Rosalie heard her brother’s door close and lock. When she and Kolby reached her room, they shifted, and he closed the door, then they got into bed.

  She let out her breath on a heavy sigh. “What do you think?”

  “If you or Eric didn’t do it, or either one of you hadn’t forgotten you had, I’d say that we’ve had an intruder visit again. Unless Eric was afraid to admit he had left the basement doors open.”

  Rosalie shook her head. “Since this is a really serious issue, I don’t believe he wouldn’t admit to having done that. What about the security cameras?” Rosalie wondered if when they were installed, they’d catch the person doing this.

  “They’re being installed tomorrow. We’ll catch whoever it is on camera at the very least if he comes again.”

  “Okay. I wonder if he came into the house. I mean, he wouldn’t have come into the basement and unlocked the basement door to the house and not come inside, I don’t believe.” Which gave her goosebumps just thinking about it.

  “I agree. I suspect he, or she, comes when you’ve gone to sleep though, not during the day.”

  “But why?”

  “To get out of the cold, to sleep. There’s an old mattress on a bedframe down there, and he might be sleeping there during the night. The mansion has been abandoned for so long, I wouldn’t be surprised if he thinks he can live here if he wants, if he’s been here for a while. We’ll just have to catch him at it and learn what the deal is. He can’t stay here like this. We don’t have any idea who he is or how dangerous he could be. The fact we changed out all the locks and he got in anyway means he must be using lockpicks, and not one of the original keys to the house.”

  “Or it’s a ghost.” She didn’t believe in them, but what if?

  Kolby chuckled, making her feel better about it. “I believe it’s someone very real.”

  At least if it was someone real, they could catch him at it. But that was a scary idea too.

  “I’ll talk to Dan about having a security detail in the basement at night. During the day too, if it appears to be necessary.”

  “Okay, I think that’s a good idea for at night at least, until we know what we’re dealing with.”

  He kissed her lips. “Yeah.”

  Then she began to kiss him too. And they were back to making love. So something good had come of them having to get up in the middle of the night for the disturbance.

  Later that night, their sleep was disturbed again, only this time when they shifted and investigated the basement, the basement door was still locked, both upstairs and downstairs. She was glad for that. They also checked over the whole house and didn’t find anything.

  She figured it was just a creaky place and she’d have to get used to it. Except she knew the earlier sound had to have been from the intruder because of both doors being left open. Which meant? He had probably left in a hurry.

  The next morning the rain had stopped, and Kolby was in a rush to get a shower and head to the ranch to work. He glanced back at Rosalie lying on the mattress, the sheets draped over her body, making her look like a siren. Her eyes were sparkling in the lamplight, her lips curved up as she watched him. He wanted to go right back to bed and make love to her again. Twice wasn’t enough. But he had to get to work.

  She sighed. “I’ll peel myself out of bed and make you breakfast.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Yeah, I do. You need a hearty breakfast before you go to work.” She slipped out from under the covers, beautifully naked, and then pulled on her pajamas, a pair of slippers, and a robe.

  He came over and kissed her again. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “All right. See you soon.”

  He went into the shower and took a quick one, the pipes groaning and creaking a bit.

  When he dressed and headed down the hallway, he figured Eric was still sound asleep. Kolby descended the stairs and joined Rosalie in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her, and kissing her neck.

  “Hmm, too bad you have to go to work. Eric is still sound asleep.”

  Kolby chuckled. “I would like nothing better than to return to bed with you.”

  “Oh, I meant for you to help me with cleaning.”

  He laughed. “Sure you did.”

  She smiled. “You’re—ack, need to watch my cooking.” She quickly served up the hash browns, while he took care of the sausages. “Toast is coming right up.”

  “I’ve got the eggs.”

  Then she poured them both some coffee and added milk and sugar to hers.

  “Same for me,” he said. “What about Eric?”

  “He grabs something when he finally gets up. Sometimes that’s at ten. Sometimes he just has lunch with me by the time he wakes and showers.”

