by Mac Flynn
I snorted, and he turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, allergies," I told him.
His smile returned and he nodded. "Luella gets them all the time, but will you help us?" he wondered, addressing Adam. "We really don't even know what to order from the lumberyard, but you could talk to Scott about how tall it should be."
Adam gasped for breath and pushed past Daniel for my cabin. "If you'll excuse me," he muttered as he rushed into my home.
Daniel blinked and turned to me with wide eyes. "Was it something I said?"
I shook my head. "No, he's just-um, just so eager to start your job that he went to get his tools."
Daniel smiled and gave a nod. "That's great because I wouldn't know a hammer from a wrench, and Luella is really worried about our dogs. Sometimes they want out after dark, and she's afraid they'll be snatched up by the wolf."
"I'm sure Adam can fix that up for you without any trouble. He's been working on my house for me," I informed him.
Daniel turned to the old shack of a cabin and nodded. "It could use some work, but it's nice to have most of the lots filled up. That way we know how many houses are going to be up here and it makes for a closer-knit community, don't you think?"
I slapped on a wide, strained smile. "Um, yeah, one big happy family." One big dysfunctional family. I suspected in-breeding was the problem, or just shallowness.
Adam saved the day when he strolled from the house. His hands were rubbed red from his cleaning and he wore a shirt that didn't belong to him. I glared at him, but refrained from making a scene with our guest present. "I'm sorry about my rudeness," he apologized.
"Oh, no, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'd want that off my hands, too," Daniel agreed.
"You were saying you wanted a fence built? What kind?" Adam asked him.
Daniel shrugged. "Oh, anything that would keep a wolf out. Probably wooden, but we can afford most anything you can build. The trick is we want it built as soon as possible, and Luella's a very persistent person when she knows what she wants. She won't stop nagging me until I have at least the supplies ordered."
"Would it be enough if I took a look at your yard today?" Adam wondered.
"Yeah, that'd be great," Daniel agreed.
I hobbled toward my porch. "Well, you two boys have fun with your building. I'll stay here and rest up these old limbs of mine."
Adam turned to me. "I'd like it if you came along."
I paused and glanced over my shoulder with a frown. "Why?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because I want your company."
"You've had my company all morning and-oohhhh." I remembered why I'd been in his company for so long: the threat of a Scott Ashton attack. "Well, I guess I could go along, if Mr. Rodney doesn't mind."
"It's Dan, and I don't mind. You can keep Luella company," he suggested.
I sighed and managed a smile. "Sounds great."
We piled back into the car and followed Dan down the road. I glanced at Adam, and his shirt. "That's my best nightshirt," I scolded him.
"It's also the only shirt of yours that would fit," he told me.
"You could try going topless and give yourself a furry chest," I suggested.
He grinned and turned to me with an upraised eyebrow. "Would you rather I go topless?"
I blushed and whipped my face forward. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
Adam shrugged. "Perhaps you don't know it."
I rolled my eyes. "Perhaps you should stop trying to get on my good side before you see my bad side. Besides, have you ever considered our age and species differences?"
"Differences are meant to be overcome when affection is involved," he soliloquized.
"That sounds like Romeo and Juliet, and you know how that ended," I commented.
He chuckled. "I haven't lived this long to kill myself with poison."
"Good, because I'm not stabbing myself, either," I agreed.
"Then we will have a more successful courtship and wedding," he proposed.
My shoulders drooped and I sighed. "I've already admitted we're friends, and you're a very good guard dog, but where are you getting this mad idea of love?"
"From the heart," he explained.
I tilted my head toward him and couldn't help the corners of my mouth as they slid up. "You never give up, do you?"
He shook his head. "I have seen many things and had a great deal of adventures, but I find that very few things in this modern world thrill me. You, however, have caught my interest. Perhaps you remind me of the spirit I used to have when I took that voyage to my fate."
I chuckled. "Are you sure you shouldn't write your own biography? You have a way with words."
"I prefer to be your ghost writer," he insisted.
I shrugged. "All right, I'll give you the privilege of attempting to court me, but I'll list out all my flaws now before they scare you off."
