said, “Why? Why can’t you run it?” Something wasn’t right.
“Your grandmother’s will stipulates the farm is to be run by you. No one else. If you don’t want it, it is to be sold by you.” George turned toward the far wall of windows and wandered in that direction to stare out at the trees.
“Why would she do that? She barely tolerated me. She didn’t even like me.”
He twisted on his heels and looked back at her. “She loved you. In her own way, I know she did. She just didn’t know how to show it.”
“Why is he supporting the old hag? She’s dead now. He doesn’t have to stick up for her anymore. It’s not as though he won’t get paid for the job if he badmouths her to me. I don’t get it,” Kaitlyn communicated to Micah as she squeezed his hand for support. He was cocooning her with his body, one hand on her back and the other reaching across her lap. If it was all a show of support, great. But she worried Micah’s demonstration was more of ownership than anything else. She intended to set him straight later. Now wasn’t the time.
“I don’t know, but something is fishy. Are you going to ask him if he’s your father?” Micah gripped her fingers.
“No. I’m not ready. I don’t know if I want to hear the answer…one way or the other. Both answers make me uncomfortable. If he is my father, I’ll be steaming angry he never told me. And if he’s not…well, I’ll be disappointed.”
“I understand. Take your time. You don’t have to do it right now.”
Micah opened his mouth to speak. She knew he wouldn’t go against her wishes, but she still stiffened. “You two weren’t surprised to find out we were shifters.”
Enrique shook his head. “When George got off the phone with you last night, Kaitlyn, and told me you had taken a job on the Durham farm, I knew these had to be the three brothers we’ve been hearing about. The ones with the vampire problem.” He let the statement hang in the air while he glanced from Kaitlyn to Micah. “I thought I could help.”
“Word sure has traveled.” Micah relaxed instead of stiffening as she would have expected. He turned to her. “We’ve been contacting every lupine shifter we know to see if anyone has ever experienced anything like the problem we have with Keeton McKinney. We must kill him. He’s out of control. We’re concerned for the local folks and anyone traveling through. He no longer operates with any sort of scruples. We’ve been hoping someone somewhere would be able to shed some light on what method might work.
“In the last year he has decided to eradicate the wolves from these mountains. Seems he isn’t fond of sharing the forest he’s lived in for three hundred years. And frankly, we’re tired of him also. We could’ve lived here in harmony perhaps, but then the bastard started killing humans.”
Kaitlyn gasped.
He took a deep breath and then continued. “Last year the stakes went up considerably. First he kidnapped Juliana, intending to mate her himself. We managed to thwart the effort, rescue Jules from a cave and leave McKinney trapped behind his own exploding dynamite.
“That didn’t kill him, however. A few months later he showed up again. This time he took Jaxon hostage. He’s quite fond of dynamite and intended to try the same trick, blowing his explosives in a cave and killing Jaxon.
“Jaxon outsmarted him, though, and staked him through the chest.” Micah’s words made Kaitlyn widen her gaze. Holy hell, this is bad .
Enrique leaned toward them, listening intently. “That won’t work.”
“Yeah, we found that out when the shithead disappeared from the cave and returned again recently, wounds licked and surprisingly stronger than ever.”
“What do you mean by that?” Enrique asked.
“His powers are growing. He was tinkering with them last year. He mastered the ability to keep us from communicating with each other. However, the effort was at the expense of his own awareness. He
“Your grandmother’s will stipulates the farm is to be run by you. No one else. If you don’t want it, it is to be sold by you.” George turned toward the far wall of windows and wandered in that direction to stare out at the trees.
“Why would she do that? She barely tolerated me. She didn’t even like me.”
He twisted on his heels and looked back at her. “She loved you. In her own way, I know she did. She just didn’t know how to show it.”
“Why is he supporting the old hag? She’s dead now. He doesn’t have to stick up for her anymore. It’s not as though he won’t get paid for the job if he badmouths her to me. I don’t get it,” Kaitlyn communicated to Micah as she squeezed his hand for support. He was cocooning her with his body, one hand on her back and the other reaching across her lap. If it was all a show of support, great. But she worried Micah’s demonstration was more of ownership than anything else. She intended to set him straight later. Now wasn’t the time.
“I don’t know, but something is fishy. Are you going to ask him if he’s your father?” Micah gripped her fingers.
“No. I’m not ready. I don’t know if I want to hear the answer…one way or the other. Both answers make me uncomfortable. If he is my father, I’ll be steaming angry he never told me. And if he’s not…well, I’ll be disappointed.”
“I understand. Take your time. You don’t have to do it right now.”
Micah opened his mouth to speak. She knew he wouldn’t go against her wishes, but she still stiffened. “You two weren’t surprised to find out we were shifters.”
Enrique shook his head. “When George got off the phone with you last night, Kaitlyn, and told me you had taken a job on the Durham farm, I knew these had to be the three brothers we’ve been hearing about. The ones with the vampire problem.” He let the statement hang in the air while he glanced from Kaitlyn to Micah. “I thought I could help.”
“Word sure has traveled.” Micah relaxed instead of stiffening as she would have expected. He turned to her. “We’ve been contacting every lupine shifter we know to see if anyone has ever experienced anything like the problem we have with Keeton McKinney. We must kill him. He’s out of control. We’re concerned for the local folks and anyone traveling through. He no longer operates with any sort of scruples. We’ve been hoping someone somewhere would be able to shed some light on what method might work.
“In the last year he has decided to eradicate the wolves from these mountains. Seems he isn’t fond of sharing the forest he’s lived in for three hundred years. And frankly, we’re tired of him also. We could’ve lived here in harmony perhaps, but then the bastard started killing humans.”
Kaitlyn gasped.
He took a deep breath and then continued. “Last year the stakes went up considerably. First he kidnapped Juliana, intending to mate her himself. We managed to thwart the effort, rescue Jules from a cave and leave McKinney trapped behind his own exploding dynamite.
“That didn’t kill him, however. A few months later he showed up again. This time he took Jaxon hostage. He’s quite fond of dynamite and intended to try the same trick, blowing his explosives in a cave and killing Jaxon.
“Jaxon outsmarted him, though, and staked him through the chest.” Micah’s words made Kaitlyn widen her gaze. Holy hell, this is bad .
Enrique leaned toward them, listening intently. “That won’t work.”
“Yeah, we found that out when the shithead disappeared from the cave and returned again recently, wounds licked and surprisingly stronger than ever.”
“What do you mean by that?” Enrique asked.
“His powers are growing. He was tinkering with them last year. He mastered the ability to keep us from communicating with each other. However, the effort was at the expense of his own awareness. He
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