Perfect Scents

by Heather Karn

  Chapter 10

  When I turned on to the trail, a tiger stood in the path waiting for me.

  “Good morning, Kev.”

  I slowed to a walk, expecting him to turn into his human self, but when he remained in his tiger form, I didn’t know how to respond.

  Sauntering over to me, Kev rubbed against my side in a feline greeting. He didn’t purr like I expected him to. Instead, he was quiet, except for the leaves crunching under his massive feet. There had been a dangerous gleam in his eye, causing my insides to quiver in response.

  With less gentleness than he’d shown in his hello, Kev shoved his head into the small of my back, pushing me forward. He was an unrelenting bull, and I wasn’t strong enough to fight back. Not that I wanted to. That sparkle-eyed gleam had been a warning: Kev wanted to race.

  My feet smacked against the hard ground as my legs pushed hard and fast. Though I knew in my brain that Kev could beat me any day of the week without even trying, my heart refused to believe it as Kev lengthened his strides to run beside me. A competitive burning in my heart filled me with renewed determination, but my head was telling me to slow down. Common sense said to listen to my brain, but my heart won the battle.

  With my bottom lip between my teeth, I bit back the burning pain that not only shot up my legs but through my sides as well. Like our earlier race, this pain was good. It brought clarity to my emotions and let them fade with the burn. I doubted Kev knew what he did to help me during this emotionally charged time of my life, and I wasn’t going to tell him. As Chrissa had said, I was too private and didn’t like talking about my emotions.

  Kev stayed at my side until we reached our bench. He hadn’t blown past me when I’d begun to slow, unable to keep my pace up through the rising hills. Now I regretted being that competitive as bile rose in my throat. A few hard swallows kept it under control. Kev’s minty goodness helped alleviate it as I began to stretch my sore, tired muscles. The last thing I needed was to cramp up and limp tomorrow at church.

  “Next time we race,” I told Kev through ragged gasps, “we pick a trail with fewer hills.”

  He grumbled low in his chest, which sounded more like him saying “You call that a race?” But I let him have his fun without complaining. I’d done my best. If he’d wanted to pass me, he should have. I hadn’t been stopping him.

  While I stretched, Kev meandered to a grassy patch directly in the sun, and flopped on the ground, his back legs tucked under him while his front legs stretched before him. His tail lay on the ground, the tip twitching back and forth. He barely panted, and though he was covered in fur, I doubted he’d broken a sweat. Meanwhile, I was yet again a soaked, sweaty mess.

  That didn’t stop me from walking over to him, sitting on the ground next to his furry self, and leaning my sweat soaked shirt against his side. His eyes narrowed at me as I turned my face up to the sun, ready to bask in its rays. I wasn’t cold, but the cool breeze playing around us made the sun’s heat enjoyable to my skin. If I hadn’t been wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants, I would’ve been happier. As it was, I couldn’t complain.

  The sun wasn’t the only thing keeping me warm. The heat from Kev’s body soaked through my shirt, much like my sweat, to warm my back muscles and keep them loose. Letting my head rest against his shoulder made my comfort complete.

  “You’re comfortable. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  No, I can say that no one has ever told me that. I’m glad you think so.

  I squealed and scurried to my feet as fast as my exhausted legs would let me. The words he’d spoken still played in my mind, where I’d heard them to begin with. Our eyes met, mine wide, reflecting in the dark pools of his. He didn’t move, but watched me like I was a deer ready to spook at a single movement.

  “That was creepy.”

  It’s how we communicate in this form. I didn’t do it before because I wasn’t sure if you were comfortable enough with me yet, and I was going to tell you about it yesterday when I was a man, but I forgot. This is normal for our kind.

  “Still creepy.”

  We watched each other, neither of us moving, until Kev either got bored or gave up trying to figure out what I was going to do. With some grumbles, he turned from me and placed his large head between his paws and closed his eyes.

  Would you like me to change into a man?

  His voice, though in my head, sounded as it did when he was in his human form, and as he spoke now, it sounded forlorn and sad. I’d rarely interacted with him as a tiger, and as I watched him, I fought the anxiety that this new information had caused me. He wasn’t just a man, he was a tiger too, and I needed to know this side of him as well if he was to protect me.

  “No, you’re fine. I’ll get used to hearing a voice in my head eventually. Why are you a tiger today anyway?”

