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Chapter 5

Elijah - Chapter 5

The check seemed to call to her several times a day, and Noelle would go and get it from the safe and just look at it. It wasn't the original check…that one was in the bank in a safety deposit box. This was a copy that she'd asked for. Even a copy of the check seemed to be surreal to her. Smiling as she put it back in the safe, she looked up when there was a knock at the door. Mr. Casen told her she had a phone call.

"But I don't know anyone that would be calling me." He asked her if she wanted him to tell them that she wasn't there. "I'm not sure. Who would it be?"

"I can ask for you, mistress. Perhaps you can come with me to the phone and I can give you some clues."

Nodding, she followed the big man out of the room to the kitchen where she thought the only wall phone was. Not just in the house, but the only one she'd ever seen. He picked up the phone and asked who was calling. She could hear shouting, but not really what was being said. Then Mr. Casen spoke again.

"I see. And Mr. Merrill, how is it that you got this number?" Noelle sat down on the chair and held tightly onto the table as Mr. Casen continued. "I'm not sure why anyone would share that information with you, but I would suggest that you lose this number and never call here again."

She could hear her stepfather then. "I know she's there. I want to talk to her. She's not been back to her place in a while now, and I heard that she was hanging out there. You tell her that it's time she got herself back to work and giving me what she owes me." Mr. Casen asked him what it was that he thought she owed him. "Money, damn it. She got me fired from my job and she owes me a lot of back wages. If she had just kept her mouth shut, I'd have been able to work and collect on some pension money too. She thinks I'm stupid."

"I'm reasonably sure that anyone that meets you can see that without being told." Noelle put her hand over her mouth when she felt a burble of laughter spill out. "Have you considered finding a job of your own? I mean, there are plenty out there. That way you can stop bothering the young lady who has done nothing to you, and have an income as well."

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer." Mr. Casen just rolled his eyes. "What she doing there anyway? She working as a maid or something? Does that pay well? I could use me a few extra bucks this week, you tell her."

"No, she's not the maid." Howard asked what she was doing then. "None of your business. And should you call here again, I will have the number changed. Miss Noelle is no longer any of your concern."

When Mr. Casen hung up the phone, he stood there saying nothing. Noelle got up and pulled two glasses from the cabinet, found some chips, and shoved him into the chair. The man had done something for her that no one had before…stood up to her stepfather.

"He's a bully." Noelle agreed with him as she poured them both some tea. "Why on earth would someone just expect me to give them personal information like that? And to think that he thought you a maid here."

"He has every right to think I would be working as a domestic in a house like this. I'm not really from the kind of clique that Elijah and the rest of them hang out with." She ate several chips before she spoke again. "I missed how he said he got the number here. I mean, I'm guessing by now that he knows for sure that I'm here, but how did he get the number?"

"He claims that he got it from your previous employer. I shall have to look into that." She told him he might be telling the truth. Her old boss had wanted some way to contact her in the event that he needed someone to come and cover her shift. "You won't be working for him again. Will you?"

"No. But he thinks I will. I told him that I'd gotten a better paying job so he'd not question how I could suddenly afford to take off work." Mr. Casen got up and pulled down a big glass jar of cookies. "I can't eat that kind of thing, but you go ahead. Sugary things make me kind of loopy."

"How long?" She told him that she had no idea how long he was going to hope she'd come to work. "No, I mean how long has sugar made you loopy? All your life?"

"Yes. Howard did tell me once when I got all weird after having a slice of cake that my mom should have lived long enough to tell me about it. It was the one and only time that he ever said anything about her. I've never even seen a picture of her." She looked up at him when he continued to stare at her. "What is it?"

"Has Mr. Noah drank from you?" She shook her head and felt her fears tighten her back up. "Anyone other than Mr. Elijah?"

"No. What's going on? Why are you concerned about some sort of allergy that I have? It is an allergy, right? I have some sort of reaction to sugar." He shook his head and sat down. "You're really starting to scare me a little. What is it, Mr. Casen?"

"Witches need sugar to replenish their energy after they are spent. There are a few others too, other beings that need sugar to do the same thing. They drink fruit juices that make them feel better, eat a cookie or two, and can go about their business." She nodded, not wanting him to go on and needing him to at the same time. "Then there are beings that sweets affect them much like you are telling me. Children of vampires that have been born of a mortal human and an old and powerful vampire."

