Shifter’s Fate: Willow Harbor - Book One Read online

  Considering the free housing she’d been promised, I’d say the chances of Mattie staying just went from low to nill. I couldn’t quite believe my mom would do that to someone. Even I wouldn’t ask a girl to stay in an old place like that, especially not this girl. Not that there was anything special about her—or not too much. It took more than a pretty face and a nice smile to turn my head. If it weren’t for that strange air about her, I wouldn’t have given her a second thought. Or not a third one at least.

  Mom led the way up three flights of stairs until we reached the old library custodian apartment. No one had lived there in my lifetime, and the one time I’d snuck inside as a kid I understood why. Piles of dust covered all surfaces, and the old wooden floor was missing planks all over. I wasn’t sure if the lights even worked.

  Mom pulled out a key, unlocked the old-fashioned lock, and pushed open the door. She handed the key to Mattie who walked in very slowly.

  “Oh. This is—”

  Horrible? Awful? I waited to see what adjective she’d use.

  “Perfect. Thanks.”

  “Perfect?” I followed her in, wondering if Mattie was crazy or just super polite.

  It turned out to be neither. She was spot on. Well, maybe perfect wasn’t exactly the right word, but nice was.

  The kitchen had all new granite counter tops, the living area was filled with fresh furniture and a warm wood floor that carried throughout the whole area I could see. I wasn’t sure how my mom had arranged the updates without me knowing, but it wasn’t all that surprising. My mother was capable of nearly anything when properly motivated.

  “All right then. I took the liberty of stocking the kitchen so you should find something to nibble on if you are hungry.” Mom gestured to the brand-new fridge in the kitchen.

  “Wow, thank you, Vicky.” Mattie ran her hand over the counter. “This is much nicer than I could have hoped for.”

  “Of course. Now get some rest so you are ready to start tomorrow.” Mom headed toward the door. She nudged me, letting me know it was my turn to leave too. I nodded in Mattie’s direction.

  “Thanks again.” Mattie smiled before she closed the door behind us. I couldn’t help but wish I was on the other side of the door.

  Mom stayed silent until we reached the ground floor, then she let me have it. “How did you manage to meet Matilda before she got here?”

  “Mattie. She says she prefers to go by Mattie.”

  “Yes, I know, but her full name is Matilda.” Mom pursed her lips.

  “Fine. Call her what you want, but I’m not calling her by the name of a children’s book character.”

  “And why not?” Mom frowned.

  “I’m not answering that question.”

  “You will be answering my first question.” Her frown deepened.

  “I met her at Bert’s restaurant off the highway. She needed directions, so I offered to lead her here.”

  “Is that all that happened?” Mom pushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear. “Remember I know when you are lying.”

  “I was nice once I found out why she was coming to town.”

  “Why not before?” She rested her chin in her hand, and I had the distinct impression that she wanted to know even though the answer was obvious.

  “You know why not.”

  “Not all humans are out to get us, Pierce. I know many in our town seem to think they are, but you have to make your own decisions, not listen to what others say.”

  “Why did you hire her?” That was a far more important question than how warm my greeting was.

  “Because she’s highly qualified.”

  “No highly qualified human librarian would take a job in Willow Harbor.”

  “This one did.” Mom straightened a row of books that didn’t need to be straightened.

  “Which means she’s desperate.”

  “We all have our reasons for going new places.” She moved on to another perfectly arranged shelf.

  “What was hers?”

  “It is not for me to share.”

  “But you know. You always know.”

  Mom stopped organizing. “Do me a favor and be nice to her. I’d like to keep her around.”

  “I’ll be nice.” And not only to make my mom happy. That realization made me uncomfortable.

  “Great.” Mom walked toward the door, her heels clicking on the wood floor. “Now go home and get some sleep.”

  “I don’t sleep anymore.” I had told her that a million times already, but she always lectured me anyway.

  “You could if you tried harder.”

  “I try perfectly hard.” I wasn’t sure why I bothered arguing anymore.

  “You can always try harder. Good night, Pierce.” She stood unmoving, and I knew she was waiting for me to leave so she could lock up. What a night. Even if I couldn’t sleep, I would enjoy my thoughts—I already knew exactly who they would be about tonight.

  Three

  Mattie

  The apartment was nice, far nicer than what I expected. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was clean and updated. It would work perfectly for the few months I was there.

  I couldn’t believe Vicky had gone grocery shopping for me. She had seemed nice enough on the phone, but this went beyond nice. Hopefully it wasn’t just a first day thing. I was ready to have a good boss for a change.

  I pulled off my sweatshirt and tossed it on the back of a chair. Although I was meticulous about my organization at work, outside of it I was anything but. It’s why I preferred to live alone in grad school rather than share a place with a roommate. I’d learned the hard way how angry girls could get when you forgot to wash dishes. It was easier for everyone if I kept my own space.

  I walked around my new apartment. It was way larger than I expected. With an eat-in kitchen, living area, two bedrooms, and a nice sized bath. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with all the space. Thankfully it was furnished because buying furniture wasn’t in my budget.

