Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,12

her too.”

“It’s better to be around pack when you’re scared.”

Setting her daypack on the floor, Jesse gave Rachel a hug. “You’re right about that.” She stepped back and picked up her pack. “Can you look after things out here? I need to make some calls and handle some paperwork.”

“You need to call Tolya Sanguinati,” Rachel said. “He said I didn’t need to fetch you, but you should call him as soon as you were done with Abigail.”

Jesse went to her office, which wasn’t more than a corner of the back room that had been sectioned off with partitions and a long curtain that was usually tied back but took the place of a door when she needed some privacy. She turned on the lamp and stared at the phone.

Part of her wished she could send a direct e-mail to Steve Ferryman, the mayor of an Intuit village located on Great Island. But there wasn’t direct access to anyone in the Northeast Region. Probably just as well. She wasn’t in charge of Bennett, wasn’t the leader. Whether Tolya Sanguinati chose to resettle the town was his choice, not hers.

Tolya had taken over the mayor’s office as his workplace, so she dialed that number.

“Tolya Sanguinati.”

How many people felt a chill when they heard “Sanguinati”? “It’s Jesse. Rachel said you called.”

“Yes.” A beat of silence. “We have been fortunate that the young humans who have come to Bennett to assist in sorting the possessions of the former residents have been cautious around the terra indigene. Adding too many humans too quickly might cause … tension.”

“Might provoke your new sheriff or his deputy into biting first and asking questions later?”

“That too, but I was more concerned about the Elders and whether they would see a town full of humans as an … invasion.”

Jesse braced her head in one hand. The Elders had killed every man, woman, and child in Bennett a few weeks ago. They could, and would, do it again if the humans weren’t careful. “We still need more people to sort through possessions; we need people to try to find the heirs of anyone who left a last will and testament. There’s a need for people to work the ranches.”

“I don’t disagree, Jesse Walker, but I have discussed the possibility with Virgil Wolfgard of more humans settling in Bennett, and we agree that the Elders will not react well to there being more humans than terra indigene living in the town.”

“More Wolves working in the stores?”

“No.” Tolya’s voice held regret, reminding Jesse that he had known Joe Wolfgard, the previous leader of the terra indigene settlement near Prairie Gold. “No, there aren’t enough Wolves left who are willing to work around humans. Virgil and Kane are here because the rest of their pack was lost. There was no reason for them to remain in their old territory. Other forms of terra indigene would come to fill the empty spaces, learn human kinds of work.”

“Forms as deadly as the Wolves and the Sanguinati?”

“Yes.” Tolya waited, then asked, “Do you still want me to inquire about arranging for more humans to come to Bennett?”

Did she? Bennett’s population had been contained by the boundaries of the land leased to humans and, equally, by the amount of water the terra indigene had been willing to include as part of that lease.

“Let me review my list again. I truly believe we need to populate Bennett, but doing it in stages might be a wiser way to go about it.”

“Very well. I will wait to hear from you.” Tolya hung up.

Jesse set the receiver in the cradle and leaned back. She felt strongly that she was making the right choice for Prairie Gold, but she didn’t know if she was making a choice that the people coming to Bennett could survive.

* * *

* * *

When Abigail came out of the washroom, the glass had been swept up and the floor cleaned of any residue left by the candles she’d mashed. Kelley stood in the doorway between their two shops. When they’d first arrived in Prairie Gold, they’d taken whatever had been available for work space and a place to live. They couldn’t afford to pay for two shops, so they’d divided the display space of one by putting up a wall and doorway. The back room, which was a common workroom, hadn’t been separated. Didn’t need to be. She’d stayed away from his half of the room.

“I’m sorry I upset you,” Kelley said, staying in the doorway. “That