  “Hmm.” Kolby forked a sausage. “If he wants to work on the ranch, he’ll have to get up as early as the rest of us.”

  She smiled. “While you’re staying here with us, you can roust him out of bed and take him with you.”

  Kolby laughed. “I bet that’s not easy.”

  “Nope, but he might do it for you. He really wants to impress you.”

  “I’ve noticed. He’s a good kid.” Then they finished their breakfast and Kolby kissed her goodbye, glad she said he was staying with them for longer. “I’ll be back for dinner. Leftover spaghetti works for me.”

  “Oh, we’ll have that for lunch. I’ll fix us salmon and mixed vegetables tonight, if that works for you.”

  “Yep, it sure does.”

  “We’ll have all new appliances installed by the time you get here.”

  “I can’t wait to see them.” It would really spruce up the kitchen, though he was thinking they needed to update it further: get rid of the old backsplash, create an island with storage underneath, redo the floral wallpaper, and install granite counters, if that worked for Rosalie.

  “Me either.”

  Then he walked out to his Jeep, waved goodbye, and headed out to the main road. One of these days, he needed to get a new Jeep. But he was thinking he might just overhaul this one and give it to Eric for his birthday. It would be great for Eric to use to learn to drive, if he and Rosalie were agreeable. Until Kolby got a replacement for his Jeep, he’d just use one of the ranch pickups to get around.

  He finally drove onto the ranch, parked, and started checking to see if everyone was up and working. All the ranch hands were, to his surprise. He was glad for it, to know that he could be away, and the jobs were still getting done.

  “Any more spooks?” Ted asked, joining him as Kolby checked on the foal.

  “Yeah. I had hoped we all had scared whatever it was away, but both the doors to the basement that led to the house and to the outside were wide open in the middle of the night,” Kolby said.

  “That’s not good, and no one left them open by accident, I take it.”

  “Neither Rosalie nor Eric remembered doing so.”

  “Are you going to stay there a while longer? At night, I mean,” Ted asked.

  “Yeah, if it’s not a problem.”

  “Nope. You can see that everything is getting done just like it should be.”

  Kolby suspected Ted had made sure of it in his absence. Kolby had taken on more of the role because Ted was known to stay in bed a little while longer with Stella now that he was mated. After spending the night with Rosalie, Kolby knew just how Ted felt. Though tonight, Kolby planned to go to bed a little earlier. He hoped Rosalie would want to come with him. After making love to her twice in the night and then checking out the mansion a couple of times in his cougar coat, he felt he needed a nap. But perks on the ranch didn’t mean they got naptime for cowboys.

  “You look like you didn’t get enough sleep last night,” Ted said.

  Kolby smiled at him.

  “I thought maybe you had problems last night,” Ted continued.

  “Rosalie and I did prowl around the house twice last night in our cougar coats, when we thought we heard strange noises. The second time we heard something, there wasn’t anything going on.” Kolby suspected Ted wanted to know if he stayed with Rosalie the night and if that’s why he didn’t get enough sleep, but he didn’t kiss and tell. “I called Dan on the way over here to see about him posting a deputy overnight for a few nights to catch whoever it is.”

  “That doesn’t sound good about the doors being wide open. I’m glad the sheriff’s department will start watching over the situation.”

  Then they heard Ricky’s deputy sheriff’s SUV pull up and Kolby wondered what his brother was doing here. Ted would have told Kolby right away if they’d called the sheriff’s department because they’d had some trouble this morning.

  “Hey, Ricky,” Ted said to him as he got out of his vehicle.

  Kolby swore his little brother had a swagger when he wore his uniform. Ricky swore Kolby did when he was all decked out in his Stetson and the rest of his cowboy gear. “Morning, Ricky.”

  “I heard you stayed at the mansion last night,” Ricky said, shutting his door.

  “Yeah.”

  “I heard you had issues at the mansion again,” Ricky said.

  “Yeah, but whoever it was wasn’t there when we checked,” Kolby said.

  “You should have called me. Dan told me about it, and I’ll be pulling duty there tonight. I want to catch this guy.”

