“Shoot,” she said, closing the doors.

She turned and let out a strangled “gah” when she saw me so close. I grinned. How had she not heard me?

“Har-har,” she said with a grin. Her pulse raced wildly. “I told you no suspense movies. Life is scary enough without them. Oh, and false alarm on the cookies. We’re missing some main ingredients.”

If she really wanted to make cookies, why not get what she needed? I held up her car keys and jingled them.

“It’s tempting, but unless I want to get a part-time job, I can’t afford to keep spending the money I’ve saved. I’ve got to stick to the budget so it lasts till spring. If we can manage to keep the heat off until November, I should have cookie money for Christmas. That’s when cookies are best anyhow. I’ll just need to start wearing more clothes inside.”

More clothes? I wanted to groan.

She took the keys from me and put them back in the dish on the counter. I barely noticed. I was the reason she was spending more than she’d planned. The money in my pocket was a good start but only if I used it to help her. I couldn’t just give it to her. She’d ask questions I wasn’t ready to answer.

Tomorrow, before I went to Dale’s, I’d figure out what groceries we needed in order to make cookies. I’d find a way to get everything Gabby wanted.

Chapter 13

When Gabby left for class the next day, I did what I could to help at home. I switched over the laundry she’d put in that morning—I was less afraid of breaking the machine now—folded everything once it dried, and washed the sheets she’d pulled from the bed.

While I waited for the laundry to finish, I looked at our supplies and made note of anything running low. I also found a cookbook with over a dozen cookie recipes. Each recipe had a slight variation, but all had the same basic ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, baking powder (or soda), and vanilla. I added those ingredients to the list as well.

Once I had the bed remade, the laundry put away, and the list in my back pocket, I headed out the door.

Dale was ready with a car on the lift in the right bay when I arrived. I checked the paperwork on his desk for what it needed, then started on the oil change. It felt good to have something to do while Gabby was at school. Reading had helped me from going crazy, but physically doing something was better.

It was close to dinner when Dale told me I could go. I knew I wouldn’t make it home before Gabby did, but I still stopped to pick up some more laundry detergent, dryer sheets, toilet paper, and toothpaste. Those items would be easy enough to sneak into the house. The rest of the list, I’d save for another day.

If Rachel wasn’t home and Gabby hadn’t yet eaten, maybe I could cook her dinner again. The likelihood of Rachel’s absence was pretty high. Rachel’s social life had altered when she started seeing Peter, and I’d noticed a pattern. She typically spent Tuesday nights at his house, which meant Gabby and I would have tonight together.

Two blocks from home, I noticed the car. It was parked in front of our house and was hard to miss. As I watched, the brake lights turned on; and it pulled away from the curb. I frowned. I knew both Rachel’s and Peter’s cars, and the one that had just driven away wasn’t either.

Something about the car worried me.

With a burst of speed, I made it to the garage to ditch the supplies, then let myself in through the back door. I found Gabby in the living room, standing with her forehead against the front door.

The scent of her fear and confusion laced the air. Worried, I stepped closer as she pushed away from the door.

When she turned and saw me, she started screaming, a blood curdling sound that nearly stopped my heart. With wide eyes, she clapped a hand over her mouth to stop the sound. In the silence, I heard her pounding pulse. Something had scared her before she saw me. What? Or who?

I inhaled deeply. There was a lingering scent in the air, barely there. I breathed in again, tracing the scent. She had something in her front pocket. Something not hers. I glanced down, caught a glimpse of white, and reached forward to pluck the business card out of her pocket. There was nothing but a name and phone number on it.

I looked at her and shook my head, wondering what had upset her so much.

She exhaled shakily and dropped her hand.

“Did you see who was here?” she asked with a slight tremor in her voice.

I shook my head, wishing I hadn’t worked late.

“How did you know that was in my pocket?”

I lifted it to my nose.

“Have you ever met Elder Joshua before?”

I shook my head again.

“Have you ever smelled him before?”

Where was she going with these questions? Again, I let her know I hadn’t.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She was relieved I hadn’t met him? Why?

Her unfocused gaze told me she was lost in thought. I gently tapped her forehead, wanting to know what she was thinking. She startled slightly and gave me a weak smile.

“You want to know what’s going on in my head?”

I nodded. I wanted that more than anything.

“I’d like to know what’s going on in my head sometimes, too,” she said, looking a bit lost. “Let’s make dinner while I talk. Let me know if you hear Rachel or anyone else.”

I nodded, kicked off my shoes, and put them in Gabby’s room before joining her in the kitchen. She was sitting at the table, her hands fidgeting. I went to the cupboard and grabbed some potatoes. She needed to keep her hands busy.

She didn’t hesitate once I set the spuds in front of her. She started to peel, and I turned to get a pot out.

“That was Elder Joshua at the door. He stopped by because I haven’t talked to Sam lately, and Sam asked him to check up on me. I guess he was worried after that challenge.”

I took some chicken from the freezer and went to thaw the meat in the microwave, listening not just to her words but also her tone. She sounded pensive.

“Something was odd about him, Clay.”

And then, she just stopped talking. Behind me, the peeler rasped against the potato and the microwave beeped. I took the chicken to the stove then went to her side. She didn’t look up at me. I grabbed the peeled potato, purposely nudging her chair. It seemed to startle her from her thoughts, and I went to the sink to rinse the potato.

“I’m different,” she said abruptly.

I turned from the sink and looked at her. Of course she was different. She was human...yet somehow connected to our world. I didn’t see anything wrong with that. I shrugged.

“No. Really different. It’s kind of hard to explain. Sam told me I was different when he met me, but he doesn’t know all of it. He said that I was rare because I was one of only a few humans compatible with werewolves, just me and Charlene.”

She sighed and dropped the peeler, obviously agitated. I quickly grabbed two more potatoes and handed them to her along with the rinsed, nude potatoes. She started peeling again, and I went to the stove and started slicing the chicken.

“Since as long as I can remember, I’ve seen lights. Not with my eyes, but in my mind.

“When I was younger, I had to close my eyes and concentrate to see a relatively small area around me. As I got older, I didn’t need to concentrate as hard and could see a much larger area. Now, I can see these lights at will, briefly, with little effort, and over a longer distance. And I don’t need to close my eyes.”

I put a large portion of butter into the pot, started it, and added the chicken. Moving quietly, I took some broccoli from the freezer, still listening and trying to understand what she was saying.

“These lights are people, Clay. I can see the neighbors moving around in their houses right now.”

I paused, stunned by what she was saying. No lie laced her words. How could I, someone who had no skill of any merit, be with someone so completely special? When she started speaking again, she sounded a bit hoarse, so I poured her a glass of water.