Gambler's Folly (Bookstrand Publishing Romance)

by Mellie E. Miller

  “I don’t know. You went to sleep while I read, and then I dropped off until a few minutes ago. I didn’t realize how tired I’d been.”

  She stretched and then sat up and stretched again, Damiano’s eyes taking in the whole performance.

  “Mia gattina, you must be part cat to enjoy a stretch that much. I can almost see it. Nobody can stretch like a cat can. It feels so wonderful. It is a shame you can’t actually experience it.”

  “That’s alright. I can enjoy stretching in this form,” she said as she stretched some more. “It must be all the riding and flying and sleeping on the sofa that has me cramped up.”

  “Maybe you need a little romp to get it all sorted,” he suggested.

  “Yeah? What did you have in mind, Tiger?”

  Head lowered, eyes perfectly focused, he slowly stalked toward her, growling softly.

  “Ahhh…I begin to see,” she said. “Do you think you can catch me?” And the fun began.

  The next morning they got up early to do some skiing. Light, fluffy snow had fallen during the night, blanketing the mountain in crisp, white powder. The tree branches were all lightly dusted, sparkling as if coated in fairy dust in this magical scene. The whisper from their skis echoed off the nearby slopes, adding to the fairytale atmosphere.

  By midday, they were both ready to go back, have lunch and rest up. Karianna sat on a boulder while Damiano called for Marco to come pick them up.

  “Come, cara mia, let’s go down to the road to meet our ride,” Damiano said, grinning widely. “Tired?”

  “Yes. You’d think, with as much as I work out every day, I could ski for half a day without a problem. But I’m really bushed.”

  “Nothing you can do in a gym is a good substitute for the real thing. Ski machines, treadmills, nothing. But to get out into nature and meet her face to face, now that is a challenge.”

  Marco met them with the car and they were soon back at the lodge. Showered and changed, they went into the village for a late lunch. The crusty artisanal bread and hot soup were wonderful after a morning in the snow.

  “This is marvelous, Dam. How did you find this place?”

  “I like to ski, so when I first came to Gambler’s Folly I tried several different areas, looking for someplace with decent snow, decent food, and a lodge I liked. Eventually I found this place.”

  “What was it that drew you to this particular spot?” Karianna asked.

  “I think the village. It is small, so there aren’t crowds of people to get through when I come to the village. This little restaurant has decent food, well above average. And the snow is perfect for skiing nearly year-round.”

  “So even you get tired of the crowds sometimes?”

  “Well, while I normally enjoy the attention, sometimes I want some peace and quiet. And this is the place for it. I’m sure they know who I am in the village, but they don’t press,” he explained.

  “Well, I think it’s lovely. I could live up here,” Karianna added.

  “I think you would get tired of the cold after a while, cara. Remember, unlike Earth, our seasons are fairly static. The snowy regions are snowy year-round. The warm regions are always warm. Even the more temperate areas in between stay within very narrow parameters. Which is why I have property in so many areas.”

  “So you can have a change?

  “Yes, cara. A change of pace to keep the mind active.”

  One look at the weather the next morning convinced them it would be a good day to stay in. It had begun to snow well before they got out of bed, and snow was still falling. When Karianna thought of snow, she thought of the nice, fluffy snowfalls she’d seen at home. But this was indeed something else. Tiny snowflakes driven by the mountain winds flew at an angle into the ground, piling up drifts against anything in its way. When she stuck her head out the door for a closer look, the snowflakes stung her face, more like driven sand than snow. And there was so much snow falling, she could barely see across the drive.

  “No, attempting to ski in this would be disastrous,” Damiano said. “Not only would we be soaked to the skin, we could get lost and fall down the mountain.” With a rather lecherous look, he added, “I’m sure we can find something to fill our time, cara.”

  “Not until after breakfast,” Karianna replied. “With you inside all day, I’ll need to keep up my strength.”

  Later in the day, the storm abated, leaving the mountains quiet and serene under a blanket of new, powdery snow.

