“I’m surprised you didn’t sense my mood from a mile away.” Laurie leaned into Melinda’s outstretched arms and hugged her. It felt good. Home. Right. Like they knew each other well and hadn’t spent the first twenty-five years of Laurie’s life separated with no knowledge of the other one.
Melinda released her and held her at arm’s length. “We have a strange connection, but I’m also blocked from you at times. It’s weird, especially considering I doubt you know how to control it.”
“That’s for sure. I’m still trying to understand even the most basic parts of this craziness.”
Another woman came in from the back room and smiled. She held out a hand. “You must be Laurie. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Sherri.”
“Nice to meet you.” Laurie shook her hand and liked her instantly. Just touching Sherri gave her insight into the woman’s character. She was kind and friendly and warm. How the hell could Laurie surmise all that so quickly?
She shook off the weird feeling of getting into Sherri’s head and followed Melinda toward the front door.
Melinda turned to Sherri. “We’re going to get coffee. You okay here?”
“Of course.” She waved them off. “Go. Enjoy. See you later.”
Ten minutes later, Laurie sat across from Melinda in the cutest coffee shop she’d ever seen. It wasn’t a chain store. It was a family-owned one-of-a-kind. She took a sip of her latte and blew out a long breath. “I feel as though all sorts of weird things are happening to me at once. It’s unnerving.”
“I’m sure.” Melinda wrapped her hands around her mug and blew on the contents before she took a sip. “Take it one day at a time. I’ll help you as much as I can. Mimi will too.”
“It’s like Destiny has a hand in this. She meant for me to be in this place at this time with you.”
“Yes.”
“And She is also trying to get me to go back where I came from. The juxtaposition of feelings is overwhelming.”
Melinda furrowed her brow. “How so? What makes you think you aren’t meant to be here?”
“Well, I can’t get a job for starters. Not in Cambridge or Sojourn. And I love what I do with kids. It will devastate me if I have to stop working.”
“What do you mean? It’s only been a few days. Something will come up.”
Laurie shook her head and chuckled sardonically. “No. It won’t. Word has spread that I’m a half-breed who’s shacking up with two men. No one in either town wants a polygamist teaching their kids—not to mention someone of mixed race.”
Melinda gasped. “Did someone say that to you?”
Laurie nodded. “Verbatim. I started looking for work in Cambridge, and when I got shunned, I switched to Sojourn. By the time I got to the third preschool this morning, the woman had already been called and warned of my impending arrival.”
“No way?” Melinda sat up straighter, rigid.
Laurie nodded. “Way. And the lady had no problem telling me how unhappy the town is with my arrival.”
“Shit. That’s whacked. How come no one has ever approached me?”
“Seems like they weren’t so sure about you and your love life. Nor were they sure about Rebecca. Or maybe they turned a blind eye since you own your business and Rebecca’s a nurse they can ill afford to lose in the area. In any case, they don’t want some half-red polygamist working with their impressionable young children.” She giggled at her unintended pun. “And when I say ‘red’, I guess that goes for both sides—my redheaded Caucasian side and my red-blooded Native side.”
Melinda slumped in her seat. “Lord. We need to do something.”
“Like what? Change the laws?” Laurie chuckled. “I hardly see how there’s any way out of this problem.” She slouched in the chair and lowered her face. “Corbin’s going to take flack at work soon, and Zach’s entire family could suffer a financial devastation from this hit on their character.”
“Don’t get carried away now. I’m sure Carlie and Adam can take the heat. And Corbin’s boss is a shifter. So is Trace’s at the precinct in Cambridge. That helps tremendously.”
Laurie took a drink of her coffee and tried to imagine how this was possibly going to work out. She couldn’t stand the idea of people harassing her or her mates for the rest of their lives.
At no point in her twenty-five years had she ever been subjected to racism or any other ism. And it felt awful.
She changed the subject. “So what do you think about the spirit appearances? I’m late to this party.”