Shifting Dreams (6 page)

They both laughed, but Caleb knew it was true. His childhood room at his grandmother’s house had been in the old adobe part of the house. With clay walls over a foot thick, the old construction kept cool air in better than any modern insulation. And in the winter, a heated adobe room stayed nice and cozy.

“Why did we stop makin’ houses out of this stuff?” Jeremy mused.

“Hell if I know. Took too long to build. Too expensive, I guess.”

“A lot of the older houses in the Springs still have parts that’re adobe. The families that built ’em still own them, so they’ve stayed in good shape.”

Caleb narrowed his eyes and walked back in the front office. There it was again. That instinct sparking. Something about this town was… off. Not quite right. There was no other way to explain it. Things weren’t as they seemed. But he had no idea what it was that was different. Had no idea why he even felt that way. Shaking his head and diving into another pile of old boxes, he focused on the task at hand.

He had a lot of work to do before he had time for idle speculation.

Caleb dreamed that night. Soft, droning songs that floated over a dark desert. Sparks catching fire and the smell of burning sage. He ran. Bare feet slapping in the dust, leaping over dry brush and small ravines. Running from someone.

Something
.

Then four paws touched the ground and the smell of the desert sharpened.

The moon was full and vivid over his head as he ran.

The old songs drifted. Twisting in the night air. Filling his mind with the old stories. Dark fears and warnings.

Cold clung to him.

A shadow crossed the moon over his head. He lifted his nose and caught the scent in the air.

Prey.

No, not prey.

Something else.

Something
…

The song grew louder.
 

Louder.

He ran faster.

It was chasing him.

The singing broke off and all he heard was the wind whistling past the red canyon walls. The hawk’s scream pierced the night air, and Caleb woke with a choked gasp, sweating in the chill of the air-conditioned hotel room.

Chapter Five

It had been ten minutes since Jeremy and the new Cambio Springs Chief of Police had left, and the church was still awash in angry voices.

“—just blindside us like this, when we ought to—”

“This should have been a community decision, Matt. Why wasn’t there some kind of vote or—”

“If we really need this, then why don’t we just have Jeremy do it? Other than the fact that he’s a McCann and all—”

“—no sense. No sense at all bringing some outsider in. What was he thinkin’?”

Jena sighed and leaned closer to Ted. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“What is Alex up to?” her friend muttered. “This has Alex all over it. What does he think he’s doing?”

Allie leaned over. “Have you talked to him since he’s been back?”

Jena said, “Allie, Ted and Alex meeting up either ends with shouts the whole damn town can hear, or no talking at all, if you know what I mean.”

Ted curled her lip. “Shut up, cop-kisser.”

“Hey!” She looked around. Luckily, no one was paying attention to them. “Will you keep your voice down?”

“No one’s eavesdropping on us,
chica
. Oh…” Ted narrowed her eyes. “There he is. Sneaky bastard, what are you up to?”

Jena’s eyes shot to the front of the room, where Matt was trying to answer questions piled on top of questions. The meeting was quickly spiraling out of control, until Alex McCann stood up and held his hand in front of Mayor Matt.

“Matt, be quiet and let me handle this.”
 

Jena winced internally at the slap.
That was stupid, Alex.
Her eyes shot to Missy, who was sitting a few seats down in the row in front of them. Missy looked tense and even more pregnant than when Jena had seen her yesterday. She caught the slight snarl at Alex’s slight of her mate. Matt may have not been an alpha to the wolves, but the cats were highly territorial and very,
very
proud. Matt was one of theirs. Two of Missy’s sisters leaned forward, but Missy reached out to calm them, and they relaxed.

Alex ignored the harsh reactions of the cat clan and lifted his voice.

“All of you, quiet!” It wasn’t instantaneous, but the room slowly settled down. “Now, you’ve got questions and we’ve got answers. But none of them are going to get asked or answered unless you all calm down. First, I’d like to ask any of the Elders if they have a question for me right now.”

Nicely played.

The Elders usually stayed out of any town debate, but in the end, they were the ones who voted. And any vote had to be unanimous, or it didn’t pass. If a single building permit was held up because one of the elders’ sister-in-law had a sentimental attachment to the land someone wanted to build on, then it didn’t pass. And there were no hard feelings allowed. That was the way it was, and when it was your turn to object, you’d get the same consideration.
 

Did feathers, fur, and scales get ruffled? Yes, but the traditions of the Springs held. Unanimous, or not at all.

Gabe Vasquez was the one who spoke up. “Alex, what is this all about? There hasn’t been any unusual crime. There hasn’t been any need for this in the past. Why on earth did you and Matt—I’m assuming that’s what happened here—take it upon yourselves to hire a police chief we didn’t need with funds we don’t have?”

Jena’s grandmother, Alma Crowe, added, “The town is struggling as it is. We can barely make our budget. The roads are all in awful shape, the school budget is shrinking, and we’re going to have to cut the library hours back to practically nothing if that grant doesn’t come through.”

Alex started nodding halfway through. “I know. I know this seems foolish, but what Matt said is right. One of the grants that did come through was to hire more police officers. Now, we didn’t have any to begin with, but this does provide a few jobs and a more secure environment. The sheriff’s department is fine and the ones around here are very… understanding. But this is our own department. Staffed by one of our own—”

“And a complete stranger!” Steve Quinn piped up from the back. “Who is this guy?”

“He’s a decorated police detective. He was planning on early retirement, from what I could find out, but he agreed to a change of pace. He’s the best.”

Jena said, “If he’s the best, and he’s an outsider, how the heck do you think we’re going to keep him in the dark about… everything? We’re all pretty good about hiding—even the kids—but he’s going to be living here. And he’s a detective. That’s not a good combination from where I’m sitting.”

