Hope(less) (Judgment of the Six) Page 13

  Watching my shuffling feet while retracing our steps to the back door, I didn’t see Rachel standing on the porch. Her abrupt, “There you are!” startled me. My hand flew to Clay’s thick mane at the same time my heart skipped a beat. The scare distracted me from my second sight, and it snapped closed at my loss of focus. I struggled to reopen it, but a sudden pain in my head stopped my attempt. I’d done too much.

  “Nice morning for a walk,” she commented moving toward us to pet Clay.

  I unclenched my fingers from his fur not wanting her to notice my death grip. She fingered one of his ears, which he shook off, causing her to laugh and bend to kiss the top of his head. He endured the kiss, but rolled his eyes at me. Some of my tension melted at their antics. He appeared more relaxed too.

  She tugged the leash from my loose grasp and said, “I made a call this morning and can get him into the vet for his shots. I figured after the way he acted last night, we should have him current, just in case.”

  It took a moment for what she said to click. I dropped my stunned gaze to Clay. He calmly met my eyes not giving any indication what he thought of her announcement. I didn’t know what to say to Rachel.

  She looked at me with concern and said, “You okay, Gabby?”

  No. Not okay. What had started as a nice thank you breakfast for Clay had turned into a dog fight. And now, she wanted to take him to the vet? He didn’t deserve that. After the attack, would he concede to leaving me? Wait. Could a vet figure out he wasn’t really a dog? I tried to contain my panic.

  “Uh, I didn’t budget for it,” I blurted hoping at the very least to put the visit off until I talked to Sam about the risks.

  “Don’t worry.” Rachel untangled his leash and attempted lead him toward the garage. “I can cover it for now and you can pay me back.”

  “Let’s all go,” popped out of my mouth before I thought about it. What good would that do? Did I think I could block the vet basketball style from touching Clay? Rachel would definitely know something was up then.

  “No offense Gabby, but you look like hell. I think you’d be better off with some quiet time. Don’t worry we’ll be fine.” She tried pulling him toward the garage again, but he didn’t move with her. Instead, he nudged me toward the back door almost knocking me off balance.

  Rachel tugged on his leash scolding him, but he ignored her staying focused on me. “Would you mind giving him your standard pep talk? I don’t know why he just listens to you. I’m the one that feeds him treats.” She handed the leash over to me. I rubbed my forehead not knowing what he wanted me to do.

  Bending to give him a hug, I breathed, “Is it safe for you?” He snorted, which I took as a yes. Did he want me to stay here then? “I’m so sorry about this. I’ll need to call Sam and let him know what happened.”

  I straightened, looking him in the eye while smoothing the fur on his head. “It’s your choice.” I dropped the leash and stepped back.

  He gave me a long look and then sighed as Rachel moved to open the car door. He followed her.

  “The control you have over him is weird, but cool,” Rachel commented holding the door while he jumped into the back seat.

  Control? I didn’t have any control over him. He only listened when I threatened to kick him out of my room or leave him behind. “Yeah. Just don’t be gone too long. He’ll get upset,” I warned her.

  “The vet’s just a few minutes from here. We should be back soon.”

  I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this. She climbed behind the wheel, rolling down her window before closing the door. What did a vet usually check for? Shots… Age… Neuter… Crap, crap, crap!

  “Just don’t have him neutered!” I panicked on his behalf. “Or anything that involves blood or blood work. It’s expensive and I promised him he’d keep his jewels.” Oh how I wished those words back when he started laughing hard. I really needed to start filtering what I said.

  The engine roared to life. Rachel swiveled to check on Clay then suggested, “Maybe we should have the vet check his lungs. It sounds like he’s coughing.”

  “He’s fine. Think cost,” I called from the deck as she backed out of the driveway.

  I went inside and immediately called Sam letting him know about the attack. He assured me of my safety, which I already knew. Paul and Henry long ago educated me regarding challenge etiquette. A challenge questioned Clay’s right to me. If present, I needed to stay near him to show my support of his right. Fleeing rejected him. Though rejecting him sounded tempting on the surface, doing so would put me back into the eligible pool. I didn’t want that either.

