Rachel's Totem (4 page)

Gerald watched Rachel go with amusement, his lips quirked in an aggravating smirk.

“Not one word.” Burke stormed through the door, knocking Gerald into the wall as he passed, heading for the bathroom to finally clean up. “Not one fucking word.”

Rachel was so mad she wanted to cry. Frustrated anger that had no outlet, not to mention the absurd hurt, lingered in her battered heart. When would she learn? Jesse, apparently, hadn’t been enough of a fiasco to teach her abject lessons about the male of the species. Men weren’t loyal, they weren’t honest, and they certainly weren’t worth a single tear.

Wiping her cheeks with a rough jerk, she stalked outside to the only car in the lot and waited. Why couldn’t she have seen this earlier? Men like Burke Chastell had one thing on their minds and one thing only: screwing over women to get whatever they wanted.

25

Hadn’t she caught him verbally abusing that poor waitress this morning? And the entire diner had overheard Rachel state her name as Rachel Penny, not to mention her connection to Charlotte. Why then hadn’t he mentioned he wanted her land? That he and her aunt were neighbors, at least?

No. It was so much easier, and probably more fun, to fuck with Rachel’s body and mind. The dishonesty of it all made her want to puke. It was so…so Jesse all over again.

And then to stir her to horny madness in Gerald’s office? What was wrong with him?

Shit. What was wrong with her?

Because as much as she’d hated him at that moment, her body had been readying for his penetration. Her clit ached at his nearness, moisture pooling between her thighs as if he’d had his large hand rubbing her, prepping her for his thick, juicy cock. She’d felt an almost animal hunger and a hazy sense of desire, both foreign feelings that scared her and aroused her all over again.

She groaned, clenching the hair by her temples. She swore she could smell him, even here. That caramel, sticky-sweet scent drenched in sex that made her want to spread her thighs and beg for him. Beg? The only dumbass who should be begging is the jerk in that office. Creaming for him. Ha.

Lie, lie, lie, her inner self urged her. At least preserve your self-respect.

Inhaling deeply, Rachel strove to work her temper under control. She refused to surrender to her body’s foolish demands. Head over heart, mind over matter, and reason over orgasm should have been her steadfast mantra. Instead, she battled her desires as she waited for Burke the Jerk and Gerald to join her. But surprisingly, after just a few minutes, her raging need settled as if it had never been, making her more confused than ever.

When Gerald arrived a few moments later, he smiled and opened the passenger door of his Range Rover, waiting for her to enter. It felt strange to have a man behave like such a gentleman after Burke’s aggressiveness and her ex-husband’s perfidy.

Gerald, however, behaved with a gentle assertiveness she found comforting. He drove slowly through the town, commenting here and there on Cougar Falls’ history. And 26

she breathed easily, relaxed around him. Though attractive and with that same, earthy scent all the men around this town seemed to possess, he didn’t make her crazed with lust. She had no urges to strip him naked or nuzzle his neck to inhale his scent. Thank God.

“And there’s Millie’s ice cream parlor.” Gerald pointed her toward an attractive little shop. “The woman’s nearing seventy-four and still opens the shop every morning and closes it every evening. That’s what I love about this place. The sense of pride in ownership and the family traditions.”

Rachel nodded, taken with the charming town. The brick-and-log buildings showed their age and their character, all of them carefully preserved and well tended. She didn’t see a speck of litter anywhere, just clusters of bright multicolored flowers in window boxes and barrels. As they neared the center of town, she saw groups of smiling and laughing couples with children dancing near what appeared to be an open park. In the park’s center stood a large white gazebo peopled with musicians and surrounded by food booths.

“The Totem Festival’s today. That’s what has all those people out here so early on a Saturday.”

“Totem Festival?”

Gerald smiled and kept his eyes on the paved road that gradually turned into a dirt road a mile outside of town. “A long time ago this used to be Salish land, though a lot of the history books show the Salish Indians farther west, thanks to our unscrupulous Uncle Sam.” He grimaced and continued. “Well, a few Salish ran into a mysterious, small group of people inhabiting the region we now live in.”

Rachel listened, curious and caught by Gerald’s rhythmic words. She had a feeling the story was important, but couldn’t have said why. When he’d mentioned the Totem Festival, her entire body tensed on alert. Like everything else that had happened to her since stepping foot in Cougar Falls, this made no sense either.

