Amanda had hoped she could talk to Jay and Courtney about Connor's invite on the way home that afternoon, but Connor and his friends had continued to walk home with them every day after school. Connor continued to worry over the homeless man, and his overprotectiveness grated on her nerves.

To make matters worse, Tanner had dropped a veiled comment about her and Connor's upcoming date. She should have known that he would have told Tanner, who seemed to be his new best friend. But it made her suspicious: how many of his new friends knew?

At the edge of her property, Connor said, "Well, here we are. I will see you tomorrow, six?"

She nodded. Jay's eyebrow went up and she gave him a sheepish shrug and half smile. "Yeah, supper, your place." she said to Connor.

"Awesome," he replied, "I am looking forward to it. The whole family is."

None of his friends batted an eye at the conversation, so she assumed they all knew. Erica gave her a smile and a wink as she left. Amanda blushed.

She had barely gotten upstairs when her phone rang. It was Jay, but she could hear Courtney in the background too. Judging from the short time, they must have dialed the second they parted ways with Connor and his friends. She couldn't really blame him for being impatient for news.

"A date?" he said with glee.

"I don't know," she replied. "It's just dinner with his family. Is that a date?"

"I'd say it is a date," Courtney said from somewhere beside Jay.

"Yeah, well then, we are dating too, 'cause I had supper with your family," Amanda shot back.

"Hey, that's my girlfriend," Jay protested playfully. "And the difference is you've been a friend of the family forever."

"Anyway, he asked me today. I was going to tell you but then they all wanted to walk with us again, so I couldn't."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Jay asked. "Are we part of a street gang now? 'Cause I am not sure if I am down with that or not."

Amanda laughed and lay down on her bed. The three of them discussed the invitation but neither had much to add to Amanda's thinking. "I will say this," Jay said, "Karen, Connor's mom, is one of our best customers. Their family is a little different."

"Different how?" Amanda asked nervously.

"Not in a bad way," he assured her, "but close knit, and I think that's important here. Even if this isn't a romantic sort of date, I don't think Connor could really date someone they didn't know."

"Are they like super conservative or something? Because if they are, they probably won't approve of me anyway."

"Naw, I don't think so, just close." Jay said. "It will be fine. It's probably just a friendly invite anyway."

The next morning when Amanda awoke, she could hear Uncle Darren and someone else downstairs talking. She climbed groggily out of bed and headed downstairs.

The table was covered with a box of donuts, a thermos, two shotguns, a pile of orange vests, and other hunting gear. Carl Perkins, in jeans, a polo shirt, and a light jacket, sat at the table drinking coffee. Uncle Darren came out of the kitchen in his canvas utili-kilt and a thick wool sweater. "I'll probably have to lose this later," he said of the sweater, "but it's a little nippy out there right now."

Carl nodded and pulled at his jacket. "Had the same thought."

"Hey niece-ee girl," Uncle Darren said, hugging her affectionately, "what are you doing up so early?"

Amanda looked at him bleary eyed. "You woke me," she said.

He blushed, "Sorry, we'll be out of here in a minute."

"Hunting?" she said.

"Yeah, rabbit season," he said. "Carl and I are leading a youth hunt out at one of the county parks."

Amanda nodded. She headed for the bathroom and then stopped suddenly. "How long will you be gone?" she asked.

"Most of the day, I suspect," he replied. "You can do whatever you want for lunch, and I have my cell phone if you need anything."

"Will you be back before supper?" she persisted.

"Around that time, I think," he said, "Why?"

"Could you be back by supper?" she said. "Umm, a friend asked me over, but I don't want to leave Hunter by himself."

"No problem," Carl said. "The hunt will be over by four."

"I can bring the catch home." Uncle Darren said, "and skin it here. Hunter can help. We will have fresh rabbit stew."

What a joy for Hunter, Amanda thought sarcastically. She had been unsure how she felt about going to Connor's for supper, but knowing the alternative was to spend the evening skinning dead rabbits, she suddenly felt a lot better.

After using the bathroom, Amanda stumbled upstairs and went back to bed. Uncle Darren and Carl were gone when she finally rose for the day. Hunter was up, watching cartoons on TV.

"Have you had breakfast?" she asked him.

"Some cereal," he replied.

