Chapter 9 #2
“Shh,” I whispered to Duncan at five minutes after midnight. The halls were as quiet as they’d been the day before, and I really didn’t want to wake up anyone, even if the only person I’d met who lived on the first floor was Franklin.
I figured the elder needed his sleep. When he’d come into the kitchen halfway in the middle of Sienna reminding me about the time we had gotten into an argument with a neighbor at our apartment complex over his inability to park in a single spot, Franklin had already been yawning. I’d gladly helped him make five pounds of chicken while he listened to Sienna talking about issues within her family, which had taken up the whole dinner, and he’d even gotten in on the boyfriend troubles her sister was going through. Agnes had eventually wandered in, going straight for the elder, then Duncan, and ignoring the rest of us.
Dinner had given me the opportunity to study the elder, who I’d caught side-eyeing me more than once.
Did he suspect something about me?
I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to overthink it more than I needed to. It’d been one whole day, and it had been a pretty good one, all things considered. And now, the donut and I were going to wrap up the night with a little game of tag, just the two of?—
“Oh my fuuu —” I screeched, bending down before I could even think about what I was doing and scooping Duncan up into my arms, ready to take off running back up the stairs and lock us in our room.
“You said a bad word,” the pale-haired girl standing in the hallway—the pitch-black hallway in the middle of the night—said.
For a second, I’d really thought the house was haunted by Victorian-era children, but I realized the little girl wasn’t a ghost because her body wasn’t translucent. Thank you, good night vision .
Duncan, unlike me and my instincts, wagged, not even slightly alarmed.
Why was he…? Oh. Oh. “Agnes?” I whispered.
“What are you doing?” she answered in the exact kind of voice I would’ve imagined coming out of her mouth. Unimpressed, flat, high in the way girls that age were capable. The most surprising thing of all was that she had unicorn pajamas on. I would’ve expected her to have Wednesday Addams’s pajamas from the expert level side-eye she was capable of in her mini wolf form.
She was so cute in the way a jellyfish was. You could look, but maybe you should second-guess touching it.
Duncan’s tail wagged some more against my side, and I set him down. He trotted over to his new friend. She gave him an affectionate pet, whispering something so quiet I couldn’t hear. Just as quickly as he greeted her, he came back, pouncing on my feet before sticking his butt in the air, paws stretched out ahead of him.
God, he was so cute. I lived in a constant state of wanting to bear hug him. His ears grazed the floor, and I was going to need to give them a wipe. When he’d been really young, I’d used a hair tie to hold them back when he ate.
“I didn’t recognize you.” I gave her a little smile. “Are you okay? Can’t sleep?”
Agnes shook her head, so I was going to take it that she was fine but couldn’t wind down. She was too young to be filled with worries, but there wasn’t much I could do about that. What I could do instead was be nicer to her.
Even if she seemed like a snitch and she didn’t seem to like me.
But there was a reason for her distrust, I just didn’t know what it was yet.
I hesitated for a second, watching her just standing there, silently. “Where do you sleep?” I tried.
She lifted her arm and pointed at the door next to her.
I had to take advantage of her in her human form. “Are you by yourself all night?”
“No. Liddie and Sera take turns sleeping with me.”
I didn’t know either of those people. “In the same room?”
“Yeah.” She was so still, standing there. “They snore. They only wake up if you shake them hard.”
“I see.” That made me feel better, and it made a hell of a lot more sense than a child sleeping by herself all night, magical or not. “So one of them is in the room right now?”
She nodded, her eyes narrowing. “Where are you going?”
Duncan pawed at my feet, telling me to hurry up. “We’re going outside. I would invite you, but I think everyone is asleep, and I don’t know where Henri is.” Or anyone other than Franklin. “I’m scared to take you, and then we all get in trouble for not asking permission.” I didn’t think waking up a stranger in the middle of the night was a great idea either; Liddie and Sera probably wouldn’t appreciate it.
Wasn’t she grounded anyway?
The pale blonde didn’t say a word, and dang it, that made me feel bad. But I knew what it would look like to take a child that wasn’t mine out of their home in the middle of the night. How would I feel if someone did that to Duncan without my permission?
But even being aware of how complicated the situation was, and that I was doing the right thing, didn’t make me feel less crappy.
“I’ll try and talk to someone tomorrow about it. Should you be in bed? Duncan took a long nap earlier, and I don’t need a lot of sleep….” Oh, this child hadn’t been my fan before, and she still wasn’t. I could sense it, even though her expression didn’t change. “I’m sorry, Agnes. I’ll ask them about you coming out to do things with us—if we do anything—tomorrow. All right?”