  “It’s so quiet,” Karianna whispered, as they stood just outside the door.

  “Yes, it’s always like that after a big storm. A peaceful sort of quiet, as if the world has been swept clean,” Damiano murmured back. “A quiet that encourages quiet, as if sound would pollute this wonderful peace and spoil the world anew.”

  Back inside, Karianna shook her head. “It is almost a shame to think of skiing on it, or even walking for that matter. As if it would somehow shatter the peacefulness if we marred the pristine scene out there.”

  “I know. I hate to be the first one to break the surface. It seems vulgar, in a way.”

  Marco and Paolo came up later in the evening to check on them. “Sometimes the storms cut off the power to the lodge. And if the generator runs out of fuel, there is no backup,” Paolo explained. “This time we are lucky.”

  “Any word from the city?” Damiano asked.

  “No, nothing,” Marco answered. “And we’ve seen nothing suspicious here, so our plans seem to have worked. Maybe this holiday will be untroubled.”

  It was so quiet, Karianna slept like one dead. Damiano must have, too, for it was well past daylight before either of them woke the next morning. After a leisurely breakfast, they grabbed jackets, gloves, and skis for a day out of doors.

  “I’ve never skied with this much fresh powder on the ground,” Karianna remarked.

  “It’s wonderful, unless you fall.” Dam chuckled. “Then you end up buried in two feet of snow and get soaked trying to get out.”

  By the time they were ready to return, she was soaked. This kind of snow was very different from what she’d skied previously. Lunch was nearly hot enough to warm her from the inside out.

  “I am so sleepy,” she told her husband, who was nodding off, too.

  “Why don’t we take a nap?” he asked. “I don’t know if it’s the fresh air, the exercise, or the quiet, but I’m about to fall asleep here in the chair.” Snuggling together, they both fell asleep under the heavy down-filled duvet for most of the afternoon.

  “Come on, Gattina.” Damiano chuckled. “You must be awake to eat.”

  “I can’t believe how sleepy I am still. Is it the atmosphere or the fact that we can actually unwind here, away from the stress of business?”

  “I don’t know, but it is nice, no?”

  “Nice? No! It’s absolutely marvelous,” she corrected.

  Damiano chuckled and pulled her roughly to him, capturing her in his strong arms. She struggled just because she could.

  “If you want marvelous, maybe we should go back to bed,” he suggested.

  “You’ve got a high opinion of yourself, don’t you?” she retorted.

  “No, I simply speak the truth,” he replied. Nuzzling her hair, he began to tease the arch of her neck with little kisses.

  “You are incorrigible,” she added.

  “Why correct something if it’s already perfection?” he answered. With a quick sweep, he took her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom. “Now, my little Topolina, we’ll play cat and mouse.”

  As they’d acclimatized to the temperatures and the exercise, they spent most of the next day out on the mountain, playing tag and just having fun. The sun was warm, though the temperatures were below freezing.

  “It’s amazing to me how a person can get used to the temperatures here,” Karianna ventured. “You’d think, with temperatures this cold, you would always feel frozen. But after a few days, it seems perfectly fine.”

  “People hav
e lived in extremes since the beginning,” Dam told her. “Think about the people of old Russia or Scotland on Earth. Or what about the extreme northern areas of the Americas?”

  “I suppose you’re right. And I can see that, if you were born there, you’d grow up adapted to your environment. But I can’t believe how quickly I’ve adapted to it,” Karianna explained. “I didn’t grow up in the Alps.”

  “Nor did I,” Damiano answered. “But the human creature is very adaptable. And when you add the were- factor to that, he becomes very adaptable indeed.”

  “I’m still not used to that whole thing—the were- thing. I’m used to being just human.”

  “No, you’ve never been ‘just human,’ cara. You just didn’t know.”

  “I still think it’s not fair that women can’t make the change, like you guys. What’s the point in being a were-cat, if I can’t actually be a cat?”

