"Please don't talk. This is very hard on her. She trusts me, but not you. You have to look at the body language of a cat to know what's going on inside of them." She set the dose of Ketamine aside and withdrew a second syringe. "This is yohimbe, Jase. Youalways have it ready when you're working with exotics. The danger is, they'll fight the drug until they finally drop, but then, as they relax, they can go into cardiac arrest. I think she'll be fine, she isn't fighting it, but we have to be ready. Yohimbe reverses the Ketamine. I'm giving the injection in the muscle and it will sting, so expect a reaction and don't move.

Once she's out, you can get close to her."

Cole kept the gun hidden along his thigh. His heart was pounding in fear, and his mouth was dry, not for himself, or even Jase, but because the sight of Maia so close to the wild animal was terrifying.

Maia caught the head of the cat in her hands and leaned forward nose to nose, her face inches from the cat's teeth. She seemed to exchange breath with the animal, obviously communicating in some way, but Cole's fingers tightened around the gun. It took a tremendous effort to keep from aiming it at the animal.

Maia put her hand on the cat's heart as if matching her own heartbeat with the mountain lion.

Maia pulled back to pick up the syringe. The cat yowled as she administered it. "I know, baby," she said softly, "it stings, doesn't it? Just go with it and get sleepy for me." She glanced over her shoulder. "I need to work fast, this won't keep her under for long."

"Can we help?" Cole asked, shoving the gun back into his holster.

"Remember how I mixed the Betadine and saline? You can do that while I give her fluid. It's going to balloon up at the site, Jase, but the lump will dissipate as the fluid is absorbed in the cat's body. I'm giving her a sub queue of lactated Ringer's solution for dehydration. It's hard to find a vein on the big cats, but they absorb liquid under the skin. I'm putting in the fluids right here in this area."

"Do you want me to put this in a syringe like we did for the horse?" Jase asked. He crouched quite close to Maia, almost nudging her out of the way.

"Yes. Use it to flush the wound site. The wound is on the trapezoid muscle, but it looks like the bullet just sliced it rather than penetrated." Maia turned her head toward Jase.

Cole could see they were nearly nose to nose. For some reason it put a lump in his throat. Something deep inside him shifted. Moved. Melted. He saw his young half brother, so starved for love and attention, turning to Maia. She seemed so willing to give the boy the things he needed. It came naturally to her. She imparted knowledge casually, and Jase soaked it up.

"You lavage it, and I'll debride the area. We want it sterile, just like with Wally."

"She's so big," Jase observed. "I've never seen a mountain lion other than in pictures before." There was awe in Jase's voice. Unable to help himself, just as curious as Jase, Cole crowded closer to see what they were doing.

"They're solitary animals, Jase," Maia explained. "The females are smaller than the males. This one probably weighs in around ninety-five pounds and most are somewhere between seventy-five to one hundred and twenty-five pounds, so she's average and healthy. A female will keep her cubs with her about year to a year and half. This one is still young, maybe two years old."

"Can I touch her?" Jase was already reaching out, his expression lit up with excitement Cole had never seen him as fascinated or intrigued with anything. The boy moved even closer, actually bending over Maia to peer at what she was doing. She didn't seem to mind in the least, showing him what she was doing next.

"Sure, it's safe. She's out. Her eyes are open, but she's out." Maia squeezed ointment into the cat's eyes to prevent them from drying out. "She can't blink lite this, so we have to do it for her."

"I've heard them scream before," Jase said. "It was like something out of a scary movie."

"Mountain lions purr, rather than roar like the other big cats do, and yes, they have a phenomenal scream," Maia said, guiding Jase's hand along the cat's back.

Cole watched the way her hands moved through the mountain lion's fur. He tasted envy in his mouth.

Need. How did he become a part of such a thing?

Maia glanced at Cole over her shoulder. "You don't hunt them on this ranch, do you?"

"It's legal here in Wyoming," he said. His voice was strangling around the lump in his throat. "But since I've been here we certainly don't hunt them, and we wouldn't unless they went after our horses or cattle.

Most stay in the high country." Forcing his mind to concentrate on details, he studied the cat, trying to determine, from the lacerated muscle, the angle the shooter had shot from. "How old is mat wound?"

"It's fresh. Maybe twenty-four hours, a little longer, but not by much. d.a.m.n hunters. It's makes me so mad, they wound an animal and leave it to suffer."

"You're saying she was shot on this ranch yesterday or the day before?" Cole's body touched hers, as he bent over her to get a closer look at the wound.

Maia glanced at him, recognizing the edge in his voice, the sudden alert interest. "She definitely was shot somewhere on the ranch."

"There was no one here but Al and me," Jase said. "I didn't hear a shot."

"It was probably miles from the ranch house," Cole said.

