Zach rounded Corbin to grab Laurie and haul her to standing. He held her at arm’s length and glanced up and down her body. “He hurt you?”
She shook her head.
Corbin stepped up next to her, holding his soiled hand behind him. “But he would have.”
“Yes.” She had to agree. She had hoped to defuse the situation on her own, but had to admit to herself now it never would have happened.
Thank God for telepathy among shifters.
All the sudden, she realized several other people stood in the room. Zach’s brother Trace and his dad, Adam, were among them. Several men she didn’t know and a few women had wandered in too. She wasn’t sure how much they had witnessed.
“What happened?” Carlie pressed her way through the people and came to Laurie’s side.
Before Laurie could speak, a woman interrupted. “I saw the whole thing. These two men busted in here and attacked that poor defenseless guy.” She pointed at Brock. “His name is Brock Henson. He’s such a sweet boy.” She shook a finger toward Zach and Corbin. “Why on earth would you do such a thing?” She kneeled next to Brock and stroked his hair from his face, though she didn’t get very close. The guy was covered in vomit.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Zach asked.
“That’s what I saw.” The woman Laurie had never seen before pursed her lips. “It was barbaric. You should both be arrested.” She turned toward Trace. “You’re a cop. Arrest these men.”
“Ma’am,” Corbin began, “I’m a deputy myself. No one’s going to be arrested except Brock.”
She gasped. “You can’t do that. That’s insane. He didn’t do anything to you. I watched both you and the Masters boy punch him repeatedly in the face.”
A softer voice came from the side of the room. “I saw the entire thing too.”
Laurie looked over and found the speaker to be Mary, the very woman she’d avoided earlier who had chosen not to hire her based on her race. It suddenly seemed like a conspiracy. Mary was undoubtedly going to spew some bigoted racist shit in agreement with the crotchety bitch hovering over Brock.
Adam raised his hands in the air. “Everyone calm down.”
Grumbling from all around the room increased the volume as more and more people piled inside.
Several men spoke at once.
One of them stepped through the gathered witnesses and made his way toward Adam. “I was right behind your son when he burst into the room. That man,” he pointed at Brock, “had that woman,” he pointed at Laurie, “pinned to the couch. It was obvious to me he was trying to molest her.”
Carlie cleared her throat and put her arm around Laurie. “Is that what happened?”
“Yes. I tried to handle it myself, but he wouldn’t take
no
for an answer.” She regretted her choice of words immediately, realizing she’d implied she’d eventually called for help. “Thank God Zach and Corbin came in when they did.”
“That’s for sure.” The man who’d spoken on her behalf slapped Zach on the back. She lifted her gaze toward him and recognized him as a shifter. Blessed angels.
“What happened?” Adam asked.
“I came in here to catch a break. He must have followed me, or perhaps he was already in here. He said some rather distasteful things about me and seemed to have the impression I was…loose…or something. So he thought he could easily get me to sleep with him.”
Corbin reached out, grabbed her hand, and tugged her into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head.
“Sorry, babe. I should have been paying closer attention,”
he muttered into her hair.
Mary spoke again, shocking Laurie. “He’s right. That’s what I saw too.”
The older woman on the floor gasped. “Mary?” She seemed stunned, as though she’d been double crossed.
“Sorry, Hazel, but that’s how it happened.” She jerked her gaze away from the woman named Hazel and swallowed. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you too, Laurie.” She ducked her head and left the room.
Laurie was stunned. Whatever just happened left her head spinning.
Several people in the room grumbled, but it sounded as if the majority were coming forward to support Zach and Corbin. Even though many of them had seen Corbin and then Zach punch Brock outright, the story morphed into something slightly larger that made Brock out to look like a stone cold rapist who had attacked Laurie and needed to be subdued in her defense.
Laurie shifted her gaze to Corbin and Zach. “I need to clean up.” She felt disgusting after being manhandled by Brock and then vomiting. Most of it landed on him, but she still wanted a shower and clean clothes.
Sharon grabbed her arm. “Come on. I’ll find you something else to wear, and we’ll get you cleaned up.
