Hybrid Zone Recognition

by C. E. Glines

  That wasn’t something I wanted to think about. The fact that I had done it unintentionally or the fact of how much I’d missed his presence.

  “For the record, I don’t like it when you shut yourself off from me,” he said quietly.

  I pulled my feet to the top rung on the stool and rested my elbows on my knees. “I know,” I said softly. “But sometimes, I need a little space.”

  He finished the section he was working on and slid it over my shoulder. “I know,” he acknowledged.

  We endured an uneasy silence as he completed another section of my hair. Another round of swearing, something to do with a possum’s behind this time, erupted from the kitchen. It was so outrageous that we both laughed.

  “She’s very creative,” I observed. “Is she really your Granny?”

  “The one and only,” he said.

  For someone so strong, his hands were amazingly gentle in my hair. I wondered if more of his family was still alive. Wait. How was his Granny still alive?

  “Adam, how is it that you are seventy-eight years old, and Granny is still alive?”

  His hands on my hair slowed as he answered. “She may have had a little help in that department?” The inflection in his voice revealed his embarrassment.

  “May have? You gave your Granny nanobots? Can she shift?”

  “Yes and yes.”

  “The Organization allowed this?”

  “The Organization had nothing to do with this.”

  He had broken the rules. Straight laced Adam had broken the rules.

  “I couldn’t bear to lose her,” he quickly explained. “I had already lost the rest of my family. She is—was the only person of importance left in my life.”

  Ignoring the obvious question of who was the other person of importance in his life, I asked, “She knows about you and the Organization? And she’s okay with it?”

  “She knows everything. She’s fine with me being a shifter and what I do for the Organization. As far as herself, I wouldn’t say she’s okay with it, but she told me she’d stay around as long as I needed her.”

  He finished the last individual section he’d been working on and began pulling the brush from top to bottom through my hair. Granny’s strange symphony continued to keep us company while we waited.

  After a lull in the action, I asked Adam, “Think she needs any help in there?”

  “Don’t you dare,” he said forcibly. “She’d have my hide if you, a guest, got up to help.”

  I believed him. I’d seen her with the rolling pin.

  “She likes you,” he said.

  I liked her, too. Remembering her comment about him finally getting a woman, I said, “Probably because I’m the only woman she’s ever seen you with.”

  “She’s seen me with other women.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, I felt his regret. “What I mean to say, is, that in the course of previous missions, she has seen me with other women. But not with other women. I mean there have been other women.”

  I smiled as he continued to flounder.

  Abruptly, he shut his mouth. “The important thing is, she’s never approved of any woman with me, in whatever capacity, but you.”

  Granny was growing on me all the time.

  Adam continued brushing my hair until it was almost dry and completely devoid of tangles. I was so relaxed that I hadn’t realized Granny was standing in the doorway.

  “You two young’uns finished?”

  I blushed as if she’d actually caught us doing something, which she hadn’t. I nodded.

  “Well, c’mon then.” She turned and headed back into the kitchen, leaving me and Adam to trail in her wake.

  A small table stood against the far wall. On it she had laid out two plates piled with ham, mashed potatoes, field peas, and an array of other fresh vegetables. A tall plate of biscuits was stacked between them.

  “Oh, Granny,” I groaned.

  She wiped her hands on her apron. “Ain’t much,” she said dismissively before showing us to the table. “Well, what’ya waiting for?”

  That was all the invitation I needed. I sat down and picked up my fork with glee. Adam joined me and watched in amusement as I began to eat. With the first bite of ham, my eyes closed in bliss. Whether Adam and I made it as a couple or not, I was keeping Granny.

  I opened my eyes and watched Adam bring his hand to his heart in feigned shock. Then he took his first bite, and I could feel the taste hit him. I raised my eyebrows at him knowingly. Mm hmm. Keeping. Granny.

  Satisfied that we were in fact eating, Granny left us to begin the cleanup.

