by Selena Scott
Ida’s eyes zoomed to hers.
“I think it’s natural,” Diana reassured her. “Our line of work is so personal. You’re helping people with every aspect of their lives. It makes sense that you might catch feelings every once in a while.”
Ida chewed on her lip and the silence stretched on. “When is it crossing a line?”
Diana blinked. “You should not be engaging in a physical relationship with a client. And if your emotional relationship starts to get in the way of their growth, or it interferes with your other client relationships, then that would be crossing a line as well.”
Ida looked immensely relieved. “So, as long as I keep my hands to myself and keep it profesh, you’re not going to fire me?”
Diana nearly laughed at the absurdity of that question. “Ida, you’re a talented and valued member of my team. You’ve never been inappropriate or made a mistake before. I trust you to do what’s right. And if you feel yourself struggling or slipping or you need help, come to me and we’ll make a plan. It could be that you’re not the right match for Phoenix. Or, um, whoever it is you’re having feelings for.”
Ida groaned and dropped her face into her palm. “That obvious, huh?”
“He’s very handsome,” Diana said tactfully.
“Ugh, I know. But it’s not a problem. I’ve got everything under control.”
***
It was with that conversation on her mind that Ida planned their next outing. She figured a group date with Dawn and Quill would be a little less potent than one on one time with Phoenix.
No, Ida! This is not a group date! She tersely reminded herself while she idled in the parking lot out in front of Phoenix and Dawn’s apartments. Group date implies date. And this is not a date!
“Eep!” She nearly had the ghost scared out of her when Phoenix knocked brusquely on the passenger side window.
His dark, frowny face ducked down to look at her through the glass. “Are you going to let us in?” His voice was muffled by the closed window. “Or are you just going to keep talking to yourself?”
He’d seen that?
Great.
Greatgreatgreatgreatgreat. No problem. Nothing to see here. Everything was going according to plan.
She was a crazy person.
She unlocked the car and Phoenix immediately hopped and folded into the front seat, stowing his crutches between his legs. Dawn slid quietly into the back, all round green eyes and silence, her hair a dark curtain between her and the world.
Ida knew that all she’d have to do would be to get Wren and Dawn within fifty feet of one another and Dawn would have a bangin’ new hairdo. Wren could never resist a challenge and despite the lack of a style, Dawn had beautiful hair.
But that was for another day.
Today was about getting to know Dawn.
“Hi, guys!” Ida chirped. “Sorry about locking you out of the car. I didn’t see you there waiting for me. And I wasn’t really talking to myself.” She shot Phoenix a look.
“Then what were you doing?” he asked drily, gripping the handle at the top of the window and looking so hot Ida’s eyes nearly crossed.
Yeah, it was better if she didn’t glance at him while she was driving.
looking away vastly decreased the chances of her driving them off a bridge by accident.
"I was … thinking. With my mouth and voice.”
Dawn made a funny little noise in the backseat and Ida caught the tail end of a smile in the rear view mirror. That was a good sign, right? That she could make Dawn laugh?
She and Phoenix chatted during the drive and Ida made sure to include Dawn in everything she was saying. But she did it strategically. She never point-blank asked Dawn a question, thereby precluding the possibility of Dawn straight-up not answering her. It was clear as day to her that Dawn didn’t enjoy being in the spotlight, even if that just meant answering a single question.
So, Ida included all sorts of observations and comments about the landmarks they were passing, making sure to draw Dawn’s attention there. “I think you’d really enjoy that restaurant, Dawn. I’d take your brother there, but I'm scared he’d terrify the other patrons when he licked his plate clear through to the table.” That one got a split second of a smile from Dawn and a dark glare from Phoenix. But Ida didn’t care. Phoenix was a big boy. He could handle a few jokes at his expense if they were the key to getting Dawn to open up.
She tried other tactics as well. “That place has a cool backyard bar in the warm weather. They’ve got all these different games you can play so it makes it really easy to meet people.”
Dawn didn't even acknowledge she’d spoken that time and Ida made a note that Dawn was not, in the least, interested in meeting people.
“Who do you meet when you go there?” Phoenix asked, his stare as penetrating and unnerving as usual. “Men?”
“People, Phoenix. I’ve met people there.” She paused. “And some of those people happened to have Y chromosomes. Yes.”
“I don’t know what a why chrome-zone is.”
“It’s a part of your DNA or something. It’s like the thing that, you know. Well, I guess I don’t really know what it is either. Let’s just say that you didn’t miss much from our public school system. But basically, men have Y chromosomes and women do not. It’s what makes our bodies different.”
“It’s what makes our bodies different from one another?” he asked in blunt, steely-eyed confusion. “Are you talking about dicks? A why chrome-zone is a dick?”
“No!” Ida nearly swerved off the road as she fought back a maniacal laugh. “That is not what I'm talking about. You know what? Just ask Quill. He’ll explain it to you.”
Ida glanced in the rear view. She’d noticed Dawn’s head bouncing back and forth, tracking the volley between Ida and Phoenix. But at the mention of Quill, mirth evaporated from Dawn’s face. Her lips pursed and she was once again hidden by the curtain of her own hair.
