Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
“What?” I asked, tipping my chin up at him.
It took him so long to answer, I was half expecting him not to. But he did. “You don’t look like the Cricket I remember or smell like her. Then you laugh or say something cute, and I know it’s you.” Henri met my eyes, and I watched his nostrils flare again for the briefest moment before he looked away.
I thought about my bracelet again and how he still hadn’t given it back, but I didn’t want to ask. If this was what they needed from me—to not mask myself for the time being—I could do it.
I’d just need to stay away from Spencer.
“Thanks, Henri.” He wouldn’t say something like that if he hated having me here. “I need to ask you something since I forgot to ask Franklin earlier.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have to start working again soon. How do I fit in helping out around here? How do I know what you need help with? If there’s a calendar for volunteering, I haven’t seen one.”
That got his interest. “What do you do?”
“I work remotely in customer service. I just need the internet. It’s what I’ve done for years, since satellite internet got so good.” I had zero plans of selling my trailer until the three months were up. Even after that, I might still not. What if one day Duncan could be out in public again? Maybe we could travel a little, and my trailer was paid off; the only monthly payment I had for it was insurance.
“Who do you work for?”
I told him the name of the major online pet company. “It’s full-time, and scheduling is really flexible.” I liked it, and the way the company was run was very customer-focused, so I rarely had to piss people off telling them “no.” Plus, I got a discount for Duncan’s toys, even though his favorite method of entertainment was animal carcasses, followed closely by any old stick.
“Most of us work away from the ranch. All that’s expected is that you help out when you can. Download the app. It’s how we communicate with everyone. There’s a calendar, a forum, and a sign-up list…”
There was an app? They had thought of everything here. I didn’t know how it was possible for my awe to grow every day, but it did.
“…with different jobs and tasks that you can sign up for,” he finished explaining.
Tasks. I didn’t know what that meant yet, but I’d look. “Sounds good,” I said. “Is it okay if I work in that room where I met the elders? I have satellite internet, but if I can avoid running my generator, I try to.”
He got a funny look on his face. “Yes.” The muscle in his cheek flexed. “You live here now. The bedrooms and family homes are the only places that aren’t free space for everyone.”
“That was what I’d figured, but I wanted to make sure.”
“For tax purposes, there’s an address in the town you can use as your place of residence. I’ll get it for you.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I smiled at him.
Those orange-brown irises lingered on me. On my face. The moonlight was hitting his features in a way that brought to life all those stunning angles and the beautiful color of his skin, all creamy golden.
His eyes flicked toward Duncan suddenly.
Stop checking out Henri.
We stood there silently for a minute, Duncan the center of attention as he kept on trying to sniff Henri from where he was. After a moment, my puppy ran for my legs, twining his way through them before sitting right on top of my feet. He leaned the side of his head against my knee.
“You’re a good boy protecting your mom,” Henri stated with a nod at my donut. “I need to get to bed.” The werewolf man drew his palm down his face before sighing. “There are people out here. Nothing would dare come this close, but if you need anything, yell as loud as you can.”
I smiled again. “I will. Sleep good,” I wished him.
He looked at me for a second, throat bobbing before nodding. “’Night, Duncan,” he called out before heading toward the house.
I didn’t let myself watch him just in case he happened to turn around. He definitely didn’t need to see me checking out his butt in those black tactical pants. I was already hoping he hadn’t caught on to my attraction when we’d been out in the woods earlier. Instead, I bent down, poked Duncan in the side, said, “You’re it, Donut,” and took off running again.
Maybe another day, we’d invite Henri to play too.
Chapter
Ten
“Quit looking at me.”
“You quit looking at me.”
“I’m not even looking at you!” I laughed, side-eyeing Matti as we walked to my truck.
“I can feel you looking at me,” he argued with a sniff that had less to do with him being sick and more with him just being a pest. This was the first time he’d left the room since he’d gotten the brown plague the day before last. He looked like he’d been haunting abandoned hospitals for a century based off the dark circles around his eyes and the gauntness of his cheeks. This was the thinnest I’d ever seen him, and I had known him in his scrawny boy years.