by Terry Spear
"No way would I have let you think that. I did briefly think that you might need the time to have on your own, but that was such a fleeting thought that before you know it, I was telling Hal I was on my way to Grand Junction. He said he was glad because the place is dangerous."
She smiled. "Really, I've never had any trouble.”
After they had a steak dinner, they returned to her apartment to watch a western.
That night, they went to bed and made love, a beautiful ending to a surprise visit, but poor Ted had to leave really early for work the next morning because of the hour drive too. Even though he said Hal and Kolby said they would cover things as they were training the new ranch hands, Ted wanted to get there at his usual time for starting work.
But Stella didn't have to get up that early. They'd made love after the movie before bed and she was still tired. Still, she got up and fixed them waffles and sausages while wearing a nighty and robe and slippers and he was dressed to do cowboy duties at the ranch.
"I'll see you tonight, and every night until you’ve moved to the ranch," he promised.
"I would love nothing more, but if it gets to be too much, you don't have to."
"It's only for two weeks. It won't be any time at all, and it will go by all the faster if I come at night to see you. I can bring you some boxes too and help you to pack up whatever you need me to haul over in the meantime."
"Thanks, though I was going to pick some up at one of the stores where they dump their clean boxes for the trash—"
"No! Don't do that." Ted sounded so serious, she wondered why that wasn’t a good idea.
"You don't mean to tell me you tried to get discarded boxes and the store staff thought you were stealing merchandise or something, do you?"
"No, Bridget and Travis met over such a situation though."
"They're happily mated." At least that’s what Stella had heard.
"Travis was grabbing some boxes to use to move his household goods, and overhead the men running the store making criminal plans. They knocked him out and tied him up and thankfully for Travis, Bridget found him and freed him, though she wasn't sure he wasn't just a bad guy too to begin with. Being that you live in a dangerous city, I'd rather you didn't go diving for clean boxes behind shops also."
Stella closed her gaping mouth. "Okay, you bring me some boxes."
He smiled. "That's exactly what I'll do." He finished his coffee and then pulled Stella into a hug. "I'll see you tonight."
"I look forward to it."
"And I'll spend the weekend here helping you to get packed."
Which was a good thing because by the time the weekend had arrived, they hadn't packed one box, though Ted was good at his word and had been bringing packing boxes every night, some of which smelled of sweet vanilla cooking dough, heavenly, from Fitzgerald's bakery. They were too busy—making love, getting dinner, watching a movie, and sometimes it was even something other than a western—like catching up on the Mandalorian series, and making love and sleeping—to do anything else all week long.
Saturday, they went through her things and she was hanging onto stuff she could use in the new house—small kitchen appliances, though Ted told her they could ask for new ones at the bridal shower. Since they were going to be living at the bunkhouse for several months while the house was built, she capitulated and was giving away all the items to the local Women's Crisis Center.
"I rented the furnished apartment, so we don't have to do anything with the furniture." She packed away all her knickknacks and anything else she wouldn't need to use for the next week—her summer clothes mainly.
On Monday following the weekend, Ted moved all the packed boxes in his pickup to the ranch to work that day, so she didn't have packing boxes all over the apartment and she was glad for that. At lunchtime, she was dropping the boxes of donated items off at the Women's Crisis Center.
Ted was also meeting with the builder to start work on the house and she couldn't wait to see the building going on once it began, all the way through the finishing touches. She'd never seen anything like that, and it would be just one more fun experience she'd have with Ted.
"I want everything similar to what the bunkhouse has in the line of an open living room and the island counter, the cabinets and countertops, tile backsplash and the bedroom too. I just love it. And horse pictures. The works."
"We'll have it all," Ted promised her.
Then he was off on the last lap of their journey, she felt, and at the beginning of a new one.
That Monday morning, she was back to work, getting through the days, and had a party on Friday to say farewell. Ted was invited, and all the ladies wanted to see the cowboy who had swept Stella off her feet. And Ted, being the good-natured guy that he was, would be there early, Hal and Tracey telling him if he didn't take off from work—owing to his own work ethic—they would drive him themselves. Though they had considered doing so anyway, to help move the last of Stella's things to the ranch.
Stella had wrestled with herself over when she would actually move to the ranch. Should they stay another couple of nights at the apartment and have the weekend to themselves because if Ted and she were at the ranch, he would be doing some work? Or just get it over with and move the rest of her household goods, leaving her more human life behind and getting into the swing of things with her cougar friends?
But she still hadn't decided and figured Ted would help her to decide.
On Friday, they had a fun send off at the office party. It was a short day for her, and everyone cheered her for her help and the ladies asked Ted if there were any more eligible bachelor cowboys staying at the ranch. She swore she had never seen the tips of Ted's ears turn so red. He seemed to be embarrassed by all the attention he was getting. But after they said their goodbyes and Ted shook the lawyers' hands and the women gave him and Stella hugs, they finally headed to the apartment.
"Okay, so the question is should we stay at the apartment overnight and leave tomorrow or Sunday even, or should we just pack it all up and move tonight?" Stella asked.
