Savage Sanctuary: A Dire Wolves Mission (The Devil's Dires Book 2) by Ellis Leigh Page B
Authors: Ellis Leigh
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day, but steady. She’d have to try another comfort food item for a special next week. Maybe chicken-fried steak or roasted turkey. The holidays were long gone. Her customers could be missing those fall smells. Definitely something to think about…after she closed up for the night.
Almost an hour after she’d flipped the open sign to closed, there were still people sitting in the booths and at the counter. A sure sign she was doing something right with her business. This tiny, vintage building where she’d set up shop had become her favorite place to be, too. It was where she felt the bonds to her community grow and strengthen. Where she felt she had a voice, an opinion that mattered. This restaurant was her home, and the customers her own tiny, mixed pack.
Humans and shifters alike visited her little diner in the mountains. The shifters stayed polite and calm, not wanting to upset the humans or the daughter of the local Alpha. The humans…well, they were a bit clueless about the genetic makeup of the people scattered around the cozy restaurant, but that worked in their favor.
There were five men at various seats when Amy grabbed the coffeepot for one last fill-up. Well past closing and still they sat, reading papers and books, staring at phones, or just holding on to a coffee cup and watching the snow-covered world go by outside her large front windows. She couldn’t decide if she should sigh or smile, though her lips were already pulling up. This was what she loved, the taking care of people, the building relationships and making new friends. But it had been a long day, her feet hurt from walking about forty miles over the tiled floor, and she really wanted to go home.
“Last call, gentlemen.” Amy circled the tables, heading for the few occupied seats. “Sheriff? One for the road?”
“Yes, thank you.” The big, burly man sat back to give her room to pour. He’d been coming to the diner since the day she opened, and she knew he was a huge reason why the other residents in town flocked to her as much as they did. Shifters tended to make humans nervous—the whole “no longer the top of the food chain” instinct kicking in when they met. But the sheriff had been unafraid, and he’d put the townspeople at ease with his casual acceptance of the place. He may have rubbed her the wrong way with his treatment of Yvonne, but Amy would always be grateful to him for helping her get started.
He took a sip and hummed his appreciation. “Good coffee as always, Amy. And the meat loaf was excellent today.”
She couldn’t have held back her grin if she’d tried. “Thank you. It’s a family favorite, as well.”
Big mistake, mentioning the family. She knew better than that. She was about to move on to the other customers, escape while she could, when he sat back. The look on his face, that inquisitive, searching stare, was not what she needed right then.
“How’s your family doing?”
Amy’s smile faltered, but she tugged it back into place. Sheriff Rodman had always been a bit curious about Amy’s kin up in the woods. Lots of townspeople were, really. And while Amy could see how her family’s life could be viewed as unconventional by human standards, she didn’t always like the tone people used when asking. They’d start off curious but end up almost accusatory. As if choosing to live a life away from the vast majority of the population was somehow wrong.
“They’re good, sir. I was just up there the other day, visiting.”
He nodded and took another sip of his coffee before continuing. “Must be difficult reaching them, what with the amount of snow y’all have gotten up there. Where exactly is that road to the property? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”
And there it was—the digging, the curiosity, the slight look of disbelief in his eyes. Sheriff Rodman had been trying to get information about her family’s place ever since she’d moved into town. Too bad for him she knew what he was
Almost an hour after she’d flipped the open sign to closed, there were still people sitting in the booths and at the counter. A sure sign she was doing something right with her business. This tiny, vintage building where she’d set up shop had become her favorite place to be, too. It was where she felt the bonds to her community grow and strengthen. Where she felt she had a voice, an opinion that mattered. This restaurant was her home, and the customers her own tiny, mixed pack.
Humans and shifters alike visited her little diner in the mountains. The shifters stayed polite and calm, not wanting to upset the humans or the daughter of the local Alpha. The humans…well, they were a bit clueless about the genetic makeup of the people scattered around the cozy restaurant, but that worked in their favor.
There were five men at various seats when Amy grabbed the coffeepot for one last fill-up. Well past closing and still they sat, reading papers and books, staring at phones, or just holding on to a coffee cup and watching the snow-covered world go by outside her large front windows. She couldn’t decide if she should sigh or smile, though her lips were already pulling up. This was what she loved, the taking care of people, the building relationships and making new friends. But it had been a long day, her feet hurt from walking about forty miles over the tiled floor, and she really wanted to go home.
“Last call, gentlemen.” Amy circled the tables, heading for the few occupied seats. “Sheriff? One for the road?”
“Yes, thank you.” The big, burly man sat back to give her room to pour. He’d been coming to the diner since the day she opened, and she knew he was a huge reason why the other residents in town flocked to her as much as they did. Shifters tended to make humans nervous—the whole “no longer the top of the food chain” instinct kicking in when they met. But the sheriff had been unafraid, and he’d put the townspeople at ease with his casual acceptance of the place. He may have rubbed her the wrong way with his treatment of Yvonne, but Amy would always be grateful to him for helping her get started.
He took a sip and hummed his appreciation. “Good coffee as always, Amy. And the meat loaf was excellent today.”
She couldn’t have held back her grin if she’d tried. “Thank you. It’s a family favorite, as well.”
Big mistake, mentioning the family. She knew better than that. She was about to move on to the other customers, escape while she could, when he sat back. The look on his face, that inquisitive, searching stare, was not what she needed right then.
“How’s your family doing?”
Amy’s smile faltered, but she tugged it back into place. Sheriff Rodman had always been a bit curious about Amy’s kin up in the woods. Lots of townspeople were, really. And while Amy could see how her family’s life could be viewed as unconventional by human standards, she didn’t always like the tone people used when asking. They’d start off curious but end up almost accusatory. As if choosing to live a life away from the vast majority of the population was somehow wrong.
“They’re good, sir. I was just up there the other day, visiting.”
He nodded and took another sip of his coffee before continuing. “Must be difficult reaching them, what with the amount of snow y’all have gotten up there. Where exactly is that road to the property? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”
And there it was—the digging, the curiosity, the slight look of disbelief in his eyes. Sheriff Rodman had been trying to get information about her family’s place ever since she’d moved into town. Too bad for him she knew what he was
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