“I waited as long as I could for you to turn up, but I had to report by four hundred hours. First time I ever tried to lead a mission with my mind elsewhere.” Will shook his head.
“Lance turned up dead behind the fight club while I was away. But aside from the Focus there was nothing on you two. Cops wouldn’t do a missing persons on you since you’d left of your own free will. Shelly was a minor, but it looked like you were next of kin, with her father in jail for a twenty-five year stretch, so they wouldn’t search for her either.”
“Frank said Kyle got out last week. I don’t get it. I thought he couldn’t get parole.”
“Courts overturned his conviction because the arresting officers are charged with manufacturing evidence. If Kyle knows about the money, he may come looking for you. Or he may come after the little bear. I don’t say this is the first spot he’ll look, but it won’t take him four years to think of it.”
Martha looked even more worried. “We lived here for a few years after Shelly was born. But he doesn’t have any reason to think I’d come back. I ran away when I was fourteen.”
“He’ll have to go through me to get to you.” Will tone was matter of fact. “You want to check on the kid? See if she’s simmered down? I’ll do the dishes.”
Martha sat on Shelly’s bed holding her cousin tightly and rocking her. Shelly was incoherent. Martha had persuaded her that she could go to the bathroom and shower while Martha stood guard outside. But although her cousin was in her pajamas and robe she was clearly too agitated to sleep. She held on to her little dog and shook.
“I won’t let him hurt you,” Martha assured her. Shelly sobbed and clung. “You’re safe, I promise. You need to go let Honey into the garden. And she needs her supper. I’ll come with you.”
She coaxed Shelly down the hall and into the empty kitchen. At least she had managed to persuade the girl to let her dog walk on her own legs. But after Honey had her exercise, and her dinner, Shelly ran back to her room.
What a mess. Will had shown up and he had an explanation for fighting in Lance’s tournament. A stupid macho explanation, but not a sordid one. And instead of spending some quality time with her makeup bag, she had spent most of the evening reassuring Shelly.
Not that Will seemed to mind. He had hugged her briefly, but she had felt his start of surprise when he touched her. He talked about her being his life-mate, but he had made no move to even kiss her. Before he wouldn’t have been able to keep his hands off her. Or get his jeans to lie flat.
Not that it mattered when Shelly was this upset. Shelly was her primary responsibility. She had to get rid of Will if Shelly couldn’t cope. She didn’t dare tell her about Kyle. Shelly couldn’t cope with danger from two directions. Not in her present condition. This was as bad as when they first came to Wesheno.
“I’m going to tell him to go,” she said softly into Shelly’s ear.
Shelly’s head nodded vigorously. “Now?” she asked hopefully.
“Right now. You can lock the door behind me, for now. But you have to leave it unlocked while you’re sleeping.” It was one of their rules. In an emergency, Martha had to be able to get to the younger girl.
Will didn’t argue. He had wiped the counters and polished the stove and swept the floor. Mr. Clean in action. He walked around the little house, checking the locks on the windows and doors. He seemed unimpressed, but he didn’t say anything. He closed and latched the screen door and the kitchen windows that overlooked the backyard.
“You lock the front door and throw that bolt as soon as I’ve gone. Leave the porch light on. Payawasay said he’d have a patrol car swing by during the night. You hear anything, you call me. And I mean anything. A branch on the window, a footstep on the drive. A raccoon on the roof. If you’re worried. Call.” He keyed her cell number into his and sent her a text. He signed it with a bear with hearts for eyes. Now that was just weird.
“Where will you sleep?”
“Back of the car. You got a blanket for a sailor?”
“I have a sleeping bag.”
“Lap of luxury.”
He tucked her green stuff sack and a pillow under his arm and bent to kiss her. It was a brief caress with just a touch of tongue. Nothing like the exuberant French kisses she remembered in her lonely dreams.
“Lock up. Tell the kid I’m gone. Don’t say I’m in the driveway. I’ll go into town for breakfast and a wash. Oh, better give the cops a call. Tell them I’m sleeping in the car.” He pressed a last brief, hard kiss on her lips. He waited outside the door until she snicked the bolt into place before he walked down the path.
She had been sure she wouldn’t sleep, between the news about Kyle, and Shelly’s hysteria, and seeing Will again. But as soon as her head hit the pillow she sank into an exhausted but peaceful slumber.
CHAPTER TEN
Will lay in the flattened cargo hatch of his rental and looked out at the tiny slice of sky visible through the rear window. Martha’s sleeping bag was an extra-long but was still six inches too short. But he’d slept rougher and more than once. Hell he had a forking pillow. And it smelled like his mate.
He had the woody to end all woodies and it was tempting to let Mrs. Thumb and her four sisters deal with it. But he had a feeling Martha would be just as fussy as other females if he handed her back her sleeping bag covered in dried spunk. And it wasn’t as though this hostelry came with running water. Craptastic.