The too-serious little girl stood there like the young ghost I’d initially thought she was.
Duncan pawed at me again, his front teeth biting my shoelaces and tugging at them. There wasn’t much more I could do now. “We’ll see you in the morning. Sleep good.” How could I feel this bad twice in a single day? I was on a roll.
“Night, Duncan,” the little girl called out.
Ouch. Well, I couldn’t blame her, but I would make it a priority to talk to someone about including her in activities I did with the donut, if she wanted, especially if she didn’t have anyone else.
Slightly deflated—at least I was—we turned and headed down the hall, and I waited until we’d made it to the front doors to finally peek back. Agnes was gone. That didn’t necessarily make me feel better, but I had an excited puppy who I could do whatever I wanted with, and I’d make it up to her if I could. In the meantime….
I pulled the ball I’d stuffed into my fanny pack out when we were far enough away from the house and tossed it underhanded. Duncan took off like a rocket after it, his tail bright in the shadows. He picked up the ball, glanced at me… and then he took off toward the trees.
“Dang it, Duncan!” I laughed, knowing I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it.
He did circles around a few trees, still holding the ball, and slowed down to let me catch him. When I did, I took the ball and tossed it again. Pure delight came off him as he went after it, saying, “Yes,” over and over again. That time, he brought it back, and I pretended to throw it, then took off running the other way instead.
“C’mon, slowpoke,” I egged him on, going around a trunk. He pounced on my heel and did a quick 180 turn so I could chase him. I did, or at least I tried. He was fast and only getting faster as he grew. “I’m gonna getcha!”
I wasn’t, but we could pretend.
Those short legs pumped even faster, going around a pine with wide lower branches before he dove into them as a shortcut.
Something caught my foot, making me lose my balance, and I landed on my knees with a “shit!” and an “ow!”
“You all right?”
Snapping my head up as I brushed off my knees—noticing my unraveled shoelace as the culprit—I didn’t know how I’d missed the figure coming from the direction of the parking lot. I hadn’t sensed him at all. There wasn’t a single outdoor light on, but every detail of the dark uniform covering his body was obvious. It took everything in me not to make a peep, not to make a face in reaction to the well-built man who had poured himself into black pants and a short-sleeved black polo that I knew didn’t have enough stretch in the material to have any business fitting him that well.
He looked like the kind of law enforcement a woman might get arrested for on purpose.
Was I going into heat? Was I capable of that? Because….
I had never in my life had a thing for a guy in a uniform, other than a football one, but I was really, really reconsidering it.
I’d always found him attractive. First, he’d been cute. Then I’d thought he was hot. Now? He was handsome.
Too handsome.
Stop it, Nina.
“I’ll live,” I called out, retying my shoelace real quick, then tucking my legs under me and standing. He was the only one around, so I had that working for my pride. “Hi, Fluff.”
A flash of blue stopped in place, Duncan’s tail straight up in the air. He wasn’t growling. That was good.
“Hey.” Henri kneeled and held out his hand. “Hi, Duncan.”
The puppy didn’t move any closer, but he craned his neck, smelling his fingers from a distance. Henri’s smile was visible through the shadows. Nothing could hide in them from me.
“You’re a handsome boy. A good boy, huh,” he murmured to my donut, keeping his hand extended as a little nose twitched. “I made your breakfast this morning, remember that?”
I watched them.
“We need to take you to stretch your legs,” Henri kept talking to him in a low, calming voice. That small, pleased smile remaining on his features despite the fact Duncan hadn’t inched any closer to him. “How’s he done with Matti on runs?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as Duncan’s tail lowered just a little bit, like a hair, but a minor improvement was still an improvement. “We haven’t gone anywhere together where Matti or Sienna felt safe enough to be in bodies that they could run freely.”
“Why’s that?” he asked. Henri stayed focused on my puppy, who was doing the same thing right back. “He’s been with you for two years, hasn’t he?”
“Yeah, but we don’t see each other that often. We go a couple months between visits. Your cousin travels a lot, Sienna’s busy with work, and I’m not usually close enough to Chicago to drop by easily.”
He made a face.
What was that expression for? I wondered. What was wrong with that? It wasn’t like he saw them that frequently either.
Whatever had come to mind wasn’t that important though from the way he moved the conversation along. “If you’re comfortable with it, Randall and I can take him out on one of my days off. We can bring Agnes for company since they seem to get along. Nothing long or strenuous. Just to let him run a bit.”
I didn’t have to think about it. “Sure.”
Those orangey-brown irises met mine.