  I pulled back the heavy red curtains in the living room and gasped. They’d been hiding floor to ceiling windows that gave a beautiful view of the town. It was too dark to see the ocean, but I had a feeling the view would amazing in the morning. Now that would be a nice way to enjoy a cup of coffee.

  My eyes immediately went to the large willow tree in the distance. It seemed to glow in the moonlight. I would have to check it out during the day. Maybe it had a plaque or something to explain its significance. Otherwise I’d have to look it up downstairs in the library. I had been able to find absolutely nothing on the town during my pre-move search. The only details I had came directly from Vicky, and she hadn’t shared very many.

  If I strained my eyes I could see the black iron gates that surrounded the town. There was a silence here unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Instead of the noise machine I used to drown out the city noise, I was going to need a noise-maker. I left the curtains open before heading into the kitchen to fix a snack. Maybe taking a job in the boonies wasn’t such a bad decision after all. Theoretically, it might end up as a refreshing and much needed change from the city.

  * * *

  The knocking started before the sun was up. One quick glance at the clock told me I still had a full hour before my alarm went off, and I had built in tons of extra time for a shower and to dry my hair so I wasn’t running late on my first day. It looked like this place wasn’t quite as quiet as I thought.

  The knocking stopped, and I wondered if I’d imagined it. I rolled over, ready to grab another hour of sleep. The knocking started again. I groaned, stretched, and reluctantly pulled myself out of bed. By the time I was up the knocking had stopped. Maybe they’d walked away.

  I waited a full minute before letting out a sigh of relief. I was too awake to go back to sleep, so instead I dug out a towel from one of my bags—I’d finish unpacking later—and headed to the shower. Now that I was awake I might as well get a start on the day.

  Before I made it to the
bathroom, the knocking started again. I went to the front door and debated what to do. There was no peep hole or anything, so I wasn’t going to just pull it open. “Yes?” I called.

  No one answered. “Can I help you?” I called a little louder. This was getting annoying. If I was going to be up early, there had to be a reason for it.

  The knocking continued. I threw caution to the wind and opened the door.

  “Hey Matilda!” A girl with long blonde hair with pink streaks stood just outside the door. She held a cardboard tray with two coffees and a white paper bag balancing on the empty two slots.

  “Hi? Uh, I’m sorry, but can I help you?” I waited for the girl to say something.

  “Oh. Sorry. I picked these up for us.” She held out the coffee.

  “Uh, thanks.” I debated whether to pull out one coffee or take the whole tray. Instead I opened the door wider. “Do you want to come in?”

  I looked down at my pajamas. Maybe inviting her in wasn’t such a great idea, but it was better than standing with the door open. I still wasn’t sure what the girl was doing there. Was this just small town hospitality?

  She walked in and set the tray down on the counter. “I’m Delpha. I’m the children’s librarian here.” She held out her hand.

  I readily accepted her offered handshake. “Oh, hi!” A co-worker. This made more sense. “Hey, sorry to greet you like this. I’m not dressed yet, obviously.” I gestured down to my dog pajamas.

  “I like dogs too.” She leaned into the counter. “Vicky did such a nice job in here.”

  “I get the sense it didn’t look so great before.” At least that’s what I assumed Pierce meant with his ‘old’ comment.

  “Not at all—” Delpha stopped talking.

  “What?”

  “It’s just old.” She looked in my direction, and I noticed her aquamarine eyes. They were stunning. First Pierce’s grey eyes and now her blue-green ones. My brown eyes were going to stand out around here for being boring.

  “Yeah, that’s the impression I’ve gotten.” I decided to drop it. The place had been updated, which was a good thing. “By the way, please call me Mattie.”

  “Mattie? Got it!” She opened the white bag. “I’m sure these aren’t like the bagels you’re used to, but we think they are good.”

  “You got bagels? Wow. Thanks.” Bagels were a surefire way to my good side.

  “Of course! I’m excited Vicky found someone for your position. Now I’ll have more time to spend on the reading programs I’ve been developing. Plus I can add in another story-hour. I had to cut so much out.”

  “Well then, I’m glad I can help.” Even if I wasn’t 100% sure what I would be doing. I’d gone to school for academic library work. I knew everything about the workings of a college library, specifically collections because that’s what I wanted to do, but I’d figure out what they needed me to do—I hoped.

  “Breakfast first or shower? I don’t mind either way.” Delpha sounded like she meant it.

  “Breakfast. I don’t want to leave you waiting around.”

  “It’s not a big deal.” She flipped some hair off her shoulder, revealing the top of a faint blue-green tattoo that almost perfectly matched her eyes.

  “I’m hungry anyway.” Clearly I wasn’t going to win that argument.

  Delpha got out the bagel and a tub of cream cheese. “Who else told you this apartment was old?”

  “Oh. Pierce. Vicky’s son.”

  “You met Pierce?” She paused with her cream cheese spreading.

  “Yeah. He actually helped me find town.”

  “Oh.” She put an exceptionally thick layer of cream cheese on her bagel. “Interesting.”

  “Why is that interesting?” I watched as she spread the other side. It was starting to look like cream cheese with a side of bagel, but I didn’t care. I didn’t need much of the spread for myself.