"The flaws might be what I'm attracted to," he pointed out.
I raised my hand and stretched out my fingers. "Well, the fatty part might be to your culinary liking," I mused.
"I happen to find large women refreshingly real," he told me.
"Good, because I've got fat." I grabbed a pinch of belly fold and wiggled it. "See? Beware the jiggle."
He chuckled. "I'll admire the jiggle from afar, but only for now. What other troubles should I be aware of?"
I counted down the list on my remaining four fingers. "Well, I'm as stubborn as a certain werewolf who shall remain unnamed, I know how to cook but I don't like to clean so I wouldn't make a good wife, I'm curious so I'll probably die young, and I pick my nose."
He raised his eyebrow at the last point. "Is that last one true?"
I sheepishly smiled and shrugged. "No, I just thought I'd throw it in to see how you'd react."
"What were you hoping would happen?" he wondered.
"Something like an earth-shattering kaboom, or to scare you off."
"I'm afraid neither is going to happen."
"Can't blame a girl for trying."
"No, and I admire your tenacity."
"You admire a lot of things about me."
"I hope you admire something about me," he mused.
I shrugged and slid down in my seat. My fingers toyed with the glittering staff in my hand. "Well, I do admire the staff you made me. You should sell these. You'd make a fortune."
"Not all skills should be sold," he returned.
I snorted. "Well, I guess when you have as many skills as you've learned you have some to spare only for yourself. Me? I'm a writer and that's all I really know how to do. Well, that and get into trouble with werewolves. Lots of them." I furrowed my brow and my eyes flickered to him. "How many of you guys are there, anyway?"
"Where?" he asked me.
I waved my hand at the passing scenery out the window. "Everywhere. The whole world."
He shrugged. "I'm afraid no one's ever tried to get a census, but I did meet someone who tallied all the werewolves he'd ever met. He was at two thousand when we parted. That was fifty years ago."
"So the number's gone up?" I guessed.
"Perhaps. Fewer people believe in us so there are fewer casualties from superstitious humans," he pointed out.
"Well, let's hope that the werewolves that are left aren't as bad as Ashton," I mused.
Adam frowned. "Speaking of our new acquaintance, we should be wary of Ashton. He may cause us trouble while we're at the Rodney home."
"You mean more trouble than he's caused with his midnight snack?" I asked him.
"Yes. A werewolf is very territorial and he may consider us trespassing," he explained.
I snorted. "Well, just don't pee in the flower beds and we should be fine."
Chapter 10
We followed Dan to their home near the bottom of the mountain. Their driveway was the road just short of Doc's driveway, and it wound into the woods for a hundred yards of curves and bouncing ruts before the t
rees opened and presented us with the house. I was surprised to find it was an a-frame, cabin-like home with a large lawn speckled with pine trees. The roof was made of wood shingles and the raised front deck stood on pole stilts with simple concrete blocks for feet. Like around my home and Adam's cabin, there wasn't a evidence of any wildlife, a tell-tale sign that Ashton was nearby.
Dan parked his car beside the a-frame in a carport, and we parked beside him. We stepped out and he gestured to the a-frame. "Welcome to our dream home. It isn't much, but we're happy it blends in with the natural surroundings."
"It looks comfortable," I admitted.
"Let's go inside and see where Luella wants the fence," he told us.
Dan led us inside to the spacious ground floor. It held a bathroom under the winding wood stairs, the living room kitchen, and dining rooms. All other rooms were on the upper two floors that ended at the peak of the roof. On the couch sat Luella, but Ashton was nowhere in sight. She smiled and stretched out her hands to grasp mine. That's when I remembered I'd left my staff in the car.
"I'm so glad Dan could convince you to come on such short notice! And Christina! What a pleasant surprise! Have you come to help with our wolf problem? It really does mean the world to me and my babies." At mention of them her 'babies' raced from their sleeping beds close to the stairs. They were a pair of shih tzu dogs with little bows on top of their heads. The cuddly little creatures barked their heads off at our presence. "Quiet, Moopsy and Tootsy! These people are here to help you!" The dogs wouldn't have cared if we were there to save the world, they just kept yapping, especially at Adam. "Dan, why don't you take our guests outside with the dogs?"