Laurie turned to follow Sharon, but Corbin held her hand, pulling her arm taut. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth a thin line when she met his gaze. “I’m fine.”
He nodded, but he didn’t let her go.
Zach finally set a hand on Corbin. “Man, I think she’s okay. Let her shower.”
Corbin released her.
She glanced down at the vile man on the ground as she went around him. The older woman held his head cradled in her lap, and he started to moan and squirm.
Laurie couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. Too bad there was no way for anyone to leave the resort until God only knew when. The building wasn’t large enough to keep her from scenting that sick bastard everywhere she went.
“Guess we’ll need a new instructor next week,” Sharon teased as they stepped into the ladies’ shower room.
Laurie grinned. “Nah. He’ll be fine. Just a little misunderstanding, right? I mean, I’m sure Zach won’t really kill him if he ever sees his face again.”
Sharon giggled. “I can’t believe you can make a joke right now.” She shuddered visibly. “I also can’t believe I ever thought that guy was hot. Gross.” She grabbed a towel from a stack in an employee closet and then opened a locker that undoubtedly belonged to her and pulled out clean clothes—jeans, a T-shirt, socks, even panties.
Laurie stripped out of her soiled clothes and stepped into a curtained shower stall. “Thank God you people keep so many clothes around here. I assume the outfit I was already wearing was yours too,” she called over the water.
“Yep. I’m going to have to restock. But the nice thing is we’re almost the exact same size. If you come work here at the resort, we can share.”
Laurie let the water wash over her hair, thinking about Sharon’s idea. Probably the entire family had already discussed the idea of Laurie coming to work there. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the plan, most importantly because she didn’t want to create a disturbance—any more than the one she’d already caused simply by being there.
“It’s going to be okay, you know,” Sharon said as Laurie shut off the water and grabbed the towel Sharon handed her.
“Yeah. I’m not sure I believe that yet.”
“I know you and Melinda have some sort of perceptive abilities, but I have my own intuition. And I sense a calmness when I’m near you, especially when you’re with Zach and Corbin. The three of you belong together.”
Laurie chuckled as she shrugged into clean clothes. “Unfortunately most of the population of both Cambridge and Sojourn feel a distinct unease around me, and a desire to kill when I’m with my mates.”
“They don’t. Not most. Just a few, a noisy few. The silent majority aren’t judging you.”
“I still don’t understand why me? I mean Melinda mated two men. So did Rebecca. Why am I being singled out?”
Sharon shrugged. “I’m guessing it’s because you three are more ‘out,’ so to speak. There was an uproar when Rebecca mated with Griffen and Miles. She even left her job.”
“Right. Forgot about that.”
“But when she settled in at the hospital in Sojourn, the rumors died down. People sort of left her alone. And I’m not sure anyone around here fully realizes about Melinda, Trace, and Keegan. They just keep a lower profile in public.”
“I suppose it would have helped if we hadn’t come down from the mountain that first day practically mauling each other.”
“Even that might have been fine if you had run into anyone other than that particular kid working in the rental area. Caleb Parker is a member of the same church as that woman in there defending Brock—Hazel. Hell, Brock is too. And I think that other woman who defended
you
is also.”
“Mary?” Laurie sat on the bench next to Sharon and pulled on her socks and the borrowed tennis shoes.
“Yeah.” Sharon handed her a sweatshirt. “It’s cold.”
Laurie blew out a breath as they both stood. “I wish I could simply hide somewhere until everything dies down.”
“You can if you want. I’ll find you a secret corner.”
“No.” She sighed. “Easier to keep busy and hold my head high.”
“You’re stronger than I would be under the circumstances. I envy you that.” Sharon led the way out of the ladies’ room and back to the main area of the lodge.
Corbin and Zach both rushed over when the two women walked in.
“You okay?” Zach asked.
Laurie nodded.
“Laurie?” A small voice to Laurie’s right called to her.
She turned to find Mary stepping into her space. “I’m truly sorry. I’ve been a bitch.”
Laurie nodded, speechless.
