“Okay. I’ll give it some thought,” she told him.
Climbing into bed, they cuddled together and slept for a few hours, until the sun was up and they could talk to the people on the ranch. She could see that Bradley was still distraught about it all as she approached him and pulled him into a hug, tiptoeing upward to kiss him softly on the lips.
“It will be fine,” she said.
“I hope so.”
“Do you know what you are going to say to them?”
“Not really. Walter once told me that anytime he was talking to the clan, he never planned ahead. He just went out there and told them what he had to say from the heart. I know what needs to be said, so hopefully, I’ll find the right words when I get in front of them.”
“I guess we best do this then. I’ll go ahead out and start pulling everyone together for you. It’s a full day, so mostly, everyone should be here.”
“Should be, but that brings up an important point. Make a note of anyone who is not here and should be. It might shed some light on who else we need to pay a bit more attention to as we figure this out.”
“Oh, God, Bradley. The widows. Trevor and Deacon were both married. Surely, they know their husbands are dead by now.”
“Yes. It will be interesting to see how they react to that fact.”
“Meaning?”
“Will they show up for work as if nothing is wrong and tell us later, after they’ve figured out a cover story for what happened to them? Will they come in crying, looking for comfort from the clan? Or will they stay home and wait for us to find out on our own?”
“I guess we will see.”
“I guess we will. All right, get going. I’ll be out in about fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll see you in a little while then. I love you, Bradley.”
“I love you too,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek and smacking her backside as she turned to leave. She tossed a quick smile back at him and left for the stables, where she could gather everyone outside the front doors.
When Bradley arrived, everyone was standing around whispering to one another. Whether their discussions were just guessing games as to what this was about or if any of them had gotten word on what happened during the night was unclear. The widows were nowhere to be seen, along with a half-dozen other clan members who should have arrived by now. Everyone else bore a look of grave concern on their faces.
They all waited expectantly as he stood in front of them and took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts and then he began speaking.CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT“Some disturbing things have come to light recently. Some of you may have seen reports about some local girls that went missing,” Bradley began.
There were many nods among members of the clan. It was no surprise, as it had been on the news for anyone to see. The parents had spoken, begging anyone with information to come forward. The grieving parents of the fourth girl had spoken on behalf of those that might still be saved. It wouldn’t be unusual for any of them to know about it, but what Kay was looking for among them was any reaction that seemed to be more than just an acknowledgment of the facts. So far, there were none.
“What you may not know is that the girls have now been found and that the men holding them against their will were members of our clan.”
There were murmurs and looks of confusion. Once again, if anyone were involved, they had a very effective poker face. There was a mix of horror and curiosity from among them. Bradley held up a hand to settle down all the chatter, so he could continue.
“I’m not going to give you names, at this point. I don’t know who has been notified and who has not, so I’ll wait and talk to members of direct family once we’re done here. What we need to talk about now is what has been happening on this ranch and what all this means to us as a clan.”
Kay studied the crowd, noting one of the women who seemed to be someplace else, absorbed in her own thoughts rather than listening to anything Bradley had to say. She twisted her hands together anxiously. What was her name? Kay racked her brain and finally came up with it. Clara. Her name was Clara.
“We have long kept our secrets here. There are no non-shifters among us. Everyone on this ranch shares a common vulnerability. As bear shifters, we are powerful in the physical sense, but we have a weakness. That weakness is being something that frightens our human counterparts that live outside this ranch. There are people who would want us caged for their protection, or worse, dead.”