up, she nodded, keeping her tone as dignified as she could, especially with the way her entire body heated every time she looked at him. “I completely understand. But I still need to speak with my family.”
“Fine, but you know what?” He crossed his arms. With his wide-legged stance, he was the picture of virility. “Until now, I pretty much figured this lake monster wasn’t real, like all the rest of them. A legend, a story, something the good people of Forestwood, New York, invented to help with tourism. But the way you—and everyone else in this town—are acting has got me to wondering what exactly you’re hiding.”
To that, she had no reply. “Check back with me tomorrow,” she finally said, even though she had no idea if she could pull together a family meeting by then. “Hopefully I’ll know more.”
Though she’d pretty much dismissed him, he made no move to leave. Instead, he reached into his backpack and pulled out his camera, fiddled with the controls and held it up to his eyes as if testing the light.
“Okay?” she prodded.
He snapped a couple of shots, startling her. Impulsively, she stuck out her tongue, instantly regretting it when she heard the click of the shutter. “Stop,” she ordered. “No more photos. That’s rude, taking my picture without asking.”
Lowering the camera, his intense gaze pierced hers. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I take pictures out of habit. Especially when I see something worth photographing, like you.”
“Compliments don’t work on me,” she declared, even though his words made her feel all warm and fuzzy. “You’ll still need to check back with me tomorrow.”
He grinned, a sexy, savage lift of his mouth that made her insides twist in response. “Since you give me no choice, it’ll have to do. In the meantime, I think I’ll head out to the lake myself and check things out.”
She would have expected no less. “Just be careful,” she said, her standard warning as she turned to head back inside. At least she didn’t have to worry about him seeing anything. Libby always somehow sensed the presence of strangers and remained in the deepest part of the water. The only reason rumors had floated out of town had to be because someone had talked when they shouldn’t have.
Back straight, she walked away. As she did, she felt him watching her. She halfway expected him to stop her and felt faintly disappointed when he didn’t.
Once inside, she barely had time to take a deep breath before her twin baby sisters barreled around the corner. Blond ponytails flying, tall and leggy, they both had the all-American girl look going on. Except Pearl dressed exclusively in black while Sapphire favored vintage seventies attire, the more colorful, the better.
“Who was that?” Pearl demanded, grabbing at Jade’s arm. “He’s rock-god material.”
Amused and secretly in agreement, Jade glanced at Sapphire to see if she’d echo her twin’s sentiment. “He’s pretty cute,” Sapph finally allowed. “Who is he?”
“My new boyfriend?” Jade answered, ruining it by turning what should have been a statement into a question.
“Ewww,” Pearl squealed. “That would mean he’s old.” She shuddered, as if their visitor had taken out his dentures before asking for his cane.
Sapph, always the more thoughtful one, frowned at her sister. “Jade’s not old.”
Pearl shrugged, her expression unconvinced. “Fine. If you want to snag every gorgeous man in town, don’t let me stop you.”
The heavy layer of sarcasm in her voice made Jade smile. “He’s here because of Libby. He wants to do a story on her.”
At her words, both teens’ mouths dropped open. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
The twins exchanged looks.
“So what are you gonna do?” Pearl finally asked, seeming worried.
Jade made a show of checking her watch. “Call a family meeting. That’s the only thing I can do.”
Family meetings in the Burnett clan were frequent, noisy and fun. Usually a potluck, everyone brought a home-cooked dish or two. Tons of delicious food, free-flowing wine and lots of talk made the meetings occasions to be looked forward to.
Even the twins and their teenage cousins attended without complaint. The abundance of food was enough of a lure.
“A family meeting!” Pearl brightened. “Oh, I so hope Auntie Em brings her fried chicken.”
“Oh, me, too!” The twins hurried off, heads together, planning what they’d eat first.
Watching them go, Jade sighed. Sometimes being around her younger sisters made her feel really old, even though she only had twelve years on their seventeen.
Jade made three calls, which meant those people would make calls of their own until the entire family had been notified. Due to the urgency of the situation, the meeting would be that evening at seven. Unless life-threatening, all previously made plans would be canceled. The family meeting always took precedence.
Opal and Amber took to the kitchen, intent on cooking whatever culinary delights they’d decided to team up and make this time. Jade barely suppressed a shudder. The pair’s creations were legendary, and not in a good way.
Finally, as the hour neared seven, cars pulled up in front of Burnett House and parked. People brought food—some in ice chests, boxes or bags, or casserole dishes they carried in their hands. Redheads outnumbered brunettes and blondes since almost all of the Burnetts and their offspring were gingers. Jade’s flame-colored mane had turned silver immediately after taking on the mantle of Libby’s caregiver. At first, this change had horrified her, making her fret about appearing old. But in the years that had passed, she’d come to love her moonlight tresses. She knew once she passed that task on, her normal color would be restored and the new caregiver would immediately go gray, like what had happened when Amber passed the title on to her.
Wonderful smells drifted out of the formal dining room as Jade made her way downstairs. She could hear the low hum of conversation, which meant the family had already begun to gather.
Stepping into the room, she stopped. It looked like it always did—a packed room, with the long mahogany table groaning under the weight of food that would soon be demolished when everyone descended on it like sharks on a feeding frenzy.
Her eyes watered at the competing smells of the older ladies’ perfumes and the men’s cologne. Jade had tried once to get everyone to agree to attend fragrance free, but she’d been immediately shot down by the elders. Despite the fact that wolves had super-sensitive noses, those ladies loved their scents, so Jade had to let it go. Even though every time she hugged her aunt Agate, Jade’s eyes would water and she’d have to stifle a fit of coughing, the overabundance of scent thrived to this day. Jade countered this by trying to stand as far away from the worst offenders as possible.
Since she’d called the meeting, she would have to do the majority of the talking. She remembered the first family meeting at which she had to speak, immediately after her mother had announced her retirement and Jade had been assigned the chore of looking after Libby, the popular and mysterious lake shape-shifter who resided in Forestwood
