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I TOTALLY EXPECTED Leo to taste like blood when he came back from the mountain. Surely he’d sunk his teeth into someone’s flesh either for sport or out of necessity.
He didn’t, and I took that as a good sign. I put my arms around his neck and let him pick me up the floor when he kissed me. “How did it go?” I asked, my feet still dangling off the ground.
“Good.” He raised his eyebrows like he knew he was going to have to convince me of this. “We found Bid and talked to the lions from yesterday.”
I groaned. “Did you tell them I said hi?”
Leo put me down and swatted my behind. “They apologized. Once there was no confrontation, they were much cooler this time.”
“They’re twins, too. Jackson and Jonah,” Dylan added. “And I was right, they aren’t the leaders of the pride. That’s a guy named Traver, who’s, ah, very business minded.”
Both brothers were trying not to laugh. “So what is he, in the mob or something?” Ari asked.
“Not exactly. He’s got a huge marijuana field, which was illegal until recently. That’s why they’re not happy about uninvited guests. There are some companion businesses, too, which they only eluded to.”
“Interesting.” Ari drummed her fingers against Dylan’s arm. “So you went in there, played nice, saw the weed, and now they’re on board with the ski area?”
“We explained what we had in mind, something that’s an alternative to regular ski area, and they were interested,” Leo explained. “They ran off the last owner when Traver claimed the mountain. Bid’s been guarding it ever since because if anyone found out what was going on up there, they’d be raided. But not anymore. Now that everything’s legal, Traver’s been thinking of trying to monetize what he’s got up there, so it’s a good experiment to see who will come.”
“Almost everything,” Dylan said quietly with a smirk.
“Are there any other animals up there besides lions and bears?” I asked. I wanted Dylan to elaborate on the illegal thing, but if I asked him, he knew he’d sidestep it. I was still seething from seeing Grandma today and wasn’t in the mood for his crap. I’d find out soon enough.
“It sounds like it’s pretty diverse.” Dylan sat with his legs spread wide and his elbows resting on his thighs. His long hair hung in his face, dirty from shifting. Ari crawled next to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. He closed his eyes and purred before continuing. “You saw the bear den yesterday. I didn’t see any deer, but they told us they were there. And get this—they all work together.”
That got my attention. “They what?”
“Yeah. There’s not enough of anyone for division. So it’s like Woodland Park, but they’re in their animal form most of the time.”
I might be able to warm to this idea. If we’d found a place I wasn’t going to be treated like a like a battering ram, I was on board with that. Even if there were big parts of this story being left out. If Leo and Dylan were serious about this alternative ski area thing, maybe there was a dance class I could incorporate in that went with the vibe of what they planned. Like Leo said, if I could do what I loved, I’d be really happy.
“We did some research today, too,” Ari said as she continued to knead Dylan’s shoulders. “No surprise here, the ski area is probably abandoned. I have a request in to pull the deed. We have to go through county, which always takes forever. If they can trace it back to anyone, you have to petition the owner for sale. If not, you have to pay the back taxes on the place. Since it’s been decades since the place has been used, it could be steep. Or depending on how the land is incorporated, it could be nothing.”
“Maybe this Bid guy would know?” I suggested. “That might cut out a lot of trouble.”
“He said he didn’t,” Leo said as he sat down, pulling me down on his lap. I frowned in disbelief. “I thought it was weird, too. He doesn’t seem like a guy who doesn’t know things. So he probably wants us to figure it out on our own. But as you saw, the place is a ghost town. Traver used other parts of the mountain for his business.”
“So what’s your plan?”
“We’re on hold until we get those deeds.” Dylan drew Ari into him, and she laughed as she landed. “Leo and I talked on the way back here. Today went well, but we need to be careful. Bid’s trying to work with us, but I can’t get a read yet on the lions. They haven’t worked with outsiders for a long time. They’re not used to compromise.”
**
WE’D LEFT EVERYTHING behind on Soldier Mountain. None of the furniture in the cabin belonged to Leo, it came furnished and was part of his pay. We were starting completely over. First order of business, a place to live.
