I wondered from who. Buzz wouldn’t go out of his way to talk about me. He was a private person for obvious reasons.
I peered up at Paul. “It’s all true.”
They all chuckled at the small joke, and the introductions continued.
“Mark is the new guy,” Buzz said.
Mark Stephens was the fourth guy. Mark, it turned out, was an electrician by trade.
“I’ve been back here for two years, and I graduated from Moonrise with Jeff here.” Doesn’t that count for anything?” He laughed and shook his head. “When do I get to stop being the new guy?”
“When another new guy joins the lodge,” Nick teased.
“I was the old new guy,” Buzz added.
The last fellow, Jeff Callahan, was Parker’s age, it turned out. He and Mark had both graduated high school with Parker. Jeff had a beer gut that hung over his belt, which he sincerely needed since he had no butt to hold up his jeans. He was an accountant, which surprised me. I usually thought of pocket protectors and thick glasses when I thought of someone into numbers. This guy looked like a good ol’ boy and smelled heavily of marijuana. My brother used to smoke it, so I was intimately familiar with the scent.
I smiled, though, when I realized Buzz had brought me a contractor, a plumber, an electrician, and… Well, I wasn’t sure how Jeff’s accounting skills would come in handy, but it felt like Buzz had stacked the deck in my favor.
“I can’t thank you all enough for helping Buzz get the trailer parked and leveled. I wish I had a working kitchen, I’d invite you in for coffee or something.”
“Buzz is paying us with a free meal tonight.”
“It’s my turn to bring dinner for poker night.”
“Yep. No kids, no wives, no bosses,” Jeff said, nudging Buzz. He looked at me. “No offense, ma’am.” He raised his arms. I noticed he had a couple of rubber bands around his arm. It reminded me of my dad, who would take the rubber bands off the mail when he got it and put them around his wrists until he could move them into his desk drawer. Most of the time he forgot. My mom would snap him with them every time she passed him. I loved watching the two of them together.
“None taken. Now if I were your wife…” I raised my hands in a shrug. “Then I’d be sorry.”
“Now that’s the truth,” Nick said.
“Hey,” Jeff said defensively.
We all laughed. It was nice. It was a community. My community.
“Lily, Nick said he’d come out and inspect the house for you if you want. He can give you a good idea of what it’s going to need.”
“That’s great. I really need to know what walls are load-bearing. I want to expand some of the spaces. I guess I’ll have to deal with wire and plumbing as well.”
Paul piped in, “Come by Hayes when you’re ready. I’ll give you a good deal on plumbing supplies.”
“And maybe a little help installing?”
Paul grinned. “Maybe.”
“Thank you.” I beamed at Buzz. In the five months I’d lived in Moonrise, these humans had made me feel more welcome than I’d ever felt growing up in a town full of Shifters and witches.
“No problem. Hey,” Nick added. “Tell Parker I really hope he can make it to the celebration Saturday night.”
“There’s a celebration.”
“Coach Thompson,” Addy said. “My football coach. He’s retiring this year, and the school is having a banquet for him. They want the entire ‘09’ state champion team to present him with a lifetime achievement award. Lots of folks coming into town for it.”
The teenager didn’t seem very enthused at the prospect of losing his coach. “It must be hard losing him right before your senior year,” I said.
Addy looked up at me, his expression grim. Nick laughed though. “I’ve been that man’s right hand for fifteen years. He’s a great coach, but I have my own ideas of where to take the team next year.”
So Nick would be the new coach. The kid forced a smile at his uncle, but it was easy to see he wasn’t thrilled about having Nick as the new head coach.
“I’m sure it will be great,” I said diplomatically, then changed the subject. “I really do appreciate you all coming out here today and for the offer of help.”
When Buzz’s friends finally crawled back into their car and left, he put his arm around my shoulders and turned us around to look at the house. “Home sweet home,” he said. “I’m proud of you, Lily.”
My parents were long gone now, but when Buzz said that to me, I heard my father’s voice for the first time in eighteen years. It made my eyes water. “Thanks.”
