by Diane Leyne
“Child. Please do this for me. I have always felt that you were cheated out of knowing part of your heritage. The boys got to understand about being wolf. It’s time for you to do so. I won’t force you to promise to reveal yourself. I understand. A year sounds like a long time. Live there for three months, more if you find you like it. I’ve love you to spend a year getting to know that side of your heritage, but I’ll settle for three months. Then, if you decide to turn your back on the wolf inside, that’s your choice. But three months. Give me that, please.”
Samantha looked at her grandmother’s expression and couldn’t say no.
“Okay, Grandmother. If it will make you happy. But not just yet. I’m not missing a minute with you, do you understand?”
Chapter Two
Present day, Harmony, Washington
Ginger West, one of the town’s leading real estate agents, was having breakfast in the optimistically named Sunshine Cafe with her cousin Gabriel McAllister, alpha of the Harmony pack, oldest grandson of Rory McAllister and president of McAllister Building.
“So, when I contact Mrs. Daniels after the Lufts decided not to renew the lease on the old farm house, I expected her to tell me to find another tenant, or even finally put it up for sale.”
“Yes, yes,” interrupted Gabriel impatiently. “Are you saying she’s finally selling? Because I want it at any price. That’s wolf land. The seven families all live in that area, and I’m tired of it being rented to outsiders. There are times when we just want to go and run at night, but we always have to be conscious of that one house. If it was lived in by wolves, we could be a lot freer.”
“That’s just it, Gabe. She told me she had sold the property. Then she hired me to arrange for some basic furnishings, bed, couch, TV, kitchen table, curtains, stuff like that. And now the new owner has e-mailed me. She’s on her way and expects to arrive anytime now.”
“Anytime now? She can’t be more precise.”
“Apparently she’s someone who knew Mrs. Daniels back in Florida. She’s driving up, so her schedule’s been a bit fluid, but she e-mailed from Oregon, so she’ll be here soon.”
“Why didn’t you tell me it was for sale? Dammit, why didn’t Mrs. Daniels tell me? She knew how much I wanted to buy it. Damn.” He sighed. Then he looked up at Ginger as if something had just occurred to him. “You said ‘she’?”
“Yes, a woman apparently, Samantha Anderson. But because she bought directly from Mrs. Daniels, I don’t have the usual information on her, but she said in her e-mail that she was a teacher on sabbatical and had been looking for a quiet place to write.”
Gabriel thought about this as he sipped his coffee.
“I don’t like your expression, Gabriel. What are you planning?”
“Maybe this Miss Anderson can be persuaded that there are better places to write in than Harmony. Places more compatible with the writer’s sensibility. Maybe you can find her something nice in Oregon. I’ll even subsidize the cost.”
“Gabe, you can’t just run her out of town. Besides, she’s on sabbatical. That’s a year, right? You can just wait her out. Make nice with her, and at the end of the year when she goes home, buy the place from her.”
“Ginger, I’m the mayor and the alpha. I can do pretty much what I want. And I don’t want to wait. I’ve waited long enough. I’m tired of absentee owners renting to humans. That property is right in the middle of where the pack lives, and it’s inconvenient to have to keep avoiding the place and worrying that one of the humans will be out walking and see us and freak out at the pack of wolves. She’s got to go, Ginger.”
“Gabe!”
“Okay, okay, I’m not really going to run her out of town. Just help her come to the realization on her own that Harmony isn’t the place for her.” He smiled, and Ginger could almost see wolf in the features of her handsome and stubborn cousin.
He got up to leave but then stopped to tug her ponytail.
“Lighten up, cuz. I’m going to be my usual charming, subtle self. She won’t even realize what I’m up to.”