  As I asked, I returned to my seat beside him on the grass. It took me a moment to get comfortable again, but when I did, my body had no trouble relaxing against Kev’s warmth. His scent and the bubbling of the river beside us helped relieve the tension from my shock.

  It’s more comfortable for me. My body has a difficult time staying in my human form for extended periods of time. If I stay a man for too long, I have to fight not to change back. I’ve been a man a lot the last few days, and I’m tired. But if you want me to change, I will.

  “Like I said, it’s fine. Plus if you change I’ll lose my cushion to lean against.”

  Leaning into him further, I laid my head back, once again letting the sun’s heat play over my skin. It was as pale as a ghost and needed all the help it could get. Not that I’d tan. I never did. But I wasn’t about to give up hope that maybe, just once, I would.

  You could still lean against me as a man. It wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable, though.

  “You’re getting creepy again,” I muttered, raising my head as I narrowed my eyes at him. His head was lifted, and a cheeky, catlike grin grew across his face as his side convulsed with a soft laugh. This laughter filled his teasing voice when he spoke.

  I wondered if you’d think that.

  Shaking my head at his silliness, I laid back to watch the clouds cross the sky. It was such a simple thing to do in a world full of complicated questions, answers and emotions. Happier days came to mind as I let the clouds work their magic.

  Anything interesting up there?

  “A rabbit.”

  What?

  “A rabbit. Have you never looked at the clouds and imagined them as shapes?”

  I rolled my head to look over at him. He was already watching me, his bright eyes full of curiosity as he tilted his head to the side.

  Is that a human thing to do?

  “I’ll take that as a no,” I replied, turning my head back to the sky to stare at my rabbit cloud before it morphed into something else in the breeze. “Human kids do it a lot. We tend to grow out of it as adults. We lose interest in what’s around us as we get older and focus more on what we can buy and what we don’t have to leave our couch to see.”

  Like that movie last night?

  “Yeah, kind of. Did you like it?” I’d been dying to know the answer to that.

  It was…interesting. I didn’t expect that. Of course, I’d never seen a movie before so I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t that, though.

  “That was only one type of movie. There are several.”

  With that being said, I explained everything there was to know about movies, at least that I knew of, right down to genres, actors and special effects. For good measure, I threw cartoons and anime into the mix.

  Though Kev’s eyes wandered while I spoke, he never took them away long. Usually, they followed a bird or a squirrel, but sometimes the orange and yellow leaves caught his eyes as they fell. His muscles would tense, ready to spring, but they’d loosen again as he turned his attention back to me. He didn’t appear bored by what I said. I figured if he’d been bored he’d start licking his paws or something like I’d seen bored house cats d
o. Then again, Kev wasn’t a house cat. He was much bigger, and his instincts were wilder.

  My curiosity won out as I finished my explanation.

  “You want to tell me what had you smiling ear to ear when Michael ran away from you?”

  A triumphant, feline grin crossed his face, and I guessed if he’d been a man at the moment, it would have been the same grin he’d worn at the movie theater. It also made him look smug and a little arrogant, which wasn’t his norm, at least that I’d seen.

  There are several reasons for the smile. The one I like the most is that I put enough fear in him that he’ll never bother you again, for a while anyway. If he does, tell me. I wouldn’t mind having to remind him.

  A teasing, yet vicious sounding hiss started in Kev’s throat as he turned to me with a wink.

  “You’re silly, tiger.”

  Acting completely on instinct and without thinking, I reached out and tugged one of his ears, a playful action which caused a reaction that I wasn’t prepared for in my chest. With a quickened heartbeat I found that my tug just wasn’t enough contact. Until this moment I hadn’t realized how silky, yet coarse, the fur around his ear was since I’d never touched them.

  He let me finger the fur, quietly sitting and closing his eyes like he was getting a massage instead of me getting my fill of ear fur. Again I expected to hear purring, but nothing. There was no way that a cat his size, or his type, wouldn’t purr. Either something was wrong with my hearing, or this was something else about weregals I didn’t know.

  Before I could voice my thoughts, Kev’s ear twitched with a tickle, causing his head and body to shiver. He narrowed his cat eyes when I giggled, which made me laugh harder. It was fun to see him in his feline form having the same expressions he’d wear as a human. That wasn’t something you saw every day.

