“You already said that. Didn’t he say that, Jase? Yes, a call. I heard an animal, and I’m going to go see what’s wrong.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” Jase said, frowning slightly.
Cole ignored his younger brother, his gaze holding Maia to him. “Didn’t you pay any attention to me saying I wanted everyone to stick together when we went outside?”
Maia winced a little at his sharp tone. “Yes, of course I did.” Truthfully the moment she heard the call of an animal in distress she hadn’t thought of anything else. “I’m just going out onto the patio. You can come if you want, but you’ll have to stay quiet.”
His blue eyes slashed her as she gave the order, but she didn’t look away, staring right back at him, refusing to be intimidated.
Jase jumped up with determination. “I’m coming too.”
“You just don’t want to do the dishes,” Cole said.
The two grabbed jackets and gloves from the rack just outside the door in the small mudroom as they followed Maia out. Cole hung back watching as she stood on the large covered patio looking out into the snow. She didn’t call out, and he heard nothing, but she suddenly turned her head toward the north and stepped off the patio into the snow. He moved quickly, catching her arm.
“Maia, call whatever it is to you. You can’t go out into this. Jase and I will hang back out of the way, but you stay undercover.”
The storm had let up some, but it had dropped several feet of snow, and with the next serious storm approaching fast, he didn’t want to take any chances.
“I’m not sure it will come to me with the two of you so close,” she said.
“At least try.”
She hesitated a moment, glanced at Jase, then complied, whistling softly as if calling a dog. The sound of the wind answered her. Snowflakes fell in a continuous soft drift, muffling sounds of the night.
“I’m going to have to go out to it,” she persisted.
Cole retained possession of her arm. Something was moving just outside his range of vision, the fall of snow nearly obscuring it. “Stay here. I want you where I can see you at all times.” He whispered it, straining to see beyond the veil of white.
Beneath his fingers, Maia suddenly tensed and stepped away from him, moving to the very edge of the patio. “She’s coming in.”
Cole felt the hairs on his body raise. He moved closer to Jase, shifting his body to place himself between the unknown and his brother. What he wanted to do was drag Maia back into the safety of the house. While the snow was white and seemed to sparkle everywhere, the clouds were dark and ominous with the continuing threat of the blizzard. He didn’t know if that was what triggered his protective instincts or whether it was sheer self-preservation, but his warning radar was shrieking.
The mountain lion emerged out of the snowdrift, covered in flakes, ears flat, eyes alert and watchful. The yellow-green gaze settled not on Maia, but on the Steele brothers.
“Maia.” Cole reached out and caught the back of her coat, giving it a small tug to try to bring her to him. “Jase, back into the house. Come on, Maia. This is dangerous.”
“No,” Maia kept her tone low and almost crooning. “She’s coming to us. She’s feeling threatened, and any movement on your part will have her running away. Just stay calm and don’t move.” As she spoke, Maia knelt and patted the patio beside her.
Nearly belly to the ground, the cat inched its way to her, using a freeze-frame stalking motion, never taking its gaze from the men. The cat crouched rather than stretched out, presenting its left side to the veterinarian, but obviously ready to spring away quickly should there be need. Maia put her hand on the cat’s back, fingers sliding into the rich fur.
Cole pressed one hand to his heart and slid the other down to his calf, where his gun was stashed.
Maia allowed the images from the mountain lion to crowd into her mind. Something moving through the air, nearly over the top of her. A loud noise that had the cat snarling. Men and horses. The scent of man invading her territory. The sting in her side that spread pain through her body and slowed her down, accompanied by the sound of the rifle.
“She’s been shot,” she said quietly.
chapter
9