A low hum of agreement started up at her words and she could tell Alex was annoyed, but she wasn’t going to hold her tongue, not when it came to her kids’ safety. And, as far as she was concerned, that’s what it boiled down to. She’d come back to the Springs so her kids wouldn’t have to hide who or what they were. It was the safe place. The
only
safe place. And Alex had just invited an outsider to live there.

Allie said, “This isn’t like when someone gets married away and brings back a husband or wife, Alex. Outsiders that marry in are family. They already know about us, and we trust them. This guy has no connection to any of us. He has no reason to keep our secrets.”

“And he’s not some drunk at The Cave who I can pass off to the sheriffs and convince them that he drank too much,” Ollie added. “This guy’s a cop. If he says something’s up, they’re going to believe him.”

Jena could tell Alex was annoyed with them, but it was too damn bad. She and Ollie, Ted, Allie, and Alex were some of the oldest cousins in their generation. If nothing tragic happened, some or all of them would be sitting in the elders’ seats where their grandparents sat now. It was their job to watch out for the town, and Jena couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed that Alex hadn’t talked this over with them before he did it.

“The police chief has to happen!” Jena could see Alex’s eyes start a faint golden glow and she knew he was angry. “We have to have an outsider here. Someone who can be neutral and settle things. Every single person in this town has loyalty to a clan that’s above our loyalty to the town. That’s perfectly natural, but we need someone like Caleb Gilbert around, and if that means we all have to be a little more careful, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

“But why?” Ted finally spoke. “What are you not telling us, Alex? What’s going on?”

A calculating glint came to Alex McCann’s eye. “I have an idea. One that might just save this town, but you’re going to have to trust me.”

Jena’s mouth was hanging open. Flies could have made it their home. Set down rugs, hung curtains, and everything.

Ted was the first to speak after Alex’s bombshell. “You want to build a
what
?”

“A hotel. Really more like a resort.”

“A resort?”
 

“Very exclusive. Very expensive. Cambio Springs has seven of the most unusual natural springs—”

“They
define
unusual, Alex,” someone said from the back of the church. “We’re can’t let outsiders near the fresh spring.”

“I’m not talking about the fresh spring. Of
course
we’re not talking about that one. I’m talking about the other hot springs. The caves. The mud alone—people pay boatloads of money to go to these spas that surround hot springs for their health benefits. Our springs are no different. The water has been tested safe. We all use them. What I’m proposing is to build a small, very exclusive, hotel and spa that will take advantage of what we have here already. We can do spa treatments, but also offer hikes and classes. Art classes. Yoga. All that stuff. A hotel and spa like that will create jobs. Jobs we desperately need.”

“So we’re going to have tourists running all over town all the time? Do we really want that to happen?”

Alex was nodding. “I know. I know. But depending on how things work out, we may only be open part of the year. We’ll see.”

“Which part?” Ollie grunted.

“Winter. Palm Springs is a tourist trap. People want something new. A quiet place. A destination that’s not too far from L.A. and Vegas, but just far enough. I’m talking about creating something very unique and very private. Where people—people with a lot of money—are going to be willing to pay big bucks for a few nights or a few weeks. I know this can work.”

Allie’s dad, Scott Smith, was an outsider who had married a McCann years ago. Allie’s mom had died when she was young, but Scott remained, raising his small brood of canine shapeshifters among his wife’s people and becoming a fixture in the community where he ran the farm supply store. “Alex,” he said, “that’s all well and good, but this is a farming town. We don’t know anything about running hotels. What you’re talking about would take loads of experienced employees.”

Alex nodded at Scott. “Exactly.
Employees
. Let me ask you, how many of you have lost jobs since the base closed?”

No one raised a hand. No one wanted to admit the shame of being unemployed, but they didn’t have to. A heavy silence fell over the room.

“This town
has
to change. We have to be open to this. What else do we have?” Alex looked around and Jena could see the fierce concern in his eyes. Say what you wanted about Alex McCann, but he loved Cambio Springs. “We have to do this, or the town is going to die. Farming can only expand so much. The Cave brings in outside dollars, but that’s only one business. The monthly market is great, but it’s been drawing fewer and fewer people every year.” He took a deep breath. “We depended on the base for most of our jobs, and it’s gone. It’s not coming back. This hotel… I know there are dangers, but we need this.”

The church fell silent. Jena looked around. She could see the people were considering Alex’s arguments. She was, too.

Finally, Ollie spoke again. “Who’s paying for all this? Something like this would take a lot of money, Alex.”

“I am,” Alex said.

“And if it fails?”

“Then I’m out a whole hell of a lot of money. But at least I’ll have tried.”

Jena and the rest of the town could see the grim resolve on Alex’s face.

She asked, “How exclusive?”

“We’ll get big enough so the town has enough, then no more. I promise. I don’t want this to become a tourist town. We’ll have one resort. One season. That keeps it exclusive enough to charge the big bucks and still retain the allure. I’ll be marketing it to the Southern California crowd. Entertainment people. Music people.” Alex nodded toward Ollie. “You can help with that one, don’t lie.”

Ollie shrugged as if he didn’t have signed pictures of music royalty hanging next to the men’s bathroom door.

Ted asked, “How many jobs are we talking about here?”

“Initially, there’s the construction. That’s going to take a while. Other people who want to work at the spa or hotel will have time to get training. Internships. Stuff like that. Matt says there are grants for that kind of thing available for those who don’t have the money. They can go to schools in Indio, Barstow, Palm Desert. There will be options.”