"Good enough," she said and went into the kitchen to find her own breakfast. The day passed with almost agonizing slowness. She tried to read, but it was hard to get her mind to settle on the book. She called Jay, and they chatted briefly. He was busy helping his parents in the garden. The season was ending, and they had a lot to do. He invited her over. Normally she would have gone. She didn't mind the work, especially when there were fun people to talk to, but she didn't want to leave Hunter by himself all afternoon.

Her Renaissance dress had a couple of small tears that needed mending before next summer, and she pulled it out, mostly for something to do, and found Uncle Darren's sewing kit. It was a large, well-stocked affair and frequently used, Amanda knew. Part of that was the fact they spent so much of their time going to fairs and similar events, all three of them had a collection of costumes that rivaled their regular wardrobes. That and Uncle Darren was forever popping buttons, especially on his collection of utili-kilts that he wore out in the woods.

Mending the dress took only a few minutes, and it led to Amanda trying to figure out what she was going to wear that evening. Her only "formal" attire was made up of faire clothes, and she didn't think she should show up in a peasant dress and leather bodice. On the other hand if this was a date date and she showed up in jeans and t-shirt, that could be embarrassing.

Despite her uncle's earlier prediction, it did not warm up much as the day went on. Around eleven a.m., Amanda decided it might be a good day to light the fireplace for the first time this season. It certainly wouldn't be too hot.

They had a woodpile just outside the back door, but Uncle Darren hadn't brought up most of the bigger cut logs from farther back at the edge of their property. She slipped into her boots and trudged back there to find some suitable logs for a good slow burn.

She had four logs carefully propped on her left arm and was scanning the pile for one more when she felt the hackles on the back of her neck rise. A sudden sense of being watched swept over her, along with a cold fear. She scanned the woods behind their property. All of Connor's caution about that strange homeless guy didn't seem so overblown suddenly.

She stood stock-still for an agonizing moment and then she heard something. She scanned the woods again and thought she saw a form in the underbrush. The wind changed, and the brush moved slightly. It was a wolf, it had to be. It was way too big to be a coyote, and no domestic dog had that face. It regarded her malevolently.

Amanda liked wolves. Uncle Darren was friends with a couple of people who ran an institute that rescued wolves slated for death because they had encroached on human habitation. But Amanda did not like this wolf. It was huge and had dark, shaggy hair with eyes that were bloodshot and red.

It growled, a deep low noise she could feel as much as hear. It padded a few steps closer, sniffing at the air as if to catch a scent.

Amanda took a couple of steps backward, not wanting to turn away from it. Something was not right-wolves were not aggressive animals, and yet this wolf's body language painted a different picture entirely. Wolves did not attack humans, she told herself. That was just a myth. Unless they were protecting themselves or they had rabies. It's eyes are bloodshot; could it be sick?

Her leg hit the stump that Uncle Darren used to split wood on, and she nearly stumbled. The wolf's head dipped and then rose again, as though it would spring at her. Without looking she reached around and found the handle of the axe buried in the stump. With an effort, she yanked it out and swung it up over her shoulder.

The wolf eyed her warily, as if it knew what an axe was and was weighing its options more closely. Amanda continued to back away. The wolf stopped on the edge of the woods and sat on its haunches, watching her back slowly away.

She lost sight of it as soon as she rounded the first set of outbuildings behind their cabin, but she did not turn around until she was all the way up on their back porch. There she dropped the axe, turned, and hurried inside. She shut and bolted the back door.

It took several minutes before her heart stopped hammering. She thought about Carl and the dead sheep. There was a wolf in the area, all right, a big one that wasn't afraid of humans. She shook her head to clear it. She would have to tell Carl and Uncle Darren what she saw when they got home. For today, she had enough wood, and there was no good reason to go back out there.

She lit a fire and made lunch, and then she and Hunter roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. She humored her brother by playing board games with him most of the afternoon. She did it in part to pass the time and in part to keep him from getting bored and wanting to go play outside.

She didn't tell him about the wolf. She worried that he would immediately want to go take a look-that's how he was. Besides the creature was probably gone. Now that she was inside, the whole incident seemed too weird to be real. Maybe it had been some trick of perception. Whatever it was had been several yards away, and maybe it wasn't really as big as it had seemed. Maybe some town family had adopted a part-wolf dog or a wolf hound that looked sort of like a wolf. There had to be some explanation.

