3. Sean

3

Sean

" O h, heavens, I am tired." Sean propped his skis against the wall and sat down on the couch.

Sawyer plopped down on the couch next to him. "Me, too. That is a lot of exercise. How many runs did we do?"

"I think we did nine. I lost count after six."

Sean grinned as his stomach rumbled loudly. "I don't suppose you want to carry me to the main house for dinner, do you?"

"Nope. We can always have beef stew or beef jerky if you're too tired to walk."

"That doesn't sound too tasty right now. I need real food."

The dining room was packed when they arrived. They found a table in the back corner. The resort didn't offer alcoholic beverages, so they settled on sweet iced tea instead.

"Good thing we brought our own beer," Sawyer said. "I might need a couple when we get back to the cabin."

Sean looked up from the menu as two pretty women approached them. One of them, a tall redhead with curves in all the right places, smiled. "My name is Marcie and this is my friend, Ellie. We saw you guys out on the slope. We're staying at the resort, too. We were wondering if we could join you. The rest of the tables are full."

The petite blond standing next to her smiled and gave a small wave.

Sawyer stood and pulled back a chair. Sean did the same.

"Please, join us." Sawyer invited.

"Thank you," Ellie said. "I'm starving and I didn't want to have to wait for tables to clear out."

"Our pleasure," Sean said.

Marcie and Ellie were very sweet and charming. They kept the conversation going all through dinner and Sean felt himself relaxing. Marcie touched his hand and arm occasionally and leaned in close to him when she laughed at one of his stories.

Sawyer caught my eye and grinned as Ellie smiled at him and lightly bumped his arm with hers. It seemed that the women were looking for a little bit of vacation romance.

"What brought you to this place?" Marcie asked.

"Sawyer got back from a stint overseas and wanted a vacation. He twisted my arm into taking a vacation, too."

Sawyer laughed loudly. "Twisted your arm, huh? Your manager mentioned that you hadn't had a vacation in five years and told you that she could handle the place while you were gone. You jumped at the chance."

Sean shook his head. "That's not how I remember it."

The women laughed.

"Why Monta?a Maldita?" Ellie asked. "Don't you know about the curse associated with the place?"

"We know the story, but neither Sean nor I give much credence to such legends. People make curses come true. When they hear that there's a curse, they look for things to go wrong and then blame it on the curse. However, things happen, and it's just life."

"That is a very unromantic way of looking at things." Ellie twirled one of her blond curls around her finger. "I guess you two don't believe in ghost stories, either."

"Those we believe in." Sean looked at Ellie and grinned. "Sawyer and I've both seen our fair share of ghosts. I'm pretty sure that there are demons that walk the Earth, too. I've seen Annabelle. "

Marcie's eyes opened wide. "Oooh, you like horror movies. Maybe you guys should come over tonight and we could watch a couple."

"Maybe another night. I don't know about Sawyer, but I'm exhausted. I'm going to finish dessert, take a shower, and go to bed."

"That's too bad." Marcie slid her hand down Sean's arm and gave him a sexy look.

He was about to reply, but then Xyla, Elliot, and Edward walked into the dining room. His jaw clenched when he saw them and a strong loathing crept down his spine.

Sawyer followed his gaze and shook his head. "Don't let them control you and ruin your good time," he said telepathically.

Sean let out a slow breath. He's right. They aren't worth the aggravation.

The women didn't notice Sean's mood shift or the brief exchange between Sawyer and Sean. They continued rattling on about their favorite scary movies and why. The Sixth Sense ranked high on both their lists as did The Conjuring.

Sean glanced over at the three of them. One day, I'm going to ask him what his beef with shifters is. While I'm at it, I'm going to ask him how he found out that Sawyer and I are shifters. It's not like we advertise.

He shook his head slightly to shake the thoughts out of his mind and focused his attention back on the conversation.

"If you think the mountain is cursed, why did you two decide to come here?" Sawyer asked.

Marcie and Ellie looked at each other before Marcie grinned. "We love visiting haunted and cursed places. We've been to a lot of different places, like the Villisca Axe Murder House in Iowa, Pennhurst Asylum in Pennsylvania, and the Ohio State Reformatory."

A disappointed look crossed Ellie's face. "We didn't see a single ghost anywhere. No one poked us, no cold spots, and no ghost told us to get out."

"Hopefully, nothing fulfills the idea that this mountain is cursed while we're here," Sawyer said. "I'm here for some rest and relaxation."

Ellie put her arm around Sawyer's shoulder. "We'll protect you."

After dessert was finished and Sawyer paid the bill for the table, Sean yawned. "Ladies, it has been an enchanting evening, but I'm exhausted. It's time for bed. We'll probably see you tomorrow."