Neither of us had a job or much money, so our choices weren’t very good. Someone in the herd had a tiny cabin available outside of town. It wasn’t really a house, more of a shifting shack. A place to go and be wild on all counts. I was thankful they rented to us. I’d get Ari to help me spruce it up and it would be super cute in no time.
The first thing I did was go over to the faucet and turn on the water. “Paradise.” I laughed, turning to find Leo right behind me in the tiny kitchenette. I leaned back against the counter, and Leo picked me up and sat me on it. There was barely enough room for my butt. He met my lips in a kiss, and his fingers ran along the scar at the small of my back so lightly it gave me goose bumps.
“Paradise is wherever you are,” Leo said as he pulled away, his forehead still resting against mine. His smile was fuzzy this close. I hooked my fingers on his shoulders, his purr sent tremors down my arms. “I think I’m going to like it here.” One more kiss. “A lot.”
I motioned to the bed in the corner. The place was one big room, but it was all we needed. “How scary do you think that bedding is?”
Leo turned to consider it. “I don’t think it should be that bad. Dave didn’t look like he was doing anything too crazy here in the recent past.”
I didn’t want to think about Dave like that. He came over on Thursday nights and played Cribbage with my parents. “He hasn’t rented out in a while, either. It could be pretty musty.”
“Let’s check it out,” Leo suggested. I started to slide off of the counter but Leo caught me by the waist and carried me to the bed, dropping me on the comforter. I squealed when I cloud of dust and pollen rose around me.
“That’s what I thought.” I coughed and yanked the comforter off the bed, tossing it on the floor. Leo chuckled as he crawled on to the bed, leading me down on the pillow.
Before kissing me, he took a deep breath. Sniffing. Such a cat. “This isn’t so bad. You can go shopping tomorrow. But tonight, I have other plans.”
I propped myself up on my elbow. “Oh yeah? What are they?”
“They start like this.” He took my face in his hands, his warm breath tickling my lips before he touched me. I parted them and he ran his tongue along the roof of my mouth. My body turned to jelly with the motion.
Leo knew it, and he chuckled against my lips. “I was thinking as we signed the lease,” he said. I did not want to talk about leases right now. “This is going to be the closest to normal we’ve ever been. We’re near town, you can go in whenever you want. We can get you a car, and you can hang out with Chloe and Ari, and train like you used to...”
He couldn’t continue because I put my finger over his mouth. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”
I was afraid to open my eyes, because I had no idea how he’d react. When I did, his mouth was open, but he was smiling. If I hadn’t been sure, his glittering eyes said everything he couldn’t yet. I chuckled nervously and bit my lip. “How?” he finally asked.
My next laugh came way more easily. “Because we’ve been screwing like jackrabbits and we haven’t been using condoms.”
Leo pressed his lips together, bowing his head in amusement. His hair tickled my neck before he looked back up at me. “I know how it works. But I didn’t think you were in heat anymore.”
“Neither did I. Does stay fertile until March, but not as much as we are in the fall. My mom had Delilah in the summer, so it happens.”
Leo rolled off me and sat cross-legged on the bed. He ran his hand through his hair, and that feeling I’d been dreading overwhelmed me. “What’s wrong?” I could barely form the words, not sure I wanted the answer. We had never talked about this the way we should have. In the back of my mind, I didn’t think it was possible. And now we had a lot to figure out.
“Absolutely nothing.” Leo laughed with one of those abrupt chuckles that someone lets out when they’re stunned. He pulled me into his lap. “I figured we were going to be the cool aunt and uncle that got everyone else’s kids hopped up on sugar and then laughed hysterically when we dropped them off at home. I didn’t think...” He took a deep breath, shaking his head with a smile.
“It’s okay if you say it’s scary.” My voice shook. “I’m terrified. I’ve looked this up everywhere. There’s nothing to tell us what’s going to happen. And when everyone realizes I’m pregnant...”
Now it was his turn to hush me. “They’re going be insanely happy for us, like they should be.” His finger only left my lips so he could kiss me. “And if they’re not, that’s their problem. Not ours.”