Page 11 of A Shifter Disaster Thanksgiving

Diane started to thank her and say she wasn’t hungry, but then her stomach growled loudly, stopping her before she could utter a word.

Quinta smirked. “Sounds to me like you could use a good meal. Come on inside.”

***

Quinta and Jon’s cabin didn’t have any fur rugs, but it looked more lived-in than Sylvester’s. It was also warm. The living roomhad more furniture arranged in a semicircle facing the fireplace. It looked like Quinta had taken some care in decorating the place.

There were potted plants in the corners of the room, their leaves impossibly green. By the window, which was shut, sat a crude-looking desk on top of which several metal instruments sat.

Looking around, Diane almost forgot she was marooned on a snowy mountain, and it took her a minute to figure out why. This place reminded her of her own home back in Vegas and she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of nostalgia. She doubted it had been no more than thirty-six hours, but it felt like it had been months since she left home for the airport. That was the thing about traveling. The greater the distance, the more it tended to distort one’s sense of time.

Not bad, Diane, she told herself. Maybe you should put that in your next bookifyou ever make it off this freezing mountain.

Quinta disappeared, presumably into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a wooden bowl of food. Diane stared at it for a moment. It looked like mashed potatoes mixed with some vegetables, but she dared not ask what it really was. Her hunger trumped her hesitation, and she dug in, only remembering that Quinta was watching her when she was halfway through the bowl.

“You look like you’re enjoying your food.” Quinta took a seat opposite her, a pleased smile on her face. “My husband says I’m the most excellent cook he’s ever met.”

Diane was grateful her mouth was full and she didn’t have to utter a word in reply. She nodded instead, wondering if there was a chance that she’d find a Burger King on this mountain.

Quinta frowned all of a sudden. “How come I haven’t ever met you before? When did you arrive in Pine Gap?”

Diane figured that must be the name of this village. It made sense, considering the place was surrounded by pine trees. Still, what was it with these people and using literal names?

She swallowed. “I… yesterday.” If it was morning now, Sylvester must have brought her into his cabin in the afternoon when the plane came apart. “I got here yesterday.”

“How’d you two meet?”

It felt almost like a job interview. Diane stared at her wordlessly for a few seconds and was grateful when the other woman finally said, “Don’t worry about that. I’m sure Sylvester must be dying to tell us. He’s never been married before.”

“Really?”

It was hard to believe a man that sexy hadn’t already tied the knot with someone else, especially at his age.

“He didn’t tell you?” Quinta looked almost as confused as Diane felt. “I wonder why.” She waved her hand as if to brush the topic aside. “You’re from the other world, aren’t you?”

“Other world?” she asked, sounding confused.

The other woman knit her brows. “Has Sylvester not told you anything?”

“He told me that Frost Mountain—this mountain—is dangerous. And, uh, he told me not to leave the cabin.”

“I’m guessing you left because you didn’t believe him?”

“No, I was famished.”

Amusement flickered across Quinta’s beautiful features. She placed her hands in her lap. “He was right. Frost Mountain’s dangerous. But you should be safe in this village. Pine Gap hasn’t been attacked in a long time.”

“Attacked?”

“I’m sure he’ll tell you about that.”

“He didn’t tell me much about Frost Mountain,” Diane retorted. “I’m sure I could do with a bit of information. What did you mean when you saidthe other world?”

Quinta let out a sigh. “You must have noticed that this mountain came out of nowhere.”

Diane nodded. It had. One second, the plane had been traveling over the United States—Nebraska, to be precise—and then the next thing she knew, she was falling toward a mountain. She was still having difficulty wrapping her head around that—and other things.

“What does that have to do with another world, though?” she asked. “Is there something—?”

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