Silver, Montana

Chapter 1: Meet the brothers

She waited a few seconds for her heart beat to slow down before shaking the offered hand. How the heck did that guy get there that fast?

“Jane Emily Dove, but you can call me Emily. Nice to meet you M. McLean.”

“Emily it is then, but only if you call me Kieran. You must be tired, let me get you something to eat and a nice cup of coffee.”

“Amen to that, you’re reading my thoughts!”

She followed him to a nearby cabin, relieved that he appeared like a normal person. He had brown hair and eyes, wore hiking boots and jeans with a plaid shirt, exactly like her, and a similar dull green coat. The only things standing out were his thick eyebrows. And he seemed friendly enough.

“Come in, take a seat, I’ll have your breakfast ready in no time!”

She walked in, glancing around curiously. It was simple, clean and functional. All the furniture was wood, from the table and chairs to the kitchen cabinets, and the sofa was made of two large chests covered in thick, colored cushions. A comfortable heat came from the old style wood-burning cooking range.

She sat at the table while he cracked two eggs in a pan with a large piece of cheese, and then cut a few slices from a loaf that looked and smelled freshly baked. He poured two mugs of coffee from the pot on the side of the stove, filled a plate and placed it in front of her.

“Help yourself for the cutlery, in the drawer in front of you.”

“Thanks, but would you like half?” she asked, confused that he cooked for her alone.

“Nope, already had my breakfast. But I’ll have coffee with you if you don’t mind.”

She smiled and nodded, staring at the food:

“What’s this?”

“Goat’s cheese, it’s quite nice roasted, we make it ourselves. Sorry, maybe you don’t like it?”

“Oh, I do, I just never tried having it for breakfast.”

She smiled again, thinking of her health-obsessed boyfriend. He would throw a fit at the cholesterol level of the meal. He kept a close count of the calories and vitamins they were ingesting and dragged her to the gym every other day. She indulged him, although she really didn’t care for any of it. She was an outdoor, all natural kind of girl, and her slim frame ought more to hill walking than to dieting. Plain Jane, they called her at school, the mean ones settled for Jane Doe. Which was why she now went by her middle name.

“How is it?” asked Kieran, sitting at the table facing her.

“Delicious!” she managed, swallowing a big mouthful.

He grinned at the compliment.

“So, do you like what I did with the place? I saw you inspect it earlier.”

Emily blushed.

“I do, it’s nice and homey. I could easily sleep on your sofa for the night if you’d allow me. That would be better than going back this evening.”

Kieran’s smile vanished and his face hardened.

“You could, but you won’t. I know it’s inconvenient, but we have our reasons to refuse your presence at night, and it’s final. We can still call this off, if it is too much of a problem for you.”

Emily stiffened. She couldn’t afford to antagonize him; she would never find the wolves without him.

“Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was that important for you. I’ll leave as planned ok?”

He stared at her a few seconds then answered.

“Fine. Let’s get to work then, if you’re ready?”

She placed her mug back on the table, and stood up, grabbing her bag:

“Sure, lead on.”

A few people were out this time, and they waved at them when they passed by. Emily frowned, intrigued; there was a likeness between them, an odd way of moving, but she couldn’t define exactly what it was. A cute little boy sat on his doorstep, eating a toast covered in jam, and she approached him to say hello. The child lifted his head and snarled at her, making her jump backwards. A tall woman reprimanded him:

“Jean, je te l’ai dit cent fois: pas devant des étrangers! (Jean, I told you a hundred times: not in front of strangers!)”

“Désolé maman, j’ai oublié (sorry mum, I forgot),” he answered, then spoke to Emily: “Sorry Miss!” and ran inside.

Kieran laughed.

“Congratulations, Emily, you just met my nephew, Jean. And this is my beautiful sister-in-law, Sophie, who is French, as you probably guessed. Sophie, is Owen there? We need to go soon.”

“Nice to meet you, Emily, and of course he is, ready and waiting for you. Give me a second.”

She rushed back in the cabin. Shortly after, a man stepped out carrying two guns. He passed one to Kieran and stood in front of Emily, hand out.

“Hi there, I’m Owen, Kieran’s big brother. You ready?”

“Yes, but do we really need the guns?”

He smirked:

“It depends. How much do you like hugging a bear?”

“It depends. Are you talking about yourself?” she retorted, cocking an eyebrow.

Emily could have slapped her forehead. Definitely, she needed caffeine on a drip. They were black bears and grizzlies in the woods, and some cougars. They could be dangerous to humans.

Kieran recovered first from his fit of laughter. He slapped his brother’s back, and then moved forward and into the forest.