She figured she should tell him what Ava had told her and just mention there was a possibility the guy might be his father. But she really wanted to speak to him in person about it.

  Just then Eric called her, surprising her. “Hey, sis, the guys asked if I’d stay for lunch. Is it all right with you?”

  “Oh, yeah, for sure.” She was so glad he was enjoying his time being with them. “I’m just going to have a tuna fish sandwich, nothing special.”

  “We’re grilling hamburgers. Kolby’s even showing me how to do it. Do you want to join us?” Eric sounded worried that she wasn’t having the good stuff with them.

  She was glad Kolby was teaching her brother to grill. She didn’t know how to do it. “Thanks, but I’m really in the zone for writing right now, so once I grab my tuna fish sandwich, I’m heading back to the office to work on the story some more. See you for dinner,” she said to Eric.

  “Oh, and after lunch, I’m spending the afternoon painting at the library.”

  “Oh, right.” She’d forgotten he’d told her that.

  “Yeah, I can’t wait. Dottie said I couldn’t go over any earlier because of some of the construction work they were doing, so that’s why I went to the ranch instead to work. Hal said before he shows up to provide the security watch in the basement, he’s having dinner with Tracey and the kids and then he’ll be over.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you then.”

  “Yeah, see you.” Eric sounded so happy, she was glad for him.

  The other news would have to wait until later. She hoped he wouldn’t be upset with her for not telling him sooner. She called Larry Pierce next, since he was the resident lawyer in Yuma Town. Ted’s mate, Stella, worked for him as his law clerk and Rosalie wanted advice about this whole business.

  Once she talked to Stella, and then Larry, Rosalie learned what she had always known—without Eric’s father’s consent, she couldn’t legally adopt him.

  “But,” Larry assured her, “we’ll do whatever we can to help you keep him here.”

  She thanked him, hoping he really could do something for them with regard to keeping her brother at home with her, if his dad showed up and wanted to remove him from here.

  That evening, Kolby arrived at the mansion for dinner and gave Rosalie a hug and kiss. Right away, he noticed the Turkish rugs had been removed.

  “Stryker and Ricky came by to roll them up and take them away to be cleaned,” Rosalie said, the kittens playing chase all over the wooden floor for now.

  “Oh, good.”

  Just then, Eric called Rosalie and told her he was still painting at the library, but Dottie and her mate, Jack, were having him come to dinner and then Jack was bringing him home. “I’ll be working on the library for the next couple of days also. I won’t be working at the ranch until I get it done.”

  “Okay, that sounds good. I’ll just have dinner with Kolby and let him know that you are not going to work at the ranch until you finish the painting projects at the library. I know you need to get this done.” She winked at Kolby. Maybe they could have a moment together before Eric arrived home.

  “Hey,” Kolby said to her as she ended the call with her brother, “I’m all for holding off on dinner for a little bit if you want to do something else first.”

  She picked up the kittens, left them in their room, and then grabbed Kolby’s hand and headed for the stairs. “For sure.”

  “Did you tell Eric about the possibility his father is coming to see him?”

  “No, not yet. I wanted to speak to him in person instead. The guy who’s been breaking into the mansion might not be his father either. I don’t want to upset him needlessly when he’s enjoying painting.”

  That night, Hal arrived to serve on guard duty at the same time Jack dropped Eric off. Jack said to Hal, “You know any of us at the CSF can take a shift to watch the mansion at night, if you need us to spell you.” Jack worked as one of the special agents with the Cougar Special Forces Division, CSFD, though it was also known as CSF.”

  “Yeah, Dan talked to Leyton this morning about it already. Just in case we’re tied up with sheriff business and some of you are free to serve on guard duty,” Hal said.

  “Leyton?” Rosalie asked, not remembering who that was.

  “He runs the CSF branch here in Yuma Town and he’s Deputy Sheriff Stryker’s twin brother,” Jack said.

  Rosalie nodded. “Ah, okay.” It would take time for her to learn who was who in Yuma Town.

