Loch

up in their home for a full month before venturing into town. She could say that she was Pearl’s granddaughter, but should she be offering that information to anyone who asked? What if someone here was secretly working with Trevor?
“I didn’t mean to catch you off guard.” The woman smiled kindly.
Holly had a hard time imagining her wanting to live as a vicious bear with no moral compass.
“I can see you’re busy,” the woman said. “My name is Betty. I run the boutique down the road.”
“I’ve been meaning to stop by.” Holly smiled. “I’m sure I’ll see you later, Betty.”
With a final smile, Betty gathered her bags and left. The next customer stepped up.
“I couldn’t help but overhear. You’re new, right?”
Holly held back a sigh. Without meaning to, she’d set herself up for an involuntary meet and greet with the entire town. “That’s right,” she said. She bagged his items and rang him up before he could ask anything else. She repeated the process until the rush finally died down.
When no one else stood in front of her register, she collapsed against the counter. “That…was intense. I haven’t done that in a good five years.”
“I’m impressed.” Garret laughed from beside her. “That wouldn’t have gone as smoothly if you hadn’t been here.”
“You’ve saved my ass so many times since I’ve met you. It’s about time I’ve returned the favor.”
“If you want a job, all you have to do is ask.”
“Thanks.” Holly stood up straight and stretched her arms over her head. “But I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m happy to get out of the house, but I probably shouldn’t put myself on display regularly.”
“Odd way of phrasing that.” Garret laughed.
“Oh, shut up.” Holly laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“I do. You’re right. We shouldn’t make a habit of being so conspicuous. I hate to think there are people in town we can’t trust, but it looks like that’s the case.”
Trevor came to mind once more. She couldn’t keep him a secret from the others forever, especially when they were putting themselves at risk to protect her. She just needed a little more time…
“Hungry?” Garret asked.
“Starving, actually.”
“Great. If I’m not putting you on the payroll, the least I can do is buy you lunch.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Garret took a few moments to check in with the remaining staff. He instructed them to call him if another rush happened unexpectedly.
With the store well in hand, Holly and Garret made their way to the diner down the road.
Holly had been there once before, on her first day in town. Johnny had taken her there after she had crashed her car into a tree.
Crap! My car! Panic seized Holly’s chest. She’d completely forgotten about her car. Last she heard, no one could figure out what was actually wrong with it. She made a mental note to ask about it later.
Garret opened the door to Robeline’s Diner. Nearly every table and booth was packed. Dozens of heads looked up from their meals as the bright beam of light from the open doorway sliced through the low lit room.
“Garret!” a female voice cried.
A woman bolted up from her table and ran right into Garret’s outstretched arms.
A prickle of jealously made its way down Holly’s spine.
The woman in Garret’s embrace looked at Holly. Her brown eyes went wide with excitement.
“Is this her?” she asked Garret, who nodded.
The woman released Garret only to throw her arms around Holly. “I’m so excited to meet you! I wish I’d known you were dropping by. I should’ve invited you over for dinner ages ago. I’m so sorry.”
“Um.” Holly’s ribs ached as the woman squeezed her tighter. “That’s all right. I’m not offended.”
“Holly, this is my sister, Jess. Don’t worry, she’s always like this.”
“Oh!” Holly felt foolish for being jealous. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Jess released Holly and took a step back. She looked nothing like her brother, which wasn’t a surprise. Garret was adopted into a Silver Spruce founding family after his own family had rejected him when his shifter powers became evident.
Jess was the same height as Holly, if not an inch taller. Her complexion was fair, almost alabaster. Where Garret’s hair had a reddish tone, Jess’s was honey blonde. She was slight. She had the willowiness seen on so many runway stars. Holly wondered if Jess ever modeled.
“Is Mom here?” Garret asked.
“Yeah!” Jess’s entire face lit up with excitement. She was easily the most expressive person Holly had ever met.
Jess looped her arm through Holly’s as if they were old friends and steered her toward the table. She decided right then and there that she liked Jess very much.
“Mom is going to go nuts!” Jess gushed over her shoulder to her brother.
“She’s going to have my hide for not calling enough.”
“That, too.”
As Holly and Jess approached their booth, a woman stood up. She was the tiniest woman Holly had ever seen. She couldn’t have been more than five feet. Aside from the obvious difference in height, she was nearly identical to Jess.
“Look who’s here!” Jess gushed. “It’s Holly!”
“Holly!” Garret’s mother’s eyes went wide. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Garret said sheepishly from behind his sister. “Holly, this is my mother, Grace.”
“Nice to meet you,” Holly offered.
“It’s nice to meet you too, sugar.” Grace reached out and squeezed Holly’s arm. “We’ve heard so much about you.”
Grace peered over Holly’s head to fix her son with that special kind of withering glare only mothers could do. “Didn’t I raise you better than this? You’ve barely called! I can’t remember the last time you came over for dinner. What’s going on?”
"There’s an excellent explanation for that, Mom, I swear.” Garret stepped around Holly and Jess to hug his