The Keeping (37 page)

So she’d do her
interview, pack her bags, and head back to Chicago. Aldrich might
not be pleased that it wasn’t as in-depth an interview as his
employer wanted, but if Ryne was going to be difficult, there was
no way she could force him to talk. If Greyson was unhappy, she’d
give him some of the money back. It had been a healthy sum and even
if she returned a couple of thousand, there would still be
sufficient left over for her needs.

She parked in
front of the Gazette and gathered her purse and notepad. First
she’d check her e-mails, and then see what flights were available.
At noon, she would call Aldrich to tell him she’d be back in a few
days. The man would press for a specific date and time, but she
wasn’t feeling inclined to tell him since he’d probably demand she
visit his office the minute she stepped off the plane. Well, too
bad for him because it wasn’t going to happen.

Mel grinned,
pleased with the no-nonsense attitude she was developing. It would
serve her well, when she hunted down Ryne. No more Ms. Nice Guy.
Uh-uh.

Beth looked up
from her computer when Mel entered. She stood up and began talking
like a circus ringmaster. “And here she is; the star of last
night’s brawl and the Queen of the Pool Table... Mel Greene!”

Mel winced,
feeling the heat of embarrassment flood her cheeks. “So I guess
that means you heard about what happened atThe Broken Antler?”

Beth walked over
to the counter and propped her chin in her hand. “Nope. Don’t know
a darn thing about it.” Then she winked.

Rolling her eyes,
Mel plopped down in one of the chairs near the front of the office,
absentmindedly wiping a bit of dust from the leaves of the
neglected philodendron that was on the table beside her. “I suppose
the rumour mill has been working overtime since last night. Tell me
the worst, Beth. What are they saying about me?”

“Only that you
were roaring drunk, turned into some form of hot, sexy pool shark
and won a wad of cash by beating some of the best pool players that
Stump River has to offer.”

“What?” She sat up
straighter, abandoning the plant and focusing her attention on
Beth. “I was
not
roaring drunk. Maybe a bit tipsy, but I
still had complete control over my faculties. And I’m
not
a
pool shark, it was just luck. And the ‘wad of cash’ was loose
change, for heaven’s sake!”

“Darn, I was
afraid of that.” Beth affected a pout, but then brightened. “You
didn’t deny the hot and sexy part, though!”

A vague memory of
wiggling her tush before taking a shot during the impromptu pool
tournament flashed through Mel’s mind. Damn, but she’d forgotten
that part. And there was something about being too warm and
loosening the tie on the front of her shirt... She clapped a hand
to her cleavage wondering how much she’d been showing off. Feeling
a wave of heat rising to her face, she fought for composure while
secretly dying inside. Of course, then there was what happened with
Ryne afterward! It certainly eclipsed a little hip wiggling and
cleavage display.

“Er...I might have
been a little less inhibited last night, but I did nothing
inappropriate in public.” That was, strictly speaking, the truth.
No one needed to know about Armand’s office. Being ‘screwed and
then scorned’ by Ryne was her own personal humiliation and
heartache.

“So I suppose the
story about Ryne and Billy Watson fighting over you, and wrecking
one of Armand’s paintings is false, too.”

Mel nodded
emphatically. “I don’t know if the fellow was named Billy or not,
but he and Ryne weren’t fighting over me, I’m sure. They probably
have some sort of history or it was one of those guy things. Ryne
doesn’t care enough to fight over me and I’d never met the other
man before. As for Armand’s picture, that might be the grain of
truth in the whole story. He was looking at a broken picture frame
when I left.”

“But what about
your arm?” Beth gestured towards the large bandage on Mel’s
forearm. “Something must have happened for you to end up with an
injury.”

“I think I cut it
on the bar stool. Some of the wood probably splintered when it
broke.” She rubbed the area around the wound. “It still stings, but
it’s not serious. It should be healed in a few days.”

The other woman
sighed in obvious disappointment. “Well, I guess that means I have
to delete most of what I wrote this morning. It’s too bad. You
could have been front page news.”

