reluctant to come. But when we saw him, he just shrugged it off. Except we could tell something had changed. He seemed more like his old self, happier, and lighter. I have to tell you, we were relieved, especially me…” Closing my eyes, I gripped Kalin’s knee again. “Then, after dealing with the Ash Walker, and the carnage it caused, he seemed to close in again. Brooded around Aunt Sil’s and the woods all day, wouldn’t talk, wouldn’t eat...
“That is, until Cree came back, and said Hazel was looking for him. Explained how she seemed really worried about him and pretty upset.
“I’ll never forget that look in Ben’s eyes. He looked so young, all hope and heartbreak. But he tried to shrug it off. Ignore her. So I grabbed him by his shirt collar. Told him I was gonna kick his ass if he didn’t go talk to her.” I chuckled. “After that, we didn’t see Ben for a few days.”
Kalin laughed. “Aw, see, you’re a good brother.”
But then I hesitated in my story, wondering where to go from here. I let go of Kalin and opened my eyes. “Ha. Well, I wish I could tell you it was nothing but sunshine and laughter after that, but it wasn’t. The next time we heard from Ben, he was calling us in utter desperation...
“Hazel had been hurt. Badly. She almost died that night.” My throat worked, remembering the way Ben had stood by her sickbed, helpless and broken. How my heart had broken for
him. How furious I’d been my gifts were useless. How it seemed like a cruel joke that he’d found happiness, and himself again, only to have it snatched away. “Now the look in his eyes was utter devastation.”
“But he saved her!” Kalin’s hand gripped mine and I looked at her. “It wasn’t any of your guy’s fault, jeez. Let me guess.” Her lips twisted. “Was it the Crooked Man?”
“Yes, Ben saved her.” Now a different memory bubbled up, one of a tired, exultant Ben, stumbling into the hallway, looking almost shell-shocked in his happiness. “And yes, it was,” I said. “But that’s when it became apparent the Crooked Man was after Hazel. We’re still not sure exactly why, but we suspect it was to get to Ben, to get to us, to stop her from remembering… Ah, what’s a whole other story. Sorry. But less than a day later, Hazel nearly lost her life. Again.”
Kalin let out a huff. “What a bastard.”
A chuckle popped out of me, but then I sobered. “You see where I’m going with this?”
“Hazel is a badass?” Kalin tried to say lightly, but I could hear the uneasiness in her voice. “And you guys learned how to get along?”
Sitting up, I looked at her and shook my head. “Kay, I always worry about my brothers, and now Hazel, too, of course. I mean, the way Ben looked when he thought Hazel was going to die…”
Lifting my free hand, I cupped her face. “But with you, I’m terrified. Like I said, that’s no excuse for my behavior, but I’ve seen–” I stopped, looking away as my throat went tight. “I’ve seen how the Ash Walkers destroy and consume, how Pale Eyes are manipulated and used up, how that damn Skinwalker is ruthless in how he pursues trying to get what he wants.” Bowing my head, I rasped out, my hand falling, “And now you’re in his way, with no one but me to protect you. A guy who’s done a pretty piss-poor job so far and made his fair share of mistakes.”
Kalin went rigid, all of her muscles tightening at once. “A Skinwalker?” Raising my head, I looked at her and nodded. Her pupils had dilated and her hands convulsively closed on my forearm. “From Navajo folklore? Trini loves stuff like that – she used to read ghost stories, old legends.” She swallowed, then said in a shaky voice, “Not me, I’m a chicken.”
“Your sister knew about them?” I asked sharply.
Kalin nodded, her eyes darting to the windows, as though she were afraid to see something peering in. “Yes. Our aunt, she’s married to our father’s brother, is half Navajo. One time as kids, we’d gone camping with our whole extended family, and one night the adults stayed up talking… It was late and they must have thought we were asleep.
“But we weren’t. Trini and I overheard my uncle asking our aunt about them. The Skinwalkers.” Her voice was hushed. “Our aunt got so upset. The way she was hushing him, praying, and the fear in her voice – it sent chills down my spine. Made my eyes water. I remember clutching Trini’s hand in panic. And our aunt was saying they were not something to be spoken or thought of, that it called them forth…” Hunching her shoulders, Kalin shook her head.
I nodded. “Yeah, Ben and Hazel visited a Navajo man over the summer, and he was reluctant to answer even simple questions.” I almost smiled at that moment, though, recalling how irritated Big Bear had been about it.
Then I shivered, remembering how uneasy the rest of the Elders had been.
How could I forget? Aunt Sil’s tired voice echoed in my head. Has it been so long? Or are my memories fading faster than I realized? To speak, even think of them, is a danger…
“According to the stories, it’s dangerous to,” Kalin said in a flat voice and a chill went over my skin at her uncanny word choice.
“Did something happen when you were camping?” I asked, sensing there was more. Kalin didn’t respond. “It might explain how your sister was tricked…”
She let out a shaky laugh. “Trini was always too interested in that spooky shit. Yeah, it did. It’s not something I like to think about. In fact, I’d almost forgotten about it…
“So, after the adults went to bed, Trini kept whispering in my ear, wondering if she could convince our aunt to tell her more about it or go visit the Navajo reservation with her. I pushed her away, told her to stop, and went to sleep.” A nervous breath fluttered from Kalin’s lips. “But then I woke up because I heard something walking outside the tent.