Why did he look surprised?
“What? Matti told me I could trust you, and if I can’t, then there’s no point in being here. And we used to know each other. You were always polite to me, Fluffy. Sometimes you were even very nice,” I teased him.
His eyes moved toward Dunky-Dunk, and I saw his mouth stretch into a smile as he gave my boy a long, assessing look, which he got right back from someone a fraction of his size. Duncan was half an angel, but his side-eye game was strong. He was something else. “That’s a good point.”
“He did really good at the nursery today.”
“Good job, pup,” Henri encouraged him, using a voice gentler than any other one I’d ever heard from him before.
I had to shove every little bit of my attraction down .
I fidgeted. “Hey, about Agnes… she caught us sneaking out, but I didn’t want anyone to think I was kidnapping her. No one has said anything about her parents….” I scratched my throat. “Is she yours?” They didn’t look anything alike, but you never knew. Sure, Henri didn’t have a mate, but….
That got me his attention. “Everyone here is mine.”
The hardest part of living here was going to be learning how to suppress my emotions, I decided right then and there.
Somehow, I kept my face even, chained whatever sound was in my throat in place, and said the only thing I could. “Hmm.”
But that wasn’t an answer exactly.
His gaze flicked to me before going back to my donut just as fast. “She’s bonded the most to me and Franklin, but we all take care of her. Every child here considers every elder extended grandparents, Agnes especially. In the same way that every adult is a guardian to every child,” he explained. “You’re included in that now. Their safety and well-being are the responsibility of everyone, not just a biological family member.”
That made my chest feel a little funny, and my eyes feel even funnier. The situation was what I’d been expecting. What I’d hoped for. “That’s nice.” I heard the hitch in my voice that got curious amber irises back on me. “Then, you’re saying I can take her out to play at night, if she’s awake, and no one is going to try and bite my head off?”
His forehead furrowed. “No one here is going to hurt you, Nina.”
Trying to keep from making faces was a whole lot harder than I ever would have imagined, especially when he was looking right at me—and in that short-sleeved, collared shirt that showed off tan biceps, no less.
Henri kept going. “Either of you. And yeah, you can take her out if you want.”
“I do,” I answered. “She’s not grounded then?”
“She is, but….” He gave me a long look that had my eyebrows shooting up my forehead.
“ But? Are you breaking the rules?” I whispered in delight.
Who was this man?
His facial expression didn’t change, and I ate it up even more. “If you don’t tell, I won’t either. She’s a good kid, and it was Pascal’s idea. She told me she tried to get them to come back, and I believe her.”
My mouth formed a little O in even more surprise, and one side of his mouth hitched up for a split second before he blinked and it was gone.
“Do you need to give me a permission slip in case anyone asks?”
The man, who kept surprising me, looked around. Literally, over both of those broad shoulders. “Are there more people out here right now that are gonna worry about it?”
I really didn’t know who he was, not the same man-boy I’d known, but I wanted to get to know him. This part of him made me smile, not just because it was unexpected but because… I liked it. A lot.
I snorted. “Just because I don’t see them or smell them, doesn’t mean they aren’t out here. You probably have people patrolling at all times, don’t you?”
He made a gesture that said I wasn’t wrong. “How are your friends?
“Sienna felt better enough that she came down and ate a little bit of plain chicken for dinner, and Matti was still upstairs claiming he’s on his death bed. It’s the first time either of them has ever had food poisoning.”
That got his attention. “What’d they eat?” He hadn’t asked about it after we’d paid them a visit. He’d seemed so distracted to me. “When we checked on them earlier, I thought they’d caught something viral. There’s a few illnesses that do get us sick.”
“Hot dogs from a gas station.”
His forehead furrowed. “Why the hell would they eat that?”
I laughed. “That’s what I said!”
Henri shook his head in disgust. “You remember the name of the gas station?”
Even more than a fit body, I had a thing for a good man.
I was in trouble.
But I shouldn’t have a thing for this good man. It had just been too long since the last time I’d talked to one, I guess, that it felt so new. So rewarding. My last boyfriend had been BD—before Duncan. Before my RV life, even. My last boyfriend had been when I’d lived in Santa Fe.
It had been a while.
Anyway, I wasn’t convinced this particular good man liked me as a person all that much to begin with. Tolerated? I could see that. Could be sarcastic with and maybe joke a little with? Yes, but I was also aware I gave those vibes off to most people, at least some part of me did. I was a weird contradiction in repelling some folks and strongly attracting others.