  As I pulled my hand away from his sensitive ear, Kev lunged at my hand. My heart jumped into my throat and skipped a beat as I felt his sharp teeth nip at my hand, barely touching my skin. Before I could squeak or scream, or make any noise at all, my eyes met his. They glowed with a momentary heat that I didn’t understand.

  His sandpaper tongue rubbed against my palm as his ears drew flat against his head, and the emotion in his eyes fell as flat as his ears.

  I scared you.

  “Yeah, a little.”

  His eyes closed as a long groan escaped his throat, though I felt it more than heard it as his sides trembled.

  I keep forgetting there’s so much you don’t know about our kind, and our instincts to play in this form.

  I couldn’t see how almost losing my hand classified as playing in any world. Then again, I’d tugged his ear, which pretty much invited a response, and since he was a tiger…well there wasn’t much he could do besides swipe a paw at me or use his teeth, and he’d been so gentle. As I studied my hand, he watched me with cautious eyes. There wasn’t a single mark left on my skin.

  I’m sorry for scaring you. I told you before I would never hurt you, and I mean it. You never have to be afraid of me.

  “I know that, but sometimes I forget there’s a man inside there, and you’re not just an animal.” My cheeks heated as I realized that my words were rather insulting. “It’s not that I forget that you’re a man; I don’t. It’s just when I see a tiger I think wild animal, not man.”

  I was completely messing this up, and the more I talked, the worse I felt. What I wanted to say, but didn’t quite have the courage to tell him, was that I hadn’t grabbed a tiger’s ear, but a man’s ear. Any way you looked at it, Kev had a human mentality, even if he did have animal instincts. Tugging his ear had been one thing: flirting. He’d caught on to what I’d done before I had, and I was pretty sure his “playing” was in reaction to it.

  This revelation brought with it feelings I wasn’t ready to explore, and I doubted I’d be ready any time soon. It was better to shut up and retreat while I still had some semblance of sanity left to my name. Our bench looked like the perfect place to regroup and get my bearings, so I rose to my feet and walked over without looking back at Kev.

  His scent followed me, though my human ears didn’t hear him move. Even after I sat, I didn’t have the courage to look in his direction. I didn’t want to know what I’d see in his eyes or the expression on his face. When he joined me as a human, sitting beside me in the sexiest fitted jeans, forest green button up shirt and brown leather jacket, it took all I had left of my self-control not to do more than glance over at him.

  My heart gave an internal sigh as its pace quickened at the combination of the sight of him in the new clothes and his minty scent. For some reason, my hormones were at it again, and I was at a loss to control them. Though my heart might sigh, my brain was groaning. The conflict between the two was going to be the death of me. So was that tiger.

  “I’m sorry that I scared you and made you uncomfortable. You aren’t used to dealing with a tiger as you would a man, and I understand, so there is no need to be embarrassed because you treat me as you would an animal.”

  I felt, rather than saw him move, laying his arm along the back of the bench and twisting to the side to face me. Even after what he’d said, I still wasn’t ready to look at him. He may have been okay with me flirting, even if he was in his animal form, but I wasn’t okay with it. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to give him the wrong idea, and that was the last thing that I wanted.

  “You didn’t have to change back to a man because of it. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s okay. You were upset from me speaking to your mind, which I should have warned you about, and from me reacting as a playful animal would. It’s our instinct in that form.”

  A slight tremor shook his voice, which made me doubt that statement was completely true. Maybe it had truth in it, but he’d reacted as a man would when a woman showed interest: he’d showed interest back.

  “Really, talking in my head is fine. I get it. Yeah, it freaked me out at first, but it’s all good now.”

  “You sure?” My nod wasn’t convincing enough apparently because he continued after a quiet sigh. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable with me, but that seems to be what I do a lot. That and scare you. One day you’ll be comfortable with me, just as one day you’ll join me in a snack.”

  A picture in my head of a tiny songbird lying dead at my feet ready to be munched on twisted my stomach as my nose wrinkled in disgust. Kev laughed, his melodic voice carrying through the woods. It also called to me to look at him, to stare into his endless eyes as his scent wrapped around me. Instead, I forced my eyes to find the river much too interesting. Maybe it wasn’t the thought of eating birds that had my stomach all twisted in knots.

