Call of the Cougar (Heart of the Cougar Book 2) (8 page)

"Like you, I'm kind of on administrative leave from the department because the babies are due in a week or so. So I'll be here on-call at any time if you need me for anything."

"Thanks. I'm sure I'll be just fine."

They sat down to eat the cake and drink their milk.

"At least, I really don't expect to need anyone's help. But also, congratulations." Tracey loved babies, but the way she was headed, there would be none in her future anytime soon. She had to find a man who could be a reliable father for that to happen. "Do you know how many you're having?"

"Twins." Shannon smiled, then sipped from her glass of milk.

"That's wonderful. You'll certainly have your work cut out for you." Tracey's mom had often talked about how much of a handful she and her sister had been when they were little. She turned to Chase. "Are you sure that you're not going to have any trouble with me being here?"

"If we do, between you and me, I'm certain we can take care of it. Your boss said you're one of the best."

She appreciated that he included her for being able to deal with trouble should it arise and not as someone who was incapable of helping herself. But then she wondered if her boss had mentioned she'd lost her first partner.

She enjoyed the delicious double chocolate cake, licking every speck of icing off her fork which brought a smile to Shannon's face, and Tracey felt her own cheeks heat a bit with embarrassment at being caught. But it was good! "Thanks for the cake. It was really delicious. I'll get out of your hair and go unpack now though. I'm beat and you must be too."

"If you need anything, just ask," Shannon said. "Our Yuma Town General Store has about anything you might need in town. Chase picked up a few non-perishable items your boss said you'd like. The store opens tomorrow at ten."

Tracey stared at her in surprise. She wondered exactly what her boss thought she'd like to eat. Though she appreciated his doing so since she'd arrived so late.

"Uhm, thanks."

"The whole place is a cougar haven. If a couple of wildlife traffickers come to town, someone will surely notice," Chase said.

No wonder her boss wanted her to stay at the resort. For the first time since he'd told her he wanted her to stay here, she truly felt comfortable about doing so.

"Oh, and…you know that Mick wants one of our other deputies to watch out for you," Chase said.

"Yeah, but I really don't think it's necessary." Then she had a brilliant idea. She shrugged. "Then again, both can, if they feel they have to." She smiled brightly. If both did, that meant they'd take turns and neither man would get the idea he was dating her.

Chase laughed. "Good show then. Can I ride with you to your cabin? I was having it renovated and—"

She frowned. "I thought my boss had already rented it."

"Yeah, like when he needed you to stay here."

She groaned. "I wish he hadn't put you both out so. I could have found somewhere else to stopover for a bit."

"The only other place you could have stayed was Stryker's duplex or Hal's ranch."

"Wouldn't work if both of the men are going to safeguard me."

"Right, well, you'll be staying at the last cabin in the string of them, farthest away from the main one."

"I'll be fine," she said. "I have a spare Glock."

Chase nodded.

"He'll go with you," Shannon said. "If he didn't, I'd never get any sleep." She rubbed her belly and yawned.

"I'd feel the same as my mate."

"All right then." Tracey said goodnight to Shannon, then she and Chase climbed into her Hummer. "You know none of this is really necessary."

"If anything happened to you while I'm supposed to be watching out for you, believe me, it would be necessary."

"You know about both my partners, don't you?"

"Yeah. Mick filled me in. We're all here to watch out for you. If you get any feeling that something's not right, even if it's just a hunch, don't hesitate to call me. It won't be any trouble." He pointed to the last cabin beyond a stand of pine trees and high shrubs. "That's it straight ahead."

When she pulled up to the log cabin and parked, she smiled to see the lights inside were all on. She appreciated the Buchanans' thoughtfulness. Chase helped carry her bags inside and then they both checked the place out.

"All clear," she said.

"Same here," he said, coming out of another bedroom. He gave her a list of phone numbers. "We're really glad you're here. Shannon is thrilled and hopes you will visit her often. She's kind of been housebound lately and it's driving her crazy."

"Sure thing. I'd love to. Thanks for everything." She gave him her phone number.

