Chapter 2

Brance had seen hoof prints in the woods around their cleared spot of land;heknew the townsfolk had ridden out to check on him.He and Caleb had built a small log home,one room,with a fireplace along one wall and sparse furniture of which Brance’s Amish father would have been proud.There were two straight-back chairs and a round table to eat on,and blankets softened the mattress on the bed they shared.They needed little more—goods from the store this winter,and seeds in the spring.After that,Brance hoped they would never have to leave their homestead.They’d grow the food they needed,hunt for meat,and live out their days together as one.

Before Brance could turn from the counter,the shopkeep stuck out a gnarled hand.“Stan Barkley.And you are?”

Brance looked at the hand,considered ignoring it,then realized that would only be fodder for the gossip mill.With a quick,firm shake,he grunted,“Brance.”

Raising his voice,Stan called out,“How about you,sonny?You got a name you’re willing to share?”

Over his shoulder,Brance exchanged a glance with Caleb,who scowled at them over the top of the aisle before turning back to the shelves.At the look of consternation on Stan’s face,Brance explained,“That’s Caleb.He won’t speak.”

“What’s he,dumb?”Stan asked.

Something clattered as Caleb dropped it back onto the shelf.“Hey!”Stan called out.“Watch the goods.”

Brance turned to hide the smirk he couldn’t keep off his face.His lover was having a rough day.Once again,he wished he could comfort him,but this was neither the time nor the place.As Caleb stepped around the aisle and approached the counter,Brance twisted his smirk into a sympathetic smile,but his lover’s brooding gaze didn’t rise to see it.Caleb stormed past,tossing something onto the counter as he went by.

A round tin of lard,cooking fat the two of them used as a lubricant when they made love.Brance almost laughed out loud.

The shopkeep began stacking Brance’s purchases into a small pile.“You boysbest be careful out in them woods,”he said.

And they were back to making conversation.Brance didn’t rise to the bait and kept quiet,watching the old man’s hands flutter over the goods he planned to purchase.

It didn’t matter—Stan was a lot like Caleb,a man who spoke just to hear the sound of his own voice.“Sheriff’s daughter,Anna May?Pretty young thing,I’d allow.We lost her a few months back,not a stone’s throw from where you’ve settled down.”

“Lost her?”Brance gave him a sharp look.“How?”

Stan leaned over the counter,gesturing for Brance to do the same.His pale eyes were watery and large,pinning Brance in place.“Bobcats,”he said in a loud whisper.

Behind Brance,a tumble of boxes told him Caleb had overheard.“Careful,boy!”Stan shouted.“You’re about as clumsy…”

Brance met Caleb’s gaze across the store.Bobcats.The only ones Brance knewof stood in this very room,in the flesh.Tonight when the full moon rose over the snowy ground,he and Caleb would become,for lack of a better word,other,as they did every month.In the time they’d been living in the woods,building their home,Brance hadn’t seen any tracks or indication that the territory belonged to another cat.That was part of the location’s appeal—it was isolated,not only from man but from bobcat,as well.Brance’s scent marked the trees that ringed their property,and the scratches on the trunks had been made by Caleb’s claws.That land was theirs now.It belonged to them.

And neither had seen this Anna May the shopkeep had mentioned.“Are you sure it was bobcats?”Brance asked,trying to keep his voice nonchalant even as his blood rushed in his ears and pounded in his temples.“I haven’t seen anymyself.”

“You will,I reckon.”Stan motioned for Brance’s empty haversack,which hehanded over.As the shopkeep began packing his goods into the bag,he told them,“I ain’t seen any,either,truth be told,but Anna May’s gone,and her horse was ravaged something fierce.They had to put the poor beast down,the wounds were so bad.And a cat was seen sniffing around the homestead last month,but the trigger happy deputy scared it off.Couple of our men went out searching—that’s how we know of your cabin—but she’s just up and vanished.Her pa’s really taken it hard.She was such a pretty girl.”

Beside Brance,Caleb asked,“How old?”

Brance jumped,surprised at his lover’s sudden appearance.To play off the move,he pushed the tin of lard toward Caleb and muttered,“Put this back.”

Instead of listening,Caleb pushed the tin toward Stan.“We need more.How old was the girl?”

“Old’nuff,”Stan said.When he reached for the tin,Brance plucked it from his grip and pushed it back toward Caleb.Stan reached for a small sack of flour instead.“Some say she’s run off with a suitor,though we ain’t never seen one’round here before.And there’s the horse to consider.No man would do that to a dumb animal.”

Remembering the trappers they’d run into months ago,Brance growled,“You’d be surprised what men can do.”To Caleb,he said,“Put this back.We don’t need it yet.”

“We ain’t gonna need it if you don’t stop being so damn ornery,”Caleb replied.“I want it.Buy it for me.”

Watching the exchange,Stan asked,“You two brothers,or something?”

“Cousins,”Caleb said,flashing the shopkeep a quick grin.

Stan didn’t appear to buy it.“Uh-huh.Well,you fellas keep an eye out,I’m telling ya.Bobcats up in them woods.They’d get you both.”

They already have.

Keeping that thought to himself,Brance handed over the tin of lard to Stan,who tucked it into the haversack along with the other goods.A glance at his lover showed Caleb’s black mood had lifted,leaving behind sparkling eyes and his usual sunny grin.In a low voice,Brance murmured,“You’re spoiled,you know that?”

Caleb replied,“And whose fault is it?”

His own,Brance knew,but he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

****

The snow had stopped falling by the time they left the shop,but gray clouds still scudded the sky and Brance could feel the moon on the rise.Tossing his haversack into the back of their cart,he untied the horses from the hitching post as Caleb brushed the fresh snow off the jump seat.“What do you think about that girl missing?”he asked,climbing into the seat.The rifle once again lay across his lap.

With a shrug,Brance vaulted up beside him.“You know we’re the only bobcats in those woods.”

Caleb cleared his throat and glanced down at his hands,unusually quiet.

Brance frowned.“You’ve seen others?”When Caleb shrugged,he asked,“What haven’t you told me?”

“I haven’t seenanything,”Caleb said,choosing his words carefully.With a dark look at the dusty window of the general store,he added,“Let’s head on home.It’s getting late.”

Brance sat with the reins in his hands,impassive,unmoving.Waiting.

Caleb sighed and covered his lover’s hands with one of his own.“Brance,please.It was last month,okay?When I chased after that doe,remember?She led me down a short ravine and when I came up the other side,I smelled another’s scent.I didn’t see any cats,I didn’t hear any…it was an old scrape,nothing I thought worth bothering about.”

For another long moment,Brance stared at Caleb.His lover seemed to wilt under his gaze,drawing his neck into the collar of his thin jacket,hunkering down,waiting for admonishment.Several emotions flickered through Brance—anger,betrayal,concern—but he held them in check with a grip as firm as that which held the reins in his hands.When he finally spoke,his voice was low,soft.“Caleb,”he said.