Trust Me When the Sun Goes Down (34 page)

“Leave here?”  The idea clearly appalled the shy girl.  “Everything I know is here.  I have everything I could ever want.”  Blonde waves danced as she shook her head.   

“To each his own I suppose.” Millie sighed and Scarlett smiled encouragingly.

“Give it some time, you’ll like it here too, you’ll see.”

“I haven’t had much chance to look around yet, so my impression is fairly limited,” Amelia allowed. 

“After lunch we should go into town and do a little shopping.  You can see a bit of the town and the harbor if you like.  We’ll have plenty of time before the gathering tonight.”

“Gathering?”

“Mmmhmm,
Grandmere
sent runners to call the pack together tonight to welcome you home.”

“Runners?  Don’t you people have cell phones?” Millie snorted.

“Some of us are a bit remote, and not all of us have embraced many of the new ways.” 

An interesting concept.  “So, how many people are you expecting at this shindig then?”

“You’ll see tonight, I don’t want to spoil it for you.  It’s better if you see them all at once,” she smiled mischievously. 

“If you say so.” Millie frowned on the inside, uneasy with the idea of a pack gathering in her honor.  Would she be expected to take part in some kind of ritual?  All manner of strange thoughts swirled around in her mind, superstitions and scenes from movies lending bizarre ideas to the party. 

Scarlett didn’t seem to notice Millie’s preoccupation and began preparations for lunch.  Coming out of her reverie, Amelia offered to help, and the girls chatted easily about other things while they worked.

“Should one of us go find Chase to call him to lunch?” Amelia offered when she was done setting the table.

“He’ll turn up, he can scent food miles away.”

“Oh, right, of course.”  She should have known.  Feeling at a distinct disadvantage among a family of werewolves, or shifters rather, Amelia couldn’t help but wonder why she’d gotten the short end of the stick.  Besides not being able to shift, she didn’t have any other heightened senses either.  All she got was a pack of hungry wolves nipping at her heels, chasing after her to be a brood mare.  Swell. 

Chase appeared moments later, fully dressed, his hair still damp from a quick washing.  “Looks great, Scar, I’m starving.”  He immediately plopped down and started loading up his plate with food.

“Aren’t we waiting for Grandmother?” Amelia asked.

“She’s still in town making arrangements, she won’t be joining us.  Oh, I almost forgot, she asked me to give you this.”  Scarlett withdrew a slim, leather-bound checkbook from her purse and held it out to Millie.

“What is this?”  Amelia accepted the book, brows rising almost comically as she opened it and saw the balance written in precise script at the top of the register.

“It’s some walking around money.  Though for most of the shops in town you can ask them to put any purchases on Adele’s account,” Scarlett explained.

Catching Chase’s
I told you so
look, Amelia set the checkbook down on the table.  “I never asked her to do that,” she maintained stubbornly.

“Of course not, but it’s her money to give and she takes care of her own,” Scarlett replied in a soothing tone, shooting a warning look to Chase.

Already starting to feel those strings that bound her to Adele and Cutter’s Folly, Amelia decided not to worry about it for the moment.  She needed the help and she was accordingly grateful, but when the time came, she wouldn’t let the obligation tie her to Cutter’s Folly if she was ready to leave. 

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