Mirror Lake Wolves 01 - Moon Kissed

by Jennifer Snyder

  “Okay.” I picked up my paintbrush and swirled it through more paint. “I already walked around the trailer park, trying to see if I could spot anyone missing from the pack tonight. It was stupid, but I felt like I had to do something.”

  “Did you tell your Gran?”

  “No. I don’t think she’d believe me. I’m actually kind of surprised you did.”

  “Why wouldn’t I believe you?”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged.

  Eli reached for me. His hand came to rest on my forearm and sparks of electricity burst beneath my skin like tiny fireworks at the contact. “You can always come to me about anything, Mina. I’ll always believe you.”

  Warmth filled me, causing my heart to contract and expand so quickly it was a miracle I was still alive. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said as he removed his touch. “And you don’t have to finish painting that wall if you don’t want to. I don’t want to keep you.”

  He did, though. I could sense he wanted me to stay. The crazy part was that I wanted to stay, too.

  “Like I said, I don’t have anything better to do.” I flashed him a small smile and went back to painting.

  10

  Gravel crunched beneath my feet as I walked from my trailer to Felicia Warren’s. I’d agreed to babysit her twins today while she worked an extra shift at Mirror Lake Diner off Main Street. She’d offered to pay me forty bucks, which equaled twenty per kid. It was forty dollars more than I currently had, and the kids weren’t bad. They were barely one, which meant they were at a fun stage. Not entirely dependent on someone for everything and easily amused.

  I knocked on Felicia’s front door and waited. The sounds of someone racing around inside met my ears. She must be late getting ready, as usual. Felicia was always rushing around. I guessed with two babies on your hands time could easily get away from you.

  “Come on in,” Felicia shouted.

  I gripped the knob and twisted, but it didn’t budge. I wrapped my knuckles against the door again. “Hey, Felicia. It’s locked.”

  “Hold on,” she yelled. Footsteps heading to the door sounded from inside. “Ouch, damn it!” She swung the door open and leaned against its frame, cussing like a sailor under her breath while gripping the bottom of her foot.

  “You okay?”

  “No. Those damn wooden blocks will be the death of me,” she muttered, massaging the bottom of her foot. “Come on in.”

  I stepped into the single-wide trailer while trying hard not to laugh. The scent of apples and cinnamon floated to my nose. Her place always smelled so good.

  “Thanks for doing this for me on such short notice,” Felicia said as she hobbled toward the dining room table. She swiped a few strands of honey brown hair away from her eyes and tucked them behind her ear. “I really need the extra money this month.”

  “No problem. I’m glad I can help.” I crammed my hands into the back pockets of my shorts.

  Felicia was a single mom. Roughly two summers ago, a rogue wolf came through town and the two of them hit it off. The guy ended up staying with her for months. Everyone in the trailer park thought we’d gained a new member to the pack, but the second Felicia found out she was pregnant, the jerk left town. His name had been Frank, but Felicia liked to call him fucker.

  I didn’t blame her.

  “My shift ends at four, but I’m working a double so my mom will be by after she gets off work to pick up the twins,” Felicia said as she tied her apron around her tiny waist.

  “What time does your mom get off?”

  “Four thirty. She should be here before five. The twins have been fed and their diapers changed. They didn’t sleep worth a shit last night, so they’ll probably nap throughout the day for you. Please try not to let them sleep too much. I’d love to get four hours of consecutive sleep tonight for once.”

  “Got it.”

  She scooped up her purse and keys off the dining room table and rushed to the living room where the munchkins were snuggled together on an oversized beanbag, watching some cartoon where the characters looked like they were half-fish half-people.

  “Bye, sweethearts. Mommy will see you later. Be good for Miss Mina.” She kissed both of them on the forehead before dashing to the door. “Thanks again! Call me if you need anything.”

  “I will. Bye. Have a good day at the diner.”

  I sat on the couch and proceeded to watch the tail end of whatever cartoon it was the twins were watching. It was actually entertaining. There were some catchy songs. The twins were content to watch it until the end. I even noticed them dancing in their seats a time or two, which had me cracking up.

