“That would be me,” she agreed, flashing her sweetest smile and feeling a swift stab of pleasure in his quick intake of breath. Might as well fight fire with fire. She knew how to use charm, too. “Honestly, though. If I did know anything—and I’m not saying I do—what makes you think I would confide in a total stranger?”
He shook his head, appearing unimpressed. “Honey, answering a question with another question isn’t going to make me forget I asked. If you won’t tell me about your lake monster, can you please point me to one of your relatives who will?”
Ignoring the thrill at his no doubt unintentional endearment—with a Southern accent like that, he probably called everyone honey or sugar or something—she shifted uneasily in her seat. While there wasn’t some kind of rule forbidding talk about Libby, her family also had a kind of tacit understanding the topic was off-limits to strangers.
Which this man, no matter how handsome, was.
“I’m a photojournalist,” he reminded her. “The fact that everyone keeps putting me off just makes me want to dig deeper.”
Nodding, she considered. Since they were both shifters, though she had no idea what he became when he changed, he’d know there were rules governing not revealing anything like this to humans. In other words, he couldn’t do it. As a shape-shifting wolf, she was Pack. The Pack was the largest group of shape-shifters and their wolves outnumbered all the other animals combined.
Pack Protectors policed this policy and the repercussions were severe. Maybe he reported for some internal magazine or newspaper, meant only to be viewed by their own kind. Though she’d never heard of such a thing, it could exist.
Still, she needed to know. “You say you’re a photojournalist. Who do you work for?”
A flash of surprise registered in his handsome face. “You’ve never heard of me?”
Tilting her head, she studied him. “Apparently not. What was your name again?”
“Rance Sleighter.”
“Nope, I haven’t heard of you. Should I have?”
He grinned. “I guess I deserved that. I used to work for National Geographic magazine. These days, I freelance.”
“For the general public?” she persisted.
“If you mean humans, yes. I also have done photo spreads for shifter magazines as well as a few vampire ones. Basically, whoever is willing to pay me.”
“And this story? The reason you’re here? Who is it for?”
A shadow crossed his face, so quickly she might have imagined it. “A friend,” he said. “Someone very close to me.”
Then maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t so bad. Yet shifter or not, she wasn’t sure she wanted to share Libby with outsiders.
“Let me speak with my family,” she said, merely to stall him. She’d have to call a family meeting to figure out how to best deal with this. “Can you come back another day?”
He eyed her. “Tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I can round everyone up that early.”
At this, he took a step closer. Close enough for her to smell the light masculine scent of whatever soap he used. “You make it sound like you need to call a board meeting. I’m just asking questions about a lake monster, not wanting to purchase stock in the town’s largest business.”
Chin 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