Guardian of Lone Wolf Peak

by Evelyn Winters

  “Thanks.” Kira said, unsure what else she could say to that.

  “My name is Emmie, Chaz’s wife.” she added. “I’ll get you settled in here in no time.”

  “I’m sorry, Chaz?” Kira asked.

  “Charles.” She corrected and Benji burst into a fit of laughter. I didn’t know that Charles was married too.

  “That’s what she calls him. It was a childhood nickname.” He explained after catching his breath.

  “Unfortunately, it stuck, it was something our mother came up with.” Charles said. She hadn’t even heard the others walk up behind them.

  Kira sat in the chair Emmie had pulled out for her. “You knew each other that long? That’s sweet.” She commented politely.

  Emmie tittered softly, fussing around Charles, filling his plate and adding a splash of cream to his coffee. “Oh no, we’ve only been married for two years, but he told me about it and it was so cute I couldn’t resist.” She explained.

  Nick sat on Kira’s other side, sandwiching her again between Benji and himself. Nathan didn’t look like he was going to be joining them for breakfast, he was loading up two plates, balancing them on one arm while Emmie handed him a thermos full of coffee. His eyes flicked towards Kira, darting back to Emmie’s face.

  “How was she?” He asked quietly.

  “Still difficult.” Emmie admitted as Kira watched the exchange curiously. Nathan seemed to sense he was being watched and bristled, turning his back on the table and hurrying up the stairs.

  Charles caught her staring after him and cleared his throat. “Nathan’s wife hasn’t been well. It’s nothing serious but it is contagious, so I’ll ask that you don’t bother her.”

  “Of course.” She agreed at once, not wanting to stir up trouble in her new home. She nibbled at her eggs, her eyes widened, and she began to scoop bites more quickly into her mouth. No wonder Benji ate the way he did.

  Emmie seemed delighted by her reaction. “You like it? Cooking is one of my hobbies. Chaz is always buying me new cookbooks. He spoils me.” She said, leaning slightly over the table as if she were admitting a big secret. Kira noticed she ate her breakfast in a more sedate manner and tried to quell her enthusiasm. Just because a teenage boy was shoveling food into his mouth, didn’t mean she had to follow his example. If Mom could only see me now…She’d have a heart attack. That errant thought stopped her, mid-bite. She didn’t have to act like a lady if she didn’t want to. Wasn’t that the whole point of running away? She’d be polite, of course, but she wasn’t going to conform to fit anybody else’s ideals, not anymore.

  She took the time to chew and swallow before she spoke. “I was never really interested in cooking. I’m not very good at it. I can do the basics but not much more.”

  “Well, it looks like Emmie will have something to teach you then.” Charles said and Kira was once again moved to silence. There was a second of stillness and then Benji eagerly filled the void.

  “There’s an extra pair of snowshoes, I can show you around the property.” He told her. “I can show you the lake, when it gets really cold we can even go skating. Can you skate?”

  “Uh, no, I’ve never been skating.” She said.

  “I can teach you. It’s easier than you think.” Benji said. His thigh was pressed against hers under the table.

  Emmie dabbed at her mouth daintily with a beige cloth napkin. “You only say that because everything comes easily to you, you and your brothers.” She corrected.

  Benji pressed on as if she hadn’t spoken. “And I can take you to the falls, they’re something when they’re frozen over.”

  Charles scrubbed a napkin over his face, tossing it onto his plate. “I’m sure she wants to rest. Leave her be, Benji.” He said firmly and Benji’s easy grin fell into a sullen frown. He pushed back from the table, tossing his napkin carelessly to the floor.

  “Whatever.” He mumbled. “I’m going for a run.”

  Kira didn’t see how, with the current weather, but she knew better than to challenge a pouting teenage boy. That was an argument she was too tired to have. More surprisingly was that no one else found this odd.

  Charles also got up and kissed his wife lovingly on the head. “I’m going to grab Nathan, we need to get back to the station. I’ll see you tonight. Be good.” He told her and then as he left Emmie got up to collect the dishes and then there were two.

