"I hope you will still say that if the auditors take your ranch,” she said morosely.
She couldn't help it. She'd been waiting for a man like Leland all her life. Then, when she’d found him, there was a real possibility that she would be responsible for taking away everything he'd ever loved. She just couldn't bear it. She didn't know if she could live with herself if it happened.
"You're going to have to believe me, babe," Leland said.
"I do believe you," she said weakly as he wrapped her in his arms.
"Let's get these things packed up and get you on the road. I've decided to go up the mountain to check on Cyrus. If he knows anything about what our dad was up to all those years ago, then it's time well spent. Plus, I think my brother needs to know that I'm home. That our father passed away and that I'm the new Alpha of the Kincaid clan. That's going to need to happen whether or not he has any information for me."
"It'll be good for you to see him," Sylvia said.
She didn't have any brothers or sisters of her own, which was something that had always lingered at the back of her mind, but she could understand why Leland would need to confront his brother and to update him on all of the family news. She also hoped that his brother held a missing piece to the puzzle.
Leland helped her carry the plastic bins out to her car and load them in the trunk. When he was done, he kissed her on the lips and held her tight for a good long time before Buck backed a backhoe out of the garage, creating a storm of noise and dust as he passed.
"I should get going," she said softly.
Leland kissed her one more time, and she slid into the driver’s seat of her car. As she drove down the driveway and pulled onto the highway, the critical voice at the back of her mind kept telling her that it was the last time she'd see Leland Kincaid and that her life would be better for it. Who needed a man who wanted the things a shifter wanted? A loyal wife, who stayed at home to take care of children and him. She had a career. She was strong. She had a home and a pet, and everything she needed. Leland didn't even have any property. How could he ever take care of her?
She shook her head and made the terrible voices go away as tears streamed down her cheek. She didn't want to go back into the office and show her boss Leland's father's disjointed paperwork. But as Leland had so wisely said, there was no helping it. There was no way to avoid it.
She drove into the parking lot of the tax headquarters at noon. She grabbed her purse and briefcase and went inside to find Mr. Stands waiting for her at her desk.
"It's about time you arrived," he said.
"I got here as soon as I could."
"This case is bigger than we suspected.”
"I don't understand. I'm the auditor on the case. How could you have gotten information that I don't have?" Sylvia asked.
"We had an anonymous tip from some people who claimed to know Hank Kincaid. They claimed he was purposefully fraudulent in his business practices. The anonymous tip gave us names, dates and information that could very well lead to a charge of fraud against the Kincaids.”
"Hank Kincaid is no longer alive.”
"But his sons inherited the corporation’s debt, and it's going to need to be paid."
"You don't have any proof of this anonymous caller’s accuracy.”
"But our preliminary assessment of the Kincaids’ overall debt is close to a million dollars. That is the kind of debt the government definitely wants to collect."
"I'll go get the documents from the car,” she muttered, dropping her purse and briefcase on her chair and storming out of the office with a rising panic in her chest. How could he possibly want to take the Kincaids to court? They had nothing to do with any of it.
They’d just been living their own lives and minding their own business. From what Sylvia understood, Hank Kincaid had been become an overzealous supervisor who did not allow the boys to have any input in how the business was run. None of them had any idea what was happening.
She grabbed the boxes of files from the car and trudged into the office, slamming them down on her desk. There was already a group of auditors in her office, and they grabbed all the boxes as soon she set it all down. The team took everything and hurried off to a conference room.
Sylvia shook her head in disgust, hoping against hope that Leland would find some miracle when he spoke with his brother Cyrus. They had to save the ranch, because Sylvia knew that if Leland lost his land, he would associate it with her. He wouldn’t be able to help it. They could never be happy together, no matter how much they loved each other.
Chapter 13
Leland's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach as he watched Sylvia drive away. It was like she was taking a piece of him with her. His grizzly growled and scratched the back of his mind, demanding that he not let her go.
Leland shook his head, trying to force his beast to calm down. He didn't want Sylvia to leave any more than his inner animal, but there was nothing he could do about it. She'd been called back to work. In the world of humans and nine-to-five expectations, he couldn't just tie her to a chair in his house to keep her with him. He had to let her go do what she needed to do. As a man, Leland agreed with that, but that didn't keep his grizzly from protesting as loudly as a beast possibly could.
Leland gritted his teeth and decided to focus on his own work. He went back inside and climbed the stairs to the second floor where his father kept his camping equipment. The trek up to the mountain to Cyrus's cabin would take several days. He knew that the treacherous climb may require his grizzly at some point, forcing him to let go of his human necessities. But he wanted to make it to the cabin with his camping gear and clothing in hand if he could help it.
He grabbed a hiking backpack and emptied out its contents before sorting through the supplies his father had in the spare bedroom. After about forty minutes, Leland had sorted out everything he would need for a trek into the dense wilderness. Once he had packed his gear, he went downstairs and started to pack food.
When his pack was secured, he went to change into his hiking boots and all-weather hiking gear to start his trek up the mountain.
