Cattail Ridge by T.L. Haddix Read Free Book Online Page A

going to draw blood. He understood her trepidation. If the wrong person knew the truth it could mean a death sentence. He plunged ahead, hoping to relieve some of their tension.
    “I was a mountain lion until I was shot. Now I’m not.”
    Amelia’s eyes grew huge, but Sarah still maintained ignorance. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
    Archer picked up one of the Tobias Hedge books that was on the table. “I wondered how Owen managed to be so accurate. Who is Toby based on? Is it him?”
    Sarah let out a shuddering breath. “Mountain lion, huh?”
    “Yes. So is my brother. But if you could keep that between us and the fence post, I’d appreciate it. I’m sure you understand the danger if too many people know.”
    “So you can’t change anymore?” Amelia’s voice was tentative. “At all?”
    He shook his head. “They lost me three times on the operating table. I guess that part of me didn’t come back.” Not used to talking about his shifting abilities, he shrugged. He stood and went to the coffee pot to refill his mug and Amelia’s. When he saw the sympathetic looks the women were giving him he shuffled his feet, uncomfortable. “What?”
    To his surprise Sarah was the one who spoke. “How did you… That had to be hard to learn to deal with.”
    He carefully considered his words before answering. “Of all the things I had to come to terms with as a result of the shooting, that was the hardest, yes.” He lifted the lid on the pot and inhaled. “Soup smells good.”
    They let him change the subject but when Owen came in a little while later for dinner Sarah pulled him aside. From the half-scowling study the older man subjected him to after that Archer figured she’d told him the secret was out.
    He didn’t say anything until after the meal, when he grabbed Archer’s coat from a hook beside the door and tossed it to him, then grabbed his own. “Let’s walk.”
    Owen let the silence build between them as they walked to the barn, which was situated across the mountaintop meadow from the house. Once there, he flipped a light switch on and slid the door closed behind them. The silence of the cold winter night was deafening. Archer faced him straight on, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
    “I hear you’re not quite what you appear to be.”
    Archer had to fight to keep his hands in his coat pockets and not defensively cross his arms over his chest. “And I’m inferring that you probably aren’t, either. Is that going to be a problem? My knowing?”
    Owen studied him with a stare so hard and wary Archer was almost afraid of what his answer would be.
    “If you are what you say you are, you understand why I’m a little upset. I have a family to protect.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Owen scowled. “Stop that. You make me feel old when you ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’ me.”
    Archer’s lips twitched but he answered seriously. “I would never tell anyone what I’ve learned about your family this evening. I do understand the danger. Even when I was married, it was something I kept from her. I knew she wouldn’t understand. That probably should have been a clue that I shouldn’t marry her but I wasn’t exactly thinking with my head when I said my vows.” He felt his cheeks flush from more than just the cold.
    “Sarah said you couldn’t shift anymore.”
    “No. I can’t.”
    Owen’s expression was full of sympathy and he laid a hand on Archer’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
    Archer picked at a small sliver of wood on top of one of the stall doors. “I’m still here for the most part. And that’s more than I should have had, given how she shot me. I have to remember that.”
    “That’s a healthy way to look at it.” The older man’s voice was tinged with admiration and, if Archer wasn’t mistaken, some healthy skepticism.
    “Took me a little while to get there,” he admitted.
    “I can only imagine.”
    They went back to the house soon after that and the conversation