Falke’s Peak pn-1

by Anna Leigh Keaton

  “Not really.”

  “She’s here to hire a guide for an overnight expedition into the mountains,” Heidi volunteered.

  “Really. How many in your group?” Axel asked.

  “Just me.” His raised eyebrow pushed Dakota to explain. “A couple of friends are having too much fun back at the ski resort, together, and I would like to really just get away—up in the mountains—for a little while.”

  “The cabin on Red Dog Ridge isn’t booked this week, is it?” Heidi asked.

  Axel glanced at his sister and took a sip of his cola.

  “Nope.” That penetrating gaze swept back toward her, and Dakota wanted to melt.

  Would it seem odd if she took off her heavy jacket?

  The store was becoming much too warm.

  “How do you want to travel?” he asked. “If by snowmobile, I’ll have to check to see if the trails up that way are open after the snowfall on Thursday.”

  “Is it more than a day’s hike?” Leaning against the counter, Dakota wiggled her fingers against the fur of the stuffed mountain lion. The softness had her lifting her hand to stroke its pelt.

  “No. It can be reached on foot in six to eight hours.”

  Even the cat wore a collar like the rest of the store’s staff. She grinned. “You know, I’ve always wondered what these cats felt like.” She looked up to see Axel and Heidi watching her. “Of course, I’d never dare touch a live one. Are cougars abundant in this area?”

  That’s when the stuffed cat started to purr.

  Dakota jerked her hand away and stared at it with narrowed eyes, her heart thudding a little irregularly.

  It was so still. Was this some sort of joke? Some gag these men came up with to tease the tourists?

  The cougar’s tail flicked. Its golden-green eyes looked straight into hers, and a long pink tongue came out as it gave a huge yawn, baring canines sharp enough to tear her apart.

  “Holy shit.” Dakota shrieked, jumped backwards to get away from it and nearly tumbled onto her ass. But a set of big, strong hands caught her by the arms and steadied her.

  “Whoa. Careful there,” one of the brothers said before he let her go. Which one he was she didn’t know and didn’t care. Her gaze remained on the wild animal that hadn’t moved from its perch on the counter.

  She decided to stay closer to the other end, near the brothers.

  Axel thumped the cat on its ear and the animal growled low, although it didn’t seem angry.

  “It’s alive?” Dakota eased away another step.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Heidi said. “I guess I should’ve warned you, but we’re so used to him being around.

  It’s just Falke.”

  “Falke…”

  Heidi nodded. “That’s what we call him.”

  “A mountain lion…in your store.”

  The woman smiled. “Actually, I’m a veterinarian.

  This store is Axel’s brainchild. But, yeah, Falke’s like family, which is why we named him that. He’s sort of a fixture here. Don’t worry. He won’t harm you. ”

  Right. That’s what those magicians in Vegas thought about the tiger in their show.

  Heidi ruffled the fur atop the cat’s head and it playfully pawed at her. Big paws. Big cat!

  Dakota kept her distance.

  Axel walked around the counter. “Why don’t we go up to the front and talk about that expedition?”

  “Okay.”

  The door chime sounded.

  “I’ll get it,” one of the others volunteered.

  “Thanks, Kel,” Axel said as he escorted her toward the front.

  While she and Axel discussed cost and plans for her wilderness excursion, Kelan showed a mother and her daughter down an aisle of snowboards. Since it was too late to start the trek today, Dakota agreed to be ready to go tomorrow morning. Her guide would pick her up at the resort. One day hike to the cabin, four nights there, and one day back. She’d get back in time to have one final day at the resort before driving back to Seattle for her flight to Vegas.

  “Does 6:00 a.m. sound okay?” Axel asked, taking notes and giving her the forms she needed to sign.

  “It’ll take about forty-five minutes to drive to the trailhead, but there are some places along the way where the sunrise makes for a spectacular view.”

  “Six is fine. I may be a city girl, but I’ve always been an early bird.” Now that they’d worked out much of the details, Dakota felt a little more comfortable with him, one on one. These men would make any single, heterosexual woman a little off balance.

