They all glanced around the room at each other. Eventually a few pack members shook their heads, followed by more. Eventually it seemed as if everyone had weighed in, and the answer was “No.”
“Wait a minute,” Wendell said. “I think I remember something.”
Roz’s ears perked up with hope.
Chapter 16
Konrad jogged down the staircase, out the door, and down the front steps. Even though it was a cool day, he wore only his black T-shirt and jeans. He stopped at a table set up on the busy street corner. “Morgaine, what’s all this?”
Morgaine nodded toward the table covered with plates of cookies, loaves of bread, cakes, and tarts.
Gwyneth stood in the gutter, talking to a couple of women in a car. She held up one finger to the car behind, which had stopped at the same traffic light and rolled down its window to see what was going on.
Morgaine grinned. “We’re having a bake sale, to help pay your rent.”
Gwyneth backed away from the cars and skipped over to the table.
Konrad was taken aback. “Pay my rent? Why?”
“Because you’re flat broke, sugar,” Gwyneth answered.
“Huh? How did you know? Oh, yeah. You’re psychics.”
“Not only that, but Roz confirmed it for us.”
He tried to keep his temper under control. “I wonder what gave her the idea that I’m a charity case.”
“It’s not charity. We’re not giving youourmoney,” Gwyneth said.
“Minor detail.”
Morgaine laid a hand on his arm. “Look, we wanted to help, so we all put our heads together and hatched this idea. Roz knew you wouldn’t take charity, but you’ve done so much for us—”
Roz?
At that moment, Roz opened the door and came trotting down the stairs with another plate.
“Yes, lover?”
He waited until she arrived at the table. The smell of warm oatmeal cookies wafted up to his nose. “You organized this?”
“We all did.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t you see the eviction notice on your door this morning?”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at the sidewalk. “I saw it. I was going to wait until Jason and Merry got back before I took it seriously.He’sthe landlord, after all.”
“Yes, but we didn’t want Dottie on your case.”
He nodded. “She can be a nuisance. But you didn’t have to do this.”
Gwyneth chimed in. “We wanted to. Besides, it’s fun. It’s one of those things that brings neighbors and kin together.”
The front door opened again, and Nathan jogged down the steps with a few dollars in his hand.
When he got to the table, he said, “Sorry, I don’t bake, big guy. But I can eat my weight in tollhouse cookies.”
