Picking it up, I stare at the printed words again.
I had it all mixed up.The coven doesn’t give a rat’s ass that Theron told me the truth.They know full well that I’ll come off like a maniac if I leave here and start blabbing about what lives undercover on Landslide.
Searching the printout for clues to see if there is any input from Theron, I find none.
Damn, damn,damn!
If I was hoping for a sign from him that might prompt me to stay here longer, this note is not it.Right now, I am obsessing over what went wrong.After spending a glorious couple of days in bed together, only broken up by food breaks a couple times a day, now my blood loving biker is ghosting me.
It takes me a while to realize the truth.
Theron is not the sort of person to sit around and wait for a woman’s encouragement.He takes what he wants, and if there is nothing more to make him stick around, he leaves.
Not nice, but I wasn’t attracted to Theron’s niceness anyway.
My dark mood follows me to the dining room.These cheery checked tablecloths and handcrafted wooden furniture do nothing to lighten the heavy sense of dejection in my belly.
Grabbing some packets of cereal out of the pantry and a few of those packaged sweet pastries that are part of the continental breakfast experience at the inn, I throw them in a pile on the serving table.Teabags, sugar, coffee.
By the time the water is boiling, Mom and Ben have come in.
“Darling!”Mom is all smiles.So is Ben.And just like that, my dark mood lifts.
Mom hugs me and then pulls back.“But you’re so pale?How are you feeling?”She pinches my arms.“Have you lost weight?’
Plonking myself down opposite the happy couple, I bang my elbows on the table and lean my chin on my hands.
“Doing housework here kept me out of the sun.”Noticing the vintage pearl necklace around my mom’s neck, I make my own assumptions about how she’s doing with Ben.“Ferry comes this evening at sunset.Ben, can you please help me carry my stuff to the jetty?”
Ben nods, but he’s not finished.When my mom gets up to pour coffee and select a few of the cellophane wrapped, extended shelf-life pastries for herself, he taps the table.
“Your mom was worried about you going Stateside, Aila.I’m here to let you know I can pay for Vince to take you back to the Canada side of the Lake of the Woods, if he’s available to do it.”
This is news to me.Why the heck don’t people ever update me on things?
“The ferry picked us up from the Canada side, Ben!Please tell me why it can’t go back there?”
Hearing my frustrated outburst, my mom drops a packaged croissant in front of me.
“Eat something, Aila.You sound short-tempered.”
Boxed orange juice and carbs loaded with additives is not what I am hungry for right now, but I have to pretend everything is normal, business as usual, just to get my mom off my back.
Ben smiles as Amelia sits down.He’s jumpy because of my acidic attitude.
“Landslide doesn’t pay Monty, Aila.The passengers do.Didn’t you read the Terms and Conditions?”
Looking very pleased with herself, as if she read through every word of the contract before glibly signing it, Mom begins a lecture.
“Monty operates on a schedule, Aila.The tides around Angle Inlet creek are what he plans around.Didn’t you read the tide chart pinned on the noticeboard?He can only bring the ferry here during the highest tides because of all the sandbanks and sucking mud.”
Trying to be patient and polite, I acknowledge this.But I know the real reason why the fucking ferry can only dock after sundown.
“Yeah, okay.But last time I checked, sandbanks and sucking mud are not a problemin Canada!”
Ben steps in before I lose it.
“We understand your frustration, Aila, but if you leave today, the States are the only dropping off point in Monty’s schedule.He has a consignment of fresh produce to pick up for the Heiners.And your mom has concerns about you going to Minnesota.”
