Knight Shift (47 page)

“But...”

“Promise me.”

When Ben reluctantly nodded, Penny gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “As I’ve always said, everything happens for a reason, so I know that somehow this will all work out as it’s meant to be. I have to believe that.” Her words seemed to be more directed to convincing herself than Ben. She took in a deep breath, plastered on her fake smile, and headed back to the living room.

After they finished the picture show, Penny looked at her watch and said, “Wow, I didn’t realize how late it was.”

Taylor jumped up and announced, “I call slumber party with Peanut!”

Tadd added, “Excellent suggestion, Bro.”

As the twins started to argue over where the party was to take place, Penny interrupted them by saying, “Sorry boys. Although it sounds fun, I’ll have to take a rain check. I need to get home.”

Listening to the twins continue to argue over her, Sam said, “I can lock them out of the house, if you like.”

Penny stared at the much missed typical twin behavior and replied, “No, my needing to leave has nothing to do with them. I would love to pull an all-nighter, but I have to work tomorrow.”

Susi asked, “You’re going back to work? It’s too soon. You’ve only been home for a week.”

Penny replied, “Yes, but I’ve been away from the store for over a month.”

Taylor stopped fighting with Tadd long enough to say, “But I thought you told me that between the airport settlement and your family’s insurance policies, you’re now more than financially independent. You don’t need to work anymore and can come play with us every day.”

The thought of profiting from her family’s death made Penny nauseous. She would gladly give it all back for just one more day with those that she lost. Out loud she said, “It isn’t about the money. I need at least one thing in my life to be stable and predictable. And I actually like to work. It gives me purpose.”

Ben asked, “Will you come back for another visit soon?”

Penny nodded, seeing how concerned he was for her. She replied, “I promise. I’ll stop by on my next day off.”

They all followed Penny to her car. As she walked around to the driver’s side door, she found Jax holding it open for her. She could no longer avoid his stare and, as she approached him, she locked on his eyes. Unable to pay attention to where she was walking, her graceful entry into the car ended when she tripped over her own feet. Jax caught her in his arms. Feeling his cool touch made every nerve in her body scream for more. After forcing herself to stand up straight, she stuttered out a quiet thank you.

He whispered while giving her body a quick squeeze, “I told you that I would always be here to catch you.”

She was grateful that she had the car door to hold on to because she instantly went weak in the knees at his words. As he helped her into her seat, he let his hand caress across the small of her back. As she slid into place and he was forced to back away, her hand rubbed down his arm. She caught Jax’s body give off a slight tremble at the fire of her touch.

As hard as they tried to suppress their feelings for each other, their actions and reactions made it clear to both of them—and Ben—just how much they missed each other.

As Jax watched Penny drive away, Ben felt Jax’s desperate sense of longing return. He walked up to the one he considered his big brother, leaned in, and whispered so that no one else would hear, “I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

Jax didn’t respond out loud but, as he turned to go back into the house, he put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. He gave it a squeeze, silently telling him that he heard what he said and thanking him for his discretion. Ben hoped that Jax’s wall was coming down and that he would call on his family for help. Regardless, he vowed to himself to find a way for Jax and Penny to return to each other’s arms, exactly where he knew that they were meant to be.

Penny sat in her car and stared at the entrance to Gone Wild. She was nervous about being able to pick up the routine again after being gone for so long, as well as unsure how she would react to the inevitable ‘How are you?’ questions that she would have to answer all day. While wearing her new persona like a magic shield, she got out of the car and walked into the store. The moment her feet crossed the threshold, she discovered that her first fear was unfounded. Although she had been gone for over a month, staring out into the store she loved, it felt like no time had passed. It was like putting on her favorite comfortable pair of sweats—it just felt right.

When the workers saw her standing at the store entrance scanning the sales floor, they hesitated approaching her, not knowing her emotional state. When they continued to look the other way as she put her things in the office, Penny adjusted her second fear slightly. Instead of everyone asking her questions, they were avoiding her glances altogether. Their somber and unsure moods made the store seem dark and gloomy.

Not wanting the uncomfortable atmosphere to make her first day back unbearable, Penny decided to address the situation head on and she called an immediate employee meeting.

