"Does all this land belong to you?" Cassie asked as she sat on the back of Luke's truck. As she'd requested, they'd stopped next to a lake so she could snap a few pictures of the scenery.

"Just about. There are three main landowners out here. The Nathaniels, the Landers, and the Lombardis. My eldest brother and I split my dad's estate fifty-fifty shortly before he passed away. And then when my brother died in the house fire, the twins got his share."

"So the family lodging business was being run by your brother before he died?

Luke nodded. "For the most part, my brother was the brains behind why we became so profitable."

"But I thought you were the one in charge of building and renovating the new model cabins. And keeping things running."

"I was. I guess you can say we equally transformed it into what it is today."

It seemed like he wanted to say more, but he remained quiet after that. Instead, he leaned against the side of the truck, looking out at the lake.

"Do you miss him?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah, I do…after all these years. I looked to him for guidance but he used to claim I never listened to him. But I was listening. More than he'll ever know. I should have gotten over his death by now."

"I understand. Trust me. I know what it's like. Like with my parents being gone, I want to move on but the void still exists. Not just a physical void but the emotional ones they used to fill when they were here."

"Yes, my sentiments exactly."

Cassie drew in a deep breath, pulled her legs up toward her, and then rested her chin on one knee. "It's so beautiful out here. I could stay all day and do nothing but daydream and write."

"It's certainly peaceful, that's for sure, especially if you park yourself right under that big oak tree in the shade. You might see a wolf or two out here jumping in and out of the lake trying to catch lunch but you won't find any aggressive wolves out here. This stretch of land was deemed a non-hunting zone by the State decades ago. Which is why it's so peaceful."

"So I've been told. And according to my research, this is why the camping grounds come highly recommended in several regional magazines. Not all areas with wolves living about can get a recommendation like that," she said.

Luke nodded. "That's mostly what keeps Lombardi Lodging in business. Along with the help of my neighbors, we plan to keep this a danger-free zone."

"About last night…" she started.

He turned to her, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. "What about it?"

"You never answered me. Are the wolves harmless because they're natural wolves or shifters?"

"Most wolves are harmless. The same can be said about most humans."

"Aspen Valley is full of shifters. What about here? Do shifters live out here? You would know if they did, right?" she questioned him.

When he didn't answer right away, she continued, "You've been living out here your whole life. While you were giving me the tour, I saw several homes that looked like permanent residences with kids playing in the front yard."

"It's not my place to tell which families are shifter-kind or not. That's forbidden actually."

"Forbidden by who?"

"The Pack."

"Do you know a lot about the Packs that live around here?"

"Pack," he corrected. "As in one wolf pack."

"So that means this one wolf pack that lives out here either consists of natural wolves or shifters," she concluded. "Right?"

Luke chuckled under his breath. "Neil used to tell me that you had your dad's personality and his talent for digging for the right answers. He was absolutely right."

"He said I had talent? That's a first." Cassie smiled. "Once I started doing research about these murders, I realized that I wanted to do more research on the shifters themselves. Their history. How they thrived before they were ever discovered. I think it's so fascinating."

At that moment, Luke's cell phone rang. He fished it out of his back pocket and appeared to contemplate about answering the phone.

"Excuse me for a moment. I've gotta take this one."

Cassie nodded, fully understanding that he'd spent a good chunk of the morning with her when he could have easily left her in the office cabin by herself thumbing through the instruction log his niece left.

Luke's voice drifted off as he moved away from the truck, inch by inch. She had a couple weeks to get to know Luke, but his retreating back told her that he had more important things to do than taking her on tours of the property or listening to her ramblings about shifters. What she did know about him was that he liked drawing structures and repairing things. Maybe if she switched the conversation up a bit and away from shifters in general, she'd learn a whole lot more about him.

When he turned around and came back toward the truck, Cassie anticipated what he would say by the worried look on his face. The look was almost the same as the one he sported yesterday when the wolves howled out into the night in warning.

"I hate to do this…but something happened at one of my cabins and I need to get out there stat."

Cassie frowned. "Well, what happened? Is there anything I can do?"

She slid off the truck and landed on her feet, dusting off the back of her shorts with her palms.

He shook his head. "A garbage disposal unit malfunctioned. My guests say it's been like that for two days. I should fix the problem now before they try and shove any more food down inside. It shouldn't take but a few hours. And maybe we can do an early dinner instead of lunch."

"Okay." She grinned. "I'll make the grilled cheese and you grill the fish."

He smiled, nodding as he held the door open for her.

Once Luke was seated and backing the truck out onto the dirt road, Cassie glanced down at her watch. It wasn't even noon yet, but it felt like she'd spent an eternity with Luke.

"I have a few more hours on the clock. I'll work on some office stuff in the meantime," she mentioned on the way to the cabin.

"Don't work too hard. We got a lot accomplished today with you learning about how I operate things," he said.

When they reached the cabin, Luke made sure that she was inside. He almost looked hesitant about leaving her, casting an unresolved and longing look in her direction when he set down the small cooler near the foyer. Nonetheless, he left her and drove off to take care of his business, leaving her to ponder why she had a burning need to remain at his side.