"Hey, Kelly." A straw cowboy hat shielded his eyes. But not enough, she noticed, to conceal the amber sparkle in them.
A flutter of attraction had her slipping into that flash of gold. The baby kicked just then. A scolding. A reminder that pregnant women shouldn't flirt.
She glanced away. "Come in."
He removed his hat upon entering the cabin, leaving his hair the way it fell. Shane didn't appear to fuss over his appearance. Jason was always groomed to perfection which had her constantly wishing she was prettier and that her body had more curves. Pregnancy fullness didn't count.
Shane set his hat on an end table and placed a plastic animal carrier on the floor. "Zuni wanted to see you."
"She did?" Kelly watched the serval kitten scamper out of the carrier. "Will you pick her up for me? I don't think I can."
"Sure." He lifted Zuni before she darted off. "Guess you're having a little trouble touching your toes these days, huh?"
She appreciated his easy response. It was certainly better than the uncomfortable glances he usually gave her tummy. "Are you kidding?" She motioned to the barrel chair that faced the fireplace. "I can hardly sit without getting stuck."
He eyed the offending chair, then smiled. "It does looks a mite deep. Maybe you better avoid it from here on in."
She returned his casual smile. "So how's my little Zuni?"
He adjusted the kitten with pride. "She learned how to kiss."
"Really?"
"Yep. We've been working on it for days." He moved closer. "Zuni, give Kelly a kissums."
Kissums. Delighted, she leaned forward as Zuni poked her nose out. The kiss resulted in a quick nudge. Kelly squealed and met Shane's gaze over the serval's massive ears. They grinned at each other, smiled happily until the moment turned strangely quiet. They stood inches apart, Shane's arm brushing Kelly's stomach.
The kitten leaped onto the sofa. Kelly wasn't sure what to do or say. Shane didn't move his arm, nor did he step back. Zuni explored the cabin while they faced each other, their gazes locked.
Kelly's mouth went dry. She moistened her lips. Suddenly she wanted to kiss him – gently, with the kind of tenderness she longed to receive from Jason. She didn't want a sexual kiss. She craved comfort, a sensation that would take the hurt away.
A rustling noise caught her attention, but it was Shane who turned away first, breaking their haunting stare. Zuni sat on the dining table, amusing herself with the magazine Kelly had placed over her sketchbook, tearing and crumbling pages.
Shane started toward the kitten before Kelly had the chance. "No, Zuni," he corrected in a stem voice.
Avoiding his reprimand, the serval jumped off the table, sending the magazine and Kelly's sketchbook tumbling to the floor. Shane reached down to right the papers. Kelly stood nearby. Her sketchbook had fallen open, displaying a drawing of Puma.
Embarrassment washed over her. She rarely shared her hobby with anyone. "I was just messing around," she said hastily, wishing she could move fast enough to snatch the booklet off the floor. She had never felt so exposed – naked while being fully clothed.
Shane lifted the drawing to study it. "It's Puma." A breathtaking image of the cougar that had given Shane his heart back, the animal that had lived in his dreams since childhood.
"This is really good." Unnerving, too. The picture could have been him, not in looks but in spirit. Shane had spent years with Puma – pain-cleansing years. He placed the sketchbook on the table. "May I?" he asked Kelly, curious to see her other drawings.
She nodded, then shifted her feet, visibly uncomfortable. "It's just a hobby."
Mesmerized by her hobby, he paged through the booklet, starting with the first sheet. She favored flowers, he noticed, and tall trees – weeping willows draped in beauty and sadness. Another page depicted a puppy, a cute little mutt, the next a row of tomato plants. She had even captured the moisture beading the fruit, making the tomatoes seem red and succulent. He could see rich, vibrant color where there was none.
"Do you paint?" he asked.
"Not really, no."
But she did, he decided. She painted in her mind. He came back to Puma's image. There were four sketches in all, each depicting a different mood. He especially liked the close-up, the one that filled the page, Puma's head lowered in a primal pose. The missing eye didn't detract from the animal's striking appearance. If anything, it added an air of mystery.