  Sam said he would let Elder Joshua know about the attack too. He went on to say he felt certain the challenger wouldn’t try again anytime soon given the extent of his injuries.

  A werewolf’s tough hide deflected many of the things that could damage human skin. What it couldn’t deflect, it reduced in severity. A knife could still cut them for example, but not lethally like it could me. On top of their nearly impenetrable skin, nature also threw in a phenomenally fast healing process. A shallow cut would knit together in less than an hour, with no scar visible in less than a day. However, injuries from another werewolf tended to take twice as long to heal. Still faster than a human’s though.

  Talking to Sam helped settle my nerves. Though the werewolf’s odd light still bothered me, I couldn’t bring it up as I’d never shared the details of my ability with Sam. However, I did almost bring up the vet visit. Clay’s willingness to go had me keeping it to myself at the last minute. I felt guilty enough and didn’t need to add a lecture to it.

  Before hanging up, he reminded me that challenges weren’t unheard of and that I had no reason to worry yet.

  I agreed, neither of us saying what I already knew. Challenges occurred when more than one werewolf became interested in the same potential mate and the potential in question didn’t have a preference. Werewolves usually had a strong preference to just one potential mate. So the challenge was my fault.

  * * * *

  An hour and a half later, I’d showered, scrubbed the kitchen floor, and vacuumed every room in the house keeping myself awake for their return.

  At the sound of Rachel’s car in the driveway, I ran through the house and out the back door. I leaned over the porch railing trying to see into the back of the car.

  “How’d it go?” I asked from the deck attempting to sound indifferent.

  Window still down, Rachel put the car in park in front of the garage and smiled at me. I had to wait for her to roll up the window and open her door. I spotted Clay lying on the back seat, head down. He didn’t look up at me.

  “He took it like a champ,” Rachel said climbing out to open the back car door for Clay. He lifted his head and stood with obvious effort. Then he hopped down slowly, pathetically climbing the deck steps to my side.

  “What’d they do to him?” I looked down at him in concern. Rachel shook her head and closed the door.

  “He wasn’t acting like this when we left. I swear. I think he’s hamming it up for you.” She patted Clay’s head with a laugh, which he accepted with a defeated grunt.

  He stopped hobbling and started walking with his usual gait. I heaved a relieved sigh. He looked up at me and winked. I quickly checked to see if Rachel had noticed, but she already walked away from us into the house. I shook my head at him before following Rachel in.

  “So what shots did he get?” I asked pouring some orange juice from the refrigerator and taking a drink. Clay followed us in as well his eyes never leaving me.

  “Just rabies. The vet had a hard time determining his age by his teeth, but thought him to be in his prime.”

  I choked a bit on my juice. “That’s great,” I managed to gasp out, flicking glance at Clay. A small smug smile curled his lips. I needed to find a way to tell him, nicely, that his wolfie smile looked creepy.

  “Hey, while I was waiting for him, Peter called. He said he had a good time last night and hoped Scott hadn’t ruined his chance by coming on too strong. He’s never seen Scott be anything but smooth. He naturally thinks Scott’s falling for you hard.”

  Both Clay and I gawked at her. I know my jaw had dropped a little and wondered if Clay’s had done the same.

  “I’m just repeating,” she held up her hands with a laugh at my expression. “Anyway, Peter said Scott’s already been bugging him this morning about getting your number to set up another date. Given what you told me, I said no, that last night was just a friendly get together and that you were seeing someone else.”

  Clay’s gusty sigh of relief competed with mine. We’d been through enough today. Okay, fine, he’d had to go through all of it while I just stood by. But still, the stress of it, along with overuse of my sight, wore me out.

  Looking down at him, I realized I didn’t mind having him around. We’d at least become friends of sorts. I worried I treated him unfairly allowing him to hang around. Did that mislead him into thinking our relationship might grow to more than friendship? I hoped not. If he ever thought I asked too much, he could always walk away.