  “Okay,” he said, “I think that about covers it. Bring only the clothes you’ll need and what toiletries you can carry. Catamount will supply the rest of the gear as part of the rental. Have you ever gone backpacking in the mountains before?”

  “Yeah, but it’s been a few years…” She stopped the moment Falke meandered into view with the young girl behind it, holding its tail.

  “Go kitty!” She was laughing and unafraid, but Dakota was terrified, especially when the mountain lion stopped, turned.

  “Oh n—” Before she could get the fearful words out, the cat plopped down on its back and pawed at the child.

  Claws retracted. Thank God.

  “What is that moth—” Again she cut off the thought and shook her head as the woman in question, the girl’s mother, appeared with a smile on her face, snowboard in hand.

  “Courtney, Falke might not want to pull you around the store today. You’re growing too big for such games.”

  “Aww, Mom!” The girl gave the cat’s tail another tug, then dropped to her knees and petted its belly. The cougar responded by draping a huge arm over the girl’s shoulder. Dakota held her breath, watching the unusual hug. “Bye, Falke,” the girl said before getting up and joining her mother at the checkout.

  “Excuse me a moment.” Axel moved over to ring up the woman’s purchase.

  Dakota nodded but kept her gaze on the cat, which now lay in the middle of the floor, looking at her. Its tail swished lazily as it stared into her eyes. And then she heard it purring again.

  Dakota shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

  “What is?” Axel asked, returning to her.

  “That cougar.”

  Axel looked at Falke. “Yeah, he’s a real pussy cat.”

  As if the lion understood, a deeper rumble sounded, making Dakota laugh. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

  Chapter Two

  Later that day, in the back of the store, Axel called the Falke brothers together. The last one to lumber in was Gunnar, still in catamount form.

  “So, who’s taking the brunette beauty on her hike?”

  Sindre wanted to know. “I’ll gladly volunteer.”

  “I’ll play you for it,” Torsten said, his hands raised and ready for a rock, paper, scissors challenge.

  We are, Gunnar told the group telepathically.

  “But you went on the last one,” Sin said.

  “And he’s going again with me, because I took care of business while you all stuffed your faces,” Axel announced, putting an end to the debate.

  If a cat could smirk, Gunnar was good at it.

  “Hey, I helped Courtney’s mother,” Kelan said defensively.

  Reidar punched Kelan playfully. “That’s because you have the hots for her mother.”

  I’ll go, but I’m going as a human.

  Axel looked at Gunnar.

  I’ve had my tail pulled more today than a cat can stand!

  “And your head scratched behind the ears,” Tor added unapologetically.

  “And your back petted,” Reidar said with a nod and no sympathy.

  “And your belly rubbed!” Sin smirked. “You perv!”

  Axel shook his head and chuckled. “The client signed on with me as her guide.”

  I went last time as the cat, Gunnar protested, and it’s fucking cold outside!

  “Forecast calls for warmer temps later in the week.

  You�
�ll be fine.”

  Then you go barefoot, and I’ll keep the lady warm.

  “Uh oh…looks like another call for rock, paper, scissors,” Tor teased, albeit somewhat seriously.

  Axel groaned. Why did it always have to come to this? “I’m not playing games with you.”

  Gunnar hopped up on the table, a simple leap for a cougar, and started to turn. With a flash of white light, he’d transformed in seconds from animal to man, unbothered by his nudity. “I’ll play. Loser goes as the cat.”

  “You guys look so much alike, she probably won’t even notice,” Tor volunteered.

  Axel sighed. “Fine, but if you win, you best remember she’s a client, not a target for your sex drive.”

  “As if I didn’t see you eyeing her the moment she walked in with Heidi,” Gunnar mumbled.

  That was true, though Axel wouldn’t admit it aloud.

  The woman’s Native American heritage made for a sexy caramel complexion and deep ebony hair he found very attractive. Hell, he even liked the sound of her name on his tongue, and when she told him it meant fox, he found humor in the irony.

  “Ready?” Gunnar asked. “One, two, three… Damn it!” Axel’s paper covered his rock. “Best two out of three?”