Once everyone was assembled together, Penny stood in front of them and said, “First, I want to thank all of you for the cards and beautiful flowers that you sent to the memorial. It was a tough day and knowing that I had people that cared for me back home made all the difference in the world.” Looking at John, she added, “I’ve already expressed my gratitude to corporate headquarters for giving the generous donation to the memorial construction fund in memory of my family. The gardens and statue that they’re creating are breathtaking.” Focusing back on the group as a whole, she said, “Although I’m not quite ready to talk casually about everything that happened, in the break area I posted on the wall several printed copies of pictures taken at the memorial. You’ll be amazed by all of the outpouring of sympathy expressed to those that were lost. Speaking on behalf of the surviving family members, we were all deeply touched.”

Staring out at the crowd, she said, “Based on the looks on many of your faces, I know that you’re unsure how to approach me for fear that you’ll have a blubbering idiot on your hands. I’ll admit that it will take me a long time to adjust to my new reality, but I want you all to know that I’m okay. It may sound stupid, but I’m actually excited to be back at work. I welcome returning to a normal routine again and what you can do that will help me the most is treat me as you did before the accident. Consider this meeting as you offering your condolences and let’s move on. Now that this topic is out of the way, on to the next. So, who wants to tell me what’s new around here?”

When the group remained silent, a man in his late twenties called from the back of the crowd, “Your hairdo. Nice look, boss!” He gave her a cat call, making everyone laugh.

Penny gave Quinn a smile and a nod, silently thanking him for breaking the lingering tension in the air. She giggled and, while running her fingers through her shorter strands, she replied, “It’s a new day and a new me. I may look a little different, but I’m still your boss, so let’s get to work and tell me what damage you did while managing my store.”

Quinn had been working at the store for almost a year and had quickly moved up the ranks. Many teasingly called him Fabio because of his long hair and overly muscular body, which made him look more like a beach-bound body builder than a store clerk. But Penny knew he had management aspirations and she had recommended to John that he step into her shoes while she was away. He did as suggested and Quinn did so well that he was remaining on the management team as Penny’s junior manager.

After Quinn quickly recapped all of the things that had gone on since Penny left, everyone went back to the floor. The room lit up with excited chatter and the dark cloud disappeared, leaving the store full of life again.

As the days went by, Penny buried herself in work and, with a very enthusiastic Quinn at her side, she quickly returned to a normal routine. She kept her new persona. Besides the fact that everyone seemed to appreciate the new look, it seemed to help her leave the old Penny and her pain behind.

Although life was getting easier at work, everything changed the moment she stepped into her cabin. Without Casper to talk to, the wood walls felt like a cage. One evening while taking a break from her painting obsession, she sat down at her dusty computer and looked at the draft video diary Tadd had emailed her. When she spotted Charlie in a picture, a need for a friend welled inside her. Being able to talk to Ben whenever she visited Sam’s family helped, but she longed to speak with another woman. Unable to confess her feelings for Jax to Susi, Penny picked up her phone and sent a quick hello text to Charlie.

To Penny’s surprise, Charlie instantly replied with a message, “Give me 5.”

Penny found out what she meant by her cryptic response when five minutes later Penny’s phone rang. Caller ID announced that it was Charlie.

After Penny answered, Charlie said, “Sorry, I had to find a private place so that we could talk.” Her tone turned angry when she said, “It’s about time you contacted me. I’ve sent you several texts since you arrived home, but you only sent me short responses that never really answered any of my questions.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”

Charlie teased, “Yeah, busy breaking more bathroom counters with Ice...I mean Jax.” When she only received silence as her response, she asked, “You and Jax are still together, right?”

“I told you that we were only temporary. He’s gone back to his world and I’m back in mine.”

Charlie replied, “Well that explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“Jax’s behavior while he’s been here.”

“He’s there?”

“He arrived yesterday afternoon. He and Razor have been locked away so I haven’t seen much of him, but I could tell something was wrong. He was distant, as if he was deep in thought about something.”

“Jax is always distant.”

“Not like this and not to me. If I didn’t know better, I thought I saw sorrow in his eyes. Tell me what happened between you two. The last text I received from you about Jax was from Crater Lake. You made it sound like the two of you were getting along quite well.”

