Page 24 of Falling for the Beast

“Sure.”

She took down two plates from the cupboard. He used a spatula to dish out his ham and cheese rolls. Then they took their plates to the couch.

The croissants were heavenly, and she moaned as she chewed. “This is so good. Where did you learn to cook?”

He half-shrugged, his cheeks turning pink. “I had a lot of time on my hands growing up, and a billion cookbooks in the library.”

“You learned how to do this from cookbooks?”

He tried to hide a smile and failed. “I liked to read. And I was bored a lot. At least it’s a good skill to have.”

“I can’t argue with that.” She bit into another one.

After they’d finished eating, she took the dishes to the sink and rinsed them. Thaddeus stood by the kitchen table, gazing at the puzzle. “Mind if I…?” He let the question fall off.

“Go ahead.” Her heart squeezed. She’d worked on the puzzle a little, but only with half effort.

He pulled out a chair and sat, concentrating. She joined him.

He picked up the box lid to study the completed picture and then picked up a piece and fit it into place. His gaze connected with hers. “You miss him.”

Emotion choked her. “Yes.”

He picked up another piece. They worked in silence for a while, Thaddeus seeming to understand her need to finish the puzzle instead of simply putting it away.

The scene on the puzzle was a cottage home, lush greenery on the outside and a charming front porch swing. Her father enjoyed all kinds of puzzles, but his favorites were always the photographs taken outdoors. She studied the pieces in front of her, every once in a while looking over at Thaddeus. He seemed content.

“Do you mind if I ask another question?”

He didn’t look up at her, but his shoulders tensed. “Go ahead.”

“You said you heard me get into the crash. How far away can you hear? Like right now…what can you hear?”

He frowned a little but indulged her curiosity. “I can hear your neighbors talking. The woman above you is trying to finish her son’s Halloween costume.”

“Can you hear beyond my apartment building?”

His eyes glanced up at the ceiling. “Yes. Two or three blocks away there’s a traffic light. I can hear the cars. And up the road, there’s a Starbucks. But I knew that because of the scent.”

He had super hearing and super smelling. She tried not to act like it was a big deal. He didn’t like it when she admired what he could do. “And you use these to find people to heal.”

He nodded, studying the puzzle as if he weren’t paying attention, but she knew he was very much paying attention. To everything.

“What helps you more? The hearing or the ability to smell?”

“Both. But it’s the scent of blood that usually leads me to an accident. Or a victim.” He glanced at her, a measured look on his face.

“I see. And how far away can you smell blood?”

“A good mile.” He fit another piece in, going back to looking nonchalant.

“Can you heal anything? Cancer?”

“No. No illnesses. Just injuries.”

She couldn’t even imagine what it must be like. Every power he had made him a hunter, but he healed instead. To the people he helped, he was a savior.

She’d been staring at a puzzle piece, but not really seeing it. She put it down and picked up another one. “How long have you been healing people?”

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