By mid-afternoon, Hunter got bored with real-life playing and turned to his Nintendo DS instead. Amanda took a shower, washed her hair, inspected her face for any stray hairs in need of plucking, and then went to get dressed. She tore through her closet twice without coming up with a suitable outfit. Finally she settled on black jeans, a lightweight t-shirt, and because the day hadn't gotten warmer, a wool sweater. The sweater was one of her nicer ones. Jay's mom had knitted it for her last Christmas. It was nice enough to show she had put some effort into her dress for the occasion, but not over-the-top dressy, or so Amanda hoped.

It was almost five thirty before Uncle Darren pulled in, and Amanda was almost beside herself with anxiety. She was afraid he was going to forget his promise to be home for supper and she would have to cancel out on dinner. She kept deliberating whether to call Connor and inform him of this or wait and risk having him think she had just stood him up.

She dashed out into the yard to meet her uncle. "You're late," she scolded.

He muttered something then held up a pile of dead rabbits by their hind legs. "Got a great haul, made the bag limit," he said cheerfully.

"Great," she snapped irritably, "but I've got to go now." She turned and started down the driveway.

"I am sorry," he shouted after her, "and you look nice."

She shook her head in exasperation and waved without turning back. The encounter with the wolf was driven from her mind. So was the homeless man she had been avoiding . . . until she was about to pass the park. She paused, but not wanting to go back or be late, she simply turned down a side street and put a block between herself and the park before plowing on to Connor's house.

The Leidulf's house was about a mile from Amanda's, a fair walk but not unreasonable. Like her place and the Toumi's, it was on the edge of town. It was a long, low, split-level ranch on a hill with a huge lawn. There was a wide driveway to the right of the house and a detached three-car garage. The entire place-house, lawn, and garage included-must easily take up three city lots, she thought as she approached. She had never thought of Connor as being rich, but this house was huge.

He was waiting for her on a wide, covered porch at the front of the house. A look of relief spread across his face as she approached, and she knew he had feared that she would stand him up. He smiled and waved.

"I am sorry," she said as she half jogged across the huge yard. "My uncle was out hunting and didn't get home until late. I didn't want to leave my kid brother all alone, so I had to wait."

"That's fine," he said glancing at his watch. "It's not supper time yet anyway." He was wearing a new-looking pair of jeans and a button-down cowboy shirt. Relief spread through her as she looked down at her sweater. She had managed to navigate the dress code just about right.

"You look great," he said.

"So do you," she told him. He did too. He looked very handsome. They both blushed and stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"Umm, why don't you come in? I'll show you around the house."

"That would be great."

He held the door open for her. Amanda took two steps inside and stopped in amazement. The front room stretched away to her right. That one room was easily twice the size as her whole house. An L-shaped couch stretched across the back wall. It had to be custom, they didn't make couches that big, did they? The front wall was taken up with a row of picture windows and no less than three easy chairs.

But what really stopped Amanda in shock was Brianna, sitting on the couch reading a book. She was wearing an oversized sweater that came almost to her knees and a pair of tights. She looked up and gave Amanda a cold smile.

Was this supper a group thing? Amanda wondered.

A woman in her mid-forties came into the room from around the corner. She was blond, tan, and fit. Her eyes were deep blue and her smile white and toothy. "You must be Amanda," she said, holding out her hand, "Connor talks about you all the time. I am Karen, Karen Leidulf."

"My mom," Connor supplied.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Karen said, shaking Amanda's hand.

"And you," Amanda managed to stammer out.

Brianna stood and came over. "You know our foster daughter Brianna from school, I assume." Karen said.

Foster daughter?

To Connor, Karen said, "Supper is almost ready, where are the others?"

"I am here," Erica's voice called from down a hallway off to Amanda's left. Erica came rolling into the room dressed in faded blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a denim jacket with the sleeves torn off. "Hey, Amanda," she said.

"That's how you dress for guests?" Brianna demanded.

"I am just doing my best James Dean," Erica joked. Amanda laughed nervously. "See, it's working," Erica said. Brianna shook her head.

A tall, dark-haired man with warm brown eyes and a strong resemblance to Connor came in. "That's Dad," Connor said, leading Amanda over to him.

"Aaron, Aaron Leidulf," Connor's father said while extending his hands, "Officer Leidulf if you've been bad." Aaron radiated a calm sense of authority.

"Can I get a hand in here with the dressing?" a voice said from another room, then a woman appeared, short and busty, with dark hair just past her shoulders. She was wearing a skirt and matching blouse.

"That's Valerie," Connor said.

"She's a friend of the family," Karen said. "Brianna, Erica, please help Valerie in the kitchen."

"Because we are girls?" Brianna asked.

