“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.
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.
She’d been on his mind all day, creeping into his thoughts when she shouldn’t have. Making him have thoughts that had nothing to do with the case and everything to do with the kiss they’d shared the night of the bonfire. No matter how hard he’d tried, no matter how many times he’d reminded himself that she was a shifter, that kiss seemed to creep in and take over.
He was pacing back and forth across the floor, resisting the urge to part the curtain and look for her when she finally knocked on the door and scared him. Pausing to let his heart rate return to normal, he shook his head and tried to get himself together. This was not the way he usually behaved, and he was determined to stop it immediately, but when he opened the door, all his resolve melted away.
Penny was dressed not in the jeans and Western shirt he’d expected but in a tight little black dress and boots. The dress hugged her curves; and for the first time he got a good look at what had been hiding under her clothes, and his heart rate sped up again. Unable to help himself, he let his eyes roam over her until desire began to blossom and his groin to tighten.
When he finally met her eyes, she was smiling at him. “Are you ready?”
He cleared his throat, trying to think of something to say but only managed, “Yes.”
They walked in silence to the big barn at the back of the property while he desperately tried once again to ignore what Penny did to him when she was around him. But he was failing miserably, so he did the only thing he could think of and turned to the investigation to give him something else to think about.
“Will you be rested enough to travel tomorrow?” he asked, the sarcasm clear in his voice.
Penny sighed. “Can we just enjoy the party and worry about tomorrow then? I haven’t seen some of these people for a long time; I just want to have fun.”
Quinten felt a little bit bad, which alarmed him even more, “The sooner we get this over with the sooner I can go home,” he said, to remind them both.
“Fine, we’ll leave in the morning,” she said, knowing she was lying but just wanting him to leave her alone and have some fun. “You are capable of having fun, aren’t you?”
They’d reached the barn and he could hear country music even with the doors shut. “In the right circumstances,” he said, opening the doors and letting her go through first.
The sight that greeted him when he walked into the barn was a surprise; he’d expected hay bales and western décor, but what he saw was a sophisticated room that could have been in any large city. There were gently twinkling lights strung from the soaring ceiling, a ring of tables around a dancefloor that was lit from below, and a bar in the back corner. Along two walls there were tables laden with food and he could smell the aroma of cooking meat.
Penny must have seen the surprise on his face, because she said, “Like it? We make quite a bit of money renting it out; this is the deluxe wedding package, but we also do the whole hay bale, country wedding thing. I like this one best.”
He followed her farther into the barn, still looking around himself in surprise, not sure what to say, afraid he might insult her if he said anything. No one seemed to notice that they’d come in, their focus on the plentiful food and drink, so they stood together for a few minutes neither saying a word.
When the band finished one song and began another, Penny gave a little squeal and grabbed his hand. “Come dance with me, witch,” she said, a playful smile on her face. “Let’s see if you’re capable of having fun after all.”
He resisted at first. “I don’t how to dance to this kind of music.”
She stopped and turned around to look at him, letting her eyes roam over his body and creating a spark of desire deep inside him. “You look like the kind of guy who can waltz; the two-step isn’t that much different. You’ll catch on.” Then she pulled him onto the dance floor.
She slipped into his arms as if she’d done it a million times and said, “Just follow my lead for a few steps. I think you’ll catch on.”
Suddenly his senses were bombarded with her: with the way she smelled, the way she felt in his arms, the playful look in her green eyes, and her voice, husky yet feminine. He stumbled through the first few steps, so overwhelmed by what he felt, he couldn’t make his feet move. But as his body adjusted to having her so close, he picked up the steps and soon they were spinning around the dance floor.
Chapter 8
***Penny***
Penny had never felt the way she was feeling wrapped in Quinten’s strong arms. When she’d offered to pick him up at the cabin, she’d done it without thinking and then regretted her offer; it made it feel too much like a date. Now she’d pulled him onto the dance floor, not realizing what it was going to feel like spinning around the floor with him.
He was an excellent dancer, had caught onto the steps almost immediately, but being in his arms was making her body do crazy things. Things she definitely didn’t want it doing but seemed powerless to stop. It had started when he’d opened the door, dressed in jeans and a sports coat, his dress shirt open to reveal just glimpse of his muscular chest.
