by V. A. Dold
Finally, he turned and removed his hat to address Carol. “Miss Duffy, are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m sure I’ll be bruised from the fight and the fall from the hayloft, but I’m relatively unhurt.”
“You fell from the loft?” Joe asked, his voice raising an octave.
“Yeah, but I landed in a bit of straw.”
“Are you feeling up to giving me a statement?” Doug asked.
“If it’s all right with you, I would like to do that after I’m sure my dog will live. Larry stabbed him. He also threatened Tracy with sexual assault and killed Roy.”
For the first time in a century, he almost lost control of his tiger. The beast raged to be free so he could destroy the evil before it. Doug leashed the beast as he tamped down his surprise and outrage. “So, there is a murder? I’m sorry to hear about Roy. He was a good man.” He glanced around the barn, and though he could see all the signs of a brawl, there wasn’t a body in sight. “Where is he?”
Lucas stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Carol, why don’t you and Joe go up to the house and check on Tug. I’ll tell the sheriff what he needs to know.”
Lucas waited until Joe and Carol were out of earshot and then waved for the sheriff to follow him over to the ladder. “He’s up there.”
“Are you sure he’s dead?”
Lucas nodded. “I checked for a pulse earlier. He’s dead.”
“Give me a minute.” Doug went out to his cruiser and got on the radio. “Marybeth, this is Sheriff Dansby. I need an ambulance and the coroner sent to the Le Beau ranch.”
“You’ve got it, Sheriff.”
With the call for emergency services made, he followed Lucas to the ladder, and as he climbed, he said, “This town hasn’t seen this much action in—well, as long as I’ve been sheriff.”
Lucas remained at the bottom of the ladder. “Yeah, Oak Grove is a sleepy town, but that’s why I bought a ranch here. I like the peace and quiet.”
Doug checked for a pulse even though he knew Roy was long gone from the world. “It looks like Larry ambushed him. I count three, no four stab wounds. Of course, the autopsy will be able to tell us more.”
Lucas scrubbed his face with his hands. “Let me know when you’re ready to move him, and I’ll help you lower him down.”
“Thanks, Lucas. But this will take a while, and then the coroner will do the moving. Do you think someone could make some coffee?”
“Sure. I’ll ask Krystal to start a pot.”
“Your cousin, Krystal? The one I’ve heard about? I haven’t met her yet. Marybeth said she runs the dude ranch portion of the operation. Does she really offer a full cattle ranch experience?”
“Sure does. If that’s what the client wants, Joe puts them to work for a week herding cattle. The more adventurous guests can even join in on one of our roundups. She also has trail rides, barn dances, chuckwagon dinners, and bonfire sing-alongs, and storytelling with the cowboys. She’s doing extraordinarily well. All of the cabins are rented through the end of the year.”
Doug gave a long whistle. “I wasn’t expecting a dude ranch way out here to do that well. Good for her.”
Lucas grinned and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll make sure she’s the one to bring the coffee so you can meet one another.”
Doug zipped an evidence bag closed and glanced at Lucas. “As much as I’d like to meet her, are you sure seeing the crime scene is a good idea?”
Lucas glanced up at him and with a knowing look that Doug didn’t understand. “Krystal will take it like a trooper. She may look fragile, but she’s one tough cookie.”
Hay rustled, and the sheriff grunted. “I guess I’ll have to take your word on that.”
As he worked, he heard Lucas tapping buttons on his phone. With his feline hearing, he listened to both ends of the conversation.
“Hello, Lucas? Is everything all right out there?” A female voice asked, worry lacing her voice.
“As okay as it can be. Roy was murdered.”
Doug heard a sniffle on the other end of the line. “I heard.”
“Are you okay?” Lucas asked softly.
“I’ll be fine.” Now there was backbone and strength in her voice. And his tiger nature sat up and took notice.
“Do you have a minute to make some coffee and bring it out here?”
That was Krystal on the other end? A purr rumbled in his chest before he could suppress his reaction. It was a long moment before she responded. It sounded like she was blowing her nose.
