Page 14 of Bewitched By the Werewolf
“No. He’s just passing through. And we’ll be more than happy when he leaves.” Dottie’s voice rises just loud enough for the man to hear her as he sits in a booth not far from us. He doesn’t even pretend to ignore her, he looks straight at her and grins wide.
“Oh, I’m hurt pup. Is this how you treat all your customers? It’s no wonder you don’t get many visitors with such unpleasant hospitality.” The man talks like a stuck-up snob in a mocking tone. I have a feeling this isn’t the first time they’ve had such a conversation.
A sound rumbles from my side, and I look over to Dottie as the sound fades, but I swear it sounded like a growl. These women really do not like this guy. Which marks him as someone I might need to investigate further, if he proves a possible source of information. If he’s just some asshole who likes to be douchey to people, then he’s of little interest to me. Unless he gets in my way, then I might knee him in the balls just for good measure.
“I may not be able to kick you out of town, but I can kick you out of my diner. So. GET. OUT.” Dottie points to the door with a rather sharp looking nail and glares at the man.
“Come now, we can be civil. I just wanted to order some lunch. Is that too much to ask?”
“Yes. I don’t care if you starve to death. You are not welcome here. Leave now.”
First impressions of Dottie made her appear to be a sweet, kind, and friendly person—which she is— but she is no push over. She doesn’t waver or falter, there is no fear in her eyes. But there is something about her that looks different. Her chest is heaving with deep breathes and…is she getting taller?
Donna reaches out and places a hand on her arm which calms her, and she looks normal again. That is except for the utter hatred on her face still aimed at the attractive man. He stands from the booth and shakes his head disapprovingly, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I’m going, but my business in town isn’t finished. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
The man looks to me now and licks his bottom lip, not in a overly suggestive way, just as if he were licking a drop of liquid from it. His gaze shifts up and down my body then lands back on my face. Now he’s leering at me like a rare steak. I’ve dealt with men like him before. I hold eye contact, this usually puts them off balance, especially when I give them my I-have-a-gun-in-my-purse look. Lots of “dominant” guys don’t like it when a woman can kick their ass and move on to easier prey.
This guy apparently doesn’t get the hint, because my glare doesn’t deter him. Though he doesn’t do anything but look.
“You’re a tasty little morsel. If you ever get tired of these flea bags, I’m in room three at the motel.” With a wink at me and another toothy grin at Dottie, the man turns and strolls rightback out the way he entered, not a care in the fucking world. Oh, what it must feel like to be so arrogant.
“Well, that guys a piece of work, isn’t he?” I comment.
“That’s one way to put it.”
“So, who is he exactly? And why do you hate him so much?” I turn back around in my stool to face Dottie, watching her viciously wipe at the counter trying to erase a nonexistent smudge. Her hands stop their frantic scrubbing, and she sighs.
“He’s no one. Works for a guy that wants to buy up land in town, and no matter how many times he’s told no, he just won’t take a hint.”
I don’t know why anyone would want to buy land way the fuck in bum fuck Egypt Montana, but maybe they want to build it into a tacky tourist trap. Even I hate those. Sure, they make for an easy cover but they’re also annoying, overcrowded, tacky, and overpriced. I can understand the locals not wanting that to happen to their town.
If that’s all he’s here about, then he probably won’t know anything about werewolves. Unless they’re the ones on wall street. I internally chuckle at my own pun. Those are not the wolves I’m looking for. Just as blood thirsty and vicious but none the less, not what I’m looking for.
“You just stay clear of him, okay?” Donna pats my shoulder comfortingly as if I were a little girl being warned off the sexy bad boy in school. Well, she has nothing to worry about. Not only am I not interested—he is so not my type—but I can protect myself. I may not actually have a gun in my purse, but I do have a crossbow in my trailer and am trained in jujitsu.
“Don’t worry about me, Donna. I can handle myself and I’m not here to meet sleezy men who are a dime a dozen. I’m just here on vacation to enjoy the eclipse. Speaking of, would either of you know about any local celebrations or events for theeclipse? I hear lots of people come in from out of town to see it. I thought maybe there might be something you do to celebrate.”
They both look at each other then away from me. Donna focusing on straightening the condiments and Dottie wiping at the counter again, trying to appear busy.
“No, there’s nothing going on in town. People just like to come out here for the unobstructed view is all. Nothing interesting going on at all,” Dottie rattles on while picking up my empty plate and topping off my already full glass of lemonade.
“You should check out the local library. Lots of old rare books there. That’s about as interesting as this town gets,” Donna suggests. I’m about to tell her old crusty books are not in the least bit interesting, but then I remember what else libraries hold.
“Does the library have records of the town’s history? Old maps and photos and stuff. I would love to learn more about Snowberry.”
“Oh yes, there’s a whole section with historical documents about the towns creation and—” Dottie is cut off when Donna coughs conspicuously, glaring at her with wide eyes and a twitchy expression. “And it’s really boring. You know actually you should go to…” Dottie pauses again trying to come up with somewhere else to send me. It’s too late I’m already planning my trip to the library. “ToAnother Man’s Junk. It’s a great store with lots of things to look at and purchase,” she finally concludes.
I feign interest in this store and spending the afternoon there wandering its wares. I have no such intention of doing so. I’m going straight to the library to see what I can snoop out there. At the least I could get a map of the town to know where all the property lines are. Getting caught creeping around on private property means another mug shot for me. But strollingthrough the public woods enjoying the scenery is another thing completely.
Chapter 8: Ryder
That prickle up my spine is back again. This time even more than before. There is definitely something happening that I am not aware of that I need to be. Looks like I’m going to have to do what I dislike most and chat up townsfolk. Someone had to see something. A strange light, an odd scent, weird behavior, shadows in the woods, anything. Since Dottie and Donna place more importance on gossip involving who’s dating who, than strange shadows, I’ll have to start somewhere else.
I know a particular shifter who’s more than happy to oblige my inquiries. Luca has had a thing for Ginger for years now. Sadly, the poor sap gets turned down every time he asks, if he even gets that far. It’s like Ginger has a radar that goes off every time Luca gets anywhere close to her, and she avoids him. I’m not sure why and she won’t tell us. But that doesn’t seem to deter him. Anyway he can get closer to Ginger he will, and talking to her older brother is one of those ways.
Driving from city hall to the auto shop where Luca works only takes a few minutes, like everywhere else in town. I like it that way. Makes keeping everyone safe easier. I pull into the station and park next to the small shop attached to the garage where they do repair work on cars. Luca comes bounding out of the garage wiping his hands on an oil-stained rag as soon as hespots my pickup. He’s already halfway to me before I can even get out of my truck.
