Page 66 of A Wolf's Wound
Hannah doesn’t respond, even when the car jolts over the dirt road and we begin our winding climb up to the cabin.It’s a steep incline, but she doesn’t seem nervous at all.A swell of pride blossoms in my chest.She trusts me.
A loud snore makes me jump.
Nope, she’s just asleep.
With Shadow for a makeshift pillow, she’s curled up together with him in the passenger seat, her head buried in his fur.I feel a tender sort of ache in my chest when I look at her from the corner of my eye, and I slow down, taking care to avoid the roughest patches of dirt.
I’ve driven here often enough that I know where all the major holes are, even in the dark.Hell, when I was a kid, Gavin and I used to speed across them on purpose on our four-wheelers, trying to see how high we could get them to jump.
Cody made some noise about taking the four-wheeler out during our family vacation here last year, which Gavin had immediately vetoed.When Gavin complained that the kid was giving him gray hair, Mom had just snorted.
We gave her hell as kids, even if we weren’t exactly looking to do it.Trouble always seemed to find Gavin and me, wherever we were.Or maybe we just had a knack for finding trouble.
Not too much has changed except for the gray at Gavin’s temple, I guess.
“Home sweet home,” I murmur to myself.
Shadow wakes, takes stock of Hannah’s exhaustion, and lumbers onto my shoulder instead.I suppose I could wake her up, but I don’t have the heart to do it.Not when she’s sleeping like this, so carefree.
So after I unlock the door, I carry her inside.Her face burrows against my chest, a sensation I’d enjoy more if her raccoon wasn’t busy clawing his way to the top of my head.
“Go on, get,” I mutter, leaning my head down to the bed.
He chitters and makes himself comfortable on one of the pillows as I peel back the comforter and carefully lay Hannah down.Her hair falls over her face, so, tentatively, I brush it back.
She’s so fucking pretty it makes my teeth ache to look at her sometimes.
It’s a little scary how natural it feels to be around her.I’ve never felt like this about a woman before, like her comfort is my priority.Pulling a blanket over a woman snoring like a hammer drill shouldn’t make me feel like a melting pat of butter.
I should just leave her.She’ll be fine for the night.But I tuck the blanket in around her, making sure she’s covered.There’s a bit of a chill in the air, and some primal part of me can’t stand the thought of her being cold.
As soon as I step outside, I cover my face in my hands and resist the urge to scream.I don’t know what Hannah’s doing to me, but it feels like I’m in free fall, and I’ve got no idea if there’s a soft, pillowy landing or a bucket of rusty nails waiting for me at the bottom of it.
The next morning…
She wakes with the sun in the morning, and I pointedly do not look at the smooth expanse of her stomach as she stretches her arms over her head and yawns.
“Good morning.”She sounds more well-rested than she has all week, and I try and fail to smother a bit of pride at that.“Coffee, too?Aren’t you a prince.”
“That is one thing I’ve definitely never been called before.”I watch as she fixes up her coffee how she likes it, taking note of how many spoonfuls of sugar she dumps in.I brought some milk and perishable groceries from my mom’s house, but I probably should have brought more.She’s basically drinking sugar milk with a splash of coffee.
“Stop judging,” she says, her back still turned to me.
“I should have brought a damn cow.”
She laughs, a bright, happy sound, and it lights me up.We haven’t had much time together, just existing.
“Listen.”The reason we’re here weighs me back down.“That was a close call last night.”
“I’m not looking for a lecture.”All the laughter’s gone out of her voice, but she doesn’t sound angry.She’s looking at Shadow, who’s crept into the room.
“And I’m not looking to give you one.”Her eyes meet mine.“You want your independence, and I get that.I do.But you need to learn how to defend yourself, and I aim to teach you, if you’ll let me.”
Her face does something complicated before she takes a long sip of the abomination she calls coffee.“When?”
I stand, my knees popping like I’ve been sitting too long.“No time like the present.”
She brings her coffee and Shadow bounces behind her.He keeps straying, excited to be out in the wild.