Ginger snorted. Her cousin was about as subtle as a Mack Truck, but she had to admit he could be charming when he wanted to be. She turned to watch him walk away. He was a good-looking man, her cousin. He was the traditionally popular tall, dark, and handsome, with the lean, athletic build of the quarterback he had been. He had a magnetic personality that drew people to him and made him a success as the CEO of McAllister Corporation as well as the mayor of Harmony, taking over from his father when his parents had decided to retire to New Harmony a few years ago. He was wearing his usual tight, faded jeans and polo shirt with the McAllister logo, and she could see the women in the restaurant watching him leave and admiring the view.
It was a good thing they were related so she was immune to him. Gabe was five years older than her, at thirty five, and she’d grown up watching him charm and seduce women from here to Seattle. Women toppled like dominoes around him. She smiled to herself. What she wouldn’t give, for once, for it to be her cousin to be the one brought to his knees by a woman. It was about time. He was the alpha in his family, and it was time he and his brothers settled down and produced some pups of their own.
She looked at her watch, and then her phone rang as scheduled.
She hadn’t been totally upfront with Gabe. She hadn’t met Samantha Anderson, but she had Googled her. Samantha was a teacher and had been in the newspapers a few times back in Florida for various activities with her students, including her campaigns against bullying and her successful fight against a big corporation that was trying to destroy some wetlands. From what Ginger could tell, the thirty-year-old teacher was a stunning, athletic brunette, smart, and not someone who would be easily intimidated.
“Hello, Ginger West here.”
“Hey, Ginger. It’s Sam.” Ginger had also not bothered to tell Gabe that they’d been in communication by phone for several weeks getting this move organized. She found that she really liked this Samantha Anderson and thought she’d be great for Gabe. In fact, she had high hopes that when these two stubborn, strong-willed people met, there would be massive sparks. Gabe needed a strong woman in his life as his mate, and if history was any indication, the descendants of the original eight seemed to gravitate toward each other as mates. It didn’t happen all the time, but it did happen, perhaps Ms. Samantha Anderson would take Cousin Gabe down a peg or two. It would do him good to have to chase a woman for once.
“Hey, Sam. Where you at?”
“I’m about an hour away. Meet you at the house at eleven?”
“See you then.”
* * * *
Right on time, Samantha pulled into the driveway of the small house. Right now, she was maintaining the fiction that she’d bought the place as a retreat and that Mrs. Daniels had given her a good price since she knew the family, so she had to remember that she wasn’t supposed to know much about the town or the seven founding families who remained.
She’d approached from the south, so she hadn’t seen anything of the town yet. She’d driven through the wolves’ land first, deliberately. She wanted to see if she could sense anything and had been shocked at how strong the pull had been. She knew which houses were occupied by wolves. She could even estimate the number of males. And she knew if someone was at home or if the house was unoccupied, by a wolf at least.
It was freaky, and she didn’t think she liked it. The summer in Harmony would not be easy, but she’d honor her grandmother’s wishes. She wouldn’t mingle, though. She’d keep to herself, concentrate on her writing, and then head somewhere else to finish her sabbatical year. She knew that her house, which sat on just a few acres, was surrounded by wolf land. She was sure that they’d be thrilled to buy it from her. She’d have her spend the summer and be gone by the time the leaves started changing.
She started unpacking her car. There wasn’t much. A few suitcases, some boxes, and a couple of bags of groceries she’d picked up on her way today. As it was, her small
car was jam packed.
She was glad she’d worn shorts and a tank top today. It was going to be warm for the Northwest. She refixed her ponytail that had come undone. Her hair was long and almost black like her grandmother’s. She had thought about cutting it, but her grandmother had always begged her to leave it long.
A minute later, a shiny black SUV pulled up behind her red Corvette. A gorgeous redheaded woman got out. She looked to be about Samantha’s age and had a long mane of bright-red hair, presumably the source of the name Ginger. They’d probably have gone to school together if Samantha had been raised in Harmony. And based on their phone calls, they’d have been good friends. Even from just a few conversations, she felt closer to Ginger West than just about anyone but her two best friends, Melody and Bella.
“Hey, you must be Samantha. I’m Ginger.”