  “Because he’s been in a funk lately, barely talking to anyone.”

  “You know him well?” What I wanted to ask was whether she was involved with him. I would be sure to keep my distance if that was the case. Delpha seemed nice, but I’d learned even nice girls had claws when it came to the guys they were into.

  “We all know each other well here. We graduated from high school together.”

  “Oh, cool.” I wasn’t sure what that meant in terms of needing to keep my distance.

  “He used to be pretty cool. Was on the baseball team. That kind of stuff.”

  “And what happened?” I accepted the knife and spread a thin layer on the first side of my bagel.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably family stuff. Family stuff is usually the crux of everyone’s issues.”

  “Or relationship problems,” I said automatically.

  “I take it you’ve had some of those?” She grabbed one of the coffees and took a seat at the small kitchen table.

  “Some.” That was putting it mildly, but she didn’t need to know all the nitty gritty details.

  “I get it. I’ve had some too.”

  I finished with the cream cheese, mentally preparing myself for a disappointing bagel. That way if it was halfway decent I would be happy. Nothing could compare to a New York bagel, but some places got close. I took my bagel and coffee and sat down across from Delpha.

  I took a bite of the bagel. “Wow.”

  “Decent?” She watched me intently.

  “More than decent. These are from town?”

  “Yeah, it’s from the coffee shop here called Urban Grind. They hired someone from your neck of the woods to make the bagels and some Italian style pastries.”

  “Does he or she make pizza too?”

  Delpha laughed. “Not that I know of, and I don’t think Cad would appreciate that. He’s the pizza chef in town.”

  “So there is a pizza place in town?” I wasn’t sure what kind of restaurant options there would be in such a small town.

  “We have a few restaurants.”

  “Nice.” That was something. Maybe this wasn’t the complete middle of nowhere. If nothing else I could live on these bagels.

  “We have a bar, an ice cream shop, a diner. You know the basics.”

  “At least this isn’t a dry county or anything.”

  “A dry county? You aren’t that far south.”

  I took a sip of my coffee. “Maybe from your perspective but not mine.”

  “I bet anything south of the Mason-Dixon line is far south for you.” There was a slight edge to her voice.

  “You aren’t that far off,” I admitted. “But I am excited to try living somewhere new.” I finished my bagel. “I should probably get showered and ready.”

  “Ok, cool.” She returned to her bagel.

  “You don’t have to wait here.”

  “I don’t mind. It’s cozy in here.” She leaned back in her chair.

  Ok, she wasn’t getting it. I wanted her to leave. I felt weird showering when someone I barely knew was in the place. But making an enemy by kicking her out would be a bad idea. “If you are sure.”

  “Completely sure. Take your time.” She sipped her coffee.

  “Ok, thanks.” Getting her to leave wasn’t going to happen, so I went back to my room to grab some clothes before heading to the bathroom.

  I turned on the water, ignoring the screeching of the pipes. I hoped they were like the sink and would quiet down after a few moments. They didn’t. If anything it got worse. Oh well, I stepped into the shower and turned the shower head on. The water pressure was lacking, but the water was hot. I’d had crappy showers before; I could survive for however long I lived there. But the screeching noise was going to be a problem. I would live with it for a while before asking Vicky who to go to for help. I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what if the pipes were so loud people could hear them downstairs? The library wasn’t open yet, but by Delpha’s arrival, I knew some employees arrived early.

  And what about Pierce? Did he work at the library to
o? Why was I thinking about him in the shower? He was a jerk. The only reason he was being nice to me was because of his mom. Hopefully if I remembered that I would stop thinking about him.

  I finished my shower and got dressed before heading back toward my room. I didn’t see Delpha, so I assumed she had left.

  I stopped short when I entered my room. Half of my bags were empty and Delpha was putting some of my t-shirts into a drawer. “Hey, how was your shower?”

  “You’re unpacking my stuff?” I tried to keep my voice level. Was she serious?

  “Yeah, I figured I might as well be useful. I used my own organizational system, but I figured it would work for you.” She put another pile of clothes away.

  “Your organizational system?” I walked over to the dresser. My stuff was color-coded. I don’t just mean blues with the blues. I mean the shades of blue were separated out and put together.

  “Does it work for you? Do you need something more specific?”

  “You don’t have to do this. I planned to unpack tonight.” She was unpacking my stuff. A girl I had just met was unpacking my stuff.

  “But we have plans tonight.” She didn’t look up from unpacking my clothes.

  “We do?” The situation was getting stranger by the second.

  “Yes!” She jumped to her feet. “Oh wait. I guess I forgot to tell you. That was silly.”

  “What are these plans?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  “Your welcome party.”

  “My welcome party?” I fought to keep my voice level.

  “We don’t get newcomers all that often…”

  I sat down on the edge of the queen-sized bed. “And you throw them parties?” Was this more of that small town friendliness? Admittedly it was more normal than unpacking my clothing.

  “No. This will be a first, but since we’re co-workers I want to.”

  “You really don’t have to.” A party with people I didn’t know wasn’t the most appealing of plans.

  “Why do you keep doing that?”

  “Doing what?”