Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
"Well thank you but you're not the one who has to walk around looking like a scarecrow."
"I think you look beautiful,” he repeated softly and the look in his chocolate-brown eyes made me feel like I was melting inside.
“Kor, you can’t say things like that while we’re in town,” I reminded him. “We have to be proper—we can’t look like…like…”
“Like two people who are crazy about each other?” he suggested.
I felt my stomach flutter. Did he really feel that way about me? The way I felt about him? How could all this happen so quickly? Why did it feel like we were meant to be together?
None of it made any sense and yet I couldn’t deny what I was feeling.
“Exactly,” I said. I wished that I could kiss him, but even though we were parked in the back parking area behind the post office, someone might still be watching. So I gave up trying to tame my hair and climbed out of the car.
To my surprise, I didn't really care if my hair was still a little wild. For once in my life, I felt confident. Happy. Almost invincible.
I walked into the post office with my head held high…and the feeling lasted exactly three seconds.
Behind the counter stood Barbara Finch and Ellen Cooper. Barbara was the woman who had spent the better part of twenty years convinced that Carter should have married her instead of me and Ellen was her closest friend and enthusiastic supporter. Also, the last time we’d been here, Kor had put them both in their places.
This wasn’t going to be fun.
The moment they saw me, both women froze…then their eyes narrowed.
Wonderful. They hated me more than ever.
"Good morning," I said politely, determined not to care what they thought of me.
"Lady Jamison," Barbara replied in a syrupy tone. Her smile was sweet enough to rot teeth and Ellen's expression wasn't much better. Clearly they were treating me better because Kor was with me and they didn’t want to be called out again.
I kept my face calm and my expression cool.
"Hello, we're here to pick up some packages. Alpha Korwyn has ordered some things and so have I."
Barbara shuffled through several slips before finally producing a stack of boxes.
"The packages addressed to Alpha Korwyn have arrived," she said. "Yours haven't come in yet."
"Oh." I tried not to sound disappointed. "That's all right. I’ll come back for them later."
The two women exchanged a meaningful look that I chose to ignore.
Kor stepped forward and accepted the boxes. Neither woman said a word to him. In fact, they suddenly became remarkably polite.
Funny how that worked.
"Thank you," he said as he took his packages.
Ellen smiled wider.
"You're very welcome, Alpha Korwyn,” she said sweetly.
Kor and I were almost to the door when I heard Barbara’s voice.
"Just look at her—all high and mighty like she thinks she's a queen."
Heat rushed into my face. Normally I would ignore such an insult, but today I didn’t want to. I wasn’t going to let them keep being nasty to me with no consequences, I told myself. Heart hammering against my ribs, I slowly turned around.
"What did you say?" I demanded.
Both women immediately adopted expressions of innocence.
"Oh, nothing, Lady Jamison," Barbara said sweetly.
I folded my arms.
"Really?"
"Of course." She tilted her head. "By the way, have you seen Father MacKaity around town?"
I frowned.
"No. Why?"
"Oh, he was looking for you earlier." Her smile widened slightly. "Said something about the Council of Elders wanting to meet with you about something."
A cold feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Beside me, Kor went still.
"What kind of meeting?" he asked.
Barbara gave an elegant shrug.
"I couldn't say but it seemed important."
I exchanged a glance with Kor. Neither of us had any idea what the Council wanted, and I was pretty sure we didn’t want to find out. Not that we’d probably have a choice about it.
"Thank you for letting us know," I said coolly.
Then I turned and walked out before either woman could say anything else.
The moment we stepped onto the sidewalk, I looked up at Kor.
"What do you think that's about?"
He shook his head.
"No idea."
Which somehow worried me more than if he'd had an answer.
We had barely taken three steps when a familiar voice called out.
"There you are, lass."
I looked up.
Father MacKaity was striding toward us from the direction of the church. His gray coat flapped around his knees, and his expression was grim.
When he reached us, his gaze settled on Kor. It wasn’t hostile but it wasn’t friendly either. His look was more assessing.
"I heard you were in town," he said. "I've been looking for the pair of you."
A chill ran down my spine.
"What is it?" I asked. “Is there a problem?”
The priest's expression didn't soften.
"I need the two of you to come with me,” he said, not answering my question.
My stomach dropped. It felt as though someone had poured an entire bucket of ice water down my back, making me shiver with a cold dread.