Chapter Nineteen
Taylor held the creamy sheet of paper in one hand. Cliff had been gone when she woke up, but this time he’d left a note behind on the pillow. He’d written the word Cliff, and drawn a heart, and then written the word Taylor. It made her smile, even as her stomach was tied in knots of worry.
She folded it up and stuck it in her pocket.
He’d sworn up and down that he’d be fine. Nobody was in better physical shape than him, and a Dominus werewolf could recover from severe injuries.
But still.
She was sitting on the front row of the bleachers at the finish line, waiting to see if Cliff was actually going to show up in one piece or not. The reality of it was just starting to sink in. He could be seriously hurt. He could die.
Chantelle sat next to her on one side, and James sat on the other. Truman and Rusty were there, guarding Chantelle. Serafina and Dax and Roger were sitting in the same row.
There were booths with food, and the air was thick with tension and testosterone – like being at a particularly contentious sports match between hated rivals. Jerrold’s crew sat on one side of the field, and Cliff’s sat opposite them. Several fights had already broken out. The Hidden Hills Police Department roamed through the crowds, trying to keep the peace.
The Elders sat in the front row of another set of bleachers, listening to two-way radios.
Should I have said I love you?Taylor thought miserably, holding a rapidly cooling cup of coffee in her free hand.Will I get another chance? He couldn’t actually die, could he?
“I’m Team Austin,” Serafina informed Taylor and Chantelle. “I have to be. He’s my favorite uncle.”
“That’s fine. We’re all on the same team, basically. We’re rooting against Jerrold,” Taylor pointed out.
“I’m down with that. What a flaming asshole.” Chantelle said loudly, then glanced at Serafina and cleared her throat. “Sorry. What a flaming…jerk.”
“Oh, Iike I’ve never heard the term asshole before,” Serafina scoffed. She glanced at her brothers. “You’re not allowed to say that word. Deal with it,” she added as they started to argue.
“Chantelle, could you try not to be a terrible influence, for maybe just like five minutes?” Taylor scowled at her best friend.
Chantelle grinned. “I could try, but I’d fail.”
“I like your friend,” Serafina said. “Maybe she could teach me some new swearwords. I’ve lived a very sheltered life.”
“Stick with me, kid, we’ll go places.” Chantelle glanced at a food booth. “Like over there to buy some sandwiches. And chocolate chip cookies.”
“Cookies, you say?” Roger looked at her hopefully.
“You look malnourished. You should have at least five,” Chantelle pronounced. Roger and Dax gazed at her with utter adoration.
“This early?” Taylor frowned at Chantelle.
“You know, we really like you, but we might like your friend a little bit more. Even if she is human,” Roger said solemnly to Taylor, and they headed over to the food booths.
Rusty leaped to his feet, and he followed Chantelle, Serafina and the kids all the way to the food booth. Truman trailed behind them. Taylor couldn’t tell what Chantelle was saying to Rusty, but from the laughter of the children and Rusty’s annoyed look, it probably involved spicy language that she wouldn’t have approved of.
The morning felt as if it were dragging on forever. The hot sun beat down on them, and Taylor dumped out her coffee and got a bottle of ice water and tried not to worry. Loudspeakers boomed out the progress of the contenders. Grant had gone first. He’d passed the first set of obstacles…the second…the third… He was at the finish line, and he’d made it, well under the time limit.
He came back and joined them, drenched in sweat and mud. “Anybody want a hug? Nobody?” he said, as Serafina and her brothers shrieked with laughter and dodged him. He took them to the booths to buy them treats.
“They already had cookies! No more sugar!” Taylor yelled after them.
“Tattle-tale!” Roger complained.
“Donuts don’t have sugar, right?” Grant called back over his shoulder.
“Whatever.” Taylor waved them off. “When it comes time to peel them off the ceiling, you’re on your own.”
Jerrold was next. Unfortunately, Jerrold made it through the obstacle course just fine, and his time was good too – only thirty seconds slower than Grant.