Instead of dwelling on it, she said to hell with worry and latched onto his story. “So the root of this festival isn’t the Salish, but the people they ran into.”

27

“Right, the Shifters.” Gerald flashed her a smile and turned down another dirt road, taking them deeper into the mountains. “The Salish called them Ac-taw, which in the Shifters’ language meant animal souls. According to legend, the Ac-taw could transform into the beasts that dwelt within their souls.”

“What, like werewolves and cat people?” Funny, she’d heard the same tales from Aunt Charlotte growing up. But her aunt had never given the Shifters a name. She’d just laughed and teased Rachel with fanciful stories.

“I guess you could call them that. But the Indians believed more in a transmutation of souls into living form. Not so much monsters as people who could live as either animal or human, a beautiful combination of both spirits in one flesh.” Gerald’s words took on a dreamy tone, and Rachel had to force herself to recall he was telling a story and not some personal history.

“So where does this totem come in?”

“The Ac-taw supposedly worshipped a living stalk of wood that brought good health, long life and protection to those under its spell. And that living stalk of wood is the totem we celebrate on festival days.”

“Days?”

“Four times a year the town celebrates the Totem Festival. It’s fun, a way of ushering in the seasons. We have a carnival of sorts, nothing weird. The kids have a blast, and it’s an excuse for the town’s citizens to get together and have a big party.

“The totem’s a beautiful antique, a large timber maybe twenty feet high and three feet wide. Animal carvings painted in rich, vibrant color decorate the thing. You can almost believe the legends about the Ac-taw having imbued the wood with their power. It feels incredibly alive. Once you’ve seen it, you’ll understand what I mean.”

“Wow. I’d like to see this thing. A magical totem pole and Shifters, huh? Cougar Falls has an entertaining history, I’ll give you that.”

Gerald grinned. “As do our inhabitants. You’ve met a few this morning, I gather.”

Apparently, news traveled fast in a town this size. She wasn’t surprised. “Yeah. I walked into the Fox’s Henhouse ready for a big plate of pancakes only to hear Burke 28

Chastell growling at some woman to keep her hands off. God’s gift to women,” she muttered, realizing how much she’d liked Burke’s hands on her and wishing she didn’t.

“Well, don’t judge Burke too harshly concerning Sarah.” Gerald continued to maneuver through a cropping of woods, confusing Rachel with the many twists and turns onto expansive dirt roads that looked no better than well-worn trails. “Sarah Duncan is not what you’d call a one-man woman.”

“So it’s okay to treat her like crap because she likes men?” Gerald wasn’t looking so charming now.

“No, no.” He frowned at her before turning his attention back to the road. “Sarah’s a wonderful woman, though she’s not really selective about who she sleeps with. But that’s her business and no one else’s. My point is, she’s been all over Burke for years. No matter how many times, and nicely I might add, he’s said no, she just won’t leave him alone. And I don’t know if you noticed, but he doesn’t like to be touched.”

That she hadn’t noticed—at all. But maybe his reaction to Sarah had been justified, if what Gerald said was the truth. Which still didn’t excuse Burke from screwing around with her to get at Charlotte’s property.

“What about Burke? What’s his deal?” She clenched her jaw at Gerald’s knowing look. “I just want to know about my aunt’s neighbor, that’s all. She never mentioned him and I find that curious.”

“Did she tell you a lot about us, about the town I mean?”

“Not really.” The more Rachel thought about that, the more her aunt’s omission struck her. “She used to tell me stories about what you called Ac-taw, or Shifters.

Interesting fantasy, and it made our visits a lot of fun. I didn’t see her all that much, but we kept in touch through other means.”

Gerald nodded and pulled into a sudden grassy flatland surrounded by mountains and a stretch of valley. “She was a friendly woman. Charlotte never had a bad word to say about anyone, at least not to me. Now she liked things done her way, but she was extremely giving. She’d loan you the shoes off her feet if you needed them.” He cleared his throat and gave her a side glance. “Charlotte got on well with the Chastells, despite 29

their contrary natures. And they loved your aunt. Burke and his brothers were always helping her with one thing or another.”

“Really?” To ingratiate themselves with the old woman so she’d sell them her property?

