“Barb said she’s very excited to meet you, and since you and I just ate, they’ll have cake and coffee ready.”

Sam nodded. A fat raindrop splattered on the sidewalk in front of us and without a word, we both started walking faster. When we turned the last suburban corner, I pointed out the Newton’s house to him, not pausing the brisk pace we’d set.

Barb and Tim both waited for us on the front stoop. Tim had his arm wrapped around Barb’s shoulders as he peeked around the awning to look up at the clouds. When Barb nudged him to point us out, he looked our way and waved.

They greeted Sam enthusiastically and invited him in. I could see Barb sizing him up and finding him acceptable. In a rare twist, Tim did most of the talking that night and asked Sam about himself. When Sam said he originally hailed from Canada and managed the family business investments, I figured he stuck as close to the truth as possible. They did ask him about my grandpa, and he wove a beautiful tale about them growing up together. Since I never talked about my grandfather, the Newtons didn’t know any differently. The skill with which Sam lied made me a little uncomfortable. If he could lie that easily to them, how easily could he lie to me?

The rain stopped before he finished his second cup of coffee. Sam stood and smiled at Barb.

“The cake and coffee were wonderful. Thank you for letting me drop in like this.” He extended a hand to Tim. “I won’t overstay my welcome or the coffee.”

Tim clasped Sam’s hand with a warm smile as the adults all laughed.

“It was a pleasure to meet both of you.”

“We appreciated you stopping in,” Barb said, already collecting the cups to bring to the sink. “When Gabby said she ran into you, we were both very curious.”

“I can imagine. Now that I found her, I don’t want to lose track of her. If it’s all right, I’d like to stop by now and again to check in on her.”

“We insist you do.” Tim patted Sam’s back in a manly display of affection as they walked to the front door. I quickly helped Barb put the dishes in the sink so she could follow them. Barb was a little compulsive and couldn’t walk away from a dirty kitchen.

“What about dinner next Wednesday?” Barb asked, raising her voice from the kitchen as she washed and dried her hands at the sink. She hurried to the front door where Sam bent to put on his shoes.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Sam finished tying his shoes and turned to me. “Is that okay, Gabby?”

Leaning against the arch dividing the living room and the kitchen, I watched the adults interact. In a way, it reminded me of the animal channel. I struggled not to crack a smile at the thought since Sam really did have one foot in the animal world.

“After I finish volunteering at the hospital, it should work for me.”

Satisfied they would see each other soon, the adults said their goodbyes and Sam left. Not bad for a first meeting.

Each time I met with Sam, I learned more about his world. Nothing that I could apply to myself, yet. I still had hope though.

Sam visited periodically over the next two months, and life continued as normal for a while. Barb started to show, and the normally reserved Tim couldn’t stop talking about it. My time with the Newtons ticked away like the seconds of a clock.

On one of our scheduled Wednesday nights, I opened the door for Sam as soon as he knocked. He didn’t show any surprise when I swung the door open after just one knock, but then I didn’t expect him to.

Despite meeting at my home where we couldn’t speak freely, I’d managed to learn a little more about him and his kind. For example, he had exceptional hearing. He knew when I got nervous or upset by the change in my pulse. He could hear whispered conversations taking place in other rooms as long as the door remained partially open. He could even hear whispers through thin walls. In addition to keen hearing, he also had better eyesight. In the dark, his pupils expanded to a freakish dimension, allowing in as much light as possible and enabling him to see when a normal person couldn’t. This explained the way his eyes reflected.

“Hi, Sam.” I stopped him from taking off his shoes. “We’re eating on the patio since it’s nice out.” He wiped his feet extra well on the rug before following me through the house to the back patio.

The solid concrete slab patio took up a fourth of their backyard space. The patio wasn’t that big, the yard was just that small. But surrounded with a classic wooden privacy fence, it would make a perfect play area.

We walked onto the patio, and Tim looked up from the grill to our left and nodded a greeting. Smoke drifted lazily upward as he flipped a burger.

“Sam, thanks for coming.”

Barb stopped setting the table and moved to greet Sam with a hug. Sam gave one back with a smile. She long ago stopped trying to hug me.

Tim brought the burgers from the grill, and we all sat to eat while Tim and Sam dominated the conversation with fishing stories.

When Sam asked if I’d ever been fishing, I nearly choked on my bite of burger. “No,” I said definitively.

He put on a mock shocked face. “How can a girl your age never have been fishing?”

“Many have tried, and all have failed, Sam,” I said slightly amused. “I’m not an outdoorsy type.”

His next comment wiped the smile from Barb’s face.

“You should come with me for the weekend. I’ll take you to the cabin your grandpa and I went to before you were even born. It has indoor plumbing now, so I bet you could talk a friend into coming with.”

I glanced at all the faces at the table. Sam still smiled, Barb focused on me with an alarmed expression, and Tim glanced between me, Barb, and Sam. I took another bite of burger to stall.

In private, Sam had asked about my plans for the future. Barb’s baby bump was hard to miss now. He had mentioned he had a spare room at his place if I ever needed it. He’d also mentioned he would like to take me on a trip to meet others of his kind. I felt fairly certain that’s what he meant now. Having him ask tonight without any warning took me off guard. I could have done some prep work, like dropping hints that I had an interest in spending more time with him or something. But it did make sense that he asked now. Why try to delay the inevitable? The doctors saw no reason Barb’s pregnancy wouldn’t go full term this time. School would let out soon, and I had no summer job.

Setting down my fork, I picked up my glass and took a long drink of water. They all waited. I decided to save the adults the long dance around a subject none of them wanted to face full on. I turned toward Barb and Tim.

“I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know Sam over the last two months and told him about the baby on the way.” I looked at Barb, meeting her beautiful dark brown eyes. “We all know that I won’t be able to stay once the baby’s here.” Barb started to tear up and speak but I stopped her with a raised hand. “I also know that you want me to stay. I don’t doubt that for a minute. You’ve both been so great to me, and I thank you.”

I turned to Sam. “You said that you live in a three bedroom house and that I was welcome to visit anytime. What about visiting until I graduate?” I didn’t want to go back into foster care.

Sam continued to smile at me and nodded.

Barb started to sniffle, and Tim reached over the table to pat her hand.

Chapter 2

Friday night, Barb and Tim dropped me off at Sam’s. Though it was only for a weekend, they knew what it would mean if everything went well. So I willfully squashed my discomfort and endured Barb’s hug. Tim, thankfully, settled on a nod and a wave as I climbed into Sam’s truck.

I used the eight-hour drive to ask Sam direct questions about werewolf life, and tried to soak up everything he said. I stopped talking when we turned off the blacktopped road onto a deeply rutted dirt lane I doubted saw much use. For a mile, I braced myself against the rough ride. Finally, we emerged from the treelined path into a wide clearing.