  “Not a chance,” Axel said. “Now, let’s get down to business. While Gunnar and I are away, Kelan, you and Reidar are in charge of the store.”

  Kelan gave him a cocky salute.

  “Tor, you and Sin can decide who’ll man it in catamount form.”

  Having Falke here was the best shoplifting deterrent, so the brothers traded up each week to take over that duty, even though another might do the same on guided tours. Their senses were stronger when in catamount form, so it was always a help to have a little added protection on the expeditions.

  “The schedule is one day in, four nights at the homestead and one day back. Kelan, I’ll need you to go with us to the resort, so you can drive the Cherokee back to town.”

  “Pick up?” Kelan asked.

  “Same place as drop off. Be at the trailhead, say around 5:00 p.m. Thursday.”

  * * *

  Before sunrise the next morning, Dakota dealt with an upset friend, and her guilty conscience.

  “Is it because we didn’t call you to go to the slopes last night?” Carrie asked. “I said I was sorry.”

  Her fiancé, apparently exhausted from their overnight romp, had barely moved when Dakota stuck her head into the room to tell them goodbye.

  I should’ve left a note instead.

  Dakota had packed the night before, putting everything she intended to carry in a paper sack she borrowed from Axel. He’d said they’d transfer it to her backpack once he arrived to pick her up. So, she wasn’t carrying much as she headed for the elevator with a hastily dressed Carrie trailing behind.

  “You don’t have to apologize.” Again, she didn’t add. “I told you, this has nothing to do with you. I just discovered this outfitter in town yesterday that does guided tours into the mountains, and I decided it would be fun.”

  “You’re not mad?”

  “No,” Dakota answered with a sigh. “I want to do this.”

  “But you paid for a third of the room here.”

  “And you two can enjoy it enough for all of us.

  Like I said, I came here for a little adventure, and I think this trip is just what the therapist ordered.”

  She stepped through the front door, held open by the doorman, and shivered at the cold, predawn blast of winter wind. “You should get back inside,” she told Carrie, who’d only had time to slip bare feet into sneakers and don her ski jacket over rumpled jeans and a pajama top.

  “How long will you be gone?” Carrie asked, ignoring the advice.

  “’Til Thursday. I’ll still have all day Friday and Saturday morning to go skiing with you and Ted, if you want.”

  “I still feel guilty about this.”

  “Well, don’t. I’m a big girl. I can find my own entertainment.”

  Just then, a Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled to a stop under the resort’s covered circle drive. Carrie gasped at the sight of the two men in the front seats.

  One hopped out of the passenger side, leaving the door ajar, and smiled at Dakota. “Ready to go?”

  “Yep.” She lifted the paper bag.

  He approached, took the bag from her and gave her friend a pleasant, “Hello.”

  “Hi.” Carrie seemed almost out of breath uttering that one word.

  Dakota laughed, thinking of Heidi’s response when she’d done the same at the store. Happens all the time.

  “Carrie, this is Axel…” She turned to him.

  “Right?”

  He grinned. “Right. My brother Kelan is driving.”

  “You’re hard to tell apart,” Dakota said. Although, now that she looked between the two there were a few slight differences. Kelan’s hair was longer, and he had a bit of whisker growth on his face. He’d had that yesterday too, hadn’t he?

  “You still got it right, so you’re off to a good start.

  I’ll just be a minute,” he said, lifting her bag to show what he meant, and then headed for the back of the vehicle. “Go ahead and take the front passenger seat.

  I’ll sit in the back.”

  “Okay.” She turned to hug her friend goodbye.

  When she did, Carrie clung to her and hissed, “Sexy! Why didn’t you tell me? I swear I don’t feel guilty anymore. Damn, girl!”

  Dakota laughed and pulled away. “You have a good time on the slopes.”

  “Uh-huh.” Carrie smiled and leaned closer. “Jump his bones the first chance you get.” Dakota rolled her eyes and headed for the Jeep. Carrie had a wicked sense of humor, but she had to admit the thought had crossed her mind. She had a crazy and delightful dream of him offering her kisses as motivation on the hike, with sex as her reward when they reached the summit.