"You're welcome. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

When Chase left, she locked up and then checked the cupboards to see what Mick had thought she needed.

A bottle of cabernet, seven packages containing six chocolate bars apiece, and three bags of potato chips. She laughed. In the freezer, three packages of extra thick, T-bone steaks, ribs, chicken drumsticks, and a pork roast. Not one vegetable anywhere.

She didn't care what time it was, she called her boss. Chase had probably phoned him as soon as she drove into the resort and her boss was probably still awake anyway.

"Who did you buy all these groceries for?" she asked.

"I figured you'd like what I like. Don't tell me you're a cougar that is a vegetarian," Mick said, sounding relieved that she was there.

"I am human too, and I need my vegetables. Thanks, though. I thought you said you had already rented the place."

"I have a standing invitation. Get your rest, Agent. And take it easy."

Yeah, right. "Night. Talk later."

"Night. No more thinking about the case."

No way could she shut down her mind about that whole situation and forget it. After saying good bye, she put her phone away and unpacked her bags.

Now, all she had to do was conduct some investigative work on her own and then, she'd track down the ringleader and ensure he received a lengthy jail term—though terminating him sounded like a whole lot better plan.

***

When Hal's phone rang, he stared at it for a minute before he realized Chase was calling him. What time was it? Three in the morning?

"What's up? Is Shannon in labor?" Hal was already getting out of bed in a hurry.

Chase said, "No." And chuckled. "Just wanted to give you a heads up like you asked me to. Tracey arrived a little while ago. She's settled in her cabin now."

"Do you need me to watch her place?"

"No. She's fine. She's got her Glock handy. Don't go sneaking around the place and getting yourself shot. I may need you when Shannon goes into labor."

Hal settled back down on his bed. "Have you got her number?"

"Yeah, here it is and don't call her tonight. She has probably already gone to bed."

"All right. Anything else?"

"She doesn't have any breakfast fixings. Maybe in the morning, you can ask her out."

"What about Stryker? Did you call him?"

"I'm calling Dan next. He'll call Stryker."

"All right."

"She said that you could both guard her."

"What?"

"That's what she said. I suspect she wants you both to know that she's not dating anyone. Which means you'll have to work a lot harder at it."

Hal smiled. "I'm on it."

Chase laughed. "She might just be worth it."

After their first encounter, Hal was certain she would be. He couldn't believe she had gone back to the town of Anderson when he was certain her boss had said she was through with the case. He wondered if she realized the cougar up on the cliffs was a shifter and not a plain old cougar. He suspected she did when she kept the patrolman guarding her from shooting him. At least he was glad to see she had some protection. But if Hal had any notion of leaving the area once she arrived, he'd thrown that idea out.
He
had been providing a big cat's backup too.

In the background, he heard Shannon say, "Come to bed, Chase. I think I'm finally ready to go to sleep."

Hal smiled. He was wide awake. As soon as he finished talking to Chase, he called Tracey's number.

***

With the lightweight, forest green, embroidered coverlet at her waist, Tracey rested in the bed in the log cabin, the sounds of an owl screeching and crickets chirping were soothing to her soul. She loved the sounds of nature, much preferred to running around in the city when her duty took her there.

She was still thinking about the case, wishing she could have found some real leads to run down, disappointed she hadn't found anything further in Anderson. But she suspected she had rushed over things a little, when she wouldn't have had she been totally free to investigate the area, and not worried her boss would send reinforcements to make her leave.

What she needed to do was… She smiled. She needed to run as a cougar. That's what she needed to do. Early, before dawn, she would stretch her legs as a cougar. Wasn't that what the boss said? Time to kick back and relax? She hadn't had a chance to run in…well, way too long.

Her phone rang and she wanted to ignore it, but she couldn't. What if someone was calling about Anton?

She pulled her phone off the bedside table and looked at it.
Hal Haverton
. She smiled. Chase must have just informed him she was here. She liked a man who was eager to see her, even if she wasn't about to date anyone.

"I'm all tucked in and have my Glock right next to the bed, handy-like. No need to come over and protect me."

He didn't answer and for a second, she hoped she hadn't read the caller ID wrong.