Besides he was enjoying feeling horny again. There had been times in the last four years when he had wondered if he was turning into some sort of eunuch. It was hard to get away from naked ladies in the Navy. And sailors specialized in making their buddies blush. Getting other guys hard with tales of your adventures, however mythical, was just part of the fun. Except that these days he felt as turned on as Mrs. Grundy from Pretoria.
Tonight he was buzzed with the aroma of his one true love. He pulled the pillow hard against his nose and drew in her enticing scent. It was not as rich as he remembered. But then she had seemed less vital than she used to. Well, bucket ball. She wasn’t aroused. That was the difference. And just like that his woody vanished.
Carp on a cracker. His mate had lost her taste for him. It was June and the middle of Mating Season. She should have been humming before he showed up. And once he was near, her hormones should have shot into the red zone. This was a disaster. His bear still insisted this was the woman for him. Could she have somehow come unmated?
He had never heard of such a thing. There was his brother, Doug, seven years a widower, still mourning his Cherry. As far as Will knew his brother didn’t date, he didn’t look at women. He just took tour after tour, and since he was in the bomb disposal unit, that was pretty much like having a death wish.
He was still pondering the vagaries of fate when the headlights on the road swept past and turned into the drive. A car door opened and he made sure everything was covered. Sure enough a flashlight swept over him. He raised a hand in greeting to the police officer holding it. She nodded back and drove off. Looked like Payawasay had left orders to be thorough.
He wished he was armed, but even a SEAL had to be circumspect when flying these days. He’d have to see about getting a shotgun tomorrow. He didn’t know Kyle Brown, but twenty years as an officer had exposed him to a wide slice of American males. Brown sounded like one of the fridgepuckers who blamed everyone else for their mistakes. Rule one in the Navy: Sir, no excuse, Sir. But guys like Brown couldn’t be taught that lesson.
Brown would be pissed equally at the cops who arrested him and whoever he blamed for his son’s death. And if he had planned to pimp out Shelly, he would blame Martha for snatching her. Even though as a get-rich-quick scheme pimping out the little bear had holes big enough to drive a truck through. Whether Brown lit out after his daughter would depend on how much mad he had on, not on reason.
If Will had no money and needed to get from California to Wisconsin, he’d take bear form and go cross country through the broken patchwo
rk of forest. You could eat and sleep for free and so long as you didn’t wind up participating in the Spring Bear Hunt you could get across the continent in a week or two. Long time in bear form, but doable. Of course, when you took human form you’d be naked, which would be a little awkward, as Jack had found out firsthand in Uzbekistan.
Brown was a career criminal. He would look for the easy route. His two hundred dollars of gate money wouldn’t go far. But he might have other funds that were returned at the time of his release, or a bank account. You never knew.
Will’s money was on Kyle stealing a series of cars and driving cross country. It was a thirty-six hour drive tops. Say three days if you drove twelve hours a day. Of course, if you had to steal another car every time you ran out of gas, it could take you a couple of weeks to cover the distance. Hard to be sure when you boosted a vehicle that it had a full tank. Heck, it would be faster to travel in bear form.
Twice in the night he heard a high-pitched scream from the house, but each time it tapered off. Probably the little bear. He woke when the police car made another pass. The officer walked around the house this time and shone a flashlight in Will’s window. He raised a hand again. This officer drove off without even a nod. Which was curt, man.
Around dawn Will got out and dressed himself. Time to move the car. He was boxing Martha in. Besides, the little bear might freak if it was there when her bus came. He parked down the road where a gravel drive had a chain with a No Trespassing sign. He figured no one would care if he parked in front of that for a bit.
Honey came out and whizzed on the lawn. He could hear Shelly calling her frantically and the little orange furball turned and raced for the back door.
Martha came out and looked for his car. Her shoulders slumped and she got into her car shaking her head. Her hair was back in that butt ugly bun. And she was wearing a skirt and blouse that made her look rectangular. There was something wrong there all right. Where in blazing heck had his Warrior Woman got to?
He got out of his car and stood in the road as she backed out. She reversed toward him and rolled down her window. He thought she looked relieved.
“Good morning,” he said, bending down and leaning in. He kissed her and after a few seconds she murmured and pulled away.
“What are you going to do today?”
“Go into town. Find some breakfast and a motel. Have a shower. Do you think your cousin will be able to eat if I come for dinner?”
“She’s still nervous. Woke up crying in the night. Finally had to let her sleep with me. She keeps calling you the bad man.”
“I heard her. We gotta get her past that. Supper in town? What’s her favorite?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs at the Shack. We could try going there, but she’s pretty twitchy.”
“I’ll just wait here until she gets picked up. I’ll come back in time to see her safe indoors this afternoon. And you can see how she feels about being out in public with me. Drive safe.” Will kissed her again.