  A poke to my arm brought me from my thoughts, and before I could remind myself why I was looking in that particular direction, I found myself staring into two dark, endless spheres of excitement and curiosity that pulled me into them. At first, my body and mind fought to pull away from the hold Kev’s eyes had on me, but the longer I stared, the more my determination faded. With the fight leaving me, emotions I’d buried deep inside began to stir. My fear spiked as Kev blinked, and I found myself back in control of my body.

  “What do you hear?” Kev asked, showing no sign that he’d been affected by our eye connection whatsoever.

  “Uh, what?”

  “What do you hear?”

  “The wind blowing through the trees?”

  “Okay, maybe I should ask something specific. What’s the farthest thing that you hear?”

  I’d almost had a mental and emotional breakdown, and he wanted to test my hearing? Well, after our awkward conversation it made sense to move us to another topic so we could both stop embarrassing ourselves.

  Closing my eyes so his wouldn’t distract me, or do whatever it was they’d done, I put all thought out of my head except for the forest noises around us. At first, I listened for quiet sounds, thinking they’d be farther away until I remembered that wasn’t necessarily true. After
that it was anyone’s guess, so I listened to what I heard and did just that: guessed.

  “I think there’s a squirrel out there somewhere. At least it sounds like a squirrel hopping through leaves.”

  “Okay, and how far away is it?”

  “Is it a squirrel?”

  “Yes, but think of it as lunch while you’re starving with nothing else to eat but the squirrel. How far away is it?”

  If he didn’t stop with the animals as meals references, I was going to become a vegetarian just to spite him. My rising disgust was already making it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Letting out a soft breath, I let my ears do their thing and listened for the squirrel again.

  Rustling leaves and three small plops told me I’d found it. Everything else tuned out as I put all my concentration on guessing how far away it was. I wasn’t good at guessing distances by sight, let alone by hearing. After what was probably five useless minutes I gave up. There was no reason to continue to waste our time together.

  “I have no idea how far away it is,” I told Kev, opening my eyes to the world around me.

  His eyebrows drew together, which didn’t give me warm fuzzy feelings. No doubt I wasn’t going to like what he said as his mouth opened.

  “That shouldn’t be the case. You should know exactly how far away it is just by hearing it. And you should hear much farther than that squirrel. There aren’t any human noises to compete with it, and the wind isn’t that strong to interfere either.”

  “So I have human ears?”

  “Not exactly. Even humans can’t hear something that quiet from this distance, but it’s still not as good as another weregal.”

  My last hope of being anything close to a normal weregal blew out like a candle’s weak flame. In that instant, a gust of wind blew over us, carrying the squirrel’s wild scent with it. My freaky sensitive nose went to work, and without thinking about it, I knew the answer to Kev’s question.

  “Just over half a mile.”

  “What?”

  “The squirrel. It’s just over half a mile away.”

  It was comical the way his eyes widened and his jaw dropped in sync with one another. After a few seconds, his jaw snapped shut, but not before I’d begun to giggle at his reaction. It had been so cute. His embarrassed grin and the way he ran his hand along his neck made me want to reach out and run my fingers through his hair to comfort him.

  The shock from my need to do something so personal and unexplainable was the one thing that stayed my hand.

  “It’s also a red squirrel and burying acorns. And sometime in the last few hours, it buried corn.”

  “How do you know that?”

  I pointed to my nose as an explanation.

  “I should have known.”

  His chuckle caused goosebumps to form along the skin of my arms as he leaned back against the bench and placed his hands behind his head which caused his jacket to open, giving me the perfect view of his shirt hugging against a solid chest. Before he could catch me ogling him, I asked a question. It would give me the excuse to stare without being weird, though I kept telling myself I shouldn’t even be staring in the first place.

  “So how far away can you hear?”

  “Out here, almost two miles.” My jaw went slack as he continued in his melodic voice. “It’s two miles if I concentrate, the sound is loud, and if there are no other sounds to mask it.”

  “But you can’t smell like me?”

  “No. I couldn’t tell you how far something is by smelling it, or what it was burying, or what it already buried. Besides you, I don’t know of anyone who could.”

  “Oh.”

  He looked me in the eyes, and again they held me in their depths, though not as intense as they’d been a few minutes ago.

  “Joey, it doesn’t matter if you’re like me or anyone else. You’re unique. You can do things that I can’t. That makes you strong.”