"No," Karen said, "because the boys aren't here. They'll get clean-up duty, don't you worry."

"I'll gladly help Miss Valerie in the kitchen," Erica said. She waggled one eyebrow at Amanda suggestively and added, "anytime she asks."

The boys, not surprisingly, were Jonathan and Tanner. They came pounding across the porch at a run and burst through the door moments later. Connor's new friends were also foster brothers and sisters.

"Where have you two been?" Aaron inquired.

"We've just been out playing," Tanner began. He held up a Frisbee and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Fetch."

Jonathan snarled and made a grab for him. The two went down in a tangle of limbs.

"All right, you two!" Karen shouted at them. "No wrestling in the house. You two break more things . . ."

"Listen to your mother," Aaron warned as the boys let go of each other and climbed to their feet.

"Why don't you show your friend around?" Karen suggested to Connor. She turned on the boys. "And you two go get cleaned up for supper."

The Leidulf house was huge, but apparently that was because they truly did need the space. Down the hallway to the left was a line of small dormitory-sized "guest" rooms that had been converted for the kids. Erica's room had dirty clothes all over the floor and almost every inch of wall space had posters of women sports figures who Amanda did not recognize. Brianna's room was painfully neat and clean, boasting a newer-model MacBook and a single framed photo of her family: mother, father, and younger sister. Tanner's room rivaled Erica's in the mess, but the posters were bikini-clad women and had little to do with sports. Jonathan's room barely looked like anyone stayed there. He had added only one personal touch: a chessboard on the small desk in the corner. There were two more rooms after this, true guest rooms for visitors.

Connor's bedroom wasn't much larger than the rooms the kids had. The biggest difference was the sense that the room had been lived in longer. A copy of their middle-school yearbook sat on the desk and the posters ranged from Mutant Ninja Turtles to Dale Earnhardt to a few more recent bikini-girl posters like Tanner had. The single bed had cowboy-themed sheets on it. Amanda giggled, and Connor blushed heavily. "I haven't redecorated since I was little," he said quietly.

"It's okay," she said. "I think they're cute."

All of the rooms were on the right. The left-hand side of the hallway was taken up with three separate bathrooms. The end of the hall contained two more bedrooms. The master bedroom to the right belonged to Aaron and Karen Leidulf. It was huge with its own bathroom. To the left was another slightly larger bedroom for "Aunt" Valerie.

"She lives here too?" Amanda asked.

"Sure," Connor replied with a shrug, like it was completely normal for grown aunts to share a house with your family.

Next he led her down a flight of stairs to the basement, which exited out the bottom side of the hill. It was as long as the house and contained a semiprivate apartment belonging to a man with gray hair and grizzled mustache who Connor introduced as his Uncle Mitch. The far half of the basement was an open rec area with a weight machine, pool table, ping pong table, many seats and low cushions, and a small bar.

There was another set of stairs on the far end of the basement, and he led her back up to the main level. There was a large den, kitchen, and dining area before they completed the circuit back to the main living room.

The dining room looked out over an elevated deck built onto the back of the house and overlooking the woods behind them. There was a long, rectangular table, big enough to seat twelve people comfortably-which was good because it had to accommodate ten people just with the family. The final remaining family member for Amanda to meet was Vince. Uncle Vince was tall and broad. His long, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and his beard was neatly trimmed. His upper arms bulged out of the white t-shirt he wore and sprouted full sleeves on each arm. He wore black leather pants and a leather vest. He seemed like the kind of man that Officer Leidulf might know professionally rather than personally, but he shook Amanda's hand gently and spoke warmly to her when introduced.

Brianna and Erica had set the table while Amanda was on her tour, and the food was set out as well. Karen announced that dinner was ready, and Connor guided Amanda to a chair near the head of the table. Three large, rectangular roasting pans were set at intervals along the table. Each contained a whole roast chicken sitting on top a thick bed of dressing. Bowls of vegetables, corn, peas, and carrots were scattered around the table, along with loaves of baguette bread.

Everyone looked at the food expectantly and then down the table at Aaron, who was sitting at the head. There was an awkward pause. Aaron turned toward Amanda. "Umm, grace," he muttered. "You say grace at home?"

Amanda nodded but didn't answer.

"Would you care to?"

The thought startled her. She wasn't exactly prepared and wasn't sure how they would take Uncle Darren's version of grace. She glanced around. She had not seen any Christian artifacts around the house nor had anyone said anything to indicate some conservative religious views, but as a rule people did not expect you to say a pagan grace when they asked such a question.