Martha left. He wondered if she realized how much trust that demonstrated. She clearly didn’t think he would harm the little bear or her. And yet she was giving off no come-hither fragrance again this morning. Well, he would have to wake up her bear because he wasn’t going to stay in sexual hibernation. Well, dang. That was it. Those two had been repressing their bears.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Will looked at the grim faces of the half dozen men waving him over to their table in the motel coffee shop. Hot diggity. He got to eat breakfast with the Tar and Feather Committee of the Ancestral Bear Clan.
He pulled out the only vacant chair and sat down. He nodded at Francis Payawasay. “Good morning, Frank. Going to introduce me to your friends?”
“These men are all Martha’s clan brothers.” Payawasay went around the table and introduced the five other men. “We are here to ask you a few questions.”
“Fair enough.” Will smiled agreeably. “What do you want to know?” He raised a hand to the waitress who wandered over with a full coffee pot. She poured another round and ran out before she got to Will. Dang. These were some mean bears all right.
“Any of you boys want breakfast?” the server asked around her gum.
“Yes, ma’am,” Will was very polite. “I’ll have a tall stack and four eggs over easy, and ham or sausage or bacon—or all three if you do that. Coffee, orange juice and fruit salad.” The waitress nodded and went away.
The oldest man drank coffee and looked past Will’s shoulder. He was clearly the spokesman. His long grey hair was in a narrow braid and age had shrunk his once burly frame to scrawny age. “I am Sam Deer and these are my clan brothers. When Martha came here four years ago, she put herself and her cousin under our protection.
“Do we need to protect her from you?” Deer’s voice was thin and reedy but full of purpose, and he smelled like a bear.
“Not from me,” Will said. “Payawasay tell you about Shelly’s old man getting out of prison?”
“That man of her aunt’s was no good and his son was worse,” Sam Deer said in his quavery old voice. “They say that those evil ones had many associates equally evil.”
Huh. Will figured he had just been dissed by a guy older than his Uncle Vanya. He kept his voice level. “Only Brown I know is Martha. Seems she’s changed her name. I’m here to persuade her to change it again—to Enright. But first I have to make sure Kyle Brown is no danger to either Martha or Shelly.”
“Why should we wish our sister to marry a stranger?” Sam Deer persisted.
Will looked around at the unfriendly faces. He decided on the truth.
“For one thing, I am not a stranger to Martha. I wanted to marry her four years ago and I still want to. I love Martha,” Will replied. “And I believe she loves me. I think I can make her happy, and I want to try.”
“It has taken you four years to realize that?” asked the young man Frank had introduced as Rob. He had the big head, high cheek bones and broad face of an Algonquian. And the crew cut of a serviceman. And the burly build and scent of a shifter. And he was giving off waves of belligerence and bear in equal parts.
“I looked for Martha Brown for four years.” Will assured him. “I didn’t find out she was calling herself Metcalfe or was from Wesheno until three days ago.”
“Maybe that’s because she didn’t want to be found,” Rob shot back.
“Hmm. But the thing of it is, that even if Martha won’t give me a second chance, I’m still not going to let Kyle Brown near either of those women.” Will dropped unconsciously into his command voice.
Kelsey Willis put in, “I think what Rob is asking is where Shelly fits in all this?”
“I figure Shelly and Martha are a package deal. I don’t plan to break them up.”
Most of the men relaxed, but Waukau’s hard, dark face got a little grimmer. Francis Payawasay put a hand on his arm in a calming gesture.
“Heard you spent the night in your car.” Payawasay laughed.
Will shrugged. “I’m having a little trouble with my courting. Shelly doesn’t care for me. But I’m open to suggestions.”
The waitress brought Will’s breakfast and a thermos of coffee. “You want ketchup with that?” she asked, filling Will’s cup.
“No thanks, ma’am. Excuse me, gentlemen.” Will tucked in with military efficiency.
Frank Payawasay and a taller skinnier guy in police blues exchanged glances. Payawasay pulled out a notebook from his shirt pocket and consulted it.
“Brown’s not on parole, so he doesn’t have to report to nobody. Got his two hundred when he was released. Don’t know if he has a bank account. Not been picked up in the last eight days. Morley has copies of his picture.”
The taller cop passed them around. Kyle Brown looked hard, mean and unshaven. Will committed his features to memory.
“Two hundred wouldn’t buy a bus ride all the way to Wesheno,” Waukau pointed out. “He’s stuck in California.”
Payawasay shook his head. �
�Kyle ain’t likely to restrict himself to transport he has to pay for. If he wants Shelly bad enough he’ll hitch, or steal a car. I’ve asked my admin assistant to track reports of joyrides left by the interstate. But it’s a long shot.”
“If you ask me,” Sam Deer said reflectively, “Best thing to do if he had no money is go cross country in bear form.”
Will stared at Sam as the other men nodded thoughtfully. It had never occurred to him that bear-shifting could be an open secret. Was it a Wesheno thing or just the Ancestral Bear Clan?
Frank Payawasay and Morley Onesalt shook their heads. “Too hard,” said Payawasay. “Kyle is the laziest critter on this God’s earth.”
“For a fact.”
“You got that right.”
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