Leopard Moon

Chapter 13

Cormac was on his way back from the latest build site. Fridays were supposed to be his study day, but his father had needed an extra hand in order to stay on schedule. He’d wanted to finish the roof before a round of rain and snow came in. This was the last house they’d be building this year; it was too dangerous and costly to build the huge log cabins in January and February.  Of course, it didn’t mean they were idle. They would still clear land slated for development and mill the timber from it, in preparation for the spring building season.

He was heading home in his Jeep, tired from a long day of stabilizing heavy roof timbers and general carting and toting building supplies around the site. He didn’t mind the work, but it seemed like his father was trying more and more to pull him into the business side of things, which while fine, wasn’t what he necessarily envisioned himself doing. He wanted to build things, yes, but bigger things than custom log homes--mountain mansions really--for those special few who could afford it. He loved bridges and large open spaces, cleanly designed. He hoped to incorporate his buildings with nature, much like Frank Lloyd Wright did with his Falling Water house--one of Cormac’s favorite architectural accomplishments.

His classes were done, and exams would be starting next week. He knew he’d done well this semester, as he always did, and he’d gotten registered for all of his spring classes. His older brother and his family were coming up in a few weeks to join them for Christmas and he planned to talk to him about the best way to handle their father’s ongoing lectures--the ones Cormac liked to refer to as the How You Should Live Your Life series. He was happy his dad didn’t know about his girl troubles; he could only imagine the talks those would generate.

He'd been staying away from the Barn lately. Burke and Finn hadn't said anything about it, but he knew they noticed. He was trying to give Kess the space she needed to figure things out for herself. He didn't want to push her into anything. He thought they had the potential for something pretty great, but she didn't seem to want to admit it. He would still swing by every once in a while, but it had been easier to avoid the place with the flurry of studying for finals.

The coffee date with Kess had been a lot of fun and he knew that she had felt the same. He couldn't understand why she kept backing away from him. She'd open herself up a little, put herself out there, and then shut him down completely. He wondered if it was a previous bad relationship that made her so gun-shy. It would certainly explain the fear and mistrust.

If he was truthful about it, it was as much for himself as for her that he stayed away from the Barn. It was kind of hard to see her and not want to sit down and talk to her. He wasn't worried about Kess not being a were--Burke's girlfriend Lindsay wasn't and she was accepted into the family, so he knew it wouldn't be an issue on his side. It wasn't ideal, but it wasn't a deal-breaker either. Unfortunately, it looked like he'd never get the opportunity to find out if it could work out since she seemed so determined to strangle whatever it was between them before it could really get started.

Cormac was passing one of the many overlooks that liberally spotted the mountainside when his headlights illuminated a familiar blue compact car sitting there. He made a U-turn to check and he was almost positive it was Kess' car. She'd traded in the California plates for local ones since the last time he’d walked her out to the Barn’s parking lot at the end of her shift, but everything else was the same. He parked his Jeep next to her car and got out.

She wasn’t in her car. He took a quick look at it and didn’t see anything wrong with it--no flat tires, no leaking oil. He tried the doors and found them locked, then placed his hand on the hood. It was cold. With the temperature dropping so fast now that full night had fallen, that didn’t tell him much except that she could have been out here for a while. That was a deeply stupid idea in early December, especially when you didn’t know the area really well--or, like, at all.