(Un)bidden (20 page)

His lip curled a little, not a smile but a show of his frustration with me.  I kept my face neutral and stared back.

“The water’s getting cold,” I said.

He took the hint, let go of my wrist, and closed himself into the bathroom.

“Mary, help yourself to breakfast.  Winifred, could I talk to you outside for a moment?”

She nodded and walked outside with me.  Men still wandered the yard, but I saw no sign of a wounded wolf or man.  I could only guess he’d already left.

“Breakfast is ready,” I said to whomever might care to listen.  Several of the men went inside.  Winifred and I kept walking.

“Do you have your keys with you?” I asked, moving toward her truck.

“They are in the ignition.”

I couldn’t have been happier.  Opening the passenger door, I asked, “Would you mind taking me to the junk yard?  I could use a little time away from here.”

“Certainly.”  She got in, started the engine, and we were off.

“I believe he does mean well,” she said as we bounced down the driveway.

“I’m sure he does.”  I stared out my window for a moment.  “Mary wasn’t the one who wanted to start sleeping with Gregory, was she?” I asked, finally.

“No.  She didn’t want to leave you, yet.”

My eyes narrowed at Thomas’ sneaky, underhanded move.

“What does he gain by being in the room with me at night?”

“He truly believes he is your Mate.  He wants to protect you and be near you.”

“And the others?” I said.  “Didn’t they truly believe I was their Mate?”

“They did.”

“What makes him think he’s different, then?” I asked, studying Winifred.

“His unwillingness to give up.  Ever.”

His promise never to bite me again kept me from worrying about his persistence.  That didn’t mean I would accept him in my room at night anymore.

“Can you ask Mary if she’d like to move back into the room with me?  Let her know it’s okay if she wants to stay with Gregory.”

“She would rather be in with you.  She worries about you.  I do, too.  There are too many males here and not enough control.  I wish I could stay with you; but as Mary and Thomas pointed out, I’m the only reason they have a safe place to roam.”

“Aren’t there more of you?  I mean, like you?”  I couldn’t recall the word Mary had used to describe her.

“Another Elder?”

That was it.

“Yes.”

“My predecessor died two winters ago.  There is another in Europe.  We talk often about the packs and the future of our kind.  He worries there haven’t been any volunteers since me.  Not many are willing to accept this lonely life of responsibility.”

Her life sounded so much like the life I anticipated for myself.

“Can I be one?”

She glanced at me, a smile stretching her face.

“That you would ask, says so much about you, Charlene.”  She turned back to watch the road.  “Unfortunately, I can’t touch your mind as I can my own kind.  Without touching your mind, I cannot make you an Elder.”

“Mary said you can touch the minds of all of your kind.  Have you asked them if anyone else wants to be an Elder?”

“We don’t touch the minds of those we protect until they initiate it or to protect them or those around them.”

“Wouldn’t the point of having another Elder, especially back there, be to protect them?  I don’t see how you can do this on your own and keep everyone safe.  Doesn’t that make it a necessity to actively search out more who would be willing to share your responsibilities?”

She was quiet a long moment.

“You prove age has no bearing on wisdom.”

“Wisdom is gained from experience,” I said.

“It is, and I’m wondering what’s happened to you to make you so wise.”

I gave Winifred a sad smile.

“A lot of heartache, secrets, and lies.”

We drove in silence for several minutes.

“He agrees.  Elder Jean will send out the request—he is likely to receive more responses—and will direct those interested and living on this continent to me.”

“I hope you find a few who are willing.”

“We shall see.”

For the remainder of the ride, we talked about our plans for the buildings in the near future.  The conversation helped keep me from growing too nervous about leaving the safety of their grounds.  Thankfully, she turned off onto a side road before we reached town.

When we arrived at the dump, she and I walked the yard looking for lost treasures.  We collected more chipped dishes, bent flatware, and plastic cups.  I found a shovel with a broken wooden handle, a rake with broken tines, and a few other tools that would be useful, once repaired.

Winifred found me less than an hour later as I was checking some of the old cars for loose change.  I managed to find five dollars.

“We need to head back.  A few of the men want to sell some of the items they’ve repaired, and I promised to take them into town.”

*    *    *    *

Some repaired chairs, lamps, and a few other odd items waited in a pile when Winifred navigated the truck into the yard.  Three men stood near the items, watching our progress as we parked.  Two broke away and began to unload what we’d found while the other began to carry pieces from the pile to the back of the truck.

“Go on inside,” Winifred said, opening her door.  “I’m sure you want to tell Mary what we’ve found.”

I nodded and let myself into the main room.  Mary and Ann looked up from the table.  They were both in the process of sewing.

“Did you find anything interesting?” Mary asked, as I held the door open for one of the men.

“Not nearly as interesting as the things you found.  Some dishes, a few more tools, and,” I reached into my pocket and withdrew my fisted hand.  “Some change.”  I let it clatter to the table.

Mary picked up a coin and studied it.  “Interesting.”

“It’ll help buy us whatever we can’t scrounge.  Food most likely.”

“Winifred says the pile of scrap will help with that, too,” Mary said.

The door to the main room opened, and I looked up to see Thomas walk in.  The discolored skin around his left eye made him look sickly and annoyed.  No, his expression made him look annoyed.

“Don’t ever leave like that again.”  He stomped across the room, stopped in front of me, crossed his arms, and proceeded to scowl at me.

I studied him for a moment, suppressing my natural indignant response and going with the unexpected.

“All right.”

His arms lost some of their rigidity.

“All right?”