"You think I'm part vampire?" He nodded. "No. That can't be right. I have a normal mom. I never knew who my dad was, but my mom, she was as normal as I am."

Baby, are you all right? She nearly screamed when Elijah spoke to her. Mr. Casen asked her to tell him, to see what he said about it when she told him who was talking to her. Are you in trouble? I can feel your fear.

Mr. Casen thinks I'm part vampire. Or something like that. When he didn't speak, she continued, her fear overriding everything else. He said that because I can't eat sugar, that I might be a child of a human and an old vampire. Why would it matter if the vampire is old or not? Not that I think this is true, but I was just wondering. I mean, had I been a vampire, wouldn't someone have told me?

Old vampires, ones that were born to a pureblooded family, have powers that a great many people don't know about. One of them is that they can breed children with a human that is not their mate. Not all the time, but there have been occasions when it's happened. Does he have any idea how to figure it out? She told him what he'd said about Noah. You should ask him. He might be able to tell you. Not that it matters to me, but it might change a few things for you if you ever want me to convert you to a wolf.

Why? She wasn't sure that she wanted to know that either, but plowed on. I mean, I've never thought of being what you are. A wolf, I mean. But I don't understand why whatever is in my background could change what happens, do you?

Yes. It could change a great many things. The fact that Joe was a day walker for Noah and the powers that he gave her to keep her safe is one of the reasons that Trent hasn't changed her to a wolf. Not that it matters to either of them, but it might do something to the magic they both share. I'm thinking we should look into this. That way we won't run into trouble should it be true. She looked down at the cookies and decided that she was going to eat the entire container of them. But she knew that she'd be sick afterwards, not to mention it would make her feel as if she'd been on a three-day drunk. It's going to be fine, love. I promise you. Whatever it turns out to be, it doesn't make me love you any less.

I've never heard of this before. Is there a place where this is all written down? He told her that he had a book on their kind, but they usually depended on the others to help when something else come up. So they keep things from you too?

No, not usually, but I think the reason that this isn't public knowledge is because of the fallout from it. Can you imagine the problems that would arise for an otherwise normal person to have someone think that they might be a vampire's child? Simply because they don't care for sugar? I mean, every diabetic in the world would be persecuted, don't you think?

Yes, she could see that. Even if it was just a myth that had been going around, people would have taken it as gospel and there would have been a lot of people staked through the heart, much like women had been burned at the stake in Salem all those years ago. So it was decided that Noah would see if it was true or not. Noelle thought that she'd rather not know, but she could see the point in knowing as well.

~*~

Trent stretched, trying to loosen the tight muscles in his back after working on the walls in the building they were renovating. He didn't think they were ever going to get this place up and running at the rate they were going. He looked at his dad when he came in the room with him.

"I found a good place to put that desk you unearthed. Never saw one that big, did you?" Trent said he hadn't. "Anyway, I have some of the pack coming over to get it in the morning. I'm thinking that place over there on Fourth, the one that we decided to hold off on, it might make us a nice little second hand shop. What do you think? There is always people looking for something or another. Might have some fun with that."

"So long as I don't have to mess with it, I don't care." His dad nodded and helped him lift the next board into place. "Joe is going over to Elijah's house after she gets done working with Scott tonight to check on him. After that, she's coming here. Then I think she and I will head up to the cabin for the weekend. I need some time away."

"Good, that's good. I was gonna talk to you about that girl anyway. Noelle, do you think she might object to coming to work for me?" Trent asked his dad what he had in mind. "Well, I got that idea I was just telling you about. And I thought maybe I'd have her scouting around finding things to fill it with. Her and me with your mom, we could go on some hunting trips."

"And what is Elijah supposed to do while you're running all over town with his mate? I'm pretty sure that he's gonna want to be with her as much as he can. Even with him still working, I'm pretty sure that he doesn't want her gone when he comes home. Besides, right now it's not too safe for her to be out and about. Her stepfather hasn't been dealt with yet." His dad nodded but didn't say anything. "Dad, you already asked her, didn't you?"

