Page 12 of The Way We Were(wolf)

Lucy touched her burning cheeks as she pulled her helmet off and put it on the seat of the four-wheeler, assuming her cousin was making a joke about the redness of her face…until she noticed Stella wielding a fire hose and spraying a plastic house with fake flames in the windows for target practice.

Today was the annual Stuff-A-Truck canned food drive to support the community food kitchen, something the organization relied heavily upon each year. And thanks to its proximity to downtown, its large driveway, and the muscular men who worked there, the local fire station was the perfect place for the event.

“I’m good. But thanks,” she said, waving off her cousin and breathing a sigh of relief that maybe she hadn’t seen the blush on her face that hadn’t gone away since last night. What was she thinking, clutching Eric’s arm like that? The jaws of life had nothing on her. And where had that grip been when she’d done that obstacle course at a wilderness camp in high school—that time she’d whiffed on the rope swing and fallen into Lake Mohawk?

She didn’t do things like that—touching people she hardly knew and hanging onto them for dear life. Though, better to grab that than the man’s rear end. That was something she never did either, but the way his body looked like it had been poured into those jeans? Boy howdy, maybe Stella needed to drag that hose over this way and wash away these thoughts that just wouldn’t skedaddle from her brain.

“Got everything you need, kiddo?”

Lucy looked up from the table where she’d busied herself organizing brochures about all the ways people could support the community kitchen. “I think so, Chief!”

“Please…just call me Uncle Paul,” the man said with a chuckle as he wrapped her in a hug.

“But it doesn’t feel right to do that here at the fire station. You’re the chief of this place.” She held her arms out wide as her eyes scanned the wall with photographs of all the chiefs who had served here. And then she saw the gigantic mural on the side of the building, causing her to close her eyes for a brief second as a shallow sigh escaped her lips.

Her uncle’s eyes followed her gaze, and he took a step closer to wrap an arm around her shoulders. He didn’t offer a pep talk, which she was grateful for. Sometimes the most comforting words weren’t words at all, just a feeling someone gave that said even if everything wasn’t okay, they’d still be there. Like the way her uncle had stepped in, forgoing rent he could have collected from a paying tenant just so Lucy could stay in his apartment. Or the way he was holding her now.

“So, what’s the plan here today?” he said after enough time had passed to where Lucy no longer felt on the verge of tears.

“Well, the DJ is setting up over there, and the kids can spray the hose at the targets over there.”

“You mean where my daughter is messing around?”

“Hey!” Stella shouted over the splashing of water from the hose. “I’m just warming it up for everyone.”

“That makes no sense,” Uncle Paul shouted back, eliciting a laugh from everyone within earshot. He turned to Lucy, the deep crinkles near his eyes still present as he smiled. “I can’t thank you enough for doing all this.”

“Oh,” she replied, waving him off. “I didn’t do much. And you guys have done this for how many years now since I’ve been away?”

“True. But you’re the one who started it. Few people knew how low supplies got at the community kitchen this time of year. Most people only think about donating around Christmas. But you were the one who made people aware of how bare the shelves were in the months leading up to it.”

“I just…wanted to help the community,” she said with a shrug. She always tried to leave places better than she found them, something her grandma had always told her. And this was one way to do just that. So, the year she lived in Wheeling after her college graduation and before starting her job in Chicago, she got the idea for a food drive at the fire station. She never thought it would have been something they’d continue even when she wasn’t around. Thinking of the number of people that had been helped by just this one day of service was so worth it.

“Well, I’m proud of you, pumpkin. I always knew you were destined for big things.”

That made one person in her family. Her parents definitely didn’t think so. All their horror stories about leaving the farm, socializing with strangers and the dangers that came with it…what would they have thought if they’d seen her at the craft store with Eric last night? Their stranger-danger alarm would have been blaring louder than the siren at the fire station. And they’d launch into their rousing rendition of their number-one hit entitled “Don’t Trust People.”

Yeah, well, what did they know? She was a grown woman who was more than capable of deciding about people. Just because she’d been burned a couple times recently…that was the exception, not the norm. Most people were good, she thought as she looked around the parking lot of the fire station as cars pulled up, filled with food. And Eric seemed trustworthy and good too. Although, he said he’d show up today to “be the muscle”—something she vividly remembered him saying because he flexed his biceps jokingly when he’d said it. But it wasn’t funny—unless you counted the funny flip-flops of Lucy’s stomach when he’d done it.

She was just about to write him off, roll up the sleeves of her flannel shirt, and get ready to do the heavy lifting, when Stella shouted, “Whoa! Here comes Santa Claus!”

Eric heard small towns were known for their quirks. Heck, he’d seen a few for himself—like the man who was the unofficial mascot of the town, riding his bicycle with dozens of flags flapping behind him. He supposedly even brought up the rear in the city’s annual holiday parade.

So, when Stella shouted about Santa coming to the food drive, Eric’s eyes scanned the crowd of people in the lot. October wasn’tthatfar away from Christmas, after all.

“I thinkshe’s talking about you, silly,” Lucy said, coming up beside him. “What with all the loot you’ve got. That’s, like, three contractor bags full of food on your back.”

“Four, actually.”

“That’s…” Lucy took a step back, her narrowed eyes scanning him. And that was when he realized his mistake. He’d thought nothing of flinging the bags over his shoulder and carrying them to the drive. This was one way his werewolf identity came in handy. Only, he wasn’t supposed to be bringing attention to that part of his life. And standing here like a roided pack mule, he might as well have held a flashing sign that saidHey, everyone! Come take a look at my superhuman strength! And also, I’m not a regular human at all!

He dropped the bags immediately with the sound of hundreds of canned goods clanging at his feet drawing even more attention than he’d attracted when he’d arrived.Good plan, buddy.He made a show of rubbing his shoulder with a grimace on his face, something he figured a normal person would have done if they’d carried this heavy a load. “I was just really excited to get here, I guess. I hope I didn’t overdo it.” As he kneaded his perfectly fine muscles, Lucy’s gaze moved from the bags at his feet to his moving hand, like she couldn’t decide which should steal her focus.

“But how?” she asked on an exhale as her eyes blinked about a day’s worth of blinks in a single minute. “I just told you about this food drive yesterday.”

“I know.” She’d also only given him ten tickets for the basket raffle they were having with the drive—something to help offset her aunt’s medical expenses. If she was this speechless now…

“And yet…” She spread her arms wide as she looked at all he’d brought. When Eric looked at the other donors, bringing a grocery bag or two to throw into the bins, he realized maybe he had overdone it. And he was just about to admit as much when Lucy dove toward him, embracing him in a hug so tight the words popped right out of his head. All his mental power focused on things like how warm Lucy’s body felt against his, even though he never lacked for heat. Or how sweet the vanilla scent of her hair smelled as his breath slowed with each second in her arms. And how this embrace was worth far more than the bags of food he’d brought this afternoon. In fact, he’d bring a hundred more just to experience whatever this feeling was that swirled through his chest and made his skin tingle.

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