Moonsong (3 page)

“Of course,
Grandmere
,” Scarlett inclined her head gracefully in a little bob, waiting for Amelia to join her.

“Goodnight, Grandmother,” Amelia offered awkwardly, unsure whether to embrace her or kiss her cheek. In the end she settled for a little half wave and rose to follow Scarlett out the door.

Once upon the stairs, the girl turned to Amelia with another one of her shy smiles. “I’m Scarlett, in case you didn’t guess, welcome home.”

“Hi Scarlett, it’s nice to meet you,” Amelia returned her smile, relaxing a little once they were out of Adele’s earshot. “Do you live here too?”

“Mmmhmm, Chase and I both do, since our parents died a long time ago. It’ll be nice to have someone else around the house. The rose room is right next to mine; I’ve got the yellow room right next to the bathroom,” she gestured as they crested the top of the stairs and Amelia nodded, taking in the second floor’s layout. “That’s Gran’s room over there at the other end; she likes to be as far away as possible for her peace and quiet. Word to the wise, use earphones for your music and you’ll be a much happier camper here,” she grinned.

“Oh, okay, good to know.” Not that she had her mp3 player or any of her stuff anymore…

“Here we are.” The room, so dubbed the rose room, earned its name by being decorated in muted shades of a dusky rose, tasteful and feminine; the heavy mahogany four poster bed dominating the room.

“It’s pretty, thanks,” Millie nodded her approval, moving in to sit against the edge of the bed. Not exactly her style, but it was nicer than anything back home.

“I heard you lost all your things, so I brought you a few basics until we can go shopping tomorrow.” A dressing table held a hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant and such. The bed had a white slip of a nightdress on it, edged in lace; fine enough to be part of a bridal trousseau.

Millie had to smile at both the thoughtfulness of the gesture and the light that came into the blonde’s bright blue eyes at the mention of shopping. “Thanks Scarlett, that was sweet of you. I don’t have anything but the clothes on my back and my jeep… My jeep,” she suddenly remembered it was back at the bar.

“Oh, don’t worry about your car, Amelie; Gran will make sure it gets delivered here by morning,” Scarlett was quick to ease her fears.

“It’s Amelia, okay? Or Millie,” Amelia corrected her automatically.

“Millie, that’s cute. Nobody ever shortens my name except for Chase and he calls me Scar,” she wrinkled her nose, stepping towards the door. “Well, I should let you get some rest now. Like I said, I’m right next door in case you need anything. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“G’nite, I’ll see you then.” It was nice not to feel quite so alone, especially in a house full of strangers, Scarlett made her feel at ease with her gentle, friendly nature. Barely taking the time to undress, Amelia fell across the bed like a zombie, slipping into a deep sleep, blessedly devoid of dreams for once.

Chapter Three

The morning broke bright and clear, the autumn sun still dominating the sky, though there was a noticeable chill in the air marking the passage of summer. The sound of a lawnmower in the distance woke Amelia, and she stretched in her soft, downy comfort.

Cutter’s Folly.

All at once it flooded back to her; she was in Cutter’s Folly with her grandmother and a couple of cousins she’d never known about. Did she have other family in town? It was a comforting notion, which was a big plus considering all the other jumbled thoughts that crowded for space in her mind.

First order of business; a shower and something to eat. The idea of putting her dirty clothes back on after a shower made her cringe, but when Millie swung her feet down to the floor, she realized her clothes were not where she left them in a crumpled heap on the floor. Someone had been in her room and what… tidied up in the middle of the night? The clock on the bedside table showed it was after ten a.m., most likely the entire household had been up and around for some time. Maybe Scarlett or Gran had come in to check on her?

On a hunch Millie padded across the dark, wood floor to the closet, opening it wide. Sure enough, there was a small selection of clothes, close enough to her size, and Millie sent out a swift ‘thank you’ to her thoughtful cousin. A quick survey of the dresser drawers found more casual clothes, a little better suited to her style, and she grabbed a pair of jeans and a long sleeved top to change into after her shower. There was even a soft yellow bathrobe to wear on the walk to the bathroom down the hall.

The bathroom was old fashioned, but scrupulously clean. A huge clawfoot tub stood at one end with a shower attachment and a small pedestal sink and toilet at the other. As long as there was hot running water, it all looked like heaven to Millie, and she used up every last bit of it without a trace of guilt. Emerging over half an hour later feeling clean and refreshed, she set out to do a little exploring.

There wasn’t a sign of anyone on the ground floor, but she did find a scribbled note from Scarlett on the kitchen table under a blueberry muffin.

Ran into town for some errands, will be back to make lunch soon!

–
S

Millie picked at the muffin, breaking off little pieces and popping them into her mouth as she stepped out onto the back porch. The sound of the lawnmower no longer echoed over the grounds, but the
snick, snick, snick
of clippers could be heard over the late morning birdsong. The steady sound of the clippers occasionally gave way to a decidedly male sounding grunt or the odd swear word, bringing a smile to her lips as she strolled through the gardens.

Gardening was never her idea of a good time, and it didn’t surprise her to find Grandmother opted to hire out to tend to the extensive grounds. A warren of shrubs and flowering plants formed a maze like path, with a gazebo the focal point in the center of the back yard. A large expanse of lawn surrounded the area between the house and the surrounding woods. She was struck again by the lush beauty of the property, so different from the rocky desert terrain of New Mexico.

Turning around to go back to the house, Amelia was startled to find her path blocked by the gardener, a wicked pair of shears in his hands and an even more wicked smirk on the face she recognized from the bar the night before.

“You…”

“Me…?” he prompted, eyes raking over her boldly. Millie wasn’t used to being stared at so openly, so that she started to worry something about Scarlett’s clothes wasn’t fitting her right, but she resisted the urge to pat herself down to check.

