Page 9

“I will give this place a good review. It will be the first one that is only in the book. There's really not much that we have been able to put down except places where you can get gas, but most of those have no food.”

He had to admit that it was exciting sharing this found food with Sally. They bonded over their love of food and the special treat he had bought. While he knew that Sally cooked food for them, he wasn't sure if she even liked doing it. Once the food Tyne had bought ran out, he wasn't sure if Sally would continue to cook.

Chapter 4

Something New

She knew that Xantos wasn't sure if she liked to cook or not, and really, she did when she had the time and everything she needed was available. Their relationship was changing, and she wasn't sure if she wanted it to. It had been sweet of him to share his food with her, and she had appreciated it. Sally knew it was still essential to maintain a little distance because she didn't want to fall for him. There was no way to say what he wanted, and he certainly wasn't going to tell her. That's why it was best not to get too close. The biggest thing was that she thought he was paranormal, and she was not and didn't want to be. There was no good reason she didn't want to be, as half her family was paranormal, and she had a hint of it in her. There was nothing that she had against paranormals, at least not most of them.

Perhaps the problem was that when a paranormal entity was malevolent, it had the power and strength to be so. She still remembered the stories she'd heard about her great-great-grandfather, and there were more like him out there. No one had been able to take the power away from him until he died, and then his son was even worse, and that continued down the line. Evil humans were easier to remove, but even they could sometimes hold their power for many years. She didn't think she was a racist because she worked with many paranormals, and she liked most of them. Her most significant issue with Xantos might be that she wasn't ready to settle down, and she was afraid that he would get to her.

Xantos had shared his pie with the rest of the group, which was very generous, considering it was a good pie and probably cost him a significant amount. The fried chicken he'd not shared,and he had finished it off after giving her one piece. She wasn't sure that most of the others would have been as generous. They had all gushed over the pie, and then it was as if they realized that she had been doing much of the cooking. They had said that her cooking was good, too, but there was something special about the pie. What could she say? She agreed that it was a delicious pie and fruit that was very rare. She'd always loved gooseberries, and her grandma grew them in her garden, but she was far away.

Sally loved her grandma, and she suggested that Sally become a paranormal so she would live a long life because she did not want her granddaughter to die before she did. That was something she had not even considered because she did not want to be paranormal. She had to admit that she did wonder what it would be like to be with Xantos. He would be exciting in bed. She was sure of that, but she wasn't sure he would be the kind of guy that would mate anyone, much less her. Many paranormals had a thing about humans, as many humans had a thing about paranormals.

They were so different, and yet they shared the same world. She knew humans who had become paranormals and were perfectly happy, like Moe and Ariel. It was just something she didn't think she could do because they were both special, being white wolves, and she wasn't special at all. What if she mated one and then found she still couldn't shift? That would be terrible and hard not only on her mate but her children. It probably wouldn't affect them, but it might impact their children or, at the very least, their grandchildren. Sally wondered, was that her real problem? What could be more unpleasant than entering the paranormal world and still not belonging? Did she fear not being paranormal enough to fit in with that life if shechose it? It was true she had been told all her life that she had enough to turn, but how could they be sure of that?

She cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen area, and now she was ready for bed. In Missouri, she had not been so lonely as she was here, even though she was surrounded by people part of the time. At the other office, she'd had her family close by and friends that she thought a lot of. It wasn't that there weren't any nice people here, but she didn't know them well, and she had held them at a distance. Taking this job was part of her plan to eventually be an office manager somewhere much closer to home. For the first time, she was beginning to wonder if that plan would ever come to fruition. What if she did this for nothing and was never offered a job closer to home? Her life might become a complete mess, and she might have to go home and go back to a field job like she'd had before.

Would that be so bad? Perhaps not on a day-to-day basis, but in terms of building something, she wouldn't be able to do so based on what she did as a field worker. Some of the others managed to save money to get a house and even a farm, but they worked all the time, and that was all they did. She wanted a little time for herself and to have a family someday. There were other offices close enough to where she lived that being a manager there would leave her enough time to do those things. Many people in the field did not want an office manager's job because of the responsibility. That didn't bother her as long as she had the possibility of getting home. Home had always meant everything to her, and it meant more to her than her job, but why couldn't she have both?

