Page 26 of Wolf's Midlife Bite

“Ah.” The way he nodded his head let her know he truly understood. She didn’t want to shift while she was at work. “You have to trust yourself. I know that’s not easy, especially right now when you feel like you don’t have any control. But you know what it felt like before?”

How could she forget the shock to her system when she’d become all the proof she’d needed and transformed into a wolf right in her own backyard? “Definitely.”

“Trust me, you’ll remember that feeling if it starts to happen on its own. The first shifts come on fairly slowly. It’s only once you really know what you’re doing that it happens fast, so you should have time to get yourself under control. Granted, I guess I’m not a good person to talk to you about control.” Brody grinned, showing his teeth. They were normal human teeth right now, but it was one of his wolf fangs that’d started all of this in the first place.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Robin couldn’t help but smile at him. He was just so pleasant to be around, creating a deep sense of satisfaction within her even when they were just walking around at a farmers’ market. She paused to examine the tiny needle-felted creatures a woman had made by hand. “I guess I’m also a little frustrated because I can’t tell my family. We’re pretty close. I see them all at least once a week, and my sister is like my best friend. It’s a little weird to keep things from them.”

“I’m sorry.”

She heard the gravity in his voice and looked up quickly.

He tightened his grip on her hand and ducked out of the booth, away from anyone who might overhear. “I’ve had to keep this secret from the world for the last forty-two years, but not from my family. I can’t imagine how hard that is.”

“I’ll get used to it, I guess. Hey, do you want to go get something to eat? I’m starving.”

Brody gave her an uncertain look. “You don’t have to skirt around it just to spare my feelings, Robin. I can’t go back and change what I’ve done. We both know that. But at least let me be here for you while you work through it all. I want to do everything I can for you.”

“It really will be okay,” she insisted. It was tough not to slip up about it when she talked to Renee, who always wanted a progress report on what was happening between her and Brody. Robin could only give her vague details about the time they spent together, but not why or how. Still, that wasn’t really his problem, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to put every aspect of her life into his hands just yet. “It’s just going to take me some time. I really am hungry, though.”

Brody didn’t look like he quite believed her, but he let it go. “I was thinking about going over to Better Living Room, if you’re up for a bit more walking.”

“Sure.” In fact, she was more up for walking than she remembered being in a long time. Moving her body felt good, and she was starting to enjoy the way her muscles moved and stretched inside of her. If it was always like this as a shifter, she could understand why Brody was so fit.

The brewery and restaurant was aptly named. The teal and orange color scheme gave a cozy feel that contrasted with the industrial attitude of stainless steel and metalwork. Eclectic mixes of furniture created homey settings for friends to gather, and comfortable chairs huddled around tables for a welcoming dining experience. They grabbed a table on the patio.

Automatically, Robin pulled out her reading glasses when she picked up the menu. The whole thing was nothing but a blur, and she whipped them off again. “Apparently, I’ve got to start remembering that I don’t need these anymore. I keep bringing them everywhere I go, but they’re hindering me more than helping me.”

Brody plucked them out of her hand and tucked them in the pocket of his flannel shirt, which he wore over a fitted white tee. “I can’t deny there are downsides to our situation, but never having to go to the optometrist or dentist isn’t one of them.”

“Depriving all these specialists of their copays,” she returned, glad the mood had lifted a little. She wanted to enjoy her time with Brody instead of stewing about her complaints.

She chose a Bourbon Renewal off the menu, something she’d had before but never quite like this. The lemon and black currant flavors came through for her more than they had before. Eventually, she’d get used to noticing every little thing. For the moment, she was determined to enjoy it.

Two tiny hands suddenly clutched her leg, and Robin looked down to find herself looking into a big pair of brown eyes. “Well, hello there.”

“Hi!” The little boy grinned.

“Cole! Come back over here! I’m so sorry!” The boy's mother came running over from their table to fetch him. “He’s a little too friendly.”

Robin smiled at her, and she found she was almost sorry to see little Cole go. “It’s not a problem at all. He’s adorable.”

When she looked back up, Brody was watching her over the top of his can as he took a sip of his Gin Rickey. He gestured toward the table where Cole had returned to his parents and two siblings. “Did you ever think about having kids?”

The swelling that the little boy had created in her heart emptied like a popped balloon. “Yeah. I really wanted to, and I’d hoped to start a family a long time ago. When my ex and I first got married, I decided to wait a couple of years to make sure we were financially stable. It’s probably a good thing I did because it was during that time that I realized JC himself wasn’t stable in any way.”

Brody’s elbows were on the table now, and he leaned forward. “So then you just never did?”

She lifted a shoulder. “It didn’t seem fair to bring a child into something like that.” There were times when she’d regretted that situation, wondering if having a loving mother who tried her hardest would be enough. JC was difficult enough for her to deal with, though, and she had to be glad that she hadn’t forced someone else to do so. “What about you?”

“I never had any of my own.” He took another sip and then looked down at his can for so long that Robin wasn’t sure if he would continue. “When I was in my twenties, I started dating this girl named Danielle. She was pregnant, and the father didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I pretty much stepped right in. I was there when Devin was born, when he took his first steps, and when he went to kindergarten for the first time.”

As he spoke, Robin realized how much easier it was to see Brody—a man she’d only known for a short time—in that position than it’d ever been to see JC like that. “That was sweet of you.”

“I’ve wondered about that, actually.” He glanced over at Cole’s family again. “When he was about six years old, Danielle decided she wanted to move on. Things had been falling apart between us for quite some time, so I could deal with that. But that meant that Devin and I weren’t in each other’s lives anymore. I got to give him one last hug, and that was it. I never got to see him again.”

“Brody,” she whispered. Robin reached across the table and stroked her fingertip down the back of his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “It was just one of those things. It felt right at the time, but later, I had to wonder if I’d done him a disservice. Poor kid had a father figure, but then all of a sudden, he didn’t. I tried to get her to let me see him a couple of times a month, and I even offered to help take care of some of his expenses, but Danielle didn’t want to get tangled up in that sort of thing if she was going to find a new man.”

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