back toward the house before thinking to glance toward her neighbor's backyard.
There was a privacy fence between her property and Mike and Karen Knight's, but the
deck was raised a good two and a half feet, allowing her a view into their backyard. Elvi
used to stop and talk to them over the fence before the turn, but between not thinking
she could go out during the day and her evenings being taken up with the restaurant,
she hadn't had a chat over the fence since the turn.
A smile curved her lips when she spotted Karen standing beside a basket of laundry on
the other side of the fence. The woman was gaping at her.
"Surprise, huh?" Elvi asked wryly. Of course, as far as everyone knew, she couldn't go
out in daylight. There would be a lot of surprised people in the near future. Karen
wasn't a gossip, so the news of her being out in daylight wouldn't go far until someone
else saw her.
Closing her mouth, Karen abandoned her laundry and approached the fence. "What
are you doing out during the day? Should you be? And are you all right? You look
awfully pale."
"I'm fine. The white is just suntan lotion," Elvi assured her with a laugh. "And, yes, I can
be out here as long as I'm careful. Isn't it wonderful?"
"That's marvelous," Karen grinned, but there was still worry on her face and Elvi knew
everyone would worry at first. They were used to her hiding from sunlight, it would
take time for them to adjust.
"Is Owen working today?" Elvi asked to distract the woman from her concern. Summer
would soon be over and school starting again. She knew Owen would be going back for
one more year to pick up some extra credits, but in the meantime he had a couple of
part‐time jobs in the summer. However, rather than distract the woman from her
worry, the question backfired, making the concern deepen.
"No." Karen glanced toward the house with a small frown. "He doesn't work until later
in the day. He's still sleeping right now."
"Still?" Elvi asked with surprise. It was nearing noon.
"Yes, it's all he seems to do lately," Karen murmured with a troubled expression, then
forced a little laugh and said, "Teenagers!"
"Yes." Elvi smiled faintly. Even Casey had gone through a period where she slept a lot.
"Well." Karen managed a more natural smile. "Does this mean we can expect you at
the fair earlier in the day than you usually come?"
"The fair?" Elvi asked blankly.
"For the Abused Kid's Shelter," Karen reminded her and laughed teasingly. "All those
men in the house didn't make you forget, did they? I hope not. Your booth makes
loads of money."
Elvi's mind slowly recalled what she was talking about. The end‐of‐summer fair. It
started Thursday and ran through to Sunday. Elvi usually had a biting booth and also
baked—
"And your pies, of course. They always sell like hot‐cakes," Karen added. She made a
face. "I wish I could make crust as flaky as yours. You know Mike will insist I buy at
least six and freeze four for later."
"Pies!" Elvi finished her thought aloud in a panicked voice, then catching Karen's
surprised face, explained, "I forgot all about it. Oh, damn! I have to go!"
Whirling on her heel, Elvi raced for the house.
It was late when Victor woke up. He'd spent the better part of the night and morning
watching over Elvi while she slept. The men seemed just as convinced as Elvi that no
one would try to harm her and he must be the target. Edward had even gone so far as
to suggest that perhaps he shouldn't spend time around her since it seemed to be
putting her in harm's way. The hell of it was, Edward was right. If he was the target,
then her being too close to him had got her hurt last night.
Sighing, he rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling. He'd been leaning heavily
toward Edward being behind the attacks directly after Elvi was hurt. The fact that the
immortal had been missing from the parking lot in front of the furniture store when
the first arrow had been launched, not to mention that the men had been home last
night when the second arrow was shot had made him briefly suspect him, but after
thinking about it last night, it just didn't make sense.
Any immortal would know an arrow wouldn't kill another immortal, even if lodged in
the heart. So long as the arrow was removed, the nanos would heal the wound, set the
heart pumping again and the immortal would be fine… unless their head was cut off or
something while they were down.
No, the use of the arrow suggested a mortal to him. It was basically a wooden stake
with flights and a metal tip and mortals might think it would work if shot through the
heart. As far as Victor knew, he hadn't pissed off any mortals lately in Port Henry. He'd