Why Puma? Why did she feel compelled to draw his cat? The one that had changed his life? "You spent a lot of time on these pictures." And plenty of passion. He could see it in every line, every dark, primitive shadow. She had breathed life into Puma's sketches. Shane could feel the cougar's sleek fur, even hear the loud hum of his purr. She had captured everything.
Kelly released an audible breath. "I draw almost every morning. I don't drink coffee and I don't jog. So when I wake up early, I take out my sketchbook."
He wanted to ask if he could keep his favorite picture, but noticed the rendering wasn't quite finished. Apparently he had interrupted her work.
"I feel sort of attached to Puma," she said, her voice shy. "I just keep seeing him in my mind. Every detail."
Images, he realized, that she'd put on paper. "He used to live here."
She cocked her head. "Excuse me?"
"The cougar. Slept here, ate here. Tore up the place a bit." He tried to keep his tone light, even though this whole experience had left him shaken. Kelly Baxter had felt Puma's spirit. Now Shane knew, without a doubt, that he was meant to help her. He scrubbed his hand across his jaw. How could he make a difference in her life in less than two weeks? Kelly still hadn't told him what troubled her.
"A cougar actually lived here?" She leaned forward. "How? I mean why?"
"I was trying to prove something to myself, I guess. And to my dad. I was having some trouble warming up to Tom then. About the only thing we had in common was our interest in big cats."
Kelly sat at the table and looked up at him. "So your dad introduced you to the Mendozas, the people who owned the rescue?"
"Yeah. Tom was their vet. But he didn't get paid. He volunteered his time. Most rescues can't afford to pay a vet, especially since so many of their animals are in poor health when they first arrive. It made me sort of mad that he was so damn noble, but deep down, I respected him for it, too."
Shane seated himself across from Kelly. "Regardless, I was still hurt that my dad had raised his white son instead of me." And Shane was devastated that his Comanche wife had cheated on him with a white man – a wealthy, young lawyer – a man who had claimed the child Shane had loved. Paternity and test were two words he never wanted to hear paired up again. "I only came to Texas because my mom suggested it. She thought it was time for me to make peace with my dad. And myself."
Kelly scooted her chair forward, just enough, Shane noticed, to keep her tummy from bumping the table. He had the feeling she had come to Texas to make peace with herself, too. She looked pretty today, her hair spilling out of a messy ponytail, her face void of makeup. He admired her fresh, clean glow. The aura of motherhood.
"How did you get interested in big cats?" she asked. "It's not a very common interest. Not to the degree of living with one."
He had to smile. Puma hadn't been the easiest roommate. "When I was a boy, I started having dreams about cougars. My grandma called it mountain lion medicine. She was pretty deep into the old ways. Comanches are supposed to know the difference between a regular dream and a revelation, and she said I wasn't having ordinary dreams. She convinced me that mine were special. They were my puha or power. And that meant they would guide me someday."
"And they did," Kelly commented. "You run a rescue now. That's pretty special."
"Thanks." He resisted the urge to cup her cheek, touched by the awe in her voice. "The mountain lion in my dreams was different than most. He only had one eye."
Her stunned gaze met his. "Oh, my God, Shane."
"Yeah, well, it wasn't as mystical as
my Grandma made it sound. I thought so at first, certain that I had found this magical animal, but in actuality, Puma was just a cougar. Sure, he represented a vision, but he was still a dangerous animal. Everyone, including my dad, thought I was insane to bring him into the cabin with me. Of course no amount of reasoning was going to stop me."
"Where did Puma come from? Who had him before you?"
He sighed. "You mean who caused his eye to rupture? That's a story in itself." He could see that Kelly wanted to hear it, so he decided it was time to check on Zuni. It wouldn't do to talk about one animal while another got into trouble. He'd learned firsthand that exotics didn't behave like domestics, no matter how cute and fluffy they were.
"Just looking for Zuni," he told Kelly while he circled the room. He caught sight of the kitten and smiled. The serval wasn't interested in making mischief. She slept peacefully on a braided area rug.