Nervously she fudged Uncle Darren's prayer in a way she hoped would pass as any religion. "Bless the earth for the grain and plants it gives for us to eat. Bless the spirit of the birds that died so we may live. Umm, amen."

"Awesome," Tanner said, and the entire room erupted in action. There was the clatter of forks and knives as chicken and dressing was served, the passing of bowls and plates, and the start of several separate conversations.

"That was a nice prayer." Karen told her from across the table. To her husband, she added, "We should start a tradition of saying something like that."

"We don't usually bother with grace," Connor told her. "We aren't really religious or anything like that. But Dad was worried. He didn't know what you'd expect." He was reaching for a serving spoon as he said it. When he had the spoon in hand, he added, "You want white meat or dark?"

"White," she replied, holding her plate so he could serve her.

"This is quite a feast you've prepared," Amanda said to Karen.

Valerie, who was sitting next to Karen, said, "When you are feeding this crew, this is a pretty typical meal actually."

"We buy a lot in bulk," Aaron added.

"You have a beautiful house. This place is huge." Amanda said.

"We make it happen by pooling our resources together. That's the secret to success, working together." Aaron said. Amanda quickly discovered that was true. Aaron worked as a police officer. His wife was a part-time dispatcher for the county. Vince was a mechanic downtown, and he had an apartment over the garage. Mitch owned a bar. Valerie was currently working as a secretary at some firm downtown, but Amanda got the impression she had had multiple jobs.

"What does your dad do?" Valerie asked.

"Uncle actually." Amanda corrected.

"Oh, I am sorry," she said.

"It's okay. Mom and Dad died when I was young. Me and my brother live with our Uncle Darren," Amanda explained. "And Uncle Darren says jobs are for lazy people."

That earned a smattering of laughter down the table. "How are jobs for lazy people?" Brianna asked.

"Oh," she said, "he does odd jobs. He's always trying to tell me that people who have one regular job at an office are just being lazy." She rolled her eyes.

"Burnson, right?" Aaron said. "He's got a point. He is one hard worker. I see his truck all over the county. He's always got some project going for somebody. The department has consulted him several times. He's a great woodsman and a tracker. Teaches outdoor survival skills for the DNR fall program, doesn't he?"

"They went rabbit hunting today," Amanda said, nodding. "That's why I was almost late getting here."

After dinner the boys were, as predicted, ordered to help clear the table and load the dishwasher. Connor, Amanda, and the girls were shooed to the basement rec room. They played a couple of games of two-on-two ping pong while waiting for the boys to finish with their chores and join them.

The bar in the basement contained an assortment of store-brand soda, other drinks, and some snack foods. Tanner passed around soda, and they all settled into a semicircle of low, cushioned chairs to watch TV and socialize.

"So what do you think of my family?" Connor asked her cautiously.

She shrugged. "Everyone seems nice enough."

He seemed relieved by the answer.

"I think what Connor is trying to fish for," Tanner said, "is that he was worried you would freak out when you found out we didn't have a typical family."

"Does all your extended family-" she started.

"Live in groups?" Connor finished. "Yeah, most of them. It's part of the Leidulf tradition or something."

"My family was six adults and four children," Tanner said proudly.

"I was worried you would think my family was too weird," Connor admitted.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Oh please. At least I haven't had to strip down and get into a sauna."

Erica sprayed soda everywhere in shock. "What?" she exclaimed.

"Erica!" Brianna squeaked.

"Now this I got to hear," Tanner said leaning forward and echoing Erica, "What?"

Amanda blushed. "It's just that my Aunt Maggie has this farm, and she has this free-standing sauna. Everyone just takes a sauna when they arrive."

"In the buff?" Erica said.

"No!" Amanda said. "Not in the buff. We keep our underwear on. It's not like that!" she insisted to their looks. "It's a soo-na."

"A what?" Tanner asked.

"That's the old way to say it, not sauna. We say it that way because it's different. It's like a sweat lodge or something."

"Oh, like Native Americans do?" Brianna said, "I am doing a report on that."

"It's not as hot as a sweat lodge." Amanda said. "The last sweat I did was awful. I nearly passed out."

"You've done a sweat lodge?" Brianna asked. "I didn't know just anybody could do those."

"If you know a medicine man, you can," Amanda replied.

"And Uncle Darren knows one?" Tanner said.