“You okay?”
“Yes. I’m just really glad to have found you.”
“Me too.” Buzz stared at the thick trees off in the distance. “That’ll be a nice place to run,” he said.
He was talking about a four-legged run, cougar-style. The lovely, large plot of land and the isolation of being surrounded by trees and wide-open farmland had been a big selling point, ghosts or no ghosts.
“Did you know John Mills? The guy who died here?” I asked him.
“Yes,” Buzz answered. “I heard he got pretty senile there toward the end. Dementia took him hard.”
Poor guy. He’d had no family to help him. “Parker says the place is haunted.”
“Parker doesn’t want you to leave his garage apartment.” Buzz chuckled. “Ever.”
“Don’t you worry about what Parker wants.”
Smooshie barked her agreement right before a squirrel in a tree caught her eye. She ran break-neck speed to the base, her barks, high and excited.
“At least the dog is happy,” Buzz said.
“I’m happy, too.” I crossed my heart. “Promise.”
Buzz’s expression grew somber and pinched. “You know it’s not a sin for Shifters to have friends and lovers. You don’t have to be alone. You just have to be realistic about your expectations.”
“I’m not alone, and I’m not lonely,” I lied. The thought of dating someone other than Parker had crossed my mind. The problem was, I only wanted to date Parker. I didn’t want to bother with another man, human or Shifter.
Buzz had once been in love with my mother, it was before I was born, but she and my father had been true mates. It had been the reason Buzz had left our hometown and never returned. It’s why I didn’t doubt that he loved Nadine, but they would never have children. That only happened when a Shifter found his or her mate. Buzz and I had talked about how unfair it was to Nadine, but he assured me that she didn’t want kids anyhow. Once on a girls’ night out, she’d also told me she wasn’t interested in having a baby. I could understand her position. I’d never wanted children of my own either, but that had been when my brother Danny was alive.
Did I want them now? Did Parker? I’d never be able to give him a son to play ball with, or a daughter to…well, he could play ball with her too. I smiled a little.
“Earth to Lily,” Buzz said.
“I have plenty of friends around here, and I don’t need a lover.”
“Yeah. Right.” He gestured toward my home. “Can you use some help with the house? I’m happy to help with some of the demolition.”
I laughed. “Since I’m not dating, I’m going to use all my pent-up energy to give the walls a work over. I need to take the inside down to the bones and see what I’m working with.”
“Asbestos, mold, and lead paint, if I had to guess.”
I laughed again, and Buzz joined in. I loved the rich tone of his laughter. Again, he reminded me of Dad. “You’re awful.”
“Did you get the place inspected for mold and stuff?”
“Not yet. I plan to do it this week.” I shook my head. “But even if I have to strip it down to nothing but studs, I’m going to return the charm to this old place.”
“You really do like it, don’t you?”
“Why are you surprised?”
“I bet Nadine you bought the place just so you could run away from Parker.”
I looked around my isolated property. “I bought the place so I could run.” I grinned.
Buzz and I drove out to the state park a couple of times a month to placate our other halves, but my cat was itching to get out more. I had no idea how Buzz managed not to go stir crazy in town with all the watchful eyes of the community on him. I guess he had a lot of years of practice. I shuddered at how many times I’d let my eyes change or a claw slip. Out here, there were no homes for miles, and my house had a long driveway. Add that to the woods covering the back half of my twelve acres and my Shifter hearing to warn me of anyone arriving, and I was in werecougar heaven.
“And I plan to run a lot.”
“I get it,” he said.
“You want to stay for a while? We can get a quick rabbit hunt in.” And by hunt, I meant more of a chase and not catch. I preferred my food cooked on a stove to raw and possibly wormy.
“Tempting. But I have a thing tonight.”
“Oh yeah, poker with your lodge buddies. Thanks for getting your friends to help with the trailer move. I’ll call Nick tomorrow to have him come out and look at the place.”