Hmmm. Interesting. What was that all about? Ida could think of two reasons why a woman might react like that to the mention of a certain man’s name. Either she had the hots for him. Or she was scared shitless of him. Ida glanced at Phoenix’s gorgeous profile. His wide hand gripping the bar above the window, his huge legs spread and confident.
Or both. She reflected that it was, indeed, very possible to be deeply attracted and scared out of your mind at the same damn time.
She cleared her throat and searched for something else. Any other topic. Really, anything would do.
“Dawn, that shop has the cutest rompers of all time. I love wearing rompers. It’s like being allowed to wear pajamas all day. Although it’s a real bitch to go pee when you’re wearing one.” She turned to Phoenix. “You have to take the whole thing down to your knees to be able to sit on the toilet and I always end up having this moment that’s like, why the hell am I going topless in this public restroom?”
“As usual,” he informed her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He twisted in his seat. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”
“They’re like a dress, but with pants on the bottom instead of a skirt,” Dawn said in a low, husky voice. “They’re cute. I’ve seen human women wear them.”
Ida’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head when Dawn spoke. First of all, that was way more than the cursory grunt she’d been expecting. It was an entire sentence. Second of all, it showed that Dawn observed -or maybe even cared about- things like fashion. And third, most of all, Dawn’s voice was hot. Like some kind of smoky-voiced movie vixen. A villainess attempting to get the good guy to do very bad things. There was a freaking Catwoman hiding behind that mop of dark hair.
But before Ida could do any more investigation into the phenomenon, they were pulling up to the flea market where they were headed.
Quill was standing in the sun, leaning against his car, arms crossed over his chest and looking like a movie star if Ida did say so herself. She didn’t even have to check the backseat to know t
hat Dawn would no doubt be hidden behind a curtain of hair, a frown on her face.
But it wouldn’t last long. Ida was determined! Phoenix had asked her to befriend his sister and that’s exactly what she was going to do. She felt it was her personal mission both as a mentor at the Center and as Phoenix’s, uh, friend? Well, whatever she was to Phoenix, it didn’t really matter. She was determined that Dawn would have fun today.
Ida hopped out of the car, gave Quill a fierce high five and pulled the door open for Dawn.
“Explain about Y chromosomes to Phoenix, would you? See you later, boys!”
And then she tugged Dawn to the market.
***
Well, it certainly seemed that Dawn and Ida were getting along. Quill wasn’t quite sure why that irritated him so much.
He’d actually blinked in disbelief when, across from across the flea market, he’d seen Dawn’s lips moving while Ida threw her head back and laughed.
Come on! Not only had Ida popped the soda can and gotten Dawn to talk, she was actually getting Dawn to joke?
“What’s Ida like as a mentor?” Quill asked Phoenix as the two of them strolled through the food carts at one end of the market. As shifters, they naturally had very strong appetites, but even so, Quill was impressed when Phoenix circled back to get a second burger.
Phoenix cocked his head, his expression fairly unreadable. Apparently that was a trait in their family.
“Good. Clumsy. Sweet.” He balanced his crutches and took the basket of food, using some impressive multi-tasking skills to get back to the picnic table where they popped a squat so that he could eat. Quill knew better than to offer Phoenix a hand. He’d already learned quite a bit about him in just the short hour that they’d been paired up today. He wasn’t nearly as hard to access as Dawn was.
“Seems like she’s a good match for Dawn,” Quill said, eyeing them across the market. When he turned back to Phoenix, it was to see his dark eyes scrutinizing Quill. The burger sitting in his hand, an un-chewed bite sitting in his cheek.
“No," Phoenix said, his eyes narrowed. “Ida is a good match for me.”
Okay, then. Apparently something else to know about Phoenix Wolf was that he was not amenable to switching around mentors. Quill inwardly groaned. He’d taken on Dawn because he’d figured she’d be easier to handle than Phoenix or Orion. Yeah freaking right.
Served him right for relying on his looks. Quill didn’t normally care very much about the fact that he was good looking, but he’d had a rough upbringing and he wasn’t about to turn his back on anything that could give him a leg up in this world. So, maybe he’d seen shy, insular Dawn, hidden behind her hair and thought, piece of cake. Maybe he’d figured he’d be able to flirt with her a little bit, clock in, clock out, get his paycheck.
Yeah. No.
Phoenix was still eyeing him suspiciously so Quill raised his hands. “Not saying that she isn’t a good match for you.”
“We’re not switching,” Phoenix said gruffly. “Just be nicer to Dawn. She’ll come around.”
When he’d first signed up to work with Dawn, Quill hadn’t pictured having to utilize one of her brothers to figure her out. In fact, he’d kind of figured he’d be able to utilize Dawn to figure her brothers out. But that was neither here nor there right now.
“I am nice to her.”
“No, I mean be nice to her the way Ida is being nice to her.”
Quill had no freaking idea what that even meant. Which, he guessed, was probably a major part of the problem.
“I guess I better go observe, then.”
Phoenix finished his burger in two gigantic bites, swigged down his water and balled up all his trash into a tight little wad. “Yeah.”
