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"I know," I repeated

Silence settled over us, not companionable but tense, and I wasn&039;t sure why I had to break it

"Place looks almost the same"

"I don&039;t have the time or the money to redecorate much"

"Is that a hint for a raise?"

"I&039; for a raise Get used to it"

"I didn&039;tby that," I said "I don&039;t have the tiy to mess with my house, either"

"I - " She broke off, took a sip of beer, glanced up at the ceiling, then sighed "I&039;ve done a bit upstairs"

"Oh?"

"I turned Dad&039;s room into an office and I updated mine"

"Got rid of the NSYNC poster?"

"Had to It was e"

"And the Barney sheets?"

"Those, too"

In truth, Grace&039;s roo item in it, unlike mine Those pom-poms, the unicorns, the pink and white lace - let&039;s not even go there I slept in the guest roohtly basis

As a youngster, Grace had collected panthers - her walls papered with ht-stand covered with stuffed replicas and figurines, bookshelf filled with both fact and fiction

This would seem odd unless you were familiar with ancient Cherokee tradition In this matrilineal society, Cherokee children were born members of the clans of their mother There were seven, and Grace had been born to the Blue Clan, otherwise known as the Wild Cat Clan, or the Panther

She took this e e of their clan affiliation had been lost Very fe for certain where they&039;d come froged, then led the way upstairs

Unlikequarters; the second floor, where Grace and her brothers had slept; and the third floor, which had been her father&039;s

Every door on the second level was closed I wondered s or just left theht out of my head e reached Grace&039;s room and she pushed open the door

Gone was every trace of her collection, in its stead a slick, le

The walls had been painted reen The carpet was a thick bed of blue The bedspread brought toacross the reen, had been tossed about haphazardly The curtains, drawn closed over the glass, blended into the wall

Water gurgled - not the drip, drip, drip of a faucet but the sht a new-age CD was playing; then I discovered a miniature fountain behind a screen that resembled a swamp shrouded in moss and flowers the shade of the sunset after a hard summer rain

It even srass and the re I looked around for candles, potpourri, the little electrical-outlet air fresheners, but I didn&039;t see a single one

"This is a," I said

"I feel at horeen curtains over the s, the babbling water, the soft colors, the thick, cushy carpet and quilt, I could easily i, su like an exhausted baby

Maybe I needed to do a little redecorating myself But what kind of room could I fashion that would make me feel at peace when the real lack of peace rested within n me up for the next Dr Phil shoas sick and tired of psychoanalysis Even lanced pointedly at her watch

"Oh! Sorry" I moved toward the door "I know you have to be on the move early toood-byes and I sat in the car that I realized Grace hadn&039;t shown lanced toward the loneon the third floor Instead of shining brightly with cheery yellow electricity as the rest of the house did, that single ed softly, as if lit by a dozen wavering candles

That wasn&039;t safe What if Grace went to bed and forgot to put the I&039;d just ring the bell and remind her, when Grace appeared in the officeShe leaned down to peer outside Seeing me, she lifted a hand in farewell, then drew the shade over the glass

I was antsy on the drive ho the woods for a deer or a lone wolf So about ure out what

Not the secretive way she&039;d drawn the shade It was nighttime; I should close my own shades oing to see anything unless they had a fire ladder or had learned to fly?

What was she doing up there anyway? Why have an office lit by candles? That was the quickest way to ruin your eyes short of poking them with a stick

I shook my head Not my business Grace had always been a little different, which hy I&039;d liked her

I drove past the turn to the lake All the show lights had gone dark; the place seeone in the first place?

My car trailed down the streets of Lake Bluff Any other week but this and we&039;d have rolled up the sidewalks before the sun set But during the Full Moon Festival, people strolled around until ht or later

The ice-cream shop was open, as were the candy store and the cafe Couples walked arhtly lit wagon in the town square Kids raced across the grass chasing fireflies Aa baby stroller -shopped as she slowly ate an ice-creaht of one of Grace&039;s e on the street corners Everything appeared to be under control I only hoped the noise and the lights and the food - the popcorn and the ice cream as well as the people - didn&039;t attract a wolf

Since there was nothing I could do about it short of ordering the streets cleared and the doors sealed from the outside, I took comfort froainst, and she&039;d no doubt warned her people

When I sao additional guards at the end of Center Street patrolling the small open space between the town and the trees with rifles, I pointedhad been done that could be done for now

Seconds later I turned intoSince I&039;d forgotten to turn on a light, it looked downright hostile

I parked the car in the carport, then sprinted for the door, hoping I&039;d be able to get it open before hts timed out

I&039;d just rehts went off with a dull thunk The streetlights didn&039;t penetrate very well up the hill and around the bend; clouds had drifted over the hter, the slam of a door, but that only served to reinenoises that should have been reassuring but weren&039;t For so foolish I knew it, yet my hand still shook as I tried to shove the key into the lock I dropped the key ring onto the ground, the loud clash against the paveh I&039;d been the one to drop the thing in the first place

With an annoyed sigh, I bent, retrieved the keys, and thrust one into the lock My front door swung open onyellow eyes made my breath catch before the vicious hiss made ht scrape of soainst pave In that instant before ht up toand tear out