“Not a tough question, Lani. Who owns the cabin you’re staying in?” He said the words slowly.
“I forget.”
“I don’t think so. In fact, I think you’re lying.” He pushed off the car and walked to the rear doors of her Bronco before she could stop him.
“Hey, that’s private!”Damn,she’d forgotten to lock it.
He slammed the door hard enough that the vehicle rocked and returned to lean on her window.
“You slept in your car down there, didn’t you?” He nodded to the track behind her.
“What? No. Don’t be silly, why would I do that?” She kept her eyes forward, focusing out the windscreen. “I told you, I was just walking Buddy.”
“You have a bed in the back and all your things. Don’t lie to me, Lani.”
“Look, I don’t have time for this, I need to go to work.”
“We just discussed that you have an hour.”
“Whatever. Go away, Noah, I’m leaving.”
“You are not sleeping in your car here again, Lani.”
Something in his tone made her look at him. His eyes were narrowed, and he looked just a little bit mean.
“What I do is none of your business. I travel around, this works for me. Besides, people sleep in their cars all the time.”
“That may be so, but it doesn’t work for me. You are not sleeping in your car again while you are in Lake Howling.”
“You can’t stop me.”
“Think again.” He leaned in, and Lani fought the need to slide closer to Buddy. “I’ll be checking, and believe me, there are not many places to hide your Bronco that I won’t find you.”
“I don’t answer to you, so go and play big brother to your sister or one of your friends.”
“I don’t want to be your big brother.” The words were softly spoken and had a spike of heat traveling through her. “I want to be your friend, and friends don’t let each other sleep in their cars when they have spare beds.”
“We are not friends, and what I do is none of your business. So you just concentrate on those people in your life who have that label and leave me alone.” Lani pressed her foot down on the gas. Okay, so it wasn’t in gear, but he got the point. Noah took his time standing upright and then stepped back. She maneuvered around his car and drove away.
“I should keep driving, Buddy, really I should,” she said, speeding back into Howling. Deciding to pass on the coffee because she had no wish to run into Noah again, Lani was soon parking behind the shops in the space allocated. She let herself in the back door of the Howlery. Buddy wandered off, sniffing the ground. She knew he’d be back, because for some reason he’d attached himself to her, and she shouldn’t like that as much as she did, because there was absolutely no room in her nomadic life for a dog.
Mrs. C was in the shop on the phone. She saw Lani and raised a hand. Today’s outfit was candy-apple-red leggings in velvet and a matching top. A black velvet band twisted her hair into a cone shape. Her eyes were painted with pale green glitter, and her lashes were long and curling behind her glasses.
“Okay, I’ll see it done, bye now. Morning, Lani.” Mrs. C pocketed her cellphone.
“Do you get your nails done daily, Mrs. C?” Lani looked at the long forest-green talons. The tips had small diamonds stuck to them.
“Nancy Dwyer’s daughter Millie is learning to be a beautician. I let her practice on me.”
“Nice.”
“If you come on by, I could get her to do yours, and maybe a facial?”
“I’m not really a facial kind of girl, but thanks for the offer.” But she had been once. In fact, most weeks had seen Lani getting a massage or visiting a beauty parlor in her old life.
“And there he is, the love of my life!” Mrs. C said as Hank entered.
About her height, he was the exact opposite of his wife in appearance. His hair was cropped military short and he wore beige cords and a beige-and-black flannel shirt. Nothing bright or overly ostentatious.
