“We’ll be ready for him,” she promised, touching Greg’s forearm gently. She could feel the muscles dance beneath her fingertips and a bolt of lightning struck her heart. She swallowed hard, willing her eyes to stay on his as their gazes locked once more. “You heard what Mr. Bamey said....even if they have to set up a perimeter around Kadenburg to keep them out.....there’s no way Breslin or his pack will get in here again.”
“You’re underestimating him,” Greg’s nostrils flared as his eyes darkened. “He’ll find a way. Who’s to say he hasn’t already? You’ve seen that she-wolf roaming about town...don’t tell me you haven’t. Don’t you have even the slightest suspicion she’s connected to him?”
She knew exactly who he was talking about. Kia Fallon was her name. She seemed like a nice enough girl, but the stench of wolf made her a dangerous person. Werewolves didn’t just move to Kadenburg for a fresh start. The only lycanthropes Louisa allowed herself to trust were Greg, Rutley, and Dimitri; anyone else with mutty tendencies was not to be overlooked, or taken lightly.
“She seems sort of nice,” Louisa said thoughtfully as she dropped her gaze to the floor. “I ran into her at Nana Hettie’s about a month ago, I guess...but I’ve not seen her in a long time.”
“She’s still here,” Greg promised as his hand fell to rest against Louisa’s waist. “She’s just hiding, Lou. Somebody needs to figure out why.”
“Hiding from what?” Louisa frowned, tilting her head back to peer at him curiously. “Do you think maybe she’s here because she escaped from Breslin, too?”
“I don’t know,” he shook his head slowly, sighing. “I need to get back to work-and you should probably be heading home. There’s more snow moving in tonight and I don’t want you walking in that.”
“I’ve walked in snow before,” Louisa’s eyes narrowed at him. “I can handle myself, you know.”
“I have no doubt,” his lips curved into a small smile. “But aren’t you staying with the Bameys until Beau comes back from his trip?”
Oh. Right. Beau had left with Sammy two weeks ago, something about gathering more information about her heritage. He was convinced she was supernatural, too, and though Louisa didn’t have all the details yet, she knew Beau was rarely wrong. It was weird not having him around, but of course, in all natural Beau-ness, he made her promise to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Bamey until he returned. He was afraid something would happen to her.
Silly cousin, she thought as she wrinkled her nose. I can handle myself.
“The Bameys live a bit further away than you do, you know,” Greg squeezed his fingertips against her hip and Louisa forgot what breathing meant. Another spark of something wonderful and tingly shot through her body as she gazed at him. He must’ve felt it, too. He pulled his hand away and took a step back, clearing his throat. “Maybe you ought to call Mr. Bamey and see if he can give you a lift back to their place.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” She agreed.
However, as the bell dinged above the door, both of them turned to see no such ride would be needed. A beautiful and beaming Presley Goult entered the small shop with a smile on her face.
“I need a gallon of your best caramel swirl, please,” she sighed. “And I’ll be stealing Louisa if you don’t mind.”
Two
Oh, what had she walked in on? Presley wondered if she was interrupting an intimate moment when Greg and Louisa turned to gaze at her. The serious expressions on their youthful faces made her curious, but she couldn’t ask. It wasn’t her business anyway.
“Hey, Presley,” Greg nodded as he made his way around the counter and rested a palm near the register. “You just want a gallon of caramel swirl today?”
“Just a gallon.” She laughed, resting a hand against her ever growing baby bump. She was in high spirits today. Things had grown peacefully calm in Kadenburg since Colin’s death. She wasn’t happy he died, but then again, she wasn’t happy with his betrayal either. Maybe Breslin was finally getting the message-or maybe it wouldn’t be that easy. No matter though.....not right now. Christmas was only a week away and she wanted it to be the best one yet.
“Hi, Presley,” Louisa said shyly as she hurried around the counter and reached for her jacket. “I guess Mr. Bamey sent you to pick me up, huh?”