  “But I don’t even change like you do. I never get all furry, and my eyes are normal human eyes.”

  “Don’t’ worry about the change. We usually shift for the first time when we enter puberty so anywhere between thirteen and sixteen. Some change as early as eleven or twelve. Some are late bloomers, and they’re sixteen or seventeen before shifting. You have time yet.”

  Though that was a little reassuring, at least I wasn’t abnormal in that regard, it did nothing to settle my nervous about the change. In the past week I’d accepted that I was a weregal, but the reality that I would change like Kev hadn’t struck me until this moment. I was going to be literally changing into an animal. My identity as a normal human was being crushed, and I wasn’t ready to accept my new identity yet.

  “What’s it like?”

  “Changing?”

  I nodded. His responding groan as he crossed his arms over his chest wasn’t comforting.

  “I forget that you don’t know anything about who you are, at least physically. I take that for granted, and I can’t. I’m going to be honest with you because you deserve it. The truth is that the first time you change, if it’s normal-.”

  “Yeah, a big ‘if.’”

  “Yes, if. If you’re normal, the changing will take a few days to complete, and it’s extremely painful. Your body will want to shift and will start to do so, but won’t finish. Instead, it will revert back to its human form. This will continue until you can hold your animal form and control the shifting.”

  Someone had to have punched me in the stomach during the time that he spoke because by the end there was pain, nausea and lack of air. When I’d thought about changing for the first time, I’d assumed we were born with the ability to change, but after he had corrected me, I figured it would be a quick and easy thing. Knowing I’d spend days going through torture as my body didn’t quite make the full shift left me feeling like I needed to puke.

  “Are you all right?”

  Concern laced Kev’s voice as he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. At least I assumed it was meant to be comforting. Instead, the touch caused more nausea as my body reacted to the feel of his hand on me as well as the idea of extreme pain for days.

  “Nope. I need a minute.”

  Thoughts of the first change soon passed to what I’d do afterward. I’d officially be a weregal, hated by almost everyone in town. If anyone found out what I was I’d be hunted, or they’d leave me alone because I was Gram’s granddaughter, but things would change and not for the better. There was no way I’d be allowed in school after that. All plans of a summer job before college would go out the window. And even though I wasn’t looking forward to going to college, those plans may not ever be a possibility either.

  Then there was my biggest concern of all: what would Gram and Aunt Gwen think of me?

  I couldn’t get enough oxygen into my lungs as I tried to breathe. “I can’t do this.”

  A large warm hand wrapped around one of mine and gave a gentle squeeze. “This is one of the reasons why I haven’t left you. I will not let you go through this change alone. I don’t know when it will happen or how long it will take, but I will be here when it does.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you are already hurting on the inside, and there is nothing I can do to take that away. I can help you when the change comes. I can be there for you.”

  “But I’m nobody to you. I don’t understand.”

  His hand squeezed mine again. This time, I felt emotion both in the touch and in his voice. I just couldn’t figure out what emotion it was, and I wasn’t going to check his eyes for it.

  “I’ll explain that another time. For now, don’t be scared of the change. It will come when you are ready, and there is no reason to fear it.”

  “Does it hurt every time you change?”

  “No. No, it doesn’t hurt after you complete the shift. It’s quick, easy, and painless.”

  “But you have a hard time staying in your human form.”

  “Shifting is easy, but keeping the shift is diffe
rent for everyone. Some prefer to be in their human skin and spend most of their time that way. They’ve acclimated their body to be dominant in human form and be a tiger far less.”

  “But you’re different.”

  “Yes. I prefer my animal form. That was part of the reason my father hesitated to allow me here. I need to remain a man around humans so that they don’t know what I am. There would be no certain length of time that I would have to hold this form, and for a long time, I couldn’t even manage an hour. I’d spent too much time as an animal without ever changing.”

  “What happens if you can’t stay in human form? Do you spontaneously change?”

  “Needing to change into your dominate form, but not being able to, is like having an itch you can’t scratch. There is only so long that you can resist the urge. When you can’t resist any longer, your body changes. You cannot imagine the relief that brings.”

  While comforting me, he’d leaned toward me. Now he leaned back against the bench looking less comfortable and more strained with a tense, clenched jaw. Even his face appeared to be in more pain than comfort.

