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

“You should watch that old Jimmy Stewart movie Bell, Book, and Candle. Kim Novak is in it, and she is someone I worship,” Silvia said.

She then went about cleaning up the hair off the floor—the little bits she had trimmed. Audry was about to head to the door when she noticed Silva push Rick’s hair onto the floor with the rest of the cuttings then sweep it up. “Hey! That was—”

“Oops!” Silvia dramatically put a hand over her mouth, her eyes blinking at it. It was such blatant acting, it almost made Audry laugh. “Oh well. Too late now.” And she continued to sweep it all up.

Audry was amazed. Silvia had probably changed her mind and considered what Rick had said. And oddly, Silvia seemed lighter for it. She walked with a little skip.

“Maybe I’ll give them one of Harlin’s hairs instead.” Silvia chuckled as she patted Audry on her bare shoulder. “I can tell them you kept your word. No harm. No foul.”

In that moment Audry wondered if Silvia was in fact being watched most of the time. Perhaps someone from the coven was watching her at the school and had seen Audry interact with her. They might have even seen her interact with Rick. No wonder Silvia always seemed to be under a shadow at NYU. It was most likely the coven didn’t know about the hair salon. Silva had made sure of it. That was why Silvia called it her haven. And Audry had a feeling she should never talk about it with anyone.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Audry murmured with a glance out to the road, looking for Vincent.

Winking at her, Silvia smiled. “Thanks. And come again.”

It was almost perfect timing when Vincent showed up. He paid for the job, leaving a generous tip as he smiled at Audry.

“You look gorgeous.”

Audry blushed. “Thanks.”

“Now let’s go.” He led out an arm, and Audry took it.

Chapter Eight

Audry walked into the Plaza hotel lobby with Vincent. They were directed immediately to the Terrace Foyer of the Terrace Room. Already a substantial crowd was there. And there wasn’t just a buffet. Tables were set out, and musicians were playing.

Vincent led Audry in on his arm with smiles and nods to various people. A great number of them stared back, most of them not recognizing either one of them. It was a good thing Vincent had his invitation in his pocket. He had to show it at the door.

“So…” Audry said, gazing at the lay of the room from the balcony at the side. “Who is it you are supposed to meet?”

Chuckling, Vincent shook his head. “Oh… a handful of people. I know a few here already, but we are stepping into crocodile waters.”

She laughed, nodding.

Indeed, the crowd was eyeing them with critical wonder. He and she were, after all, not frequent visitors let alone members of their society. The Bruchenhauses attended smaller gatherings in more exclusive groups. They were snobs like that.

“Hello!” Up marched a young man with a smiling face, greeting Vincent with familiarity and a firm handshake. “Welcome! This is the first time I have seen you here Mr. Williams. And who is your lovely date?”

Vincent chuckled, leading Audry closer to shake the man’s hand. “This is my cousin, Audry Bruchenhaus.”

“Bruchenhaus?” the man looked to Audry for confirmation, impressed. “As in the Pennsylvania Bruchenhauses?”

Audry shook her head, knowing she was going to get that all night as their second cousins were more famous. “No. That is our great aunt’s family.”

“Ah.” But the man was smiling, somehow more pleased they were not from the Pennsylvania Bruchenhaus clan. And why not? Her second cousins weren’t exactly the nicest people. It was one good thing she could say about her grandfather’s side of the family. They had produced more relatable snobs. 

They were led in further. The man introduced Vincent to various people. They shook hands with and smiled at a lot of strangers. Occasionally Vincent exchanged hearty handshakes with old college friends and former acquaintances from school. He even ran into an old fraternity brother, a posh sandy-haired man who had his wife with him—a man named Stewart McGivens. When Stewart met Audry, he grinned and asked her what she did for a living.

“I just finished my Master’s degree in zoology and animal conservation,” she said.

Stewart laughed. “Really? A Bruchenhause doing that? It must rub your grandfather the wrong way.”

Audry chuckled nodding.

“You should get together with Rick Deacon,” Stewart chuckled, nodding to himself. “He never lets up on that kind of thing.”

Vincent laughed, watching Audry stare at Stewart for bringing Rick, of all people, up. Vincent said, “Does Mr. Deacon ever come to these things?”

Stewart shook his head. “Not at all. The last one he came to was ages ago—and he only came because he was acting a watch dog for Selena Davenport to keep my old friend Ewan away from her.”

“How long ago was that?” Audry asked, curious. “Did you know him?”

Shrugging, Stewart said, “I knew him well enough to leave him alone. And at the last event he came to, I think he was fifteen.”

“Audry knows him,” Vincent said, elbowing her in the side.

Stewart stared, watching Audry slap Vincent’s shoulder. “Really?”

Sighing, Audry nodded, “But barely. I did my Master’s research on his land for the past two years, and we’ve bickered a little about veganism.”

Stewart stared more. “You bickered about what?”

“Audry is a vegan,” Vincent explained, smirking at her.

She pinched him. 

“Ow!” Stepping away, Vincent rubbed his skin. “That was uncalled for. I was just explaining. I mean, we bumped into him this afternoon, for pity’s sake.”

“You did?” Stewart looked surprised. “He’s in New York?”

