Tracey felt guilty about sleeping while Hal had to stay up. She thought of going to bed with her clothes on, but what if Ricky shifted and wasn't very agreeable? She'd be better off as a cougar. Not at first, but if she shifted for him to see she was the same as him, it would help reassure him, she thought. She removed her blouse, shoes, socks, and jeans and set them on a chair, and then she climbed under the starched sheets, wishing she was still snuggled in her bed with Hal at her parents' home.
When had she begun thinking in terms of wanting him in her bed to sleep away the rest of the night? She was in deep trouble. She knew their jobs weren't conducive to a relationship that she was already wishing they had.
She didn't think she'd ever get to sleep as she watched Ricky for what seemed like forever, but then some time after that she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing that happened, she heard a low-pitched snarl. She opened her eyes and saw the glow of green cat eyes in the corner of the room.
"Ricky," she whispered, shocked. The bandage on his wound was stuck to his cat fur, but no longer covering the wound. Though it looked like it was healing quickly and no longer bleeding.
He knew her. He couldn't see her as the enemy. But then he did the unexpected and leapt for her bed and onto it. Startled, she shrieked. If she'd been in her cat form, she would have snarled. But in her human form, she was no match for a violent cougar, and his action threw her heartbeat into double time.
Hal jerked the door open, threw the light switch on, and readied his gun.
But Ricky, exhausted from just jumping onto the bed with her, had collapsed on her and was licking her arm with his sandpaper tongue, half his body on her thin blanketed lap.
"He's fine. He's not going to hurt me," Tracey quickly said, her heartbeat drumming like crazy. She wasn't afraid of Ricky, not after the initial shock of him lunging for the bed, but she was afraid Hal was going to shoot Ricky, thinking the worse.
"Get down off her bed," Hal growled.
All of a sudden the male territorial business was rearing its ugly head. She said, "Maybe he would feel safer and more comfortable—"
"Off Tracey's bed." Hal's hard gaze turned on Tracey. "He gets back in his own bed," Hal said, using a stern, military voice. Commanding, demanding, and he wasn't going to change his mind. "Now."
"Maybe he could curl up with you if it makes him feel better."
Hal gave her a look that said she was nuts.
She chuckled a little. "Ricky, go back to your bed. I'll be here the rest of the night with you."
"Down," Hal said, as if he was talking to a dog.
Ricky snarled at him, leapt off the bed, and jumped onto his own.
Since Ricky wasn't shifting back, and Tracey wondered how hard it would be for him to get that aspect of his new being in hand, Hal pulled up a chair and sat beside the door, watching both the inside of the room and the outside, this time.
Chapter 16
"Tracey," Ricky said, waking her from a sound sleep. She glanced in his direction, noticed it was nearly noon, and Hal wasn't there, but the door was closed. She pulled the privacy curtain around her bed and began to throw on her clothes. Then she came around the curtain to see to Ricky. His bite wound was again bandaged.
"How do you feel?"
"A cougar bit me."
"Yes." She wondered then if he didn't remember what had happened hours earlier, or maybe he did, but he was in denial.
"But I shot him first."
"Yes."
He had to be trying to process what had gone down because a man shifting into a cougar just couldn't have happened.
He was frowning up at her, looking so lost that her heart went out to him. None of those who had been born as cougars could really understand what he would be going through. And to have murdered his brother on top of that. She squeezed Ricky's hand.
"Are you hurting? Did you need me to get you anything?"
"I…I must have shot the cougar and my brother was standing on the other side of him, and the bullet went through the cougar and killed Kolby." Ricky's eyes filled with tears.
"No, Ricky. Your brother was the cougar." She didn't want him thinking that he'd accidentally shot his brother to death. "That's what you saw and that's what you know to be the truth. He tried to kill you as a cougar. You protected your own life by shooting him. You didn't know the cougar was your brother, but it was."
His eyes wide, Ricky shook his head. "You don't really believe that. Nothing like that exists. A wolf-man doesn't exist. Believing that cougar-men do is crazy."
"Werewolves don't exist, but cougar shifters do."
"How come I never heard of one before?" Rick asked skeptically.
"Because we live in secret. I'm only telling you because you turned in the middle of the night. You're one of us. Do you remember shifting into a cougar?"
He just stared at her.
"I'm one. Hal and Ted are. Many of the people living in Yuma Town and the surrounding area are. You're safe with us. We'll guide you through this. You'll grow to appreciate who you are."
"Who turned you?"
"We were born that way."
He was still staring at her like she was crazy. "I dreamt I was an animal." He glanced at her bed. "I got into bed with you."
She smiled.
"Hal made me return to my own bed. He didn't like it that I was in bed with you."
"Cougars are naturally territorial."
"How…how can you be cougars and work with the horses?"
"They trust us because we live among them."
"My brother tried to kill me."
"It appeared that way. You were only acting in self-defense."
"Why would he want me dead?
"Money? Lots of it? You were working with me to expose Mooney and Benny Smith. And your brother was working with them. He might have had to prove his loyalty to them by agreeing to take you down. Why don't you get some more rest?"
