Her brother raised a brow.

  “I didn’t tell him everything I could do with my abilities.”

  “Then what?”

  “That I can produce a ball of light.”

  Eric shook his head. “That’s only the tip of the iceberg.”

  She knew that! Which is why she hadn’t mentioned all the rest. She figured she’d ease Kolby into everything else as time went on.

  Then she and her brother went to their separate rooms, he had the kittens in his room, and she was glad that tonight they would feel safe and protected. She was relieved Eric hadn’t seemed to be upset with her that she had invited Kolby to stay with them until they could figure out if anything sinister was truly going on or not at their place.

  She didn’t want to mention to her brother that two of the deputies staying at the mansion tonight could see ghosts, but she definitely wanted to talk to them about it. Just in case they thought the sounds were of a paranormal nature. She didn’t want Eric spooked any more than he was already. No way did she want to show Kolby all her abilities at once either. She had to work him up to that. But then she remembered that Mrs. Fitz was supposed to bring pastry treats to them in the morning. She quickly texted her number and told her they were at the Haverton’s because of a break-in and would probably have breakfast with them.

  Mrs. Fitz texted back: I’ll bring them another day.

  Rosalie texted: You don’t have to.

  I want to.

  Okay, thanks!

  Rosalie put her phone on the bedside table, glad she’d remembered to tell her, or poor Mrs. Fitz would have arrived to an abandoned mansion!

  Kolby went to bed that night, finally, thinking about Rosalie and her ball of light. He suspected that wasn’t all she could do. Maybe it was, but it might have been that she was afraid to show him all that she could do and scare him off. He wasn’t easily scared off.

  He couldn’t be more thrilled that she wanted to be his girlfriend! He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and checked the movies at the theater. An animated feature, an adventure thriller, a horror story, and a comedy. He’d go to anything she wanted to.

  He realized he didn’t even know where she was from. He needed some get-to-know-her time. Maybe he could take her to Jose’s Mexican Restaurant.

  Then he had a novel idea about Eric and his skill with painting. The Yuma Town library had just been built and they were decorating it now before they had their grand opening. Why not have a local artist paint the murals or framed paintings for the walls? Dottie Barrington was in charge of the project, something she’d wanted to start for the children in Yuma Town. But she’d also wanted it to be a study area for all their homeschoolers and a place for adult readers too.

  Not only that, but they were dedicating it to Charity Squire for being Yuma Town’s first librarian and historian. They should have Rosalie and Eric cut the ribbon at the grand opening ceremony.

  Everyone had contributed money to the project, and they were shooting for a dedication in a couple of weeks. He texted Dottie just to let her know they could have an artist prodigy’s paintings to decorate the building. He didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to help Eric earn some more money and for the townspeople to showcase what he had to offer. Oh, and he wanted to be sure and tell her they needed to carry Rosalie’s spell caster books too. Wouldn’t that be a nice surprise when Rosalie saw her books on a shelf?

  He texted Dottie about both and then he realized it was two in the morning. When her message popped up, he hadn’t expected her to text him right back.

  Dottie texted: What?

  He smiled and texted: Sorry for the late text. I just didn’t want Eric Squire to miss out on painting for the library if you think it would work.

  Dottie texted: The snow leopard.

  Kolby texted: Yeah. He’s really a prodigy when it comes to the paintings he creates. I thought you might want to check them out in case you could use any at the library before you get something else.

  Dottie texted: Does he have a website?

  Kolby texted: I don’t know.

  Dottie texted: I’ll check with him in the morning. And I’ll see about ordering Rosalie’s books. Night, Kolby.

  Kolby texted: Thanks, night!