  “I know, cara. But you have the healing abilities we men don’t have. Most normal humans, and even the were- people, can develop the skills, but the women of the were-species have greater abilities in the healing arts. With training, you can be exceptional healers.”

  “I know, but it’s not the same.”

  “Maybe you’ll be one of the exceptions, cara. But even if you are, you’ll probably only change under extreme circumstances. I’m not sure, even then, if you could learn to change at will after that.”

  “Oh well, at least I got you in the bargain.”

  “Chance or destiny. I wonder,” Damiano mused.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Not a bit.”

  They had dinner at the restaurant in the village that evening. After a day in the snow, neither of them wanted to fix something in the kitchen. Marco, Paolo, and Dante joined them.

  “Nothing showing up on the radar?” Damiano asked.

  “Nothing,” Marco answered. “We’ve contacted Nagi, and he has sensed nothing either. So either the opposition hasn’t figured out what we’ve done, or they’re more cautious than normal.”

  “We’ll only be here two more days,” Damiano said. “Let’s hope for the best.”

  They parted ways after dinner. Damiano’s men went to wherever they were staying to keep watch. Karianna and Damiano went back to the lodge. The fireplace was wonderful, shedding soft golden light and heat into the room. Snuggled up on the sofa with wine, crackers, and cheese, the two of them enjoyed a perfect end to a wonderful day.

  “It’s a shame you can’t run your business from here,” Karianna mused. “It’s much more peaceful, and I’m sure it’s healthier.”

  “I know what you mean,” Dam answered quietly. “But someone has to keep an eye on everything and keep it running smoothly. I’m not sure who else could do that.”

  In the distance, they heard a wolf howling. The sound was eerie in this snow-covered place, echoing off any rocky surfaces not covered in snow. Soon there was an answering howl from another direction.

  “Just for a moment, I thought Nagi was going to put in an appearance,” Damiano said, snuggling more deeply into the cushions. “It must be a local pack.”

  About twenty minutes later, they heard something scratching at the door. Exchanging glances, Dam got up and peered out the window. Flinging the door open, a large, shaggy wolf lunged through the door, bringing a swirl of snow with him. Damiano snatched a towel out of a cupboard and wrapped it around Nagi as he changed.

  “Nagi, what…” Dam began.

  “You have to leave at once, you and Karianna. Your men and mine are hunting those who come for you. Last count showed seven. We’ve accounted for three.”

  “Human or were-?”

  “Human, mostly. They may have one or two were-folk with them.”

  “Where’s Dante?”

  “He’s near.”

  Striding to the door, flinging it open once again, Damiano changed and hurled a cry into the night. Changing back, untangling himself from his clothing, getting dressed again, he turned to Karianna.

  “Get changed, get your coat and ski gear, and be ready.”

  “Dam, what’s happening?”

  ‘We’ve been found and we’re under attack. I have a safe house down the mountain, in another village. Dante will take you there.”

  She ran into the bedroom to change. Glancing out the door, she watched him take a handgun out of a tall cupboard, load it, and put the ammo box in his pocket.

  “Dam, what are you doing?” she asked.

  “What I have to do, cara.”

  She barely had her skis in hand when Dante came through the door.

  “Dante,” Dam said quickly, “Get your spare skis from the back room and take Karianna to the safe house. The rest of us will be with you as soon as we can.”

  Dante ran to the back, grabbed gear and came back through. “Are you ready, Signora?” he asked.

  “Dam, I don’t know if I can do this,” she said, scared suddenly.

  “Cara, you must. You’ve skied at night since we’ve been here. I know you can make it. Follow Dante. Go with God.”

  He was out the front door into the night, into lightly falling snow, with Nagi leading the way. The sound of gunfire sounded close as she watched them slip into the night. Skis on, goggles protecting her eyes, Karianna turned and followed Dante at a breakneck pace down the mountain.