  Nick knocked his knee into hers and jumped up from the bench, suddenly offering her his hand and a little, mischievous smile. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room since your gallant knight is off pouting.”

  “Thank you.” She whispered and had no idea why her voice failed her.

  There was no hesitation, no thought in taking his offered hand, his skin was just as hot as his brothers, but his touch felt twice as damning. There was a fraction of a second where his eyes seemed to widen at their contact, maybe he to felt the heat blossoming from the point they were connected. He wasted no time in severing that connection as soon as he helped her out of her seat, even going so far as to wiping his hand on his jeans. Emmie was unaware of their interaction, humming to herself as she scrubbed the plates from breakfast.

  The climbed the stairs in heavy, awkward silence. Nick’s eyes flitting to the side, to her, and away again, while she was stealing just as many glances. In the light of day, he was clearly the odd one out in his family. If it weren’t for his eyes, she wouldn’t have even assumed he was related to the others. If Chloe’s eyes had ever looked cat-like to her than Nick’s might have well have been transplants from a mountain lion. There was also the natural grace in which he moved with powerful, confident strides up the wooden steps.

  They walked all the way to the end of the hall where Nick jerked the last door on the right open for her. “This is it. It’s right next to Benji. Ask Emmie if you need something.” He said shortly and practically stalked away, apparently glad to be rid of her company.

  Her room is elaborately furnished, the warm, oak furniture glowing in the early morning light and smelling distinctly of fresh furniture polish. A large four poster bed fills the center of the room. It’s been fitted with soft pink sheets and a pink and white checkered quilt. The honey wood floors compliment the cream-colored walls, though she noticed her room, unlike the rest of the house, is devoid of artwork. She thought she remembered Benji saying something about her picking out her own decorations.

  Her windows aren’t floor to ceiling like downstairs, but they are low and tall, providing an incredible view of the encroaching forest. As she stepped closer, she noticed a wooden structure just below her window. It didn’t look anything like the rest of the house. It looked newer, and hastily constructed, with a heavy metal padlock that winked in the sunlight. What’s in there? It’s hard to imagine they’d be worried about theft all the way up here.

  A cough behind her alerts her to the new presence in the room and when she turns around she’s shocked to find that it’s Nick who’s standing in her doorway. He doesn’t smile or offer up any excuses for his earlier behavior, but he is holding two pairs of snowshoes.

  “I can show you around. Emmie will want your help with the chickens tomorrow.” He says and offers her the smaller pair.

  “You have chickens?” She asked. She would never admit it, not to someone like him, but she was a city girl, she had never seen a chicken before.

  “We have about two dozen.” He said. “We have a cow too, a milker. You have to be self-sufficient up here. Charles doesn’t like to go into town any more than he has to.” He explained.

  She walked over and took the snowshoes from him, smiling wryly. “I thought Benji was my assigned host.”

  “Benji’s selfish.” Nick said immediately. “He won’t have one thought about your needs while he’s off pouting.”

  “That’s a little harsh.” She said uncertainly. “Benji’s been very kind to me.”

  “Well he isn’t.” Nick insisted and knelt down in front of her. She stared down at him, unsure wh
at he was doing until he motioned to the snowshoes. He lifted her legs one by one and gently positioned her feet, strapping her in the shoes.

  She let him and when he was finished asked innocently, “so, how do I go down the stairs with these without breaking my neck?”

  Amazingly, she watched as color rose on his neck, flushing his cheeks with embarrassment as he suddenly realized his mistake. His hands jerked towards her feet as if to undo the straps, then stopped as a titter of laughter escaped her lips. She wasn’t planning on laughing at the poor man, but it proved too difficult a task when faced with his dumbfounded shock. His eyes flicked to her laughing mouth, gleaming mischievously, and without warning he was jumping to his feet, bending at his knees and scooping her right up of the floor.

  He tossed her casually over his shoulder, his shoulder knocking the breath out of her lungs. His arm was wrapped tight around her legs, fingers digging into the meat of her jean clad thigh. She was stunned and breathless, momentarily outraged and simultaneously impressed by this show of strength. He packed her out of her new bedroom as easily as a sack of flour and this was enough to jolt her back into action.