"Sure thing," her husband agreed.
Luella released me from her grasp and I limped after them, but Luella laid a hand on my shoulder before I reached the French doors that led onto the front deck. "Why, you're limping! What in the world happened?"
"A bear attack, but I'm fine," I told her.
"Well, why don't you stay here with me? That way you wouldn't be on your feet on that uneven ground," she suggested.
I caught the look in Adam's eyes. He didn't want to leave me. "I'll be fine, really," I insisted.
"Nonsense." She scooted an ottoman close to the French doors and one of the reclining chairs. "You can sit right here on the ottoman and we can both watch the men work from here. How does that sound?"
I turned to Adam, who curtly nodded. I sighed and my shoulders slumped. "All right, but don't do anything I wouldn't do," I warned Adam.
"Except maybe scout a fence line," Dan joked. He opened one of the doors and released the hounds to the outdoors, dooming the entire world. Or just any bits of wildlife stupid enough to wander close to where a werewolf resided.
The men walked outside and Dan pointed out the parts of the lawn they were willing to sacrifice for a fence. Luella plopped me on the ottoman and scooted her chair closer to me. "See? Very comfortable, and we can-oh dear." The men walked off the deck and Dan led the unwilling Adam to the far left corner of the house and out of our sight. "Well, I'm sure we can entertain ourselves without watching them. How are you liking your new home? Dan and I looked at it when we heard it was for sale, but we just couldn't part with our beautiful old house. It's original, of course, not like the new houses the neighbors built."
I leaned to my right to catch a glimpse of the men, but no luck. They were out of sight, and not in a good way. "Um, yeah, it's nice," I agreed.
"Do you have any rabbits around your home? I ask because we don't seem to have any around here. I'm afraid my precious little babies have scared them all away, them and the birds and squirrels. Shih tzu's can be very territorial," she mused.
"Yeah, evil dogs," I replied.
She stiffened and frowned. "I beg your pardon?"
I straightened and turned to her with my eyes a-blinking. "What? Pardon who?"
"My dogs are not evil," she argued.
"But they are loud enough to wake the dead," a voice chimed in. We turned to the side door through which I'd entered and found the doorway was occupied by Ashton. I hadn't even heard him come in. Another ability I chalked up to werewolfism. He strode over to us with a bright smile on his face. His attention turned to Luella. "I just overheard Dan and Adam talking outside. Dan said he'd like to have your opinion on where the gate for the fence should go."
She jumped to her feet. "I never thought of that! I'll be right back." I tried to stand to follow her, but she gently pushed me back down onto the ottoman. "Now you stay there, I'll be back in a moment. Scott can take my place as host for just a few minutes." My fear was he would become a host of a roast with me as the main course.
"I'm really fine-"
"Stay!" Luella swept out the door and it latched shut with an ominous click.
Ashton took Luella's seat and sat on the edge close by my ottoman. His eyes swept over my form and I covered myself. Maybe werewolves had x-ray vision, too. "I can see and smell what Adam likes in you. You're different from the other humans. More-"
"-not afraid?" I suggested.
He chuckled. "No, I can smell the sweat from your fear. I was going to say real. You have nothing artificial on you except your clothes. It's a very refreshing change to feel the past on one who's so pretty." He reached out his hand to stroke my hair, but I jerked away. Ashton frowned. "I didn't lure you both here just to eat you. There would be no sport in killing you right now."
I frowned. "Lure us here?"
He shrugged and leaned away. "How else would Luella get the idea to hire Adam if not from me?"
I raised an eyebrow. "How did you know Adam could build a fence?"
Scott smirked. "From his dear friend, the good doctor. Once you find the doctor's weak point in talking about his animals you eventually learn who built all his cages for him."
"So why did you lure us here?" I questioned him.
"To give Adam one more chance. You see, I really would like a companion. Not a human companion, like he's chosen. Someone more to my taste."