  “I’m beat what with ranching and painting at the library, not to mention getting up so early. I’ll be painting on the mural all day tomorrow and then my birthday party is tomorrow night, so I’m going to go to bed,” Eric said.

  That was a first! “I need to talk to you first,” Rosalie said.

  “Well, I’ll get out of your hair,” Jack said. “I need to help put the kids to bed back home.”

  Eric thanked Jack for bringing him home and everyone said good night to Jack.

  Kolby waited for Rosalie to say she wanted him to stay or not when she talked to Eric. She did and took Kolby’s hand to lead him into the living room.

  “I’m going to head down to the basement,” Hal said, then he left them alone.

  “What’s going on?” Eric asked, taking a seat on one of the sofas, looking too tired to be worried about anything.

  Rosalie and Kolby took a seat on the other sofa. She explained what Ava had said to her about the man coming to see Eric. “Nina hadn’t had any visions pertaining to the intruder.”

  “But it could be someone else. Not my dad,” Eric said.

  “Yeah. I mean, we have no idea who it could be still,” Rosalie said.

  “But you think he’s the most likely suspect,” Eric ran his hands through his hair. “Okay.”

  Rosalie chewed on her bottom lip.

  Eric smiled, got up from the sofa, and hugged her. “You know what Mom always said. You borrow trouble. If it is my dad, we’ll see what he has to say. If it isn’t, then the sheriff can lock him up for breaking and entering.”

  “Okay.” But Eric’s words didn’t settle Rosalie’s anxiety about it.

  Kolby ran his hand over Rosalie’s back. “Eric’s right. With all the getting up to check on things in the middle of the night and making sure Ricky was okay, I’m ready to go back to bed too, if you are,” Kolby said to Rosalie.

  Rosalie smiled. “That’s for sure. I kept meaning to take a nap sometime during the day, but when I’m writing, I just get wrapped up in the story.”

  Eric went to the cat room and carried the kittens to the stairs, then they all headed up them. Eric was ahead of them, but turned, frowned, and said, “You did remember to get me a birthday cake, didn’t you?”

  “I sure did. You’ll love it, and all the party favors came in. I was going to help you put them together in the canvas sacks, but if you don’t have time because you’re painting the murals at the library tomorrow, I can do it myself,” Rosalie said.

  “No, I want to help you. So what kind of a cake did you get?”

  “Chocolate, but the rest of it is a surprise.”

  Eric smiled. “Hmm, good. Chocolate is my favorite. What about ice cream? I love chocolate mint chip and butter pecan but get vanilla too in case someone doesn’t like the other flavors.”

  “We’ll make sure we have it,” Rosalie said, figuring whoever brought the cake could pick up the ice cream and she’d pay him or her for it.

  Then they all wished each other a good night and Eric went up the tower stairs to his bedroom and locked the door.

  When Kolby and Rosalie entered her bedroom and shut the door, Kolby said, “Eric took the news that his dad might be showing up to see him well.”

  “I hope he wasn’t trying to be all brave for you,” Rosalie said. “He really admires you and I don’t want him to hide how he feels. He needs to talk about it.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him right now?”

  She sighed. “Sure. Thanks, Kolby. I really think the notion has hit him harder than he’s letting on.” Rosalie gave Kolby a hug, so appreciating him for taking on the role of a big brother to Eric.

  “No problem. Sometimes a guy just needs another guy to talk to.”

  13

  Wanting to make sure that Eric wasn’t upset that the intruder might be his dad, Kolby went up to the tower bedroom and knocked on the door. “Hey, it’s me. Listen, if you want to talk about anything—”

  The door unlocked and Eric opened it. His eyes were red with tears.

  Kolby gave him a hug. “This man might not be your dad.”

  “I know. And I know that I said that to Rosalie about not borrowing trouble because she always does that. But damn, if it is him—what if he wants me to live with him in Alaska?”

  Kolby worried that Eric might not have a choice. “He might not even want that. He might have finally learned your mother and stepfather died and he decided it was time to check on you.”

  “Nearly sixteen years too late.”

