Faith motioned to a plastic jug. "At least they left us some water before the staff took off. The five-gallon container should last us a while. If we run out, you can go get yours."
Glancing out at the storm, not letting up in the least, he shook his head, having no intention of leaving Faith and the toasty cabin, unless they were in dire need. "We'll have to make this last for now." But if he didn't read anything wrong in what she was saying, did she plan to let him stay?
He intended to change her mind if she didn't want him to and made himself useful, setting out the silverware, the plates, only glancing back at her in the kitchen when she stopped rattling pans around. She was watching him, a small smile percolating on her lips. She held his gaze as if measuring him for a job, licked her full sensuous lips like she was readying them for a well-placed kiss. And he was damn well ready to kiss her again.
He hadn't entertained a thought about a woman in such a way for months—not with the self-imposed sixty hour work weeks he'd been putting in. Not to mention his former girlfriend jilting him several months ago. Just about the time he began working lots of overtime. Yet he was more than intrigued with Faith. Which he thought had something to do with the way she handled herself at a crime scene and how knowledgeable she was in figuring out clues. And not flighty when she came face-to-face with a naked stranger. Her endearing story of her neighbor and the way she helped out impressed him also. Plus, he'd never have figured her for the kind who would manage roughing it in a place like this.
His ex-girlfriend would have thrown a fit not to have an attached bathroom and running water and linens for the bed. And no maid service or room service or television either. Nope, Marjory would have given him notice before they even arrived at the place once she learned she couldn't use the Internet or phone her friends. One of whom happened to be the guy she took off with.
Distracting him from his thoughts, Faith turned and flipped the salmon again and switched off the oven.
If his intuition was right, he was certain Faith was considering letting him stay the night, although he was ready to convince her if she had any doubts that it was the best thing for all concerned—for safety's sake, of course.
"Meal's ready." She began to dish out the spinach, when they heard someone yell out somewhere in the woods.
He looked out the window but didn't see anything or anyone. Immediately he worried someone had been ice fishing and fallen through the ice. "Stay here," he said, jerking on his coat and gloves.
"Maybe I should go with you."
He shook his head. "Lock the door after me. Probably nothing, but I've got to check it out." He yanked on his ski mask and hat, then headed outdoors, hoping he wouldn't find anybody in any real danger. He didn't like leaving Faith alone, but he had to make sure no one was in any real trouble.
Faith scooped the spinach back into the saucepan and kept it on low heat. Then she returned to the window to watch for any sign of anyone, but mostly for Cameron. She liked it that he was a take-action kind of guy, but prayed no one was really in any trouble. His story about Gavin's father endeared him to her. But it made her wonder what the deal had been with his own father because the concern he shared with her reflected much more sorrow for Gavin's father than his own. She sighed. Maybe his father had been like her mother. Not there to really count on for anything.
After locking the door, she began making the bed. His double-wide sleeping bag and her single sleeping bags unzipped fit the double-sized bed nicely. Even though it was a bit presumptuous of her to think he would stay the night, she figured he was hoping. They might as well share the place and meals, keep each other company while they dealt with the staff of Back Country Tours.
Tomorrow, they could straighten out the cost and, well, since Cameron was going to go broke if he didn't choose the cheapest brand of tuna—she smiled—this would save him a little money.
She returned to the stove and poked at the salmon again. At this rate, it would be overdone and cold by the time Cameron got back. Then one of their snowmobile's engines began to rumble, and for a minute, she thought Cameron had come back for it. But when hers started up, she assumed the worst. Someone was stealing their snowmobiles. She grabbed a large cast-iron frying pan, hurried to the door, and opened it, just in time to see two men sitting on the sleds, both backing up from the cabin in the wind-driven snow.
"No!" she screamed, and, wielding the pan, she raced out to stop them.
Chapter 4
THE FIRE GLOWED IN THE MASSIVE STONE FIREPLACE AS Kintail Silverman paced across his lodge's great room miles from where his new troubles lay, wondering how the hell he was going to remedy this mess while other members of his pack kept an eye on Owen and David in the den.
Kintail glanced at Lila Grayson. She looked a little contrite for once and he frowned. "You were supposed to be watching Owen. David will do anything we say, but Owen... he's trouble. How many phone calls did he make before Trevor caught him? And twice, he's tried to escape. The only good thing about any of this is we're too remote for him to get word out, he doesn't know his way around out here, and he doesn't have a clue how to deal with the shapeshifting aspect." Kintail stared out one of the picture windows at the blowing snow, the cold so invigorating, even now he wanted to shift and run like the wolf he was.
He couldn't kill Owen, not yet. He knew the man needed some time to adjust. If only his partner, Cameron MacPherson, wasn't on the way to rescue Owen and David now. That's what was causing him all the heartburn.
Lila cocked her head in her arrogant way, yet he knew insecurities about something in her past fed her actions. Given time, he figured she would eventually come around.
"You shouldn't have changed them. Or at least David."
She smiled. "I don't think Owen's forgiven me for biting him."
Kintail liked it when she smiled, as if a part of her gentler nature was trying to reveal itself. But now wasn't the time to concern himself about his issues with Lila. Neither David or Owen had any family left in Seattle. Kintail hadn't thought one of their partners would look into the situation.
Kintail shook his head. "If we didn't have so many hunting parties scheduled for the next several weeks, we'd leave early for Yellowknife. Take them with us and isolate ourselves. But we can't split up the pack, and we can't leave right now. Not without hurting our business and ruining our reputation here."
He loved living here half of the year, flaunting what they were while the locals and tourists didn't have a clue. Except for the Cree in the area—they knew, but they revered the wolf, which worked to Kintail and his people's advantage. "I'm sure nowhere else in the States can a werewolf pack show off their pack members in broad daylight, anywhere and everywhere, and get away with it."
Lila stretched her arms above her head, then crossed them. "I agree, and that's what's so much fun about living here in the winter, being around people who are clueless as to what we are, thinking that our wolves are like old good-natured dogs. But what about this Cameron MacPherson? Can't we just change him, too?"
Kintail didn't care for the interest in Lila's tone of voice or the expression on her face. He knew her well enough to recognize she was intrigued with the man. Did she think maybe she could convince Cameron to take over the pack and then mate with her just because Kintail wasn't freely mating with her? Cameron? A newly turned lupus garou? She had to be nuts if she thought Kintail would lose against the newcomer. Besides, her secretive past was what was keeping her from letting Kintail get close to her. He doubted she could get close to Cameron anymore than she could with him.