"I'm going to give her an injection of antibiotics, then we'll put them in her food and try to keep her here over the next few days," Maia deliberately changed the subject when she realized Jase was becoming agitated. She sent Cole a warning glance.

Cole shook his head. "Maia, this is a working ranch. You have any idea how dangerous that is? If you feed her, and you'll have to, she might want to come around here. And then we're going to have to shoot her anyway."

"I'll make certain she knows to stay in the high country."

He stepped even closer. "Fine. If I have to have it here, I want to pet it too." He felt stupid asking, but it was the chance of a lifetime. There was breathtaking beauty in the animal and a sense of raw power. The moment his fingers sank into the fur, he felt connected to it, and in some strange way, the mountain lion solidified his connection to Jase and Maia. He dropped his other hand on Maia's shoulder, needing to touch her as he took the unique opportunity to get close to a live mountain lion. Jase beamed at him.

They exchanged a small grin. Maia was magic and mystery, and it was becoming difficult for Cole to focus his mind on anything else.

Maia's hand covered Cole's as he petted the cat's deep far.

"Amazing. I've never had an experience like this." There was wonder in his voice, a boyish excitement, much like Jase's, yet there was that underlying dark sensuality he couldn't suppress. Seeing Maia with the cat, getting so close with Jase, just being herself seemed to bring it out in him.

Reluctantly, Maia pulled her hand away to reach for the needle. She had to avoid looking at Cole.

Sharing the experience with him was a fantasy she'd always kept secret, sharing her love of exotic cats with a man she... Abruptly she pulled her mind away from the thought. "I'm suturing the wound, Jase,"

Maia continued. "If it were any older, there would be too much bacteria in it, but I'll leave a drain and use dissolving sutures. Hopefully we can keep as much air getting to it as possible."

"How'd you learn all this?" Jase asked eagerly. "This is what I want to do."

"I specialized in exotics as well as smaller animals. I actually interned in both Africa and Indochina,"

Maia said. "I may go back to specializing, but for the time being, the mobile clinic works for me."

Jase looked up at his brother, a grin on his face. "I know I could do this, Cole."

"I know you could too, Jase," Cole encouraged. Because Jase was so excited, the boy didn't even notice he was shaking with cold.

"Large cats can't be treated lightly, Jase," Maia said as she worked. "You always have to be aware that they are wild creatures, even the 'domesticated exotics.' You have to pay attention to body language all the time. And you have to be aware of what 'zone' they're in. I have a five-zone gauge I use to determine the risks of working with a wild animal. Things like bad weather, such as we have now, high winds, tornadoes, and such will drop them into the zone, and we're very much at risk. As she comes out from under the ketamine sh.e.l.l be at her most dangerous because she'll be dopey and fearful. We don't want to be around for that."

"Where do you want to put her, Doc?" Cole asked, trying to be practical, trying to find a way to help, to be a part of what she was.

"Somewhere she'll be safe out of the storm and fairly warm, where I can easily check on her and feed her."

"We have the toolshed," Jase said. "It has heating coils in the floor although we never use them. We could lock her in there."

"You two get it ready while I finish up here. I wish I had a Fentanyl patch for pain, that would be the best, but I don't carry that with me. I'll have to use a combination of morphine and Valium instead. Hurry, she's going to start waking up, and she won't be a happy kitty."

Cole frowned. "I don't like you carrying any of those drugs around with you. It's too dangerous." He couldn't resist petting the cat a second time.

Jase and Maia exchanged a quick grin behind Cole's back, Maia rolling her eyes at his warning. She made no comment, knowing it was useless to argue with his protective bristling. She was a vet and needed the drugs. "Any ideas on how we're going to move her?" she asked.

"I can carry her," Cole said. "But she'd better not wake up and bite my face off."

"She won't. Let's go then. Is it far?"

"No. We'll use the main walkway, then have to use the cable to get to the shed, but it's only a few feet."

Cole hesitated as he crouched beside the big mountain lion. "You're sure she's under?"

Maia took one last listen to the cat's heart and lungs. "Yes, let's go."

Cole would be lifting a deadweight and trudging a distance, part of it in deep snow. Maia didn't have to like it, but she couldn't think of any other way to transport the animal.

Using the covered walkway was easy enough, but Cole struggled a bit in the deep snow. Jase hurried ahead to get the shed ready and to kick on the heating coils. He snagged a couple of blankets from the barn and came running back with them as Cole staggered through the door.

"I feel her moving," he announced.

"Lay her down," Maia instructed, "and back off. We'll just let her be. You have something for water for her?"

"I have this old bucket," Jase said, and held it up.

"Good, we'll use that then. Come on, she's definitely coming around." Maia backed out and closed the door, leaving the mountain lion to wake up on its own.

She stretched tiredly. "I'm suddenly freezing."

"So is Jase," Cole said. "Let's get back to the house."