"Well, hell, then what about breakfast?"

She chuckled. She liked a man with a sense of humor. "What did you have in mind?"

More silence. She smiled, wishing she could read minds and know just what he was thinking.

"My place and I can whip up a mean batch of hash browns, omelets your way, mimosas, bacon, ham, or anything else your heart desires."

"Anything?"

"Absolutely."

"And I don't have to clean up afterward?"

"Got a maid to do that."

"A maid."

"Yeah, believe me, you wouldn't want to see what the place looked like before I got a maid."

She laughed. "Okay. Eight, all right?"

"I'll pick you up."

"I could just drive over there."

"No way. You might get lost and I'm your bodyguard. I'll pick you up at eight."

Her phone beeped, letting her know she had another call. "Okay, got another call. Got to go."

"We can have lunch too," he quickly added.

"Let's have breakfast first and see where it goes from there. All right?"

He sighed deeply. "Yeah, okay." But he didn't sound like he was okay with it. He probably suspected her next caller was his competition, Deputy Sheriff Stryker Hill.

"See you in the morning."

"I'll be there."

They ended the call and she waited for the other caller to try again. When he did, she said, "I'm all tucked in and have my Glock right next to the bed, handy-like. No need to come over and protect me."

Silence.

She laughed. This might be kind of fun after all.

"Uh, okay, so I don't need to grab mine and head on over there then." He chuckled. "I'm Stryker Hill and I wondered if you might like to have breakfast with me. Chase said you didn't have a chance to get any breakfast food."

Now Chase was trying to set them both up with her? "Hal beat you to it. Sorry."

"Hell, I thought you hadn't answered at first because you were asleep."

"So you tried again?"

"Just in case you weren't asleep."

She laughed.

"How about lunch, and don't tell me that Hal already booked you in solid for the next several days."

"He tried. How about dinner? Just in case I can't get away any earlier? Where and when?"

"I'll pick you up. Take you to anywhere you'd love to go for dinner."

"You don't cook?"

Stryker didn't say anything for a moment, then said, "Ah hell, is Hal telling you about what a great cook he is? Next, he'll be showing you the new foal. Well, when it's born. What do you think about puppies?"

She laughed. "Do you have a puppy?"

He paused. "Would it make a difference?"

"No."

"Okay, well, if you change your mind, let me know. I'll pick you up at five."

"See you then. Night."

"Good night, Tracey."

She set her phone on the bedside table and closed her eyes. Now this was going to be interesting.

She suspected her run would be uneventful and she'd return way before she needed to shift, wash up, and dress for her first date of the day.

At least—that was the plan.

Chapter 4

Tracey hadn't realized just how much she needed to run until she was wearing her cougar coat, exploring her surroundings, running free and wild. She always felt a runner's high when she stretched her legs as a cougar.

Darkness claimed the forest when she left the cabin and a cold breeze stirred the aspen's leaves, making them dance around on the branches. A western screech owl sat inside a hole in a tree way up above, his eyes closed, his feathers a pretty gray color. But then he must have smelled her. He opened his amber eyes and twisted his head around to watch her, a predator of the night every bit as much as her cougar kind were. He must have been the one making the loud screeching noise last night.

She moved through the mountain mahogany, junipers, pinyon, and ponderosa pines, and, avoided getting close to the lake where tents were standing, and camping trailers beyond that.

She was certain no one would observe her in the dark, and that no one would be running around in the woods or mountains at this hour. The only problem she'd have was if she didn't return before dawn when hikers were about and someone spotted her.

She watched for any sign of either big predators like bears or wolves, but she hadn't smelled any trace of them. Just cougars. She wondered then if the shifters in the area had been leaving their scent trail all over, clawing trees, marking their boundaries with piles of dirt and twigs, or scrapes, left to warn other cougars that this territory was taken, and to keep other predators away. Wolf packs weren't intimidated by a lone cougar or bear. But a cougar could handle a lone wolf. A pack of cougars? Evened up the odds a bit against a pack of wolves. Though that would sure take them by surprise since cougars didn't run in packs.