"Well, it was a good idea, don't you think?" He nodded and had to smile. "Your mom, she was keen on it too. Spending time with a female is a lot more fun for her than hanging with you boys. Even I get tired of you six at times. I know you find that hard to believe, but sometimes I think you boys are just out to make fun of me."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" His dad looked at him. "Elijah will have to know where you're going all the time. And, like I said, just because he goes to work every day like he does doesn't mean that he wants you hanging out with his mate. He might think you're a bad influence."

"What a thing to say to your own father." Trent just laughed. "She's a little bit afraid of me, I think. Not me, just men in general. I blame that on her daddy. He's a real bastard. I can understand it and all about her being put off, but it still ain't nothing I like."

"I saw her stepfather the other day. He's a big man, did you know that?" His dad nodded. "He called the house today too. Earlier this morning. Elijah let me know, and then I called out there and Casen said that she'd taken it all right, but there is another issue that we have to look into." Trent told his dad what Casen had discovered.

"You think that she might be some old vamp's child?" Trent said that he had no idea. "Might be the best thing for her if she is. I know that she's like us now, with all that Joe and Noah juice running through us, but it won't hurt her to have a little extra. That man, Merrill, he might learn to back off if she were to come at him with a little of her own magic."

"It might not be anything." His dad nodded again, and Trent held up the next board while his dad shot screws into it. "Dad, what do you think of what we're doing here? This work that's going into this building? We might not get the project."

An investor was coming into town next week…well, he was one of four that were to come in. Trent had gone to see the city council at their last meeting and had asked to be put in charge of bringing new development to the town. Most of the people, pack included, were having a hard time of it with no jobs to speak of, and people were having a hard time making the few jobs that were there work. He and his family had money, a great deal of it, but they'd worked outside the town and had made their money that way. The ones that lived here, with no desire to travel like he had, were hurting.

"You said yourself that if we can't land us one of them contracts that the building will be put to good use. I was thinking that if they decide that we're too little for them—you know that's a good possibility—we can use this place for some of the downtrodden around town. And putting a little makeup on this old girl will make the city look a little better." The little makeup, as his dad had called it, had cost a great deal to get done. And they didn't even have anyone interested in it right now. "Who you got coming in next week anyway?"

"One of them is a producer for plastic ware. They make all sorts of things at their company, but when I talked to the buyer, he said that if they did come here, they'd be doing one of three things. I don't know what those might be, but that's what he said." Trent held up the final board for his dad to screw in place. "The other two are very hush hush about what they want the area for. I have an idea whatever it is, we're going to need a much bigger place than anything this town could handle. The plastics company said they'd hire five hundred people right off. The other two said they'd only need about twenty-five, as they were fully automated."

"We need the jobs more than we need automated." Trent agreed as the two of them gathered up their equipment. "Noelle and Joe are coming over soon. I forgot to tell you when I was talking to Noelle a bit ago. Joe said you knew, I guess. Noelle is a bit skittish and said she needs to talk to you about something. I told her we were working but could use a break, so to come on over."

Almost as if he'd conjured them, the two women showed up. Joe came to give him a hug and kiss and Noelle looked around. Dad was showing her all the work they'd done to make the building presentable.

"I worked for this man once that was point man for a company that made cereal. I don't think it was any good, the cereal I mean, but they thought they needed to expand." Trent asked her what the name of the company had been. "Good Eats. It was a terrible name, but he said they wouldn't change it."

"I remember them. They came to us, Elijah and I, when they were having trouble. We told them the same thing…that they needed to change their name to start with. I think they went under a few months later." She nodded and moved around the room, touching some of the things they'd found in the rooms when they'd started working. "What does this have to do with our building?"

"Oh. He would go to a place to see if it was a good spot, he told me. And while there, he said that he always looked for the same three things before he even sat down with the town. Cost, of course, but that could be worked through. But he said that there needed to be growth room. If they needed to expand, was there room? Could they expand their parking lot without a great deal of extra trouble? The second thing was a landing strip. There needed to be someplace close that a plane could be landed without a great deal of travel for the big bosses. He said for as much as they hated to travel to smaller towns, they didn't care to spend a great deal of time on the road to get there either." Trent thought they had both of those covered. His family had a strip that was used by smaller planes when necessary, and could be converted into something public if need be. "The third thing was an expressway. Trucks, if they're needed, should be able to get on and off the freeway easily and quickly. He said that the empty buildings, lack of paint, or new doors and windows weren't what he saw, but how the town looked as a place to live and work."