  When the next show came on, they began to show signs of boredom. Farah started kicking Fletcher, which made him cry. I scooped him up and tried to get her to tell him she was sorry or at least show him some affection. She ignored me. When I couldn’t get Fletcher to stop crying, I resorted to sitting on the floor with them and trying to play with the blocks Felicia had stepped on. This captured their attention for ten minutes, tops.

  They were restless today.

  I checked my cell for the time. It was a little after ten. I decided to strap them into their double-seated stroller and go for a walk around the trailer park. The last time I babysat, it was spring and still chilly out. The twins had loved it, though. In fact, they’d been asleep within the first ten minutes. I’d walked around the entire park six or seven times before deciding to risk moving them from the stroller inside. The second I did, they’d woken up and all hell had broken loose.

  I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. If they fell asleep during our walk, they were staying where they were until they woke. The temperature was warmer, which meant I could park in the shade and let them sleep.

  After situating the twins in their stroller, I flipped the brakes off and started pushing them over the bumpy gravel. Thank goodness the stroller had gigantic jogging meals. While it was a bit of a bumpy ride, the twins didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Farah thought it was the funniest thing ever to be jostled around inside the stroller. Fletcher was the fussy one today. All he seemed to want to do was cry.

  The trailer park was quiet at ten in the morning. Everyone was either off at work, sleeping still, or puttering around their trailers. Part of me wished I was still sleeping, but I needed the extra money. Gas wasn’t going to magically appear in my car anytime soon.

  I waved to the Bell sisters as I cruised past their place, hoping to seem as though I was in a hurry. If I stopped, they would talk my ear off. Especially since I had the twins with me. There was no doubt the sisters would pinch their chubby little cheeks until they were nearly bleeding.

  “Good morning, Mina,” the oldest of the Bell sisters said. I struggled with whether I should make eye contact, knowing once I did it would be all over. In the end, I gave in and glanced at her. Gran would have my head if she found out I’d been rude to one of the sisters.

  “Good morning, Ms. Bell,” I said as I slowed enough to flash her a polite smile.

  “Who have you got there?” the youngest of the Bell sisters asked, craning her neck to see inside the stroller. “Is that the little Warren twins?”

  “Yeah, I’m babysitting them today. They’re feeling fussy, so I should probably continue with the walk. I think the fresh air is doing them good.”

  “Fresh air does everyone good, dear,” the oldest Bell sister said. Her name was Sable and the youngest was named Selene, but I honestly couldn’t remember who was who half the time. They looked so much alike. No one ever called them by their first names anyway. They’d always been known as the Bell sisters and nothing more.

  “That it does.” I gripped the handle of the stroller tighter and pressed forward. I held my breath, waiting for one of them to call me back but neither did. By some small stroke of luck, I’d been spared this morning.

  Thank goodness for small miracles.

  When I rounded the corner of Gran’s trailer, I felt my muscle
s relax. The front door was open, but I couldn’t hear the TV or smell any food cooking. I continued around the side of it, taking myself out of the Bell sisters’ view.

  Gran was digging in her garden. It wasn’t the largest garden, but it worked. She didn’t seem to mind it was long and narrow. She just enjoyed having her own slice of land to grow on. All the herbs for her tinctures, teas, and the bulk of the vegetables we ate grew there. The garden was like a second home to Gran. When she wasn’t inside cooking, sitting in her recliner reading, or knitting, she could be found out here, soaking up the sun rays and humming a soft melody as she worked with her hands in the dirt.

  As much as I wished I enjoyed gardening as much as she did, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I liked spending time in nature, but gardening was too much work. I preferred hiking or swimming in the lake. Being bent over while I picked weeds and checked plant leaves for funky spots and bugs wasn’t my idea of fun. It was more Gracie’s thing than mine. She loved learning about Gran’s plants and helping her weed the garden.

  Speaking of. Where was Gracie?

