Jessie crossed her arms over her chest and waited.
Grandma Foster let out a creaky laugh. “You’ve already done it! You fed the panther.” Almost kindly, she reached over and patted Jessie’s knee.
Despite the circumstantial bits of evidence, Jessie hadn’t believed it was true. Now she had to face it. A supernatural freak of nature resided up on Catamount Ridge. Jessie wanted to call the old battle-ax crazy. She wanted to rail against the insanity, but time was short. If she wanted out of this mess, she needed more information.
“Speak up old woman,” Jessie commanded. “Fill me in.”
• • •
ARMED WITH A buttload of knowledge she wished she never had to acquire, Jessie sat at her desk and studied every known detail of the Red Mine. In the wee hours of the morning, the ranger station was empty and eerily quiet. No one expected her to be here, and that was exactly how Jessie wanted it.
Derek had been employed by the Forest Service for over five years and enjoyed the perfect position which allowed him to hide his unique characteristics. The possibility that her staff knew of his uncommon abilities and was helping to protect him seemed likely. His position had been on the chopping block for the last few years. Her predecessor, Captain Mills, had dismissed rangers with more seniority to keep him employed. The last one in was typically the first one out, but somehow Derek managed to beat the system.
The call to Captain Mills would have to wait until morning. In all honesty, she didn’t think it would lead anywhere. The only possible excuse to keep Derek on was because the program he spearheaded was too important to let go. No other officer had volunteered to isolate themselves up in the hills twenty-four hours a day to monitor the habits of the local wildlife, so Derek kept his job when others did not.
Jessie had not been back in town or in command for long, but she grew up here. Yet, not a single co-worker called to inquire about her health after the attack. No one except Derek Foster, who, according to his grandmother, could change into a mountain lion at will. Surreal as it sounded, Jessie believed the crux of the crazy woman’s wild tirade.
His cousin, Ice, had the same ability.
Jessie sensed the cubs were Ice’s offspring, but Derek had taken her up on the ridge to help perpetuate the species. According to their grandmother, in order for the cubs to acquire the same ability as their father, they had to be nursed by a human surrogate or they would stay feline forever. One nursing wouldn’t do the job. They needed to be nurtured like a human child. The bond formed with their human mother, along with the nutrition she provided, created the link that enabled them to shift between man and beast. Without both, the cubs would remain ordinary mountain lions and never acquire their father’s ability to shift.
Ice accused Derek of killing the cubs’ mother. Why they chose Jessie to be their surrogate was beyond her, but at least she hadn’t gone over the edge like Zack and Mable’s daughter.
Large doses of the herbal mixture had caused the young woman to suffer a psychotic break.
Twenty-four hours later, Jessie still felt the aftereffects of the concoction Ice threw on the fire. The correct dosage had to still be in question. Jessie was nothing more than a guinea pig to these people and she was extremely lucky she hadn’t suffered the same fate as Lizzy. Unlike the shy daughter of Zack and Mable, Jessie was more than able to fight back. If she had anything to say about it, the crimes the Foster family committed would not go unpunished.
There were still things Jessie hadn’t been able to figure out. One of them being why Derek killed the cubs’ mother before finding an appropriate surrogate?
Grandma Foster rambled off a lot of stuff Jessie didn’t understand. Most of what she dished out bordered on pure poppycock, but Jessie believed that somewhere in the muck resided bits and pieces of
Grandma Foster let out a creaky laugh. “You’ve already done it! You fed the panther.” Almost kindly, she reached over and patted Jessie’s knee.
Despite the circumstantial bits of evidence, Jessie hadn’t believed it was true. Now she had to face it. A supernatural freak of nature resided up on Catamount Ridge. Jessie wanted to call the old battle-ax crazy. She wanted to rail against the insanity, but time was short. If she wanted out of this mess, she needed more information.
“Speak up old woman,” Jessie commanded. “Fill me in.”
• • •
ARMED WITH A buttload of knowledge she wished she never had to acquire, Jessie sat at her desk and studied every known detail of the Red Mine. In the wee hours of the morning, the ranger station was empty and eerily quiet. No one expected her to be here, and that was exactly how Jessie wanted it.
Derek had been employed by the Forest Service for over five years and enjoyed the perfect position which allowed him to hide his unique characteristics. The possibility that her staff knew of his uncommon abilities and was helping to protect him seemed likely. His position had been on the chopping block for the last few years. Her predecessor, Captain Mills, had dismissed rangers with more seniority to keep him employed. The last one in was typically the first one out, but somehow Derek managed to beat the system.
The call to Captain Mills would have to wait until morning. In all honesty, she didn’t think it would lead anywhere. The only possible excuse to keep Derek on was because the program he spearheaded was too important to let go. No other officer had volunteered to isolate themselves up in the hills twenty-four hours a day to monitor the habits of the local wildlife, so Derek kept his job when others did not.
Jessie had not been back in town or in command for long, but she grew up here. Yet, not a single co-worker called to inquire about her health after the attack. No one except Derek Foster, who, according to his grandmother, could change into a mountain lion at will. Surreal as it sounded, Jessie believed the crux of the crazy woman’s wild tirade.
His cousin, Ice, had the same ability.
Jessie sensed the cubs were Ice’s offspring, but Derek had taken her up on the ridge to help perpetuate the species. According to their grandmother, in order for the cubs to acquire the same ability as their father, they had to be nursed by a human surrogate or they would stay feline forever. One nursing wouldn’t do the job. They needed to be nurtured like a human child. The bond formed with their human mother, along with the nutrition she provided, created the link that enabled them to shift between man and beast. Without both, the cubs would remain ordinary mountain lions and never acquire their father’s ability to shift.
Ice accused Derek of killing the cubs’ mother. Why they chose Jessie to be their surrogate was beyond her, but at least she hadn’t gone over the edge like Zack and Mable’s daughter.
Large doses of the herbal mixture had caused the young woman to suffer a psychotic break.
Twenty-four hours later, Jessie still felt the aftereffects of the concoction Ice threw on the fire. The correct dosage had to still be in question. Jessie was nothing more than a guinea pig to these people and she was extremely lucky she hadn’t suffered the same fate as Lizzy. Unlike the shy daughter of Zack and Mable, Jessie was more than able to fight back. If she had anything to say about it, the crimes the Foster family committed would not go unpunished.
There were still things Jessie hadn’t been able to figure out. One of them being why Derek killed the cubs’ mother before finding an appropriate surrogate?
Grandma Foster rambled off a lot of stuff Jessie didn’t understand. Most of what she dished out bordered on pure poppycock, but Jessie believed that somewhere in the muck resided bits and pieces of
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