"There's a highway not ten miles from here. And the rest we have covered." When she continued to walk around, he asked her what else. "I think you have an idea, and I for one would like to have an edge when they get here."

"You don't have time to finish it, but I would suggest that you put in a couple of bed and breakfasts that cater to the people coming in. Mark said that he knew it was sort of silly, but he loved the Mayberry kind of mentality when he got to a town. One thing that he told me he enjoyed was when he'd walk down the main street and see the front windows of the grocery store painted with specials. And the local schools that way too. He said it told him that it was a town that came together when necessary." She turned to him then, her face red with embarrassment. "I don't know why I even mentioned it. I'm sure you know much better than I would."

"Doubtful any of us would have thought of windows being painted. But I can see the appeal of it." He looked at his dad. "You remember when we were little and Marshalls had his daughter put the big signs in his window to tell when chicks were in for the spring? And when there was salt in for the sidewalks?"

"I do. Sometimes I'd just go down there to see what she might have come up with." His dad was warming to the idea. "And you know Mrs. Baker, the one that lives down there on Wilson Street? She's been threatening for weeks now to open up her house to some people who needed a place to sleep. Why don't we give her house a nice little once over and have her run it for us?"

Trent's mind was running full steam ahead. The house could use a paint job, and he knew that her lawn needed to be mowed more often than she was able to take care of. It was on his list of things to bring up at the next pack meeting, that they should be caring better for the elderly. When he asked his dad about getting the place spruced up, he told him he had it covered. Trent looked at Noelle and smiled.

"I need you to come and work for me. For a few weeks anyway." She was shaking her head. "Not forever. But until we can get some growth in this town. You have a good head on your shoulders, and I have a feeling that you have a lot more ideas than you just suggested to us."

"I don't know what you want. I just told you what someone else told me." He nodded, already thinking of other ways she could help him. "You have that look in your eye. The one your mom has right before she suggests something that I'm probably not going to like."

"You'll love it. And on top of that, I'll owe you. These are ideas that are going to give us an edge we might not have had before. This town needs the business, and you helped me in that area." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Having the pack leader owe you something is a great thing. You will be the envy of everyone."

When Joe snorted, he turned to look at her. Before he could ask her what that meant, she stiffened by the window. Without a word, he looked over her shoulder and saw the three men walking down the sidewalk. Howard Merrill and his sons were out and about, and no doubt looking for trouble.

"Joe, why don't you and Noelle stay up here while I go and see what they might want?" She said that she could do that, but before he could tell Noelle that Howard was there, she looked out the window and saw for herself. "I'm going to have Elijah come here to be with you. I want you to wait here for him so that they can't hurt you."

"They might hurt you." He didn't tell Joe that there wasn't any way for them to do that, and said nothing when she put her hand on his arm. When she stood in front of him, he waited to see what she said.

"What do you want to do, Noelle? We'll support you in any way." Noelle looked up at him, and Joe said her name again. "He will as well. He might not like it. I'm pretty sure he won't, but he'll support you in it. Whatever you decide."

"They can't continue to run my life." Joe said that they thought they could. "I don't want them to think that. I don't even want them near me anymore. What right does he have treating me as if I'm his automatic bank? I have things I want to buy too."

"So you want to go and ask him that?"

Trent didn't think that was such a good idea, but didn't say it out loud. Instead, he reached for Elijah.

She needs to do this, I think. She has bad dreams thinking of all the ways that her father will hurt us or her again. I think if she could stand up to him, then she might feel better about herself. Trent asked him if she should do that alone. Hell no. I'm nearly to her now. I'm coming in the back of the building. I'm just me for now, but I'm going to protect her with my wolf if I need to.

Before he knew it, he was following his wife and sister-in-law down the stairs to where Elijah was just coming in the building. Trent thought that this was going to be epic, if no one was killed over it.

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