“I know.” It could be nothing more than Frances being unhappy and lonely. She’d been uprooted from her home in Toland and had limited contact here with the children she could play with. Even now, the apartment was a temporary home, one her family could lose at any time. This could be nothing more than a somewhat introverted child wanting to feel settled. Or she could be in real danger of being pimped by her own brother.

Monty picked up the beer and drained the bottle.

“What are you going to do?” Pete asked. “What would you do if we were talking about Lizzy?”

“Talk to Eve and Ruth so they’re aware of a potential danger. Talk to Karl and Michael in an unofficial capacity.” Monty released his breath slowly. “And talk to Simon and Vlad about when human behavior requires intervention regardless of the age of the humans.”

“Before or after the potluck dinner?”

“After. No point getting everyone stirred up just before they’re supposed to sit down together for a meal.” But he’d ask Leetha Sanguinati to let him know if Jimmy, or Clarence, had any visitors.

• • •

Skippy arrived at the Market Square before Simon, Meg, and Sam. So had Nathan and Blair, but they were outside Meat-n-Greens, blocking the door to keep the juvenile Wolf from dashing inside and making a grab for some of the food.

“Pup, did you tell him about this meal?” Simon asked Sam.

“No. Maybe. A little. But that was before Meg told me everyone had to look human.”

Spotting them, Skippy headed straight for Meg, who was carrying the large bowl of spinach salad.

Blair growled a warning and Simon stepped in front of Meg, giving Skippy two reasons to veer away instead of leaping on, and possibly scratching, Meg to find out what was in the bowl. Nathan joined them, surrounding her until she reached Meat-n-Greens and went inside.

“We’ll stay out here until everyone else is inside,” Blair said.

“The female pack and the rest of the food are here,” Nathan said. “The males are just arriving. Is that normal? I thought males helped with food.”

“I did,” Simon replied.

Blair gave him a look. “You brought leaves and fungus.”

Simon bared his teeth. Then he sighed because it was true. “Come on, Sam.”

But Sam was staring at Skippy, whose amber eyes held a puzzled earnestness.

“You can’t come in,” Sam said with quiet authority. “You have to be able to shift to human form to eat here today.”

The adult Wolves didn’t move, didn’t intrude. The moment stretched. Then Skippy slunk away, crying in a way that made Simon’s heart ache.

“We’ll make sure he gets some of the food,” Simon whispered to Sam as he opened the door. He and the leader of the puppy pack went inside.

The tables had been moved together to form one long table down the center of the room. Other tables had been grouped to hold bowls and platters of a variety of foods.

“There is so much,” Meg said, taking slow steps toward the food tables.

Were there more choices than usual, or was seeing it displayed in a different way confusing her?

“We may have gone a bit overboard with the number of dishes we prepared,” Merri Lee said, putting a dish of green beans on the table. “But we wanted enough variety for everyone, and everything here can be eaten as leftovers. Meg, give me the spinach salad and I’ll add the warm bacon dressing and the hard-boiled eggs. Oh, and we have steamed corn on the cob, so make sure you take a piece to try it. Lieutenant Montgomery and Pete have gone to fetch the children. Eve is mashing the potatoes, Miss Twyla is about done with the corn, and Michael and Karl are carving the turkey.”

Simon would have liked to see this carving, but he didn’t ask. He didn’t care about getting in the males’ way, but this seemed like a good time to steer clear of Miss Twyla and Eve.

Montgomery, Pete, and the three human pups arrived, followed by Nathan, Blair, and Henry. Nadine and Chris Fallacaro came out of the kitchen area carrying baskets of muffins and rolls, and a plate with some kind of dense bread.

Nadine pointed to the foods. “Peach muffins, dinner rolls, and zucchini bread. I’m making use of what’s in season.”

Fruit in the muffins sounded good, but vegetables in bread?

Simon looked at Blair and Nathan. They looked at him.

<You distract her, and I’ll give the bread thing a sniff,> Blair said.

<Too late,> Simon said as Michael Debany carried out a large platter piled with meat, including the turkey’s legs, which were the only intact—and recognizable—parts of the bird.

Kowalski came out of the kitchen area carrying two sacks filled with containers of food. “Miss Twyla is sending over some food to Cyrus and his family to keep the peace. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Montgomery came over to them. “Do you want help, Karl?”

“Better if I do it alone, sir.”

Montgomery nodded.

“I’ll walk out with you and make sure Skippy doesn’t ambush you,” Nathan said.

Eve Denby set a big bowl of cooked bread cubes next to the turkey and clapped her hands. “All right, everyone. Grab a plate and help yourself. Anyone shorter than Meg will be helped by an adult.”

Meg and Merri Lee looked at Eve and said, “Hey!”

The rest of the humans laughed. Simon had no idea why.

Merri Lee rolled her eyes. “If that’s the standard you’re using, Meg and everyone exactly her height get to be first in line.”