Carolina Moon

Chapter 5

Lucy

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Lucy had a habit of getting emotionally attached to anything that so much as crop-dusted her on the way out the door.

Still, the disappointment she felt when she opened the barn to the empty bed of straw inside left her ribs aching.

It wasn't because there was any particular reason she should have been sad the wolf was gone. If it hobbled off on its own, then it probably felt better. And anyway, it wasn't like she hadn't planned to call animal control after work. But as she stood there, the first volume of Emmy's werewolf novel in her hand, she felt a hollow loneliness she couldn't explain.

Some silly part of her thought that maybe...maybe the whole experience was a piece of something bigger. Maybe she was just aching for something more to life than coffee beans and a broken heart.

She settled down at the edge of the dock and stared down at the screen of her phone. Lucy found herself doing this often, hoping that a text from David would come through. That she would see a missed phone call or a voice-mail, begging for her to come back. But David hadn't texted once all day. In fact, he'd barely tried to reach out to her at all since the incident. And as much as she hated to admit it, the silence made her feel so painfully worthless.

The worst part was, she had no one to talk to.

Friends were a difficult thing to find in these parts. The vast majority of folks in this town were over the age of fifty, and anyone who still had youth and a purpose in life headed North to Charlotte, or South to Georgia. No one stayed in this place for too long, less they wanted rooted here until the day they died.

That was the problem with emotional attachments when you lived in a place no one wanted to be.

Lucy admired the cover of her novel, frowning at the thought of Emmy. She so clearly wanted to be friends, but she was just like everyone else. A tumbleweed, on the way out of this hell hole.

But she had cared enough about Lucy to let her borrow this book, so maybe that was something.

She had just started to read the first page when Cam's truck pulled up, crawling to a stop beside the barn. He hopped out and chucked a bag at Lucy that nearly slipped through her fingers and fell into the lake.

"What the hell is this for?" Lucy asked, hanging the plastic bag in front of her and examining the inhaler inside. "I haven't had asthma in like six years."

"Yeah and it sounds like you had a panic attack today. You haven't had panic attacks since Dad..." Cam stopped. His jaw clenched. There was suddenly a hardened way about him that made Lucy's chest tighten. There was always a darkness around Cam, but sometimes it was just so easy to see the rainclouds hanging over his head. "Anyway, your asthma attacks and panic attacks used to come hand in hand. So keep it on you."

He started back toward his truck, but that was the thing about twins. Lucy could always tell when something was wrong in Cam's head. She stood to her feet and wrapped her sweater around her. "Cam, what's going on? Did something happen?"

Cam shook his head, but didn't look back as he pried open the door of his truck. "Just lock the place up when you leave."

"I was thinking maybe I'd stay a little longer," Lucy confessed.

Cam stopped. He stepped down from the side-step of his truck and stared at Lucy like she'd lost her mind.

"This ain't a summer home, Lucy. Do you not remember what happened here?"

Lucy frowned. Of course she remembered. The memories of it all had crawled inside of her and sprouted cobwebs over the years. But what if by chance the wolf returned? What if it needed her help?