"Uncle Darren knows a couple, I know a couple. Uncle Robert has been trained to do sweats, and his wife is a full medicine woman in the bear clan."

"Cool," Tanner said. "That is so cool. Do you think we could do a sweat some time? That would be incredibly awesome."

About nine thirty, Aaron Leidulf came down the stairs and told Connor it was time to walk Amanda home and the rest of them to start getting ready for bed.

#

"Whatch'ya doing?" Jay asked on the other end of the phone. Amanda batted the curtains on her window and looked outside. The weather had stayed cold, the sky had filled with clouds, and there was a near-freezing drizzle dampening the outer pane.

"I am staying in," she said, "and I sincerely hope you are too."

"Yup," Courtney's voice said from Jay's end. "We got most of what we needed to do done yesterday. Kathleen was amazed at how much easier farm work is with a few more hands." Kathleen was Jay's mother.

"So we got the day off." Jay said. "Guess where we are right now?"

"Where?" she asked.

"Cuddled up in Courtney's loft," he said. Amanda could hear the contentment in his voice. He made a loud, sniffing noise. "With the last of the summer's zucchini's being turned to into zucchini bread right beneath us."

"The warmth and the delicious aroma is divine," Courtney agreed, "and we got my laptop out, checking out all sorts of cool stuff on the Internet."

"You could come over if you want." Jay said.

Amanda smiled at the thought. "Naw," she said. "For one thing, I don't want to leave the house in this weather. Besides Uncle Darren's gone, and I should really be here with Hunter."

"Dutiful sister," Jay said. "That boy is lucky he has you."

"We are all we have," Amanda said. "We've got to stick together."

"Where's Darren?"

"Poor sucker," Amanda grimaced. "Patrick, one of Carl's friends from the DNR, came and got him early this morning. They found more dead sheep somewhere."

"Dead sheep?" Courtney asked.

"Yeah, there's something hunting livestock out in the country," Amanda explained. "They keep coming to ask Uncle Darren's opinion because he's known as a tracker and guide. He's been up in wolf country a lot and can read the signs with a good degree of certainty."

"Do you have wolves this far south?" Courtney asked.

"Not normally, but it happens sometimes. They come down along the river. If they stay in the parks, that's okay, but if they develop a habit of attacking livestock, then farmers get mad and start demanding action. The DNR is trying to stay on top of it, decide if they need to trap or hunt this particular one, or let it be."

"Let it be," Courtney said. "Wolves are endangered."

"They are making a comeback though," Amanda said, "and its creating all sorts of problems." She shivered, suddenly remembering the incident of the other day. "I think I might have seen this wolf." She told the two of them about her visitor yesterday.

"Did you tell your uncle?" Jay asked when she was done.

"No, I forgot," Amanda said. "He was late getting home, and I had to get to Connor's for supper."

"How did that go?" Courtney asked quickly.

She sighed. "Now that was weird," she told them. "They are nice, but weird." She told them about how all of Connor's new friends at school were actually foster brothers and sisters and how his parents had other people living with them as well. "The funny thing about the kids," Amanda said as she finished, "is that, aside from Erica, they all don't seem like the type to be in foster care."

"Maybe Erica's family rejected her because she's gay." Courtney said sadly. Amanda thought about Erica's look. Had it been what she thought? At any rate, Erica had never said she was a lesbian, but Amanda wasn't going to argue with Courtney on this one either.

"Still, what about the rest? I get the impression this fostering is entirely voluntary."

"Are they some cult?" Jay asked conspiratorially.

"They claim they aren't even very religious, and I didn't see anything like that," Amanda told them. "They say it's family tradition."

The more they talked about it and the more she thought about it, the more Amanda was torn about the Leidulf's. On one hand, something was really suspicious about the entire situation. While Amanda knew her family wasn't exactly the most normal, this seemed out of bounds for most of traditional society as well. On the other hand, they seemed to accept her and even like her, all of them. It was nice to be part of a group, a normal group that didn't hang out at the bonfire in Ren garb but sat around in a rec room, drank soda, and watched TV. They talked about school and small things, laughing and joking. Connor had sat next to her, one arm draped casually over her shoulder, and that had felt nice as well.

What did you do when something felt right but looked wrong? She guessed that a lot of people would say that about her life too-raised to believe in the Mother Earth instead of God above, living with an uncle who wore kilts more often than pants and spent more time in the woods than among human company. But her life was pretty good most of the time, wasn't it?