“Of course. Nana only wanted to protect them. She didn’t want them to see you like this and worry.”
She glanced from me to Jim, obviously not believing what I said. I dropped my hands and straightened away from her, trying to show her she could trust me.
She backed away and knocked on Winifred’s door.
The door swung open. Both boys stood beside Winifred. She gently nudged them out into the hall. I wanted to give them a reassuring smile, but wasn’t sure everything would be all right. Michelle had fear in her eyes and wouldn’t look at me as she steered her brothers toward the stairs. She walked sideways, always watching us, until the second landing.
She could have left, I told myself. But she hadn’t. She’d stayed. That meant there was hope.
With a groan, I turned and went into Jim’s apartment. Both Winifred and Jim followed me.
“You should have kept quiet,” Jim said.
“My nuts feel like they are the size of water balloons,” I said, easing myself down onto the couch. “A pain in my ass is just overkill at this point.”
Winifred went to the freezer and brought back a bag of frozen peas. I felt no shame laying them on my crotch.
“I’m sorry it didn’t go as you’d hoped,” Winifred said.
“Me, too.” I sighed. “I just thought being upfront would help her trust me more. I mean, I can protect her from whoever is after her, no problem. I thought showing her that would help.”
“With time, she’ll come around,” Winifred said with a pat on my head. “Want me to make you some cookies?” Winifred’s answer to troubled times was always cookies.
“Yeah,” Jim said. “No nuts, though.”
I threw the bag of peas at Jim.
Chapter 7
It took an hour before I was walking like usual. As soon as I could move without groaning, I went upstairs. My intent to work even harder on the new place evaporated at the soft sound of Michelle crying from within her apartment. So I sat on the landing and just listened. I’d given an already frightened woman more reason to fear, and I hated myself for it.
At some point, it started to rain. The normally soothing sound just seemed a depressing backdrop to her pain. It took a long time before she quieted. With a heavy heart, I went into the apartment and started looking at what needed to be done to tile the bathroom floor.
Sometime around dawn, I heard movement across the hall. The heavy sigh and a partially pained groan worried me. I jogged downstairs and grabbed some aspirin Winifred kept on hand for Mom. With the two pills in my hand, I sped upstairs and knocked on Michelle’s door.
The movement inside stilled, but the door didn’t open.
I knocked again. This time I heard feet slowly crossing the carpet. Then, I caught the rapid beat of her heart and the scent of her fear through the door. The ache in my chest grew with my helplessness.
When she opened the door, the sight of her puffy, red eyes had me stepping forward. I needed to comfort her…to bring back a measure of peace she’d only just started to find here.
“Michelle, I’m sorry.”
She stood still as I held her in my arms. She didn’t struggle or try to push me away. After a moment, her pulse jumped into high speed and her scent changed to one of shock. Why shock? Because of the hug?
“Give me three weeks,” I begged. “Stay. Give me a chance. Get to know me. If you can’t accept me after three weeks, I will help you go wherever you want to keep you safe from whoever you’re running from.”
She pulled away. I would have rather had another knee to the nuts than let her go, but I released her. She took a step back and eyed me. I could see she was thinking, deciding something. But what?
“What are you?” she asked.
The question relieved my growing hopelessness. She was giving me a chance.
“The most common name would be werewolf, but we’re not the ones from legend. Not really.”
She paled, and I hurried to explain.
“We change when we want to, mostly as a defense, not because of the moon. We eat like everyone else. Pancakes rank as my favorite food, in case you haven’t noticed.” I didn’t mention it was my new favorite because of her mouthwatering scent when she felt the pull toward me. “We’re the same as humans, but enhanced. I hear better, see better, can