  “Yeah, I totally agree. We’ll work it out somehow.”

  Eric’s eyes rounded. “What if he makes me go with him? What if I don’t have a choice?”

  “You have a whole town of shifters here for you. We have your back.”

  “Okay.” Eric didn’t sound reassured that they could protect him.

  Truly, if this was Eric’s biological dad and he came for him and he brought a force of his own snow leopard shifter friends with him, they might not have any say in it.

  “If you don’t feel up to painting on the mural tomorrow—” Kolby knew Dottie would understand.

  “No way. I promised, and it really would drive me crazy if I was waiting around the house all day to see if the dude showed up.”

  “All right, but if you change your mind, Dottie will understand.”

  “No. She’s eager to see what the last finished mural looks like. Besides, we have no idea when he’s going to show up. It could be anytime, tomorrow, next week, tonight even. I’m not redoing my schedule because of him. I still say it might not even be him. Would he even know my birthday?” Eric scoffed. “He left before I was born. I’m all right, really. I appreciate you talking to me though. I was feeling a little…uhm, down.”

  “It’s to be expected when you hadn’t heard from him in all these years. Well, good night. Come see us if you need to.”

  “Thanks.” Then Eric locked his door on Kolby’s departure, and Kolby couldn’t help but feel bad about Eric and his situation.

  Eric had finally found a home here, friends, a place to work, homeschooling activities, people to teach him how to drive, and a whole cat shifter community to be with.

  When Kolby returned to Rosalie’s room, she was waiting for him to rejoin her, the light on still. “How was he?”

  “I’m glad I talked with him. I think he’s worried, feeling upset. I think he felt a little better after I talked with him.”

  She snuggled with Kolby. “He’s loving it here so much.”

  “I know. Truly, we’ll do everything in our power to keep him here.”

  He was so glad she and Eric had moved into the mansion. But he worried that if Eric’s father did turn up to take him to Alaska with him, Rosalie would go too. Then what? Kolby didn’t want to leave his life behind either, his friends, his family. Especially when he had been taking care of his own brother for years, so he knew what that was like.

  Losing Rosalie wasn’t an option either. Hell, here he was worried about how Eric was feeling—though he was just a kid and he had fewer options to him—but now Kolby was just as anxious about everything.

  “Go to sleep,” Rosalie said, running her hand over his furrowed brow. “Everything will work out eventually.”

  Only if Rosalie and Eric stayed here. Anything else would be a total nightmare.

  Early the next morning, everyone was awake. Rosalie hadn’t gotten enough sleep and Kolby had tossed and turned all night too. She had worried about the situation with Eric and how he was feeling. She felt she had two options—if the stranger was Eric’s father and he wanted to take him to Alaska—she could go with them and write her books up there, giving up her newfound friends here, but most of all, Kolby, whom she really loved. She couldn’t expect him to leave his family and friends to join her in Alaska either. Or she could stay here and feel as though she had abandoned her brother to a virtual stranger. His biological father, sure, but one he didn’t know at all.

  She hurried to get dressed, ready for Mrs. Fitz to bring them pastries, and send Jack and Eric on their way to the library, and Kolby to the ranch. Then she had to decorate for the birthday party. She planned to work on transforming the mansion and greenhouse into a Halloween party place after Eric’s birthday party tonight. Worrying about what might not be—was a waste of time.

  Kolby made Eric special chocolate waffles topped with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and strawberries this morning when Mrs. Fitz arrived with the pastries. Rosalie had forgotten to tell Kolby that Mrs. Fitz was bringing them treats!

  “Would you like to come in and join us?” Rosalie asked Mrs. Fitz.

  “Thanks, but I have to get back to the shop. On another subject, I’ve got some friends in high places who are searching for Eric’s father to learn what we can about him. It always helps to know what we’re up against.”

  Kolby joined Rosalie at the front door. “Mrs. Fitz is retired CIA.”

  “Oh, wow, how exciting.” Maybe Mrs. Fitz could get somewhere with some inquiries, Rosalie was thinking.

