Page 19 of Same One
Zane had never had anything of his own, but he’d tricked her so thoroughly. He’d explained everything away so easily. He’d lied about so much, and trained Tru to distrust her own instincts about people.
Tabian was a stranger, but already he had showed her more clear-cut direct care than Zane ever had.
That made him even more terrifying to a scalded woman like her. Zane had burned her from the inside out. She was at very real risk of Tabian being too good to be true.
Inside the house, Tabian ripped the plastic off the couch and gestured for her to take a seat. He peeled the stickers off the face of the microwave and took the new owner instructions from the inside of it before he heated the spaghetti in there.
Her phone dinged and, in a rush, she checked the text from Bay.I got here safe. About to Change. I’ll text when I Change back. I know you’re sitting around worrying about me right now, but don’t. I’ll be back soon.
She heaved a sigh of relief and hugged the phone to her chest. His wolf was unpredictable, and he didn’t want her around him when he Changed. Bay’s great fear was accidentally Turning someone. Her, specifically. Still, she worried herself to death when he had to Change. It usually took all night, and she was always worried about him out in the woods alone.
“When did your boy start solo-camping?” Tabian asked from the kitchen.
She hadn’t realized he was watching her.
“Um, about a year ago. I understand his need for the space, but I worry.”
“Is his father dead?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Dead to me. He moved us here, said he’d paid first and last month’s rent, deposits, fees, the works, but really, he had stolen all of my money. He’d emptied out my bank account and left.”
Tabian laughed a single huff. After a few seconds, he said, “Wait, what? You’re serious?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I’m serious. He bounced the first night we were here. He left Bay a note saying goodbye and left me a note asking me to make sure Bay was taken care of. A few months later, I was served paperwork listing me as Bay’s official guardian. Zane had signed his rights away and made me the parent of a fifteen-year-old angry boy who had only known mefor a few years. It’s been a journey for both of us figuring out how to maneuver around each other.”
“That’s super messed up.”
She smiled. “Bright side, he never married me officially. Less paperwork now.”
Tabian pursed his lips. “Was that something you wanted?”
“It was something I thought I wanted. I am the queen of getting close to getting married, but not close enough. He gave me a ring and talked about it constantly. Even planned part of the wedding with me, but time has been a healer for me, and I can look back at the reality of it all now.”
“What was the reality?”
“He worked me over. He saw a target, and he was so smooth about it, Tabian. He was so smooth. He watched every smile and mirrored everything I said I needed in a man, and he became this perfect match for me. It was a really intense relationship full of the highest highs and the lowest lows and nothing in between. He had me doing anything for those high points though. That man could get me drunk on the happiness he could give me. I’ve never been through anything like that before. It was a roller coaster from day one, and it was so fun, until it wasn’t. Until he left and I was left with his son. And I think that was the kind of mark I was from the beginning. He needed to offload his boy onto someone he knew would finish raising him, and he needed to leech every penny of my money so he could start a new life. At the time I couldn’t see that was happening, but now it is so obvious. Healing does that. It provides clarity after some time to get through all the phases of mourning. I think I wasn’t meant to be married, and I think Zane saw that, or sensed it, and he gave his boy to someone who needed an anchor to this earth. To someone who needed a purpose. I figure if I share all of my trauma from the start, you can cut me off and set me loose faster.”
“Is that what you want me to do?”
“It is what would be best for both of us.”
“Mmm,” he said noncommittally. “Is this the part where you’re trying to scare me off?”
She shrugged. She didn’t entirely know what she was doing with him. She didn’t even know what had possessed her to drive all the way out here tonight.
“Probably shouldn’t have filled that bag over there with kids’ snacks if you wanted to shoo me off.”
A laugh escaped her, and the melancholy of her admissions lifted off her tight chest. “You seem easy to please. As a friend.”
The corners of his eyes tightened. “I would say I’m pretty easy to please in general, sure.”
“What are we doing here?” she asked suddenly.
“I’m currently trying not to stare at your perfect tits.”
Tru grinned and dropped her gaze to the woodgrain pattern in the floor. “You know what I mean,” she said quietly.
He pulled the plastic container of pasta from the microwave and sat down at the table in the only chair that was already built. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and scooped pasta into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