And there wasn’t going to be a point in harboring a little crush on an attractive man if I was going to have to devote myself to finding someone here to marry me so I could stay. That was the most important thing I had to focus on. I needed to find options. Whoever I ended up with, we were going to make it work, come hell or high water.
Because, if it was a werewolf, they stayed with their mates. A werewolf’s dedication to their partner was unparalleled. In sickness and in health, through sunny skies and tornadoes, they stayed together. And I liked that, I always had. But there was no point in thinking about that in front of Henri, even if a werewolf was my best shot since most of them seemed to like me just fine.
But some part of my brain wondered again about Henri being a potential mate. The other question was, did I talk to Matti about it or did I keep the idea to myself? He had a big mouth, and I wasn’t sure how he’d react.
“I do remember. I called and spoke to the manager earlier, but I’ll write down the number for you in the morning if you want,” I told him.
He nodded, then asked, “Do I need to check on them?”
“I don’t think so. Sienna and I won’t let Matti die. I don’t want him haunting me for the next sixty years.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners, there one second and gone the next. “All right,” he replied a little more softly than he had before.
“What?” I asked, tipping my chin up at him.
It took him so long to answer, I was half expecting him not to. But he did. “You don’t look like the Cricket I remember or smell like her. Then you laugh or say something cute, and I know it’s you.” Henri met my eyes, and I watched his nostrils flare again for the briefest moment before he looked away.
I thought about my bracelet again and how he still hadn’t given it back, but I didn’t want to ask. If this was what they needed from me—to not mask myself for the time being—I could do it.
I’d just need to stay away from Spencer.
“Thanks, Henri.” He wouldn’t say something like that if he hated having me here. “I need to ask you something since I forgot to ask Franklin earlier.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have to start working again soon. How do I fit in helping out around here? How do I know what you need help with? If there’s a calendar for volunteering, I haven’t seen one.”
That got his interest. “What do you do?”
“I work remotely in customer service. I just need the internet. It’s what I’ve done for years, since satellite internet got so good.” I had zero plans of selling my trailer until the three months were up. Even after that, I might still not. What if one day Duncan could be out in public again? Maybe we could travel a little, and my trailer was paid off; the only monthly payment I had for it was insurance.
“Who do you work for?”
I told him the name of the major online pet company. “It’s full-time, and scheduling is really flexible.” I liked it, and the way the company was run was very customer-focused, so I rarely had to piss people off telling them “no.” Plus, I got a discount for Duncan’s toys, even though his favorite method of entertainment was animal carcasses, followed closely by any old stick.
“Most of us work away from the ranch. All that’s expected is that you help out when you can. Download the app. It’s how we communicate with everyone. There’s a calendar, a forum, and a sign-up list…”
There was an app? They had thought of everything here. I didn’t know how it was possible for my awe to grow every day, but it did.
“…with different jobs and tasks that you can sign up for,” he finished explaining.
Tasks . I didn’t know what that meant yet, but I’d look. “Sounds good,” I said. “Is it okay if I work in that room where I met the elders? I have satellite internet, but if I can avoid running my generator, I try to.”
He got a funny look on his face. “Yes.” The muscle in his cheek flexed. “You live here now. The bedrooms and family homes are the only places that aren’t free space for everyone.”
“That was what I’d figured, but I wanted to make sure.”
“For tax purposes, there’s an address in the town you can use as your place of residence. I’ll get it for you.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I smiled at him.
Those orange-brown irises lingered on me. On my face. The moonlight was hitting his features in a way that brought to life all those stunning angles and the beautiful color of his skin, all creamy golden.
His eyes flicked toward Duncan suddenly.
Stop checking out Henri.
We stood there silently for a minute, Duncan the center of attention as he kept on trying to sniff Henri from where he was. After a moment, my puppy ran for my legs, twining his way through them before sitting right on top of my feet. He leaned the side of his head against my knee.
“You’re a good boy protecting your mom,” Henri stated with a nod at my donut. “I need to get to bed.” The werewolf man drew his palm down his face before sighing. “There are people out here. Nothing would dare come this close, but if you need anything, yell as loud as you can.”
I smiled again. “I will. Sleep good,” I wished him.
He looked at me for a second, throat bobbing before nodding. “’Night, Duncan,” he called out before heading toward the house.
I didn’t let myself watch him just in case he happened to turn around. He definitely didn’t need to see me checking out his butt in those black tactical pants. I was already hoping he hadn’t caught on to my attraction when we’d been out in the woods earlier. Instead, I bent down, poked Duncan in the side, said, “You’re it, Donut,” and took off running again.
Maybe another day, we’d invite Henri to play too.