“Not really,” Presley shrugged before glancing around. Sheesh. This place was a dead zone. She supposed that was to be expected when you ran an ice cream shop during winter; but it probably didn’t help that Nana Hettie’s was open only a block away. Every small business was competitive in an equally small town. “I was actually going to do some last minute Christmas shopping and thought you might want to tag along. I volunteered to get you while I was out. Is that okay?”
Louisa suddenly brightened up as she slid her jacket on and smiled. “Are you kidding? I love shopping. I need to pick up some last minute gifts, too.” Presley noted how her gaze drifted to Greg’s back upon saying that last part. How sweet.
They would definitely make an attractive pair when they decided to couple, but Presley knew such things could not be rushed. It took her and Lorcan forever to get to that point, but in all fairness, she hadn’t known about their kind until much later in her young adult life. Louisa and Greg were still relatively young; they had plenty of time.
“Here you go, Pretz,” Greg said, placing the small tub of ice cream onto the countertop. “Do you need help packing this out?”
Presley quirked a brow, “I’m pregnant, Greg. I’m not helpless,” she laughed. “Thank you for the offer though. These cravings are getting ridiculous.”
“Oh yeah,” he scratched the side of his face before grinning. “I’m pretty sure my mom couldn’t get enough pickles when she was pregnant with me. The funny thing is, I really don’t like ‘em at all.”
“Really?” Presley smiled politely as she reached for the ice cream, shrugging her shoulders. “I have no idea what my mom craved with me. Maybe Uncle Arnold would know...” Did she really care what her mother craved? No. She didn’t care to talk about Caroline Goult at all, actually. It seemed as if she grew increasingly bitter towards the woman with each passing day. It couldn’t be helped.
“Well, we’ll see you later, Greggy,” Presley stated as she headed towards the front door. “Stay out of trouble.”
“Ah, you know me,” he smirked. “I’m just fine with staying away from trouble, but it seems to like me an awful lot. Bye, Pretz. Bye, Lou.”
As they stepped out into the chilly winter air, it was hard to miss the blush on Louisa’s cheeks. The young ursithrope was smiling from ear to ear as she trekked through the inch or so of snow, hugging her arms around herself.
“He’s nice, huh?” Presley prompted, tugging open the driver’s side door of Mr. Bamey’s pickup. It wasn’t her usual style of driving, but given that her car absolutely sucked in hideous weather, what choice did she have? It was a four wheel drive and that’s what mattered.
“Mhm,” Was Louisa’s quiet reply as she hopped into the passenger seat and buckled up.
“Mhm,” Presley echoed, grinning again as she started the truck up. She carefully eased out onto the main road and made her way towards the highway. They were busting out of Kadenburg for an hour or so, and that meant they would be visiting Knoxville. Was she insane for wanting to go to such a busy town during one of the busiest times of the year? Yes. Oh Urseth, she was absolutely mad for the thought-but there was something very special she needed to pick up and Knoxville was the closest place to get it.
“Um...Presley?”
“Hm?” Presley’s eyes wandered away from the road briefly as she glanced at Louisa. The girl’s eyes were wide, staring straight into the rearview mirror.
“Who’s that?”
Presley glanced over her shoulder to see the solid blue jeep following closely behind them. She wrinkled her nose and sighed.
“Ah, that would be Mr. Turner and his son. They must be on the babysitter shift today.” She rolled her eyes and focus
ed on driving again.
Lorcan hadn’t been kidding when he said he was going to have his father set up a perimeter around Kadenburg. Since that fateful night with Tim and Colin, at least ten male ursithropes seemed to be on duty at all times. They lurked on the outskirts of town with their fancy little walkie-talkies, scoping the horizon for the faintest hint of werewolf stench. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that he’d asked Mr. Turner to tag along, though Presley hardly thought it was worth the fuss. She’d learned how to handle herself since then. She’d discovered just how strong she could be, and that was a mighty empowering thing.
“Do they have to follow us?” Louisa asked as they got on the highway. “I mean...doesn’t that seem a little White House-ish to you?”