  “You know,” Rachel said shaking her head, “sometimes that dog creeps me out with how human he acts. Anyway, I’m going to meet up with Peter for another try at a date. We’re going to see a movie and this time I’m not asking you to come with,” she said with a huge smile as she walked past us heading to her room.

  “Thank you!” I called to her retreating form.

  Chapter 9

  The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of studying. When Rachel left to meet Peter, which she did both Saturday and Sunday, Clay and I sprawled on the living room floor. I read my books while he read his with me turning the pages. We didn’t talk much. He seemed content just to lay by me.

  We moved back into my room before Rachel came home Sunday night. When I heard the door, I commented to Clay, “I bet I’m looking for a new roommate before the next semester starts.” He didn’t have much to say one way or the other.

  The weekdays flew with classes and studying once again claiming all my attention.

  On Wednesday, I realized I hadn’t done my laundry in days. My small wardrobe lay in a mashed pile in the corner of my closet. With a sigh, I plucked out a semi-clean shirt and the jeans from the day before. After tugging on the clothes, I grabbed what I could from the remaining pile and ran downstairs, cramming the washer full. Clay watched me from the top of the stairs. If I didn’t leave now, I’d arrive late for class. I threw in the detergent and ran up the stairs nearly plowing over Clay on my way out the door.

  I pulled into the driveway near dinner glancing at the service truck parked in front of the house. Rachel’s car already sat in the garage. Baffled, I watched her glide out the back door, hurrying to stand next to the car. She wore a wide grin.

  “You are brilliant!” she said as soon as I opened my car door.

  “What’d I do?” I took my bag loaded with library books out of the front seat and closed the door.

  “There’s a hot repair man working on the washer in the basement. Thank you for breaking it.” She linked her arm through mine and walked me to the house.

  “I didn’t do anything but throw in a load of laundry before I left,” I said it quietly glancing at the open basement door.

  Clay sat in the hallway next to the open basement door staring down the stairs. When he heard me, he looked over his shoulder watching us.

  “Hey,” Rachel said, “I’m not blaming… I’m just thanking.” She continued to grin.

  “I thought you were into Peter,” I whispered.

  “I am. It doesn’t mean I don’t window-shop. Go down there and flirt with him and see if we can get twenty percent off our bill.”

  “I will not,” I huffed with a laugh, getting myself a drink of water. We still spoke quietly, both of us casting glances at the open door. “It’d be safer to send Clay down there to learn how to fix it than me trying to get us a price break.”

  “If our dog starts fixing things,” Rachel said leaning against the counter, “we’re hitting the road and making some money.”

  We both heard the heavy tread on the basement stairs at the same time. Rachel’s face lit with anticipation while I eyed the door with dread. Was it too late to run past and hide in my room? With Clay so close to the door, I’d probably trip on him and the repairman would find me lying at his feet.

  Then, I saw him. With a body like that, a girl had to look her fill. Denim hugged his long lean legs, and a snug shirt displayed his biceps and abs to perfection. I made an effort to blink to break my stare. I knew better. He’d take my attention as a come-get-me signal for sure. Lifting my eyes to meet his, he smiled broadly and flexed. Well, that just ruined the whole window-shopping experience. A conceded hottie. Their vocabularies didn’t include the word ‘no’ making them difficult to fight off.

  The situation called for a retreat. I turned to Rachel and in a single breath said, “I have to go pick up my ring before Clay gets here. He’d be heartbroken if he found out I bent a prong on the setting already. Plus my hand feels naked without it.” While I spoke, I held out my left hand dramatically while looking at it wistfully. Maybe it was over doing it, but I wasn’t sure he’d get the point.

  Puzzled, the man looked at Rachel, “The dog?”

  A nervous laugh escaped before I could stop it. “We named the dog after my fiancé. He’s got a good sense of humor and likes the dog too.”

