Page 35 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

Xyla helped hold the boards as Sean carefully pried them off the walls and then Marcie and Ellie carried them to the shed, leaning them against the walls. With everyone’s help, they were finished by two. They were all starving as they trudged back inside.

Franny met them at the door. “I knew you guys would be hungry and cold, so I made fresh bread and soup for everyone. Take off your gear and come into the dining room.”

After everyone was done, Xyla went into the kitchen where Ginny was loading the dishwasher and Franny was mixing a cake.

“I know you guys must be overloaded with a constant full load of guests. What can I do to help?”

“Are you sure?” Franny asked.

“Yes. There are only so many board games one can play before losing one’s mind.”

Franny and Ginny laugh.

Franny pointed to a sack of potatoes. “If you want to start by peeling those and cutting them into chunks for mashed potatoes, that would be great. You can put them in a pot of cold water so they don’t turn brown, and then peel and cut some carrots.”

She accepted the potato peeler, cutting board, and knife from Ginny, sat at the small table, and began working. The peels went into a bowl, which would be tossed outside for animals scrounging for food.

Franny poured the batter into a large nine-by-thirteen-inch baking dish. “Today is my and Howard’s anniversary. We’ve been married for thirty-five years.”

“Congratulations,” Xyla said enthusiastically. “That is remarkable.”

“Thank you. It doesn’t seem so long. Howard is an amazing man. He’s laid back and calm. He still calls me his bride and makes sure that I know he loves me.”

“It’s obvious. Even a person who doesn’t know you can see it every time he looks at you,” Ginny said.

“That’s part of it, but it’s also all the little things he does for me. Sometimes he rubs my feet when I’ve had a long day or brings me a wildflower.”

Ginny smiled. “That’s why marriages don’t last in today’s society. People forget to do things like that once they get married.”

“I agree,” Franny said. She turned around and looked at Xyla. “What’s up with you and that gorgeous red-headed man?”

Xyla blushed. “I knew him from a long time ago. I used to live in Angel’s Creek. He owns a bar and grill there. He is smart and funny. Sean is probably the most giving person I know. There is a mountain just outside of town and people are always getting lost or hurt. He is the first person to volunteer for the search and rescue missions.”

“You make him seem almost perfect,” Ginny said.

Laughing, Xyla shook her head. “He’s not perfect. It takes a lot to get him angry, but when he does, he can clear a room in nothing flat. He has a mouth that can hurt most people’s feelings and reduce them to a pile of Jello.”

“That doesn’t sound like faults to me,” Franny said.

“He can be moody.”

“Eh, everyone gets that way sometimes. It sounds to me like he’s almost perfect,” Ginny said.

“He’s alright, I guess.”

Ginny looked at her speculatively. “It can be hard to love a shifter.”

Xyla’s eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. She tried to recover, though. “What do you mean, a shifter?”

“Don’t give me that. I’ve been around enough that I recognize the signs when I see them. There are a few shifters hanging around, and I know that both he and Sawyer are.” Then, Ginny grinned. “Plus, I’m a deer shifter and shifters can sense each other.”

“Oh. How do you keep from ending up in someone’s freezer?” Xyla asked before she could stop herself. She put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

Ginny and Franny laughed. “No worries. I’m just very, very careful. I do my best to make sure there aren’t any humans in the area when I shift. Wild animals can smell my human side so they don’t attack.”

“That makes sense.”

Ginny was quiet for a minute before she spoke again. “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, or maybe just fifty miles away from here, I was in love with a tiger shifter and he loved me back. My father hated him because he was a predator and forbade me to see him.”

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