Narrowing her
eyes, Mel studied the other woman, wondering if she was joking or
not. Given that this was Stump River, where nothing ever happened,
there was a strong possibility she wasn’t. Just to be sure, Mel
clarified the matter. “Well, I’m sure something else exciting will
happen before next week’s edition.”

Beth shrugged and
then straightened from where she’d been leaning on the counter.
“You never know...” Wandering over to the coffee maker, she filled
two mugs with the freshly brewed beverage and handed one to Mel,
who had moved to join her at the back of the office. “So, what are
your plans for today? The usual web surfing, walk about town and
then coffee at Ruth’s?”

Mel accepted the
mug before sitting down at her work station and powering up her
computer. “Not exactly. I’ve made up my mind that Ryne’s giving me
a full interview today whether he likes it or not. He’s been
stringing me along ever since I arrived here and now I’m putting my
foot down. No more delays.”

“Maybe he’s been
dragging his feet, so you’d stick around longer.” Beth gave her a
speculative look over the rim of her cup.

“No,” Mel let her
shoulders slump as she admitted the truth. “I sort of wondered and
half hoped that was the case, but last night... Well, let’s just
say I found out otherwise.”

“Are you sure? I
don’t know Ryne well, but he seems to be paying you a lot of
attention. You’ve had dinner together, been out to his house,
people have seen you sitting together at the cenotaph...” Beth
numbered off the interactions on her fingers.

“What is this? Am
I under twenty-four hour surveillance or something?” Mel looked at
her aghast.

“No, just staying
in a small town.” Beth chuckled and pulled out a box of cookies
from her bottom desk drawer, taking one before politely
sharing.

Mel took one as
well and nibbled on it thoughtfully. She didn’t like the idea that
people had paid such close attention to what she’d been doing. It
was sort of like being under a microscope. Perhaps that was yet
another reason to head back to Chicago. There, no one noticed
anything; you were completely alone despite being surrounded by
hundreds of people. A slight grimace passed over her face. Somehow
the thought wasn’t as comforting as it was supposed to be. Turning
her attention back to Beth, she addressed the issue of the town’s
gossip. “Well, despite what everyone thinks they’ve seen, there’s
really nothing between Ryne and myself. As a matter of fact, once
I’m done with him today, I’ll probably be leaving.”

“Really? Gee,
that’s too bad. I’ve enjoyed your company.” Beth looked
disappointed for a moment, but after a second or two smiled and
started cajoling her. “If you’d stay longer, I’d be able to talk
Josh into getting a new sofa with the extra rent money!”

“Well, with a
request like that, how could I not?” Mel laughed, just as Beth had
probably intended her to. “Don’t worry; you might not be rid of me
as fast as you think. I still have to see what flights are
available back to Chicago.” Mel set down her coffee and pulled her
chair into place in front of her computer. “Where’s Josh today?”
She asked idly while waiting for the internet to hook up.

“He’s home, still
complaining about his tooth, the big baby!” Beth shook her head. “I
told him to stay away, because I didn’t want to hear him whining
all day after listening to him all last night. He said if it quit
hurting by noon, he’d do a bit of work around the cabins, trimming
bushes and a doing few repairs.”

Mel nodded in
acknowledgement of the information and went to her e-mail account.
She’d check for any messages and then try to book a flight
home.

“Will you be
heading out to Ryne’s when you’re done here?” Beth finished her
snack and put the box of cookies away.

“Actually, someone
told me last night that he was working at Miller’s today, to make
up for being away yesterday.”

“I wonder why he
was out of town.” Beth’s eye sparked with interest. “Maybe it’s
something worth reporting!”

“I have absolutely
no idea, but let me get my interview out of the way before you
start to question him.” Mel answered distractedly while staring at
the computer screen. “Now this is funny.”

“What’s that?”
Beth scooted her chair over to take a peek.

“That website I
applied to yesterday sent me a reply. They’re considering my status
as a ‘Lycan,’ once more research on my background is completed. I
can expect to hear back from them in two to four weeks.” Mel sat
back in her chair feeling perplexed. “Now that’s just weird. I
thought it was all a hoax.”