  “You’d really steal my Granny?” he asked through a mouthful of food. “Maybe I don’t know you as well as I think I do.”

  “If you don’t think I’m serious about keeping Granny, you really don’t know me. Food like this is hard to come by in the city.”

  “Thought you were a country girl,” he said slyly.

  “Born and raised, which is how I know Granny’s a keeper.”

  His smile was from ear to ear. He was really pleased that I liked Granny. I caught just a glimpse of the fear he’d been suppressing that I would be repulsed by Granny.

  Putting down my fork, I grasped his hand. “Adam, it’s fine.” I looked around to make sure she wasn’t listening. “I’m quite fond of her.”

  He squeezed my hand and then released it to grab a biscuit. Couldn’t really fault him there. They were so buttery and fluffy.

  “Besides,” I continued, “how many people can give a good scrubbing like she can?”

  He lowered his fork. “She bathed you?” He was truly surprised.

  “And, how,” I said with a gigantic nod for emphasis. “From head to toe. And everywhere in between,” I added with a shake of my head. I looked up from my biscuit to find him staring at me in disbelief. “What?”

  “She, a complete stranger, can not only see you naked, but touch you as well, apparently including intimate places, while I, who have repeatedly saved your life, cannot?”

  I shrugged. “It’s different with you.”

  His frown remained fixed on me.

  “And, she’s Granny,” I said as if that answered everything.

  “She’s Granny,” he repeated.

  “Yep, she’s Granny,” I said, filling my mouth with more biscuit.

  “Of course I am dear,” Granny said from behind me.

  I almost dropped my fork. Dang, she was sneaky. That’s the second time I hadn’t heard her come in.

  “Don’t ya let my boy hear go pushing ya into nothing ya ain’t ready for,” she said, and then she pierced Adam with a look. Appropriately, he hung his head in shame.

  It didn’t escape me that Granny had good ears, too.

  “Ain’t no call for giving out the milk for free. Ya understand me?” She patted my shoulder while giving Adam one more glare.

  I hid my grin behind my biscuit until Granny walked away. The rest of the meal was eaten in relative silence. Occasionally, I caught Adam staring at me with that same look of disbelief on his face. But I knew inwardly that he was pleased that Granny liked me too.

  “Granny, can I help with the dishes?” I asked as I stood up and began to gather my dishes.

  “Ain’t no need. Ya’ll can go to the porch and finish up your courting for the night.”

  Courting? I wasn’t entirely familiar with the term. What exactly did courting entail?

  Without a word, Adam scooted back his chair and put his dishes in the sink. He placed a kiss on the top of Granny’s head and then left the kitchen. But not before she got him with the dish towel.

  I heard the screen door shut, and I guessed he was headed to the porch to prepare for courting. Placing my dishes in the sink, I started to follow Adam.

  “Not too frisky, now,” Granny warned, causing me to pause.

  “No, Ma’am,” I said, and then I too headed for the porch.

  I found Adam sprawled in a large porch swing under a pile of blankets. I pu
shed the screen door open, and he held up the blankets for me to crawl in. I slid in next to him and laid my head on his shoulder.

  “You aren’t really upset about her bathing me, are you?” I asked. I could feel him squirming inside, and my heart gave a nervous flutter.

  “I’m not upset that she bathed you.”

  There was a ton of stuff not said behind that comment. I felt his guard click into place. See, I wasn’t the only one who needed space.

  “What are you upset about?” I asked softly.

  He sighed deeply. I was getting the impression that he didn’t want to have this conversation. Fine by me.

  The sound of crickets filled the air as Adam slowly rocked us. It was so peaceful here. I wished I could relax, but there was too much swirling around in my brain.

  “So, this is courting,” I said.

  He snorted in laughter.

  “It’s nice,” I protested. “We’re clean, and no one is trying to kill us.”

  Without warning, he scooped me up on his lap and hugged me close. Cradled in his arms, I relaxed against Adam with my cheek resting on his chest.