“That was one of the best nights of my life, but it won’t happen again.” Charlie listened quietly as Penny told her the details of her final days with Jax and what had happened since. When she started to share her inner thoughts, she dropped her mental wall and told Charlie everything she was feeling. To Penny’s surprise, Charlie offered her genuine sympathy for her situation and she tried to help Penny talk out her many mixed emotions.

When Penny was done with her side of the story, Charlie replied, “But Penny. You love him.”

“You saw how your people reacted to me. They need him and I refuse to get in the way of his work. And as your Spock’s name sake would say, ‘The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.’”

“It’s not right. There must be a way to make this work.”

The friends continued to talk for hours and, before they said their goodbyes, they exchanged information allowing them to computer call each other.

The next night, they tried out the video connection and, after Charlie screeched at Penny’s new look, she had Van Gough join their discussion. Without giving away his communication with a Human to the others in the castle, he gave Penny a thorough video tour of all of his artwork.

Although talking with her friends didn’t resolve the world’s problems, Penny felt better than she had in weeks.

With Jax spending so much time out of town, Penny visited Sam’s home often. Although the twins saw her smiling on the outside, they still sensed a gaping hole in her heart that time had not yet healed.

During one of those evenings with Penny, Taylor approached his friend and asked, “Do you work tomorrow?”

Penny shook her head and said with irritation clearly in her voice, “For some reason they’re forcing me to take a day off.”

Susi interrupted her by saying, “Good. You’re spending too much time in that store and are working way too hard.”

“No, I’m not. I like being busy.”

From across the room Ben let out a loud, “Ha!” Although he had kept his promise to Penny and Jax about not telling the family their secret, he wasn’t happy about it.

Tadd said, “I agree with Ben. You’re hiding.”

Before she could defend herself, Taylor said, “What you need is a little TnT to blow up your cage. So tonight we’re going on a camp out and we leave in ten minutes.”

“What? I can’t go camping. I don’t have any of my gear and do I look dressed for the woods?” Penny stood, spread her arms, and welcomed their inspection. She was in her full camouflage with skinny jeans, high-heeled ankle boots, and a bright red shirt covered in polka dots.

As the twins scanned her top to bottom, she flashed her matching flaming red fingernails at them. While Tadd fell to the floor as if he had been shot, Taylor squinted, put his hands in front of his eyes, and exclaimed, “Turn them off before you blind me! These new outfits of yours are lethal.”

Penny chuckled and replied, “The color is called Screaming Scarlet for a reason.”

Susi left the room and moments later returned with a stack of clothes and a pair of hiking boots. She handed them to Penny and said, “Here. The shoes might be a little big and the clothes a little long on you, but they’ll have to do. Now go change.”

Penny stared at the previously prepared stack of clothes and asked suspiciously, “Why do I feel that I’ve been setup?”

Sam said casually while looking down at his watch, “I suggest that you change your clothes. You have about five minutes left before the twins throw you over their shoulder and carry you out the door.”

“They wouldn’t,” Penny warned.

With evil grins on their faces and their arms crossed defiantly, the twins replied together, “Try us.”

When Tadd started to count down, Penny decided she had no choice. She ran to the bathroom and emerged in proper attire seconds before Tadd made an alarm sound.

Unexpectedly, Taylor sprang over, picked Penny up, and threw her over his shoulder. While she yelled and hit him on the back he said to his family, “We’ll see you all in the morning.”

Like parents sending off their children to a school dance, Sam and Susi stood at the door with a Great Dane at their side. They waved goodbye and yelled, “Have a great time.”

Since it was already dark, the twins headed toward a campsite about a mile up the mountain side. Susi’s boots were too big for Penny and were causing her to repeatedly lose her footing. To her complete dismay, the twins picked her up and, as they continued up the trail, they took turns tossing her back and forth as if they were playing catch.

Once they finally allowed her feet to touch the ground again, they setup camp. They only brought a few blankets to sleep on so it took just a few seconds to have their beds ready.

By the light of a full moon they laid on their blankets while staring up into the sky and talking. Although Penny participated, the twins could sense that her heart was elsewhere. The mood suddenly shifted and Taylor asked with an uncharacteristically serious tone, “You know that we love you and would do anything for you, don’t you?”

