“Nope,” she answered, setting aside her cup. “I am still getting used to the fact that you and your family are different from me, but you know what? Different can be wonderful and since I already think you and your brother and sister are great, the rest will all come together.”
He nodded, more thoughtful for a boy his age than she’d have guessed, but he was Scott’s son. Scott was the kind of man who seemed to really think and the trait had probably passed to all of his children.
“Because my grandma is like us, but we scare her. She won’t let us near her anymore because we’re different. I don’t want to like you if you’re going to be like her.”
Her heart broke right in half. Lucy had heard dozens of sob stories and seriously sad things in her life, but Ross’s bleak confession, whispered for her ears only, made her want to cry. Instead she scooted over on the bench and tugged the boy to her chest. “I’m so sorry she made you feel bad, sweetheart. I understand if it takes a while for us to be friends, I really do, so you just take your time if you need it.”
His skinny arms wrapped around her and Lucy knew the little guy wasn’t one to hold back. She wondered when the last time someone other than his dad had hugged him. Scott didn’t withhold affection with any of the kids. She assumed it was the same for boys as it had been for her as a girl. She’d loved her grandma, but Lucy had wanted a daddy-type person to hug and love her as well. Maybe Ross was hoping for the same thing in a way and, premature as it was, Lucy wasn’t about to push him away because if nothing else, she was going to be friends with the family.
“Okay,” he muttered and, as if he hadn’t been snuggling with her, he took off.
Her foster brothers had been similar, she thought, picking her tea up and wincing after taking a sip. Eric and Jeff—they’d been good boys who had needed love like nothing else and she hoped what they’d got in her grandmother’s home was enough. She’d done her best to love them like they were her own big brothers. Maybe she should call them.
The last time she’d seen anyone except her sister Jennifer had been at Grandma’s funeral. Everyone was so busy and she didn’t want to be the one to drag them back if the sad memories were keeping them away.
“How’s the tea?”
She looked away from the kids playing and smiled at Scott. He’d invited her over on his way home from work and had apologized before jumping into the shower when he’d thought he smelled. She certainly hadn’t noticed and would never had said anything if she had, but she wasn’t going to argue with the results. His dress slacks were gone, replaced with snug jeans and an equally tight black T-shirt. If he’d looked a little tense after his long day, it was gone and the best part, his feet were bare. Adorable.
“The tea is fine, thanks,” she said, but didn’t make the mistake of picking it up again.
He looked at her through narrowed eyes and she hoped he didn’t catch her in the tiny fib.
What if the books are true? What if he can smell dishonesty?
“So, the whole werewolf thing. I think I need more information on...everything.”
He nodded. “Go ahead, hit me with your questions.”
“Well.” There was so much. Where to start? “Which author has it right? Are you guys, like, bloodthirsty and controlled by the moon or something?”
He laughed. “No one’s got it quite right. If you go by the books and movies, we’re way more exciting than we actually are. The moon thing is basically false. It’s more of a tradition for first changes to happen for the youths during the full moon than anything. We can change at will, it doesn’t hurt and it’s one of those things that is good for our wellbeing. I’ve heard of some Weres going for years without changing with no adverse affects.”
“And the other night in the living room?”
“The other night I had a fever. Sometimes a quick change is enough to shock our system out of sickness and I took a chance. I’m sorry again for scaring you.”
She waved her hand and automatically reached for her tea, but stopped herself before drinking. “Don’t worry about that. Tell me more about you guys. Do you have packs?”
He was quiet a long moment and she wondered if she’d hit a sore spot. If the kids’ grandmother had disowned them, maybe there was some discord in the family.
“We’re supposed to,” he finally said. “At the moment, me and the kids are technically lone wolves. It’s kind of a long story.”
She waited. She had time for the story if he wanted to share it, but she wasn’t going to press him if he wasn’t inclined.
“The thing with us… Well, I might as well start from the beginning. Weres have always been immune to basic illness, including mental illness. We don’t get depressed, don’t have schizophrenia or ADHD or anything like that. We don’t watch for it because it doesn’t happen. Somehow it did with my mate. Something in her just…snapped.
“She was always distant with Jessie, but I attributed that to them both being females. I didn’t have sisters, so the dynamic of female relationships was lost on me. Then one day she lost it. She’d been having an affair—which is a huge taboo in Were culture—and instead of leaving me, she decided to kill me and the kids.”
She gasped. Whatever she could have imagined didn’t come close to what she was hearing. No wonder Ross was so sad and conflicted. The poor baby. They were all poor babies.
“And that’s not normal. I can’t stress that enough. Mother wolves are awesome. As a rule, they’re loving and nurturing. They might not be the most affectionate or indulgent, but they are good to their pups. Tiffany’s actions were so heinous she was killed. My mother came and saved the kids while Tiffany’s new boyfriend was trying to kill me. Damn it, this all sounds so bad…”
“It’s okay, get it all out, Scott. If you say it’s a fluke, I’ll believe you because I can see you’re a wonderful father. I’m sure most parents are as loving and generous.”
He nodded and blew out a deep breath. “Thanks. Anyway, after the big blow up—none of the kids were hurt, thank God—my family backed completely away from us. I was hurt and, honestly, what could I say about Tiffany? She was nuts and if she’d been anyone else’s mate, I wouldn’t have wanted her near my family. I didn’t see the banishment for the rest of us coming.”
