“What are these?” She held up the paper.
When she looked up at me, something happened. Her scent changed ever so subtly. A wisp of something sweet and fragile, there and gone again, had me wondering if I’d imagined it. The way she immediately dropped her gaze had me wondering what she’d just felt. What had caused her scent to change like that? I knew better than to ask, and focused on the paper.
“The first one is compliments of my mom. It’s the number for a friend of the family close to where I was stationed, in case I ran into trouble. The next one is my brother’s number. I left just after he and I moved down here from Canada. I wasn’t sure I’d remember the number.”
“How can you be from Canada but in the U.S. military?”
Her immediate suspicion and accusing tone warned me to answer carefully. Her brothers had finished eating and were watching us warily.
“My mom’s from the U.S. and insisted both Jim and I be born here. It drove my dad crazy because she didn’t want to leave home until the last minute. He swore it was her sheer determination that kept us from being born on the ‘wrong’ side of the border.” I smiled, remembering my dad’s expression every time that story was retold. Mom had worried the hell out of him.
Michelle nodded to her brothers, and they moved off to the bathroom to wash up.
“The last number?” she asked.
“My parents. I figured if something ever happened to me, those three numbers would be good emergency information.”
She slowly put everything back in its place. As she did so, I could see she was lost in thought.
“Is it so hard to trust?” I asked, sad for her.
“You have no idea,” she said softly. “Tell me more about this big spread.”
She was considering it. I smiled widely. They were going to love it there. I was going to love her there.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been back. It’s an old three-story with wrap-around porches. Before I left, my brother and I talked about dividing it into six apartments. From what he’s told me, he’s done the dividing and now just needs to complete the finishing work in three more apartments. It also has a huge backyard that’s a pain to mow, according to him.”
“Just you and your brother, then?”
“No, a friend of our parents, Winifred Lewis, who we call Nana Wini, moved in as soon as he completed the second apartment.”
She glanced at the bathroom, worry pulling at her face. Then she dropped her head into both hands.
“You should know they won’t stop looking for me. Ever,” she said.
“Doesn’t matter to me. You’ll be welcome as long as you like.” I just needed to get her there. Then I could work on convincing her to stay.
She looked up as the boys walked out of the bathroom hand in hand. They watched her closely in return.
“We’ll go with you and take one day at a time,” she said, looking at me.
I grinned. One day at a time was next door to forever.
* * * *
I drove the rest of the night. The boys fell asleep almost immediately. Michelle tried staying awake but gave up after twenty minutes.
I reached out to Winifred again.
She’s agreed to come with me. Her two brothers are with her. The oldest can’t be more than four or five.
Have you told her anything? Winifred asked.
No. She’s running from something and is scared. I’ve never smelled this much fear on anyone. I won’t risk running her off with more than she can handle right now. I just want to make her feel safe again.
Don’t worry. Jim and I are here to help. Have you told your father?
Not yet. She needs time before family and friends start showing up.
I understand.
Michelle woke several times, but never for very long. Once the sun rose, I stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and food then pushed hard for Montana.
While I drove, I continued to try to play games with Liam and Aden. They went in spurts. When they got quiet, I tried jokes and stories to pull them out again.
Michelle’s vigilant study of the road behind us didn’t help calm them. Every time I saw her looking, I let her know everything was okay. Gradually, her fear eased a bit.
We were a few miles from home when I heard Aden’s stomach growl. The little guy had the appetite of a true cub. My kind didn’t like missing meals, and it was close to dinner.
“Do you want to stop for something to eat or drive on to your new home?”
Her pulse skipped a beat. Did she like the idea of calling my place home?
“How much longer?” she asked.
“About thirty minutes.”
“Let’s keep going.”
Anticipation filled me.
Winifred, we’re almost home.
Chapter 3
It’d been over a year since I last saw the dirt track that we called a driveway. A twinge of homesickness pulled at me as I turned the truck onto the rutted path. Werewolves weren’t meant for solitary lives. We needed to be around our own kind. To belong to something. The Army had filled that void at first, but the longer I’d stayed away, the more I’d missed the woods and running in my fur.
Michelle fidgeted, drawing my attention. She was nervous. I’d smelled the change as soon as she’d said to drive on and had hoped that seeing the place would ease her concerns. However, the branches scraping the roof of the truck probably weren’t giving a good first impression.
But, my home was more than a building and overgrown property. When the house came into view, some of the tension in me eased because, inside were the two people who made this place home. Jim and Winifred. Mom had once told me Winifred had helped her understand our ways. I hoped Winifred would be able to do the same for Michelle.
I looked at the three-story plantation style home with a sense of pride. Michelle and the boys would have plenty of room. The house was meant for families.
I parked near the back porch and cut the engine. Liam’s inquisitive study of the place made me smile.
“Welcome home.”
I looked at Michelle and found her watching me. She was scared.
“Everything will be fine. I promise you’re safe here.”
She nodded, but her scent didn’t change as she opened the door and started helping the boys down.
I watched the three of them study the yard as if it were the first one they’d ever seen. Most of the grass had just been cut. I hadn’t exaggerated when I’d said there was a lot of it. As big as a baseball field, at least. And all surrounded by woods. Closed in and safe.
From inside the house, I heard Jim’s “about time” a second before the back door opened. He strode out with a goofy grin on his face. I couldn’t help but return it. I’d missed my brother.
“Emmitt! About time they let you go,” he said as he jumped off the porch.
I met him halfway, hugging him with a slap on his back. He grunted and gave one back. I pulled away before he started something and grinned at him.
The wind shifted just then, and I breathed in the scents of the trio’s fear. Jim inhaled, too, and gave me a knowing look before I turned toward Michelle.
“Jim, this is Michelle and her two brothers, Liam and Aden. Michelle, this is my brother, Jim.”
Winifred came out of the house just then, looking the picture of a human’s grandma. She’d even twisted her hair back into a bun. I heard Jim chuckle under his breath and elbowed him.