Page 58 of The Lone Wolf Café
As I approached, I noticed she didn’t look upset. She looked… calm. Almost pensive. As if the other witches weren’t snubbing her. As if she was out here simply because she enjoyed the silentpeace of an empty pumpkin patch on a beautifully chilly autumn night in Maine.
Although, as I took a seat next to her, I realized she had a point.It’s so tranquil out here.And after thirty minutes of forcing my way through noisy crowds, I too enjoyed the silence.
I scooted my body over a few inches, so our sides were touching from our shoulders all the way down to our thighs. Rowena kept her head low, her eyes downcast. I had a feeling that me saying something wasn’t what she needed.
So instead, I delicately placed my hand on top of hers, giving her thumb the faintest hint of a rub with my own.
“I’m not good with people, Nettie.”
Her sudden voice, and the gravity of her confession, rattled my aching heart. I responded by giving her hand a gentle squeeze, and she leaned her shoulder further into mine.
“Hell, if we’re going to be honest, neither am I,” I sighed. “When I was growing up, I had a few friends, but I was teased a lot. I was the only red-haired person on my island, and the kids used to call me carrothead or tell me that gingers had no soul. All silly childish stuff, but it still hurt. I didn’t understand why I was different.”
What I didn’t tell her was that I was also ridiculed for my wolf form, since for werewolves, hair color dictated fur color. Other kids used to tease me and say I didn’t blend in well enough with the foliage, and that was why I was such a crappy hunter.
I wanted to tell her, though. There were so many things I wanted to tell her.
But I couldn’t.
“I think your hair is beautiful.”
I lowered my head so Rowena wouldn’t see me blush. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her slender hand, with those poison-purple nails, reach up and touch a strand of my red hair.
Gods.My whole body melted like butter. If I didn’t get control of myself, I’d lean my head into her palm and start purring like a cat, begging for her to touch me more.
“Rowena…” my voice came out soft and a bit raspy, and I cleared my throat so she wouldn’t hear the arousal in my voice. “…can I ask you something?”
I felt her palm tense beneath mine, but she nodded.
“Why are they excluding you? Did something happen?”
My stomach lurched. There it was. The big, ugly question that had been hanging in the air as long as I’d been in Wisteria Grove. I’d finally mustered up the courage to ask it.
There was a long, contemplative pause. I could see – and feel – the web of intricate emotions on Rowena’s face as she tried to formulate a response. To figure out the best way to word her answer without giving too much away.
Without breaking down too much of the barrier between us.
“It’s…” She licked her lips, then bit down on them. “...complicated, Nettie. I wish I could tell you more, I really do. There’s a lot of history to Wisteria Grove. History that’s hard to explain to outsiders.”
Outsider.The reality that I’d been here a week and a half, falling for a witch who didn’t even know I was a werewolf, came crashing down like a felled tree. Why was I doing this to myself? I’d agreed to let myself stay for one more moon cycle, as long as I could run off on Halloween and keep my full moon frenzy under control.
But a few weeks wasn’t enough. I wanted more time.
Time I couldn’t have.
I swallowed hard, refusing to let tears pool in my eyes.
Enjoy the moments you have with her. Take advantage of this time, and stop dwelling on the future.
“You know, Rowena?” I spoke up. She lifted her head so she was facing me, and I was once again hypnotized by those dark, glossy eyes.
“When I first left my island, I had this big dream of seeing the world. I’d only ever heard about the mainland from books. I thought traveling was my dream.”
Rowena scoffed. “I find that surprising, since when you first stumbled into my shop, you barely knew what money was.”
I chuckled, appreciating her usual dry, snarky humor. “True. But in the time I’ve spent here, working in the café, I’ve realized… maybe exploring the world isn’t my dream. Or at least, not entirely. Because selling my goods to customers, making money, having alone time to read in that little cottage… it’s made me realize what I’ve wanted all along.”
I swore Rowena’s face inched closer to mine.