  “Did you know Miranda awarded me the Medal of Honor?”

  “No. Where did she get one of those?”

  “We found it in an antique shop in New Orleans.”

  He tightened his hands around my waist, pulling me closer. Gently he began to nuzzle my hair. The nuzzling was soon replaced by soft kisses against my temple.

  “She gave it to me as part of a tradition we have.”

  “Tradition?” he said distractedly as his kisses trailed down my face. I didn’t think he was listening to me at all.

  “Adam?” I said softly.

  “Yes?”

  “Should I feel guilty for being a part of killing Pike?”

  Adam let go of me, and his head dropped back and hit the porch swing. If it weren’t for the cocoon of blankets, I’d have fallen to the floor.

  “You really know how to kill a mood,” he groaned.

  “Sorry, it’s been bothering me. That I don’t feel guilty, I mean.”

  He readjusted me on his lap, but held me more loosely this time. “He attacked you. He intended to kill you. Your actions were in self-defense and completely justifiable.”

  That was what I thought too, but I just needed to hear someone else say it. I’d never killed anyone before. The ease with which I took to the task was unexpected, as was the total lack of guilt.

  “What happens now with the Organization?” I asked.

  “This was not what I had in mind for courting,” he grumbled.

  “Fine.” I pulled myself upright. “Kiss me.”

  The single eyebrow raise greeted my command.

  “You heard me. Kiss me. Right here, right now, full-fledged kissing.”

  He did not obey. He still remained motionless, regarding me with suspicion.

  I sighed. “I know you are not going to answer my questions, which I have so many of, until—” I wasn’t able to finish my reasoning.

  He launched himself at me, sending the blankets flying. We ended up with him on top of me and my head hanging off the porch swing. He quickly put his hand under my head and brought my face close to him. And kiss me he did. My face, my lips, my jaw, and that was when I saw Granny.

  Adam.

  He did not respond. He was struggling with the lace encasing my neck.

  I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. Adam! Granny’s watching.

  He froze instantly. Slowly, he raised his head to look at Granny. “Granny,” he said calmly, as if he wasn’t lying on top of me and hadn’t just been trying to rid me of my neck lace.

  She smacked her lips and pierced him with her bright green eyes. “You gonna make me use this?” she asked, waving a water hose at him.

  This was so humiliating. Busted by Granny.

  “No, Ma’am.” He eased back off me with his gaze still trained on Granny.

  Then she turned her disapproving glare on me. Without the support from Adam’s hand, I was looking at Granny upside down. She wasn’t any less scary from this angle.

  Her voice was laced with steel as she said, “Courting’s over, young lady.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” I whispered.

  I complied by righting myself and sliding off the porch swing. I made sure to avoid eye contact with Adam. I suspected the water hose was on a hair trigger.

  She motioned me ahead of her when I went to stand beside her. I couldn’t help myself. I gave Adam just the briefest of glances as I started forward. Before I could even turn my head back around, I felt the sting of the hose.

  “Get moving, girle,” she ordered.

  I rubbed my backside where the nozzle had caught me and reached for the screen door. I now believed that nozzles and hoses might just be my new lifelong nemesis. Then it dawned on me that she’d whacked me with something. I must be part of the family. Despite my stinging backside, I happily went inside the cabin.

  She led me to a room off the main living area that I hadn’t noticed before. It was simply furnished with only a twin bed piled with quilts.

  “Ya gonna sleep here tonight,” she said as she pulled the quilts back and smoothed the sheet underneath.

  At her direction, I slid in, and she lowered the covers over me. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she turned her spotlights on me again, and I looked down rather than into their glare.

  “Ya love’em?”

  My eyes snapped to hers.

  She asked again. “Ya love’em?”

  I closed the bond between Adam and myself as tight as I could. Then I answered as truthfully as I was able. “I feel something for him,” I admitted. “I don’t know if it’s love.”