“You ah, you work here?” Amelia immediately felt like the biggest dork for stating the obvious.

“Only when forced. What about you? What’s Adele making you do for her?” he asked, shoving the pointed end of the long clippers into the soft ground.

“Me?” she blinked in surprise. “She’s not making me do anything for her.”

“Don’t be too sure about that,” he muttered; a flash of something in his eyes before the amusement returned. “So, what’s on the agenda today, Millie? Wake up when the sun is warm, enjoy a little breakfast, and then it’s off to go shopping on Granny’s dime?”

Something about his tone annoyed the hell out of her, implying that she intended to sponge off of the elderly woman, when she hadn’t made any such plans. She wasn’t even sure if she was going to stick around. “Whatever I do is none of your business, and… how did you know my name?”

“You’d be surprised at some of the things I know about you, Millie,” he gave her that wolfish grin again.

A roll of the eyes was given, Amelia was not amused. “You don’t know anything about me except for maybe what Scarlett might have mentioned in passing,” she replied, figuring the friendly blonde must have shared her name with the sexy gardener.

“Blame it all on Scarlett, huh? Fair enough, though you should be careful what you tell her. She never could keep any secrets from me,” he grinned again, dropping the predatory vibe. “Okay, then what
are
you going to do today? Or were you just planning on wandering the gardens, tromping all over my begonias?” he raised a single brow.

Looking down, Amelia noticed she’d strayed off the path and was stepping on one of his plants. “Oh… sorry. I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” she hopped to the side, pleased to see the bush spring back into place.

“No harm done. They tend to grow a bit wild and then Adele has me cut them all back within an inch of their lives and then the cycle starts all over again.”

“Oh, so you’re not a full time gardener here then?”

A low, throaty chuckle rumbled out of him like she’d said the funniest thing ever. “No, I’m not the gardener.”

“Oh…” Millie’s cheeks grew hot. She pushed past him on the path, eager to escape those dark eyes, but he followed along beside her. “So, what do you do then?”

“Anything I have to,” he replied in an unexpectedly grim tone. “Which roughly translates into, the same as you. Whatever Gran wants, and she lets me and Scarlett live here.”

Realization dawned on her, he must be the ‘Chase’ Scarlett had mentioned the night before. “Oh… that would make you Scarlett’s…”

“Brother,” he finished for her, offering his hand. “Chase LaRoche, pleased to formally make your acquaintance, Millie.”

Her cousin. Amelia eased a little at that news, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you, Chase,” she smiled a little wider. “Have you guys lived here long?”

“Long enough.”

“Sounds like you’re ready to move off on your own maybe?”

“Not hardly,” he snorted, looking up at the big house. “Someday this place will be mine and I’m not moving away and forfeiting that. I’ve worked too hard doing every little thing Gran’s ever asked of me to give that up now.”

“A real slavedriver huh?” Millie gave him sympathetic look; would she have the same demands placed on her for the price of being taken in?

“Nah, not exactly. She doesn’t work us to the bone or anything; we have plenty of time to ourselves. She just… Adele is used to having a certain amount of control over us, being Alpha.”

Alpha. She was familiar with the term and started to see what bothered him most about being under Grandmother’s thumb. “And you don’t like having to check in with her over every little thing?”

“That’s it exactly,” he smiled, snapping a branch off of one of the bushes and chucking it towards the tree line.

“You said before all this would be yours someday, does that mean you’ll be Alpha someday too?”

“Never can tell,” his brows danced playfully. “If it was based on pure desire alone I’d get it easy enough, but there’s a bit more to it than that.”

“Want it so bad you can taste it huh?” she grinned back.

“Taste it, feel it, smell it…” his eyes blazed for a moment and then the easy grin returned. “Soon… I can feel it coming soon; there is change on the wind,” he lifted his nose to scent the air.

Millie sniffed carefully, but all she could smell were the soft scents of fragrant flowers, fresh loamy soil and maybe just a hint of Chase himself. “Is Grandmother supposed to step down soon? It seems like she’d want to retire at some point.”

A heartfelt sigh was given. “She’s gotta step down sometime, one way or another.”

“So, you’re ah, a shifter then? You can change forms?” Amelia asked suddenly, realizing she had the perfect opportunity to learn a little bit more about her heritage since Chase seemed perfectly comfortable talking to her about pack things so far.

“Nope, and I don’t need the full moon either, though it is hard to resist the moon’s song sometimes,” he admitted, flinging the shirt aside and kicking off his shoes.

Her eyes flicked to the house, feeling a little odd about him undressing right in front of her in the garden, but he seemed not to have a self conscious bone in his body. Not that he needed to, his well muscled form was appealing enough that she had to remind herself he was her cousin and turn away.

“What’s the matter? I thought you wanted to watch me change?” he asked, and she could hear the rustle of clothes as his jeans dropped to the ground.

Knowing her cheeks were probably a bright red, she kept her face averted. “I ah, I wanted to see you shift but… I guess I wasn’t thinking you’d have to be, you know, naked for it.”

A curious sound reached her ears, like someone cracking their knuckles or popping their back in a deep stretch, only intensified as if they were cracking the joints all over their body. Millie turned around just in time to see the tail end of a large grey wolf disappearing around a bend in the garden path.

“Wait!” she called out, but he was gone, loping towards the tree line with fluid grace. Millie could only stare after him, dimly registering the idea that only a moment ago she’d been talking to that wolf.

“Just enjoying some of the fresh air.” Millie climbed the stairs, using the height to try and spot Chase out there, but there was no sign of him.

“Looking for something?” Scarlett asked, following her gaze.