Belong To The Night

by Shelly Laurenston

  “I’ll have you know I’m working. You know I don’t believe in sitting behind a dang desk all day signing papers. In order to find out what this town needs, I get out there and look.”

  “Exactly my point. So you’re going to go look and find out what she’s up to. And then you’re going to put a stop to it.”

  “Me? What makes you think she’ll listen to me anymore than she’ll listen to y’all?”

  “Because we all know you’ll find a way to shut her down. That’s what you’re good at. And that’s what you’re going to do.” Miss Gwen banged her gavel on the table. “Meeting adjourned.”

  No one said a word until they were on the quiet street of Cardinal Lane. That’s when Mac grabbed Jamie’s T-shirt and pulled her back.

  “You’re making them nervous.”

  “I make everybody nervous.”

  Mac released her T-shirt. “You don’t have to look so proud about that.”

  Jamie stared up at her much taller cousin. Except for them both being black in a predominantly white town, there were very few indicators that Jamie and Mac were first cousins on their mothers’ side.

  “Not proud, sweetie. Just accepting. Nothing I do is going to make these people feel better about me.”

  “You could stop traipsing off to the woods in the middle of the night.”

  “I’ve got work to do.”

  “What work?”

  Might as well tell them now. “I’ve been called to be a champion.”

  “For who?”

  When Jamie only stared at her, Mac threw up her hands and paced away while the others simply looked worried.

  “What is it with you and the Celtic gods anyway?” Kenny asked. “It’s not like they’re abundantly friendly.”

  “She called. I answered.”

  “She’s always liked you,” Sen said sweetly.

  “Gods know why,” Mac muttered.

  “Mac, you know what’s required for becoming a champion. So I’m not sure why the attitude about this.”

  “Because you’re making them nervous.”

  “So what?”

  Emma frowned, her arms crossed over her chest. “Don’t you care about them at all?”

  “I don’t not care.” They all stared and she added, “That’s actually pretty good for me.”

  Mac stepped up to her. “One day you’re going to go too far.”

  “I always go too far,” Jamie said simply before turning and walking away. “You’d think you’d be used to it by now.”

  Tully sat on the boulder on top of Barrett Hill. He was still in human form since he’d headed this way straight from his last meeting. It amazed him how one simple, yearly event caused so much trouble. The Mayor’s Spring Dance. The entire town was invited and usually came. Every year it was held in the Crystal Palace where most big parties for the wealthier residents took place. Tully would probably enjoy it more if he weren’t in charge of it, but he was. Which meant lots of meetings with the Elders, the Mayor’s Office Association, and the vendors. Bor-ing.

  Normally, after a particularly long meeting—and Lord love him, but that last meeting was long—he’d head home. But this time, he found himself ambling over to this hill, which had a wonderful view of Jamie Meacham’s cabin. She’d taken one of the cabins on the resort property. He didn’t blame her, they were all nice, but she was also losing money by not renting it out. Then again, from what he’d learned over the last few months about Jamie was that money was not that big a concern to her. Not like it was to most people. No. She wanted something else. She wanted power. It worried him. Power corrupted the best people sometimes and Jamie was already starting from a faulty base. How much would really be needed to send her deep into the ravine?

  He saw her pull up to the garage by the cabin and get out of her SUV. Carrying a small bag from Chandler’s Grocery, she headed toward the building. But she stopped before she got to the first porch step, and spun around. Her eyes scanned the property and Tully wondered if she knew he was watching her. Yet she never looked in his direction.

  She tossed her small backpack and grocery bag on her porch and lifted her hands, palms up. She raised them above her head, her eyes closing, her lips moving. He knew she chanted but he couldn’t make out the words. As she stood there, with her hands raised, energy from the ground crawled up her legs, her torso, her chest. It swirled around her like a snake, finally sliding into her cupped hands. She closed her hands into tight fists, raised them higher and screamed something he didn’t understand. The wind whipped up and she flung her arms down. Lightning shot from her palms and raced around the entire area of her house in one big circle, dissipating when it reached her again.

  Tully didn’t know what she’d done exactly or why, but he knew it had drained her. She rested against the porch rail for a long moment, her breath rapid. Then she slowly made her way up the stairs, picking up her bag and backpack. She opened her front door and before closing it, he heard her say, “Hey, baby. I’m home.”

  He didn’t know why his eyes narrowed or why he wanted to go down there and demand to know who the hell was living in her house with her, but he wouldn’t worry about why. He was more worried about what she was up to. If there was one thing he took seriously, it was protecting his town and his people. That’s all he ever cared about.

  Deciding to come back later after some hunting, Tully slipped off the boulder and headed on home. He was halfway there when his cell phone rang.

  “Yep?”

  “Boy.”

  He smiled. “Hey, Uncle Bub.” Bubba Ray Smith of the Smithtown Pack in Tennessee. He loved his uncle—although they were actually cousins—and always would. “What’s going on?”

  When his uncle didn’t answer him right away, Tully stopped walking. “What is it?”

  “I got a call from your Uncle Darryl…Buck’s heading to Smithville.”