  “You really want to scratch your itch, don’t you?”

  He nodded slowly like the tiniest movement would cause him to shift.

  “But I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. It bothers you when I’m in my tiger form. As you said, you’re used to dealing with humans, not animals who have a human mentality.”

  “I don’t want to be the reason that you’re uncomfortable, though. Really, it’s fine if you’re a tiger.” He sensed my hesitation, opening one eye to give me a sidelong stare. “Just, if I do anything, like grabbing your ear again, just know that I’m doing that because you remind me of an animal. I’d never do that to you as a man. Does that make sense?”

  The corners of his mouth lifted as he closed his eye again. “I think I understand. I’ll try not to make you uncomfortable again.”

  “Can I ask you a stupid question?” His nod was yet again barely perceptible. “Would it make you uncomfortable if I petted you like a real cat?”

  His response was a snorted laugh which had me smiling.

  “That would be fine. It would not make me uncomfortable. Did you want to pet me?”

  Yeah, if only he knew how awkward that sounded.

  “No, I’m good. I was only curious about it if I ever lost my mind and began to pet your fur.”

  “That would be fine. Do you mind if I change?”

  “Go for it.”

  Leaning forward, he gave me one last look to make sure I really was okay with this. My body wanted to flinch under his intense stare, but I refused to let it. He needed to change, and I wasn’t going to be the reason he stayed human.

  Releasing my eyes, he closed his and proceeded to fall off the bench. Well, not fall exactly. Before he could face plant or catch himself with his hands, they’d already turned to paws. Bones shifted, and fur grew from his body until he stood before me as a giant cat once again.

  Are you sure you’re okay with this?

  “Yes, I’m okay. Just don’t eat me.”

  Since it was meant as a joke to let him know I was okay with his change, I tried to make sure my smile reached my eyes. It must have because he walked up to my knees and licked his chops.

  You probably would taste pretty good. Nice and tender too for how young you are.

  “I don’t taste good. Trust me on that.”

  I’ll be the judge of that.

  His hungry eyes had caught mine before his tongue lunged forward to run across the back of my hand. Still too stunned by the feel of wet sandpaper crossing my skin, I watched as he flicked his tongue in and out of his mouth as though he was licking his lips.

  Yup, you taste delicious. Sure I can’t try a bite?

  Wait, was he flirting with me? Sure he was teasing, but was it more? I wasn’t good at reading signs from boys. I hadn’t had enough experience with them, so I wasn’t sure what was going on. What I knew was that my heart was beating one hundred times faster than it should have been and my stomach was flip-flopping in a very nice way that left my skin warm and prickling where his tongue had skimmed it.

  That set off a new wave of panic, and it had nothing to do with what he’d done, but from his narrowed eyes he thought it did. I tried to hide my panic, but the damage had already been done.

  Kev backup away as fast as a tiger could and laid on the ground, a defeated expression on his face and in his eyes.

  I was only joking. I’m really not going to bite you. Do you want me to leave? I will do whatever you want me to.

  The misery in his voice broke my heart. He’d been trying to play, to do what was natural to him, and I was a train wreck of emotions flying all over the place. The revelation that I’d had was shocking, but it explained everything to me, but I couldn’t explain it to him. Not without further humiliation and emotional vulnerability. Instead, I needed to reassure him that he wasn’t the problem.

  “It’s not that Kev. I know you’d never hurt me. You don’t have to leave.” I told him quietly as I leaned forward on the bench. “Come here.”

  He hesitated, and I didn’t blame him. With a watchful eye on me, he stood from his place on the ground and stepped toward me. As he got closer, I extended my hand toward him. After another moment’s hesitation, he placed his head against my palm. I gently pushed my hand against him as he drew closer until he was close enough that I could wrap my arms around his neck and hug him.

  “I’m sorry for the emotional whiplash. You aren’t the problem. I am.”

  You’re not a problem. One day you’ll be comfortable around me.

  “And your snacks.”

  Like it was a queue to his stomach, it growled loud enough I could hear it through the ear that pressed against Kev’s furry neck. Giggling, I pulled back to stare into Kev’s face, careful to avoid direct eye contact.

  “I think you need a snack.”

  I am getting hungry.

  “Then wish me luck and I’ll be on my way.”

  Luck for what?

