Notes in hand, I ambled downstairs and peeked out at the boys and Jim who played in the backyard.  Barefoot, they splashed in the puddles from the day before.  All three waved at me.  Tonight my brothers would need baths.  I waved back then went to find Nana Wini in her kitchen.  She was making Emmitt breakfast.

“Did your friend, Sam, call already?” I asked, putting the papers on the table and sitting next to Emmitt.  His eyes followed my moves.  I couldn’t put my finger on what felt different about his gaze, but it made me edgy.

Nana turned away from the pan and gave me a kind look.  “Yes, we discussed your gift, though, and feel that it shouldn’t be used.  He thanked you for your help so far but will research on his own from now on.”

With the ticker still stuck on repeat in my head, panic surged.  “But, you can’t—”

She shook her head.  “We can.  We won’t use you.  But, I did hear what you said about the pain.  You can still give the information to me,” she said indicating the papers on the table with the spatula in her hand.  “I will read it so you won’t suffer, then I’ll destroy it.”

I couldn’t believe they would do that.  Give up the information and power.  I felt lighter, freer, and relieved.

“By the way, there are a few people coming today who’d like to meet you,” Nana said turning back to the stove, missing my shattered expression at her words.  “They should be here in about an hour.”

She plated a heap of food and passed it to Emmitt.  Though Nana didn’t catch my initial expression, Emmitt had.  He watched me closely.

“What people?”  Please don’t let it be men.

“They are from the Compound in Canada.  Friends of Jim and Emmitt’s parents.  They are coming down with their sons to meet you and your brothers,” she said.

Sons.

“Why are they coming?”

Nana shared a look with Emmitt.  I caught the barest shake of his head before he focused on his plate and started to eat.  Nana sighed at him.

“We thought it would be good to start exposing you to more of our kind whom you can trust.”

“And who decides who’s trustworthy?”  I could feel my temper starting to simmer.

Nana tilted her head, studying me.  Her nostrils flared slightly.  Wisely, she remained quiet.

Was I overreacting?  I just didn’t know.  I revealed everything to them, and suddenly friends of Emmitt’s parents were bringing their sons to meet us.

“I’m sorry, Nana, but I don’t feel like good company today.”

Leaving them at the table, I went outside to the boys.

“Jim, may I have the trucks keys?”  I didn’t wait for his answer but looked at the boys.  “Want to go into town and see a movie in a movie theatre?”

Their eyes lit at the prospect of it.

*    *    *    *

Using the tablet, I memorized the directions to the theatre while the boys washed up.  No one tried to stop us from leaving, but all three stood on the porch, watching me back out.

Not having driven since Jim’s lesson, I didn’t execute the Y turn to back away from the porch as smoothly as I would have liked.  Almost quitting then, I scolded myself for being a stubborn control freak and inched my way down the driveway.

Aden and Liam talked excitedly as they sat buckled into their booster seats.  What was I thinking?  This wasn’t safe.  I drove like crap, hated big crowds, and had very little money left to live off.  Would it kill me to stay and say hi to whoever Nana had coming over?  No, but if I didn’t put my foot down and keep it down, I feared becoming a pawn again.

The drive took longer than I expected.  Liam and Aden were antsy to leave the truck and see the theatre by the time I parked.

They stood beside me, holding my hands, while I studied the movies listed.  The first movie didn’t start for over forty minutes.  I wished I’d been smart enough to check the show times online before we’d left.

I looked around, wondering what to do.  The crowd shuffling by us on the sidewalk made me twitchy.  I didn’t want to spend forty minutes just standing in the open.

Across the street, I spotted an ice cream shop just opening.

*    *    *    *

Four scoops and three cones later, we happily stood in line for the movie.  Despite the ice cream we’d consumed at the shop, we were laden with the prerequisite popcorn and slushes.  Aden bounced on the tips of his toes in anticipation.

When I glanced down to smile at him, a reflection in the glass panel of the ticketing booth caught my attention.  A man stood outlined in the door behind us, the pane of glass separating us.  His complete motionless in the shifting foot traffic stood out.  I turned fully to see him, not just his reflection.  When I did, he looked up at the marquee above his head for a moment then moved on.  Perhaps he’d just been looking at the movie listing.

Aden tugged me forward as our theatre’s doors opened.

The laughter in a theatre full of children melted some of my worry.  It wasn’t until I was struggling with Aden’s buckle in the truck almost two hours later that I noticed the man, again.  He leaned against the side of a beat up old car and had an elbow casually rested on the roof as he watched me.

When I looked directly at him, he winked at me.  Something about him just hit me as off.  Giving up on the buckle, I started the truck and pulled out, hands shaking.  It didn’t help my driving.

He stayed leaning against the car, watching.  I watched his shrinking form in the mirrors.  He never moved.

I kept an eye on the mirrors as I drove.  The man had intentionally brought himself to my notice.  Why?  I hadn’t recognized him and nothing about him said werewolf.  So, I didn’t think I needed to worry about that possibility.  He’d just been creepy.  Still, I looked back every few minutes.

The mirror stayed clear all the way home.  I was relieved to pull into the driveway and find Emmitt waiting for us on the porch step.

However, with my concern over the movie man, I’d forgotten about the company that had sent me running in the first place.  An extra vehicle was in the truck’s usual spot.  I parked next to the garage and helped the boys out.  They immediately ran for the house, saying they wanted to tell Jim about the huge TV, not understanding the difference between a television and the movie theatre.

When I closed the passenger door and turned, Emmitt stood behind me, waiting.  His eyes studied every inch of my face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, worried.

Behind him, Nana and two adults stepped onto the porch.  I tried to keep the distain from my face when I glanced at them.  I wasn’t ready to play nice, yet.

“Mary and Gregory were planning on staying the night,” he said with little emotion.  “Can I sleep on your couch?”

If I said no, would they go back to Canada?  Maybe.  But Emmitt on the couch didn’t sound like such a bad idea after some creepy guy had winked at me.  I nodded.

He held out his hand.  I clasped it loosely, and he led me to the group on the porch.

The woman had neat brown hair a shade lighter than my own.  She watched our progress with expressive brown eyes.  The man, who stood beside her, towered over her diminutive frame.  I couldn’t decide if the woman was unusually short or if werewolves’ heights were as diverse as humans.  So far, they’d all been tall, but other than Nana, they’d all been men.  The man’s hazel eyes flicked to Emmitt’s hand holding mine and then up to my face.  I felt judged with that glance.

As we walked up the steps, Emmitt introduced them.  “Michelle, this is Mary and her husband Gregory.”

Husband, not Mate?  Were they human?

“Nice to meet you,” I said flatly, using the same tone I had hundreds of times before for the standard greeting at Blake’s dinners.

“I doubt it,” Mary said with a grin, “but I don’t blame you.  We’re the long distance version of noisy neighbors.  Our sons, Paul and Henry, are inside with Jim.  Your brothers are adorable.”