Since the vet had come up the morning before Jessie's motocross race, his herd had been doing much better, but the comments of the hyena brothers still itched at the back of his mind. His barbed wire fencing had quite obviously been cut by wire cutters and the cattle had all escaped into the creek bed where they'd trudged through the mud for days. Just because the two idiot dirt bike racers had made some strange comments didn't mean he had any proof to back up his suspicions, though.
He didn't know if going to confront Cyrus was going to be any help either. After he was changed, he took his backpack out to the front yard and threw it in the back of the truck. Jessie was squatting in the machine shop across the gravel yard from the main farmhouse. He looked up at Leland with a questioning expression on his face and then stood to walk across the yard to lean against the Leland's truck bed.
"Where you going?" Jessie asked.
"I'm going to talk to Cyrus," Leland said.
"Why?" Jessie asked.
"Because somebody needs to tell him about dad, and that I'm the Alpha of the Kincaid clan. He needs know what is going on here. Plus, those hyena shifters said some strange things yesterday that got me thinking."
"Thinking what?" Jessie asked.
"That maybe there's something more going on here than meets the eye. I need to get to the bottom of it."
"Where’s Sylvia? I saw her drive off this morning."
"She was called back to headquarters. Things are getting serious now. I think she thought that she could be a buffer for the ranch, but that's asking too much from her. We might not like what happens after the rest of the agents get ahold of our paperwork and complete the audit. We’re all going to have to be prepared for the possibility that we lose the ranch. There's no telling how much dad's debt is. We could all suffer for it."
"We didn't have anything to do with dad running the business."
"I'm not sure that matters. Jessie. But no matter what happens, we'll get through it. I'm the Alpha of this clan and that continues whether or not we have the ranch. I will do my best for all of us, you can count on it."
"We're not going to lose the ranch," Jessie said, with one of those smiles that seemed to melt the panties of the human ladies of Fate Mountain.
"Just keep saying that, brother. And maybe it'll come true. I'm off to start the trek up the mountain."
"Have you ever made the trek before? It's rough as fuck."
"Not since Cyrus went up there, but I know where it is."
"While you're up there, tell him to get his ass down off the mountain and come help us."
"I don't think anyone can tell Cyrus what to do. Do you?"
"I don't know. Maybe now that you're the Alpha, you can talk some sense into him."
"If Dad couldn't do it…"
"Dad couldn't do a lot of things in the end. Let's just remember that," Jessie said, the twinkle in his eyes darkening.
"Point taken, little brother. Dad screwed up, and we are all paying the price. Maybe I can be a better Alpha for the family than he was. That's my promise, and I intend to do everything I can to keep it."
"Good luck, Leland. I'm rooting for you. Even if everyone else isn't."
"Thanks. I feel a lot better now," Leland said sarcastically.
"I'm glad to help.” Jessie smiled before turning back to the machine shop.
Leland shook his head slowly, and then chuckled as he climbed behind the wheel of his truck. He started up the engine and drove down the gravel road toward the very end of their property. He parked his truck and climbed out to grab his backpack.
Cyrus lived at the very edge of the Timber Bear Ranch property where it intersected with national forest land. It was one of the most remote places in the area, and Leland knew was why his brother had chosen it.
Leland hadn't been hiking in who knows how long. But as a rancher and a shifter, he was in good physical condition. He started up the poorly maintained trail that led into the forest. It had rained heavily a few weeks ago, and the ground was still soft and saturated.
As he trekked through the early spring underbrush with bare branches intermixed with green ferns and early berries. His grizzly drew in a deep breath, smelling the mountain air of his youth. The beast wanted to break out from inside his human skin and take the mountain with his big, strong paws and feral intensity.
In his bear form, he could make it to Cyrus's cabin in less than a day. As a human, Leland knew the trek would take far longer. But he didn't want to arrive at his brother's home naked and defenseless.
The first day of Leland's hike was entirely uphill. As dusk approached and the cool evening air started to break through his layers of outerwear, Leland decided to make camp for the night. He found a spot where he could shift into bear form and dig out a comfortable nest for his bear to sleep in.
He used his massive grizzly paws to dig into the soft soil. He then lined the hole with several inches of dried pine needles and leaves. He shifted back to human form and got dressed before starting a campfire, which he used to cook himself a can of chili in his camping pot.
He could see a view of the vast wilderness below as he shoveled chili into his mouth. He could even see the faint smoke from the chimney at Buck's house. He hadn't gotten a chance to speak to Buck before leaving. There was still conflict to be healed there.
By all rights, Buck should have been made Alpha of the Kincaid clan. He was the one who had been there all along. He was the one who had taken his father's bullshit for the last seven years. Buck was the only one making a real income for the ranch with his timber management.
Leland suspected his brother wouldn't mind if Leland just disappeared back to Texas and left Timber Bear Ranch to him. Leland considered if that’s what he should have done in the first place, before Sylvia even arrived.
Fate had a way of taking control of things. Even when a shifter or a human wanted to intervene. Meeting Sylvia had given him the kind of faith he'd never had before. He knew that with her by his side, he could accomplish anything. The prospect of losing the ranch was scary, but he had to believe it was all going to turn out all right in the end.