She’d been trying to control her desire since then, with little success if the tight knot of pleasure deep in her gut was any indication. When the song ended, she stepped firmly away from him, glad to see that there were people waiting to talk to her: a good excuse to get away
from the man who was driving her crazy.
Letting herself be carried away by the group, her legs a bit shaky, she looked back just as Quinten slipped into the crowd on the other side of the dance floor and disappeared. Shaking her head to clear it, she decided right then not to ever dance with Quinten again; it was far too dangerous. The man was out to get her family; she needed to stop being nice to him, to put up a boundary between them and never let it down.
She threw herself into the party, blocking out thoughts about Quinten by dancing with anyone who asked, only leaving the dance floor when her thirst or hunger got the better of her. She saw Quinten several times, leaning up against a wall, drink in hand, his eyes locked on her, and despite her resolve, a little thrill ran through her each time.
When the party finally began to wind down, she found herself without a partner for the first time that night. But as she was leaving the dance floor, Quinten grabbed her arm and asked, “Do you think you can manage one more dance?”
He didn’t wait for her reply, simply pulled her into his arms and spun her around. For a moment, she was tempted to push him away, but before she could, his arms came firmly around her, and all the fight went out of her. It felt too good to resist, and she’d never been known for her self-restraint, so she let him spin her around the almost empty dance floor until she was dizzy.
When the song was over, they left the dance floor and made their way toward the door, but before they’d gone more than a few steps, Penny was once again thronged with people. This time, Quinten noticed that most of them were men; they were fawning over her in a way that made him feel uncomfortable, and a dark look spread across his face.
“How long are you going to be around this time?” one asked, then added, “I’d love to take you out sometime.”
“I’ve got tickets to the Fall Festival dance if you want to go,” another said, pushing a little to get closer to Penny.
There were several more offers before Penny put a stop to it, “I appreciate all the offers, boys, but I think I’m going to spend a quiet winter up here at the ranch,” she said, then stepped away from the group and headed for the door, wondering where Quinten had gotten to.
***Quinten***
Quieten couldn’t watch the men swarming around Penny any longer, so he headed for the front doors, planning to catch up with her when she came out. Apparently her time was in much demand around here, and that fact didn’t sit well with him; it made him want to lash out at someone, and he wasn’t quite sure why. Then it hit him; he was jealous, a feeling he rarely experienced, and wasn’t sure how to deal with.
He was still reeling from that little discovery when Penny finally came out of the barn, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking it out on her. “If you’ve finished with your fans and your party, maybe we can finally talk about the investigation. I was hoping we could get started tomorrow, but I wouldn’t want to upset your social schedule,” he said, knowing that he wasn’t making a whole lot of sense.
Penny stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You know, your little groupies back there. Is one of them your boyfriend? Or maybe they all are,” he said, his voice taking on a nasty tone. He knew that he was being petty and jealous, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I don’t have a boyfriend. There aren’t very many single women around here in case you didn’t notice; they just want a chance to go out with someone nice and have fun,” Penny said, then added, “I’m going home now, and I suggest you do the same. In the future, keep your nose out of my business. I’ll meet you at the barn in the morning at eight.”
Quinten watched her stomp off down the trail, a small smile on his face, desire racing through him. It was stupid to be happy that she didn’t have a boyfriend but that was precisely what he was feeling, that and turned on once again. When she finally disappeared from sight, he turned and headed down the trail that led to the little cabin they’d given him, wishing that he’d kissed Penny, that he’d just let himself go and pulled her into his arms.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Penny’s brothers, Steve and Daniel, come up behind him. They fell into step beside him, one on each side, making him feel trapped, but his face remained blank. He understood that they were only trying to protect their family, but from what was the question that burned brightest in his mind.
“Did you enjoy the party?” Daniel asked, his voice full of false curiosity.
“It looked like you weren’t having very much fun,” Steven said, putting his hand on Quinten’s shoulder.
“Except when he was dancing with Penny,” Daniel added, his hand finding its way to his other shoulder.
Quinten shrugged off their hands, unable to stop himself, then said, “It was very nice, and the food was wonderful. Is there something you want?”