  “It was. I still have friends there, and well, just in case we need any ammunition, so to speak, we’ll learn whatever we can about him.”

  Rosalie gave her a hug, startling Mrs. Fitz, but she smiled and hugged her back.

  “We’re all in this together,” Mrs. Fitz said.

  “Thank you. We so appreciate it. And thanks for the great pastries.”

  “You’re welcome. We’ll talk later.”

  Then Rosalie felt a little more lighthearted and she and Kolby returned to the dining room with the pastries.

  “Mate the guy already,” Eric said to Rosalie, surprising her. “Hey, anyone who can make this kind of a breakfast when we’re all half asleep is worth hanging on to.”

  She laughed. “Do you want to be my forever mate?” she asked Kolby.

  His face brightened in a sunshiny smile. “Hell, yeah. I thought you’d never ask.”

  She laughed again, figuring he was just playing along.

  “The news will be out this morning that we have another mated cougar couple in Yuma Town,” Hal said, then took another bite of his chocolate waffle.

  Even though Kolby had made the waffles special for Eric’s birthday treat, everyone had wanted them too. But as an extra treat, they enjoyed Mrs. Fitz’s pastries also. When they were finished eating, Rosalie said, “You guys go. Get to work. I’ve got the dishes.”

  Kolby glanced at Rosalie, still smiling, waiting for her to confirm she had meant it. She just smiled, her cheeks heating a bit.

  “Hell, are you serious?” Kolby asked Rosalie.

  “Unless you don’t want to.” She figured that they needed to decide on this one way or another. It didn’t mean it would be any easier to make a decision concerning what to do about the situation with Eric, should his father want to take him to Alaska, but she wanted Kolby to be her mate in any case.

  They could wait months, years, but she knew it wasn’t going to change the way she felt about him. She couldn’t have met a kinder, more generous cougar than him. Not to mention he was hot, cooked delicious meals, was a great helper, and a wonderful lover!

  “No way am I waiting to be asked twice. I had planned on asking you after Eric’s birthday party.”

  “Do you want to wait?”

  He laughed. “No way!”

  Hal slapped Kolby on the back. “Wait until all the cubs arrive.”

  “You gotta give Kolby the day off because it could be a life-or-death matter otherwise,” Eric said. “You know, because he’ll be so busy thinking about getting back to my sister tonight that he won’t be doing his job right at the ranch.”

  Everyone laughed. Rosalie couldn’t believe her brother would tell Kolby’s boss to give Kolby time off to mate her.

  “You can have the rest of the week off. You still have this business going on with the intruder, who might be Eric’s father, and I suspect Rosalie wants to start getting the mansion ready for the Halloween party. We’ll all help with it, but you can help her with some of it this week when you’re not busy with other—important stuff,” Hal said.

  Kolby smiled at Rosalie and pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks, Boss.”

  “Think nothing of it. If I didn’t give you the time off, Tracey wouldn’t let me hear the end of it. And Ted? Same thing.”

  “Thanks,” Kolby said again.

  “Okay, well, you’d better hop to it before Eric’s home again. We’ll talk again soon,” Hal said.

  Eric gave Kolby a hug on the way out the door. “Welcome to the family.” She hugged Eric goodbye, wishing him a happy birthday.

  Then Hal and Eric headed out to his truck. Rosalie and Kolby waved goodbye and when they drove off, Kolby shouted, “Yes!”

  Rosalie smiled, and then she and Kolby returned to the dining room where she picked up the kittens that were chasing each other all over, and they took them to their cat room. Then Rosalie grabbed Kolby’s hand—forget about doing the dishes right this minute—and led him up the stairs to her bedroom. Their bedroom. She realized he would be part owner of the mansion also. They needed to get married. They needed to go on a honeymoon too. She’d want Eric to stay with someone during that time. Now that he had several new friends, she was sure someone would take him in. Even Hal or Ted would probably do it. Heck, he could stay in the bunkhouse with the other ranch hands. He’d probably get a kick out of it.