Page 41 of Dead Heat

“Are you a fan of the ballet or classical music in general?” I asked.

Her gaze flicked to me. “Both, I suppose. You?”

“Classical music was a staple in my grandparents’ house.”

“Nothing moves me as much,” Raina agreed.

“Do you play an instrument?”

“The harp. I keep it in my bedroom. Playing relaxes me before sleep.”

I bit into my first piece of pie. The filling melted on my tongue. It was heavenly.

“You like?” Raina asked.

“I like.” I forced myself to slow down or I risked inhaling the rest in a single breath. “What made you decide to build a home in the middle of the woods?”

“I wanted to live close to a community, but not too close.”

I understood that sentiment all too well. “I was surprisedyou lived here. I didn’t think this section was zoned for residential housing.” I only knew that because of a painfully dull conversation I’d overheard between West and Bert about zoning laws in Fairhaven. Apparently, they were “nonsensical” yet “not overly restrictive.”

“There are several pockets that the local lawmakers left alone. This was one of them.”

Sage and her grandmother probably lived in another one. Their cabin was also in the woods and fairly isolated.

“The pie is amazing,” I said. “Your crust is so much tastier than mine.”

“Filling is easy. Crust is where the true magic happens.”

“If you ever decide to be more social, serve pie. You’ll have so many visitors, you won’t know what to do with them.”

She cut away the crust of her pie and ate it first. “I will occasionally venture out to meet others if there’s a special event.”

“Like a festival?”

“Those are a definite yes. I can choose to blend with the crowd and leave without goodbyes once I’ve had enough.”

“Fairhaven is filled with strangers in a strange land,” I said. “Why not get to know some of them better?”

“It is difficult, being the only one of your kind in a small town.” She scraped the remainder of the crust off her plate and ate it. “The wolves have their pack. The mages stick together. The vampires and demons have each other.”

“I can relate, although my isolation was self-imposed.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Was? Not anymore?”

“I had that intention when I moved here, but life has taken an unexpected turn.” So many unexpected turns, in fact, they gave me whiplash.

Raina chugged her drink. “I’m torn between not wantingto be anywhere near the place where I was born and missing it with every breath.”

“That sounds hard.” And relatable. I’d moved to England and eventually returned to Pennsylvania for similar reasons.

Her attention slid to the ceiling. “My goodness. Chessa, what are you doing up there?”

I glanced up to see a small creature cowering on a wooden beam. It looked like the offspring of a hairy spider and a vole.

Raina laughed softly. “I don’t know how she managed to get up there. She’s terrified of heights.”

“I guess that’s why she hasn’t come down. Too scared to try.”

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