Shifting Dreams (32 page)

“Caleb, get them away!” Aaron cried harder.

He started toward the one on the ground, holding his hands up. He could see a ragged ear twitch as he walked closer, but the creature didn’t attack. Neither did the one on the rocks. It snarled, causing Caleb’s gut to clench in fear, but it didn’t pounce when it easily could have. The animal watched him, crouching down and keeping his eyes on Caleb while its brother snarled at the boys in the Cliff House.

“Who are you, you bastard?” he muttered. “What do you want?”

“Caleb!” Aaron screamed.

“Shoot them!” Low yelled.

The one near the boys whipped its head around and curled its lips at Caleb just as he heard Cathy running through the brush. He heard the distinctive sound of a pump-action shotgun a second before Cathy yelled, “Get away from my boys!”

“Low, get down!” he shouted. Low grabbed his brother and disappeared as Cathy fired the gun toward the rocks. The two lions bounded away, speeding along the canyon wall and disappearing from his sight.
 

“Are there any more?”

“No, just the two.” He was already climbing the rocks. He could hear Low shushing his crying brother as his hands scraped along the sandstone. “Bear? Low?” he called. “It’s just me. They ran off.”

“Caleb?” Aaron sniffed and his head popped over the edge of the rocks. “Where’s Grandma?”

“I’m right here, Bear,” Cathy called from below. “Good thing Grandma Alma always kept the shotgun loaded, huh?”

Caleb could see a wooden ladder at the base of the cliffs, but it had been broken. He would have to keep climbing with his hands.

“One of the lions tried to climb the ladder, so I shoved it back,” Low said in a shaky voice. “I think it broke, and the lion fell. It was pissed.”

“Good boy,” Caleb hissed as he pulled himself up the side of the cliffs. His hands would be torn up. He could already feel a tear in his shirt and one knee was bloody. He finally scrambled up the side of the cliff and pulled himself into the Cliff House with a grunt. Then he winced when Aaron launched himself at his chest.

“It’s okay.” He wrapped his arms around the little boy and patted his back. “They ran off when your grandma came. I doubt they’ll be back.”

Aaron sniffed. “I thought they were gonna kill us like they killed Grandma Alma.”

“No way.” He took deep breaths, trying to calm his heart. It ached at the fear in Aaron’s voice. “Your grandma would have kicked their furry butts. And yes, you get a quarter for the swear jar for that one.” He turned to look for Low. The boy was crouched a little ways away, watching Caleb holding his brother with wide, scared eyes. Caleb reached one hand out. “You okay?”

Low nodded but ignored the hand.

“You did good. Good thinking about the ladder and keeping it back with that stick, Low. Good job. You kept Bear safe.”

The older boy only gave Caleb another jerk of his head. He could tell Low was moments away from breaking down and Aaron still clung to him.

“Caleb?” He heard Cathy call from outside. “Are they okay?”

“They’re alright. Just shook up. Bear, can I hand you down to Grandma? Is that okay?” The little boy clutched at his neck for a moment before he pulled away and looked over the edge, wiping his eyes and nose with the back of his dirty hand.

“Hey, Grandma.”

“Hi, pumpkin. Can you come down to me? Let’s get you home.”

“Yeah.” Aaron started to climb over the edge of the cliff, but Caleb swooped him up and lowered him by his armpits, slowly lowering him into Cathy’s waiting arms as the boy began to wiggle.

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“There’s lot of bushes around,” Cathy said as she held him. “Have at it.”

The danger passed, excitement started to creep into the little boy’s voice. “Did you see those lions, Grandma? They were really big and Low fought them off and Caleb was gonna wrestle one I think and then you came and he shot one! Did you see?”

Cathy said something unintelligible as Caleb turned back to Low.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “You okay?”

He felt more torn up inside than out when Low started to shake. “Did Grandma get one? With the gun?”

“No, she just scared them off.”

“So they’re gone?”

“Yeah.” He moved a little closer to the boy, worried about the still-frantic eyes he saw.
 

“Why didn’t you shoot one? You should have had your gun and stuff.”
 

“Sorry. I ran out here without thinking. It’s locked in my truck. I was kind of panicked, but you did great.”

“You’re the chief of police, you know. You should carry your gun all the time.” He started to sniff.

“You did good, Low.” The boy was seconds from tears. “You took care of your brother.”

“I have to. It’s my job.” His voice caught. “I yelled, but we’re pretty far away. And I thought… if they got Bear—”

“But they didn’t.” Caleb moved closer, putting a steady hand on Low’s shoulder as the boy’s face crumbled. “You kept him safe.”

“I was really scared,” he said as the tears began to fall.

Caleb put his arm around the little man who had turned back into a boy, and he pulled him close. Low shook with silent tears as the fear began to drain out of him.

“You did great. You kept your brother safe and you called for help.”

“I thought no one would hear us. And they’d kill us, too.”

“Not gonna happen.” Fear began to unfurl in his own chest as the adrenaline ebbed. He’d never felt more helpless in his life. “I’m gonna find out who they are, and you won’t have to be scared anymore.”

Low hiccuped and wiped at his eyes. “Yeah?”

“I promise.”

“Okay.”
 

“You gonna be okay?” Caleb asked cautiously, watching the boy compose himself under his arm.

“Yeah.”

“You ready to get out of here yet?”

He hesitated, then glanced toward the open mouth of the small cave. He wiped his eyes again and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Caleb patted his back and said, “You’re great, Low. You were really brave.”

The two of them slowly clambered down the rocks where Low was swept into Cathy’s waiting arms and Caleb took Aaron’s hand to walk back to the house. Just as the boys walked inside with Cathy, Caleb darted around the back of the house and emptied his stomach in the first bush he found.

