The boy said, “Yeah,” and nothing more.

“Is this your place?”

“I guess it is now. It was my uncle’s. He’s dead.”

“I’m sorry.”

Now the boy shrugged. “He was an asshole. Knocked me around every chance he got.”

“I’ll be sorry for that instead. We can pay for at least some of the supplies.”

“I’ll put it on the Iseler account,” he said and smirked. “Money doesn’t mean dick anymore.”

“No, but we can barter.”

“You haven’t got anything I need. You might as well take what you want.”

“Are you alone here?”

“No. We’re fine.”

“Store sure is clean,” Eddie commented.

“My aunt and I cleaned it up after … after. She’s dead now, too. She did the best she could. You didn’t come in to bust things up. Otherwise, Lupa and I wouldn’t be so friendly, so you can take what you need.”

“We’re grateful,” Max told him. “One thing we need is propane. Is there any chance we can take a truck up to the Iseler place, fill the generator?”

The boy’s eyebrows lifted into the hair that flopped over his forehead. “The chance would be getting a truck up there on these roads.”

“We’ll manage, if we can take one.”

The boy studied Max a moment, nodded. “All right. Load up what you’re taking, and I’ll show you.”

“Is it okay if I check across the street, take some beer if there’s any?”

“I don’t like the taste of it. If you find it, you can take it.”

Thinking of the boy, and whoever he might have with him, Max took less of everything than he would have otherwise.

“You should come with us,” he told the boy as they loaded the supplies. “It’s a big house, and we’ll have supplies, heat, light.”

“No. I like the quiet.” He paused a moment. “But it’s good of you to offer. I’ll remember that.”

“If you change your mind, you know where we are.”

“I know where you are. You’re going to drive to the other side of town, take the first bend to the left. Can’t miss Stanley’s Fucking Gas and Electric. You’ll see three propane trucks in the back lot. The first one on the left’s more than half full, so you should take that. Don’t blow yourself up,” he added with a half smile.

“Thanks.” Eddie bent down, gave Lupa another enthusiastic pet. “See you around, boy, see you later. You ought to come on up and play with Joe. Thanks, man,” he said again.

“If you need anything, or if there’s trouble, find your way to us,” Max told him. “Even if you just want a hot meal. My woman’s a hell of a cook.”

“We get by.” The boy laid his hand on Lupa’s head, stepped back.

Max got behind the wheel.

“Don’t like leaving him,” Eddie said.

“We can’t make him come. But we’ll drive down next week, check on him, bring him a hot meal, some of Lana’s bread—I found plenty of yeast.”

He glanced in the rearview, saw the boy standing in the middle of the road, watching them.

Saw the light shimmer around him, heard the voice clear and cool in his head.

I’m Flynn.

“His name is Flynn.”

“Huh? How do you know?”

“He just told me. He has elfin blood.”

“He has … He’s an elf?” Mouth gaping open, Eddie swiveled around to look back. “Like, you know, Will Ferrell in the movie?”

With a delight he’d all but forgotten, Max laughed. “Christ, Eddie, you never fail me. No, not like that. He’s magickal, and I have a strong feeling if we’d had any thoughts about causing trouble back there, we wouldn’t be driving away with supplies and propane.”

“Ain’t that some shit? I met a fucking elf. Well, I guess he’ll be all right then. And he’s got that big dog, too.”

“That’s not a dog. His name says what he is. Lupa. Wolf.”

“Now you’re shitting me. You’re not shitting me,” Eddie realized. “I gave a Milk-Bone to a wolf? I petted a wolf? That is freaking awesome!”

“It’s a brave new world, Eddie.” Max made the turn at the bend. “It’s a brave new fucking world.”

* * *

At the house, Lana kept herself busy adapting her recipe for Tuscan Chicken to the ingredients on hand. Both Kim and Poe stayed in the great room while she worked and, as she’d waved off their offers of help, passed the time playing Scrabble.

“Treenail? Give me a break.” Not for the first time in the match, Poe jabbed a finger at Kim’s play. “What’s that, a nail in a damn tree?”

Her lashes, long over exotic Asian eyes, fluttered. “Is that a challenge? Again?”

“You’re bluffing this time. Playing off that e, using all seven fricking letters. And you hit a double word score? I call bullshit.”

“Big, bad dictionary’s right there. Challenge me. Lose a turn.”

He actually pushed up, paced around a little, and distracted Lana out of her worried, angry mood enough to make her laugh. “How many challenges have you lost?” Lana asked him.

“Three, but … Hell. You’re bullshitting, I just know it. I’m tossing down the glove.”

“And you lose again.” Kim picked up the dictionary, flipped through. “Treenail—one of its four spellings. A wooden peg, pin, or dowel used to—”

She broke off, unoffended, even smug, when Poe yanked the dictionary out of her hand. “Son of a bitch!”

When he flopped down again, Kim took seven letters out of the bag, lined them up, rubbed her hands together. “Now, let’s see.”

The game stopped as the door to the mudroom opened, closed again. Poe straightened in his seat, and his sulky face went blank and hard.

Eric came in, his hand holding Allegra’s.

“Chill,” he said when he saw Poe’s face. “Seriously,” he added when Poe got slowly to his feet. “I was a dick. A total dick. I’m sorry. Lana, especially to you, but all-around sorry. No excuses. I was a dick and, if it helps any, I feel like a dick.”

“He really is sorry, and so am I. It’s partly my fault.”

“It’s not.” Eric let go of Allegra’s hand to put his arm around her.

“It is. I’ve been complaining about being bored, feeling closed-in. Just being all-around bitchy. I pushed Eric into a mood, and he took it out on you. And he … he only took some of the food for me, to cheer me up. We both knew it was stupid and wrong. We won’t do it again.”

“You can cut my portions back until it evens out.”

“Mine, too.”

“No.” Eric leaned over to kiss Allegra’s hair. “I took the food, I turned up the heat.”

“I said I was cold. I…” She heaved out a breath. “I whined about it.”

“I turned it up.”

“Let’s put it away.” Lana heard the cool briskness in her voice, but couldn’t warm it. They’d behaved like selfish children sneaking cookies from a jar.

As the tone hit home, Eric hunched his shoulders. “I get it’ll take more than words, but it’s what I’ve got to start. Where’s Shaun? I want to apologize to him, too.”

“He’s upstairs.” Rather than look up, Kim kept shifting her tiles on the holder. “He was feeling pretty low. He took the dog and went upstairs.”

“Okay, I’ll wait till he’s ready. Ah, Max and Eddie?”

“They went for supplies, and to try to bring up propane.” There it was again, Lana thought. That tone. Annoyed parent to idiot child.

In a show of self-disgust, Eric rubbed his hands over his face. “Damn it. I should’ve gone with them, I should’ve helped out. Add that to the list of screwups. You’re worried. I can see it. I can hike down, make sure they’re okay.”

“Eric, it’s miles,” Allegra began.