Next stop was the kitchen. Despite the fact that it was mid-afternoon, there was no sign of Helen or dinner preparations being made. The coffee maker held the dregs of the morning’s coffee and the dishes weren’t done. Something was definitely up; Helen never left her kitchen in disarray. Heading to the message centre on the fridge, Elise scanned the notes and found the answers to everyone’s whereabouts.
Carrie had gone into early labour and John and Helen were at the infirmary with her. Ah! That explained the state of the kitchen. Well, since first births usually took a considerable time, it wasn’t likely she’d be hearing from them anytime soon. Elise thought for a moment and then frowned. The baby was only a few weeks early but still there was always a chance of complications. She crossed her fingers and sent positive thoughts towards the infirmary, hoping both mother and baby would be fine.
The next message was from Kane. He’d been called away to the lake region. A patrol had found something that needed his attention and he wasn’t sure when he’d be back. Relief washed over Elise as she realized she wouldn’t have to tell Kane about Bryan for a while. This was immediately followed by a large dose of worry. What if someone else told him first? The longer he was gone, the greater the risk and the more likely it was that others in the pack would hear the story. It had only been twenty-four hours since she’d met with Bryan, but rumours spread notoriously fast. Putting a stop to it was paramount.
She wished Helen were there. The woman had a level head and would know what to do. Chewing on her lip, Elise searched her mind for someone neutral she could call who might understand her current predicament. Perhaps Sarah...? Grabbing the phone, Elise quickly dialled the familiar number, twirling the cord around her fingers as she waited for a reply. After a dozen rings, she hung up in frustration. Just when she needed someone to talk to, no one was around. Sighing, she wandered through the large, rambling home wishing that the usual steady stream of visitors would start up. Instead, it seemed as if everyone knew that all the ‘important’ people were away and there was no need to stop by for a visit.
Throwing herself into a chair by the front window, Elise scrubbed her face with her hands. Her emotions seemed to be all over the board and she didn’t feel like herself at all. Could it be because of her upcoming heat? Possibly, but the knowledge was of little comfort when she felt like her world was falling apart. This thing about Bryan wasn’t that big a deal, but for some reason it seemed like it was. She felt teary and worried, angry and indecisive. Her stomach kept knotting up and even though she knew it was ridiculous, she was sure her relationship with Kane was in jeopardy. Inelegantly, she sniffled and wiped a lone tear from her eye as she succumbed to self-pity. A nasty rumour was at this very moment probably spreading through the pack, costing her the new friendships she’d just formed and no one was around for her to talk to about it.
A car door slammed outside and she sat forward, peering through the curtains to see who it was. Darn! It was Marla. That was another cause for complaint. The woman was up to something, though Elise still wasn’t sure exactly what. Maybe instead of thinking about what to tell Kane, she should concentrate her energy on figuring out Marla. At least it would take her mind off one problem.
As Marla came up the walk, Elise debated as to whether or not she should confront her about where she was last night, and why she’d been with Ryne. Or should she say nothing so that the woman didn’t warn Ryne? And after all, it was only supposition on her part that Marla had been in the car, even though Elise strongly believed it to be true.
Deciding to say nothing, she wiped her face, grabbed a magazine, and arranged herself into a casual position in her chair. When the door opened, she looked up feigning surprise as Marla walked in. “Oh, hi Marla.”
“Elise.” Marla’s greeting was short, her gaze watchful as if expecting a question.
“How was your day?”
“Fine.”
“That’s good.” Elise felt that they were both tiptoeing around the other. Marla picked up the mail on the table and flipped through it, which Elise felt was a bit presumptuous given that the woman didn’t officially live there.
Setting the envelopes down, Marla suddenly spoke. “I saw you in town today.”
Elise shrugged, “I went in for my shift at the Grey Goose.”
Marla nodded. “I was at the Gallery and you drove by. You were in a different car—a red sports coupe.”
“That’s right. I had to get something fixed on mine and the mechanic let me borrow a car so I could get to work.”