Samantha smiled and shook her hand. Ginger helped pick up the groceries, led her to the front door, and opened it before handing Samantha the key and gesturing for her to enter first.
“As you can see, the place is on the small side. Living room, dining room, and kitchen down here. Two bedrooms and a small den upstairs. You can see the dog door. It’s nailed shut now, but if you get a pet, you can easily get it working again. If you aren’t handy, I know someone in town who could help. But as I don’t see a dog, we’ll move on.
“Based on our discussion, I just got you the minimum, a bed, a couch, a kitchen table, and a few pots and pans. You said you would stop for groceries on the way, so I didn’t get you any food, and you were bringing your own bed linens, so I didn’t bother with that.
“I’ve drawn up a list of the best places in town to get some more furniture, curtains, et cetera. You’ll definitely want to stop by McAllisters. They do custom furniture, but they have a nice inexpensive line, too. And I’ll give you my card so you get the friends and family discount.”
“You are related?”
“Cousins. You’ll find a lot of people in the town are connected in one way or another.” She grinned. “You’ll like the Sunshine Cafe for breakfast or lunch. It’s run by my best friend, Penelope Levinson. If you like working out, there’s a great gym, Bodies in Harmony, owned by Penelope’s cousin’s family. Then there’s the Windsor Emporium. It’s kind of a general store run by Penelope’s aunt Genie Lee. Her mom, Jody Lee, designs jewelry that’s sold there, and it is fantastic, just as good as you’d find in the big city. In fact, you may have heard of her line. It went national a few years ago.”
Samantha held out her hand. On her wrist was a Jody Lee piece. “My grandmother gave me this last year.” Ginger grinned and held up her wrist. She had the same bracelet.
“There’s a lot more, and I’ve written it all down. Best place for fresh produce. Best restaurants, best place to see a movie.”
“Harmony seems like quite a prosperous little town.”
“Yeah, it’s done well. It’s been around for more than a century, just a small, sleepy little place. Then after World War II, a bunch of vets looking for a place to settle moved to Harmony. Rory McAllister started a lumber business and then branched out into construction and furniture making and a bunch of other things. He sold most of it to a major conglomerate a while back when he retired and none of his kids or grandkids were interested in taking over and before the big economic collapse. He kept the furniture business and a few other things in town. His grandkids run things now.
“He isn’t the sort to allow his grandchildren to grow up as entitled ‘trust fund babies.’ They all have to work for a living. He set up a trust for education, medical expenses, and he’s promised all his grandkids a lavish wedding, but none of us have taken him up on the wedding, much to his sorrow.” She smiled. “Hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Well, why don’t we put away your groceries and haul in the rest of your bags? Then we can go into town, and I’ll show you around.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They took Ginger’s SUV so she could play tour guide. As they were buckling up, she turned to Samantha, obviously struggling with her words.
“I have to warn you about something.”
“Warn?”
“Not really warn. That’s too strong a word. But I have to tell you about the wolves of Harmony.”
“Sounds like a book or maybe a band.”
Ginger laughed. “Actually it’s a pack of wolf-dogs that lives outside of town, not far from your place, actually.”
“And they run wild?”
“Mostly, although often they calm down as they get older and end up getting, er, adopted by a local family.”
“Calm down? Are they dangerous when they are younger, then?”
“Not dangerous. More like untamed in the sense of being free. They don’t like being tied down or up or whatever. You know what I mean. They like to run free. If you see them, don’t be afraid. They won’t harm you, but their appearance can be startling.”
“Appearance?”
“In some ways, they just look like big dogs, but when they get closer, you can see the wolf blood is predominant. They are different colors from a light brownish all the way to jet black. But don’t be afraid. They are gentle unless threatened. In fact, it is a part of the legend of the rebirth of Harmony.”
“Rebirth? That sounds like an interesting story.”