“Yes.  All right.  I understand that you were worried, and your request is only so you don’t worry in the future.  It’s a reasonable request.”

I smiled and moved to check the supplies as if to decide what to make for our midday meal.

“Oh,” I said stopping and looking back at him.  “And don’t ever again command Mary to do something for your own personal gain.  It’s beneath you.  Mary, I’ll help you move your stuff back into our room.”

Thomas didn’t react as I expected.  He didn’t try to say his presence was to protect me.  He neither denied what he’d done nor tried to excuse it.  Instead, he laughed.

“Fair enough.”  He glanced at Mary.  “I will make sure Gregory understands.”

She smiled at him and nodded gratefully.

“I’ll return with some meat for the meal.  Did you, by any chance, find something to help keep your birds in their coup.”

I reluctantly shook my head.  He nodded and left.

As soon as the door closed, Mary got up and hugged me.

“I was so worried you’d be mad.”

“About him making you leave the room?  No.  I understand everyone’s reasons.”

“Do you want help?” she asked, nodding toward the stove.

“No.  I think I’ll do another stew, over plain rice this time, and set some water to boil.  I want a bath, and there’s a pile of dirty clothes to wash.”

I spent the rest of my day at the stove or washing something—myself, dishes, laundry.  By the time the sun set, I wanted nothing more than my bed.

I shuffled into my room and froze.  Mary’s bed was there, as were her things, but so was Thomas.  He leaned against the wall just under the window.

“What are you doing here?”

“Keeping you safe.”

“I thought I told you...”  I realized I hadn’t told him I didn’t want him in our room.  Only that I wanted Mary back and that he shouldn’t command her about for no good reason.

He stood, taking up too much space in the room, and approached me slowly.  His gaze never left me, not even when he had to bend his head down because he towered over me.

“You told me what I needed to hear, the truth.  Someday I will figure out how to make you mine, and I can only hope I’ll be worthy of you then.”  He lifted his hand and gently brushed his fingers over my cheek.

Pretty words meant to please, a part of me whispered.  But did he really know what they meant?

“What will it take to be worthy?” I asked.

He considered me for several long moments.  “I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, how will you know if you’re worthy?”  I gave him a small smile to take the sting from my words.  “Be honest, not just with others, but yourself.  Be loyal, not just to those you love, but to those who need you.  Work hard to improve the lives of those around you.  Don’t waver from your integrity.  And, above all...”  I leaned toward him and lowered my voice to a whisper.  “Don’t assume you can sleep in my room again.”

His gaze dropped to my mouth.

“Kiss me and I’ll leave.”

“In your world, my age is acceptable for Claiming and Mating.  In my world, while you helped my father clean his gun, he would tell you to wait another year then come back and speak to him again.  And, that would be to take me on a date.  A kiss would be months after that.”  I stepped back, putting space between us.  “Since you’ve kissed me twice already, I think that’s enough of a compromise, for now.”

“Not nearly.”  He tugged me forward.  Off balance, I braced my palms on his chest.  He wrapped an arm around me and lifted my chin with a finger before I could blink.  His lips touched mine.  Soft and sweet and full of promise, his warm mouth brushed over mine twice.  My eyes fluttered shut, and my heart went crazy.

Every time we stood too close, I secretly hoped for this.  My heart and stomach said yes while my mind hesitated.  Yet, when his lips touched mine, doubt fled.  He felt right.  We felt right.  I could understand his persistence when we kissed.

He pulled back enough to kiss my cheek.

“I will be worthy,” he said softly.  Then, he let me go and left the room.

I stood there with a hammering heart.  I wasn’t sure if it was due to the excitement of the kiss or the fear that he would be worthy, and I’d need to face an uncertain future with these people.

Early Sunday morning, Winifred left with her empty cookie plate and a truck bed full of metal.  I leaned in the doorway, watching the taillights pass through the trees.

“What should we work on today?” Mary asked.  I caught her upward glance and followed her gaze.  A sky, dark with heavy clouds, promised a day of rain and storms.

That meant inside work.  Ann and Mary had done a good job sewing yesterday.  Ann had taken several pieces with her to her room last night to make things for the baby.  Earlier, Leif had come to take breakfast back to her.  She wasn’t feeling well.

“Sewing, I guess.”  Not my favorite pastime.  A rumble echoed across the clearing, and I retreated indoors.  Sewing beat being soaked, though.

We’d barely made it to the table when a loud boom made us both jump.  Seconds later, rain lashed at the main room’s window.  Mary and I looked at each other.  Anton had only managed to repair a few more windows on the second floor with the salvaged glass.  Casements that had once held broken shards, a partial barrier against the elements, were now completely empty thanks to our repair efforts.

Rain whipped through the air from the east, the direction of the clearing.  We ran from the room to start checking windows.  The intensity of the deluge brought a concerning amount of water through the moderate openings in more than a dozen rooms.

“We should have boarded them,” Mary said, eyeing the growing puddles on the floor.

I looked at the water and then tilted my head to look at the boards above.  Drips of water fell from the ceiling of the room in which we stood.  A little rain wouldn’t hurt the wood too much the first time, but I recalled the already sagging porch and wondered how many times rain had already soaked this wood.  How long until it turned rotten?  We couldn’t take chances like this.

Winifred had left me with thirty dollars from the items they brought to town.  That made a total of forty-three dollars in my possession.  It wasn’t enough to replace the boards in this place if they all went bad at once.

“It’s not too late to board the windows down here,” I said.  “But I don’t think we can do anything about the second floor.”