Marcie looked disappointed but nodded. Sean felt eyes on his back as the four of them walked out of the dining room together. Marcie gave Sean an impromptu kiss on his cheek before heading off to the women's cabin.

Sawyer lightly punched Sean in the shoulder. "Well, wasn't that interesting? You probably could have had a most enjoyable evening."

"Likely so, although I'm not one for casual sex. You could have scored with Ellie."

"I'm too tired."

The hot shower massaged Sean's aching muscles and he was completely relaxed when he slid between the sheets. He slept so hard and deep that he was surprised when the first rays of the sun shined through the window.

Sawyer was already in the kitchen with a hot cup of coffee when Sean walked in.

"I was thinking about a run on the mountains before breakfast."

Sean nodded. "That sounds awesome."

After draining the coffee, they shifted. Sawyer stood on his back legs and used his paws to pull the door shut. They had double-checked that it wasn't locked before they left because it would be hard to explain how two naked men were locked out of their cabin at the same time.

Sean made sure to run right in front of Xyla's cabin, knowing that the wolf prints would piss them off to no end.

"A little petty there?" Sawyer asked telepathically.

Sean lifted his nose in the air and yipped into the cold air. The mountain was beautiful. The two elk, one moose, and big horn sheep they encountered seemed to know that they weren't hunting and didn't shy away. Snowshoe rabbits hopped around and white-tailed ptarmigan flew above and called at Sean and Sawyer.

The run was invigorating. They made sure no one was looking as they opened the door to their cabin and slipped inside.

Sean rubbed his stomach. "I'm starving."

"That seems to be a constant issue with you. I'm surprised that you aren't five hundred pounds, considering that you own a bar and grill."

"I'm always moving. That's the secret. The calories don't have time to stick to me."

"If that's your story. Let's go eat."

They both enjoyed a four-egg omelet and a short stack of pancakes for breakfast.

Sean ate the last bite and finished his orange juice. "I think I'm ready for a nap."

"No naps until we make a couple of ski runs. You can sleep when you're dead."

Sean was about to reply when he saw Edward approaching their table. He stiffened, ready to hear a vile speech about shifters.

Edward looked at Sawyer and Sean and then tilted his head to one side. "My sister and dad say that you two are wolf shifters."

Sean looked around and noticed no one was paying attention to their conversation. "We are."

"What's that like?"

Surprised, Sean studied Edward for a second before answering. "It's like being free. As a wolf, I can easily run around the mountain and be a part of it. My senses are sharper, too. I can hear better, see better, and smell better. I'm more aware of my surroundings."

"That must be very nice."

"I think so. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Edward started to say something else, but Xyla marched over to them and grabbed her brother's arm.

"We don't talk to them. They're filthy animals."

The boy jerked his arm away from his sister. "Humans in general are filthy animals. They leave their trash everywhere and destroy the world they live in. Sean and Sawyer seem to be very nice people."

Xyla glared at Edward and then at Sean and Sawyer. "Stay away from my brother and our cabin."

Sawyer looked at her, raised his eyebrows, and grinned. Sean didn't bother hiding his smirk.

"I know it was you near our cabin this morning. I saw the paw prints."

Sean shrugged his shoulders. "I know not of which you are speaking." He looked at Sawyer. "I won't let an entitled, prissy, bigoted person wreck my fun."

She huffed and stalked away, pulling Edward with her. The boy turned around and waved at Sean and Sawyer. The two men waved back at him.

Sean sniffed the air. A combination of vanilla and orange, as well as something else he couldn't put a finger on. He groaned. It was her scent. It was nauseating, and he wondered how to get rid of it.

"That was a lot of fun," Sawyer said.

"I know, right. I love it when I can get a rise out of people."

"What are you, twelve?"

Sean put his hands in the air as if to say, "I don't know."

Sawyer chuckled. "I don't know about you."

"I like to keep people guessing."

Sean tossed money onto the table for their meal and a tip, and the two of them headed back to their cabin for their gear.

"Which one are we doing today? The bunny slope?" Sean asked.

Sawyer laughed. "You'd be bored out of your mind. Besides, the best way to work the soreness out of your muscles is to use them. I was thinking we'd do the red slope this morning and hit the black diamond this afternoon."

"Sounds like a plan."

They grabbed their skis and headed for the lift. Edward, Xyla, and Elliot were already at the top of the red slope getting ready to head down.

Edward looked over at them, smiled widely, and waved at them. Sawyer and Sean waved back.

Sean grinned at Sawyer. "You know, that kid might turn out alright despite his family."