Rachel's Totem Read Online Free PDF Page B

cat people?” Funny, she’d heard the same tales from Aunt Charlotte growing up. But her aunt had never given the Shifters a name. She’d just laughed and teased Rachel with fanciful stories.
    “I guess you could call them that. But the Indians believed more in a transmutation of souls into living form. Not so much monsters as people who could live as either animal or human, a beautiful combination of both spirits in one flesh.” Gerald’s words took on a dreamy tone, and Rachel had to force herself to recall he was telling a story and not some personal history.
    “So where does this totem come in?”
    “The Ac-taw supposedly worshipped a living stalk of wood that brought good health, long life and protection to those under its spell. And that living stalk of wood is the totem we celebrate on festival days.”
    “Days?”
    “Four times a year the town celebrates the Totem Festival. It’s fun, a way of ushering in the seasons. We have a carnival of sorts, nothing weird. The kids have a blast, and it’s an excuse for the town’s citizens to get together and have a big party.
    “The totem’s a beautiful antique, a large timber maybe twenty feet high and three feet wide. Animal carvings painted in rich, vibrant color decorate the thing. You can almost believe the legends about the Ac-taw having imbued the wood with their power. It feels incredibly alive. Once you’ve seen it, you’ll understand what I mean.”
    “Wow. I’d like to see this thing. A magical totem pole and Shifters, huh? Cougar Falls has an entertaining history, I’ll give you that.”
    Gerald grinned. “As do our inhabitants. You’ve met a few this morning, I gather.”
    Apparently, news traveled fast in a town this size. She wasn’t surprised. “Yeah. I walked into the Fox’s Henhouse ready for a big plate of pancakes only to hear Burke 28
    Chastell growling at some woman to keep her hands off. God’s gift to women,” she muttered, realizing how much she’d liked Burke’s hands on her and wishing she didn’t.
    “Well, don’t judge Burke too harshly concerning Sarah.” Gerald continued to maneuver through a cropping of woods, confusing Rachel with the many twists and turns onto expansive dirt roads that looked no better than well-worn trails. “Sarah Duncan is not what you’d call a one-man woman.”
    “So it’s okay to treat her like crap because she likes men?” Gerald wasn’t looking so charming now.
    “No, no.” He frowned at her before turning his attention back to the road. “Sarah’s a wonderful woman, though she’s not really selective about who she sleeps with. But that’s her business and no one else’s. My point is, she’s been all over Burke for years. No matter how many times, and nicely I might add, he’s said no, she just won’t leave him alone. And I don’t know if you noticed, but he doesn’t like to be touched.”
    That she hadn’t noticed—at all. But maybe his reaction to Sarah had been justified, if what Gerald said was the truth. Which still didn’t excuse Burke from screwing around with her to get at Charlotte’s property.
    “What about Burke? What’s his deal?” She clenched her jaw at Gerald’s knowing look. “I just want to know about my aunt’s neighbor, that’s all. She never mentioned him and I find that curious.”
    “Did she tell you a lot about us, about the town I mean?”
    “Not really.” The more Rachel thought about that, the more her aunt’s omission struck her. “She used to tell me stories about what you called Ac-taw, or Shifters.
    Interesting fantasy, and it made our visits a lot of fun. I didn’t see her all that much, but we kept in touch through other means.”
    Gerald nodded and pulled into a sudden grassy flatland surrounded by mountains and a stretch of valley. “She was a friendly woman. Charlotte never had a bad word to say about anyone, at least not to me. Now she liked things done her way, but she was extremely giving. She’d loan you the shoes