Clay's Hope (6 page)

“See you later,” she said from the door.

I watched her walk past the picture window.
She never even looked back. I went to the back door, shifted my paw
just enough to open it, then closed the door behind me and followed
her at a distance.

The walk wasn’t bad, but I didn’t like the
attention she received from the men she passed. I kept quiet about
it and continued to watch from a healthy distance. Once she reached
a cluster of brick buildings, she turned around. I darted behind a
parked car and watched as she retraced her steps.

She stopped at a store and reemerged
carrying several bags. They looked heavy, and I wished I could help
her. Based on all our previous interactions, I knew how she would
respond. Negatively. So, I watched her struggle until we were a
block from home, then I darted through the backyards to arrive
before her.

I lay on the porch and listened to her steps
as she shuffled up the drive.

“Nice to know you can let yourself out,” she
said as she passed me. She nudged open the door and kicked it
closed behind her before I even stood.

I barked loudly and watched her through the
door as her shoulders fell in a sigh. But she turned and let me
in.

“What? Can’t let yourself back in?”

She went to the table and reached into one
of the bags.

“Look what I got you.” She pulled out a
small bag of dog food.

I gave a playful growl, hoping it wouldn’t
scare her again.

“You want to look like a normal dog don’t
you? Well...as normal as a dog your size can look, anyway.” She set
the bag of food on the floor next to my bowl of water, which I
refused to look at, and went back to unpacking.

“These are for you,” she said, holding up
soap and a toothbrush. “You have two choices. You can use them when
Rachel’s gone, or you can wait until she’s back, and I’m sure she’d
be happy to help you.”

She really thought I smelled? I’d thought
she’d said it just because I’d annoyed her. Embarrassed, I stood
and left the kitchen. As soon as I cleared the arch, I shifted into
a man and walked into the bathroom. I knew how to shower. I’d used
a bathroom at the Compound.

A startled yelp told me Gabby had followed
me. My lips twitched. Serves her right. A bar of soap and
toothbrush clattered to the floor a second before the door slammed
shut.

“You could have waited until I put the stuff
in there,” her muffled voice came through the door.

I bent, picked up the soap, and set the
toothbrush on the counter. Then I turned on the shower. I knew
better than to step right in, so I waited a minute for it to heat
up. It only took one cold spray for a guy to learn his lesson.

Standing under the water, I went to work
with the soap. I bathed regularly but always as a wolf. Perhaps
that made a difference? It hurt a little to know she didn’t like my
natural scent, and I reminded myself I wasn’t dealing with one of
my kind. The rules changed with a human. I knew that. All of us
knew the rules.

A knock at the door pulled me from my
thoughts.

“I have a towel for you,” she said, her
words muffled by the door. “If you’re still in the shower, I can
open the door and toss it on the toilet seat. Okay?”

The water was still running, where else
would I be?

“Okay, I’m coming in.”

The door slowly opened. I listened to her
throw the towel on the toilet and waited for the door to close
again.

“My toothpaste is the one marked with the
pink nail polish on the cap. I’ll let you use it as long as you
promise not to squeeze the tube from the middle.”

I was already taking a shower, and she was
setting rules about squeezing from the middle of the tube? Cupping
my hands together, I gathered a good amount of water and tossed it
over the curtain. The woman was cold, cruel, and picky. And I still
wanted her.

She squeaked.

“You’re cleaning that up.”

Finally, the door closed.

I sighed and went back to scrubbing. I
washed my hair twice and sniffed myself. I reeked like the soap
she’d given me. Hopefully she liked the smell. I turned off the
water, pulled back the curtain, and reached for the towel.

After drying, I picked up her tube of paste
and correctly squeezed it from the end. Then, I scrubbed my teeth
until I foamed like a rabid dog. Rinsing, I wondered what she’d
have me doing next.

I set the toothbrush back on the counter,
tossed the towel to the floor, opened the door, and shifted to my
fur.

She sat on the couch with a book raised high
enough to block her view. I couldn’t help but laugh. What was she
so afraid of?