“Then you’ll have to thank him. They volunteered when Merl and I told them what you were doing out here. I don’t know Jeff or Paul well, but Nick’s a good man.”
“Merl Peterson?”
“Yes, he’d been with the Moosehead Lodge for thirty years.”
“Do you all get naked and beat drums while you pass around a spirit stick?”
“Only on days that end in Y.” Buzz leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I best get going.”
After a brief goodbye, Buzz took off for town. I leaned up against my truck and watched the gray squirrel taunt Smooshie by leaping from branch to branch. She whined and clawed at the trunk. In a few minutes, she gave up and ran to me, her whole butt wagging as she pushed against my leg.
I reached down and petted her between the ears. “Okay, Smoosh, let’s really have a look at this property.” I took my clothes off—shoes and socks first, followed by shirt, pants, bra, and underwear. Smooshie cocked her head sideways, giving me a quizzical look. She always did that when I got undressed. It was as if she were asking, “How come your fur comes off and mine doesn’t?”
“Don’t worry, girl. The fur’s about to really happen now.” I dug her training clicker from my pants pocket and gave her the command to sit while I clicked it. Obediently, she sat, her tail swishing, creating a windshield wiper effect on the driveway gravel.
I knelt down in front of her, willing my cougar forward, exalting as fur rippled along my skin and every bone in my body transformed from human to giant cat. The entire process took seconds. I stared at Smooshie through my predator eyes. The first time I’d changed in front of her, she’d shied away, but she hadn’t tried to attack. Now that she’d seen me go from Lily to cougar and back to Lily many times, she just got excited. Cougar equaled a run, and Smooshie loved to run.
I gazed over at the tree line behind the house. I touched my forehead to Smooshie’s, the signal to go. She practically headbutted me as she jumped up on all fours. I laughed, but it came out as a throaty purring sound.
I detected the scent of decaying leaves where the ground had thawed, new grass, and a myriad of squirrels, raccoons, and deer scents. Smooshie ran like the devil chased her, hopping over fallen logs, ditches, and a small brook like she was a champion show pony. At one point, she face-planted with a yelp. I padded to where she’d fallen, but she was already up and running again.
There was a hole in the ground, a couple of feet deep. Something had dug up the dirt, but it was partially filled in, and grass was beginning to sprout along the upper edges. I leaned down and inhaled. Most likely a gopher had made the hole, but it was old enough now that I couldn’t scent any one type of animal.
After some more exploration, I found there were many depressions in the ground in my woods. They had varying degrees of depth and flora growth, indicating that whatever species had dug these areas, had been doing it for years.
A rustle of sticks stole my attention. Smooshie was digging next to a mossy boulder. I guess she didn’t like having holes on her land unless she’d created them herself.
I flushed with happiness. Smooshie could dig all she wanted out here and no one would get mad at her or me about it. Yay.
Chapter 3
Soft whimpers followed by labored pants woke me up. I peered out of one eye at the giant pink tongue hanging above my face. Smooshie needed a breath mint. A big one.
“What time is it?” I asked, without expecting an answer. I felt around my nightstand and found my phone. The screen was offensively bright. Five-seventeen a.m. Noooo. I had another hour and almost forty-five minutes before I had to get up for work.
I closed my eyes. “Dear, dear, Smoosh,” I said. “You need to get your bladder on my schedule.”
She put her front paws on my stomach.
Umph. “Fine. I’m awake.” As soon as I moved her aside, she jumped down from the bed and wagged at me impatiently. “I’m moving,” I told her and sat up.
I gazed around at the little apartment I’d called home for the past five months. This would be one of the last times I got out of this bed.
I stretched, and my back cracked like a bundle of firecrackers. I would not miss the fold-out couch bed. At all.
Smooshie barked to let me know I was going to be cleaning up a puddle if I didn’t put some urgency into my “moving.”
I wore a tank top and a pair of pajama pants to bed, so I just threw on a sweater and slipped on my galoshes. Parker’s fenced-in backyard had been a bit marshy this week. I didn’t bother brushing my teeth or combing my hair. Smooshie didn’t look as if she’d last much longer.