Tadd added, “You’re the sister we never had.”

Their sudden seriousness made Penny wary and she replied, “And I consider you family as well.”

“Well, as your family, we want you to know that we’re very concerned about you. Since you arrived home from your trip, you’ve changed.”

Penny asked, “You mean the hair and clothes? I thought you liked them.”

Taylor said, “We do. You look hot. But that isn’t the change I was referring to. We may not be psychic like Ben, but we can tell that something isn’t right. Ben described it to us as an inner loneliness, but he won’t tell us anything specific.”

Tadd added, “He says your thoughts are private and not for him to share.”

She waved off their concern and said, “That’s because there isn’t anything to tell. And I’m not lonely. I have all of you.”

Tailor shook his head. “Spending time with us doesn’t seem to be enough. If that was true, we wouldn’t be sensing what we are from you. We’ve all noticed.”

Seeing their true concern for her well-being, her smile faded and she replied somberly, “I’m trying. Accepting the loss of my family has been hard.”

Taylor quickly replied, “We think that it’s more than that. We had a family meeting and we decided that you need more help than what we can provide.”

Penny sat up and asked in disbelief, “You want me to go see a shrink?”

Taylor replied, “Actually we were thinking that maybe you should spend some time with your Human side. You spent every free minute working, locked up in your cabin, or with us at Sam’s. You’ve completely segregated yourself from your own world.”

“Is this the reason why you kidnapped me tonight? To try and convince me to make more Human friends? Are you trying to get rid of me?”

Seeing panic appear in her eyes, Taylor exclaimed, “No! That’s not what we’re saying. We can’t imagine you not being a part of our lives. But it’s like you’re locking out the world that you came from. We’ve been selfish with you and think you should take time to connect back to who and what you are. Maybe if you re-engage, it will help fill the hole that we can’t fix.”

“I spend all day with Humans. Besides, my life is too complicated to add in others.”

“You work with Humans, but that’s it. We want you to do whatever it takes to be happy again. Maybe Human friends would give you a break from the craziness our world brings.”

She replied, “I thank you for your concern and I swear that I’m as happy as I can be given my circumstances. However, I do hear what you’re saying and promise I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all we’re asking.”

The mood shifted again when Taylor teased, “Then again, you and I could date and let our bodies intertwine. That could make camping more interesting.” As he waggled his eyebrows at her, she hit him square in the chest with a clump of dirt.

“You?” Tadd exclaimed. “If she was going to date anyone, she would definitely have picked me.”

Penny watched the two play fight over her and the woods echoed with her laughter. After she declared their battle a tie, they switched to a debate over to the traits of a perfect mate. Given the description Penny provided, they thought that only superman would meet her requirements. They were completely unaware that, as she spoke, she had only one face in her mind—that of Jax.

When Penny yawned, they decided to call it a night. Although it was a beautiful warm evening, Penny convinced them to start a fire, saying that she liked to listen to the wood crackle and pop. By the light of the moon, they separated to collect kindling.

Penny had collected an armful of branches and, just before she turned to head back to camp, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and an inner voice said, “
Danger
.” She dropped the wood and spun to find a stranger blocking her path. Before she had a chance to speak, the twins in their fully shifted wolf forms jumped in front of her protectively.

The recent arrival didn’t flinch at their sudden appearance. Instead he said, “Hey TnT. Long time no see.”

The twins shifted back to Human, but remained in front of Penny. Taylor asked, “What are you doing here, Thorne?”

“I was in the neighborhood and wanted to stop in to see Sam and Susi. I heard a woman’s laughter and thought that they might be out here hunting.” Seeing the twins standing guard protectively in front of a Human he asked, “I see that you’re out here with a playmate.” After he caught a unique scent in the air, his eyes opened wide and he asked, “Could the creature behind you be the infamous Penny?”

Shocked to hear him use her name, Penny moved so that she had a clear view of Thorne and asked, “How do you know who I am?”

“You’re the Human that was traveling with Ice, right? You’re rather famous in my circles. Based on how they talk about you, I thought you were some wicked creature hell-bent on our destruction. No one told me how pretty you were.” He took in a deep breath and filled his lungs with the scent lingering in the air. He gave her an approving, fang filled smile and added, “Or how very sweet you smell.”

