All 7 boys jumped out. The one who had been driving was the first to reach me. "Hey, my name's Sam. You must be the author staying here for a while." He smiled holding out his hand.
"Actually that's my dad, Lucas Hinshaw. I'm Hilary." I smiled. They seemed nice enough. I looked around and struggled to hold back a gasp. I admit that I'm pretty short, 5 foot 1 and never to grow any taller, but these guys were all really tall, even compared to other people.
"Nice to meet you Hilary. We just came to see if you wanted some help with moving in. You seem to have a full load." He laughed quietly, nodding in the direction of our van, which looked like the wheels were going to pop off because of the weight.
"Uh ha…well, I feel kind of bad saying this, but yeah…if you guys aren't busy." I blushed shyly. I always had a problem talking to people I didn't know. I somehow always managed to say something stupid so I'd avoid those situations completely.
"It's not a problem at all." Sam smiled and he motioned for the guys to start unloading the boxes. I found the best place for me was out of the way, so I had one of the guys help me grab the enormous cooler full of food. And bring it into the kitchen so I could start making lunch, since it was already 11:30.
The boys finished at about the same time I put the chicken pot pies into the oven.
"Are you boys hungry?" I forced myself to ask.
"No thanks…we're good." One of the younger ones said, but then his stomach growled and gave him away.
"Are you sure?" I giggled.
"Um…well, we don't want to eat all of your food. Trust me. These guys eat like…werewolves." Sam said, and they all kind of chuckled.
"That's not a problem. I made enough. I put 3 in and they feed a lot." I offered, secretly hoping they'd stayed. Curse my stupid boy-craziness.
"Well, in that case. We'd love to stay." Another said smiling. I offered them a seat in the living room and they all crowded themselves into the chairs and couches that had been put in there by the movers the day before. I stood and talked to them for a few minutes. They all introduced themselves and talked about fun things to do around the village and in turn I answered a few of their questions. I looked around at each one, concentrating on their faces and trying to keep them memorized with the names. Only one was easy to remember. His name was Paul. I tried not to look at him as much because I knew if I did, I'd end up staring.
"So why did you guys move here? I'm sure Oklahoma is MUCH nicer than La Push." Jared smiled, pointing toward the window where I could obviously see it was raining.
"No…not even close. Oklahoma is so…flat. I like hiking in the woods but there aren't enough woods in Oklahoma so I'm glad my dad decided to move here. We move around a lot because when he writes his novels he likes to be as researched as he can so the story seems more real." I was feeling somewhat comfortable around them now.
"What kind of story?" Paul asked curiously. I looked over at him and my heart skipped a beat. He was staring straight into my eyes and I couldn't look away.
"Well, he writes all kinds of stories," I finally managed to look away from Paul, who just kept staring, and I cleared my throat, "but mostly they're about myths. He doesn't normally tell me about the story until its done, but he'll tell me what the myth or legend is. This one is about werewolves…I think…he says it's supposed to be a really interesting legend." I shrugged. For a second, I thought I sensed a nervous shiver run through the group.
"Yeah we know that story. It's really old. It should be a pretty cool book." Sam smiled, seeming natural, while everyone else seemed a little bit more on edge.
"I uh…I'm going to go check on the potpies. Could you possibly hook up the TV for me? I'm not that good with technology." Two of the boys jumped up as I turned around and walked back into the kitchen, pretending I had to check on the potpies so I could avoid being in the living room with the boys. I get really nervous around boys and have a tendency of getting dizzy so I didn't even want to think about what would happen in a room FULL of gorgeous boys.
I curled up with my knees to my chest on the window seat in the kitchen and watched the timer on the oven. I heard the TV turn on and smiled. They were already making themselves at home. After a few minutes I sensed someone standing in the kitchen doorway. I looked up and my breath caught. Paul stood, looking unsure if he had permission to be there.