Beth giggled. “So
you might become a card carrying member of the Lycan community?

“I guess so.”

Both women shook
their heads at the utter ridiculousness of the idea and then turned
back to more important matters. Beth tapped away on her keyboard,
writing articles about local happenings while Mel checked out
flight information. After a few searches, she discovered there was
a flight out of Toronto with seats available Friday night and
another on Saturday. Mel chose the Saturday one, thinking that
she’d like to spend part of the day in Toronto shopping at the
Eaton’s Centre, a large shopping mall in that city’s core. If she
had time, she might even go to see a show.

She hovered the
cursor over the accept button, feeling a moment of regret. Once she
clicked on the icon, she was effectively saying goodbye to Stump
River forever. There was little chance that she’d ever return to
see Lucy or Beth or Al or Ruth or Armand... When she thought about
it, it was surprising how many people she’d come to know in such a
short time. Back in Chicago, she didn’t even know the name of the
people who lived next door and they’d been there for months!

Her mind had
purposely skirted away from thinking about Bryan and Daniel. She
hadn’t seen them that often, yet in some ways she viewed them as
the brothers she had never had. It had been fun hanging out with
them last night, well, at least until Ryne appeared. Would she miss
him? Firming her jaw, she gave an emphatic mental ‘no.’ The man
wasn’t to be trusted and the sooner she was away from him, the
better. Before she could change her mind, she clicked the ‘accept’
button and watched the screen flash her confirmed flight. The
ticket would be waiting for her at the airport. Mel wondered why
that fact made her feel slightly ill.

Checking her
watch, she pushed her chair back. It was time to find and confront
Ryne. There was no point in putting it off. They’d parted badly and
she really didn’t want to see him, but getting it over and done
with was the best plan; sort of like removing a bandage...fast and
clean. Once she stated that the interview had to be done today
because she was leaving, he’d see that she was no longer willing to
play along with his little games. Oh, he’d probably protest and
make excuses, but she wouldn’t stand for it. Even if he was
working, he could still answer her questions while he pumped gas
and changed tires. With her steno pad of questions firmly clutched
in her hand, she bid farewell to Beth and headed out the door.

*****

Aldrich leaned
back in his leather chair and stared out his office window. His
feet, encased in highly polished designer shoes, were propped up on
his desk while the fingers of one hand idly twirled an engraved,
gold-plated pen. His other hand held a receiver lightly to his ear
as he listened to Greyson’s instructions.

The view from his
fifteenth storey window was impressive, though Aldrich hardly ever
bothered to notice it. This type of location was just one part of
the prestigious perks that came with working for such a wealthy man
like Greyson. He was, after all, one of the wealthiest men in the
country. It was a far cry from where he had started his legal
career; a small office in a rundown three storey walk up. He’d been
fresh out of school, in debt up to his ears and eager to make his
mark on the world. Note the absence of the word ‘idealistic.’
Aldrich smirked. He’d never been idealistic. A realistic view of
how the world worked was his main advantage. Know where to be, who
to talk to and when to look the other way; that was his motto and
so far it had served him well. Hence, his job with Greyson Inc.

A few drops of
rain fell on the glass, drawing his attention to the weather. The
sky was grey and overcast, matching his mood perfectly. Greyson was
being more difficult than ever and Aldrich was stretching his
patience to the limit as he attempted to remain calm and
unflappable. While he’d never openly admit it, he found the tycoon
a tad...difficult...to handle. He’d been working for the man for
five years now and still never knew what to make of him.

The man was rich,
powerful, moody, and more than a little eccentric. Today, it was
one of his eccentricities that was giving Aldrich a headache.
Honestly, how the man had ever managed to amass a fortune was a
mystery. He had no sense of the value of a dollar, squandering
money on foolish projects, ignoring the safety of priceless art
objects...

“Are you
listening, Aldrich?” The voice barked down the line at him and
Aldrich momentarily removed the receiver from his ear.

“Yes, sir. You
were explaining that you’ll be incommunicado for five days.” He
didn’t add that it was a monthly ritual and there was no need for
the phone call. Humouring clients was all part of the job.