Gerald chuckled. “Such suspicion in those pretty eyes. Really, Rachel, Charlotte loved those ‘lost boys,’ as she liked to call them. Yes, Burke and his brothers want the land back that once belonged to them, but they never pressured Charlotte to sell. She told me that Burke had asked once, and only once. She said no, and he accepted her decision.

He still put new shingles on her roof when the old ones wore down. And Grady and Dean still mow her lawn and help with odds and ends when she needs, ah, needed it.”

“Grady and Dean?”

“Burke’s brothers. The Chastells are three confirmed bachelors living on a large spread out here. Catamount Ranch isn’t that big by ranch standards, a few hundred acres at most. And much of their land is hilly, being so near the mountains. But it’s pure and clear. And it’s theirs.”

Like this place is now mine. Rachel rolled down her window as they pulled onto a long drive. Over a small hill a two-story, cream-colored house came into view. Warmth settled in her belly, the possibility of a new beginning taking root. Any unpleasant feeling vanished as she caught sight of her new home.

And then Burke arrived in his pick-up, kicking up dust, and shattered her peace.

30

Burke slammed the door to his truck and ignored Rachel, scanning the surrounding forest for the uninvited signs of life he’d sensed as soon as he’d stopped the truck and took a sniff. Someone was out there, but he couldn’t determine friend or foe. Too many other scents clouded the wind, though once again, Rachel’s wasn’t one of them. No womanly smell, no sexual need, nothing.

“Burke?”

“Why don’t you show Rachel the house, Gerald? I just remembered something I forgot to take care of the last time I was here.”

Gerald shot a sharp look at the woods directly beyond Burke and nodded, his nose twitching. “Good idea. Come on, Rachel. Let me show you the box Charlotte left for you.

It’s inside.”

Rachel glanced from Gerald to Burke and nodded. To Burke’s relief, she filed inside the house without a murmur of protest. His skin itching to make the change and investigate his source of unease, he walked quickly into the treeline a few hundred feet from the house and began shedding his clothing. In less than a minute, he’d stashed his clothes behind a massive boulder and shifted into his inner beast—a large mountain lion.

Breathing deep, he closed his eyes to focus, and headed west. A short distance from his starting point he saw an equally large catamount facing off against a trio of gray wolves. Didn’t those bastards ever travel anywhere solo?

“How long have they been here?” he sent his brother Grady.

“Too long.” Grady hissed, scratching at the ground in front of him. One of the wolves growled, but the bigger ones by his side held him back with a small sound. The wolves eyed both cats and slowly backed away, their eyes locked until a reasonable distance had been asserted. Then they turned tail and raced into the woods.

31

Grady made ready to follow when Burke planted himself firmly in his path. “No, not now. Rachel Penny, Charlotte’s niece, is with Gerald in the house.”

Eyes wide, Grady sniffed at Burke and smiled, dropping onto his belly with a grin.

“So that’s why I smell sex on you. You finally used the condom, eh?”

Burke swiped at his brother, swatting his flank with a sharp slap.

“What the hell was that for?” Grady glared and bared his teeth.

“Do I really need a reason? You’re a pain in the ass. How’s that?”

“Jerk.”

“Bastard.”

“Asshole.”

“Nice conversation. Mind if I join in?” Dean approached stealthily, his coat more cinnamon than his brothers’, who could have been twins in their beast form. His yellow eyes gleamed with humor. “So, Burke, you use that condom yet?”

Grady chuffed with mirth when Burke growled at his youngest brother.

“Not you, too. Look, Charlotte’s niece is at the house with Gerald, and I need to get back before I’m missed. Grady, take care of the security around here. I take it you two still haven’t found the totem?”

Dean twitched his ears in irritation. “Except for the wolves you two just chased off, there’s been nothing here since…Charlotte.” They all fell silent. “But the niece is finally here, hmm? What’s she like?”

“She’s a tough one, but I’m handling her.”

“Sure you are.” Grady’s eyes gleamed with amusement.

“Oh ho. So that’s the way of it. Was she any good?” Dean wanted to know.

Burke growled a warning before pouncing. He needed to get back to Rachel, but he’d about had it with his brothers’ insinuations and teasing. Time to remind them who was in charge.