“You like it?” she asked from behind me. “I’ve been working on it for days, and I can never get the water right.”
“Are you kidding?” I looked over my shoulder at her. “It’s great.”
Her face flushed at the praise, and she came over to stand beside me. “You don’t think the light looks wrong on the water?”
“I won’t pretend to know a lot about art, but it looks right to me. This is early morning, isn’t it?”
“You can tell that?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah. At least, that’s what it reminds me of.”
She stared at the painting for a long moment. “I wanted to do some paintings for Sara because she’s been so good to me. I was starting to think I wouldn’t get it right.”
“She’s going to love it,” I said sincerely. “Although, you forgot one thing.”
Her brows furrowed. “I did? What?”
I couldn’t hold back a grin. “The window’s too clean. It needs some wet coffee grounds.”
“Oh…” She scowled at me, but it quickly turned into a smile that made my stomach do a little flip.
“So, um…can I see your other paintings?” I asked, looking away from her.
“Sure.” She went to a stack leaning against a wall and selected one. It took me a few seconds to place the large stone building in the picture.
“Hey, that’s Westhorne.” I walked over for a closer look. It was a great likeness of the original. “I didn’t know you’d been there.”
She looked startled that I recognized the Mohiri stronghold. “I-I spent some time there with Sara. I forgot you’ve been there, too.”
“Pete and I were there for almost a week last fall. Nice place.”
She pressed her lips together as if she was pondering something. “I heard that Mohiri and werewolves don’t like each other. Didn’t you find it uncomfortable there?”
It was strange talking to her about us and the Mohiri. Except for Nate and Greg, I didn’t know another human who knew about our world. Well, not until now.
“I wouldn’t say we don’t like each other. It’s more like we keep to ourselves. We’re all on the same side though, killing vampires.”
Fear flashed in her eyes, and some of the color left her cheeks.
I put up a hand. “Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you. You don’t have to worry about any of that around here.” At least, not anymore.
She nodded and put the painting down. When she looked at me again, she appeared less frightened, though her color wasn’t any better. I felt like kicking myself for upsetting her, and I wished again that I knew what had happened to her to make her so jittery around me.
“You okay?” I asked her.
She gave me a wan smile. “Yes. You just took me by surprise, talking about…them.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t mention them again if it bothers you.”
“Thanks.”
“What other paintings have you done?” I asked in an attempt to return to our easy conversation of a few minutes ago.
“Not a lot.” She showed me half a dozen canvases, all landscapes, and it was clear she was talented. I didn’t have to be an art expert to see that.
I looked at a painting of the river that bordered Westhorne. “You’re really good. Do you plan to study art in college?”
“I’m not sure. I have to finish high school first.”
“You’re still in school?” The revelation surprised me, especially with her being on her own.
She pursed her lips, and I sensed we were back in that area she didn’t like to talk about.
“I didn’t finish my senior year, and I have to go back for that,” she explained.
I nodded in understanding. “Pete and I just graduated. We missed a month of our year and we’d be going to school with you if his dad hadn’t talked to the school board.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. “You just graduated? Oh, that’s right, you and Sara went to school together.”
I laughed. “Why? Do I look that young?”
“For some reason, I thought you were a few years older. Are you going to college this fall?”
“No. I waited too long to apply. I’m going to try to do some auto classes in Portland.”
She set down the canvas she was holding and walked to the stairs. “You want to be a mechanic?”
I followed her back to the living room. “Yes. My cousin Paul has a garage, and I’m going to work there a few days a week restoring a classic car.”
“A car like yours?”
“No, a Chevelle. But I did restore the Mustang.”
Her eyebrow rose. “You did that? It’s beautiful.”
I felt an absurd rush of pleasure at her praise. “Took me almost six months but she was worth it. Paul showed pictures of the restoration to a friend of his, and that’s where the Chevelle job came from. We’re hoping it leads to more jobs like that.”
“That’s great.”
I sipped my coffee. If any of my friends could see me drinking iced coffee instead of a beer on a Saturday night, they’d get a good laugh out of it. For some reason, the thought didn’t bother me at all.
“So, you’ve been here a few weeks and you already have a job and you’ve met the local wolves.” I smiled and I was glad when she returned it. “Sounds like you’re settling in.”
“Yes. I love it here. I still need to pick up a few things, but for the most part, I’m good.”
“Anything I can help you with?”
She shook her head. “It’s mostly paint supplies. Sara stocked the loft for me, but I think I’m going to go through canvases pretty quickly. There’s so much to paint here.”
“There are some good art supply stores in Portland,” I said. “I took Sara there a few times. If you want, I can take you there.”
I expected her to decline my offer, based on her previous reactions, and I was surprised when she didn’t outright say no.
“Thanks.” She picked up her coffee. “I’m probably going to need a car living here, aren’t I? Sara said I would.”
“You’ll be okay for the summer if you’re not in any hurry to get one. But you’ll want one before the winter.” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “You have one in mind?”
“Something practical that’s good in the winter.”
I grinned at her. “Well, I can definitely help you there. If there’s one thing I like, it’s looking at cars.”
“I can tell.” She smiled, and I liked seeing this lighter side of her.
I realized I’d stayed longer than I’d intended, but I found myself reluctant to leave. I enjoyed talking to her more than I’d expected to. The girls I usually talked to weren’t as interesting as Emma. Probably because those were the only girls I chose to date and I didn’t want anything deeper with them. Not that I wanted something more with Emma.
I stood and wiped my suddenly damp hands on my jeans. “I guess I should let you get back to your painting.”
She stood as well. “Thanks for coming by and for the latte.”
“You’re welcome.”
She followed me to the door where I turned to face her.
“Let me know if you want a ride to Portland. You can call me anytime.”
“Thanks,” she said softly. She smiled, and I was struck again by how beautiful her eyes were. How had I not noticed that about her the night we met?
“See you around,” I said as I opened the door. I shut it behind me and stood on the landing, listening to her slide the bolt. Part of me wished I was still on the other side of that door with her, while another part of me said I should run far and fast.
“Oh, man, this is not good.”
Chapter 6
Emma
“Where are we going?”
I pushed open the gymnasium door. “Not far, just to the parking lot. The booze is in my mom’s car.”
“Oh, cool.” Tess looked behind her for a moment then followed me down the corridor to the main entrance. “We can’t be gone too long, or Chrissy will get mad at me for leaving her.”