Ricky shook his head. "He wouldn't have." He squeezed her hand, and released it, then closed his eyes. "Are you staying with me?"
"I might stay again tonight. It depends on how you're doing. If I do and you shift again, for your own protection, don't climb into bed with me."
Ricky smiled at her then. "The boss man won't like it."
"I won't like it. For your protection also, we have someone guarding the room."
"When can I leave here?" He tried to sit up and groaned.
"Take it easy, Ricky. You've been through an awful trauma and had to have a blood transfusion even."
"Maybe if I have enough new blood, it will take away the shifter part of me."
"Would you want it to?" She didn't think that could happen. Though she'd never known anyone to do it, so who knew?
He started to shake his head, but pain reflected in his face. "No. I haven't even tried it out enough when I'm really awake to see what it's like."
"You have to be careful. Really careful. Hunters might try to shoot you, even off season. So you always need to run with one of us."
"I'll run with you."
"I mean, with anyone who's one. Not just me. I have a job to do and you need to stay safe."
Hal came in to check on him. "Hey, buddy. How are you doing?"
"I would have slept better if you'd let me sleep with Tracey." Ricky had the good sense to smile after he said it.
Hal smiled a little in return in a way that said he'd better not even think it. "Dr. Parker's checking on you in a few minutes to run some blood tests and check you over."
"Will a blood test say I'm different?"
"No. It'll appear as it always has. And when you're a cougar, you'll appear to be only a cougar. They'll feed you breakfast. You can watch some T.V. and sleep a while longer. I've got to take Tracey home to get a shower and a change of clothes. We're going to check out a couple of things and see you later this afternoon."
"Promise?"
"We plan to come back, but if we get hung up, we might be late. Just hang loose, and
we'll see you in a while."
"Don't let her get shot," Ricky said as if Tracey wasn't even in the room. "She's always in a firefight. Or something. Just…watch her, will you?"
She shook her head and squeezed his hand.
"Don't I get a kiss goodbye? After all I've been through?"
She grinned at him. "You're so asking for trouble. You might not understand our big cat dynamics yet, but—"
"Oh, I understand. It's weird. It's like it's imprinted on my brain. The impulses, the natural instincts. Though I'm not sure I'm ready to bite anyone just yet."
"Good. No biting. That's one of the things we teach our cubs. We don't need you getting ticked off and biting people." Hal folded his arms.
Tracey leaned down and gave Ricky a kiss on the forehead. "Rest well and we'll be back."
Then they left the room and headed to Shannon's room. Two beautiful baby girls were sleeping together in a bassinet next to the bed. Shannon was awake, but looking sleepy.
"We're headed out, but wanted to stop in to see you and the babies," Tracey said, giving her a hug. "They're beautiful."
"Thanks. And thanks for the flowers."
Tracey looked at Hal. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "You were watching over Ricky. I ordered the flowers in both our names."
Tracey walked over to the flowers and read the card. "Love from Tracey and Hal." Which sounded a whole lot like they were a couple.
He smiled, not looking in the least bit sheepish. Shannon grinned at them. "Thank you. I love the roses."
"We'll be back after a while and check on you and the twins and Ricky," Hal said.
"How is he doing?"
"Confused. Upset. Chase might not have told you, but he shot and killed his brother last night and so he's pretty torn up about it. And he turned in the middle of the night, so he's one of us for certain," Tracey said.
"Good. I'd hate it if we had to decide his fate."
"It's already been done for us—by his brother. We'll see you in a bit," Hal said.
Then they left Shannon's room and headed outside. "So what did you have in mind? Besides my showering and changing?"
"We'll check out Ricky's brother's place. I want to know if he was a hunter. Maybe there's some connection to Mooney there. I know everyone would have investigated while we were here with Ricky last night, but we might find something."
"All right."
"I was thinking…you need a reliable partner."
"I've got partners. Had partners," Tracey amended.
"Just my point. I know you're against quitting the work you do and often you have to work with other law enforcement agents to take these men down. So what if I ask Mick to assign you to me?"
She smiled at Hal. "He doesn't assign me to law enforcement personnel. Besides, it won't work if I'm out of your jurisdiction."
"What if I was hired as a Special Agent? And you're assigned to me?"
She chuckled. "As a new trainee, you would be assigned to me."
"That'll work too. We make a great team already."
"You would give up being a part-time deputy and running a horse ranch?"
"Ted and Ricky can run things while I'm out of the area. I've got too big a spread to let all that space go to waste."
"You're inviting me to stay at your place?" She thought there was a proposal in there—like in a marriage proposal, not just a share-the-space offer.
"And watch the sun rise in the mornings, ride the range with me, take care of poachers, and—"
"Play in the waterfall?"
"Hell, yeah."
"And work with me as a Special Agent? You'd do all that just for a housemate?"
"Roommate. We're sharing the master bedroom suite."
"So we have room for guests."
"And we'll have the wedding and reception out of doors on the deck with the view of the Rockies behind us."
She couldn't contain herself and laughed. "Was there a marriage proposal in there somewhere, and I just missed it?"