  “Put me down! You can’t carry me all the way downstairs. I’m too heavy!” She protested, reaching down to pinch his side. There wasn’t much to pinch, it’s like there wasn’t a pound of fat on him. She was irrationally jealous by this, hyperaware of the extra fat she carried in her ass and thighs.

  He scoffed and didn’t sound breathless when he spoke. She could practically feel him rolling his eyes as he snarked to her. “I’ve carried sides of beef heavier than you.”

  For a second, she was shocked to silence, then she brought her fist down on his back as they began descending the stairs. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She demanded, and her cursing earned her a shocked laugh from Nick who seemed surprised and delighted by her cursing. “How is that a flattering comparison?” She continued.

  “Who said I was trying for flattering?” He shot back at her and she could do nothing but succumb to the laughter that was trying to escape. Nick joined her and by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs they were both breathless. He set her gently back on her feet, the corners of his eyes still crinkled with mirth. He bent to put on his own snowshoes, and it gave Kira time to recover from all the blood rushing to her head.

  “Shall we?” He asked and offered her his arm.

  “Don’t pretend to be gentlemanly now, not after throwing me around like you were a caveman.” She quipped, but found herself taking his arm all the same. He stopped beside the door and pulled a large, thick coat off one of the hooks. He helped her into it, and she had to admit it was much better suited to the climate than the coat she had brought with her. She discreetly brought the collar to nose, it smelt like him.

  “You can borrow mine until Emmie can make you one.” He said, fingers nimbly doing up the buttons. The action brought heat to her cheeks, being dressed by him somehow felt even more intimate then their flirtation on the stairs.

  “There.” He said when he was finished, tapping the tip of her nose, but neither of them moved apart. He was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his chest, it washed over her like a wave, igniting her nerve endings.

  “Nick?” The voice that spoke was confused and disappointed. They immediately stepped apart and saw Emmie standing in the entry way, her expression was frozen in polite confusion.

  “Where is Benji?” Emmie asked at once.

  “Still out.” Nick answered. “I’m going to show Kira around so she can help you with the chores tomorrow.”

  “That’s nice of you.” Emmie said hesitantly. “But Benji was going to give her the tour.”

  “Then maybe Benji should have stuck around.” Nick snapped and grabbed Kira roughly around the arm. He dragged her outside, closing the door harder than necessary.

  Whatever she had felt between them had been dispelled and replaced with a heavy fog of unease that settled at the bottom of her stomach. They had been nothing but nice to her, had given her a room, a new home, but there was a feeling that she couldn’t put her finger on, a feeling that warned her something about this house, something about the people in it, wasn’t as it seemed. Unbidden, an image of that locked shed appeared across her mind’s eye. I have to find out what’s inside.

  Chapter 5

  The longer they were away from the house, the more Nick was able to calm down. He walked her around the back of house and showed her the chicken coop. It wasn’t like anything she had imagined, it was large, heated, and had an area for the chickens to roam protected by chicken wire. He even showed her the lone barn with the milker and two sable mares. Apparently when the snow got bad enough, it was faster to ride the horses to the station. Emmie had a greenhouse outside the kitchen that she grew their vegetables in and just down the road was a fruit tree orchard.

  He also showed her places from his youth. The tree he had fallen out of and broke his right arm reaching for the biggest, reddest apple, the mountain lake where he had learned to swim, and the trail where he liked to ride the horses in the summer. They had even gotten into a short, vicious snowball fight after Nick had started laughing at her when she had fallen in her snowshoes after trying unsuccessfully to scale a log that had been blocking the main trail and she dumped a handful of snow down the back of his jacket in revenge. They knelt together afterwards, breathless from laughter, the legs of their jeans getting soaked from the snow. It was the best time she could remember having, she didn’t even know if she had ever laughed with Chloe like she had that afternoon with Nick. He was a completely different person away from his family, softer, more open.