“Why did they kick you all out?” she asked. “I’d think with the threat gone and all of you needing help that your family would close ranks and help keep you all safe.”
“I thought so too.” His sad smile made her heart clench. He took a long drink of his beer. “My mom and dad came to me in the hospital—”
“Hospital? I thought you were super strong.”
“Yeah, well, the other guy didn’t make it, but he took a chunk out of my spine before he finally died.”
“Oh, Scott.”
“Anyway, I had to have bolts put in so I could stay upright long enough to heal. While I was in surgery, the pack voted us out. My mom and dad brought the kids to the hospital the morning after the attack and left them with me. Mom said they were tainted and couldn’t be trusted within the pack.”
“
Tainted
. Oh no.”
He nodded. “Yep. So they stayed with me in the hospital and after I was well enough to leave, we headed here. There’s a pack in Haven, Pennsylvania. They’re a good bunch and they’re considering us for membership into their pack but, hell, they’re in the same boat as our home pack was. If the mental thing is hereditary…”
“It could be so many other things,” Lucy protested. “Punishing a child for something that might happen is ridiculous. You’re better off without those mongrels.”
“I’d agree most days, but it’s hard to be without pack, especially for the young ones. They’re so reliant on instinct at this point and they know they should be surrounded by family and other Weres showing them how to act. They’ve only got me.”
No wonder he protected the kids so fiercely and sometimes looked like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. The future of the three kids did and, in his world, if he was gone, they’d have nobody. The foster system for people was cruel and sad at times, but she couldn’t imagine what it would be like for a werewolf pup.
She reached across the patio table and rested her hand over Scott’s. “The kids are so lucky to have you. They know how much you love them and when that’s right, everything else lines up, with time.”
He smiled at her and turned his hand so they were palm to palm. “I heard what Ross said to you. Thanks for being so kind. I think we’re all missing nice females in our lives. You’re right, I love them and do my best to show it, but when a good female, when one like you is near… Well, we’ve never been lucky enough to have a female like you in our lives. You’re one in a million, Lucy.”
He was kind, but he was also wrong. She was just another woman, maybe even a touch on the boring side, but it was nice being liked. She liked them too.
“I like your kids, Scott. I’d love to take them to the zoo or something in the next few weeks—wait, is it safe to take werewolf kids around other animals?”
He laughed. “Yeah, it’s safe enough. They get a little entranced with the small mammal exhibits, but they don’t bite or anything. Maybe we could all go together next week if you’ve got some time. I’ll buy you the ice cream we didn’t get the other night.”
She’d forgotten about their interrupted trip for cold treats. So much had happened in only a few days.
“I’m getting the impression that werewolves really like ice cream.”
His smile turned wicked. “Honey, like all canines, wolves have a thing for treats, the sweeter the better.”
Why did the look on his face make her feel like she was the next confection on the dessert menu? And why didn’t the thought of being eaten by this handsome, wonderful, naughty werewolf scare her like it should have?
“Don’t worry.” He lifted her palm to his mouth for an incredibly chaste kiss. “You’ll learn all the little details about us as we go. And if anything comes up, well, you just ask anything your mind wonders about.”
She swallowed, his touch stealing most of her rational thought and dismissing every other question she’d had about werewolves. “Um. Okay.”
Chapter 10
Lucy looked around her empty store, and wondered at the change in her life. A month earlier, Scott had been a cranky dad at the play park. Now they were texting several times a day, taking the kids for day trips, and he and the kids were at the shop twice a week for knitting. Even though he was all healed up after being hit, she still spent just as much time at his place and would be back over soon for a barbeque.
She checked her watch and wished it was six o’clock already. She was in charge of dessert and she had a cake to pick up from the bakery before they closed. The owner had agreed to stay ten minutes late for her to pick it up, but she didn’t want to push beyond ten. A lot of her business was done in the last of hour of the day, so she couldn’t leave either.
But she sure wanted to. Scott, he was a tricky fella. She grabbed her knitting—socks for Greg—and started working while she thought about the man who constantly dwelled in her mind. She’d been very firm about the friend part of their relationship, and he hadn’t pressed her. No, he’d been nothing but friendly in the past few weeks since she’d learned his secret.
In fact, he’d become her main friend, even her best friend. That was a little sad, all things considered. To better focus on the yarn shop, she’d settled for acquaintances instead of good friends in the past few years. Scott had wiggled right into best friend status and he made sure she knew she occupied the same for him.
She and Brad had been friends before getting romantic so she absolutely knew friendship first was a wonderful way to start a relationship. At the end of it all, what she missed most with Brad was his friendship. They’d only been married three years, with him deployed for over half of it, so the sexual side of their relationship hadn’t matured past hot and fast.
They’d talked about where they’d be in ten years and she’d been so excited to see where they were going. Then he’d died and those dreams had died with him. She understood and knew things couldn’t be different, but still, she almost wished she had the bigger experience to give her more of a basis for what things could be like with Scott.
She wanted to talk with her grandma. Or maybe one of her sisters. Unfortunately, not one of them had had a successful relationship. She had half a dozen foster sisters but most of them had moved on and didn’t really check in with her anymore. Lucy had been a last resort for Jennifer when she’d called about the kids. The arrangement had worked out very well and Lucy hoped she would stay in touch. Family was family, she loved them, would do anything for any of the ones in her past, but she’d learned not to expect consistency. Her grandma hadn’t expected it either.