There I was, lying naked in front of the Weston pack’s house. Super.
When I sat up and twisted around, Denver waved from a chair on the front porch.
All I could think about was my uncontrollable craving for popcorn. Every wolf had a different craving after shifting back to human form, and nobody could explain why. I once knew a girl who had a thing for green olives, and a Shifter I’d met up in Topeka had an expensive craving for caviar. He told me he’d never eaten caviar, and it took eight years after he’d gone through the change before he finally figured out what his body desired. Someone offered him an appetizer at a fancy party and after one small bite, he recognized a flavor he’d never tasted before. Who knows? Maybe we’ve all led past lives.
My craving was popcorn, but specifically cheese popcorn. I licked my lips.
“Craving?” Denver said with a snicker. He popped a knuckle and then swatted at a gnat.
I dusted the grass from the back of my thigh and rubbed dirt off my face. “Can you get me something to put on? Where’s Jericho? What happened?”
He stood up and took a few steps, tossing me a dress. It looked like something Ivy would wear—strapless cotton the color of chocolate. I slipped it on while Denver took a bottle of bubbles from the porch step and set them on a table by the door.#p#分页标题#e#
“It looks like Jericho took off. Austin called and said not to let you in the house. I came home as soon as I got off work. You’ve got a mean wolf, Izzy.”
“I’ve heard.” I tied the little strings around the waist and wiped more blades of grass, which had left imprints on my skin, off my arm. After I got myself together, I walked up the steps onto the porch.
The front door swung open and Maizy ran outside, as vibrant and full of spirit as any girl of six or seven. Her blond hair swung in two little ponytails, and she had on a pair of jean overalls and a pink shirt.
“Denny, can I come outside now? The lady isn’t naked anymore.”
I quietly laughed. Denver rubbed his chin and looked over at her from his chair, his dirty-blond hair disheveled. “Did you eat breakfast, Peanut?”
“Yep,” she said, taking a seat beside him. I noticed how she imitated the way Denver was sitting—her right leg stretched out, leaning on her left arm.
“And what did you eat?”
“Um…”
“Get inside and eat some cereal. Then you can come out and play.”
She stuck out her pink bottom lip. “But I want to be outside with you.”
He relaxed his posture and smiled at her. “Don’t make me the bad guy. You get inside and eat three pieces of bacon and toast.”
“But I’m not hungry.”
He looked thoughtfully at the clouds and leaned forward. “Looks like a good day for ice cream, but it’s too damn hot.”
She looked up at him hopefully. “No it’s not.”
“Maybe if you cool off with some orange juice and a few pieces of bacon, I might think about it.”
She bolted out of the chair and beamed at him with the most endearing smile. “You mean it?”
He frowned. “You want a strawberry cone or not, little girl? Skedaddle!”
Maizy squealed and ran back inside.
“And don’t forget the toast!” he yelled at the door.
“You’re good with kids,” I said, taking the empty spot to his right. “Even though you’re kind of a dickhead with adults.”
“Hey, I gave you a dress.” He combed back his hair and settled his indigo eyes on me.
“Yeah, but how long did you sit on this porch staring at my ass?”
“I’m pleading the fifth.” His eyes darted toward the road. “Here they come now. Have fun with that. I need to grab something to eat,” Denver said, standing up.
At the end of the private road, a cloud of dust swirled behind a black Dodge Challenger and a vintage motorcycle. I swallowed hard and tried to remember the last thing that had happened. It was…
“Oh my God, is April okay?”
“She’s fine. That’s her on the back of the bike.”
I buried my face in my hands. “Oh, hell’s bells. I almost had a heart attack.”
“I’m taking you to work in a little while, after Austin has the ugly talk with you.”
“Work?”
“Yeah. Feel free to get fired if you want, but I happen to know your shift starts in a few hours. I talked to Rosie and she said there’s an extra T-shirt and pair of shorts in the dressing room. I didn’t explain why you needed them.” The door slammed as Denver went inside.
That’s how Shifters rolled. We dealt with drama and soldiered on. Even the trusted humans among our kind rarely related to our lifestyle, so I was surprised to see how well some of them were getting along within the Weston pack.