“Sure. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“Thanks, cher.” Lucas ended the call and leaned against Oreo’s stall. He turned and stroked her muzzle when the horse nickered and nudged his shoulder. “You had a tough morning, didn’t you, girl? Don’t worry about your human. She’s strong and will be just fine.”
A few minutes later, Krystal joined them with a carafe of coffee, cream, sugar, and three cups. “Goodness, it’s a mess in here.”
Lucas glanced around at the broken and strewn tools, trails and pools of blood, lengths of rope, and a banged-up bucket. “Yeah, it is.”
“Don’t touch that, darlin’,” a voice called from the loft when she reached for the broom. “I haven’t collected evidence down there yet.”
Look up! Look Up! Stefanie, Krystal’s spirit guide, squeaked excitedly.
“Oh. Sorry,” she said, pulling her hand away. Then she glanced up and gasped.
Lucas frowned and touched her arm. “What is it?”
Krystal swallowed hard. The sheriff was a mountain of a man. She knew the barn like the back of her hand, and the ceiling where he stood, slightly hunched over, had a six-foot clearance. That meant he was several inches over that, and he had the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen. She had grown up surrounded by shifters, but for crying out loud, this man surpassed all of them. Add to his sheer size, those narrow hips, and powerful thighs, and she was thunderstruck. Her wolf, on the other hand, yipped excitedly.
Concern etched Lucas’s face. “Krystal? Are you okay?”
Wide-eyed, she tore her eyes from Sheriff Dansby and whispered to Lucas, “He’s my mate.”
Lucas looked up at the loft and then stared at her until she nodded yes to his unspoken question. “I’ll be damned. Girl, you have no idea how much trouble you just borrowed.”
Krystal’s hands shook, rattling the cups. “I, more than anyone, know how much trouble I’m in. I need to sit down.” She handed the tray to Lucas and sat down hard on a nearby bale of straw.
Lucas set the tray aside and leaned into Krystal to whisper, “No. you really don’t. I got a whiff of him when he arrived. He isn’t a wolf or any type of paranormal I’ve ever come across, but he isn’t human either.”
Krystal shot a glance at the sheriff. “What do you think he is?”
Lucas shrugged and began to pour the coffee for the three of them. “I swear I smelled cat on him.”
Krystal sucked in a sharp breath, “Cat? I thought feline shifters were a myth. He must be something else.”
Lucas handed a cup of coffee to her. “You’re the one who will be spending time with him. Once you know what he is, you can tell me. I’m dying to know.”
A moment later, Doug joined them and doctored the cup Lucas had filled for him. Krystal noted the exact amount of cream and sugar he added before he gave it a stir.
“This smells great. Thank you, Krystal,” he said as he raised the cup and blew across its surface before taking a sip.
“You’re welcome.”
Doug’s brows lifted, and he took a second sip. “What do you add to the coffee to make it taste so good?”
Krystal wagged a finger at the sheriff. “It’s a secret ingredient. Only I and my sister know it.”
Grinning, he took another sip. “Well, it’s very good.”
A long hour later, the coffee carafe was empty, and Roy’s body had been collected by the count
y coroner. Doug stood with Lucas and Krystal as the ambulance pulled away with Larry handcuffed to a gurney. Turning to Lucas, Doug heaved a sigh. “It’s been a hell of a morning. Would you have Carol and Joe come to my office this afternoon, tomorrow morning at the latest, to give their statements?”
“Absolutely. I know they want nothing more than to see Larry behind bars.”
“Thank you.” Doug glanced at Krystal. Now, what should he say? This was only the most important day of his life, and he was tongue-tied.
When the silence grew unbearable, he cleared his throat. Great, now, his face was growing warm with a flush of nervousness. He must look like an idiot. Pulling up his big boy pants, he cleared his throat again. “Miss Krystal, I know this isn’t the time, but when things settle down and you feel up to it, I would be honored if you would have dinner with me.”
Krystal kept her eyes on the floor, playing with the loose straw with the toe of her boot. “Thank you, Sheriff. I’d like that.”
“Doug. Please call me Doug.”
Still not looking up at him, she nodded.
