Belong To The Night. Cynthia Eden

flash of fang before she turned to smile and wave at Millie. “Bye, Miss Millie.”

      “Good-bye, dear.”

      Jamie headed back up the street but laughed when she heard Millie tell Katie, “Stop snarling, pup. I’m sure she meant Snaggle endearingly.”

      Tully was sitting in his parents’ kitchen, eating the last of the key lime pie someone had buried far back in the pantry under a bunch of paper bags and behind several cases of Coors, when his daddy walked in.

      “That was mine,” the cat snarled before he’d even gotten past the doorway.

      “Really?” Tully kept eating. “Don’t think I saw your name on it.”

      Jack’s hand swiped the back of Tully’s head and Tully winced. “You know, the claws were unnecessary, Daddy.”

      Before Jack could attack him again, Millie walked in with Katie.

      “What’s going on?” his momma asked.

      “Daddy started it.”

      The feline hissed before taking one of the bags Millie held. “Get off your ass and help, boy,” he snarled.

      “I’m eating.”

      Katie quickly grabbed the bag. “I’ve got it.”

      “He ate my pie,” Jack accused before carrying the bag into the pantry.

      “Why do you torture him so?” Millie whispered to Tully.

      “‘Because I can’ is just going to get me slapped in the head again, isn’t it?”

      “Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “How’s your morning been so far?”

      “Fine.” He rubbed her arm. “And, Momma—”

      “I don’t want you to fret about your father, pup.”

      “I won’t let him come here and start anything. I won’t let him hurt you.”

      “Sssh, pup.” She eased her palms across his shoulders. “It’s just a little thing.”

      “Not really.”

      “Don’t let Buck Smith do this to you. All you need to remember is that you’re my son. Understand?”

      “Yes’m.”

      “Good.” She kissed him again before stepping away while he poured himself another glass of milk.

      “So I saw that sweet Jamie Meacham in town just a little while ago.”

      “Sweet, my ass,” Jack growled from the pantry.

      “I don’t know what you have against her, Jackie.”

      “She’s the daughter of Satan. And when are we going to get a report back on her, Useless?”

      Tully didn’t answer until a roll of foil slammed into the back of his head. “Ow!”

      “I asked you a question, boy.”

      “I’m working on it.”

      Millie leaned against her kitchen counter. “What report?”

      “Daddy wants me spying on Jamie.”

      “Whatever for?”

      “He thinks she’s up to something.”

      “I’m sure she is,” Millie easily agreed. “But that don’t mean it’s not in the best interest of the town.”

      “I doubt it,” Jack grumbled back.

      “I had breakfast with her this morning,” Tully admitted. “She spent the whole time reading and ignoring my charm.”

      “She must have better taste than that,” Millie said, winning a smile from her son.

      “If I’m going to get any information on her, I guess I’ll have to follow her.”

      “That’s one option,” Millie said. “Or you could try being friendly.”

      “Why would he do that?” Jack walked out of the pantry and stared at her. “Aren’t you going to make me something to eat?”

      “I just fed you.”

      “That was hours ago!”

      Shaking her head, she ignored her husband and stood next to her son. “Well?” she pushed.

      “I don’t understand that word you used. Uh…frrrrrrrr…”

      “Friendly,” she said while tugging his hair and laughing. “Unlike the rest of you people, I’ve actually talked to her. She’s ever so nice.”

      “She calls me Snaggle,” Katie said.

      Tully looked away from his sister and their daddy quickly went to the refrigerator to pull out the makings for a sandwich and hide his laughter all at the same time.

      “She’s only teasing you, Katie.”

      “Don’t sound like teasing to me.”

      “Just try it, pup.” Millie gave Tully another hug. “If you want to get through to her…just be nice.”

      Tully shrugged as he finished off the last of the milk. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

      Jamie’s eyes watered and she held up her hand. “I’m sorry. If you’ll just…I…” Shaking her head, she walked away from the front desk, through the dining room, and into the back kitchen where she found her coven.

      “Someone needs to cover the front desk,” she announced to the entire room.

      Mac didn’t even look up from her notes for that night’s menu. She’d taken over the Smithville Arms restaurant without even discussing it with the rest of them. Not that it really bothered Jamie, but she didn’t like when anyone was presumptuous. “I thought you were covering the front desk.”

      “Hippie alert.”

      Her cousin laughed. “What are they wearing? Rosewater or some obscure incense?”

      “Patchouli oil.”

      “Ohhhh!” her coven sisters said in unison.

      “Not the kiss of death,” Kenny joked while she worked away on her extremely thin, extremely tiny laptop.

      “You know I can’t tolerate that smell. You just know she’s into that whole earth mother crap with her hemp shoes and the too-long-for-her-age hair.”

      “You are in rare form today.”

      “I’m just saying. Ew.” She gave a pleading smile to Seneca. “Please?”

      “All right, all right.” Seneca walked to the swinging door, took several deep breaths, then seemed to hold the last one. “I’m on it,” she said before charging off.

      “Is she really going to hold her breath?” Mac asked.

      “Maybe I should have told her the hippie was checking in a whole pack of people.”

      “Don’t bother her with those little details,” Kenny suggested, probably hoping to find poor Sen passed out from lack of oxygen.

      “Anyone we know?” Mac handed her menu over to her sous chef.

      “Don’t think so.” Jamie walked to the back door. It was always open during the day, even in the winter because the kitchen would get so hot from the ovens. “Name she gave me was Wanda Pykes. After that I couldn’t stand around to hear anymore. Too funky. Besides, what coven would risk coming here?”

      Jamie stepped out on the back porch and stared off. It still always amazed her. The pure beauty of this place.

      “We’re