“The way it’s told, the town was dying. The wolves had been sighted and were hunted whenever they were spotted. You have to understand what it was like. It was after the war, and times were hard, and people thought the wolves would kill livestock. They never did as far as anyone knew, but the worry was there, and the townspeople tried to drive out the wolves. But then everything changed when a roving gang came to town. They’d decided Harmony would be easy pickings. But then the pack of wolf-dogs came out of nowhere. They literally drove the gang away. It was impressive to see, and ever since, the townsfolk had always allowed the wolf-dogs to run free.
“Well. Time to head to down.”
Chapter Three
The town was bigger than Samantha expected. There were several thousand people in the town, and they were only a few miles from the county capital of Westville, which had almost twenty-five thousand. Both towns were less than an hour from Seattle, which made commuting possible for those who relished the small town experience but needed to go into the city for work.
Downtown Harmony was organized around a surprisingly large town square. They parked in front of the Sunshine Cafe on the west side. She could see City Hall on the east side and McAllister Furniture on the south. The square itself was crowded with people sitting outside enjoying the sun. Children played on the playground set, and the adults listened to the string quartet playing in the gazebo. In fact, it looked like something out of a movie. It looked prosperous and well to do.
Penelope was sunny and vivacious. She was small, blonde, and a whirlwind of energy.
“What brings you back so soon? A bit early for lunch.”
“Penelope, this is Samantha Anderson. She’s bought the Daniels place.”
“Does Gabe know?”
“You know Gabe. He knows everything. Anyway, I’m showing her around town and helping her get settled. We thought we’d talk over cobbler and coffee.”
“Tea for me, actually, but cobbler sounds great.” She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
After bringing their food, Penelope sat down to join them. Samantha felt tired about just ten minutes in her company. After answering questions more or less frankly, she started asking some of her own. She learned that the tall, redheaded Ginger had actually modeled for a while but hated feeling like a piece of meat.
“Especially since they kept telling me to lose weight. I’m five nine and a size six, and they wanted me to lose twenty pounds. How on earth can that be healthy?” she asked.
Samantha nodded sympathetically. She was almost as tall as Ginger and the same size. “Twenty pounds? How would that even be possible?” She tucked into her dessert.
“This is the best apple cobbler ever.”
Penelope smiled with pride. “My grandmother Kitty’s secret family recipe.”
Just then, Ginger’s phone rang. Being “on the clock,” she excused herself to answer it. A moment later she came back to the table with her apologies. “There’s a problem with a closing. I have to run. Damn. We should have taken both cars. I’ll figure something out.”
“No worries. You sort out your problem. I’m going to walk off this amazing lunch, and then I’ll just grab a cab. Surely one of you has a second cousin once removed that owns a taxi company?” She smiled to show she was joking.
“Not to worry. Visit McAllister Furniture last. I’ll arrange to have one of my cousins drive you home.”
“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother.”
“No bother. In fact, when they meet you, I predict they’ll be competing for the privilege. Well, later.”
She hurried off, and Samantha sat back, sipping her tea. She decided to take the opportunity to pump Penelope for more information about the town. So far, it seemed like most of the wolf families were pretty prominent in town. Even Penelope was the granddaughter of one of the original soldiers.
“Tell me, do you like living here? No thoughts of the big city?”
“I love Harmony. I went to Columbia back east for university, but the big city wasn’t for me. I’d always loved cooking, and I loved Harmony, so here I am. What about you? I grew up here. How did you end up in Harmony?”
“Serendipity, I guess. I was a teacher. Still am, actually. But the past year was tough. I was engaged and then broke it off when I caught his cheating ass with one of my students. She was eighteen, so at least she was legal, but the relationship was over. And then I lost my own grandmother, who I was closer to than my own mom.
“When the school year ended, I needed a break. I’ve always wanted to write and thought about taking time off to give it a try. I heard about this place from a friend. Her grandmother had this house for rent, and the tenants had left. Suddenly, the idea of getting as far away as I could from Florida for a while was a good idea. I convinced her grandmother to rent it to me, and here I am.”
