The sound of his deep growl behind her had her freezing in place. She whirled around and saw him. He sat at the edge of the trees on his hind legs, watching her. His body was large; he was probably the biggest wolf the girl had ever seen. His paws were the size of human hands with long sharp claws. He growled and his glassy eyes focused only on her as he took a step forward.
The young woman was about to back away when she noticed the blood that was dripping from his long pointed teeth.
“Damn it, Nate, did you eat?” Her face clouded with annoyance and she spun on her heels, away from the wolf, storming off into the direction of the cottage.
A hand rested on the girl’s shoulder, stopping her just as she reached the steps. “It was just a little bunny,” Nate explained, wearing the t-shirt and jeans she had left out for him.
“Well, you better not have spoiled your appetite. I made you dinner,” Megan replied with a smirk.
He grinned as he leaned down to kiss her.
Chapter One
The Choice
I was having the dream again. I hadn’t had it since I was in grade school. It always began the same way, with my parents and me at the breakfast table, eating. My father’s nose was in a legal brief and my mother was engrossed in a fashion magazine. I had asked my father for a ride to school and he never looked up. I asked again and still nothing. I gave up on him and turned to my mother, telling her that I needed a permission slip signed for a field trip at school. Instead of answering, she licked her fingers and used them to turn the pages, her long platinum tresses draping around her face. I yelled at her to answer and yet she continually ignored me. I gazed at my parents, fighting back the tears that burned in my eyes and as I looked down at my hands, they began to fade away. A panicked inspection over the rest of my body showed me why they were ignoring me. I was disappearing from view. My voice had suddenly stopped and when I tried to scream out for help, nothing came. I had actually become as my parents always thought of me—invisible.
Light kisses on each fingertip woke me from the disturbing dream and I instantly felt relief. I was with the man that would always see me. With Nate, I would feel loved and cherished forever. It brought a smile to my face as I opened my heavy eyelids. His intense blue eyes looked down at me as he hovered above the bed. He was already dressed for work and he bent over, holding my hand.
“Good morning,” he said softly, with a breathtaking smile.
I grinned sleepily at him and sat up. “Are you leaving already?” I asked, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind my ear.
He let go of my hand and stood up. His charcoal suit was creased at the top of his legs. His bright red tie was a pop of color that brightened his face.
“Yes, we have an early meeting. But I’ll be home in plenty of time for our dinner.”
It was our sixth month anniversary and I wanted to do something special. I had the whole night planned out for weeks. But all he knew was not to eat ahead of time. “You’d better be. I don’t get a chance to cook for you that often.”
His lips twitched as if he wanted to laugh or make a joke, but he knew better to start that this early in the morning. “It’s seven o’clock; don’t you have to be at the shelter at eight?”
I jumped out of bed. “Crap, why didn’t you wake me?”
“You looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart.” He reached out for my hand and pulled me in close, his lips touching mine.
“You might not want to do that when you smell my morning breath,” I whispered against his lips.
“I think I can suffer through it,” he said with laughter in his voice. He kissed me deeply, his hands roaming the back of the oversized t-shirt I wore to bed. I was getting lost in his kiss until an image of two little boys flashed in my mind. I had to get to work. I had a new family that I was interviewing today. Anna, the social worker that usually advised the Riley House, had sent over their pictures and those eyes had stayed with me. There were a few people that wanted the room that Mr. Daniels was vacating in a week, but I really wanted to give it to the boy’s family. But first, I had to go through the review process. The problem was, we didn’t have enough rooms and I had been thinking of a solution for that. I just had to finish up my research and run it by Julia and Nate.
I pulled away from Nate as much as I hated to. But I had to hurry if I was going to make my meeting. “You’d better get to work,” I whispered, out of breath.
He nuzzled my neck and then stood up. “You’re right. I can’t wait until tonight when I can have you in my arms again.”
A giggle escaped my lips at his words. I had never felt as loved as I did each moment I was with him.
He reluctantly left after another kiss.
Without the hunky werewolf to distract me, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and then slipped into the shower. It didn’t take me long. I blow-dried my hair, put it up in a messy bun and then slapped on some makeup. I picked out a black tight fitting pantsuit. I wanted to look professional and older, but not too fancy. I was meeting with families down on their luck and I didn’t want them to feel uncomfortable. With a quick spritz of my ginger body spray, I was off.
I ate a granola bar in the car while I thought about the three families I would be seeing today. I had taken over running the charity when we graduated high school and Nate started working full time at Riley's Department store. Julia had run the charity off and on for years and could probably do it without me, but she had told me often enough that she really appreciated my help. When we first met, she had recognized something in me that she herself had felt on her first day. It was the need to help others. I had been searching for a purpose without really knowing it and after one day at the shelter, I had found it.
