“Ha,” honks Charlotte as the forest-lined road stands tall before us like a verdant wall.
Deek shifts again, his knees jammed hard against me with not a centimeter of space and therefore no relief. He makes an odd grunt.
I know it makes him uncomfortable, but I risk a peek back at him. “Still okay?” I whisper.
His eyes meet mine and then flicker away. “I’ll be fine, Susan. We’re almost there.”
“Maybe once Charlotte gets her license, she should teach you to drive,” Maggie offers. “Then you can sit in the front. Okay, now look at my horse. See her blanket?”
“That’s a very nice blanket. And the red bow is also nice.”
“I thought so,” Maggie agrees, a worldly tone present in her six-year-old voice that has me silently laughing.
“We could,” Charlotte begins, “instead of that plan, just get a bigger car.”
I pat her knee. “When you get a job, we’ll talk about an upgrade. Right now, we’re strapped tight, and this gets the job done.”
Charlotte nods, understanding our circumstances perfectly. “First: permit. Next: job.”
“Good plan,” I confirm.
“It will be just up ahead,” Deek announces. And then the trees stop and the world opens up into a meadow and our quiet two-lane road turns into a gravel path that weaves up to the most incredible stone structure I have ever seen.
A square bell tower sits impressively in front of a humbly-sized church, both structures made entirely of Gothic stone—with the exception of stained glass windows in the latter, all depicting wolves and lambs.
“Why aren’t there lions? There shouldn’t be wolfs,” Maggie observes, peering out her window as Charlotte follows the winding road.
“Wolves, not ‘wolfs,’” Charlotte corrects. “And you’re right, Maggs.”
“Actually,” Deek says cautiously, as if he’s afraid of being reprimanded. “A lion lying down beside a lamb isn’t in the Bible at all. It’s a wolf that dwells with the lamb, the leopard lies down with a kid, and a calf and a young lion are what’s mentioned.”
“Huh,” Charlotte says.
“I didn’t realize that,” I murmur.
Charlotte coasts to a stop in the gravel parking lot, which has a surprising number of cars packed into it. As in, Sam’s Club on Black Friday packed.
I guess werewolves go to church.
Deek’s seatbelt clicks. “Thank you for the ride. And you drove excellently, Charlotte.”
She beams and turns in her seat. “Thanks!”
“It was no problem to drive you,” I tell him as he unfolds himself and escapes the confines of his temporary sardine can. He places his borrowed salad bowl on his empty seat.
I roll down my window all the way so we’re not obstructed. “What time should we pick you up?”
“Oh,” he’s pinned his eyes to my throat. “I can ask for a ride back to your house with someone else if it would be easier—”
“Deek, we’re going to do grocery shopping and stuff. Don’t worry. We can get you… unless you have a friend with a bigger backseat. We totally understand if you don’t want to play clown car with us twice. What time?”
His lip quirks at the clown comment. “Noon.”
“Okay.” I try to send him a reassuring smile, but he still can’t meet my eyes. “We’ll be here. Bye for now.”
He manages a tentative smile of his own. “All right.”
Charlotte and Maggie wave and we start to roll forward—but then I tap Charlotte’s arm. “Stop.”
She does. I lean out the window. “Deek!”
He turns, looking confused. He trots to us, and I notice the way his thigh muscles bunch in his dark jeans. He’s wearing a rust-colored sport coat that brings out the color of his eyes—and I’m able to admire this fact for about the length of a heartbeat before he lowers his gaze and stops by my side of the car. “Yes?”
“What’s your cell phone number?” I ask him.
He frowns again. “I don’t know.” He reaches into his pocket and draws it out like it’s the remote to a spaceship.
He hands it to me.
“Oh,” I croak—handling it like it’s a remote to a spaceship. “I don’t do technology. Hang on.” I start to pass it over.
Charlotte’s already snatching it, snickering. “Give it here.”
I tip my head to Deek. “The eldest child wields the tech in our household.”
“But I’m in training,” Maggie pipes up.
Deek’s lips curve upwards, and his eyes crinkle, his gaze flicking in her direction.
“She’s in training,” I confirm. “How do you not know your phone number?”
His shrug holds a world of bafflement. “I’ve never needed one. It’s new. I’ve never looked at it.” I’ve never seen a spaceship before. I don’t know how anyone expects me to fly it; I’m not qualified for something this advanced.
I really feel him on this. It took me a month to get used to my latest phone, and for half of it, I just handed the stupid thing to Charlotte and asked her to figure it out. “Ah.”
“Done,” Charlotte announces, and passes the phone to my hand and I in turn hold it out for Deek.
“‘Preciate it,” he murmurs, tucking it back into his pocket.
“Have a good service,” I tell him. “Bye for real.”
He meets my eyes. “See you again soon.”
With that, we pull away.
CHAPTER 6
SUSAN
Deek texts us one word: Ready.
The return trip to the werewolf church is uneventful, and because Charlotte got plenty of driving time while we tooled around town, I’m in the driver’s seat, which means the circumstances are set for a much more merciful excursion where Deek’s legs are concerned: he gets the front seat and four more generous inches of legroom.
“DO YOU WANT ICE CREAM?” Maggie orders more than asks the moment his butt hits the passenger seat.
“Umm…” He sends me a look asking for help without ever actually making eye contact.
Werewolves are really interesting. “It’s okay,” I tell him, snickering. “She doesn’t need ice cream. We reminded her what Finn said about new places and told her you probably wouldn’t be up for it.”
“Only if it’s my treat,” Deek declares.
Surprised, I glance over and—
Deek’s staring right at me. “I pay.”
“Are you sure—”
“Yes.”
“YAY!” Maggie cries.
Charlotte groans. “Maggs, turn it down, okay? My ear is like two feet from your car seat, and you’re going to make me deaf.” She sits forward and pats my shoulder. “Mom?”
It’s me who looks away from Deek this time. “Hmm?”
“Can we pick up Ginny? She’s at the park.”
My heart lurches for her, wondering what—or more like who—drove her out of her home this time. “Sure.”
“Can she spend the night?” Charlotte asks.
“Susan!” calls a familiar voice from outside of the vehicle.