Cougar's Mate (15 page)

He hated seeing how uncomfortable Shannon looked. She’d said she wanted to come and he was glad to bring her there—to see her make new friends. But every time the toddlers squealed in delight, he saw her flinch. Dottie had been talking to her nonstop and Shannon had barely said a word. He’d be surprised if Dottie learned anything at all.

He hoped that Dottie wasn’t pushing her too much to learn the truth. He knew that Dottie only meant well and wanted to help Shannon. He didn’t think that forcing her was the way to get her to reveal what was going on, though. They’d have to uncover the truth themselves and then show her that they were still there for her and would do anything they could to protect her.

Rick and Yvonne were playing hide and seek with the kids and Rick got caught right away. Shannon laughed. Everyone else did also, but seeing Shannon’s face brighten with laughter really cheered Chase. He felt a modicum of relief then that she was having a good time. She was eating some of the pink-frosting decorated cake and peppermint ice cream, and he was glad to see that, too. She was looking better, not so thin, her cheeks rosier than they’d been in the beginning.

Hal folded his arms. “She’s a keeper.”

“She’s in trouble with the law. She has to be,” Chase reminded him.

“She’s
still
a keeper,” Hal said, as if he had to tell Chase that. “Dan said you told him that she was free to go if she wanted. You can’t be serious.”

Chase smiled just a little.

Hal shook his head. “I told him I didn’t think you were serious. I’m not sure I would have been that brave to risk that she’d trust me enough.”

Chase chuckled. “You’d do whatever you could to make her feel welcome.”

Hal sighed dramatically. “I’ve already given Dan hell over calling you up to hunt her down first and not me.”

Chase laughed.

As to watching her? Chase had to admit he didn’t want her to slip away from the party in all the excitement and confusion. He figured enough people were probably watching her at any given time, but he still didn’t trust that somebody else would notice if she attempted to steal away. She looked damned hot in that vivid pink sweater just like he knew she would. When he got it for her, he really wasn’t sure she’d wear it because she’d been reluctant to have him buy it for her in the first place. But he was glad she had. And it wasn’t just because he wanted her to stand out in it. He wanted to see how pretty she looked when she wasn’t trying to hide away in grays and blacks.

Dottie’s daughter, Trish, ran over to show her mom a toy and Dottie spoke to her and the toddler looked up at Shannon.

She smiled and crouched down in front of Trish and showed her how to play with the toy. All smiles, Trish ran off and joined the others. He thought again about Shannon taking care of the boy who would have drowned in the waterfall pool. She appeared to be a natural with children.

When the party began winding down and moms were taking their cranky little ones home, fussing because they didn’t get to take the birthday kids’ toys with them, Chase said, “Looks like it’s time to go.”

“Yeah, back to the ranch,” Hal said.

“I was supposed to help you move in a couple of weeks.”

“I think you’ve got your hands full. Unless Shannon would like to see my spread.” Hal smiled.

Chase shook his head. “I’ll ask her if she minds.” Though he was afraid she would attempt to run again—based on what she’d said at the Muellers’ home—well before that. “See you later.”

“Watch your back.”

“Will do.”

***

As soon as Chase and Shannon were headed back to his resort, she was ready for a nap. But the first thing Chase said to her was, “We have an anniversary party to go to tomorrow night.” This time he didn’t ask. Just took it for granted that she’d want to attend it.

She groaned.

“You don’t like anniversary parties?”

“Right this instant, the thought of going anywhere wears me out.”

“It’s not until tomorrow night. We can relax this evening, watch a movie, have some shrimp pasta, and then tomorrow you can spend the whole day just chilling until we go over there.”

“You really want me to go?”

“Yeah, I do. He’s retired army and because of all the war stories he used to tell us when we were kids, he was the one who influenced us to join up. They’re a really nice couple. Besides, how would it look if I showed up without my wife?”

She laughed and shook her head. “I haven’t gotten used to
that
idea
yet.”

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Now that we’re married…”

She raised her brows as she considered him.