Presley laughed. She couldn’t help it. Her mood was great and happiness was about to burst out of her body. Pregnancy was being kinder to her these days.
“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” she replied, relaxing her fingers around the steering wheel as she pressed her foot down on the gas pedal. “Besides, it gives Lorcan peace of mind or I wouldn’t even be going on this trip.”
“What’s Lorcan up to today?” Louisa asked as she squirmed around on the passenger side of the truck. She seemed so restless suddenly, and Presley wondered if she was nervous about something.
“He’s working on a super-secret project in the garage,” Presley lifted an eyebrow as she responded. “No one’s allowed in there. I have no idea what he’s doing.”
“Do you think it’s a gift for you?”
“If he’s working on a car for me, we have bigger issues,” Presley grinned. “He already knows what I want for Christmas.”
“What’s that?” Louisa shifted again, turning herself to face Presley as she rested an elbow against the back of the seat.
“Well, I told him if he gets me anything, I won’t talk to him for a year.”
“So you don’t want anything for Christmas?” Louisa asked in surprise. “Not even a sweater?”
“Do you want a sweater?” Presley asked as she stole a glance at her. “I’ve already got everything I could possibly want, Lou. By June of next year, I’ll have a perfect little being with his daddy’s eyes and my wit-hopefully. I have a man who loves me and actually values me...he protects me. I just don’t see how it’s possible for Christmas morning to bring me anything better than what I’ve already got.”
It was silent for several seconds afterwards, and Presley was beginning to wonder if Louisa had fallen asleep on her. She turned her head to look at her again and noticed how she had her bottom lip clutched between her teeth. Something was bothering her, but what?
“You okay over there?” Presley probed gently, turning on her turn signal to get back into the slower lane. Contrary to popular belief, turn signals were actually still extremely useful. A lot of people didn’t seem to realize they were included on every vehicle made-or maybe they just didn’t know how to use them. She, however, used them at every opportunity.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Louisa replied in a softer voice. “Do you have any names picked out for him?”
Not even the universe itself could prevent the huge smile that overcame Presley. She nodded eagerly and the blond curls upon her head bounced with the motion as she laughed.
“Yes,” she replied excitedly. “We’ve got the perfect name picked out for him.”
“I think it’s really cool that you could dream about Urseth, Presley. I mean, I don’t think it’s every day an ursithrope gets to do that. He basically told you what your future would hold.”
“Yeah...it was weird,” Presley agreed, wetting her lips as her eyes drifted to the side mirrors. She was an overly cautious driver sometimes. Lorcan had commented on it more than once.
“You drive too slowly,” he’d say. Or, “For the love of Urseth, Presley, would you just pull out? That car is a mile away!”
She smiled fondly at the memories as Louisa spoke again.
“So what’s the name?” Louisa asked. “I need to know so I know what name to put on his gift.”
“You bought him a gift already?”
“Well, not yet. But I will,” Louisa promised with a smile. “Aunty Lou has to come through for the baby, doesn’t she?”
They both erupted in laughter then, and that’s how Presley knew their trip to Knoxville would be an excellent opportunity to bond. It was something she wanted very much.
Three
“If you don’t stop being so damned stubborn, I’m going to tie you to that bed and keep you there until New Year’s,” Natalie threatened. She was tired of playing these games with Arnold Goult. He would either learn to listen to her, or she’d smack him.
“I ain’t gonna do it,” Arnold mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t want you shaving me, Woman. I’m plenty capable of doing it myself!”
She stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Oh, okay. Well, why don’t you just try remembering what happened last time, huh? You nearly sliced your own throat, Arnold! You need to let me shave you. You look like one of those guys from that TV show.”
“Hmph!” He frowned. “I don’t look like them,” He argued. “I happen to like my beard, thank ya very much. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you near me with a razor.”
“Well, if you don’t let me do it, I’ll call Presley,” Natalie stated matter-of-factly. “Do you want me to call Presley?”