I was lost before I met Nate. Before him, I hung out with shallow snobs that only liked me for my money and my family’s prestige. One night my so-called friends had started a fire by setting off fireworks and I was the only one who cared enough to see if the family was okay. And for my trouble, I was accused of starting the fire and given two hundred hours of community service at Riley House—where I ran into Nate. We didn't hit it off immediately though. He thought I had something to do with the fire and was continuously rude to me. But that didn't take away from how much I loved working there. Getting a chance to help others awakened something inside me and I finally felt fulfilled. So when Nate was wanted at the store, his family’s business, I jumped at the chance to take his old job, training the new volunteers. There was also office work involved and I loved it. Helping residents find work and places to live was my favorite part. In the few months I had been working there, this was the first time that I would have to choose between three candidates. The people that our social worker selected had always been easy to choose, but this time, it was between three deserving families that were down on their luck through no fault of their own. It was going to be the hardest decision I’d ever have to make and I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach.
As I stopped at a stop light, I glanced at the rear-view mirror where a black sedan was stopped as well. While I waited for red to turn green, I thought over the idea I had been working on since I started the job. I wanted to expand Riley House to add a few more rooms but was afraid with the zoning we’d run into problems and I was right. Apparently, you couldn’t build too close to the property line and there wasn’t enough space at the back of the lot. When I had discussed it with Nate, all he said was that we couldn’t help everyone, even though from the look in his eyes, I knew he wanted to.
Finally, green shone above me and I moved into traffic once again. I turned on Willow in the direction of the shelter. I noticed the black sedan make the same move. When Addison Avenue came into view, butterflies bounced inside my stomach at the thought of what my day held. Minutes later, I pulled into the back lot at the shelter and parked next to Julia. Once I had climbed out, I spun around, vaguely noticing the black sedan now parked on the street. I wondered if it belonged to one of people I wa
s meeting with. I doubted it though. The car was new and shiny and the groups I was working with wouldn’t be able to afford it.
I started thinking about parking space. The parking lot was large enough and far enough from the property line to add more rooms. I’d just have to figure out another parking situation. Although the neighborhood was a residential zone, we were able to stay since we were a non-profit organization. But when I started talking to officials about expanding, they started spewing out technical words that I didn’t understand. I sighed, thinking again about having to turn away two families and spun on my heels to head in. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a for sale sign on the house next door. Happiness soared through me. Were my prayers answered? I quickly noted the name of the real estate agent and rushed inside.
“Julia!” I yelled, slamming the door behind me.
She glanced up from her desk right inside the entryway. Her dark brown hair was pulled back out of her face in a twist, with a pencil stuck inside. I smiled; she was always hard at work and never cared about her appearance. Of course, she dressed well, but if she spilled coffee on her blouse or got ink on her pants, she’d just shrug and continue with whatever she was doing. I dodged little Isaac as he shot from the toy room into the game room and stood next to her. She glanced at the little boy, who was holding a toy airplane and grinned before acknowledging me. “The first family is up in your office.”
That caught me off guard; they were early. “Really?”
She nodded and took a sip of the coffee in her hand.
“Did you see that the house next door is for sale?”
She nodded again, this time adding a raised brow. “Yeah, so?”
“I’m going to buy it!” I explained before rushing down the hall to the stairs. She stared at after me with a shocked look on her face. She too wanted to expand, but with all the dead ends we had faced, she had given up.
The first group had gathered along the sofa on the back wall. As I stood in the doorway, my heart ached when I noticed the little boy about eight years old stick two brand muffins in his pockets. There was a basket of them on the table. Julia must have left them out for the families. I gulped down the lump in my throat before I stepped inside. I had never experienced poverty in my life and since I started here, I had gotten used to it, but it never got any easier to see. My instinct was to wrap my arms around the boy and give him all the money and food we had, but I now knew that wasn’t the right approach.
When the father noticed me, he smiled. It was cheerful enough, but it didn’t reach his eyes. There was too much turmoil and worry in the hazel depths—there wasn’t room for much else. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the neediest family I would see today and I would have to turn him and his children down.
“Good morning, Mr. Cartwright,” I said, holding my hand out for him to shake. He stood up and wrapped his callused one in my smooth pampered palm and I cringed again. I couldn’t take his family in and it tore at my heart. I knew from the report that he had lost his wife two years ago. After that he had gone into a depression, losing his job and eventually his house. Right now he and his son and older daughter were staying in the basement of friends. It wasn’t the best situation since the friends were also on hard times, but at least they had a roof over their heads.
“Thank you for meeting with us, Miss Banks. I was told there was a room opening up?” The room was more of a suite. There were a few reserved for families. It held two rooms that backed onto a tiny common one. It wasn’t huge, but it gave families space from each other.
“Yes, there is, in a week. Anna gave me three files that would work out well and unfortunately we only have one room at this time.”
His smile faltered. “Yes, she told me that you would be choosing the family that would get the room today.”
I nodded, clearing my throat. That damn lump just wouldn’t leave. “Yes, I see here that Cole and Hannah go to school at the other side of town?”