He smiled at her. “Sorry, I really can’t keep a straight face about this. But I was wondering if you want to sleep with me.”

She laughed. “No,” she said, without hesitation.

“Not because we’re pretending to be married, really,” Chase said, watching his driving. “But because you’re having such a time sleeping.”

“You think if I slept with you, I’d sleep better?”

His lips parted as he was about to answer her, and then he clamped them shut. He took a deep breath and let it out. “Maybe not. But you did sleep soundly on the couch when we were watching a movie.”

"I think being in bed with you would make a difference.”

He glanced at her. Was she feeling the same thing that he was feeling between them?

“What do Yvonne and Rick do for a living?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

He guessed not then, or she wasn’t ready to admit it. "Both of them work at the bank as financial advisors."

"I was surprised to see them. Well, and Dan and Hal at the kids' birthday party, considering none of them have kids.”

"Dan has kind of a thing for Dottie. Don't tell him or Dottie I said so. Okay? He's in total denial about it. But as soon as her husband ran off, and Dan's dispatcher up and retired on him, he hired her. He encouraged her to file for divorce right away. Her ex-husband has been gone for two years and Dan has attended their birthday parties since then. Then again, he’s a nice guy and he might just be feeling protective of her, partly doing his job as sheriff."

Shannon smiled. "So that's why he didn't offer to be the one to protect me. What about the full-time deputy?"

"Stryker? He would be in shock when he returns home from vacation and learned he had become a husband while he was away. Dan has a hard enough time talking him into taking vacations during the year. He's a real workaholic.”

She chuckled. "Yeah, I could see how that would be a shock. But you're okay with it?"

"Better than okay with it. You love my cooking. That says a lot."

"I hope it's not too… unsettling for you."

"No, Shannon. It feels right. We'll have the best cover, guaranteed. So tomorrow we have the invite to the Kretchens' wedding anniversary celebration, and I’ll work during the day on some painting projects I need to get done."

"Don't tell me their wedding anniversary is being celebrated early also."

"No. It really is at this time, so Dan assured me. Anyway, if you're okay with it, did you want to go?"

She sighed. "Okay, sounds fine with me."

“And then in a couple of weeks, I was supposed to help Hal move to his ranch. He specifically wanted to show you his spread.”

Shannon smiled a little. “Does he act that way toward all women?”

“No, actually he doesn’t. I think he does with you because he’s really impressed with how you knocked Dan and me out.”

She laughed.

“You’ve got to remember we’re all Special Forces. It takes a lot to catch us off-guard.”

She was still grinning when they arrived at his cabin.

But as soon he parked, a pickup drove in behind them and Chase pulled a gun from his belt, shocking the hell out of her. She had never noticed he’d put a shoulder holster on under his jacket. “Wait here,” he said. “You got my phone handy?”

Her heart beating wildly, she pulled the phone out of her pocket.

“Dan’s number is listed under contacts. Call him if this gets ugly.”

She didn’t recognize the truck, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t Hennessey or his kin.

“Reporter,” Chase said as the man got out of his truck and Chase holstered his gun. “Why don’t you go on inside, and I’ll take care of this. Pull up your hood in case he tries to take a picture of you.”

She did as Chase said, glad it wasn’t Hennessey, but afraid if the reporter snapped a shot of her and it was on the news, Hennessey might see it.

She started to open the car door and Chase said, “Wait a minute.”

She hesitated, her hand on the door handle.

“Okay, go!”

She opened the door, got out as quickly as she could, slammed it shut, and headed to the house.

And realized she didn’t have a blasted key. She headed around the back of the cabin, and she was afraid Chase would worry she was going to run off. But she really couldn’t do anything else but move around to the backside of the house and out of the reporter’s view, unless she broke a window to get inside.

Chase swore under his breath when he saw Shannon head around the back of the cabin. He really worried she was planning to run, afraid the reporter would spread the word she was up here, even though Chase had remembered too late that she had no way to get into the damn house.

He quickly got out of the driver’s seat and intercepted Carl Nelson with his notepad and recorder in hand.