  Now Kolby could go to sleep. But then he couldn’t. What about Eric creating paintings for the town center? For Mrs. Fitz’s shop? He sent a few more text messages. Then he was finally done, closed his eyes, and woke to a rooster crowing. He rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

  When he got up, he wanted to have breakfast at the Havertons with Rosalie and Eric, but he hadn’t gotten an invitation. He showered, dressed, and headed into the kitchen to start making breakfast. He was teaching the other ranch hands how to cook, though this morning he was thinking of Rosalie and Eric and didn’t bother to wait on the other ranch hands to turn up in the kitchen. It was part of his mentoring of them. Ted would have helped if he was still living at the bunkhouse. Kolby liked making meals with him, but now Ted was staying with his mate at their home and so Kolby was on his own.

  He was making ham, hash browns, and scrambled eggs this morning, a nice hearty breakfast for all the ranch hands because of the long workdays they put in. He supposed he should have asked Ted and Hal if it was all right for him to stay with the Squires tonight. While living here, Kolby was responsible for the other ranch hands and the livestock.

  The four ranch hands—Curly Renton, Bastian Brookfield, Jasper Holliday, and Timothy Featherston—sauntered into the kitchen. Curly started making the coffee, Bastian was setting the table, and Timothy popped some bread into the toaster. Jasper set out the jam and butter. They were all smiling at Kolby, and he wondered what was up. He suspected they knew that he was interested in dating Rosalie. He wanted to ensure they knew that he was for sure.

  Before he could say anything about it, Ted called him. Kolby grabbed his phone and said to the other guys, “Hey, can one of you watch the food and serve it up when it’s done?”

  “Yeah, sure,” they all said. Curly watched the eggs, and Bastian the hashbrowns. Timothy served up the ham. Jasper was pouring mugs of coffee for everyone.

  They were really learning to be a team and he really liked all the guys. Curly was the oldest of the new ranch hands at 22 years of age. Timothy was twenty. Bastian was nineteen. Jasper, their resident car thief who had been tried and sentenced here to supervised probation mucking out stalls for four years at the age of sixteen was now eighteen. Jasper had been a royal pain in the ass that first year, but he’d really come around under Ted’s tutelage this past year. He’d found a home with them and didn’t even want to leave after his final two years were up. He’d graduated from mucking stalls and was helping kids learn how to ride horses, something he’d had to learn how to do also and loved it.

  “Yeah, Ted?” Kolby asked.

  “I heard through the cougar grapevine that you texted people all night.”

  Kolby opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Hell, probably everyone was mad at him.

  Ted continued. “Great way to mentor Eric, but it might be better to do it during the day.”

  Kolby smiled. “Yeah, I just kept thinking of things and couldn’t get to sleep last night.”

  “Everyone could tell.”

  Kolby chuckled. “I hope I didn’t make everyone mad about it. Oh, and I offered to stay with Rosalie and Eric tonight at the mansion to watch for things. I know I should have run it past you and Hal first though.”

  “No, that works. We need someone to stay there and keep an eye on things for as long as it takes. Since you’re mentoring Eric, that works out perfectly. We’ve got you covered here. And truly, the other ranch hands will take on more responsibility if you’re not there to supervise them so much.”

  “Okay, thanks, Ted. Uh, you didn’t happen to hear anything back on whether Chase or Stryker saw or heard anything, did you?”

  “Hal said that they heard a bunch of creaking sounds, but it’s an old place and they aren’t familiar with all the noises it makes. Both Chase and Stryker were wandering around a few times checking things out in the middle of the night. They didn’t find anything though.”

  “Okay. I believe Rosalie and Eric heard something though.” Kolby didn’t want to dismiss the sister and brother’s claim as just phantom sounds.

  Curly and Bastian dished up the rest of the food while Timothy served up a plate of toast. Jasper set the mugs of coffee on the dining room table.

  “I’m sure they did.”

  “Nothing ghostly,” Kolby said.

  “If it had been just Rosalie or Eric that thought they heard someone on the stairs, maybe, but since both of them swear they heard someone, I’d say no, it was someone. Or something. It still might have been a varmint. The place has been vacant for so many years,” Ted said.

  “Yeah, but how did it get in? I didn’t see any place where it would have.”