“I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream. The sound it made was so strange, like dragging thumps, and then suddenly a light flashed through the campsite. And I thought I saw the outline of something against the tent wall.” Her voice shook. “It looked like an animal, but it wasn’t...
“And my aunt was screaming, waking everyone, and my uncle fired a gun in the air. The thing scampered, I heard it panting as it ran.
“We left after that, our parents telling us that a rabid coyote had gotten into the campsite, but I’d seen it. So I did my best to forget it, although for a long time I was extra nervous camping. And sometimes if I’m alone in the woods at night, I get that creepy feeling again…”
“Did it happen around here?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Kalin swallowed and looked at me. “It was at Lake Mead. Like I said, I’d almost forgotten all about it. I think I forced myself to remember that as a happy memory. And it was, in a lot of ways, but that last night was awful.”
“I wonder if your sister was telling that story the night she was tricked…” I murmured. Then we fell into silence and I slipped an arm around Kalin. “We’ll get her back, don’t worry.”
Leaning into me, Kalin nodded. “I’m not worried. Thank you for telling me all of that.” She paused. “I think.”
I didn’t tell you everything. “You weren’t wrong in saying you’d earned the right to know,” I said. “I only wanted to spare you, but that was hurting you in a way.”
“But there’s more, isn’t there?” Kalin asked in a whisper.
I nodded. “So much more.” The past five years seemed to flash in front of my eyes. “It’s a very long story. But I think that’s more than enough for right now, Kay.” Rubbing her arm in lazy strokes, I said, “I hope I didn’t freak you out too much.”
“I mean, I’ve got a bit of a chill, I can’t lie.” She nestled against me. “But maybe that’s just from falling into the river yesterday. Hey, and before I forget, Wes, you can’t blame yourself for everything that’s gone wrong. I feel safe with you. You’re human, okay? Everyone makes mistakes. Of course, you’ve only made like one or two, so you’re still pretty superhuman to me.”
Shaking my head, I suggested, “Why don’t you take a nap?” I got up and off the bed, then tugged the covers down. “If you can, after all the ghost stories. Sorry.”
Kalin crawled under, then smiled at me and said archly, “I can think of something that will distract me.” She patted the bed.
Taking a deep breath, I shook my head and tucked her in. She pouted at me, and I laid down next to her, on top of the covers. “Hey, Feisty. You need rest. And I’ll be right here.”
Tugging one of my arms over her, Kalin then curled against me, and said in a murmur, “I do seem to sleep better whenever I’m in your arms.”
A few minutes later, Kalin was fast asleep, as I’d known she would be. The exhaustion of the trek and yesterday’s adventure had worn her out completely.
Watching her sleep, I wondered if I should have told her what I did. I hoped it made sense. Especially since I’d left out details that would have been more illuminating – not to mention reassuring – about me and my brothers, the Great Spirit of Old Man Coyote, and our gifts.
But I couldn’t deny to myself, any more than I could have to Kalin, how fear had rooted itself in me since we began this journey. A fear I didn’t know how to handle.
At first, I’d wrapped it up in blame about the Crooked Man.
While that was true to an extent, it wasn’t the whole story. Barely a chapter.
No, this was a specific, cruel kind of fear.
Fear of losing her. Kalin Montero.
But
whether to the shadows or to the truth, I didn’t know.
Chapter 14
After lying in bed with Kalin for an hour, she was still asleep and I found myself thinking about the course of this strange day. First romantic, then pragmatic, then romantic again, and then just strange and a bit too eerie.
I couldn’t forget the way Kalin’s skin had gone cold at the mention of Skinwalker.
Guilt and uneasiness filled me as I lay there. I’d both made her relive a suppressed memory from her childhood and informed her those terrifying monsters from Navajo legends walked among us. Sighing, I slipped silently out of bed and went to change the laundry.
This is why you plan things, I thought. Otherwise, everything went to hell and you had no idea where you’d end up.
Or how to move forward.
Once I was done, I walked back and stood in the doorway. Watching Kalin sleep, I tried to come up with my next move, but I was drawing a blank. She wasn’t like Hazel, with a connection to this hidden world of both beauty and horror – the supernatural and the strange.
No, for Kalin, it was a misstep. Random chance had led to our meeting and later journey.
And now, I suspected that Trini had craved a connection to the secrets that lurked in the shadows and whispered under the moon. And, unfairly, she’d gotten far more than she’d bargained for. She’d probably been swayed by a creature wearing a handsome face and promising to show her a world hidden by legend.
According to Sani, only the most powerful Skinwalkers could assume any identity or any animal form. When Ben had come back to Montana to tell us this, he’d spoken in a hollow voice and had a look of foreboding in his eyes. Even Hazel, who was usually full of a cheerful equanimity, had looked shaken. I recalled how it seemed like an icy wind had darted through the room. Aunt Sil had looked disturbed, while Pea had reached out to squeeze Cree’s and my hands.
There was a reason the creatures were feared and shunned, never spoken or thought of.
HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters Page 26