Never in his life. Drug raids, domestic calls, even caught in an alley once with two armed gang members didn’t compare. He retched again, spitting out the acid that had filled his stomach and trying to calm the shaking in his hands.

The lion crouched on the rocks, muscles bunched to spring.
 

The pacing animal with the sweeping tail and the deep scar on its shoulder.

Low holding them off with a stick and Aaron, crying in the rocks, sobbing Caleb’s name…

The mere thought of what could have happened caused his heart to seize, and Caleb ran back to the side door where Cathy was leading the boys to Jena’s car, purse in hand. She took one look at him, then stepped back as he knelt down and grabbed both boys in a fierce hug. He clutched them to his chest, wondering how, exactly, this had happened. Did Jena live with this fear all the time? That something could happen to her kids and these little people would just be gone? They were so vulnerable. It was utterly and completely terrifying in a way he’d never, ever experienced before.

“Caleb,” Aaron squeaked. “You’re kind of hugging really hard.”

“Sorry.” He cleared his throat, but didn’t let go. He did loosen up a bit as he felt Low pat his shoulder awkwardly.

“It’s cool, man.”

Caleb pulled back and looked at them both. “Yeah?”

Low shrugged and rolled his eyes. “We’re cool. Really. Just stop kissing Mom in front of me, okay? It’s totally gross.”

Caleb broke into a relieved smile. “I’m not sure I can do that. She’s pretty cute.”

Aaron giggled while Low made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and walked to the car.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jena was out the door before the car came to a stop. She was off the porch before the doors opened. She grabbed Aaron and pulled him out of the car, fighting back the tears on her face and trying to calm her racing heart. She looked around desperately, seeking Low’s precious grubby face as she clutched her youngest son. Caleb was walking behind her oldest, one hand on Low’s shoulder, leading him back to her.

With a choked cry, she grabbed both her sons and held them tight.

They’re really all right. All right. All right.

She felt the tears in her eyes leak down her face as she remembered her mother’s call from the car.
 

“They’re fine, Jena. They’re both fine. Just shaken up.”
 

Everything was all right. Just a few scrapes and bruises. Her boys were fine. Still, she couldn’t let go.

“Mom, we’re okay,” Low said.

She fell to her knees in the dusty driveway, holding them and rocking them, trying to banish the terror of the last ten minutes from her mind. Never in her life… She couldn’t find the words. They were still caught on the lump of fear in her throat.

“Caleb and Grandma scared the lions away,” Aaron said cheerfully. “And then he climbed up and got us. He’s really strong, Mom.”

Jena felt her father’s hand on her shoulder and she tried to relax.

“Hey, guys,” he said. “You just gave your mom and me a scare. Let’s go in the house and get a snack. Sound good to anyone else?”

With a deep breath, Jena loosened the iron grip on her two boys and stood. They were okay. She was probably just freaking them out more with her reaction. She let her dad throw Aaron onto his back and walk up the porch while Low waited next to her.

She finally found some words. “You’re really okay?” She ran her hands through his hair, sandy from climbing down from the cliffs. She could see tear marks on his dusty face, but no trace of them remained in his eyes.

“I’m cool.” He sounded a little choked up. “And Caleb’s going to find out who it was. So… yeah, we’re cool.”

She felt the tears well up again, but she tried to remain calm to match her oldest son’s forced ease. She could tell he’d been shaken, but he was a tough kid. In fact, he might have stood just a little taller as he walked over to Caleb, held out a hand, and bumped knuckles with the man leaning casually against the old car, sipping a bottle of water.

“I’m going in for a snack. Caleb, you want one?”

He shrugged. “Let me talk to your mom for a sec.”

“Just remember what we talked about.”

“I told you, I’m not making any promises.”

Low muttered something she couldn’t hear before he walked in the house. Then Jena walked over to Caleb.

“Jena…” He was shaking his head. “I never in a million years would have let them go out there alone, except your mom said they were fine and knew the way, and… She said there’s never been an animal attack out there in all the years she—”

“Shhh.” She put a finger over his lips before she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. She felt it then, the slow release of tension. The burning in her eyes. Her shoulders started shaking a second before he crushed her to his chest.

“I’m sorry!” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. I’d never put them at risk. Ever. Not if I could help it.”

“It’s not—” She cleared her throat and blinked back tears. “It’s not your fault.”

“What?”

Did he actually think she blamed him? That she would be angry? She shook her head and pulled back so she could meet his eyes. They were panicked.

“Oh,” she breathed out, reaching a hand up to smooth the lines between his eyebrows. “No, baby, I’m not mad.” She felt his shoulders relax, so she lifted up on her toes and kissed him gently. “How could I be mad?”

“I should’ve killed them,” he said. “I left my gun in the car ‘cause I didn’t want to alarm the boys, but then they—”

“You scared them off. You protected my boys.” She uncurled her arms from his waist and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. “Thank you.” She kissed him again, ignoring the tears that ran down her cheeks, then pressed his bloody knuckles to her lips. “There are not enough ‘thank yous’ in the world—”

“Stop.” Caleb grabbed her hands and pulled her into another embrace. “Don’t thank me. Don’t—don’t, you know?” He paused for a moment, lost for words. Then he captured her mouth with his.

Desperate. Scared. Relieved. He said it all without saying a word. And in that moment, Jena knew the man who held her would walk through fire for her children. For her. It was exactly what she needed to know. She loved him.
 

He ran his hands down her shoulders, her hips, brushing his fingers along her jaw until one hand rested against her racing pulse and his other pressed into the small of her back. She held him just as close, grasping on to the sudden realization of how hard she’d fallen.

“Caleb.” She finally pulled away. He was having none of it as he buried his face in her neck and scraped his teeth along her skin. “We’ve got to stop.”