See, I told you you’d want to look your best. Tayja crowed smugly.
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck, no doubt feeling like a third wheel. “Kensie is waiting for me up at the house. I better get going. See you later, Sheriff.”
Kensie was Lucas’s mate. When the dude ranch first opened, Kensie and her sister Jojo Brown were some of their first visitors. The women stayed on the ranch when their week-long stay ended. Kensie became part of the family, and Jojo was an in-law. They now lived in the private family section of the main house.
Doug nodded and tipped his hat. “Have a good day, Lucas. Or should I say, a better day?”
Lucas paused and smiled weakly, “Yeah, a better day.”
With a final nod, he walked to his car, glanced one last time at Krystal, and drove away.
Two
After taking Joe and Carol’s statements, Doug had an idea built around visiting the crime scene again. Grabbing his phone, he called the Le Beau ranch.
“Good Morning, Rocking Double L Ranch. How may I help you?”
“Good Morning, Krystal, this is Sheriff Dansby.”
“Oh... hello, Sheriff.”
Doug didn’t miss her uncomfortable pause. “I would like to go over the crime scene again. Is it all right if I come out now? The sooner I give it a final once over, the sooner I can remove the crime scene tape.”
“Of course, that makes sense. Come right on out, and I’ll let Lucas know so he keeps everyone away from the barn until you finish.”
“Thank you. And can I ask one more favor of you?”
“Certainly. How can I help?”
“I’d love some more of your amazing coffee. Can I talk you into bringing a carafe out to the barn again?”
“It would be my pleasure. I’ll get it started now and bring it out when I see you arrive.”
“Thank you, Krystal. I’ll see you soon.” Doug ended the call with butterflies in his stomach. In all honesty, he didn’t need to see the barn again, he was just using that as an excuse to see Krystal again. Not that he’d admit that, and who knows, he might find additional evidence among all that hay in the loft.
Twenty minutes later, Doug was standing inside the barn when Krystal arrived with the coffee he’d requested. “Hello, beautiful. How are you this morning?”
She set her tray on a hay bale near the open doors and proceeded to pour. “I’m a little tired. Yesterday was a difficult day, and it was even harder sleeping last night. But we will get through this as a family.”
He accepted the cup she held out, watching her closely. He noticed she was looking his way but not at him. She was looking around him. He spun around, expecting to find someone behind him. Except for the horses, they were alone. He turned back to Krystal to find her staring at him open-mouthed. “What?”
“I’ve never had my aura mix with someone else’s before. It’s freaking me out.”
“You can see auras?”
“Yeah.” Krystal cocked her head as if she were listening to something. “And spirit guides. Yours isn’t happy with you. He says that you don’t listen to him.”
Doug rolled his eyes. “That’s probably because he says stupid things. Take, for example, yesterday. He insisted that my truck needed to go to the mechanic. There’s nothing wrong with my truck.”
Krystal leaned to the right to glance around him at his truck. “Is that so?”
Doug turned around and cursed under his breath. The rear tire of his truck was as flat as a pancake. “Excuse me for a minute while I change this.”
Krystal crossed her arms and watched as masculine muscles stretched and flexed in the most delightful ways. Doug Dansby had a healthy tan from long hours out of doors. As he bent to loosen the lug nuts, his hair fell forward, and for the first time, she noticed the variety of colors. Golden blonde, and what looked like a bit of orange highlights. Was that a shadow, or was it black underneath? The colors were layered, but when looked at individually, they weren’t exactly normal for a human. The orange and black were more akin to a calico cat.
She cocked her head and frowned. Were domestic cat shifters a thing? With him busily changing his tire, she had the chance to look at him closer. The slight tilt of his eyes and high cheekbones reminded her of a cat. It was no wonder that she couldn’t place his animal. She’d never met a feline shifter. Rather than assume things, it was better to make sure. “Um, Sheriff?”
Doug grunted, “Yeah?” as he cranked on the last nut holding the flat tire in place.
“Are you a shifter?” She held her breath and waited.
The sheriff stilled, then slowly rose to his full height. “Why do you ask?”
