Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,83

be careful,” I said. “I don’t trust him either, but if Rowan had that big of a hold over his head, she can probably keep him in line.” My phone, which I had plugged into the car’s hands-free system, rang. Over the speaker, Jerica—the car’s AI—said, “Rowan Firesong calling.”

“Jerica, answer call and put on speaker,” I said. As the car connected to my phone, I wondered what Rowan had to say. “Hi, Rowan, what’s up?”

“I just got a call from Val. His lawyer offered the owner an all-cash payment. It’s settled. Val threw in an extra five thousand if they could transfer the title today. The lawyers are meeting at the bank in an hour to take care of the paperwork, and the title will be recorded on Monday. Val’s hired a company to bring down the building on Tuesday. Would you like to be there for the demolition?”

“Yeah,” I said, feeling a rush of relief. “I’ll talk to Tad and the others, but we’ll all probably want to be on hand when they tear it down. So make certain Val gives us the correct time.”

“Will do.” Rowan paused, her voice wary. “January, I’d be careful. For some reason he’s taken a fancy to you. He mentioned you several times. When a vampire’s fascinated by you, it’s never a good thing. So just…watch out, okay?”

“I will,” I said, feeling nervous. “Why would he be interested in me? I don’t get it.”

I could hear the hesitation in Rowan’s voice when she said, “I don’t know, but he had a thing for your mother, too. I guess there’s something about the Jaxson women. I’m not sure what the connection is. But she never gave him the time of day. I’ll call you when I know more about the time for demolition.”

As she ended the call, I turned into the parking lot at Lucky’s and turned off the ignition. I unhooked my phone from the Jerica system and turned to Killian, who hadn’t said a word.

“Fascinated by the women in your family? What kind of creep is this guy?” Killian unlocked his seat belt and sat back, sighing. “I don’t like this. Not at all.”

“And you think I do? This gives me the creeps.” I grabbed my purse, stuffed my phone in it, and then stepped out of the car. The parking lot was melting—they had dumped what looked like a wheelbarrow of salt across the ice, but it almost made it slipperier. Killian took my arm and we cautiously inched our way into the diner.

Over breakfast—Belgian waffles, sausage, eggs, and mochas—I tried to forget about the conversation with Rowan. I steered the conversation as far as I could from vampires.

“The carnival opens at noon, I think. Or eleven. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to go, so I’m not sure what to expect.” I slathered my waffle in butter and syrup.

“We’ll find out,” Killian said. He must have picked up on my mood, because he shifted topics, too. He told me he was almost ready to open the practice, but he had decided to wait until after the beginning of the year, to start with a clean slate.

“The city’s approved my business permit, and I’m having work done on the building. Overall, the practice was in good shape, but it needed some fresh paint and a few upgrades. I’m looking forward to getting back to work, though. I really miss it.” He seemed to soften as he talked. “I don’t know what to expect given there are other vets in town, but they seemed friendly enough when I introduced myself. One of them works solely on exotic animals, so he’s not in direct competition. The other is more oriented toward large animals—a farm vet—so the same with him. But we all overlap and I think it will make for a solid balance.”

“You love your work, don’t you?” I asked, cupping my mug in my hand.

His eyes shone. “I do. I love animals—I always have. And I adore cats. Maybe it seems odd, given I’m a wolf shifter, but as much as I like dogs, I prefer cats. My favorite are Maine Coons. They’re so intelligent.”

“I miss having a pet,” I said. “I wanted a cat so bad when I was with Ellison.” I worried my lip. That had been one of the most disappointing moments of my marriage. “It seemed futile to argue with him.”

Killian shook his head. “I don’t trust a person who doesn’t love animals. I know