  “Oh, great. You’ll have dinner with us then?” Kolby asked.

  “Nah, I’ll have dinner with Mandy and the little ones first and then I’ll be right over. At eight months old, Cameron and Skye are a lot to handle at mealtimes.”

  “Sure, that works. Does Rosalie know you’ll be staying with us?”

  “Yeah, Dan told her already.”

  “Okay, that’ll be perfect.” Kolby was thinking he needed to set up things for Ricky so he’d be more comfortable in the basement for the night. Sure, Ricky would be awake, watching for any sign of anyone coming into the place, but he still could be comfortable while he was pulling security detail.

  “I was just patrolling in this area, so I wanted to tell you I’d be over, but Chase is dropping me off at the mansion tonight. We don’t want a deputy sheriff’s vehicle parked out in front of the mansion.”

  “Good thinking. Okay, we’ll see you tonight, brother.”

  “See you.” Then Ricky got back in his car and drove off the ranch.

  Kolby called Rosalie. “Hey, my brother, Ricky, who is a deputy sheriff, just dropped by and said he is staying in your basement tonight. He’ll be having dinner with his mate. After that, Chase will drop him off at your place. I figure I’ll set things up down there so he’s more comfortable for the night. Well, for all the deputies who pull duty in the basement over the next few nights.”

  “Eric and I are on it. We’re setting up a small fridge down there that Eric just bought to keep some cold drinks in his art studio. We’ve cleaned up the basement bathroom. We carried a chair down there and put fresh bedding on the mattress. I know Ricky won’t be sleeping, but he can lie down if he needs to stretch out. At least the basement isn’t moldy.”

  “Okay, I was going to help you with that. If there’s anything else you need assistance with, just let me know.” He didn’t think the two of them should be lifting small fridges and carrying them down the stairs.

  “Thanks. We’ll see you later. Oh, and the guys have arrived to put the appliances in! I can’t wait to see how it all looks or works.”

  “Send me photos when they’re done.”

  “I’ll do that. Some others are setting up motion-activated lights outside and security cameras also.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “I’ll see you tonight,” Rosalie said.

  “See you.” Then Kolby joined Ted and the other men to learn what else needed to be done this morning at the ranch.

  Hal soon joined them, and Kolby said, “What do you think about putting in a gravel road to the fence that runs past the mansion, and put in a cattleguard and walking path next to it so we can run as cougars or walk there?”

  Hal smiled. “I was just talking to Tracey about that this morning.”

  “We figure we can get to Rosalie and Eric’s place faster and he can drive on the road between our places without any supervision after he’s had a number of driving lessons and we’re sure he’ll be good to drive there,” Kolby said.

  “Yeah, you don’t have to convince me or Tracey. Oh, and I’ll be staying tomorrow night at the mansion.”

  “Okay, we’re fixing it up so you’ll be more comfortable staying in the basement.”

  “We appreciate it,” Hal said. “We’re having graders come out this morning to work on the road. We have that old wagon trail out there, so we’ll be using that one for the road.”

  “That sounds great.” Kolby was glad he didn’t have to convince them to do it. But then he wondered if they were doing it because they figured Kolby was going to end up mating Rosalie and he could reach the ranch more quickly. He smiled. He’d thought of that too.

  Then he got to work. He loved working here and enjoyed being with the other cougars at the ranch, but he couldn’t wait to see Rosalie again tonight. She was an obsession he wanted to feed.

  11

  That night after seeing all the new kitchen appliances, then checking out the security cameras and motion detectors, Eric, Rosalie, and Kolby made salmon, potatoes, and spinach for dinner. After they ate, Eric gratefully loaded the dirty dishes in the new dishwasher. When Ricky showed up to begin his basement watch, Kolby introduced Ricky to Rosalie while Eric went to play with the kittens in the living room.

  Kolby knew Rosalie had seen Ricky before, but they had been cougars at the time, and Kolby hadn’t been able to introduce her to him back then. Ricky gave Rosalie a hug. “I’ll try and catch whoever the intruder is.”

