Chapter 2
Angelle quickly washed her face and pulled a brush through her brown hair before looking at herself in the mirror with a panicked look and started digging for a ponytail holder.
She caught her thick brown hair up into a ponytail, then brushed her teeth — twice.
She swiped her deodorant stick up and down her armpits, then sniffed them, and did it again.
“At least I took a shower last night,” she grumbled.
She tore her over-sized teeshirt off over her head and shoved her pants to the floor and kicked them toward the hamper, before realizing she didn’t have anything to change into in the bathroom with her.
She snatched up her shirt and held it over the front of her body as she opened the door and rushed across the hall to her bedroom.
She dropped the teeshirt to the floor and stood facing her closet, clueless as to what she should wear.
“Maaaaaa!” she suddenly shouted.
Seconds later Avaleigh was opening her door and slipping inside before closing it firmly behind her. “Yes!”
“I don’t know what to wear,” Angelle said.
“He’s wearing a pair of jeans and one of those over-sized shirts he always wears, and unlaced work boots.
But, you should wear what you’re comfortable in.
I know you want to look nice, and that’s fine, but it’s almost more important to be you.
Dress the way you’d normally dress if you were walking out of your bedroom for breakfast. It’s important he sees the real you. ”
“That’s not hard. I don’t even own makeup.”
“You know what? Just do you. It’s all you’ve done so far and he can’t seem to stay away.”
Angelle smiled at her mother and nodded before she pulled on a pair of jeans, a tank top and an old thin flannel shirt leaving it to hang open over the tank top.
“I’ll let you get dressed,” Avaleigh said, leaving her to finish on her own.
Angelle checked the mirror mounted over her dresser and shrugged.
This was as good as it got. She dressed more professionally sometimes, but this was how she’d like to be dressed at all times.
She started toward her bedroom door, then hesitated just long enough to shove her feet into her thick-soled, indoor/outdoor, clog-styled slippers.
They were lined with faux fur and a half size too big so she dragged her feet when she walked, but she loved them.
She couldn’t help but smile as she made her way to the living room.
She paused when she realized he wasn’t in the house.
“He’s outside waiting,” Daniel said. “And you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
“I want to, Daddy,” she said, her voice betraying her disappointment that her father had left him standing outside.
“Have a good time, baby,” Avaleigh said.
“Yeah, have fun,” Daniel repeated, but with absolutely no emotion.
Angelle walked over to the door and opened it.
Boon had heard her coming and was standing right in front of the door, smiling at her. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” she replied. “Sorry you had to wait.”
“Not a problem at all. I’d wait all day if you needed me to.”
“Next time, you’ll get to wait inside,” Angelle said, placing her hand on the curve of his elbow as he offered it to escort her to Maverik’s house.
“So, there’s going to be a next time?” Boon asked teasingly.
“I guess I should have said if there’s a next time you can wait inside,” Angelle said.
“If you’d like it to be so, there will be many next times,” Boon said.
“I would like that a lot,” Angelle said, smiling up at Boon before casting a scolding glare back at her father standing in the door watching them as they left the house.
“You better check yourself, my love. You’re going to distance yourself by trying to keep her away from him,” Avaleigh said.
“I don’t want to lose her, too. And I don’t want you to have to lose her, too.”
“We won’t if we just let her live her life. And I haven’t lost anyone. Kids grow up and go live their lives. It doesn’t mean we won’t be a part of them.”
“She doesn’t know how to even have a friend!” Daniel exclaimed.
“That’s true. But she’s learning. Give her the space to figure it out. We can always swoop in at a moment’s notice if we’re needed. But the fact that you don’t trust her is going to start eating at her more than the fact that you’re less than polite to the young male she likes.”
“He’s a boy,” Daniel snapped.
“No, he’s not. He’s Tempest’s uncle. And Gargoyles age slowly. You know that. He might even be older than we are, biologically, at least.”
“Great, that just makes everything better,” Daniel said, flopping down in his recliner.
“Do you really dislike him?”
It took a few minutes before Daniel decided to answer.
“No,” he finally said. “I don’t even know him.
But I’ve always believed Gargoyles to be a violent race.
And now there’s one that wants my daughter.
