Laurie's Wolves (23 page)

Twenty minutes later, she sat back against the seat in the cab and closed her eyes. The man said he could circumvent the highway and get as close as possible to her car from the south. It might take a while and cost her a bit more than she wanted, but at least he found it manageable.

She shut her mind down intentionally so neither of her mates would be able to read her thoughts and stop her from leaving.

It was stressful guarding her mind from everyone. Worse was blocking Mimi and Melinda, who had been trying to reach her in vain all day.

By the time she was in her rental and headed out of town, she was a mess of emotions. She gripped the steering wheel with both hands and drove a bit faster than she normally would. It would take over two hours to get to her parents’ house, but she should arrive in the afternoon.

She spent the entire two hours reaffirming to herself she was doing the right thing. Besides, she didn’t need to validate her idea. Time would do it for her. If the weather straightened out in Cambridge and Sojourn, she would have her answer—Nature wanted her to get out of town.

Why Fate would arrange for her to mate with two men when she was a detriment to the township was beyond her. It seemed cruel. But at this point she had no choice but to test Fate and see what She had planned. It was an easy solution.

Or so she thought…

»»•««

Zach was so busy at the resort, he had very few opportunities to reach out to Laurie or Corbin. And neither of them had responded. He had no time to consider the implications, however. He needed to help his parents deal with the increasing number of guests who had arrived throughout the day.

The promise of fresh snow starting the following morning had brought more skiers than usual to the area. Every hotel in town was maxed out. No one seemed bothered by the strange dip in temperature that had occurred during the night. It had vanished almost as quickly as it had come.

Zach had his back to the front counter when he heard his mother’s voice raise behind him. He spun around to find her smiling fakely at one of their season pass holders, a man he recognized from years on the slope.

The guy’s face was red, and he held up his pass and shook it.

“What’s the problem?” Zach asked as he approached.

His mother turned her gaze toward Zach, her weird smile still in place. “Justin would like his money refunded for the season. Could you grab me a form for that?”

“I don’t want to fill out a fucking form,” Justin sputtered. “I just want my money back.”

“I understand, sir. May I ask why?”

“I don’t have to tell you why.” The man switched his weight back and forth between his feet, tossing his season pass on the counter. “The customer’s always right. Just give me back my money.”

“Okaay…” Zach pulled a form out from under the counter and began to fill it out himself. It was their policy to document any refunds for tax purposes and also for their records. He picked up the pass, scanned it, and used the information on the computer to fill out the form on behalf of the disgruntled asshole in front of him.

“Lord, do you need a book to do this? Just give me my money.”

“I’m getting there, sir. We need to have all the paperwork filled out in order to keep our books accurate. The IRS won’t appreciate it if we don’t.”

Justin leaned over the counter, his face far closer to Zach’s than he would have liked. “You care about the IRS, but you don’t care about the laws in this land concerning monogamy?”

Zach froze. So that was what this was all about.

His mother gasped. Her hand went to her throat, and her mouth fell open.

“Sir, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I think you’re mistaken if you’re listening to rumors.”

“Really?” The man cackled. “So you aren’t living in sin with another man and a woman?” He visibly shuddered as though he’d stated the most grievous sin in the Bible.

Zach pursed his lips. “My private life is just that—private. And I’ll be happy to refund your money as soon as I have this form filled out. You’re welcome to fill it out yourself, or I can do it for you.” Zach lifted an eyebrow.

The man snatched the paper from in front of Zach and reached across the counter to yank a pen out of a holder on Zach’s side of the desk. “You better have a lot of these forms, because everyone I know will be coming in for a refund. We don’t tolerate the likes of your family in this town.” He scribbled on the form with a shaky hand while he spoke, not lifting his head.

Zach tried not to react.

When Justin had his paper finished, he threw it across the counter. “Satisfied?”

Zach picked it up and scanned the document. “You’ll need to sign at the bottom.” He spun the paper around and pointed to the signature spot.

Justin grumbled while he added his signature. “Anything else?” he asked sarcastically.