But his wife patted his shoulder and pointed, “Well, there’s his grandparents.”

Audry cringed, gazing over the crowds to where Mrs. Kim McGivens indicated. Sure enough, the Richardsons were there. And so was Mr. and Mrs. Dell.

“They came,” Audry murmured, thinking more about the Dells. Mr. Dell looked so uncomfortable in his dark suit, and he had an expression like he felt he had crashed a party.

“They usually do,” Stewart said with a shrug. “Mr. Richardson enjoys rubbing elbows with former colleagues, and Mrs. Richardson never passes up an opportunity to…” yet his voice died as his gaze set on Mrs. Dell. “Is that Mrs. Deacon?”

Audry cringed. Was the secret still a secret? Could she say anything?

Vincent peered over though, to see. “I don’t know. I’ve never met her.” He then looked to Audry. “Is that her?”

Stewart whipped his gaze onto her. “You’ve met her?”

Vincent nodded then stiffened, finally remembering his promise to Rick that afternoon. He winced, peeking at Audry apologetically.

Yet Audry murmured, “I suppose if she is here, she has decided to go public with her return.”

“You can’t get more public than this,” Vincent chimed in, still sorry he had misspoken. “Except for a press release.”

“But you’ve met her,” Stewart repeated, taking Audry in more seriously.

Audry nodded, watching Mrs. Dell wander in elegantly, as if she had never left the society. Her husband kept to her side as if she were his pass in. “I met her and her husband at my work this afternoon. I wonder where their kids are.”

“Husband?” Stewart sounded shocked. “Kids?” His eyes searched over there again. “You mean Mrs. Deacon remarried?”

Audry nodded. She wandered in that direction a short distance across the floor, watching the couple carefully. Vincent and Stewart, with his wife, followed closely with her. “Yeah. Rick was at the café with…. Oh… I guess he’s babysitting them now too.”

“You mean he’s in the hotel?” Stewart then looked around for Rick, but his eyes showed a kind of panic, like he really didn’t want to bump into Rick Deacon again. It was as if meeting Rick caused him a great deal of anxiety.

“Maybe they are at the Deacon’s penthouse,” Vincent suggested. “They do have one in New York.”

That was true. Audry had read up on their various homes. They had penthouses and cabins and entire hotels in a number of cities around the world. The New York penthouse location was undisclosed for security reasons. But Audry was sure that Rick would be staying at the penthouse if he was in the city at all. He was the kind of guy who did not like to put people out of a hotel room if he had a space of his own. He was that way at the ski lodge.

“Well…” Stewart murmured after a while. “Rick never liked going to these things anyway, so I doubt he’ll show up here.”

He then led his wife to the buffet, urging Vincent and Audry to come with them.

They met a few other people along the way.

The Criswells were glad to make Vincent’s acquaintance. They were especially glad to see that a Bruchenhaus had come to their ‘soiree’. They even tried to introduce Audry to a young man—an Arthur Cole. But after one look at him, Audry was clinging a little tighter to Vincent’s arm, keeping far from the man. He seemed shady.

Unfortunately Arthur took a fancy to her and started to follow them.

Then they met that friend of Stewart’s—that Ewan he had mentioned. Ewan Steed. The one who had been interested in Selena Davenport.

Ewan was a smug, yet twitchy, man with dark hair who seemed to look over his shoulder a lot. He took one look at Audry, smirked at her, and then talked entirely to Vincent.

“…representing your family. The Steeds and Bruchenhauses have had a long relationship.”

Audry was bored. She left Vincent and walked alongside Mrs. Kim McGivens, collecting fruit onto her plate and a few other buffet items.

“Sometimes I really wish Ewan wouldn’t come to these things,” Kim said. “He’s embarrassing.”

Audry blinked at her. She had not taken this woman as a snob, until now. “What’s so embarrassing about him?”

Blushing that she had been overheard, Kim said, “Sorry. I knew Stewart when he was younger. He was normal back then. But he had a nervous breakdown one summer after Selena Davenport finally pushed him off and she started dating that freaky friend of Rick’s.”

Audry blinked, wondering which freaky friend. But then her mind immediately went to Tom Brown. It was likely. Rick’s other friends could be described as eccentric, but none fit the term ‘freaky’ except Tom.

“Since then, he’d been like stalker crazy. I’m only glad he stopped trying to get Selena,” Kim McGivens said.

Audry remembered her brief introduction to Selena as well. She was intimidatingly beautiful. Entrancing, really. It amazed Audry that Rick had never been that interested in her.

But she didn’t want to think about the Deacons. Unfortunately, it was like his arrival to New York had made it so every conversation was about him. With Harlin, with Silvia, with Vincent, and everyone here. Why?

“That’s an interesting necklace,” Kim suddenly said, peering at the one around Audry’s neck.

Audry pawed her throat then realized she had not taken off the bullet necklace at the salon. Silvia had said nothing about it.

“Why do you wear a bullet as a charm?” Kim laughed.

“Oh,” Audry lifted it up so Kim could see it. “I dug this out of the leg of a wolf last winter. It reminds me that animal cruelty still continues in the world.”

“You dug that out of a wolf’s leg?” Stewart looked at