Padding across the room, I waited for her to
look at me. She didn’t. I hopped up on the couch.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” she said,
relaxing her hold on the book. “I don’t know Rachel’s rules about
pets on the furniture.”

She shifted her position, curling her legs
under her, then leaned over to sniff me.

My heart stopped, and I held myself still.
She’d moved toward me. She’d wanted to sniff me. The embarrassment
over her request that I bathe left, and I waited for her
reaction.

“Much better,” she said, straightening.

Approval. I wanted to laugh and hug her.
Instead, I watched her. Did she realize what she’d just done?

She turned back to her book, oblivious, and
I wanted to growl in frustration. After a while, I calmed down and
started reading over her shoulder. That was one human thing my
father had insisted I learn. Their words. I needed to know them,
speak them, and read them to keep myself safe.

So I sat beside her for hours, reading until
her stomach rumbled.

She stood, and I hoped like hell she
wouldn’t pour me a bowl of dog food. If she did, I’d change in
front of her again and raid the fridge for myself. As she walked
past the bathroom, she paused and stared down at my towel.

“Next time, fold it over the edge of the
tub,” she said.

If I had hands, I would have run them
through my hair. The only thing I’d done right since arriving was
using soap. It was depressing.

She went to the kitchen and started putting
together two sandwiches. I stayed out of her way but watched her
closely. Each deliberate move held a subtle grace that highlighted
her calm beauty. Though I told myself I watched her to learn more
about it, the truth was that I just liked to watch her. Seeing her
soothed me.

“I’m guessing your bowl of dog food will
always be full,” she said as she set a plate with a sandwich on the
floor.

I glanced at the sandwich she’d made for me.
The simple meal meant she was continuing to acknowledge the man
within me. She sat at the table, completely unaware that she’d
given me hope again. I ate my sandwich in two bites.

“So, we have a week before my classes start
up. What’s your plan?”

Plan? I tilted my head to study her.

“Did you want to try to enroll in any
classes? Study anything?”

The only thing I wanted to study was her. I
lay down and stared at my plate. So far, the information I’d
gathered didn’t amount to much.

“Okay...well, if you change your mind, let
me know.”

She washed our dishes then went back to
reading. I waited for her to get comfortable then joined her on the
couch. She didn’t seem to mind when I leaned against her and read
over her shoulder. In fact, when she read, she didn’t seem to
notice me at all.

Was that a good thing or a bad thing? For
now, I figured it was good. If she didn’t notice me, she couldn’t
object to me. Later, well, I hoped with enough time she wouldn’t
want to ignore me.

* * * *

Several hours and another dry ham sandwich
later, I stood by my bowl. It was in line of sight of the couch,
and I was thirsty. But thirsty enough to drink from the bowl where
Gabby would see? I wasn’t sure.

Outside, I heard a car pull into the
driveway. A door opened. Steps thumped on the deck. Then the door
swung open, and Rachel swept in. She threw her keys on the counter,
and her eyes zeroed in on me. This couldn’t be good.

In her left hand, she held a collar and a
leash.

Hell, no.

Rachel knelt in front of me with a smile. I
narrowed my eyes at her, and when she tried to wrap her arms around
my neck, I dodged.

“Come on,” she said softly, trying to
wrangle me.

I kept moving.

“Just hold still.”

Not likely, woman.

She heaved a sigh and sat back on her heels
to stare at me.

I’d been kicked out, ignored, poorly fed—two
sandwiches were a snack in my mind—told I stunk, and now Rachel
wanted to collar me. Not happening.

“This is a joke,” she said.

Gabby laughed from the doorway, surprising
me. I glanced at her and saw her amusement. When Rachel tried
again, I ducked under her arms. Gabby grinned wider and met my
gaze.

“Here.” She held out her hand to Rachel.
“I’ll try.”

“Good luck,” Rachel said with a chuckle as
she got off her knees and handed over the collar.

I watched Gabby closely as she
approached.

“It was the biggest collar they had,” Rachel
said. “I don’t even know if it fits. He wouldn’t let me get close
enough.”

Gabby knelt in front of me, still clearly
amused.

