The Vegan and the Wolf by Julie Steimle (red white and royal blue hardcover txt) 📕

That was her father’s view also. It surprised Audry he thought the same.

“Just… if you have to relate the incident—as I know you do that kind of thing on your blog—change names and don’t give hints to the identity of the people,” he said. “My mom has had it rough, and I want her to live a happy peaceful life.”

“So why did you let your grandparents know where she was now?” Audry asked.

He chuckled painfully, glancing back. “Yeah… it’s selfish really. I just wanted contact with my mother again. And I knew if they knew I was visiting her behind their backs, they’d hire private detectives to follow me to find out where she lived, and they would harass her to move back to New York—”

“Which is what they are doing anyway,” Audry interjected.

Nodding painfully, Rick said, “Nearly. But in this situation I am letting them know that if they mess with her autonomy, they are messing with me and the company that is behind me. If I had gone behind their backs (as they would see it) they would have acted like we were at war and disregarded everyone’s feelings but their own. This way they know ahead of time that I don’t like their meddling in my mother’s life. I consider this a preemptive strike.”

“But that’s still war,” Audry muttered.

“True,” Rick said, sighing. “But I have the upper hand now. They are all about image. And if they harass my mom after I have told them not to, they will look like total pricks. And to them that counts.”

Audry understood. People who cared more about image than what was good or evil were easily manipulated if you knew how to phrase things. Yet thinking of preemptive strikes, Audry said, “I have to tell you something. Different subject.”

He stared, waiting.

“My ex-boyfriend is looking for you.”

Chapter Six

“Your what is what?” He stared like she had just told him he was a purple anteater.

Sighing, Audry repeated it. “My ex-boyfriend. The one who used to have a ringtone like yours that played Hungry Like the Wolf? He decided I dumped him because of you.”

“Did you?” He looked a little surprised if not a tinge hopeful. His cheeks colored.

Moaning, Audry shook her head. “Only in that I realized that he was just a player with no intention of marrying me—and, yeah, that was after I heard your ringtone and you had made that comment.”

But he looked flattered, even impressed. He nodded appreciatively. “Smart girl. Mrs. Gruber thought he was scum. She kept telling me I should ask you out.”

“Oh my gosh…” Audry groaned, and for a lot of reasons. “You…! That woman!”

“Ah, don’t mind it,” Rick said, chuckling. “She was always trying to set me up with somebody or other. If not you, then there was a girl in the nearby town she approved of.”

Despite the fact that he did not verbally distinguish between a girl and a woman, the thought that Mrs. Gruber approved of her as a wife for her boss was kind of flattering. But it was also meddling. And Audry didn’t like the idea of marrying into money… let alone a man who could never be a vegan (which apparently he had been sincere about and wasn’t just being snarky).

“So… anyway, I wanted to warn you my ex has gone psycho and blames you for us breaking up,” she said. “Yesterday I saw him grilling Silvia Lewis over where you had gone, and then he asked me.”

All the color in Rick’s face had drained as he stared at her. He nearly whispered out, “You know Silvia Lewis?”

He actually looked scared.

Audry gazed squarely at him as she said, “Yes. She’s a member of our Green Club, though honestly I have no clue why she is in it as she doesn’t actually seem concerned with the environment. She also admitted she knew you when Harlin was harassing us to get your location.”

“Harlin?” Rick said the name with a twist of his neck. “Is that a name?”

“My ex—” Audry explained.

Rick busted up. Shaking his head it then switched to a nod. He didn’t say much else, seemingly unable to.

Audry folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

When he finally was able to regain control of himself, Rick laughed out, “Ok… so your ex. How does Silvia know your ex?”

“She dated him once too,” Audry replied tersely.

Rick sobered up quickly as he said, “It couldn’t have been serious if he’s still alive… unless she dumped him.”

Audry pulled back and stared at him. “Tell me you are joking.”

Coughing, Rick straightened up and sobered more. “Uh, I was being a little facetious. But only just. Silvia is a dangerous person. I would not recommend being in close company with her.”

“Such as giving her a ride in my car?” Audry asked. Her skin crawled a little. She instinctively had felt it had been a bad idea, though nothing had happened.

Rick eyed her sharply, not so much because of her but at what she was implying. “Did you give her a ride recently?”

Shrugging Audry was about to reply, but Rick cut her off.

“Because I wasn’t joking about her being dangerous,” he said. “I know her very well. Her older brother is my good friend. She’s his half-sister. She—”

“She told me all that after I realized she knew you,” Audry said.

Rick seemed winded for some reason. He stared uncomfortably at Audry for a full minute before he finally asked, “What else did she tell you? You did say she admitted to knowing me. What did she say?”

Rubbing her forehead just between her brows, Audry cringed. “Honestly… I can’t really wrap my brain around the things she said. Besides saying her father works for your father—the rest….”

Drawing in a breath, Rick understood. He peeked around and whispered, “You mean, she told you about the coven.”

Audry lifted her blue-green eyes to his gray ones. As always, there was something feral in his gaze, almost wolfish. But she knew from the look in his eyes that he believed in the existence of witches, regardless of what form they took.