  By the time they were back inside and gathered around for dinner, Benji still hadn’t come back. Nathan carried two plates of Emmie’s pot roast up the stairs, Charles kissed his wife sweetly on the cheek and sat at the head of the table to eat. Nick’s leg was pressed against hers underneath the table. Still no Benji. No one mentioned it, not even as the fall sun sank behind the peak of the mountain, painting the sky in golden streaks of dying light.

  Maybe he runs away a lot. She tried to calm herself with the thought, but she knew firsthand how cold it was after dark. Surely someone would go looking for him. She pushed her food around on her plate, picking at it whenever Charles cast his disapproving eyes towards her seat. She was too concerned to eat, but too polite to excuse herself and let it go to waste.

  She perked up as the front door opened and sure enough, Benji came trotting into the dining room. His cheeks were flushed from exercise, his blond locks dusted with fresh snow. Emmie jumped up at once to retrieve the plate she wrapped in foil to keep warm in the oven.

  “Did you have a nice walk?” Emmie asked him politely, pouring him a cup of black tea.

  “You shouldn’t have left.” Charles talked over her and for some reason jerked his head at Nick. Nick seemed to content to ignore everyone at the table, though he kept their legs pressed flush together.

  Benji’s expression turned sullen all at once and he jerked his chair away from the table. He ate in silence for a few minutes, chewing furiously on his meat. He tried to press their legs together like during breakfast, but Kira scooted away from him as casually as she could. If anything, this seemed to make him crankier. He stabbed at his food, looking up from his plate only when Charles cleared his throat meaningfully.

  He smoothed his expression and tilted his head toward her. “Tomorrow I’ll show you around, first thing.”

  Nick spoke before she had a chance to tell him that his brother beat him to it. “Don’t bother. I already did.”

  Benji turned in his seat until he was facing Kira and Nick on her other side. “You knew I wanted to show her the place.” He accused.

  Nick didn’t even spare him a glance. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have left.”

  Kira sank lower in her chair, caught in between a fuming teenager and his indifferent brother. The tension continued to rise at the table as Benji continued to s
tare down his brother’s profile and Nick continued to ignore him. Emmie was fussing, scooping more carrots onto still full plates and topping off water glasses that hadn’t been touched. She clearly wasn’t the one that usually diffused these types of situations.

  Charles was the one that finally ended it. “Act your age and quit squabbling at the table.” He demanded. “Our guest is going to think you have no manners.”

  Benji turned back around in his chair at once. “Sorry, Charles.” He said sullenly.

  “Don’t apologize to me, apologize to the ladies.”

  “I’m sorry, Kira, I should have showed you around like I promised. I’m sorry if I ruined your dinner, Emmie.” Benji said dutifully.

  “It’s not ruined, sweetheart, but thank you.” Emmie said and smiled gratefully.

  “It’s okay.” Kira said, at a loss for what else to say.

  “Nick,” Charles started. “Don’t you have something to say to your brother?”

  Kira thought this was incredibly unfair. It wasn’t like Nick had started the fight.

  Apparently, Nick thought so too because he made a soft noise of disgust and tossed his napkin over the top of his unfinished dinner. He shoved his chair away from the table and left without a word to any of them. Charles shook his head and continued eating while Benji seemed content to start prattling about the things he was sure Nick missed on his tour and Emmie fussed dutifully around her husband as he ate. What none of them noticed was Nick stopping at the bottom of the stairs, he met her eyes, and whatever he saw there seemed to sadden him.

  ***

  Benji didn’t stop talking for two days. At least, that’s what it felt like. He is naturally loud, his voice easily fills the mountain home, bouncing off the walls, sinking into the floorboards. She fell into an uneasy sleep that night after barely escaping a conversation that drug on for two hours once dinner had been finished. He even stood over her shoulder, talking while she helped Emmie with the dishes. When she woke the next morning, it was to Benji’s eager knocking on her door. He drug her out on what he promised was the real tour, but in reality was just a repeat of everywhere Nick took her yesterday…minus the warm coat, minus the childhood memories, minus the snowball fight, plus a lot more senseless commentary. Somehow, he made the excursion last all day, though for her it had lasted a lifetime.