16. Ben #2
What I did know was how to make a delicious dinner, so I did my best to focus on that.
Every now and then, my thoughts slipped back to a random moment or fragment of an idea.
Like how I’d been so sure I was about to die to a random ghost from my past only to see a frail shape slam into his side and free me.
Maybe this was a wild thing for a shifter to think, but it all happened so fast, some parts of it were still blank to me.
But what I would never forget was the determined grit in Giselle’s eyes as she pushed that medical bracelet into the man’s eye, screaming at him to leave me alone.
Many people would be horrified by that. And while I liked to think I wasn’t a violent person, I was definitely not feeling horrified.
A bit shocked, yes. Filled with wonder and surprise, and maybe even a little turned on.
Even when she was so sick that she might need to go to the hospital, Giselle fought for me like I was someone worthy of protecting.
Like I was precious, and I didn’t deserve the punishment for failing my pack.
I didn’t even feel that way about myself, so why did a practical stranger?
Maybe that was simply who Giselle was. She was the kind of person who would work herself into a thyroid storm for kids who weren’t her own, and she’d tackle a werewolf to protect yet another werewolf, who was the father of one of her students.
She really was incredible.
Which was why I tried to remind myself that she was only coming over to dinner to be nice.
She’d only called me because she had pertinent information about not-Charles, and like usual, was so kind and perceptive that she knew I needed closure on whatever had happened that night.
That was all. This wasn’t a date or a do-over.
The least I could do was make her a tasty, satiating meal, that was both dense in calories and nutrients.
She’d mentioned she was having a hard time eating enough food to get her weight up, mostly because of nausea from her thyroid playing games with her.
It was one of the reasons I had chosen pasta.
One, it was easy to make a whole bunch so she would have leftovers to take home, and two, I could add a bunch of bone-based protein powder into the pesto.
It was mostly flavorless, unlike other sweetened and vanilla mixtures I’d tasted throughout my years, but added a ton of collagen, protein, and other macronutrients to a meal.
If this was the only time I ever got to cook for her, I would make it a good.
But I didn’t just think of Giselle. I thought about my son, and how happy he was in that after-school art program. He was having fewer nightmares, and so was I.
I thought random things about Millia. We used to go swimming at the lake after sundown, both stripped down to nothing, running away in wolf form if any humans came upon us. She loved growing and drying flowers, and had entire scrapbooks of different artful arrangements.
And I thought about her and Giselle together, sitting at a table and sipping tea, talking about Benny with wide, sappy smiles.
The two of you would have had one hell of a time roasting me.
It brought a smile to my face as I finished, and I wore that same smile as I called Natalie and the kids in to wash up and set the table with an extra place for the first time since we moved here.
I fixed myself up in the half-bath downstairs, and just in time too. The moment I stepped out, there was a knock at my door and a buzz from my phone.
She was here.
I didn’t quite run to the front door, but I did walk really quickly. However, I slowed my pace right before I reached it, smoothed down my shirt, then readied myself to greet her.
“Hey there!” I said a little too brightly as I opened the door.
She wasn’t dressed to the nines like she had been on her date, and yet she still looked like she stepped out of a magazine. She was brunette today, her hair a simple curly bob, and she wore adorable, mushroom-printed overalls with a red turtleneck that looked warm enough under her light jacket.
She wasn’t wearing a lot of makeup, just eyeliner that looked so striking on her hazel eyes, ruby red lipstick, and that blush I was sure was natural.
“Hey there.” She smiled so sweetly, I was glad she couldn’t smell my pheromones. “Thank you for inviting me into your home again.”
I stepped to the side and gestured into the hall. “You should probably come in and taste the food before you do any thanking.”
“I’m sure it will be lovely.”
As she stepped in, there was a sort of irresistible force that seemed to pull us together. The moment was cut off as a happy cry sounded from the end of the hall.
“Miss Fischbacher!” Benny cried, racing down the hall and launching himself at the slight woman. Giselle stumbled back a little, and I had to catch her with an arm behind her back.
It wasn’t a big deal, just a little bit of physical contact, but I was acutely aware of her back as it pressed into the muscle of my forearm for a few seconds before she straightened.