She bowed to me at the door, stretching her own back as I clipped her leash on. “Soon,” I told her, “I’ll be able to just open the door and let you out when you have to go. The whole place will be your personal potty paradise.”
I opened the door, and she dragged me down the steps to the gate between the garage and Parker’s house. I could hear Parker and Elvis out back and wondered if that’s why Smooshie had suddenly needed to pee at this unhealthy hour.
I tried to smooth down my frizzy bed hair, but I knew without a brush and some water, my actions were futile. When we rounded the corner, Parker tossed a ball toward the back fence, and Elvis took off after it. He saw Smooshie and me about the time Elvis returned with his prize.
Smooshie tugged hard toward them. She totally wanted in on the action. Parker grabbed another ball from his back porch. I unclipped my anxious pit bull, and she started running toward the back end of the property before Parker even lobbed the toy.
He laughed as he gave it a hard toss past her. “Morning. You’re up early.”
“True story,” I said. Self-consciously, I tried smoothing my hair again.
Parker smiled. “You look fine.”
“I know,” I said a tad defensive. “I’m still waking up is all.” I didn’t want him to think I cared what he thought about my appearance. Even though I did care. “You’re up early too.”
“Elvis was restless.” Parker threw Elvis’ ball again then retrieved the other from Smoosh and threw it for her. “I think Elvis knows Smooshie’s leaving.”
I raised a brow. “And that’s made him sad?”
“Well, he’s gotten used to having her around.” He shrugged. “Even if she’s a little disruptive.”
“Uh-huh.” I was pretty sure it wasn’t Elvis who felt restless.
“You want to come in for coffee? These two can stretch their legs for a few minutes without us.”
“Sure.” Oh, how I wished I’d have brushed my teeth!
Parker’s kitchen smelled like freshly made toast and rich Columbian coffee. A medium-dark roast, which I knew was his favorite. He poured me a cup and set it down on the small circular table that filled the floor space. I took a seat in front of it.
“I can put you some bread in the toaster
if you’re hungry. Theresa brought some Irish butter over this week, and it’s really good.”
“Coffee’s perfect.” The Irish butter sounded tasty, but eating before I’d even had a chance to pee seemed somehow wrong. Parker sat across the table from me.
“I still can’t believe you’re moving out.” He tapped is fingers on the table. “I was just getting used to having you around.”
“You’ll see me almost every day. It’s not like I’m quitting my job here.” I sipped the hot brew. Parker didn’t respond, and the silence was deafening. I didn’t want our friendship to be awkward. I wanted us to be easy with each other, but it had become a tug-of-war between my conflicting emotions for him. It wasn’t Parker’s fault. Other than the one time we almost kissed, he hadn’t tried to put any pressure on me to be more than a friend, even though his scent and body language said he wanted more.
I filled the quiet between us with small talk. “You think we’ll get another frost before the end of March?”
“Usually do,” Parker said. “But it’s been warming up fast. The thunderstorms will be rolling in soon.”
“They get pretty bad around here?” It had rained a few times in February, but nothing terrible.
“Yeah, but not like the flatter areas of the state. We get the occasional tornado warning, but I’ve never seen anything come from it. The weatherman is calling for some severe storms this week.” He shook his head. “In school, they would put us through these drills where we had to sit against the wall in the hallway and put our heads between our knees. We used to joke it was so we could kiss our ass goodbye.”
I smiled. We had witches who urged harsh weather patterns to miss our town, so I’d never experienced what Parker was talking about. I wondered what my life would have been like growing up in a place like this, with its beautiful simplicity. “Speaking of school, I ran into a couple former classmates of yours, a Jeff Callahan and Mark Stephens.”
Parker’s expression changed to curious. “I played ball with Mark. I didn’t realize he was back in town.”
“He said he lived here in Moonrise. Two years now, apparently. Oh, and Nick Newton asked if you were going to be at some retirement party this weekend.”
The Money Pit Page 3