“I just don’t believe in witchcraft—”Audry said.

“Hey!” Her boss walked up to them both. “I’m not payin’ you to flirt with the customers. Unless this is your dirt-bag ex.” The man’s eyes rounded on Rick—who immediately lifted up his hands and backed off not unlike a young wolf submitting to the Alpha of the pack.

“I’m not her ex,” Rick said. “Just an old acquaintance. And she was trying to persuade me to order something vegan.”

“You can’t,” Audry hissed to him. “Most of our vegan dishes have garlic or honey in them.”

He shot her a quick look. Then he nodded. “Mrs. Gruber told you that too.”

“She told everyone,” Audry said again.

“Whatever,” her boss said, eying Rick up. “You need to get back to takin’ real orders.”

Audry nodded.

“Can I talk to you later?” Rick asked, still looking concerned. “You know, about Silvia, and what she may have said.”

Sighing, Audry cringed at the idea. Yet, she wanted some kind of sane closure.

Her boss was waiting irritably for her to get back to work.

“Later,” she said.

Rick nodded. “When do you get off your shift?”

“In an hour,” her boss said, arms folded and a nod to him.

Nodding back, Rick smiled. “Thanks.”

He then turned to go back to the group, though before he reach them he said, “Jessie and Claire want two gelatos. Make them chocolate.”

Audry chuckled, nodding.

Her boss followed her in as she went to get the dessert. “That guy’s famous, isn’t he? I know I’ve seen his face somewhere.”

Blinking, she looked to him then nodded, wondering who he thought Rick was.

“He’s rich,” Audry said, getting the paper cups and wooden spoons. “The heir to Deacon Enterprises.”

Her boss’s eyes widened. “How’d you get to know a big wig like that?”

Shrugging, she said while getting the ice cream scoop and dipping it in the warm water to make it easy to serve, “I worked on my Master’s on their wildlife reserves.”

“Huh.” Her boss seemed impressed. “Give him a calzone on the house.”

Audry chuckled, shaking her head. “I can’t. He’s allergic to garlic.”

Turning to her, he made a face. “Who in the world is allergic to garlic? You know, besides vampires?”

Laughing, Audry nodded. Who indeed?

When Audry brought out the gelatos, Rick was not there, and neither were his grandparents. Perhaps they had gone off for a more private discussion. Mr. Richardson never did get to eat his sandwich, though she had sent in the order and brought it out with gelatos.

“You can put that in a doggy bag,” Mrs. Dell said kindly. “We’ll still pay for it.”

Appreciating that, Audry went to get the cardboard container for the food. When she returned there was Harlin on the sidewalk, looking for her.

He saw her immediately. “Audry.”

He rushed up to her, but Audry maneuvered around him, bringing the take out container to Mrs. Dell.

“Go away, Harlin,” Audry said. “I’m working.”

Mrs. Dell kindly took the carton, but her eyes inspected Harlin carefully like a woman who knew what a predator looked like. She nudged her husband and whispered to him. The man straightened up and gazed expectantly to Audry for any signal that she wanted assistance.

“Can we have the check?” Mr. Dell said, speaking loudly to let Harlin know she was not alone.

Audry nodded to them and went back into the café.

Harlin followed her. “Audry, I just want to take you to lunch.”

“I’m not going to lunch with you,” Audry said loudly for her coworkers to hear. “We broke up.”

“Jerk alert,” Missy Gates called out.

Several in-café heads perked up. Her boss looked in.

“Stop saying that,” Harlin protested. “We were in love. We’re just on the outs because of that rich boy.”

Audry halted, glaring at him. “No. Moron. Read my lips. It. Is. Over. The only feeling I have for you is disgust.”

“You don’t mean that,” he said.

“I mean it one hundred percent,” Audry said. “I am getting a restraining order so you have to stay away from me.”

He laughed. “You are not. That’s an empty threat.”

Audry shook her head. “Not. My cousin Vincent came by yesterday after you left, and he took me to the courthouse to get the personal protection order. And I will celebrate when it has been served.”

Harlin grabbed her arm. “What?”

“Let her go.”

Turning around to see who was interfering, Harlin stood face to face with Mrs. Dell who gazed up like a delicate doe before a rabid beast. Her husband was outside looking around for her, her kids with him.

 “Shut up you b—”

Mrs. Dell pulled a tazer out of her purse and pressed it against his arm.

He dropped to the floor.

Several people clapped, including Missy and Audry’s boss.

Gently pulling Audry aside, Mrs. Dell whispered while pushing the inactive tazer into her palm, “You might need this later. I find it helps to have something readily available.”

And she walked away.

Audry hurried in to get the bill. She rushed out after the woman to her table where they were all getting up to leave. “Wait!”

Mr. Dell smiled and took out his wallet. He reached for the bill.

Handing it to him, Audry held out the tazer to Mrs. Deacon, “I have pepper spray.”

Grinning, Mrs. Dell nodded, but she pushed the tazer back into Audry’s hand. “Pepper spray only angers the beast. This