It’s like sending your daughter off with a male that has a history of fighting and violent outbursts and believing he’ll never turn it on her. ”
“He’s not like that. And I’ll be the first one to tell you that just because you have an impression of a certain being behaving a certain way, doesn’t mean that’s the rule for everyone in it.
Case in point, you. A Dragon terrorized me, and I labeled you just like him, simply because you were both of the same species.
Don’t label Boon. Give him the benefit of the doubt.
If he turns out to be what you fear him to be, then kill him.
But I think that your gut will tell you you’re wrong if you’ll just listen to it. ”
“Why her? Why does he have to set his sights on Angelle?”
Avaleigh reached out and lay her hand on top of his where it rested. “Why hasn’t any other male taken the time to look beneath her shyness and see for themselves just how amazing she is?”
Daniel quietly regarded Avaleigh.
“This male, who she happens to respond to like she never has anyone else, sees Angelle. Not just a quiet, shy, antisocial girl. He sees her heart, her kindness, her soul, even her quirkiness, and he’s drawn to her. How is that bad?”
Daniel looked his mate in the eye and finally nodded. “I’m being an asshole.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Aren’t I allowed to be an asshole every once in a while?”
“Not at Angelle’s expense.”
Daniel sighed. “Fine. I’ll do better. But I will not be happy about it!”
“When you see how happy she is, you will be happy about it.”
“If he’s the one.”
“I’m pretty sure that you can take that ‘if’ out of that sentence.”
~~~
Angelle’s heart thudded as she walked beside Boon, her hand resting in the crook of his arm, with his other hand covering hers as he led her toward Maverik’s house.
She smiled up at Boon, just almost brave enough to look him in the eye for longer than a brief second before looking quickly away. “I didn’t know you were here for another visit with Tempest.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?” Angelle asked, confused because he was most certainly here.
“I’m here to see you,” Boon said, smiling warmly at her as he repeatedly glanced away to quickly survey their path to make sure there was nothing that would trip her, since her attention was focused on him and not their path.
“Oh,” she said, her nervousness ratcheting up a notch or two.
“Is that okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
“You seem a little nervous,” Boon said.
“I just didn’t expect you to make the trip just for me.”
“I think any male of any worth would do just about anything for you.”
Angelle looked up at him, her eyes registering surprise as he came to a stop at the base of the wide, wooden steps leading up to Maverik’s front deck. “Breakfast at Maverik’s?”
“I’m staying with Maverik and Valerie for a little while.”
“You are?”
“I am. They live closer to you and will give me more opportunity to spend time with you — at your convenience, of course.”
Angelle nodded absently as her gaze focused on the outdoor table set with two places and a lot of food.
“Do you mind that I planned a visit to be able to spend more time with you, instead of just staying with Tempest for a day or two?”
“I don’t think so,” she said hesitantly.
“Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you have to spend any time with me that you don’t want to. It just means I’m close, and I’m available if you’d like to see me. And if you’re going fishing, or camping, or anything, I’d like to go along if you don’t mind the company.”
Angelle nodded as she smiled up at Boon again, her nervousness even more apparent than it had been before.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered, and placed her foot on the first step, as Boon gently pulled his arm from her grip to hold her hand with one hand and steady her with the other at her back as she ascended the steps.
“You know, I’ve always wondered why Uncle Maverik calls this a porch, it’s very clearly a deck. It’s as big as the one out back.”
“I think your Uncle Maverik does things his own way without fail,” Boon said.
Angelle laughed. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“Here, let me help you get seated,” Boon said, pulling out the chair that would put her back to her house so she wouldn’t be distracted by her father watching the entire time they tried to have breakfast.
“Thank you. You’re very thoughtful,” Angelle said.
“Sometimes, though I have to admit that I’m more thoughtful in all things concerning you, than I usually am with everyone else.
” He considered what he’d just said for a second more.
“Unless it’s my mother and father, or my sister, or Tempest. I guess I should say I’m more thoughtful in all things regarding you and my family. ”
“Like I said, very thoughtful.” She looked around at all the food on the table, covered with plastic tops, or foil, sealing in the warmth and keeping any uninvited bugs out of the food. “Aren’t Uncle Maverik and Aunt Valerie going to join us?” she asked.