Once he was finished with his chili, he stripped out of his clothes and shifted into his grizzly form to curl up in the nest he’d prepared. He brushed dried leaves over his back for a blanket as he drifted off to sleep under the clear starry night sky.
When he woke in the morning, his first instinct was to hunt. Leland had a deep animal hunger in his gut. He rose from his nest and followed the first sent he found upon standing. It was a young buck, he could smell its masculine musk as it rubbed its horns against the trees, marking its territory. Leland's grizzly followed the trail, tasting the scent of the air with his tongue.
He was downwind from the deer when he found it grazing in a clearing. His human mind objected, knowing there was no way he could bring the meat back home. But that didn't stop the grizzly. Without warning, the animal growled and charged directly at the buck, throwing it off center so hard the deer lost its footing and fell on its side, kicking its legs into the air to try to right itself.
Leland's grizzly charged, stomped on the animal, and bit down on its neck. The deer screamed as the grizzly bit harder, puncturing the prey’s jugular. The deer’s life blood seeped into the grizzly’s mouth as he continued to bite down. Its last breath was a quiver as it went still.
Leland's human mind grumbled, irritated as his bear started to feast. His belly would be full for the rest of the trek up the mountain. When the animal was done gorging himself, Leland was finally able to shift back into his human form, standing naked over the bloodied carcass of his kill.
He huffed a loud sigh and wiped his face with the back of his hand. It came away bloody. Leland walked barefoot back to his camp. He got dressed and pulled his backpack on his back.
He passed his kill on the way out, kneeling beside it to cut out a large chunk of meat. He had to leave the rest for the residents of the forest to devour. Leland put the chunks of meat in a plastic bag and hid it away for later.
The second day of the trek was harder than the first. The incline grew steeper and it was more difficult for Leland to keep his footing. There was no trail anymore.
In the late afternoon on the second day of his journey, Leland came to a sheer cliff that he knew he would have to trek around. He started to walk around the cliff on the narrow ledge. The spring runoff poured swiftly down the mountain from the thaw of the mountain snow. Huge waterfalls cascaded over the cliff in various sections.
As Leland approached one of the waterfalls, he stepped on a loose rock. He lost his footing and grabbed for a branch growing out of the cliff. The branch snapped. Gravity pulled him hard and he flailed in the air.
He fell. In a brutal surge of strength, he reached with his shifted paw and drove his claws into the rock as he slid down the cliff. It slowed his fall, but tore up his nails. He came to the bottom and landed in a pile. His clothes were muddy and torn, and he had lost his backpack somewhere in the fall.
He looked up the cliff, his hands aching. He cursed under his breath, knowing that he would have to make the rest of the trek in bear form. The damp was already seeping into his skin. He'd hoped to arrive at Cyrus's cabin with some dignity, but he would have to abandon that plan.
Leland quickly pulled out of his clothes and shifted into his grizzly. His body ached and his claws were bloodied, but he wasn't going to give up now.
Chapter 14
Leland's grizzly hobbled out of the canyon and made his way around the cliff. He smelled the scent of his brother’s bear on every scratched tree trunk he passed.
Anticipation built in his gut for the confrontation he knew would be coming. Cyrus had always been a grouchy bear. Even as a child.
Leland's grizzly climbed up a rocky rise, full of scraggly pines and a dusting of melting snow. When he came up to the crest
and the view stretched out below for him, he saw the gentle slope down into a clearing where his brother's cabin sat. Smoke billowed into the overcast gray sky and Leland grunted in the cool mountain air. Walking slowly toward his brother's cabin, he tasted the air with his tongue, trying to get a sense of his brother’s mood.
Before he could come within fifteen yards of his brother’s cabin, the front door burst open, kicked by a booted foot. His brother stepped out, holding a shotgun in his grizzled hands. His brother’s beard was long and his eyes were sharp and blue, focused directly on Leland's bear. The shotgun pointed directly at his head. Leland sat in the rocky clearing with a huff and grunted, irritated that his brother didn't recognize him.
Slowly, Cyrus lowered the gun, a look of realization blooming in his eyes.
"Leland? Is that you?" Cyrus asked.
Leland shifted with a roar and slowly stood in his human form. Cyrus lowered the shotgun and set it against a bench on the front porch before disappearing inside, only to reappear a moment later with a long wool blanket that he swept around Leland's shoulders.
"What are you doing up here?”
"There is so much that you need to know," Leland said.
"Come inside."
Leland followed his brother into the cabin and sat in a chair beside a roaring fire in a stone hearth.
Cyrus poured a cup of something dark into a mug from a pot on the stove and handed it to Leland. He sniffed the brew and smelled a mixture of roots and herbs. He took a sip and blanched.
"It's my coffee substitute," Cyrus said, moving around his one room cabin to prepare a midday meal. The mountain man threw a pair of bloody venison steaks into a cast-iron pan. The meat sizzled in the lard and Cyrus poked it with a sharpened steel fork.
"So, what brings you up the mountain, brother?” Cyrus said as he flipped his steaks in the pan.
Leland wrapped the wool blanket around his waist and continued to sip the bitter brew that his brother had given him. It was invigorating, and felt warm in his chest after the cold trek up the mountain in bear form.