  “You would be amazed to see how large an animal can get in through small holes. Even a bear can squeeze in through a car’s open window.”

  “True. But we would have smelled it and we didn’t.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. I’m glad you’re taking your mentoring Eric to heart.”

  Kolby was. He was really excited about helping the teen out. And not just because he thought he could make brownie points with Rosalie either. Ted, Hal, and Tracey had helped him and his brother when they needed it, and so he felt that this was just playing it forward. Besides he really liked Eric…and Rosalie.

  7

  At breakfast that morning with the Havertons and their little ones, Rosalie asked first thing if Chase and Stryker had discovered anything. She was helping to set the table and Eric was keeping the quadruplets—Liam, Tabitha, Denise, and Evan Chase—entertained, to her surprise. She was glad to see him making faces at them and they were making them right back at him. She swore he had changed overnight from the brooding teen to a happy-go-lucky kid again. He’d also let them see Leia and Vader, under his strict supervision.

  She hoped he would continue to feel good about being here among the cougars. She was thrilled.

  “Since it’s already eight, do you want to just stay here for a couple of hours until the other teens arrive, and Eric takes his horseback riding lessons?” Tracey asked. “Eric, and you too, can take a look around the ranch, see the guys working the horse ranch, see all the horses, the new foal, and meet our rambunctious dogs.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Eric said, sounding eager to see everything.

  Rosalie hoped it wasn’t because he was afraid to return to the mansion. “Yeah, we can do that.” Though she really wanted to get back to the place and keep working on it. On the other hand, if she stayed here at the ranch and Eric was more comfortable with it—he had been watching her to see if she agreed—she would do so. She did want to see Kolby in his element here also. Plus, she’d like to see him teaching Eric to ride and how the other teens reacted when they saw him.

  Eric looked so grateful that she was going to hang around and she was glad she had said she would.

  After breakfast, she helped Tracey clean up while Hal went outside to check on the horses, taking Eric with him. The nanny was cleaning up the kids.

  “I hear you were a special agent for the US Fish and Wildlife Service,” Rosalie said, impressed that Tracey had worked such a dangerous job.

  “I still am. Hal and I go on missions closer to home right now because of the kids.”

  “That is so cool.”

  “It’s a good job for righting some wrongs and protecting wildlife, but it can be pretty awful too when you find these thugs who kill animals illegally, their smuggling operations, conspiracy, fraud, even money laundering and learn all they’re involved in.”

  “Oh, absolutely. It’s great that you both do that.”

  “Yes, and Ted pretty much has things under control at the horse ranch. On another topic, I hear that your brother loves to paint, and he does a fantastic job at it.”

  Rosalie smiled. “Yeah, he does.”

  “I’m redoing the kids’ rooms and would love it if he could do something for them. A mural, I think. Eric and I can talk with the kids and come up with something for each of the rooms, if he’s interested.”

  “Wow, okay. That sounds good. I’m sure he will be. I’m going out to check on Eric and the others and see what they’re doing.”

  “Okay, enjoy!”

  “Thanks for putting us up for the night and making us a delightful breakfast.”

  “Oh, you’re so welcome. We’ll talk again soon.”

  Then Rosalie went outside and saw Kolby teaching Eric to brush down one of the horses. She smiled. Kolby was so good with her brother. Eric was all smiles, concentrating on the horse. He loved animals.

  She hoped it was okay with Eric once Kolby actually stayed overnight with them, but she suspected he would like it if they had an additional cougar in the mansion who could ensure their safety.

  Then she joined them, and Kolby smiled at her. “Your brother said you need riding lessons also.”

  She looked up at the tall horse.

  Eric laughed. “You need to, if you’re going to date a guy who works with them all the time.”

  “All right, I’ll do it.”

  “With the homeschool class or do you want a—” Kolby started to say.

  Eric interrupted him. “A private lesson for my sister.” He smiled broadly.

  “Hey,” Curly said, “we’ll show Eric the new foal.”