“Yes, but we can move them.”
“I don’t want to go to another school,” Cole whined, yanking at his father’s faded coat sleeve.
Hannah, who was hunched on the sofa staring down at her feet, shot her little brother a dirty look.
“Mr. Cartwright, have you been looking for another job?” I hated prying, but the residents needed to be willing to work.
“Yes. And I have a few interviews next week.”
“Good.” Maybe I wouldn’t have to feel so guilty after all. “If you’d like, we could help you out with that. Julia has a session on how to act during interviews and we have suits in storage if you don’t have anything appropriate to wear.”
His face brightened. “That would be wonderful.”
I glanced at the kids and smiled. “Would you two like to have some breakfast? I heard it was pancakes today.”
Both children looked at their father with questioning eyes; when he nodded, they jumped up and ran for the stairs.
When we were alone, I cleared my throat. “Unfortunately, Mr. Cartwright, we are unable to take you and your family in at this time. Another family is in more need right now. They don’t have friends as generous as yours and they have nowhere to go.”
He frowned and gazed down at the floor.
“I wish we had more rooms and could take in all of the families Anna sent me, but right now, there is just the one.” He nodded sadly, understanding flashed in his eyes. “However, I would still like to offer you help in finding a job and give you the resources of Riley House during the day whenever you need it. We have a computer room with source sites for employment. We even have employment sessions with local agencies that come in twice a week.”
His face brightened. “Really?”
“Yes and we can revisit when another room opens up. Again, I’m very sorry.”
He stood up and held out his hand. “Thank you.”
“If you’d like to join your children, you’re more than welcome. You can also stay for a while and take advantage of the computer room. There are activities for the children as well.”
“I might take you up on that.” He stood to leave but gave me a smile before descending the stairs.
My stomach dropped to my heels. That was brutal. Next time, I would have Anna do it. I didn’t understand why she even mentioned the room to all the families. Usually she picked the neediest and gave us the name.
I snuck in the busy kitchen and said a quick hello to my friend Lilly who had started volunteering around the same time as she began dating Eddie. He had been a volunteer when I started and since had become a friend. He was too busy with his internship at legal aid to continue helping, so Lilly had offered to take his place. She was taking some business courses at the local college and it gave her time to help. I trusted her enough to run the meals when I was busy. Once I grabbed a coffee and checked to make sure Mr. Cartwright and his family were enjoying their meal, I slipped back upstairs for my next meeting. It was not as hard of a session. Frankly, I’m not sure why Anna had suggested them. It was a young couple who had both lost their jobs at the same time and were now living with their parents. There were no children involved and despite the bulge in the woman’s stomach, she had a mother who could help her out. My next visitors were not so lucky.
Two fair-haired boys tumbled into my office laughing with fists flailing.
“Boys!” called out a frail woman who I knew was in the late stages of cancer. She had just been informed that she was in remission, but all the medical bills had wiped out her savings. She had no family and her husband had been killed two years ago in Afghanistan. He was a soldier and even though she still collected his pension, it wasn’t near enough to get her out of debt and into a new house. This woman had suffered so much and there was no way I was going to give her any more bad news.
I stood up, ignoring the fact that the kids’ clothes were frayed and dirty. The woman’s hair was greasy and was held up by a rubber band, but when you lived in a car, there was no way to clean yourself. I couldn’
t wait to take them in.
“Mrs. Murray. It’s nice to see you,” I said, as I stretched out a hand. When she responded with a thin smile and firm shake, I decided not to beat around the bush. “I’ve read your file and barring no problems, you and your family can move in next week.”
Her eyes lit up and welled with unshed tears. “Thank you,” was all she could manage. But the look of appreciation was more than enough to express how she felt.
“Would you like to see the room?” I knew that Mr. Daniels was at the job we had helped attain and his son was at school, so the rooms would be empty.
The only response was a quick nod and a smile. I took her arm and led her out.
“Come on, boys,” I called over my shoulder. They followed behind us as we headed to their new temporary home.
By the time we had finished, it was lunch, so I brought them down to the dining room to have a meal and introduce them to the rest of the residents. Mr. Cartwright was in the back corner in a discussion with Susan, our career advisor. Once the Murrays had their food, I found Julia, who was eating a small bowl of soup.
“How did it go?” she asked, as I sat down next to her with a heavy sigh.
“Besides turning down two families? Fine.” The smell of baking bread drifted in the room, making me hungry. The granola bar I had this morning was not near enough to fill me.
“We can’t take everyone.” She stirred the cheese and broccoli soup absently; the spoon clinked against the ceramic bowl.
“We can once we expand.”
“Megan,” she began with a firm tone, pulling her spoon out.
“We can, as soon as I buy that house and rebuild.”
She shook her head. “You can’t use your own money.”
I sat forward in my chair. “Yes, I can. It’s called a donation.”
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