Page 7 of Banshee
“Are you hungry?”
I nodded, and Amber quickly volunteered to get me some coffee. She disappeared into what I assumed was the kitchen, and Haizley and I sat at one of the tables scattered around the room.
Something cold nudged my hand, so I looked down and found a dog. My hand rested on his head, and the longer I sat there petting him, the more relaxed I felt. Every time one of the brothers tried to sit with us, the dog growled. Until Banshee sat down next to me.
“Hey, baby girl, did you sleep okay?”
I shrugged, then dropped my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t reveal who I was to anyone. I should call Kytten. Have her move me somewhere else now that I knew he was here.
“You having nightmares?” he asked.
“A few. They aren’t too bad.”
He hooked his finger under my chin, the same as yesterday, and waited until I looked in his eyes.
“You’re safe here.”
A week had passed since I had moved into the clubhouse. Amber no longer slept in my room, though the nightmares were still there. I counted it as a win that I felt safe enough to be alone.
I’d been meeting with Haizley multiple times a day to talk and tell her how I was feeling. Amber shared her story with me, and I felt guilty for feeling so lost. What I went through was nothing compared to what Amber had been through. Though Haizley tried to convince me that trauma wasn’t a contest.
I had gotten comfortable with most of the brothers. Maureen, the sheriff’s wife, came to the clubhouse every morning for breakfast. She brought her dog, Tucker, and every day he sat with me at the table.
I felt safe with him. He slowly allowed the brothers to sit with us, and I spoke with each of them for a few minutes. Mostly, I just listened. It was hard to talk about myself without telling them who I was.
I still wasn’t sure if Banshee recognized me, but I hadn’t heard him call anyone else baby girl.
Jack stopped by the table to talk to Haizley about meeting his brother. Trying not to listen, I looked around the room, searching for Banshee. Only, he wasn’t there.
“Everything okay?” Haizley asked.
I whipped my head around and asked, “Huh? Oh, yeah.” I dropped my eyes to the dog, unsure of what I was feeling.
“Hey, talk to me.”
“It’s nothing,” I dismissed, shaking my head.
“It’s not nothing if it has you feeling down. There is no judgment here, Aspen. You can tell me anything.”
“Well, it’s just that...” I looked around the room again before taking a deep breath. “It’s just that, usually, Banshee sits with us in the morning for a little bit.” I shrugged, hoping she wouldn’t read too much into it.
Haizley smiled, and I knew she had the wrong idea. I wasn’t thinking about him in that way. Was I? I mean, there was no question he was hot. But I’d been through too much with men to even consider another one. No matter how safe he made me feel.
“He must have had something to do early this morning. I’m sure he’ll be around for lunch. Or dinner.”
“Yea.”
Tucker lifted his head and barked before running to the door and bouncing around excitedly.
“Tucker, come,” Maureen called. The dog turned and made it halfway before changing his mind and running back to the door. His excited barks went up in volume until the door opened and Banshee walked in with another dog that looked similar.
Tucker bounced around, his butt wiggling almost uncontrollably. The dog with Banshee began acting the same.
“Sit!” he said firmly.
Immediately, both dogs sat at Banshee’s firm command and looked up at him, waiting.
“Tucker, Mom.”