"I'd really like to pack it up, horseback ride with you tomorrow, see the sun set out at the ranch, have a barbecue with just you and me at the bunkhouse."
She smiled. That sounded really nice. She didn't know why she was even considering staying another minute at the apartment. "Okay, that sounds so good."
"And don't worry about me working over the weekend. I have no weekend duty—Hal and Tracey's orders."
She sighed. "Good. I was afraid of that. I guess since it's earlier than I normally leave work or that you get here, we can just pack up the vehicles and go to the ranch and have dinner there."
"That's just what I was thinking."
When they arrived at the apartment, she was excited about turning in her key. She still had another two weeks that she could stay at the apartment, but she was glad to be leaving. She unlocked the door, and they went inside. Usually, they would stop to kiss, but she was on a mission. He caught up with her and kissed her anyway. He smiled down at her. "I'm so lucky to have you."
"Oh, me too, to have you." Then she kissed him back and hugged him tight.
"Once we're all settled in, I want to take you to the Buchanan’s Carver Falls too. They're beautiful falls, but a little far to travel even on cougar foot from the ranch. So I was thinking, we could rent a cabin on a Friday night and stay the weekend—and explore as cougars at night around the area. I would love to do the same with you during summer, sometime, and we can go swimming and boating on the lake. But for now?"
"We can do it and have a place of our 'own' and give Kolby and the other ranch hands the bunkhouse for their own for a weekend. I'd love it."
Afterwards, they were in a hurry to carry out the rest of the boxes of stuff to their vehicles. She was carrying another box to her Jeep while Ted was getting one from her bedroom when the three hunters who had shot her moved out of the shadows and surrounded her.
"At the trial, you need to tell t
he jury," Sims said, "you never seen who shot you. Just remember it's your word against ours." He had her backed up against her Jeep, the box of clothes in her arms keeping him at bay, but she didn't know if he was armed or not.
"Sure," she said, because it wasn't a good idea to antagonize a man who could be wearing a concealed weapon. But the thing is, she hadn’t seen who was shooting because she was in the barn!
Braxton moved in close to her, as if she didn't get the message loud and clear. "Yeah, listen to Sims. If you don't want to see us again, and I'll tell you right now, none of the charges are going to hold up, you'll tell them that we didn't do anything."
They were crazy! If they wanted to intimidate anyone, they would have to do it with the others who were there—Ted, Larry, Kolby, and Tracey—who had actually witnessed the hunters shooting at the barn!
She wanted to tell them she was moving to a heavily fortified ranch and they were welcome to come harass her there, but she knew to keep her mouth shut. She hoped Ted was coming out soon so they knew she wasn't here all by herself.
Clayton had to add his two cents. "We're hunters and we love the sport of killing. If you get my meaning."
Could they make their threat any clearer?
The other two men chuckled. Then Sims said, "You know, we don't want to lose our hunting licenses, that's what Clayton's referring to."
But she knew that wasn't what they were saying at all. Not that they would actually kill her, but that they were definitely threatening her with that. She should have just ignored them, but she was getting riled up that they wouldn't let her move her box into her Jeep, that they were in her space, and they were threatening her.
"Why don't you repeat what you said to me here at the trial. See how the jury takes your 'comments' then."
Chapter 19
As soon as Ted heard one of the hunters who had shot Stella threatening her, he was outside in a flash, no packing box in hand, and unfortunately, he wasn’t armed with a rifle like before, but he had his phone out and was video recording all of it surreptitiously. "I've called the police. Stay here and they'll arrest you for intimidating a witness." He'd already called the police and he'd called his own friends, just in case they needed their help. Now he wished he'd gone along with Hal and Tracey's offer of help earlier to move Stella’s household goods, since they were both law enforcement officers.
"My brother's a cop and his friends are my friends," Sims said.
The problem was that locally, they might be, and Ted and Stella didn't have a prayer of getting justice here if these men were friends with the police force. But in Yuma Town, where they'd shot Stella, that was a different story. They wouldn't win there.
"Fine, then they'll escort you out of here." Ted hadn’t been telling a tall tale either. Not only had he called the local police, who he didn’t know if he could trust, but he had called Sheriff Dan that he and Stella were in trouble and gave the address. They wouldn’t be able to get here for an hour, but at least they would have an escort to Yuma Town.
"Why don't you men just get out of our face and let us get on with business," Ted said, his voice turning growly.
"Don't tell us you're running like scared little rabbits," Sims said, motioning to the boxes, as if he hadn't realized at first what that was all about.
Rabbits? More like big cougars who would take these guys out in a heartbeat if they could, Ted thought.
"You're the guy who went into the barn to kill the white cougar," Sims finally said. "We know it was in the barn."
"Yeah, well, we have nothing to say about the court case. That will be for a judge and jury to handle," Ted said.
A couple of cop cars finally pulled up and Ted took Stella’s box of clothes and put it in her vehicle.
"So what's the problem here, Sims?" the one officer asked.
Ted waited for him to tell the cop the truth. He wasn't sure if the men were related. They didn't look like it. His brother might not have been able to make the call.