The two of them caught up with the girls while they were lingering in a booth filled with all different kinds of antiques. Ida was combing through a rack of old, sequined dresses, jabbering away to Dawn.
Dawn was obscured behind a stained glass window that was for sale. She was just a shadow of light and color from where Quill was standing. He could tell she was lifting and lowering items, obviously interested in them. He took a few steps around the edge of the window, curious about what had caught her attention. He froze when he caught sight of her.
The light through the colored glass left streaks of color across her hair and fair skin. She was, for once, standing with no obstruction to her face. She was plain, in a pretty sort of way, except for those green, green eyes. Which were alight with interest and curiosity as she thumbed through the pages of a book.
She was standing in front of a shelf of old, crumbly books that were giving off that very distinct scent that aged paper seemed to do. But the look on her face was one of an adventurer who’d just discovered a great treasure. She set the book back on the shelf and picked up another. This one, he could see from where he stood, had illustrations with captions beneath. She smiled at the illustrations, one of her slender fingers dragging along the text at the bottom.
“That’s a classic,” Quill said, recognizing the picture. “About a whale. And a hunter.”
She jumped so hard the book actually got a few inches of air before landing back in her hands. She snapped it closed and quickly set it back on the shelf, as if she’d been caught browsing nudey mags instead of old editions of classic literature.
He shouldn’t have spoken, Quill reflected glumly when her sheet of hair covered over her eyes again and she took two steps backward, away from him. He should have known better than to surprise her like that. But he’d just so liked the way she’d looked, lit up with curiosity. He’d wanted, in some small way, to be part of the reason she looked like that. Predictably, however, his presence had promptly ruined everything.
She stepped around the stained glass window, again putting it between them, and then she was two more steps into the booth, making sure Ida and Phoenix were also separating her from Quill.
He sighed and stepped up to the book she’d been looking at. He wondered what had so caught her interest. He knew that she and her brothers had never learned to read. So he wasn’t sure why a book would hold any interest at all for her.
He supposed he could just let it rest. Let it remain a rather tepid mystery. Or. He knocked his knuckles against the spine of the crumbling hardback. Or he could find out exactly what she liked about it.
***
Despite what everyone thought, Phoenix had, in fact, learned a little bit about human culture. He knew, for instance, that if he were to get caught staring at Ida right now, she would likely stop charming Dawn so thoroughly. She’d want to know what the hell he was looking at and why he was staring and the truth was, he wasn’t sure of the answers to those questions.
So, in one of the most human gestures he’d ever made, he absently picked up an object off the table of the booth he was standing in and pretended to study it with interest while he was actually studying Ida.
She was whispering something to Dawn, whose eyes got large before she brought a hand up to cover her mouth. Dawn didn’t like drawing attention to herself and bursting out laughing in public definitely qualified as drawing attention to herself. But still, apparently Ida was making it difficult because Dawn’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.
Phoenix honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever seen his sister laugh like that. She’d mess around and wrestle and race and play with Phoenix and Orion. But he’d never seen her … giggle. And he’d certainly never seen her whisper back to a female friend. She’d never had a female friend before.
Phoenix tried not to let it affect him too much, the sight of his sister goofing around in a carefree, light way. But it did affect him. She was just one of those people who had a sadness about her. He supposed it most likely had something to do with the fact that she’d practically grown up an orphan, with no other women around. But she, much more than either Phoenix or Orion, had always been the lone wolf.
“I see you’ve got a seasoned collector’s eye,” said a reedy v
oice from over Phoenix’s shoulder. He turned to see a shrewd looking man, the top of his head at about Phoenix’s mid-rib, huge glasses turning his eyes into raisins.
“What?” Phoenix asked.
The man pointed at the object in Phoenix’s hand. “The doll. You’ve picked my most valuable one. You must be a seasoned collector.”
Phoenix looked down at the rubber thing in his hand. It was a little grubby looking doll with nubs for eyes and a shock of wiry hair. It was wearing what looked like a diaper. On impulse, Phoenix gave the doll a little squeeze and frowned when the eyes popped from the doll’s head, the whole thing giving a sad little whine.
“See!” The man intoned. “Tip top shape. You won’t find another its equal.”
“I’m sure I won’t. Here.” He shoved the doll back into the man’s hand. “I don’t care about that.”
He started to crutch away when he heard the man’s voice again. “How rude!”
“What happened?” Ida was suddenly there, at Phoenix’s side, her soft hand resting on his shoulder as she peered behind him at the man.
“Nothing,” Phoenix said with a shrug. “He wanted me to buy his doll. I told him I didn’t care about it.”
“Oh, Phoenix,” Ida said with something soft in her eyes. She gave his shoulder a light squeeze and hurried back into the booth from which he’d just exited. Phoenix watched as, yup, sure enough, not twenty seconds later, the man in the glasses was smiling and shrugging, his head bobbing along as he laughed at something Ida was saying to him. Appeasing him.
She was back at his side in just a moment and Phoenix peered down at her as he crutched away, over toward where Dawn and Quill silently stood next to one another, ready to go, neither speaking.
“You sure are good at being human,” Phoenix told her.
Ida laughed. “Well, I better be. I am human.”
“But not all humans are like you. Trust me.”