"Damn, I know I'm going all about this wrong, but yeah. I've been doing a lot of thinking about this, and I know you don't want to give up your job. Maybe if you get tired of it, we can do something else—together."
"You would really do that for me?"
"For us."
"And would be happy doing it?"
"Are you kidding? I'm as much invested in the case as you are, from a different perspective. Mick's down another Special Agent, and what could be better than to team up two cougar shifters together?"
"What if he wants you to work with someone else instead?"
"Absolutely not. If he wants my services, he's got to play by my rules."
Smiling, she shook her head. "The agency decides."
"Mick decides your assignments."
She was still considering the ramifications—what if Mick didn't want to assign Hal to her and was worried he might not be focused on the mission and would get himself killed just to protect her? She didn't want him to give up his life just to please her. What if he didn't like the work? Then he'd quit, they'd be married, and he wouldn't want her to run off on any more of these potentially dangerous assignments.
"What were you doing on New Year's Eve last year before you ended up in a shootout in a ghost town on New Year's Day?"
"I was at home, watching a thriller."
"And New Year's Day? Before the trip to Anderson, I mean."
"I had just started to watch 3:10 to Yuma."
"And this year? Just think, you could be home with me, watching a thriller, drinking champagne and making love. Not necessarily in that order."
She smiled. In truth, she couldn't see going back to her status quo life after hooking up with Hal at the second shootout in Anderson. Wasn't that a sign anyway? That she needed him in her life as much as he needed her?
"When you put it that way—"
"So, say yes."
"What if Mick doesn't agree to it."
"He will. I already asked."
She slugged Hal.
He grinned at her.
"You're lucky I'm the forgiving type. I can't believe you asked him! And now he thinks we're getting married? What if I said no way?"
"Then I'd have to wear you down, convince you that we were meant to be together. And just for your information, Mick was thrilled. He'd have a highly trained Special Forces service member who happens to also be a part-time deputy sheriff, so trained in law enforcement, who has also worked with you on assignment and is a cougar on the team. Your team. And only your team. I talked to Ted and asked if he could handle it—now that Ricky's a cougar too, and if he could manage that. He said he would do whatever it took to ensure you said yes and became the boss lady. Although he also told me he knew that was where this was heading. Stryker didn't have a chance."
"Poor Stryker."
"Poor Stryker, my ass. He didn't even get you a puppy yet."
She smiled.
"I've been thinking about that too."
"You already have a foal."
"Right. But every horse ranch needs a good dog. Australian shepherds come to mind. I was thinking if we get a puppy—"
She realized at once why Hal wanted to get a puppy. And she didn't believe it was for her. Tears filled her eyes. "You want a puppy so that Ricky can raise him and help him overcome his grief about his brother."
"Yeah. The puppy would be all of ours. Ted loves dogs too. But we could let Ricky name the puppy, and he'd be responsible for him overall. The next foal we have, he can help with the foaling and he can name that one too."
"Speaking of puppies and foals and the like, what about if we have kids?"
Hal smiled down at her. "We'll decide how to handle the situation when the time arrives. I'm not sure that Ted would be willing to take on a couple of kids also."
She laughed. "This seems awfully sudden."
"You don't do anything slow and methodically."
"True." She frowned. "You didn't tell Mom and Dad about
this, did you?"
"As a true gentleman, I asked your dad's permission to marry you."
She groaned. "You didn't."
"Yeah, I'm sure your mom is already penciling in the wedding plans. But I didn't have a wedding date to give them."
She shook her head. "Glad I could have some say in this."
"Will you be my mate?"
"What if you hate working with me?"
"I haven't so far and if it doesn't work out, I'll return to the ranch and you keep doing your job."
She smiled. "Somehow I doubt you'll want me out there on my own or with another partner."
"I agree. But it's your decision."
"I married a cougar and we divorced four years ago. We had a big falling out over my job. He didn't like my work ethics."
"I do. Just say yes, and give me a date. That way we can let everyone know, and they can quit guessing."
"Who else knows?"
Hal smiled. "By now? Probably the whole cougar community."
"Hal…"
He hugged her tight. "I thought we could go look at the puppies a breeder has that are ready to go home."
"You already found one?"
"Two, actually. I put the money down on them because I figured one would get too lonely."
She smiled. "Okay, what if we wait to go when we can take Ricky over to see them?"
"I got them for you before all this happened with Ricky. I had to put the money down on them to hold them for us. The others were all sold. So is that a yes on the marriage business?"
"Do you love me?" She loved him with all her heart. Anyone who would give up his work to be with her like that, go through the rigorous training and even ask her dad's permission, and then get puppies for her, that would now help to heal Ricky's shattered heart? Hal was a dream come true.
"Are you kidding? I can't imagine you not in my life, Tracey. I love you with all my heart."
She knew he did both by his words and his actions. "I can't think of a place I'd rather be next New Year's Eve."
"We can't wait that long to get married."
She chuckled. "You said yourself I'm not good with waiting. So no. Whenever you want to do it is fine with me."
"And you love me, right? You're not just agreeing so you can get a couple of puppies, a horse of your own, and get to share the master bedroom with me, right?"