Penny knew, without a doubt, that Thorne was a Night Walker and every cell in her body warned her to keep her distance. Her inner voice seconded her thoughts and added the word, “
Enemy
.”

Everyone stared at each other, trying to decide what to do. Penny broke the silence and said, “Why don’t we go back to camp so that Taylor and Tadd can get dressed. Their bare backsides are blinding me. We can then give Sam a call and let him know that you’re here.” Naked bodies weren’t the real reason for the suggestion. She was desperate to get back to a phone to call in reinforcements.

They did as Penny suggested and, as they traveled through the trees, Thorne kept shooting glances over at her inquisitively. Within minutes of Taylor’s call, Sam and Susi came racing into camp. After pleasantries were over, Sam didn’t like seeing Penny so exposed so he asked, “Why don’t we head to the house where we can have a drink?”

They headed down the mountainside and Penny cursed. She had no ability to keep up with their inhuman speed, so she agreed to travel downhill on the back of Taylor’s shifted form. Thorne raised his eyebrows, seeing a Human so comfortable around Changelings.

Once they were safely back in the house and Chad saw their unexpected houseguest he, in his Rottweiler form, pinned himself to Penny’s side. Penny didn’t argue since her inner warning alarm hadn’t quieted for a second. Ben joined those assembled and saw Thorne’s intense stares directed toward Penny and heard Penny’s intense reactions in her very loud inner voice.

Ben uncharacteristically stepped forward and said, “Hey Penny. It’s very late. Why don’t we go upstairs and let the Night Walkers chat?” He added a slight nod to Chad to tell him to remain at her side.

Penny knew that she should heed Ben’s warning tone, but she found herself wanting to stand her ground with this stranger. Her fists clenched as her inner voice said, “
Fight
.” She was shocked by her continued boldness. Chad had to bump her several times to force her to go against her new tough Human attitude and walk to the stairs.

Thorne called as she was leaving the room, “It was nice to meet you, Penny. I can see why Ice enjoys your company. If you’re ever in need of an escort in the future, keep me in mind. I would be happy to spend my nights protecting you.” He breathed in her scent one last time.

“
Liar
,” Penny’s inner voice yelled at herself. For the sake of the family, she decided to remain polite and said out loud, “Thanks for the offer, but I have plenty of protectors right here that watch over me.” She scratched Chad’s Rottweiler head affectionately.

Once Penny was safely tucked away in the guest room she instantly positioned herself with her ear to the door, trying to catch the conversation that continued downstairs. As she yelled at her pitiful Human hearing, Chad grabbed the edge of her shirt and tugged her toward the bed. She finally gave in and said, “Okay Chad, don’t cough up a hair ball. I’m going.” After grabbing a shirt she found in the closet, she changed and crawled under the sheets.

Once she was properly covered, Chad jumped on the bed in the form of a small Beagle. After Ben sat on her other side, she said, “Thanks to both of you for taking care of me.” Looking toward the door and knowing the dangers that were sitting downstairs, she heaved a sigh. She hated the trouble she constantly brought to her Changeling family. She looked at the kidnapping co-conspirators and said, “Maybe all of you are right and I need to spend some time with my own kind. Tell the rest of the family I’ll honestly try.”

Chad licked her across the face, making her giggle. While he rested his head on her stomach, Ben sprawled out next to her and the two friends talked. It didn’t take long before her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

As the sun rose, Penny found herself deep in a dream where she was enthusiastically thanking Jax for saving her from the clutches of a hungry Night Walker. Jax was wrenched from her arms when the twins bounced on the bed hard enough that she was almost knocked to the floor.

Taylor ignored Penny’s screech and exclaimed, “Morning, Peanut!”

After Penny’s brain recovered from the shock, she replied while rubbing her eyes, “Good morning, boys.”

Tadd asked, “Hey, what was up with you last night? Your fearlessness reminded me of Jax. We were afraid that you were going to jump across the table and take Thorne out.”

“I don’t know what was wrong with me. I guess my new look has given me an odd sense of power. By the way, is Thorne still here?” She was surprised to find that a part of her was ready to stare down the Night Walker again.