"Nothing," Sims said. "We just noticed the lady was carrying her stuff out to the car and we offered to help. Then this guy gets all hot and bothered, tells us we have no business hassling his girlfriend and—"
"Why don't you tell the officer the truth, Sims? That you shot her in the barn on the ranch where I'm a foreman and she was in the clinic for the wounds she suffered. That you're up on charges for assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and could have killed or injured four-year-old quadruplets and their mother while you were shooting everything in sight? That you were just now intimidating Ms. White from testifying against you?"
"That's a lie," Sims said.
"Are you leaving?" the officer asked Stella.
"Yeah, I'm just packing up my things now," Stella said.
"Why don't you finish your business and get on your way," the officer said, acting like Stella was the troublemaker, not the men threatening her.
"I will, if these men will stop threatening me."
"Sims, you and your buddies leave, now." The officer waited for the men to reluctantly get in the truck, slam the doors, and tear off. "You need to get out of here and stay away."
Stella said, "I intend to. Thanks for coming to our aid." Then she headed back inside the apartment to finish packing up, shaking from the experience.
Ted glowered at the officer.
"You too."
Then Ted inclined his head and walked back inside and locked the door and hugged Stella. He wanted to always be her protector.
"What if the hunters follow us and try to run us off the road or something?" Stella asked, sounding afraid.
He wasn't surprised. No telling what the men would do and with her being alone, he wouldn't trust that they were through with causing trouble for her tonight. "The troops are coming. Like I said, we have your back. Not just me, but a whole lot of cougars in town. Everyone really. But we have enough law enforcement in town to protect our own. They'll be our escort home."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. "Oh, God, thank you. I was so worried they'd try to kill us both and no one would ever know the truth."
"Nope. And we never show our hand when we don't have to. I recorded everything that was being said." He showed her his phone, and the recording on it.
She watched the video and then smiled at him. "I would never have thought of doing that. Thanks for coming to my rescue."
"I'm just glad they hadn't come earlier when I wasn't here."
"You are the greatest."
He smiled. "I didn't want them to get away with intimidating a witness and for the local police department to ignore it. At least Sims and his buddies will have some more charges filed against them this weekend. It just pisses me off that some lawyer bailed them out and that the judge set the bail to allow it."
She hugged him tight, then let out her breath. "Do we continue to pack up the vehicles or—"
"Our escort will help us so we don't have any other issues tonight. Just in case Sims and his friends send some other thugs to harass us."
"Okay, great." Then they went into the bedroom and packed up all the remaining items and she checked her bathroom one last time. They did another check through the kitchen and all the cabinets and fridge, then checked her office. They only had another five boxes to haul out to the vehicles and he really had just wanted to get on their way, but he didn't trust that they would be safe.
It took an hour for the troops to arrive, and he was hoping it was quiet in Yuma Town, but deputy sheriffs Chase, Hal, Ricky, Stryker, and Nina were there. Sheriff Dan had come to oversee things also. Tracey had stayed home with the kids. But Travis, Jack, and Leyton with the Cougar Special Forces were there too. With the new video evidence that showed Sims and his buddies threatening Stella, the hunters would land back in jail, no bailing them out this time. Maybe, they would learn their lesson that they couldn't bully their way out of criminal charges. So even though the men had scared her, Ted's quick thinking had taken care of the men
.
It took a couple of minutes for them to carry the rest of the boxes out to Stella's Jeep, and then Nina rode with her in her Jeep to protect her. Dan took Stella's key to the apartment manager to drop it off.
And then the caravan of police cars and Ted and Stella's vehicles were on their way.
Stella still couldn't believe how wonderful everyone was in coming to their aid. At one point, she saw Sim and his friends in their black truck parked close to her apartment complex, but they probably didn't believe all the police traffic going into the complex was for her benefit. She smiled. They wouldn't dare try to intimidate her again. Besides the fact they would be going to jail and their bond revoked soon.
"So what do you think about our town and the people who live there?" Nina asked.
Stella smiled at her. "You all are the best. Thanks for coming to my rescue."
"I'm just glad Ted was there for you before the men showed up. You can always call on us, no matter where you are, and we'll be there for you. Guaranteed."
That was a great feeling, and she knew she'd made the right decision in agreeing to mate Ted and join the cougar families of Yuma Town.
When they arrived at the ranch, everyone wished them well, Tracey and the kids hugged them, and that was the beginning of a new life not only for Stella, but for Ted too.
Epilogue
Stella had always felt the issue with her being a white cougar set her at a disadvantage. Both because she would be a remarkable cougar to kill and for some hunter to brag about, but also because she was afraid no cougar would ever want her for a mate. Sure, that was because of her father always putting her down, but it made her believe all men would. And since she'd mostly dated humans, she really hadn't known how a cougar would feel about it. But with Ted, he'd been nothing but accepting and she couldn't have been more grateful to have found him and fallen head over heels for him. Like her, he'd had issues with a hateful father, and she loved how sweet he was with the Haverton kids, and others he worked with when they came out to the ranch to get riding lessons or just play. He would make a great father, she felt. And she was proud to have him for her mate.