Arnold was silent from his position on the mattress. She could see the gears grinding together in his head as his left eye twitched.
“No.” He muttered.
“Then get out of the bed and come into the bathroom. I’ll be quick about it.”
She watched as he pushed his long and muscular frame from the bed and stood. His hands immediately moved to rest against his waist in an impatient manner. His eyebrows knitted together as he turned in the direction of her voice.
“There. I’m up. Are you happy now?”
“I will be when you get your ass in the bathroom,” She challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. “Do you need help getting there?”
“Do I need help—woman!” Arnold snarled as he took a step forward and she quickly darted out of his way. “I know my dang house like the back of my hand. Do I need help getting there? No, I don’t. You just stay back and let me—ow!” He howled in pain as his knee collided with the corner of his dresser. He hobbled around, reaching out to grab for the end of the bed. The string of obscenities that flew from his mouth would’ve made a sailor blush, but Natalie simply laughed.
“Well, there you go, Hot Shot,” she commented as she easily slid past him and headed for the door. “Face it, Arnold. You need my help. Stop being so stubborn.”
“I can do it on my own,” Arnold insisted as he limped past her and headed down the hallway. “I don’t need you watching after me like some mother hen. I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself. You should go home.”
Natalie rolled her eyes, following after him as she watched his fingers trace against the wall. She felt bad for him, truth be told. He’d been trying to familiarize himself with everything all over again. She imagined being blinded suddenly wasn’t an easy thing and whether Arnold liked it or not, she was going to tough it out to help him. It didn’t matter how often he insulted her, or how bad he tried to make her feel; she was there for him. Hell, even if she didn’t want to, she still had to. Why? Because a part of her still loved him, even after all these years. She couldn’t bear the thought of Arnold being alone.
“Just hold still,” she said softly as she lifted the blade to his cheek. The shaving cream had been applied and the rushing water from the faucet was the only sound that touched her ears as she carefully pressed the blade against his skin. He’d really gone too long without a proper shave, and even though he did look good with facial hair, she wasn’t a fan of his current beard. Was he trying to pass off as Santa Claus?
Tis the season, she thought with a small smile.
“Woul
d you hurry it up?” Arnold asked as his damaged eyes blinked at her. “I need to take a shower and get ready. I promised Richard I’d come over today to help out with that tree Charlotte’s been nagging at him about.”
“He still hasn’t put up the tree, huh?” Natalie asked with amusement. These were things she already knew, but it gave her an excuse to have a conversation with him. Arnold tried to keep her locked out most of the time-and she could respect that. However, a small part of her enjoyed these moments. She liked his company.
“Nope,” he grumbled. “And seein’ as how I ain’t got a reason to put one up here, I thought it might be nice to help them with theirs.”
Here we go again, she bit her bottom lip. Arnold was still trying to get used to a lot of things aside from being blind. He wasn’t handling Presley’s absence very well. It was different when she moved off to Florida a few years ago, but now she was back. She was within reach, yet she was living with Lorcan in their lovely little home not even a mile away. Arnold was struggling with empty nest syndrome. At least that’s what Charlotte told her.
“I’m sure Presley would like it very much if you wanted to come over and help her put up the Christmas lights on their porch,” She offered, rinsing the blade off in the sink before she started on the other side of his face. “She misses you, Arnold.”
“I don’t want to intrude,” he replied as his nostrils flared. “She and Lorcan still have a lot of settling in to do. There ain’t any reason for me to be getting in their way.”
“You aren’t getting in their way,” she rolled her eyes, carefully gliding the blade down his cheek. “How many times has she called in the past week?”
He didn’t answer.
“I can think of at least seven times,” she rinsed the blade again before focusing on his chin and neck. Her eyes swept over his handsome face, feeling as her heart skipped a beat. Twenty something years later and he still had the ability to make her feel like a schoolgirl with a ridiculous crush. That in itself was....well, ridiculous.
Kadenburg Revealed (The Kadenburg Shifters Series, Book 4) Page 2