“Nope. That should be fine.” He opened the drawer to the cash register and counted out the refund into Justin’s hand. “Have a nice day, sir.”

Justin narrowed his gaze and spoke again. “You’re done for. We don’t want your kind around here. Get out of town before you’re forced. You hear?”

Zach smiled, holding back his desire to reach across and pick the puny man up by the neck with his bare hand. “I’m sorry you feel that way, sir.” Was this asshole threatening him?

Defeated, Justin spun on his heel and stomped out of the room.

The woman behind him held up her pass. “I’d like a refund too.”

Zach felt the stress from his mother at his side. He could hear her breath hitch. “No problem, ma’am.” He handed the woman a form and turned toward his mother, nodding for her to step away from the counter with him.

When they were out of earshot, he leaned into her. “Calm down, Mom. You know what percentage of our revenue comes from locals.”

“True. But still.”

“No buts. Ninety-five percent of our business is from out-of-towners on vacation. We don’t need the income from a bunch of fundamentalist religious freaks who have nothing better to do than worry about someone else’s lifestyle choices.”

“How did you get so smart?”

He grinned. “Raised by the best.”

“Your father’s going to have a conniption.”

“He’ll get over it. Go find him. I’ll take care of this line.”

»»•««

Laurie opened the door to her parents’ home and stepped inside without knocking. She hadn’t lived there for two years, but she knew she was always welcome and it would always be her home. “Mom? Dad?”

She dropped her bag on the floor and plodded toward the kitchen. At this time of day, her parents would be enjoying a beer and cooking dinner.

Her father stood from his perch at the island when she entered. “Laurie. What are you doing here?” He stepped toward her and pulled her into his embrace. He then held her at arm’s length and looked over her shoulders. “Where are your mates?”

Tears fell. She couldn’t stop them. “I came alone.”

Her mother gasped. She rounded the island and wrapped an arm around Laurie’s shoulders. “Let’s go sit down. Tell us what happened.”

Laurie let her mother lead her into the living room where she plopped onto her favorite armchair and leaned her head back. She fought the onslaught of tears she had managed to keep at bay for the last several hours. It was too late to stop them now.

They fell unbidden, soon followed by giant sobs.

Her mother hurried from the room and returned with a box of tissues.

Through the haze of her watery eyes, she took in her childhood home. It always managed to envelop her in its warmth, no matter what her problems.

And it did this time too. The walls were the same shade of khaki they had been for as long as she could remember. The fireplace was lit, as it always was in winter. The furniture had been replaced several times over the years, but it was a deep chocolate color that she easily sank into. Her parents rarely watched television, but it sat unassuming in its nook along the bookshelves.

Home.

She cried harder.

Her father sat uncomfortably across from her, rubbing his chin with one finger. “Did something happen? Is everyone okay?”

Laurie nodded, reining in her sobs. She took a deep breath. “Everyone’s fine. I just needed to leave town and come home.”

“Why?” her mother asked. She sat on the arm of the chair and stroked Laurie’s head.

“So many things were happening in Cambridge and Sojourn.”

“Your grandmother has told me about everything. I’ve spoken to her several times a day. What does this have to do with you?”

“I think I’m the cause of the unrest,” she blurted.

Her mother gasped. “Why? Honey, that’s crazy.”

Laurie shook her head violently. “No. It’s not. Everything started when I arrived. Nature went haywire, spirits popped out of nowhere, and both my mates are taking flak from the community for our unconventional relationship.

“I realized I was the common denominator. I needed to leave town so things could go back to normal.”

Her mother chuckled. “Honey, it doesn’t work like that. Zachary and Corbin are your mates. It’s fated. You can’t stop it any more than you can stop the snow from falling.”

Laurie flinched and glared at her mother. “I can actually cause snow to fall, Mom. Haven’t you been listening?”

“Sweetie, you can’t affect the weather. And you can’t change who your mates are—especially after they’ve claimed you.”

“I beg to differ.” Laurie pursed her lips, wiped the last of the tears from her face and stood. “We’ll see.”