“I’d love it if you’d help me corral the kids for a game. They’re restless all over the room, and their parents are worn out.”
“Do you work here?” Laurie asked.
“No. I’m just trying to help. Several of the little ones go to my preschool.”
“Okay.” She turned to face her mates. Both frowned at her, obviously not as quick to forgive. Or trust. “I’ll be fine.” She grabbed each of their forearms and gave a quick squeeze. “Go find something to do.”
Before they could protest, she followed Mary across the giant room to an area where several smaller kids were running around screaming.
“I really am sorry. When this is all over, we need to talk.”
Laurie nodded at the woman. At least someone seemed to have found a grain of sense finally.
Zach stood against an inside wall of the great room in the lodge, arms crossed, watching his mate sleep on a mat on the floor. She’d been restless for hours, but finally she’d fallen asleep, and it was so peaceful watching her that he couldn’t imagine why he was in such a foul mood still.
A few men had stayed in a back room with Brock when he regained consciousness. And that woman Hazel from the crazy church. Lucky bastard, because if Zach had set eyes on him again during the night, he might have started a brawl.
It was bad enough the guy was inside the building. As soon as it was possible for people to leave, that jackass would be the first to go. And he wouldn’t be welcome to return in this lifetime either.
“You okay, honey?” Zach’s mom set a hand on his shoulder and leaned against the wall next to him.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry the first few weeks of your mating are so crazy hectic.” She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.
“I’m not sure it’s a coincidence.”
She lifted her gaze as she released him. “You may be right. Your father and I have been discussing this. I don’t see how it’s possible for all three of my oldest sons to mate in threes and experience such high levels of angst without there being a reason. Something beyond our control and out of our comprehension.”
“I agree.”
“What does Laurie think?”
“She left town because she believed she brought all these problems to the area as opposed to the other way around. I think she’s starting to see reason. She has a purpose. Not sure what it is, but I believe Fate brought her here to solve problems, not create them.”
“How did you get to be so wise?” She patted his chest and smiled broadly.
Zach’s father rounded the corner. “There you are.” He beamed at his mate and held up his phone. “I’ve had contact with the occupants of all six cabins. They’re fine, but good and stuck. The snow has finally let up. We need to send a team of men to dig them out.”
“We’re going to have a lot of work to do on the slopes too,” Zach added.
Adam nodded. “I already have several guys lined up to make their way to the upper lodge and get the snow groomers going. If we run all four of them for a few hours in the early morning, we should be able to open at least the west slopes by about ten. Assuming it doesn’t start snowing like that again.”
Zach looked at his watch. “We should probably get up there then. It’s already seven o’clock.”
His father nodded. “I agree. I’ll gather the men.”
Zach stared at his mate again for several seconds and then glanced around, looking for Corbin. He didn’t readily see him.
“Corbin.”
“Yep.”
Even through their connection, he sounded tired.
“I’m going to the upper lodge with some men to get the slopes open and dig out the guests in those smaller cabins. They’re trapped.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No. Stay here with Laurie. She’s sleeping finally in the middle of a pile of kids.”
“I saw that. I’ll make my way in that direction.”
“I’ll touch base with you in a while, then.”
Zach pushed off the wall and headed for the front doors to meet up with the others who would be heading up the mountain.
»»•««
When Laurie woke up from her spot on the floor, she cringed at the crick in her neck and the tingling in her left arm, which had fallen asleep under her face. She sat up and looked around. Most of the children were still asleep—not surprising considering the hour they had finally succumbed to exhaustion.
She pulled herself to standing and glanced around the room. Many of the adults were gathering their belongings and stuffing them into backpacks. The room was bright from the sun beating in through the wall of windows facing the slopes. She couldn’t believe she’d slept that long. As she scanned the room for her mates, she spotted Corbin sitting on one of the sofas near the fireplace, rolling the kinks out of his neck.
She grinned as she picked her way through the throng of people toward her mate. “Where’s Zach?” she asked as she eased onto the couch next to Corbin.
“He went up the mountain about four hours ago to help dig out the stranded guests in the cabins.”