Secret Agent #43

TITLE: Ardent
GENRE: Adult Women's Fiction

The mere possibility that the cougar was in Cassidy’s vicinity gave her a shiver of exhilaration, although it wasn’t clear who was stalking whom. Everyone is someone’s son or daughter, and the cat had inherited its otherworldly ways from its mother, just as Cassidy was born with the earth medicine secrets of her grandmothers. Plagued by questions with no answers, she knew that seeking her mother’s spirit cat was the only solution; she had come to the Slender Forest to present herself. The time had come.

Nothing felt right anymore. Everything that had been the basis of her existence had altered, in both subtle and obvious ways, until she woke unsure of what to expect from each day. For seventeen years, she had followed the seasons—the stars, sun, and moon. She had mimicked only her mother, with no other role models to confuse her sense of how to proceed. Growing up in the wilderness had offered endless opportunities for hunting, fishing, and spending time alone. But while the young woman’s unique character shone relentlessly, it had never caused her angst and longing. Until now.
The Slender Forest bordered the river, eventually succumbing to the cliffs that towered over the landscape. Her steps fell on familiar ground. In fact, her mother walked the same path every morning, before the sun crested. Celia Waters would scramble up to the lookout, along with her spirit cat, to welcome each day.