  She nodded as if she’d figured as much. “I’m tired,” she said.

  Okay, I thought, confused. Did I have something to apologize for?

  “I’ve lived a good long life,” she said, looking directly into my eyes.

  The light bulb suddenly turned on. She meant she was tired of living. I so did not want to be talking to her about this. But then my reluctance turned to anger.

  “Are you asking my permission to die?”

  Her expression turned to one of guilt.

  “Look, I know Adam has had you all his life, but I just found you. You absolutely do not have my permission to die. Even if Adam and me get married and have a slew full of cubs, you are not allowed to die.”

  She sniffed. “Ya got gumption, I’ll give ya that.” She took my hand in hers and gently stroked the backside of my palm. “He loves ya, ya know?”

  Back to that again. “Granny,” I sighed. “I’ve only known him five days.”

  “Ain’t no need to get all prissy. I know’d you love’em too.”

  Granny of steel was back, and I was not going to argue with her.

  “Ya gonna figure it out,” she said, giving my hand one last pat. She shoved off the bed and started to leave. At the door she paused. “I think I might ought a stick around for a while. Ya’ll gonna need help when the cubs come.”

  The closing of the door signaled her exit. Once again, I breathed a sigh of relief as the interrogation ended. Being around Granny was almost as difficult as being around Adam.

  Macy?

  Yeah?

  Where did you go?

  Nowhere. Granny was talking to me.

  And you had to shut me out?

  Do you want to know what she was talking to me about?

  He thought about it a minute. Probably not.

  Good call. Given his prior reluctance to talk about his feelings, I didn’t think he would appreciate Granny confessing his love for me. He’d be furious at her hinting at dying.

  Where are you sleeping? I asked him.

  In the loft.

  There’s a loft?

  Look up.

  I did and saw a section of the ceiling lift away. Adam’s smiling face appeared in the opening.

  Care if I join you? he asked.

  My eyes flashed to t
he door.

  Relax, once Granny’s asleep, she’ll be out till morning.

  Will you be out before she comes in?

  He flipped himself through the opening and stood on the bed. Quietly he eased the latch shut. I scooted over, and he slid under the covers beside me. Even with him wrapped around me, there was no wriggle room.

  You’re going to get it if she catches you, I warned.

  Go to sleep, Macy. I’m a big boy. I’ll live.

  Yeah, a big boy who is not talking aloud for fear he’ll be discovered by Granny.

  He snorted softly and kissed the back of my head. I felt like a teenager with all this sneaking around.

  Sleep, Woman.

  Well, one of us definitely wasn’t a teenager. I guess old people needed their sleep.

  Adam’s soft growl reverberated in mock warning against my back.

  Don’t strain yourself, Old Timer, I laughed softly.

  CHAPTER 19

  WITH ADAM NEXT TO ME, I slept so soundly that my first clue it was morning was Granny’s knock at the door.

  Adam and I sat up simultaneously. In one sinuous movement, the Big Boy that he was rolled out of bed and dove under it. I barely had time to straighten the covers thrown askew by his acrobatic maneuvers before Granny opened the door.

  She stood in the doorway, her eyes sweeping the room. I was terrified I would give us up as I fought the ridiculous urge to giggle. I repeatedly cleared my throat, trying to get rid of it. Her green eyes were hard as emeralds as she watched my battle for composure.

  Sighing deeply, another trait she shared with Adam, she walked to the bed and sat down beside me. She took my hand again. I was learning it was her signal for a serious conversation.

  “Adam told me ya’ll’s meaning to head out early this morning.”

  He hadn’t informed me, but okay.

  “I want to talk to ya about something before ya go.”

  “Okay,” I said and waited for her to continue.

  “Adam told me that your mama died when you was a little girl.”

  My face pulled into a confused frown. “Adam told you that last night?”

  “Nah, he’s been talking to me about you for quite some time.”