Her wolf took a good smell of their mate and rubbed its nose with its paw.
Krystal bit her lip. “Your hair and your scent remind me of a cat.”
Doug nodded. “Until your family moved to town, I didn’t have shifters in the area to identify me as one. Yes, I’m a shifter. But I’m also much more than that.”
Krystal frowned. Her body’s reaction to the intense glitter in his glowing golden eyes was disturbing. Before he started changing the tire, his eyes were milk chocolate brown. Not anymore. “What do you mean by more?”
Doug didn’t answer her right away. Instead, he went back to pulling the flat tire off and putting the spare in place. He glanced at her but didn’t answer her question. Instead, he started tightening the lug nuts. Finally, he stood, wiping his hands on a work rag he’d taken from his toolbox. “I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll explain what the more is during our dinner date if you explain why our auras disturbed you.”
Krystal held out her hand. “It’s a deal.”
Grinning, Doug shook her offered hand only to have her hiss softly. Ah, hell.
She jerked her hand away and stared at her inner wrist. “What the heck is that? What did you do to me?” she demanded.
Surprised by her reaction, he glanced at his own wrist. Pleased beyond measure, he said, “I didn’t do anything to you. That’s our bonding mark.”
“Our what?” she squeaked.
“Bonding mark. You’re my mahri, my fated other half, what humans call soulmates. As a shifter, you must have heard of bonding marks.”
Her wolf sniffed at the mark as she rubbed at it. “I most certainly have not heard of anything of the sort.”
Doug frowned. “That makes no sense. Every shifter family has a specific mark. When you find your partner, a mark that is the combination of the two families forms to create a new mark. Mine is a square turned forty-five degrees, so it looks like a diamond with a triangle in the center. Yours seems to be a square. Interesting, the two combined look very much like a merkaba.”
Krystal examined the mark again. “Why is that interesting?”
“Some say that everything in existence is made up of merkabas. Light beings use a merkaba for space travel. O
n earth, the merkaba appears in both Jewish and Christian religious writing. If you do a search on the computer, the theories are endless.” Doug ran his finger over the mark in awe. “I’ve never seen a mark like ours before. Luperca told me I’d find my companion here, and together we would make a powerful pair. Our mark seems to indicate that as well.”
Krystal rubbed at the mark with the heel of her hand. “How do I get this off? Wait a minute, you know Luperca?”
Doug was a bit confused by that question. “Of course. Everyone knows Luperca.”
Krystal stopped scrubbing at the mark and slowly raised her head to stare at him. “Not everyone speaks to her, though.”
Doug frowned. “Really? All of my people do.”
“Well, wolf shifters don’t. We know about her, but only a few people talk to her.”
“I see, I didn’t realize that.” He paused and then spoke again. “Back to dinner. I’ll tell you more about myself when we go out. You can ask all of your questions then. For now, you have people who need you to help them through the attack and Roy’s death. Come on, I’ll walk you back to the house before I give the barn a good once over.”
Krystal nodded and took his hand. As they walked to the main house, she said, “You’re right. Carol can use all of the support we can give her, and I need to notify Roy’s family. I’m not sure how close he was with them after he came out of the closet. He’s never left the ranch for any holiday, and I’ve never even heard him talk about them. If they prefer, we’ll bury him here in the ranch cemetery. But they may want him returned home to them. Whatever arrangements they desire, I’ll take care of.”
“That’s a lot of responsibility to take on. Let me know if I can be of help. I’m at your disposal.”
“Thank you. I’ve never had to make these kinds of arrangements and may need to take you up on that.”
Doug opened the front door for her and stepped back so she could step inside. “I’m only a phone call away. I’ll call you next week if I don’t hear from you before.”
Krystal nodded. “All right. Thanks again, Doug.”
He watched her walk into the depths of the house before returning to the barn. He reached the bottom of the porch stairs and glanced one last time at the house. He hated to leave now that he’d found her, but he had to tread lightly. Forcing himself to walk away, he reminded himself that he had a job to do. After he finished in the barn, he had to follow up on Larry at the hospital. He didn’t even want to think about the paperwork this mess had created for him.