“If I can borrow a phone, I’ll call in at work and ask my boss to put the word out,” she said.
“Go ahead. And I’ll put the word out here. Someone might have heard something. If your friend does find his way here, we’ll get you all back together ASAP,” Harrison said.
“But apart from that…” Ke
nna tore little pieces off the napkin.
“Well, waiting around here doesn’t sound like much fun,” Lainie declared. “Why don’t we all go back into town? If you’re going to be staying here you might as well get to know your way around.”
Arlo remembered Kenna’s hesitancy about meeting new shifters earlier. “Or we can stay here. It’s up to you.”
“No! I mean, you don’t need to hang around with us,” Kenna said. “You and Ms. March can—um, I mean…”
“I’d like to see more of the town, too,” Jacqueline said. “Er—if that’s okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Lainie stared hard at Arlo. “We’ll just clean up here—”
“We’ll help!” chimed in Kenna and Dylan. Tally cooed and waved her fork around.
There’s something weird going on there, Arlo thought, watching them file through to the kitchen. One minute they’re upset because I can’t put them all up in the Hometide, the next they’re telling us not to wait around?
He sighed and shook his head. The most likely explanation was “they’re kids”, with a chaser of “and they’ve been through a hell of a lot, so cut them some slack”. But his wolf was worrying over them like a dog who’d lost its bone.
They just need some stability. And to be sure the rug isn’t going to be ripped away from under their feet again. Ma and Pa Sweets will give them that, until Eric decides to show his face.
His neck prickled again. Somehow, that still felt wrong. And not just because he doubted this Eric fellow was ever going to show up.
He gathered up a handful of dishes and followed after the kids. Lainie waited until the kids had gone back to get another load, then cornered him.
“You and Jacqueline?” she asked. He’d have had to pretend to be an idiot not to get her meaning.
He nodded.
“And you haven’t actually told her yet, of course.” Lainie blew her bangs out of her face. “Be nice.”
“I am nice!”
“Sure. I know that. But it takes a while to get past the crusty exterior to your nice squishy insides.” She folded her arms. “I’m serious, Arlo. It’s better now than when I first got here, but I won’t lie, it’s hard. Hideaway Cove is a sanctuary but if you’re her mate then your job is to be her sanctuary. And you’re a bit too close to the sharks for that to be easy.”
Arlo’s heart sank. “You mean the alligators.” Dorothy and Alan Sweets were alligator shifters.
“Bingo.”
Kenna and Dylan came back in then and Arlo slipped out while Lainie was distracted.
Jacqueline called her office, and by the sound of it only managed to talk to the answering machine. She shrugged when Arlo gave her a questioning look.
“Either they’ll check it or they won’t. And frankly, if they end up thinking I’ve drowned myself because they forgot to check the freaking answering machine, it’s no skin off my nose.” She reassured Kenna and Dylan, “I made sure to ask about your uncle Eric. If they check the message, they’ll know to send him this way if anyone sees him.”
“And I’ve put the word out around my contacts out of town,” Harrison added. “Now, who’s ready for ice cream?”
Tally was almost snoozing by the time they started down the hill again. They all walked this time, after a short argument where Lainie reasoned with Harrison that, even if she was too tired to walk back up later, he could always carry her.
Arlo watched them bicker companionably.
They’ve been together for—what, six months?
Arlo counted back. Lainie had first arrived in town the previous autumn, and one winter of bad storms had cemented their bond. Arlo couldn’t imagine either of them without the other now. Lainie might not be a shifter, but she was as much a part of Hideaway Cove as any of them, even if some locals—mainly the Sweets, he thought with a pang—still didn’t totally accept her.