  They must have skied for an hour, in a direction she and Dam had never followed. The only sound was the whisper of their skis on the snow. They traveled fast, much faster than she would normally have attempted on an unfamiliar slope in the dark, with falling snow, the trees and boulders streaking past in a blur. But she knew Damiano’s men and knew he trusted them. She must now trust Dante with her life.

  After what seemed an eternity in a wintry hell, she saw a village ahead. Dante slowed and got his bearings. “Signora, our house is on the far side of the village from here. We’ll be there soon, but we must make the approach unseen. I’m sorry to make you travel any farther in the night, but it is necessary.”

  “That’s fine, Dante. Let’s just do it.”

  Another fifteen minutes brought them to the back of a small house, not quite in the village, set back in the trees. Dante produced a key from his pocket and after getting out of his skis, he went ahead to make sure the house was secure.

  “What do we do now, Dante?” she asked.

  “Now, we wait. There are supplies in the kitchen. We should have something warm to drink. The night is very cold. If you can do that, I’ll start a fire.”

  With that, he went back out into the freezing night to fetch logs for the fireplace. Karianna searched the cupboards until she found coffee and cocoa. Deciding they needed to stay awake, she chose the coffee, and was soon smelling the dark brew as she waited for the machine to finish.

  “How long do you think it will be before the others arrive?” she asked.

  “I’ve no idea,” Dante answered. “There were seven at least to start. We neutralized three before Damiano called me in. So that left at least four more. I don’t know if there were others.”

  “So what does that mean?”

  “At least a few of the others were of our kind, were-folk. That makes hunting a little more difficult. There is nothing to do but wait and try not to worry.”

  “He’s my mate.”

  “I know, Signora. But try. Worry takes energy you may need later. There could be injuries.”

  Karianna stopped to think for a moment. Dam had explained that the women were healers, to help their men when they came back from the hunt. But she had never really thought about the two of them, let alone their friends. True, she’d recently had some training, but she’d never actually worked on someone who was injured, let alone bitten or shot. Maybe they’d be lucky.

  Nearly an hour later, they heard sounds at the back door. Dante pushed past her, asked something quietly, and opened the door to a bedraggled wolf and leopard.

  “There are clothes in the bedroom,” Dante told them, as they wiped their fee
t on the welcome mat inside the door. “Or you can go in to the fire first and warm up.”

  They opted for the fire, stretching out on the hearth rug to soak up the heat for a few minutes before changing. Nagi introduced his cougar friend, Shoda, when they came back to the fire. A short while later, as they sat and drank coffee, there was another sound, another question and two more leopards, Marco and Paolo.

  Once they were warm, changed, and dressed, they came back to the living room. “Marco, where is Dam?” Karianna asked, worriedly.

  “I don’t know, Signora. I lost track of him shortly after he joined the fight. I heard him firing at something, more than once. I don’t know if he was out of ammunition, or changed for the rest of the hunt.”

  “It’s not time to worry yet,” Nagi interjected. “I still have two men out also. Depending on how far away they had to go, how many engagements and how much time they spent making sure the area was cleared, they could be a little while.”

  “Yes, Signora,” Marco continued. “And Damiano will probably be the last one in. He will want to make sure the house and mountain are cleared all the way to this village before coming in. He’s experienced at this, one of the best.”

  “If you say so,” she answered, still worried.

  Nagi’s two men were another hour behind Marco and Paolo. They had been drawn further away in their hunt. So far, there had been no serious injuries, mainly scrapes, cuts, and bruises from crashing through trees and falling down the mountainside. Karianna used her abilities on the worst of them.

  But they continued to wait. Karianna and Dante had left the lodge at around 2230h making it around midnight when they’d arrived. The first stragglers came in around 0130h in the morning, then Marco and Paolo, around 0145h. The latest arrivals had come in at nearly three in the morning.

  Where was Damiano?

  “If he is not here by daylight, we are going to search for him,” Karianna told Marco.

  “And where shall we search, Signora? The mountain is vast, and he could be anywhere between here and this far beyond the lodge. We don’t have the personnel to do a search that big.”