  She was supposed to help Gran today. When I left this morning, she was up and about, so I wasn’t sure where she was.

  “Hey, Gran,” I said as I pushed the twin’s stroller to where she was working. “How’s everything looking?” I knew she’d been worried about her lemon balm plants. Gran lived on that herb. She swore there were bugs eating it last week. Also, she’d been worried about the salvia, considering it was almost time to be harvested for the full moon again.

  “Better than I expected.” She glanced up from the weeds she’d been pulling, her blue eyes glistening with love for her garden.

  “That’s good,” I said, looking around for Gracie. “Where’s Gracie? I thought she was supposed to help you today.” I hated seeing Gran working out here by herself. Even though I knew she enjoyed being in her garden, it seemed like too much work for a seventy-year-old woman to do alone.

  “She’s grabbing my pruning shears from inside. I forgot them.” Gran smiled at the twins. “Well, hello there, little ones. They are just precious. How have they been for you so far? I see you’ve already resorted to taking them for a walk.”

  Gran knew my babysitting secrets because they all came from her. She was a miracle worker when it came to getting kids to behave, or at least be manageable.

  She pulled off her gardening gloves and exited the chicken wire gate surrounding her garden.

  “They’re okay. Fletcher is a little whiny this morning. He’s been crying on and off since his mom left for work. She said they didn’t get much sleep last night. I hoped taking them for a walk would calm them enough to take a nap so they would be better for me later today. No luck yet, though.”

  “Fletcher looks like he’s seconds from passing out. I can tell by his eyes. Farah, on the other hand, seems wide-awake. If all else fails, at least you’ll have a little one-on-one time,” Gran said as she touched Farah’s hair.

  “I’ll keep walking and see what happens.”

  “Let me give you something to give Felicia. It should help the twins sleep better at night for her.” Gran motioned for me to follow her around the trailer.

  She was always concocting homemade remedies for things. It was actually how she made extra money. She had in-depth knowledge of herbs that everyone in the pack came to her for. Honestly, she fascinated me with it all. Sadly, I was never able to retain anything when she attempted to share it with me. Gracie was different. She took after Gran and soaked in the knowledge.

  As we stepped around the trailer, I spotted Gracie talking with Cooper Vargas. They looked chummy from the smile stretched across both their faces. When had she started talking to him? As soon as she spotted Gran and me, she told Cooper she had to go. She kissed him on the check before heading in our direction. Were Cooper and Gracie an item? When had that happened?

  My stomach twisted as knots the size of my fist built while I watched Gracie walk. Her cheeks were tinted pink, and there was a dreamy smile on her face.

  Why hadn’t she mentioned anything about Cooper to me? We talked about everything. Normally. Lately, though, there hadn’t been too much dialog going on between us. It was my fault. Over the last few weeks, I’d been preoccupied with the coming full moon and other things.

  “Sorry, Gran. I meant to bring these to you, but Cooper had me sidetracked for a second,” Gracie said. Her gaze shifted to me as she passed Gran the shears. It didn’t linger on me for long before it dipped it to the twins. “Aw, they’ve gotten so big!”

  “Yeah, they have,” I said, trying not to feel upset she hadn’t said anything to me about Cooper and her being together.

  Gran took the shears from her and headed inside. I debated on how to broach the topic of Cooper with Gracie, but I didn’t have time to start anything. Gran came back with a brown glass bottle before I could say anything. She held it out to me and I took it. The label said lavender spray.

  “Have Felicia spray the twins bedding before she puts them down for the night. The lavender should help them sleep peacefully for a few hours, if not the entire night. She doesn’t need to douse the sheets with it, just a light misting will do,” Gran said.

  “Okay.” The bottle was cool in the palm of my hand, and I could faintly smell the soothing scent of lavender wafting from it. “Felicia will be happy if it works, I’m sure.”

  “Oh, it will work. Trust me.” Gran winked.

  I felt bad for having sounded as though I doubted her. Everything Gran did worked.