  Tully’s jaw tightened and his fangs eased out of his gums.

  “All right,” he said carefully. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “You need me, you call. But don’t do anything until you know you have to.”

  “You mean until you can argue I had a right to the rest of the family.”

  “Say what you want, Tully Ray, but this is how things are done. And the bottom line, Buck Smith is blood…and your daddy.”

  “No, Uncle Bub. The last thing that man is, is my daddy.”

  He disconnected the call and waited a moment before he speed dialed another number. When he heard the grumbling voice say, “It’s Bear,” Tully closed his eyes and answered, “Buck Smith’s heading this way. Make sure everybody’s ready.”

  Chapter Two

  Up half the night worrying about his father, Tully finally decided to deal with the one thing he could actually manage at the moment…Jamie.

  Okay. Maybe he couldn’t manage her, but she was definitely capable of keeping him distracted from what Buck Smith may be up to, and why he was coming back to the one town he’d been told never to return to. Although Tully didn’t know any man alive who didn’t have issues with his father, he knew his went deeper than most. After all these years the man still brought out Tully’s rage and fear. Rage because the bastard plucked his last nerve and fear because Tully worried he’d one day have to kill his own blood. It was the last thing he ever wanted to do, but there was something in Buck that never stopped. He pushed and he pushed. And unless something had changed about his father, Tully doubted any of that would be different.

  But he’d done what he could. Bear and his deputies were notified. Tully had given his daddy a heads-up so he could find the best way to tell Tully’s momma, and the entire town was ready in case any attacks came. Other than sit around and uselessly worry, there was nothing more he could do.

  Knowing that, he decided to track down Jamie. He found her, too. Having breakfast at the Smithville Diner. Considering the resort had a full breakfast menu, she’d be able to get her morning meal there for free. But he’d bet money she’d ha
d another fight with her cousin. Rumor was the coven had stopped her over on Cardinal to talk after the Elder meeting. No one was sure what was said, but Jamie had left on her own.

  If her own coven couldn’t get through to her, then Tully had no idea what the rest of them thought he could do. She was definitely a woman who didn’t let anyone get too close to her. Of course, the entire coven had been like that when they’d first arrived. Even Emma. But eventually, they’d begun finding their way, their own friends. Not Jamie, though. It was strange, too, because she was so friendly. She smiled, she chatted, but the walls were definitely there. She didn’t want anyone getting too close to her and they all knew it.

  So, doing something he’d never done before in the ten months she’d been here, Tully sat down at the table with Jamie. She glanced up from the book she was reading, blinked at him, and went back to reading. He had to fight hard not to smile. What could he say? He admired her restraint to not even try and figure out why he was sitting down with her.

  “Mornin’, Miss Jamie.”

  “Hey.”

  “How are you doing?”

  Her eyes lifted from the book and focused on him. After a moment, she pushed the book away and relaxed back in her chair. “I’m doing fine. Would you like to join me for breakfast?”

  “Why, that is mighty kind of you. I think I’ll do just that.” He motioned to the waitress and she came over. “Your morning special, darlin’. Easy on the grits, though.”

  “Coffee?”

  “Please. And juice.”

  She smiled. “You’ve got it, Tully.”

  The waitress walked off and Tully focused back on Jamie. She was still watching him, smirking.

  Resting his arms on the table, he asked, “So what are you reading? Fiction or nonfiction?”

  “Non. History.”

  “About?”

  Her smirk turned into a grin. “The Donner Party.”

  “Those are the people who…”

  “Ate each other. Yeah.”

  “That’s what you read while you’re about to have breakfast?”

  She shrugged. “I used to look at crime scene photos over a pastrami on rye at the diners back home. Doesn’t bother me.”

  “All right then.”

  The waitress returned and placed a mug next to Tully and poured him a cup of coffee before leaving the carafe.

  “What else do you do when you’re not working?” he asked politely.

  “Watch TV.”

  Tully sipped his coffee after blowing on it. “I don’t even have a TV. Don’t see the purpose.” He placed his coffee down and for the first time since he’d met her, he saw a look of confusion and horror on her face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You don’t have a TV? How do you live without a TV?”

  How do I live? “Easily. It’s never been a necessity to me.”

  Jamie shook her head, her face conveying her disgust at his sentiment without her saying a word.

  Tully laughed. “Of all the things that go on in this town, that’s the one that bothers you?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, it does. That’s crazy talk.”

  The waitress placed a plate of food down in front of Jamie. She immediately reached for the hot sauce and completely saturated her fried eggs with it.

  “You know, I can’t help but notice you could be having this same breakfast at your hotel.”

  “Yeah, but then I’d end up fighting with Mac rather than eating, and I really want to eat.”

  “She’s fittin’ in nice,” Tully remarked as the waitress placed his food down in front of him. The special came on a platter and could easily feed two or three full-humans. But he wasn’t full-human and the elk he’d taken down last night had already worn off. “I see she’s coaching the girls’ softball league this season.”

  “Yep.”

  “While Seneca has become assistant coach for the junior and varsity cheerleading squads and Emma’s teaching that tax and accounting class over at the senior center.”