Shane settled back into his seat. "The Mendozas got a call from this terminally ill man named Alex who was looking for a home for his cougar," he began. "So my dad and I went to Alex's house to check out his story. I was working actively at the rescue by this time, learning everything I could about the cats." But he had yet to heal. Tami and the baby still occupied his thoughts, and mental pictures of that family-stealing lawyer had kept the hurt and resentment alive. "Anyway, Alex's story checked out, even if he was a bit eccentric."
Shane explained that Alex had purchased Puma from an auction with the intention to raise the kitten for a while, then release him into the wild. "This can't be done, not in this manner. Once a cat imprints with people, they can't be expected to behave like an exotic who has lived in the wild. They become a danger to themselves and humans as well."
"Why?" she asked.
"They tend to venture too close to civilization, and that can lead to disaster. The animal usually ends up taking a bullet or hurting someone."
"I never thought about that."
"Most people don't. So basically that's how Puma came to me. Alex had bottle-fed him, but wasn't given proper feeding instructions, so Puma suffered from it and lost his eye. After that, Alex spared no expense to take care of the cat. He learned everything he could and realized he couldn't set Puma free. But when Puma was about four months old, Alex's disease progressed, so he started searching for someone to adopt his one-eyed cougar."
"You," Kelly said.
"Yeah, me. And I agreed to all of Alex's crazy demands. I mean, he was dying, and I had been dreaming about a one-eyed mountain lion all of my life. We were both a little mixed up. I promised him that I wouldn't cage Puma, at least not until I could afford to build the cougar a natural habitat. The rescue wasn't set up the way it is now. The compounds weren't very extravagant, and he wanted the best for his cat. He had been babying the hell out of Puma, guilty about what he'd done."
"So you inherited a spoiled cougar."
"Yeah, but Puma was still young then, and I fooled myself into believing that living with him was going to be fairly easy. I was still a little too caught up in those dreams."
"I'll bet you were in for a rude awakening."
"Yeah." He grinned. "But I was too stubborn to admit it. I didn't want my dad having the last word – the 'I told you so.' I kept Puma in the cabin with me for over two years. Eventually he even shared my bed, although I wouldn't recommend it. There's nothing worse than waking up with a hundred-and-eighty-pound cat who wets the bed."
Kelly burst into laughter. "You're crazy, Shane."
"No, sweetheart," he teased, striking an austere pose. "I've got mountain lion medicine."
Her expression turned suddenly serious. "You really do. And so does this cabin." She looked around, her voice respectful. "That's why I feel so close to Puma. In a way, he still lives here."
Shane only nodded. He wished Puma had all the answers, that the cougar could tell him how to heal Kelly Baxter's heart. Ten days, he thought with an inward grimace. He had ten days to change the course of her life. He closed his eyes. Somehow that just didn't seem possible. Mountain lion medicine or not.
* * *
Rain fell from the sky the following day, muddying the ground. Parking in front of the One Stop, Kelly dashed inside the mini mart. White-haired, bearded Barry Hunt sat behind the counter.
"Afta'noon." He greeted her, speaking around his usual wad of tobacco.
Did he ever spit that stuff out? she wondered. And if he did, did it trickle onto his beard? Kelly tried not to wrinkle her nose. "Do you think you could give me directions into town?"
He shifted his behind. He wore bib-overalls, looking like a cross between a dirt-poor farmer and a grizzly old miner who'd just struck gold – in his mouth. Despite the tobacco, he grinned, displaying a shiny metal tooth. "Suppose I could. You here for some sandwich fixings?"
"Not today." Kelly had a craving for some real food – her favorite treat – cantaloupe and vanilla ice cream. Chicken sounded good, too, seasoned with curry and served with a side of steamed rice. "I thought I'd shop in town."
He grunted and poked a finger out. "Yer belly's gettin' bigger."
Gee, the man was so tactful. "Babies grow," she said, picking up a package of powdered doughnuts. She knew Barry wouldn't let her go until she bought something. "How about those directions?"
She took out a pen and a scrap of paper from her pocket-book and scribbled furiously while Barry supplied her with country instructions, things like "turn right at the Newton's place, then travel on yonder to the Harris Farm, and if you see Mrs. Harris, ask her when she's gonna bring me another jar of that elderberry jam her Aunt Millie made."