“My, you’re enthusiastic today,” she chuckled, patting Benny’s head. “I saw you a few hours ago.”
“Yeah, but that was at school. Now you’re in my house. It’s different!”
“That’s true, it is different,” I confirmed gently. “But remember, we need to ask before we put hands on people. Even if they’re friendly hands.”
Benny’s bright face faltered slightly, and I hated raining on his parade, but it was important that he learned to be responsible for how he interacted with people. With shifters’ accelerated strength and speed, it could be oh-so-easy to accidentally hurt someone, especially a flimsy human.
“Sorry,” Benny murmured. “It’s just really cool you’re here.”
“It’s okay, Benny. I’m happy you’re so excited to have me in your home. But now you know to ask before hugging in the future.”
He nodded. I knew my son well enough to tell he was embarrassed. My brain scrambled for a way to de-escalate the situation for him, but Giselle was already on it.
“Man, it smells incredible in here. Do you wanna give me a tour on the way to your dining room?”
Benny brightened instantly. “Sure!”
He offered his hand, and Giselle took it without hesitation. While I was aware my son liked his teacher—he was attuned enough to her scent to save her life—I hadn’t known he was so fond of her.
Then again, it could simply be that she was his first visitor, in the sense that he had a relationship with her outside the home.
Anybody else who came over was either there because of Natalie, or was one of the elders from other packs in the area checking in.
Benny didn’t bring friends over and instead went over to their houses.
It was safer that way, since all his friends were human and we were a shifter household.
Not that I wouldn’t be on my best behavior, of course.
Really, I had to wonder if that was more of an excuse I’d come up with so I wouldn’t have to be social.
Maybe I needed to work on that.
“Your house is lovely,” I heard Giselle say as they walked forward. “Oh, hello.”
“Hello,” Natalie said. “You are Benny’s teacher.”
“I am,” Giselle said nervously, and I hurried to her side.
She gave me a look that asked a whole lot of questions and my brain rushed to think of how to answer those questions with both of my kids none the wiser.
Not that I had to worry about Veronica. Benny was the issue.
Sometimes my son was too smart for his own good.
“I told Natalie all about the adventures we had last Friday when she babysat,” I said, forcing an easygoing smile.
“Ah, good to know,” Giselle said and I appreciated the relief that washed over her features. I liked that she didn’t enjoy being secretive. It made it easier to trust her.
“You guys are talking about the date you went on, right?” Benny interjected as he went over to his seat. “I thought it went bad.”
I nearly choked on my own spit. “Why did you think that?”
“Because you were crying in my room after.”
Goddamn it.
He wasn’t lying, so I really couldn’t be mad at him, but the tips of my ears burned with embarrassment.
“Our date was lovely,” Giselle said, as sweet as ever. “That’s why I’m here again. I had so much fun, I had to come visit and spend time with all of you.”
“Oh, you want time with all of us?” Benny said, eyebrows going up just like his mother’s.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”
“I’m here to take the kids to my place so the two of you may have… privacy.”
I picked up on the spike in Giselle’s nerves whenever Natalie spoke. I couldn’t blame her. Natalie was intense even when she wasn’t trying to be.
“Let’s have dinner first, then maybe play a board game, and see how we feel. How about that?”
“Yay!” Benny shouted. It was louder than what was polite, but I let it slide. It was doing my heart a lot of good to see him so enthusiastic. I knew he was fond of Giselle, but I’d had no idea just how jazzed he’d be to hang out with her outside of school.
“Aeee!” Veronica agreed enthusiastically.
I wasn’t about to be a stick in the mud if both my children were so enthused, so I threw my arms up. “Aw, yeah!”
Thankfully, this wasn’t one of those times my son felt the need to tell me I was cringe.
Giselle waved her hands above her head. “Pasta party!”
It was silly and stupid, but so fun . And it was only natural that all the eyes at the table went to Natalie, the only one who hadn’t joined in.
She was wearing her usual neutral expression, which meant it looked like she was the one where she looked like she was contemplating disembowelment, but I had long since learned that was her default face.
She was just as likely to be contemplating buying new shoes as she was potential homicide.
I didn’t expect her to participate, but then she suddenly dabbed without changing her expression at all.
Sometimes, she could be damn funny.