Cole stayed behind Maia, crowding her close as she followed Jase through the snow and the walkway back to the patio, where she collected her equipment. They entered the mudroom to remove jackets, mittens, and shoes. "I don't know about encouraging these wild animals to come around. What if that cougar decides Watty's an easy meal?"

"She won't," Maia said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen," Jase said.

"I'd prefer you didn't mention it to anyone," Maia said.

"There sure is a lot of cool stuff I can't tell anyone" Jase groused.

She was shivering so much Cole pulled her against the warmth of his body and began to run his hands up and down her arms. "What are we going to feed her?"

"I'mgoing to need ten to fifteen pounds of beef or chicken for her daily. They eat bones and all, and they'realways hungry. Jase, don't you go near her. She's a wild animal and injured, so she's unpredictable. I'll put her antibiotics in her food."

"What do you know about mountain lions, Cole?" Jase asked. "Do we have a lot of them around here?"

"We have our share, but honestly, I don't know that much about them at all."

"They are the second largest cat in the Western Hemisphere," Maia said, "and they're also the fastest.

Unfortunately, they tire easily because their hearts don't match their size. They lose stamina in a long run and generally miss their kill nine out of ten times, which means a lot of hunting for them."

Cole stooped to pull off her boots. "I couldn't believe how powerful the animal felt to me. Just being in its presence was intense."

"Big cats are at the top of the food chain, so they have an 'arrogance' and mantle of power they wear like a second skin." Maia grinned at Cole. "Those of us who are drawn to them are often accused of being the same way."

"Great, are you saying I'm a predator? Or that you are?"

"Maybe parts of you are. You definitely have power, and you know it." Her smile widened. "I know I do."

"I was drawn to it too," Jase reminded, tossing his boots aside. "And I don't have any power at all."

"Sure you do. And there are people who believe animals come to you to give you messages. A mountain lion crossing your path is a sign you have power, and maybe it's time you should learn about yourself, strengthen and sharpen your own powers. That could be the message to you." Maia tried to get across to the boy that if he knew and could read the mountain lion, he could understand Cole and maybe himself a little better.

"Do you believe in that?" Cole asked.

Maia shrugged. "Cats fascinate and repel and inspire fear all at the same time in most people. Because of that, exotics are often labeled as magic or mystical."

"Don't you think people are fearful because they're in the presence of a predator, a natural killer?" Cole asked.

"Sure, subconsciously I'm sure they are, but it's that very energy that attracts people to the cats and gives them the mystique."

Cole opened the door to the kitchen and waved them through. "Does this kind of thing happen to you everywhere you go? Wild animals appearing out of nowhere?"

"Just about," Maia admitted with a small secret smile. She had turned a corner in the restaurant and run right into the Steele brothers. To her, they weren't that much different from the mountain lion. She rubbed at her arms in an effort to get warm. "I think my blood has turned to ice."

"Come on, let's get that fire built," Cole said, pulling her into the living room.

"Jase, would you get the doc a blanket? She's freezing."

Jase hesitated only a moment, clearly not wanting to miss anything, before he hurried off, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Cole," Maia waited until he turned to face her. He knelt in front of the ma.s.sive fireplace, a log in his hand, his hair spilling across his forehead, and her stomach gave a curious flutter. "You don't have to do that."

"Actually I do. You're right, you know. It's silly not to use a fireplace just because the old man could be cruel. I'm hoping it gives the room a completely different atmosphere. Mostly I'm hoping Jase will like it."

"Someone should have done something about that man." Her voice was tight. She couldn't imagine how Brett Steele had gotten away with his vicious behavior for so long. How could the ranch hands and housekeeper look the other way?

"Someone did." Cole turned back to building a fire.

Maia studied him in silence, rubbing her chin on her knee as she watched him. His movements were all efficient, graceful. There were sharp edges to Cole's personality but none to his physical movements. He reminded her of the mountain lion, moving with fluid, sure strength. She loved just looking at him.

Jase hurried in with a down comforter she recognized from her bed. He tucked it around her, flicking a quick glance at the fireplace. Flames crackled brightly, casting shadows on the wall and window. Outside the gla.s.s, the light flickered across the snow so that flames leapt and sparkled in a strange, beautiful illusion. "Wow. Did you know it did that?"

Cole sat back staring out the gla.s.s at the phenomenon.

"No. The architect must have designed it that way." He scooted back until his back was pressed against the couch, close to Maia's legs. "It is amazing."

"Breathtaking," Maia agreed. "You know, we could easily cut some branches and make a wreath for the fireplace and door. That would bring in the smell of Christmas. I looked in the freezer, and there is a turkey. If we take it out now, we could thaw it in the refrigerator and cook it."

"You're planning on cooking it, right?" Jase said. "Because the thought of Cole cooking a turkey is scary."

"What exactly do you do in the kitchen, Steele?" Maia asked.