  When she hopped inside the vehicle, she smiled at Kelan who was in midyawn. “Hi. Still sleepy?”

  He chuckled. “Sorry. Yeah, a little. Good morning.”

  Dakota sat back and put her seatbelt on. “Yep, it is.” Her excitement energized her. She couldn’t wait to get started up the mountain and looked forward to seeing the cabin. The way Axel described it, she pictured a utopian setting like those in Thomas Kinkade’s winter paintings.

  A raspy purr had her turning in her seat. The mountain lion sprawled across the whole back seat.

  “Oh! Hi there… Nice kitty.” She tried not to be obvious as she leaned against the door, praying they’d fed it already. It was so big and still made her nervous, especially in the tight confines of the vehicle.

  Kelan chuckled again. “Falke, why don’t you quit scaring the lady and say hi?”

  Meow.

  She blinked. “They can meow?”

  Kelan grinned. “Pumas are closer to cheetahs than African lions or the tiger. They can’t roar. They purr and meow, hiss, yowl and growl, a lot like a house cat.

  Just depends on their mood and the circumstances.”

  “Oh. So, as long as it’s purring, everything is all right?”

  “Yeah, purring’s good.”

  “Gotcha.”

  The hatch closed and the back side door opened.

  “Move, you big galloot.” Axel shoved at the cat’s butt, which it lethargically moved out of the man’s way as it sat up. Once Axel was in and his door shut, Kelan put the Jeep in gear and pulled out. Dakota glanced out the window to wave at Carrie who stood there shivering with a huge grin on her face.

  * * *

  Dakota zipped her down jacket up high and stood with hands in pockets as she watched the Jeep drive back down the slope until it disappeared behind the evergreens around a curve in the road.

  The sky was just starting to lighten from black to navy, with a million stars dotting it. As deep into the forest as they were, though, all she could see was a strip of sky right above them. Still, it was a spectacular view, enhanced by a lack of citywid
e illumination.

  Axel held a flashlight in one hand while he checked through the packs one last time. Before Kelan took away the vehicle, Axel had her sprawl out in the back seat of the warm truck and put on a lightweight pair of ski pants and a pair of insulated wool socks, all of which he supplied as part of the “package.” Now, with her hiking boots laced up, she was toasty warm.

  Falke sat on his haunches next to her, staring. She tried not to let his penetrating feline gaze unnerve her, but it did. She didn’t have much experience with animals, other than the dog her parents owned when she was little—which had been a sweet little rat terrier that had been old when Dakota was a baby. She’d heard stories though, read newspaper articles about mountain lions coming into cities and eating house pets, attacking small children. One fast move and Falke might mistake her for breakfast.

  The cat purred.

  All was well if they purred, Kelan had told her. But that purr could stop in an instant. She’d rather not take any chances. “Nice kitty,” she whispered as she stepped sideways, slowly moving toward Axel and away from the monstrous cat.

  “Okay,” Axel said, standing up straight. “It’s all here. Ready to head out?”

  She nodded, excitement coming back full force.

  Axel handed her a pair of thick gloves. “Put these on and stretch your legs good. Backs of your thighs and calves especially.”

  As she took the gloves, she gave him a quizzical look.

  “Have you ever snowshoed?”

  “Ah, no.”

  Axel grinned then turned and picked up one of two pairs of snowshoes off the ground. “This should be interesting.”

  Dakota ignored the remark and started her stretches. She was in pretty good physical condition, she figured. She tried to hit the gym a couple times a week. How hard could this be? She hiked Mt.

  Charleston west of Vegas in the spring and fall when she got a chance.

  She did the warm-up stretches she normally did before starting her weight training workouts. Back, arms, thighs, calves.

  Then Axel was there, right in front of her, and she got a whiff of something wonderful. Him. The cold morning air blended with a masculine scent and made her suck in her breath. Damn. He didn’t seem to notice her reaction as he set the snowshoes on the ground in front of her, lined up, and then said, “Step on. I’ll strap you in.”