  “Yeah, see? I need to go and see the new foal.” Eric headed off with Curly and left Rosalie alone with Kolby.

  “This is Sherry. Do you want to ride her? She’s very calm. She’s a good horse for new riders.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Rosalie wasn’t sure she would do well at all. The horse looked so big.

  Kolby held the horse’s reins while Rosalie climbed into the saddle, and then he walked them around a bit. He finally handed her the reins and climbed onto another horse. “Okay, we’ll do this.” He talked her through taking charge of the horse and walking her. Then they cantered for a while.

  She liked this, though she figured she’d be a little bruised when she finished, but this felt so good out in the chilly air, cantering across the pastureland like she really knew what was doing. She was thinking that she could have a character in her book that rode horses.

  That was what she loved about trying out new things because she could use them for her stories and make them different and interesting.

  “I heard that Stryker and Chase didn’t run into anyone or anything at the mansion,” she finally said, feeling comfortable enough to talk while riding.

  “I heard the same.”

  “My brother said he was glad you were staying with us. He did mention the other rooms are full of dust—the bedding and furniture. If you want to stay with me, you can. But if Eric gets spooked, he might join us in his fur coat and sleep at the foot of the bed.”

  Kolby smiled. “That works for me.”

  “Okay, good. That’s what happened last night, by the way. So I’m serious about him possibly getting spooked and joining me. Or I can clean up all the bedding in one of the other rooms. I plan to, just in case I need rooms that are ready, but I’m still unpacking stuff so it isn’t a real priority right now.”

  “When I go to your place tonight, I can help you unpack and clean anything you need me to also. Staying with you works for me.” He gave her a sexy little smile.

  She swore whenever he did that, he made her blush. “Oh, okay, thanks.”

  “I talked to Tracey also about the kitchen appliances. She had some suggestions, and so did some of the other ladies. Mrs. Fitz also.”

  “That’s good. I sure appreciate everyone’s help with this.”

  “I thought we could order the appliances after I give the teens their riding lessons.”

  “Did they really have a riding class at ten?”

  Kolby’s ears turned a little red. “It was as good a time as any other.”

  She laughed. “Thanks so much for doing this for Eric then.”

  “Everyone was onboard in an instant,” he assured her.

  “I love being here.”

  “I do too. We have a great group of big cats here, and they made all the difference in the world to me. Okay, so I have to ask, what else can you do with your abilities?”

  “What if I told you and I scared you off? Or others off?”

  “Hell, if you have abilities that are able to pulverize an enemy, I figure you’ll be protecting me and Eric tonight.”

  She laughed. “You’re so funny. Okay, I can move things with my mind.”

  “Telekinesis.”

  “Right.”

  “Well, I have to tell you that besides our ghostbusters, we have a couple of people who can tell futures. They see future events. Not for everyone and not all the time, but sometimes.”

  “Oh, wow, for real?”

  “Yeah. You met one of them. Ava.”

  “Ohmigod, the pastry chef at Mrs. Fitz’s shop?” Rosalie couldn’t believe it. Which meant Rosalie wasn’t as special, or weird, as she thought she was.

  “Yep, and her sister, Nina Hill, can also.”

  “The deputy sheriff who came to the mansion to watch over us.”

  “Right.”

  “Did either of them see anything that was going to happen with regard to us last night?”

  “No. They would have said so,” Kolby said. “Also, Bridget MacKay can read minds. She works here now as one of the special agents for the Cougar Special Forces Division, the CSFD, or frequently referred to as CSF. They’re a privately funded organization that helps cougar shifters and cougars and takes down villains who harm either.”

  “Really. Okay.”

  “Yeah. She doesn’t always try to read people, unless it’s necessary to uncover some evil deed. Then she’s invaluable. Of course, it doesn’t mean she won’t catch glimpses of our thoughts. It’s just the way it is. So believe me, you’ll fit right in. Hell, the rest of us feel like we’re not half as gifted.”