Kelly did her best to pry streets names and clearer descriptions out of Barry, paid for the doughnuts and rushed back to her utility vehicle, dodging puddles in her quest.
The windshield wipers swept across the glass. The weatherman had claimed the rain would be short-lived, although another storm would soon follow. Spring was unpredictable, Kelly thought. Clear one day, wet the next.
She angled the utility vehicle onto another narrow stretch and realized she had taken a wrong turn somewhere. The road ahead ended at a fallen tree, one that had probably blocked this path for years.
She backed the vehicle up and cursed Barry's directions. She hadn't found the Newton's blue house or the ranch that belonged to the Harris family. In fact she hadn't seen anything remotely resembling civilization.
Kelly attempted a different route, but failed. She ended up on another dirt road, one that appeared to lead to nowhere. The highway to Duarte wasn't anywhere in sight. Texas didn't look quite so appealing covered in mud. Wild grass and brush littered the ground, making landmarks nearly impossible. One acre of earth seemed as lonely as the next, the scattered hills no help at all.
Kelly tore into the doughnuts. Don't cry, she told herself, even though her eyes had begun to burn. Don't turn into a hysterical female. She drove and drove, in circles probably, spilling powdered sugar and blinking away tears.
When a familiar hilltop came into view, she squinted through the windshield. Home. Or close enough. She wiped her watery eyes. She recognized Shane and Dr. McKinley's house. The potted plants and cow skulls had never looked so inviting.
She knocked on the door. All she needed was some good solid directions. And some groceries from the supermarket, wherever that was.
Dr. McKinley answered. "Well, hello, Kelly. Come on in."
Rainwater had curled his hair, she noticed, and dampened his clothes. He padded through the house in white socks, but as they entered the kitchen, she spotted a pair of muddied boots by the back door.
"I made some rounds today," he told her. "Checked up on one of Shane's cats, too. A tiger named Sammy."
Kelly nodded. She remembered Shane had said that Sammy had a poor immune system. "I just stopped by for some directions into town."
"Oh, sure." He placed a teapot on the stove. "How about some hot chocolate first? You kook a little teary-eyed, hon. Is everything okay?"
"I got lost," she
admitted, realizing she had a lot more to cry about than that. She had spoken to her mother last night and learned that Jason still hadn't returned from his trip. Of course her mother had started in about the paternity suit again, spewing insults about Jason and his family. "I drove around for over an hour."
"Then some hot chocolate will help." Tom reached into the cabinet. "Little marshmallows, too."
Kelly smiled and removed her jacket. Dr. McKinley had an easy way about him. It was hard to believe that he had agreed to raise one son and not the other. But then she supposed saving his marriage had been his priority at the time. Her smile fell. She wondered if Jason would marry someday. And have other children. Sons and daughters he would welcome into his life.
They sat at the table and sipped their drinks, rain slashing against the kitchen window.
"Shane's cats don't like me much," Tom said. "They see me coming and they run into their lockdowns."
She tilted her head. "Why?"
"Because they know I'm the guy with the dart gun. Being a vet doesn't make you popular, at least not with your patients."
The image of a four-hundred-pound tiger hiding from Dr. McKinley had Kelly smiling again.
The back door blew open just then, bringing in a gust of cool air and Shane Night Wind with it. Rain dripped from the brim of his hat, and a tan duster trailed to his knees.
"Oh, this is nice, Dad," he said, winking at Kelly. "You're sitting at the table with a pretty girl, and I'm soaked to the bone."
"I was out there, too," Tom reminded his son good-naturedly. "And so was Kelly. She got lost going into town."
"It's true, I never made it," Kelly admitted as Shane wiped his boots on an indoor mat. "I drove around in circles until I ended up here. I came to the door to get directions."
"And I plied her with chocolate," Tom added, raising his cup.
"Well, you're a fine pair." Shane strode over to Kelly and draped his coat over a rattan chair. "I'll give you a ride into town. You shouldn't be driving in this weather."
NIGHT WIND'S WOMAN Page 4