“I’d like to ask you some questions about your injury the other day in the woods,” Carl said. “Sheriff Steinacker said you were hunting a cougar down, but that he didn’t injure you. He wouldn’t say how you got hurt. But you were kind of out of it at the time, so I figured that was the reason why the sheriff didn’t know the facts. So I wanted to get it from the horse’s mouth. Oh, you don’t mind if I record this, do you? To make sure it’s accurate?”

Chase didn’t mind reporters when they could help in a police investigation, but in this instance, the man could very likely endanger Shannon. He had to walk a careful line—not give Carl a reason to want to try to dig up more of the story if Chase gave the impression he was being too elusive. At the same time, it really was none of the reporter’s business.

“Nothing to report,” Chase said. “Just an accident.”

Carl looked at the cabin. “I heard some rumors that you went and got married. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. If you don’t have any other questions…”

“After you left the hospital, I heard you were chasing down a cougar again. I understand it was running through Wildwood Estates. Sheriff said the male cougar that had pulled the boy from the waterfall pool was shot and killed. So this couldn’t have been the same one. Was it a female or male?”

“I don’t know. I was tracking its last known whereabouts, but I never actually caught sight of it.”

“Did anyone ever catch it… or kill it?”

“No. I’m sure with all the commotion in the area, it learned not to go around there again.”

“I heard you made an arrest that same day—a break-in of one of the homes in that same development.”

“Nothing to report.”

Carl smiled a little and Chase was afraid he’d been in the area and actually witnessed something firsthand. Like having a woman handcuffed to his wrist at the grocery store.

Carl glanced at his notebook and flipped through a few pages. “You were spotted with a woman handcuffed to your wrist at Save Right.”

The grocery store.

“Nothing to say about it,” Chase said.

“You… were seen taking her to Millicent’s Dress Boutique after that and came out with a lot of packages and the two of you were no longer handcuffed. Then you came back here with her.” Carl raised a brow.

“If you know everything, why are you asking me?”

Carl shrugged. “Just want to get my facts straight.”

Chase wanted to punch the guy’s lights out. He wanted to threaten him to leave her out of the picture, but he knew Carl would treat it as if he’d just been tossed a bone. And Chase damn well wanted to see to Shannon, get her into the house, and ensure she hadn’t stripped, shifted, and taken off.

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

“Unless you’ve got something more interesting to tell me.” Carl again glanced at the house.

“Talk to you later then,” Chase said dismissively and headed for the cabin.

“Mind if I have a word with your wife?”

Chase ignored him and unlocked the door to the house. He stepped inside and fought slamming it. At a run, he headed for his bedroom, figuring until Carl left, he had no other alternative but to let Shannon in through the window. He opened the curtains and slid the window open. But when he didn’t see any sign of her outside, his heart began pumping faster. He couldn’t quash the fear rushing through his blood.

What if the damned reporter had frightened her so much that she
had
run off?

His heart pounding furiously, he climbed out the window. He had his cell in hand, ready to call Dan and have him alert everyone when he headed for the woods. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw something pink and turned. Shannon was crouched behind the woodpile, her arms wrapped around herself, trying to keep warm. He was so relieved to see her there, but so angry that she’d had to hide out there in the cold. She watched him, her concerned expression turning to relief.

“God, Shannon, I’m so sorry,” he whispered to her.

She was shivering and he instantly pulled her up from the cold ground and gave her a hug.

“I haven’t heard him drive off yet,” he told her in a hushed voice and hurried her back to the bedroom window. He lifted her partway, and she climbed inside. Then he joined her and closed the window and pulled the curtains shut.

The relief he felt in having her safe here with him had been instantaneous.

But her eyes were wide with concern. “I was listening. I heard everything.”

“He doesn’t know anything. He hasn’t a clue what’s going on between us.”

“What if he digs further for the truth?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll try, but what will he find?” Chase wanted to say that even
they
didn’t know who Shannon was, even though they were using every resource they could to learn the truth about her.