  “All right, thanks for this. I should probably let you get back to the garden,” I said as I pushed the stroller forward, grinding over a larger chunk of gravel.

  “If they get to be too much, text me and I’ll come help,” Gracie said.

  “Thanks, but I think I’ll manage.” My words sounded harsher than I’d intended. Gracie didn’t seem to notice, though.

  I continued around the neighborhood, only pausing when I came to Taryn’s tiny silver bullet of a trailer. It wasn’t like the other trailers in the park. Not a single wide. Not a double wide. Instead, one you hitched to the back of a truck and pulled along behind you. It was what I called a gypsy trailer. Ready and waiting for the word to pick up and leave. Not that it ever went anywhere. Taryn was fine living in Mirror Lake Trailer Park with the rest of us. At least I thought she was. Right now, she looked as though she might prefer to be anywhere besides here.

  Mascara had smeared down her cheeks and her bottle blond hair was a matted mess. Her nose reddened as she wiped it on the back of her hand. I could see the snot glistening in the sunlight. I’d never seen her like this. Generally, she was somewhat put together and happy.

  Something was wrong, and even though I didn’t want to admit it, a part of me thought I might know what that something was.

  11

  “He wouldn’t do that. It’s what they said down at the station too, but I know him. He wouldn’t do that,” Taryn said into her phone. She pulled a cigarette out of her pack with shaky fingers and reached for her lighter. I watched as she flicked it with her thumb to no avail. “Damn it, I’ve already told you! He’s gone! Something happened to him!”

  I slowed my walk so I could listen to her conversation. The knots in my stomach doubled in size. Was her boyfriend, Glenn, the wolf I’d heard in the woods last Friday night? Was the blood I’d seen his?

  Taryn thought something had happened to him. While I wasn’t one hundred percent sure the two situations were related, I had a gut feeling they might be.

  “Yeah well, my gut is telling me something is wrong, Candace. Aren’t you the one who’s always telling me to listen to my intuition? Pretty damn ironic that now I am and you’re telling me I’m wrong, that I’m overreacting. Screw you,” Taryn grumbled before she hung up.

  Candace was her older sister. She’d practically raised her when their mother committed suicide after finding out what their father and they were. Apparently, some people could handle the supernatural world be
tter than others could. Candace and Taryn’s mother hadn’t been one of them. Their dad died shortly after. Everyone said it was from a broken heart. I believed it. I’d seen the effects of one firsthand. Some days I was surprised Dad was still alive.

  “Hey, Taryn,” I said when she didn’t seem to notice me. She flinched at the sound of my voice. “Um…Are you okay?”

  “No.” She shook her head and took a long drag off her cigarette. “I’m so far from okay it’s not even funny.”

  When she shifted her full attention to me, I could see how distraught she was. Taryn was only two years older than I was, but as I stared at her, it seemed as though she had a decade on me. Her eyes were hollowed out and her body looked frail and bony. She reminded me of a junkie. One an officer would show pictures to teens of to help stop them from doing drugs. It was sad really, because I could remember a time when she was beautiful. Her hair hadn’t always been banana yellow from bad box dye jobs, and her face wasn’t always so worn with worry.

  Life had aged Taryn, and as she sat in a crappy fold-up chair, puffing away on her cigarette, I knew it wasn’t done yet.

  Especially not if what I thought might have happened to Glenn was true.

  “Anything I can do to help?” I asked, even though I knew there was probably nothing.

  “Not unless you’ve seen Glenn.” Her dark brown eyes lifted to lock with mine.

  “Sorry. I haven’t seen him. What happened? Did you two get in a fight?”

  I prayed she would tell me that was all it was, the two of them had gotten into an argument and he’d taken off like I knew he’d done in the past. I prayed she’d tell me the last time she saw him was last night.

  From the disheveled state she was in, I knew my prayers wouldn’t be answered.

  “We did,” she muttered. Fat tears trickled down her cheeks, and she covered her mouth with her other hand, trying to keep her sobs to a minimum. “The last thing I said to him was to go to hell.”