“Clay, if you want to be able to go anywhere
with us, you need a collar we can clip a leash on. Not just the
twine you have holding your tag around your neck.”

Did that mean she wouldn’t try to leave me
behind again? I was still debating if I could put up with a collar
when she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around my neck. I held
still and closed my eyes. She could do whatever she wanted as long
as she kept touching me. Her light movement brushed over my fur,
and I barely held back a shiver.

“At least it’s not pink,” she said with a
pat, and I realized she’d already removed my tags and collared
me.

She stood quickly and turned away.

“Hey, I wouldn’t do that to him,” Rachel
said with a laugh. “No pink for our man. I don’t know why he sat
still for you and not me.”

Rachel came toward me and bent to kiss the
top of my head. I sighed.

“He’s moody,” Gabby said, meeting my
gaze.

Me? Moody? I gazed after her as she left the
kitchen. Would I ever understand her?

Rachel stood, and I
huffed a relieved sigh. She was too fond of rubbing my fur. I hoped
Gabby would eventually come around and stand up for me.

“Hey, Gabby,” Rachel called as she walked to
her room. “Want to go out with me tonight? Girl’s night out? Hit a
few clubs?”

My head snapped up, and I strained to hear
Gabby’s answer from the bedroom. She had better say no or she’d
have a wolf trailing her, causing mass hysteria.

“Um, thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll
stay here. I want to be sure I’m settled before school starts.”

I heaved a relieved sigh.

“All right,” Rachel said. “I just didn’t
want you to feel like I’m abandoning you. I hate staying home, and
when I’m not working, I like to go out. If you ever want to come
with, just say.”

Not happening.

“Sure.”

Gabby’s half-hearted answer reassured me. I
sighed and went back to contemplating my bowl. Now that I had a
collar, I really didn’t want to drink like a dog.

Rachel reemerged dressed in a short skirt
that barely peeked out from under her jacket. Where was she going
dressed like that? And she’d wanted Gabby to go with her? I’d drink
out of the bowl and start eating dog food before I let Gabby go out
like that.

Rachel patted me on the head on her way out
the back door. I lingered in the kitchen, listening to her get into
her car and drive off. Then, silence held the house. Had Gabby gone
to bed? Taking a chance, I shifted, went to the sink, and got
myself a glass of water.

Would Gabby remember she’d said I could join
her? I finished my drink, set the cup aside, then hesitated. If she
didn’t remember, she’d kick me out. Better to wait until she slept
and not push her.

I shifted back into my fur and waited
fifteen minutes then quietly padded to Gabby’s door. It wasn’t shut
all the way, a sign she’d remembered. I smiled. Maybe she wasn’t as
opposed to me as she seemed.

I pushed the door open with my nose and
jumped up on the end of the bed. Inhaling her scent, I settled into
my designated spot. With some luck, I wouldn’t be at the end of the
bed much longer.

* * * *

“Get out,” Gabby said as soon as she
woke.

Her less than charitable tone let me know
she wasn’t as close to coming around as I’d hoped. With a quiet
sigh, I hopped off the bed and exited the room. The house was quiet
since Rachel had already left. That woman barely slept.

I settled on the couch to wait for Gabby and
whatever she had planned for the day.

When Gabby emerged, she passed me without
acknowledgment then wandered around the house for a bit. She’d
seemed bored, a state of existence I understood well, so I stayed
out of her way. After only a few minutes, she shut herself in her
room again, which I found odd.

Inside her room, I heard the faint sound of
a zipper and the rustle of clothes. I hopped off the couch and
moved closer to the door, trying to listen. She was changing? She’d
just gotten dressed.

I’d barely sat down to wait when the door
swung open. Gabby, wearing her swimsuit, stood within the doorway.
My gut clenched at the sight of her pale limbs and smooth stomach,
and I thanked whatever thought had inspired her to change. My mouth
went dry as I studied every inch of her. I itched to touch her
again, to hold her in my arms.

With effort, I lifted my gaze. Did she know
how much I loved that suit? Had she changed just for me? Her wide
eyes and the livid blush that stained her cheeks gave me my answer.
She hadn’t.