She knew time would tell. And she was exhausted.

“What are you going to do?” her father asked.

“May I stay in my old room? I’m so tired. I need sleep.”

Her mother stood also. “I was just cooking dinner. Don’t you want to eat first?”

Laurie shook her head. “No. I just want to be alone.”

“Okay.” Her mother’s face was contorted in disbelief.

Laurie couldn’t blame her, but she also didn’t want to stand around arguing the finer points of her decision. It was her decision to make. No one else’s. And she’d made it. Now, she needed to wait and see what happened.

She headed down the hall toward her childhood room and stepped inside. It should have soothed her. Nothing had changed in the last few years. Her belongings were gone, but her bed was the same and the furniture hadn’t been swapped out. When she’d moved into an apartment with her closest friend, she’d taken her clothes and trinkets, but not the furniture.

The week before she’d gone to meet her sister and entered into the unimaginable chain reaction that was her new life, she’d packed up her belongings from the apartment and put everything except the essentials in storage. Another friend had taken over her half of the lease. It worked out perfectly.

In her gut, she’d known she would not return from Cambridge. She hadn’t really discussed it with anyone in particular, but she’d known. She’d given notice at work and left town free and clear with no intention of coming home.

How wrong she’d been.

She pulled back the covers on the bed and slid between the sheets without bothering to do more than remove her shoes. She was too exhausted to bother worrying about her clothes.

In moments, she was asleep.

»»•««

It was dinner before Mary had another chance to call Jazmine.

“Jesus. What have you been doing? I’m freaking out here,” Jaz answered.

“Trust me, I’m twice as freaked out on my end.”

“What’s happening there?”

“Well, after two nights with no sleep, I’m a walking zombie, for starters. And for some reason, I’ve been elected to spy on the Masters. Me? Why the hell me? So, Ada called me a few minutes ago and brought me up to speed. Several members of the church are boycotting the Masters. They’ve been showing up one at a time all day to get a refund from the ski resort.

“Seems stupid to me. It’s not like there’s another place to ski nearby, and if they think a dozen people withdrawing from the resort are going to have a giant impact on the annual income of that empire, they’re crazy.”

“Shit. What are you supposed to do?”

“Go to the resort and check out the scene. Saturday. All day. Like I have nothing better to do with my weekend.”

“Why you?”

“Because they think someone my age wouldn’t stand out as much as an older person. I think they’re sending Hazel too. She’s at least closer to fifty than seventy.” Mary tried to laugh, but it came out strained. “And get this—they’re also sending a guy named Brock. He’s like twenty-five. Easy because he already works at the resort. They want him to lure Laurie into his web. Seduce her.”

“What? Why would she fall for that?”

Mary chuckled. “Because she’s a witch.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? They think that?”

“Oh, yeah. And since Satan sent her to turn us all against the ways of God, it will be easy for Brock to seduce her and prove she’s a whore and a minion of the devil.”

Jaz laughed out loud. “That’s the craziest shit I’ve ever heard. I can’t believe you’ve been a member of that church for all this time.”

“You and me both. Wanna come to the resort this weekend and hang with me while I gather information on Laurie the witch?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

Mary could hear the smile in Jazmine’s voice. It lightened her spirits.

“If it makes you feel any better, things aren’t pleasant here either.”

“What happened there?” Could this get any worse? Mary hadn’t stopped shaking for hours. Of course, that could be from the caffeine she was drinking by the gallon in order to stay awake.

What she needed was to go to bed and sleep twelve hours before she was supposed to start her next double-agent mission.

“I ran into an old friend today. Totally out of the blue. Veronica. We went to grade school together.”

“And?”

“She was all up in arms ranting, and I was too exhausted to pay much attention until I realized what she was talking about. She was always a drama queen, so I didn’t think anything of it. But apparently she was dating Corbin Archers before he met Laurie Hamilton. Like dating seriously. Like she saw him just two days before
,
and he fucking ghosted her the night he met Laurie. Just didn’t show up for their date.”