  “I’m going to ask Gram about my father tonight. If anyone would know who he was, it would be her. I hope she knows something.”

  If she does know who he is, we may be able to find him. Would you like that?

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m ready to meet him yet…if he’s even alive. What if he doesn’t want me or doesn’t believe I’m his?”

  He will. We know our young.

  “I guess there’s no point in worrying about it until I talk to Gram.”

  Kev gently nuzzled his head against my hand so I would pet him. I took the hint and ran my hands through the fur of his face and neck. It had a calming effect instead of being awkward.

  If you want to find him, I will help you.

  “Thank you.”

  You’re welcome.

  “It’s passed my lunch time too. I should probably get back home. I have some homework to finish and Gram will kill me if I get anything below an A in my classes.”

  One day you will have to explain in detail what that means.

  He had me laughing as I stood up. “One day I will, but not today. Want to walk back with me?”

  Sure. Or do you want to ride?

  My eyes moved between him and the trail. Run or ride a giant tiger?

  “Ride. I can run any time I want. How often do I get to ride a tiger?” I ignored the little voice in my head that hoped to ride a tiger a lot more in the near future.

  Kev crouched so that I wouldn’t have to leap onto him. Once I was settled on his back with my hands in the harness loops, he stood and made his way to the path. Unlike the first time I’d done this, I felt no fear at all. The movement under me was natural, and I trusted Kev to keep me safe.

  Run or walk?

  My smile widened as I gripped the harness tighter. “Run.”

  There was no pausing to make certain that’s what I wanted, no double or triple checking, and no trotting to work our way up to a sprint. He
flew down the trail, and I held on. For a few minutes nothing in the world mattered but the wind in my face.

  When he dropped me off where the trail met the road, I reached back and scratched behind his ear. Again I expected to hear him purr, but he didn’t.

  “Don’t our kind purr or is that not something that we do?”

  That’s something we should talk about at a different time. It’s complicated, and you need to be going home. He nudged me with his head toward the road.

  I didn’t argue with him but continued on my way. As I walked down the road, his minty scent followed me at a distance. It was reassuring to know that he was continuing to protect me. From what, we still didn’t know.

  Aunt Gwen arrived home not long after I did. Her screech when she opened the front door sent me from my room to find out what the racket was all about.

  “There’s a half-eaten squirrel on the front porch. It’s like some cat had its meal and for some ungodly reason gave the rest of it to us to clean up.”

  She was laughing, and I laughed right along with her, only I knew the true meaning behind the half-eaten squirrel. Kev was sharing his lunch, even though he knew I wouldn’t eat it. The gesture wasn’t lost on me, neither was the fact that this was a red squirrel, who smelled like he’d buried some acorns and corn a few hours earlier. My squirrel.

  Shaking my head, I whispered a quiet “thank you” to Kev for his thoughtful gift of lunch while I cleaned it up from the porch. The gift of the rabbit from days earlier was making more sense.

  After the squirrel was disposed of, Aunt Gwen and I made lunch and did odds and ends throughout the afternoon. It was almost time for dinner by the time Gram made it home. Aunt Gwen had been showing me how to make pepperoni rolls, which were a staple food in West Virginia, when Gram came in with a pecan pie.

  “That smells great, Gram,” I yelled to her as she hung her coat up.

  “Leave it to you to smell food as soon as it enters the house.”

  The pie did not disappoint. It was beautiful.

  “Is that for tonight?”

  Gram actually snorted. “Like I could keep it from you two buzzards any longer than a few hours?”

  “You could try,” Aunt Gwen told her, taking a pan of pepperoni rolls from the oven. They looked and smelled divine, and to make it better, the dough was a nice golden brown.

  The meal was as wonderful as I’d expected it to be. As I washed the dinner dishes, my mind replayed my time with Kev and the reason behind the panic he’d seen in my eyes when he’d licked me. It had nothing to do with his flirting or teasing. It was all to do with me. Like I’d told Chrissa, I’d never been interested in a guy in any way besides friendship…until today. It wasn’t until I’d realized what my body and mind were trying to tell me that I’d noticed something that scared the crap out of me: I’d been flirting too, and I’d been the one to start it. For the first time in my life, I was developing a crush, and it wasn’t even on a human. There was nothing scarier than that.

  Soon enough there was nothing left to wash, which was my queue to get down to business.