Chapter 1 #2
“Hello, I’m Iona Murphy.” I stretched out my hand, expecting to be rejected again, but this man slipped his hand straight into mine, engulfing it. My hand felt warm in his and a tremor rippled through me. The man shuddered, his green eyes darkened. “This is the part where you tell me your name.”
The man didn’t speak, and it was left to Kara to step in. “This is Kole, my elder brother.”
“Nice to meet you, Kole. Can I have my hand back?” I gave my hand a tug and, with obvious reluctance, he released me.
I clenched and unclenched my hand, coaxing life back into it.
The man had a helluva grip. I turned to face the others, all of them watching us with an expectant look on their faces.
A warning shiver prickled up my spine. Something wasn’t right here.
“Can we eat now she’s here? I’m starved,” Konnor huffed dramatically, grinning at me, “Iona, I hope you’re hungry. We eat like wolves.”
“You’re hilarious, Konnor.” Kara rolled her eyes at her brother, before taking my hand again.
“Come on.” She led me to the dining room, leaving the rest of the family to follow.
The dining room was just off the kitchen, it was occupied by a long oak table, laden with large, cloche-covered bowls and platters, telling me dinner was ready to go.
One wall was complete floor to ceiling glass with double doors leading out to a huge garden and the woods beyond.
I almost felt like I was eating dinner outside.
“You like it?” Kara asked me.
“That’s an understatement. If I could build a dreamhouse it would probably look like this.”
Kara smiled wider and welcomed me to sit.
Jonah took his seat at one end of the table, I frowned when Kole took the other – shouldn’t Dinah sit there? Instead, she sat at Jonah’s left. I picked a chair somewhere in the middle, figuring that was a safe bet, but Kara intercepted me.
“Oh no, you sit here.” She pulled out a seat at Kole’s left. I frowned but said nothing, moving to the offered seat.
Kole stilled beside me, his eyes burning a hole in the side of my face. What was his problem? Deciding it would be rude to call him out on it, I slipped into cordial mode. I turned to Dinah.
“Dinner looks wonderful.”
“Thank you, but I can’t take credit for the meal. My son cooked for us tonight.” She gestured at Kole and smiled as everyone loaded began to serve themselves.
“Oh.” I turned to the man still staring at me. “It smells great. Thank you.”
With a stiff nod, he took my plate and loaded it with food. Everyone seemed to watch out of the corner of their eye, and once again I was left feeling like I was missing something.
Kole resumed his staring as I started to eat. I swallowed my first bite of steak and released a moan.
“I’m sorry,” I laughed, embarrassed. “You’re an incredible cook.”
His food remained untouched, his fist clenched as he tore his gaze away from me. I tried not to show my discomfort. The eldest Maclay sibling might be a fantastic cook but he was creeping me out.
“So, tell us about yourself,” Dinah said, a surface smile resting on her lips. “Kara said that you’re a photographer? Is that what brought you to America?”
“Yes and no. Originally, I came for the PCT, I mean the Pacific Crest Trail. I just completed it a few months ago.”
“Shit, really? By yourself?” Konnor’s eyes were wide.
“Yeah, by myself.” I was used to people being surprised by that. It wasn’t something many people did on their own. The PCT was a more than 2,000 mile trek that I’d managed to complete in four months, a month less than the average time.
“I finished it just before winter hit and decided to road trip through America for a few months. Now the weather’s better I wanted to spend some time hiking in Yellowstone and decided to combine that with some freelance work.
I wanted to photograph the giant grizzlies that are out here but getting access is proving difficult. ”
I felt Kole stiffen beside me. Konnor and Kallum exchanged a look but said nothing. I glanced around the table, wondering what I’d said wrong.
“Yes, they live on private property,” Dinah answered.
“Owned by the Gulf family, right? I’ve been trying to contact them to see if they would allow me to look for the bears, even just for a day. I’d love to see one that size.”
Yellowstone was public land but there were two vast swathes of land surrounding it that were privately owned, one by the Gulf family where the bears lived, the other about a hundred miles north and owned by the Maclay family. I’d done my research.
“It’s too dangerous. You’ll stay away.”
My eyes flashed to Kole. Did he just give me an order? Luckily, Jonah spoke before I could burst out laughing.
“Do you plan to stay long?” He was clearly trying to change the subject. Resisting the urge to tear Kole a new one, I focused on his father instead. With a son like that, I imagined Jonah was used to having to smooth things over.
“As long as I need to. I don’t like to live on a strict timeline.”
Kole shifted beside me. I felt the heat from his leg under the table, so close to mine. Despite how uncomfortable he was making me, a flush spread over my skin. My grip tightened on my cutlery and I swallowed. What was wrong with me? I looked up to find their watchful eyes on me. “I’m sorry?”
“I said, do you enjoy your work?” Dinah asked, a knowing smile on her face.
My stomach turned over at that smile. I’d spent my whole life relying on my instincts and right now, all of them were screaming at me to get out of here.
Buying myself time to think of an excuse to leave early, I smiled back and answered her question.
“Yes, very much. I enjoy travelling, I like working independently, and I prefer being outside to inside.” She looked like she was about to continue the third degree so I cut her off quickly.
“What about you? I already know Kara is a doctor but what do the rest of you do? I’ve seen the signs for Maclay construction around town. Do you all work in that business?”
“I’m a…well, I suppose I’m a homemaker,” Dinah replied after some thought.
“I’m a soldier.” Konnor grinned at me. “So’s Kallum.” Jonah didn’t offer an answer so I turned to the beast of a man at my side.
“And you?” I asked Kole, “What do you do?”
“I’m Alpha of the Maclay pack.” He looked around the table at his family who seemed to be stunned into silence. “I’m not going along with this bullshit. I won’t lie to her.”
That ripple of fear prickled up my spine again. This time it went beyond a warning, the alarm bells were ringing loud and clear. I cursed myself for leaving my gun in the car.
“We aren’t lying, we’re just skirting the truth so that we don’t scare her off before she gets to know us.” Konnor winked at me, a gesture I really didn’t like.
Kole rumbled beside me, sounding more animal than man.
“Kole…” His father spoke with a warning tone. I watched Kole take a steadying breath, seeming to force his tense muscles into submission. What was wrong with this family?
Kole stood. “Mom, tell her what she needs to know. I need to go for a run.” He eyed Konnor and Kallum.
“She doesn’t leave this house.” His voice was clear, commanding, and his brothers nodded.
I stared at him in shock, my heart starting to pound.
Kole looked down at me, a sad expression on his face.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. You won’t be grateful now but this could be going much worse for you.
” With that, the giant brute of a man turned and strode out of the glass doors leading outside.
He pulled his shirt off and I watched as his bare skin disappeared into the woods beyond.
We sat in silence, Kara and her family staring at me, waiting...for what?
“What’s going on?” I looked at Kara, who looked at her mother, who looked at her husband. Kara’s father – tall, strong, an older version of Kole – moved his plate to the side and steepled his hands.
“There is something I need to explain to you. You aren’t going to like it, but I need you to understand that we won’t hurt you unless we have to.”
Strangely enough, those words did little to comfort me.
The older man began to speak, his words the stuff of myth and legend.
Of fairy tales and cheesy movies. My heart thudded in my chest, blood rushed in my ears.
Fear threatened to overwhelm me but a lifetime of schooling my emotions had trained me to stay calm and so I sat still, my expression perfectly smooth as Jonah Maclay told me a tale I couldn’t ever have predicted.