like a score of others, and she never saw him again.
These days, her aloneness lay gently across her shoulders like a cashmere cloak. She’d long ago stopped wanting more. She even managed to convince herself that she was satisfied—satisfied—with her life.
And then Amber Burnett had asked if her daughter could take over as caretaker. Libby hadn’t hesitated to agree, even though she usually was the one who chose the next Guardian. After her agreement, Jade had visited Libby for the first time alone.
At first, a young Jade had been terrified of her. Libby had felt the pain of that like a knife stabbing in her gut. For the first time in her life, she’d hated being considered a monster. Once, her iridescent scales had been considered beautiful. Now she’d been relegated to a thing, a creature or a beast, lurking in the depths of Forestwood Lake.
That hurt more than she would ever have believed possible.
Over the past nine years, she and Libby had grown close. Her relationship with Jade gave her hope. Of all the Guardians over the years, only Jade treated her like a friend or a relative, rather than a creature to be feared. Originally, when Libby had first arrived in Forestwood, she’d done as her father requested and set the whole Guardian thing up. She’d chosen a Burnett simply because one happened to be hiking out near the lake. At first, the Burnetts had been tasked with protecting her from outsiders and making sure she had everything she needed to survive. She’d even used a bit of her very basic magical skills to ensure they wouldn’t leave, by making her Guardian become ill if she tried to leave Burnett house.
Since then, Libby had become pretty self-sufficient, except for her crippling shyness that kept her from making friends. After all, if she went to town, she looked like everyone else. Half the time, people had no idea she was actually the “lake beast.”
With all of her kind gone, Libby had felt the weight of her aloneness grow heavier. It wasn’t until Jade had taken over that Libby had realized she didn’t have to live as an outsider. She just needed Jade to help her figure out how to make that happen.
* * *
It had been a long day. Rance had seen the panic and condemnation on that kid Lucas’s face. The sickly sort of disbelief on Jade’s. Though he’d itched to photograph everything, document it for posterity, in that particular instance, he knew better. For the first time since starting out on this quest, he’d felt a faint prickle of conscience, as if the teen might be right and he should focus on other things.
Except he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to bring Eve what she’d asked for.
Deliberately forcing his thoughts to other things, Rance remembered the pub he’d seen on the way to Jade’s house. The thought of pub food—greasy hamburgers and seasoned fries—made his mouth water. Though as a recovered alcoholic he no longer drank, he’d refused to avoid places that served alcohol entirely, viewing it as a way of testing his fortitude. Tonight, this would be exactly what he needed to get his mind off both his predicament and the sexy silver-haired Jade Burnett.
Since the evening air felt perfect, he left the rental car parked outside his motel and walked the few blocks to the bar. The road climbed and dipped, but the Brew and Chew Pub sat halfway up the first hill, making his walk more of a workout than he’d anticipated. Which was all good. Hiking around the lake had made him realize he needed to get out more. He’d even purchased a nice pair of hiking boots so he could do this.
He also needed to change. But in what he assumed must be a community of shape-shifting wolves, his kind of beast would definitely be noticed, so he had to be careful.
The unhurried pace of the locals as he strode past them made Rance smile. In larger cities, these people would get mowed down by the fast-walking crowds. Even compared to Houston, Forestwood seemed positively bucolic. Here, even though he would have thought they’d take the scenery for granted since they lived here, every person he passed appeared to be engrossed in the picturesque storefronts with blooming flower boxes and towering trees, enjoying one another’s company. Inhaling deeply, Rance could smell the scent of hamburgers and fries cooking somewhere drifting on the breeze.
Unable to resist, he got out his camera and snapped a few shots. Then, because he never knew if he might want to take another, he kept his Nikon in his hand, secured by a neck strap.
His spirits lifted. All in all, this began to look like it would be a perfectly great night. The possibility of achieving his goal put a spring in his step and hope in his heart.
Even better, he felt like he might fit in while here, despite having only been in town a couple of days. No one stared at him or gave him sideways glances. No, sir, generally the locals didn’t even appear to act like he might be out of place. Which was in stark contrast to the way they’d acted when he’d first arrived in town.
In fact, one might consider them a bit overly friendly. Especially the other men. Rance noticed every single guy—old or young—gave him a broad beaming smile. Sometimes a wink, or a dip of the chin, and even once a thumbs-up. All very convivial and jovial, almost like they were congratulating him for something, though he had no idea what. Maybe word had leaked out that he’d seen their lake creature? Judging from the teenager they’d run into at the lake, he wouldn’t have thought that’d be a good thing.
In fact, it was beginning to creep him out.
Ahead, he saw the sign for the Brew and Chew Pub.
Finally reaching the bar, he yanked open the surprisingly heavy red painted wooden door and went inside. As the door swung closed behind him, he blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the dimness.
The inside smelled like heaven. Grilled burgers with onions and fries. No cigarette smoke, for which he felt grateful. In fact, several no-smoking signs were prominently displayed.
One empty bar stool in the middle of the bar beckoned him. Red pleather, he thought as he took a seat. While he waited for the bartender to notice him, he thought about grabbing a menu, but decided he didn’t need it. He already knew what he wanted.
When the bartender—a tall, thin guy with a close-cropped head of gray hair—appeared, he slid a tall glass of draft beer to Rance. “Guys at the pool table bought it for you,” he said, grinning.
“Why?” Perplexed, Rance eyed the drink, his mouth suddenly dry with longing. He even reached for the glass, feeling the cold sweat on his palm before turning and raising it in a salute of thanks in the general direction of the pool area.
Cheers erupted.
When Rance turned back, he carefully relinquished his hold on the glass and slid it away from him. “I don’t actually drink,” he said. “Could I get a ginger ale instead?”
“No problem.” Dumping out the beer, the bartender, whose nametag read Earl, refilled the glass with a can of Canada Dry. “You’re kind of a local hero today. Do you want to see a menu?”
A local hero. Deciding food trumped hearing gossip, Rance shook his head. He’d ask why later. “No need. One burger and fries is what I need.”
“Double or triple?”
Since he needed meat, Rance opted for the triple.
“Coming right up.” Earl left to go put in the order.
The guy on the bar stool to the right of Rance swiveled around. “Lucky bastard,” he said, grinning. “Not sure how