I snorted. "So you think Adam tastes like deer?"
"No, but I know human has a particularly delicious flavor." He leaned toward me and his fangs peeked out from beneath his upper lip. "One bite would ruin the rest of your long life, and two would end it."
"And end any hope you have of making friends with Adam. Why don't you just leave us both alone?" I bit back.
"I-"
He didn't get a chance to finish when both French doors burst open and Adam stood on the threshold. At his heels barked the shih tzu dogs, and somewhere off to the left yelled the Rodney's. Adam swept into the house and landed a punch on the side of Ashton's face. Scott flew to the floor and skidded a few yards across the shining hardwood. He picked himself up just as the Rodney's arrived at the doorway.
"Scott!" Luella and Dan yelled.
They thundered past us and to their house guest. He waved them off with a hand and a smile. A stream of blood flowed from his cracked lip. "I'm fine, I was just giving Christina some advice when I slipped." His eyes zeroed in on Adam and I detected a hint of yellow in their depths. "I won't let it happen again."
"Advice?" Luella exclaimed as they hefted him to his feet. "Were you teaching her the wrong way on how to walk on my floor?"
"Something like that," Scott lied.
Dan turned to Adam and me. "I think maybe you should leave. We can talk about the fence later." His tone warned us there probably wasn't going to be a later.
"Gladly," Adam quipped. He took my arm, hefted me from the ottoman and pulled me through the open French doors. The shih tzus barked at us, barked at Ashton, and just plain barked at anything that looked like it could move.
We left that noisy, uncomfortable scene and hurried to the car. Adam drove us away from that horror-madhouse, and I clasped my staff in my hands. "Should've brought this in with me," I muttered.
"He didn't curse you, did he?" Adam asked me.
I shook my head. "No, but he told me he lured us there
by learning from Doc about your being good at building stuff. That's how the Rodney's learned about you being able to build a fence."
"Why were his intentions?" he continued.
"The same old thing. He wants to have wolfy fun with you, but thinks having a human along for the ride is spoiling his fun," I explained.
Adam's lips were pursed and it frightened me to see that his face was a little pale. "I see. He's more cunning than we gave him credit for."
"You don't think he's going to try something again, do you?" I wondered.
Adam shook his head. "I can't tell, but we'll have to keep our ears and eyes open for him."
"So another sleepover?"
"Another sleepover."
Chapter 11
The rest of the day was shot on account of my nerves frayed and Adam uneasy, so we returned to my cabin. Adam continued the work on my home and I sat like an old lady in my chair looking up at him as he finished the repairs on the roof.
"Is there any way to make this thing werewolf-proof?" I called to him.
"Yes, but it isn't easy, and I wouldn't be able to enter," he yelled back.
I snorted. "Maybe I'm not seeing a problem with this."
Adam whacked at the metal roofing sheets a few more times and stood. The hard ground and I were ten feet below him. "If I believed it would make you safe I might attempt it, but we can't be sure Ashton won't try another trick to lure you out." He jumped off the roof and landed neatly in front of me.
I frowned at him. "For not wanting me to be cursed you sure do show off a lot of epic abilities."
"Sorry, habit." He set his tool pack down beside a stump and seated himself on the top of a stump. His eyes looked directly into mine. "You have to promise me you'll be careful. Ashton is a dangerous werewolf and man."
"Yeah, I do get the impression that when somebody tells him 'no' he doesn't take it well," I mused.
Adam nodded his head. "Yes. That might be why he killed the deer so close to the Vandersnoot property. He may have wanted to show me the 'true' werewolf and what we do."
I stuck out my tongue. "You'd think he could've just bought a raw steak at the market and tacked in on your door."
Adam didn't laugh. "The next time we meet he may not strike up a conversation. He may go for your life."
I felt the color drain from my face. "Me? Why's he so dead-set on getting rid of me? You're the one he wants."
"I am, but he knows I won't leave the human attachments I've made here, particularly you, and because of that he sees you as competition. When a wolf sees competition they want to kill it," he explained.