“I would love to meet her and get her to sign these if possible. I’ll buy whatever inventory she has.”
“We will make sure she’s here. She’s my sister-in-law, actually.”
I nodded, my alpha laser focused on the scent. It took everything in me not to bring the stack of cards to my nose and inhale, let the scent imbed in my senses. “Thank you. Yes. We’ll be here. What time does the farmers market open?”
That garnered a few giggles from the females. They could tell what was happening, but had the couth to keep it to themselves.
“We will all be here at eight.”
They bagged up the cards for me, and I started away. I had to tell my pack. Let them scent the cards, as silly as that sounded. There was nothing in this whole world that could stop me from being here next week.
Our destiny would be waiting for us.
“Hey!” the first woman called out, laughing. “You forgot your honey!”
Shit.
Chapter Five
Sylvia
My turret was my sanctuary, a place where I could hide away from the cruel world and feel safe and comfortable. I did join the family for meals sometimes but never if there were any guests or even other pack members. There were very few people whose presence didn’t make me want to run and hide under my bed or cower in a corner, and those included Lily and Rumor. They’d been my biggest supporters in all things since I came here, and even more since I started painting.
For years, I was either locked away or being a workhorse for those who had power over me, and the fact that nobody here expected me to clean up after them or do any menial labor was hard to accept. I still snuck down and did little chores on the rare occasion that the house was empty, but the rest of the time, I stayed up here and painted my cards.
On this particular day, I was quite nervous because they had taken my paintings to the farmers market, andI didn’t know how they’d be received. They were primitive at best, just something I did to fill the time. Not professional. I had no training in art, and my friends were just being nice by saying someone would want to buy them. Running low on the cards, I had just about decided to stop wasting time and paint on them. I did enjoy it, but surely there was a better use of my time, something I could do to help the pack. Remotely, from my turret, if possible.
“Sylvia!” The clomping of guests’ shoes on the turret stairwell followed the call of two of my besties. “Sylvia, you won’t believe what happened.”
The face of Rumor appeared in the stairwell, followed by Lily. “She was at the farmers market, I mean we were, and we bought this banana bread.”
“Fairy bread,” Rumor corrected. “We saw it and thought of you right away. I’d never seen this kind of sprinkles.” She thrust it at me, beaming. “Look!”
I set down my paintbrush and stood up. Since beginning this project, I had set up a makeshift desk near the window where the light suited me best, and I had the view of my muse, the countryside around us. Abeam of sun landed on the clear-wrapped loaf.Sprinkles? Those are sparkles!
I took it from her and smiled before setting it down on the desk. What a kind thing to do. The girls knew I couldn’t pass up anything with sprinkles, and these were extraordinary ones. All the years in the past, nobody ever made an effort to notice what I liked or didn’t, and Rumor and Lily and the others here surprised me all the time with small kindnesses they couldn’t know made such a difference.
“We have news, too.” Rumor held up the basket they had filled with my painted cards. “Empty.”
I waited, knowing they would fill me in on all the details.
“A guy was buying some honey when he spotted the cards, and he bought every one of them,” Lily said with great satisfaction. “I told you they were good.”
“And he’d coming back next week for more,” Rumor added. “So make as many as you can.”
I already had a couple of dozen stacked up, but if he’d buy all I’d sent, maybe he would purchase enough for me to really help cover the expenses I cost thepack. And if he liked them, would others? Hope, something I had not allowed myself to feel for so long I could barely remember, flickered inside me.
A job I could do from here, my turret, where I was safe…
“Oh,” Lily put in, “he would love to meet the artist.”
That little flame sizzled out. And I knew my expression showed it when my sweet sister-in-law hugged me. Not for long because…me…but just enough to show she got me. Then she let go and stepped back, giving me space. Any wonder these people had my whole heart?
“If you can’t, it’s okay. We’ll explain that the artist isn’t available right now. It’s not a condition of buying the cards or anything.” Rumor came near as well and patted my hand.
Looking from one to the other, I didn’t want to say no. Well, I did…but even if the man hadn’t required my presence, a quick meet might make him more inclined to buy my cards. Which would in turn be good for everyone. After all they did for me, it was little enough to ask.
“So, we’ll just say you can’t make it.” Lily gave a sharp nod, but I shook my head. “Sylvia? What do you mean?” It was unusual for her not to understand me, but the fact I was about to agree to leave my turret and the house and go out in public to meet a stranger? Way out of character