It was time to get ready for bed, and as long as she was here, she knew she wouldn't have a lot of time to do anything else. It was just one more reason to hope that she would eventually get home. She showered and then went to bed.Hopefully, she will fall asleep quickly, as she felt very restless today and wasn't sure why. Sleep must have done her some good because she woke up and felt better. Things didn't look so bad in the morning. She got up, got ready, and headed downstairs to start the food. It was just one more thing she did to be a better manager. Honestly, to have something to do because there wasn't much to do here. It was all about work and doing the best job she could. The food was ready by the time Xantos came down. He was usually first. Others drifted down one at a time, and most of them fixed their own plate and sat at the table to eat.

“That pie sure was good. You think you would have any luck finding those gooseberries?” Cindy Lou wondered.

“I've had the same luck you would. Find some, and I'll make you a pie.” Sally said.

“I'll give it a shot, and I'll let you know if I find some.” She replied.

Sally hoped that Cindy Lou would find something, but she wouldn't expect it to be anything in particular. She had to admit that there was something odd about Cindy Lou. She was skillful and far too good to be a field officer, but that wasn't unusual, as many field officers who had been on the job for years were capable and simply didn't want to be managers. Renard was another example of someone far too capable of the job, but they would take them and be glad to have them. She was sure that Tyne had made some kind of arrangement with them and that they would only be there for a limited time.

Hopefully, that would be enough time for them to get the office running well when she would take whatever she could get in terms of experienced assistance. Sally would discuss that with Xantos, but she wasn't trying to get a close relationship. Her plan was to maintain a distance between them so that theywouldn't become involved. If they became involved, she was not sure that her heart would ever recover. She shook her head and tried to banish the depressing thoughts that were plaguing her. Everyone was gone now, and she was there by herself. Her only distraction was her work, and right now, that was tedious paperwork. There was a knock on the door, and that always worried her. So, she got her two Tasers and placed them where they would be easily accessible. She went to the door and opened it, immediately knowing there was going to be a problem.

The guy looked like a bum. She knew that sometimes drawing conclusions could be a mistake, but he looked like the kind of guy who had been attacking them regularly, both in the field and at the office.

“I heard there was food here to buy, and I'm sure hungry," he said, but he couldn't come in because she was blocking the door.

“Sorry, this isn't a restaurant. The boss says only employees are allowed in here.”

“This is a chance for you to make a little extra money. No one will know.”

“I don't know how, but the boss has a way of finding out things. You'll have to find another restaurant or go out and hunt.”

He tried to push his way in, and she tasered him, closed the door, and locked it. All the other doors should be locked, but she hurried to the back to check anyway since she wasn't the last one to have used it. That's when she caught several guys coming in the back. She felt like The Lone Ranger as she pulled both her Tasers and began to attack. They ran out of power, so she ran to the door that separated the back from the office and locked it. Sally immediately pressed her panic button and thenput in a call to the state police, followed by a call to Moe. They were pounding on the back door, but it was a heavy metal door in a heavy metal frame and intended to hold off most people, especially humans. They were determined. She saw signs that the door was going to open. So, she did what any sane person would do and called for Harry.

“Harry, Harry, Harry.” And the little witch appeared.

“You guys have to find another way to deal with your emergencies. I had a suspect, and they were about to give in, and now I'll have to start all over. Boy, something smells good. Maybe it's not such a hardship to come here. Who is making all that noise? Is that the problem you're dealing with?” Harry asked.

At that time, the door flew open, and four men fell inside. “Lookie, lookie, lookie what we have here. Two girls that we can share. I only thought we would get one to play with.” The ugly old guy laughed like a loon. He wouldn't be laughing for long.

“You like to play, do you? I like to play too. Why don't we get this game going?”

Harry waved her hand, and the man turned into a frog. “Oh my God! Run! It's the frog Princess!” One of the other men screamed.

“It's cool being famous. Now that they're gone, why don't we eat something since it's about lunchtime anyway," Harry suggested.

Sally just wanted to laugh. Harry was wonderful, and she had taken care of the problem even if a whole bunch of the guys had escaped. They could spread the word, and the others wouldn't be so anxious to come to the office or mess with the field personnel.