Chapter 8
Lacy was glad to fix some special dishes she knew how to prepare for the guys. She really felt she should be working and not just sitting around all day. Maybe she could help Tracey with the kids or something.
Once the guys had finished eating breakfast, they offered to do the dishes, but it was the least she could do. “See you at lunchtime.”
Then she cleaned up the kitchen and headed over to the main house. She knocked on the door, and Tracey answered it. “Hey, I need a job since I can’t go to the coffee shop to work. Can I help you with anything? Make breakfast maybe for you and the kids?”
“Oh, I would love that. Then I can do the laundry.”
“What do they like to eat?” Lacy wasn’t sure the kids would enjoy the crepes she made for the guys. Kids could be kind of picky.
“Fix them whatever you like. If they don’t care for it, they can have cereal instead.”
“Crepes with orange cream and cranberry sauce.”
“I would love it. They love cranberry sauce, so sure, go for it.”
“Bacon, ham, or sausages to go with them?”
“Ham would be good.”
“Okay, coming right up.” Lacy went into the spacious kitchen, which was much more spacious than the bunkhouse kitchen. She was glad to be cooking for the Havertons because they allowed her to stay at the ranch.
She made breakfast for the family as Hal entered the house. She’d made enough for him too, just in case he was eating with the family.
“Whoa, we’ve got a gourmet breakfast this morning,” Hal said as she served the food.
Tracey joined them, folding up a kitchen towel. “Hmm, that smells delightful.”
Hal said, “I’ll go get the kids.”
“Do you homeschool them?” Lacy asked Tracey.
“I do. Though they’re off for the Christmas holidays. We’ll start back after New Year’s Day.” Tracey put the towel away and then set the table.
The kids ran down the stairs like a herd of gazelles.
“What’s that?” Liam asked, taking his seat.
“Orange and cranberry crepes,” Lacy said.
“Yum.” Liam took a bite of them while everyone took their seats.
“Orange juice?” Lacy asked.
“Yeah, sure, that would be great,” Tracey said.
Lacy got them all glasses of orange juice, then began cleaning the pans.
“I can’t believe you’re having Lacy make us breakfast when it appears she has already eaten,” Hal teased.
“How else would we get such a beautiful breakfast treat?” Tracey said, enjoying her crepes.
“Mommy can’t make this,” Liam said, finishing his ham.
“Oh, sure she can,” Lacy said. “But I love to cook so it’s a pleasure for me to do so. Have you found anything about Timothy’s whereabouts, Hal?”
She figured they might have had a search party look for him this morning, but maybe it had been too early.
“Right after we finish eating, we’re headed out on horseback and in cougar coats,” Hal said.
“We want to go,” Tabitha said.
Hal ruffled her hair. “No kids.”
“I want to go,” Lacy said
Hal took a deep breath and let it out. “All right.”
“Thanks.” She understood why he didn’t want her to go, but she had to be there if they found him. “I’ll go as a cougar. I have only been on a trail horse, and he tried to dump me in the creek we crossed.”
Hal laughed.
“We’ll teach you how to ride,” Tabitha and Evan Chase both said at the same time.
Lacy smiled. She figured that since she was mated to Rory, she would learn a lot more about ranch life, including riding horses. That way, she could ride with Rory across the land. That would be fun.
“The guys are just feeding the cows and horses,” Hal said, taking his and Tracey’s plates into the kitchen.
The kids finished their breakfast and then carried their plates into the kitchen. Tracey joined them and began putting them in the dishwasher.
“I already told them that we would be going on a hunt for Timothy after that.” Hal got another cup of coffee.
“Who will be riding horseback?” Lacy asked.
“Only two of us. The others need to run as cougars because once we get to the mountains or rocky cliffs, we’ll need to climb, and cats can do the job. Not the horses. But if we find a body, we’ll bring it back by horseback.” Hal drank his coffee.
Lacy was ready for this.
“Are you going to be all right running with your injuries?” Hal asked. “You and Rory can stay here if you can’t shift yet.”
“I’m sure of it.” She hadn’t thought about that. Both were still bandaged. But she thought they would do all right. She was sure that Rory would want to be on the hunt, not left behind to watch over her.
After cleaning up in the kitchen, she and Hal put on their jackets, hats, and gloves and went outside.
"Not that I'm trying to rush anything, but if you and Rory decide to mate, you can build a house on the acreage.
We have tons, enough for each of our ranch hands to mate and build a home and live here.