  Jamie lifted her head, a piece of toast gripped in her hand. “Uh-huh.”

  “And even Kenny has volunteered her time over at the library to help upgrade the computer systems and help the kids learn basic computing.”

  “Your point?”

  “I guess I was just noticing that you haven’t really involved yourself with the town.”

  “Really?”

  “Not that you have to, of course. Just sayin’ that sometimes it does a body good to know you’re helping others. And the more you help others, the more comfortable you’ll feel here.”

  She raised her forefinger. “Hold that thought.” Then she leaned back in her chair, her arm reaching toward the table of males behind her. As soon as she moved toward them, they jerked back from her. They were cheetahs, used to bolting from bored lions and startled bears, so they moved really fast. Especially now.

  Jamie pointed her finger. “Mind if I borrow the ketchup?”

  The older male, watching her close the entire time, grabbed the ketchup from the table and carefully handed it over to her. Once she had her hand around the bottle’s neck, he snatched his hand back. They all waited until she’d turned back around before they settled back into their seats and went back to their conversation as if nothing had happened.

  “So what were you saying about me feeling more comfortable around here?” she asked as she poured ketchup onto her hash browns.

  Tully shook his head and went back to his meal. “Nothin’.”

  Jamie walked down Main Street, her book tucked under her arm, which was actually the latest Stephen King novel but she’d held the faint hope her lie would make Smith go away—he didn’t.

  What, exactly, is that dog up to?

  For a good forty minutes, she’d watched him devour two platters of the diner’s special and go on and on about…she didn’t even know. People in the town. The town’s history. She had no idea why he was telling her all that nor did she care. She enjoyed not knowing these people’s business, shame they couldn’t seem to be the same way. But she did hope to lead by example.

  Was he trying to get her to feel something specific? What did he think that would change? Would she make them less nervous if she were like Mac, helping their brats with their curveballs and chatting with the moms after practice? The thought made Jamie shiver in disgust. She loathed children. She’d loathed them when she was a child, and that feeling hadn’t changed in thirty-two years.

  She was nearing her SUV when she walked right into someone. She immediately grabbed the person before they could hit the ground, but they lost control of their bags of groceries, apples rolling across the pavement.

  “I’m sorry,” Jamie immediately apologized. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “It’s just a little thing, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”

  Jamie made sure the woman she had in her hands was not going to fall before she released her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  Millie MacClancy smiled at her. “I’m fine, dear. Just fine. You’re such a little thing, I barely felt it.”

  Okay. That was something she loved about this weird little town. Around here, Seneca and Emma were practically hobbits, Kenny was called “the short one,” Jamie was considered “petite,” and Mac was just average. It was definitely the best feeling, especially for the cousins who’d been called “big boned” enough times by their country cousins to have them only allowed to attend family reunions if they followed certain rules. The biggest one being, “No hitting.”

  Millie started to crouch down to retrieve her bags and Jamie caught her arms again. “Don’t you dare. I’ll never hear the end of it from your son.”

  Just the mention of Tully had the older woman smiling. “That boy. What’s he been up to now?”

  “I wish I knew.” Jamie gave a little laugh before crouching and picking up all the fruits and vegetables that had flown out of the bags.

  “So how are things going with you, sweetheart?” M
iss Millie asked.

  “Fine.” Jamie dropped the last of the apples and potatoes into the brown paper bag.

  “Is the hotel doing well?”

  “Yes. We’ve been really busy.” Jamie stood, the bags in her arms. “We’ve had to hire some new staff.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear that.”

  Millie reached for the bags but Jamie held on to them. “No. I’ll take them to your car.” Jamie frowned. “Miss Millie? Are you all right?” The older woman had some strain on her face that Jamie had never seen before. “Do you need a ride?”

  “No, no. Just some things on my mind. Nothing to worry about. The shopping helped.” She motioned down the street. “My car’s right there.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing I can help you with?”

  “No, sweetheart. But thank you for asking.”

  Together they headed down the street. “I don’t understand, Miss Millie. Here you have this nice car and yet your son…”

  Millie laughed. “What can I say? He likes to walk. Feels he finds out more about what’s going on in the town when he’s on two feet or four rather than when he’s driving.”

  Jamie didn’t know how much the man could learn from slowly ambling around the town but she wouldn’t argue with Millie. There was something about the older woman that wasn’t like the others. Something really sweet and just…innocent. Even though in her late fifties, Jamie could well imagine what had caught eternally cranky Jack’s eye, but Jamie still couldn’t believe that Tully Smith was her son. Slow-moving, not-always-the-brightest, studies-every-female-as-if-he-has-or-will-fuck-her Tully.

  Talk about falling far from the tree. Then again, more than once she’d heard a family friend of her parents remark about Jamie, “She may look like you, Mary. But other than that…”

  Jamie waited for Millie to unlock her trunk and then she placed the grocery bags inside. She slammed the trunk closed and, as she always did, shook her head at the car Tully’s mother drove.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Not at all.” Jamie sighed longingly. “I know people who’d kill for this car, though.”