  Rosalie hoped he would, but that he wouldn’t get hurt in the process. “At least we have security cameras now, and Dan had some men install motion detectors too.”

  “All that should help. If not to catch him, maybe to deter him. Hal will be here tomorrow night,” Ricky assured them, “if we don’t get him tonight.”

  “I’ll visit with you for a while,” Kolby said to his brother.

  She thought that was nice of him.

  “You don’t have to. I’m just doing my job.” Ricky glanced at Rosalie as if he knew Kolby would rather be with her.

  “I’ll be up in a while to join you,” Kolby said to Rosalie.

  “I’ll keep her company,” Eric said, as if she needed anyone’s company.

  She wanted to laugh. She would just write on her story for a while.

  When the brothers went down into the basement, she said to Eric, “I’ll just write unless you want to watch something on TV with me.”

  “Yeah, I’ll see a movie with you.”

  “Okay, sure.” Eric normally didn’t, so she was surprised he’d want to watch something with her for a second night in a row.

  “Do you think Ricky will get whoever it is?” Eric asked and to her surprise he brought out the business cards he’d ordered. “I almost forgot to show them to you.”

  “Oh, they’re beautiful,” Rosalie said, looking at the fantasy fae, elf, and wolf scene he had painted in an enchanted forest.

  “Thanks.”

  “As to your question if Ricky will get whoever it is, I don’t know. If the intruder sees the security cameras or had watched as they were being set up, or even saw Chase dropping off Ricky in the deputy sheriff’s vehicle, he or she may stay away.”

  “Oh.” Eric stretched out on the sofa he’d used last night, the kittens playing in a box nearby. “That’s not good.”

  “Well, if he stays away, that’s okay, but if he doesn’t, then no.” She curled up on the other sofa and they selected a movie to watch. A nice paranormal thriller. Though she wished she was watching it while she was snuggled up with Kolby.

  Kolby and Ricky sat down on the mattress in the basement, not saying anything at first, listening to the TV on upstairs. It sounded like a thriller. Kolby smiled, wishing he was with Rosalie watching it. But he’d be with her tonight at least.

  “So, how are you getting along with Rosalie?” Ricky asked.

  Kolby knew that’s what his brother had wanted to ask him at Hal’s ranch, but maybe not in front of Ted. “Good.”

  Ricky smiled. “I was worried that you would never find a she-cat for yourself.”

  “Yeah. I’d had that thought too.” Not that Rosalie and Kolby had decided to mate or anything.

  “So what do you think’s going on here?” Ricky asked.

  “I think it has to be a shifter. I might be wrong, but I don’t think it would be a cougar. I’m sure he, if it’s a he, would make himself known.”

  “So a wolf or a bear then.”

  “Or a caracal. We’ve had that family here too.”

  “Ahh, I’d forgotten about them,” Ricky said.

  “Yeah, though I can’t imagine the caracal family sneaking into the place and not letting us know it’s just them,” Kolby said.

  “I agree.” Ricky turned to Kolby and smiled. “Hey, enough chitchat with me. Go join Rosalie. She’d make a great sister-in-law.”

  Kolby smiled. “Okay, let us know if anything happens in the basement. I’ll be down here in a heartbeat.”

  “All right. Enjoy your night.”

  “Stay safe.” Kolby was used to protecting his younger brother, so it was hard to give up that role now that he was full grown, married even, and a deputy sheriff.

  “I will,” Ricky said.

  Then Kolby headed upstairs to join Rosalie and Eric in watching the movie, the kittens curled up on his lap. Kolby sat on the sofa and pulled Rosalie into his arms. Perfect. He was doing the job he wanted to do, taking care of Rosalie, and Eric, of course.

  After the movie, they headed to their beds and Kolby texted his brother. “We’re headed to bed, Ricky. If anything happens, get hold of me.”

  “Will do.”

  Kolby just hoped he would if he got into any trouble. They said good night to Eric and continued down the hallway to Rosalie’s bedroom.