Page 66 of My UnTrue Love
“He’s tricking you! Coyotes arealwayspretending. He’s acting all calm and friendly, but he’s gonna hurt you. And people who know you are gonna have to watch, while…” He stopped short, cringing at the sound of his own words.
Clementine eyed him with compassion. “You grew up in some rough places?” She guessed softly.
Luke gave a jerky shrug, looking everywhere but her.
“In every group, there are nice people and not-very-nice people.” Her voice was soothing and sure. “That has nothing to do with coyotes. There are some muses who are real jerks. They can be so dismissive of artists who they deem unworthy of their time.” She shook her head in disapproval, because she’d never understood that type of snobbery. Offering encouragement was so much more rewarding than slapping someone down. “I try to be a nice muse, but I sometimes think I’m outnumbered by the other kind.”
“You’retoonice.” Luke muttered.
“Maybe. But Bill’s nice, as well. He’s the gentlest man I know.”
Luke seemed highly doubtful.
“I don’t know what happened in your past, but I know for a fact that not all coyotes are dangerous.” Clem assured him. “Trust me. I hang out with two of them and they’re both sweetie-pies.”
The kid scowled, as if he was going to ask what other coyote she knew and then realized she meant him. His face compressed in distaste at being labeled a “sweetie-pie.”
Clementine bit back a smile. “Now, stop worrying so much.” She waved a hand towards the pizza. “Eat!”
Luke hesitated, thrown off by the offer of food. “Yeah?” He asked warily, like maybe the pepperoni was booby-trapped.
“Yeah.” She mocked good-naturedly.
“I really gotta go.” But his gaze was locked on the pizza.
“Please, Luke? Help me out. There’s no way I can finish all this.”
The kid clearly hated wasting food. He grabbed two slices and stacked them on top of each other, so he could bite into them both at the same time. Within ten seconds both were gone, and he was reaching for the next two.
Clementine blinked. Okay. Feeding him was going to get expensive.
Luke was midway through his third helping, when he suddenly went motionless. Not like the cautious way he’d watched Harry. More like his whole body froze in anticipation of a fight.
Clem glanced around and her mood soared. “Bill! You found us.”
Chapter Fourteen
“A deal’s discussed, between us three,”
The middle face proclaimed,
“We’ll un-True your Love, and set you free,
But your life won’t be the same.”
Lyrics from the folk song “Crossroads Coyote”
“Honey, you didgreat.” Clem enthused at Bill, as he came up to the table. “Oh my God, you performed even better than you practiced. Especially the second chorus.”
“All thanks to my manager’s advice.” Bill sat down beside her, but his gaze was on Luke.
Luke seemed nervous. He didn’t look away, though. His jaw was locked defiantly.
Neither one of them spoke to the other.
The interaction reminded Clem of two wild creatures sizing each other up. Well, Bill was sizing Luke up. Luke was preparing for a battle to the death. Clearly, she’d need to mediate.
“Bill, this is our very gifted neighbor, Luke. Luke, this is Bill, my superstar client, and best, best friend.”