We need them on hand, but I understand you're working in town, and the two of you might want to build a home closer to town. "
"I don't mind commuting." She loved how close everyone was at the ranch. Special trips into town for events like the dance would be fine, since she and Rory would go together.
Rory met with them and asked Lacy, "Are we staying or going?"
She appreciated that he asked her and didn't just assume one thing or another. "I'm good for going. How are you feeling?"
He smiled as if he were thinking of all their wild lovemaking last night.
She chuckled and felt her face warm with embarrassment. "Hal said we could build a home on the ranch's acreage. I'm good with that if you are."
"Are you sure? That makes it a bit of a drive for you."
"Yeah, it's like having a family here, and then we can go in and visit Granddad and do activities in town just like everyone else does. I don’t mind commuting to work."
"Did you tell Hal we already mated?"
She smiled. "No. He just said when we did."
Rory hugged her. "I guess the truth is out then."
"Yeah, I was going to wait for us to tell everyone at the same time."
"I blew that."
She kissed him.
"It was inevitable," Hal said, laughing. Then he gathered everyone around. "Okay, we're going to hunt down Timothy, if we can find him," Hal said. "I want two volunteers to ride horses. The rest of us will run as cougars, and if we find him, we take him down."
"Permanently?" Rory asked.
"Yeah. We can't have him attacking Lacy, Rory, her grandfather, or any of our people further. He won't realize we have such a force to track him down," Hal said. "I'll go as a cougar. The rest of you decide who will ride the horses."
"I'm running as a cougar," Lacy quickly said. "I need to learn how to ride a horse."
"I'll be a cougar and stay by your side."
"I'll ride a horse," Wyatt said.
"Me too," Blaze said.
Then police cars drove up. More reinforcements.
Stryker, Travis, Chase, Ricky, and Leyton got out of the vehicles. "We're ready to go on the hunt. Dan is staying with Frank, and Nina is at the coffee shop with Ava and Mrs. Fitz," Stryker said. “Chet and Addie are searching for Timothy around town.”
Blaze and Wyatt took off to saddle up a couple of horses.
"We're all going as cougars," Hal said. "You can use the bunkhouse to shift in. I'll meet you out here." Then he headed for the main house.
Everyone else went into the bunkhouse. Rory and Lacy went into his room and removed their clothes. They were still bandaged, and they just shifted. The bandages would most likely fall off when they ran, as they wouldn't stick to their fur very well. But she felt okay.
Rory seemed all right, too.
Then they all took off and fanned out, covering more territory. But Rory stayed close to Lacy. She knew he wasn't letting her out of his sight, and she loved him for it. She always felt so much safer with him around.
It had snowed a lot last night, so there were no tracks but one, and it wasn't a cougar's. It confused her. It was definitely a black bear's.
He should have been hibernating. She hoped they didn't run into a grumpy bear and have to deal with it.
She glanced at Rory, and he licked her muzzle. She licked his back, and they continued on their way. She noticed all the guys were standing in a line, as if they were searching for a crime victim or a missing person.
No one seemed to see anything, and they continued covering the land until they reached the forest below the cliffs.
Now it would be more challenging to see each other as they continued to search for any sign of the cat.
She kept glancing at the trees, making sure Timothy wasn't sitting on any of the branches near them.
She kept smelling for his scent but didn't catch any sign of it.
They finally reached the base of the cliffs, and she looked to her left and right. Everyone was there, all having moved together to begin to navigate the cliffs. But then she saw movement in a cave up above. She stared at it, thinking it wasn’t Timothy, but it was too big, dark brown, and furry.
The bear.
Everyone had been climbing the cliffs as cougars, but she couldn't believe it. Didn't anyone else see the bear peering out of the cave?
He growled, showing off long, wicked teeth.
She hesitated to climb the cliffs. He was directly in the path she had to take. Rory nudged her to go with him in that direction. He had to be crazy!
When she wouldn't budge, he wouldn't leave her. Rory suddenly shifted in this freezing weather. "That's John Blue Bearsden, a friend, and black bear shifter."
She couldn't believe it. She had never met a bear shifter before. She started up the cliffs, and Rory shifted and went with her. They reached the cave, and Rory greeted the bear.
He placed his massive paw on Rory's back and gently ran his paw over it. Then he nuzzled Lacy's face. She hadn't expected that, but now she knew his scent and would recognize him as a bear.
Rory shifted in the cave. “Did you see a cougar last night or this morning that you didn’t know?”