  Since I stood only five steps from the back door, I escaped before any further conversation delayed me. Clay hadn’t been fast enough for a change and I had to leave him behind.

  Not knowing what else to do, I went grocery shopping, taking my time reading the labels of the different orange juices the store offered.

  Even after shopping, I had to drive past the house three times before the truck finally disappeared.

  When I staggered in through the back door laden with groceries, Clay sat waiting for me in the kitchen. Setting down the bags, I peeked around the corner for Rachel before whispering, “You better keep reading the books I bring home. You can be our repair guy. It gives me the willies knowing he knows where I live.”

  Clay nodded his head in agreement, which Rachel saw as she walked into the kitchen.

  She paused mid-stride her eyes wide. “Did he just nod?” she demanded.

  “Yep. I’ve been working on it with him. He caught on really fast. The nodding isn’t bad, but his smile can be a little scary.”

  Rachel recovered and shook her head. “You’re weird Gabby, but in a good way. Anyway, it was one hundred and twenty-five dollars to fix the washer. I covered your half. With the vet bill, you’re up to one hundred, minus the burger and drink from disaster night.”

  Ouch. “Okay. I’ll run to the bank after class to tomorrow.” I chewed my lip for a moment. My pathetic savings couldn’t take these kinds of unexpected hits. Life was more expensive than I’d anticipated.

  I turned to unpack the rest of my groceries and noticed Clay watching me closely. Not wanting to draw Rachel’s attention to him again, I ignored his look and finished up to go study.

  * * * *

  On Friday afternoon, Rachel rushed in through the back door calling my name in a panicked tone. I jumped up from the bed calling, “here!” We nearly collided as she flew through my bedroom door at the same time I tried to leave it.

  “What’s going on?” I said catching her by the arms seriously concerned.

  “Peter broke and told Scott he had plans to go to dinner with me tonight,” she panted.

  She ran through the house to tell me she had a date? I really didn’t see how I qualified as the weird one sometimes. “So?”

  “Peter’s coming here to pick me up… and Scott’s coming with.” She stood framed in my bedroom door shifting from foot to foot. “Gabby, I don’t think he’s going to take no for an answer for a date tonight. Peter can’t shake him.” Her emphatic expression told me the degree of insistence Scott had used to accompany Peter.

  I groaned and flopped back on my bed forgetting about Clay and landing on him. He didn’t even twitch, but I still reached back to pat him, “Sorry Clay.” I froze mid pat staring at the ceiling in revelation.

  “I’ve got an idea!” I exclaimed scrambling off the bed. “If you have any clothes I can borrow that would say I’ve been dating a guy for a while, can I borrow them?” I didn’t want to spend any money unnecessarily.

  Rachel moved out of the way as I rushed from my room. I heard Clay hop down from the bed to follow me. I grabbed shoes from the closet, lost in thought. My plan could work. I just needed to convince Clay. They both trailed behind me watching struggle to slip on some shoes as I walked to the kitchen. It wasn’t easy. I almost tripped twice and covered most of the distance hopping instead of walking. I grabbed my car keys before Rachel spoke up.

  “Sure, but who are you dating?”

  “I’ll let you know when I bring him home. Come on Clay,” I called holding open the door for him. With a baffled glint in his eyes, he willingly followed me.

  Rushing to the car, waving for him to hurry, I had the doors slammed closed and the engine rumbling seconds later. I felt him study me as I careened out the driveway and took off in the direction of the shopping district.

  “You’re here to keep me safe, right?” He grunted which I took as a yes and continued. “Then I need you to be more than my dog.” I risked a glance at him. He titled his head at me clearly confused. I pleaded, “Will you put on your skin tonight to be my date?”

  I sounded desperate, but I didn’t really care. The thought of Scott cornering me gave me shivers. Not the good kind. His personality probably normally qualified as nice, but I’d seen the obsession at work on others before. Scott’s fascination with me had obviously advanced. Asking Clay to run interference as my date could permanently dissolve Scott’s interest.