“I like a man who gets straight to the point,” Daniel said, looking around Quinten at Steven.
“What we want is to make sure you understand that if anything happens to Penny, we’re going to hold you personally responsible. It’s dangerous in the high country this time of year, and we think you’re dragging Penny up there on a wild goose chase,” Steven said.
“And we wonder why,” Daniel added.
Quinten ground his teeth together, resisting the urge to blast the two men with a little of his magic. “I’m simply following the council’s orders,” he said, relieved to see his little cabin come into view.
“That’s not the way we heard it,” Steven said.
“We heard that the council was done with the investigation, but you wouldn’t let it go. I wonder why that might be,” Daniel said.
“There were still some unanswered questions,” Quinten said, through clenched teeth, feeling like he’d had enough.
“And you thought traipsing up into the hills in the middle of the winter would answer them? I thought you were the top investigator or something,” Steven said, shaking his head as if he was disappointed.
They’d reached the cabin and Quinten had reached his breaking point. “It’s been a long day, and I have an early morning, so I’m going to say goodnight. It’s not your place to question the will of the council or one of its investigators. Penny is a big girl, and she can take care of herself, and might I remind you that I’m a witch; I think I can handle anything your mountains can throw at me. Goodnight,” he said, then opened the door to the cabin, stepped in, and slammed it shut behind him.
He could hear the crunch of gravel under their feet as Steven and Daniel walked away. Now more than ever he was convinced that they were hiding something, that things in South Park weren’t as calm and quiet as they appeared. No one who was innocent would try that hard to keep him from his investigation; he was onto something, he felt it deep inside and nothing was going to keep him from uncovering the truth.
He found Penny in the barn the next morning just as she’d promised, and it looked like she’d been there for a while. There was a huge pile of gear stacked in the middle of the barn, and she was walking around it as if trying to decide what to take. The horses were pawing in their stalls, and the air was filled with the smell of hay and something else he didn’t want to think about.
When she saw him, she gestured to the pile. “I think we’re going to have to take a pack horse too; it’s going to slow us down, but I don’t think we have any choice,” she said, turning from the pile to look around the barn. “Sophie might be the best choice; she’s strong and well trained.”
Quinten had no idea what she was talking about, but he nodded his head as if he understood. He followed Penny over to where the horse was sticking its head out of the stall and reached out to stroke her nose. She butted her head against his hand, then began to snuffle it, her tongue brushing his palm. Surprised, he pulled his hand back quickly and stepped away from her.
Penny laughed and said, “I thought you said that you rode. She’s only looking for a treat, and your hand is definitely not it.” Th
en she pulled a carrot out of her pocket and gave it to the horse.
“Well, I’ve ridden but not for a long time,” Quinten said, defensively.
“I bet you were one of those riders who had a groom: by the time you put your hands on the horse, it was already saddled and ready to go,” Penny said, putting her hands on her hips, a little annoyed. “And I bet you never had to take that saddle off either.”
Quinten was at a loss for words because Penny had gotten it right: he’d never saddled a horse or cared for one, had no idea what was required. When he was silent for too long, she sighed and said, “Okay, I guess that answers my question. I think we’re going to have to have a few lessons before we leave, because I’m not taking care of your horse too.”
Feeling his ego take a hit, he said, “I don’t have to do it myself; I’ll just use magic. I am a witch, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“This isn’t like doing the dishes,” Penny said, exasperation clear in her voice. “These are living creatures: their mood and disposition change from day to day, they have medical issues that pop up from time to time. Nothing is the same from one day to the next and using magic to do what a responsible owner should do themselves is only going to get you in trouble. If you want to go with me, then you’ll learn how to take care of the animal that’s going to be the only thing between you and dying out there.”
Quinten didn’t think he’d ever get used to Penny yelling at him, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t starting to enjoy it. Her chest was rising and falling with each angry breath she took, and her green eyes were sparkling in the dim light of the barn, causing a tight knot of desire to form deep inside him.
“I’ll learn how to do things the hard way, but I’m not leaving my magic behind. I am a witch, and that means I use magic,” he said, walking back over to the horse and holding his hand out again.
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