Page 65 of Omega's Flight

Reluctantly, I said, "I think I need to do the part-time thing. I mean, I have the pups, and I don't want to be a drain..."

"No, that's fine. I perfectly understand." Denver put a hand on my shoulder, patted a couple of times. "I'll have someone contact you about the tutoring. In the meantime," she laid a list of different tasks needing to be done in front of me, about three-quarters of a page's worth. Beside each one was a number showing how many hours a week were needed.

There wasn't anything impressive or extraordinary, except that the idea of having a job of my own was terribly exciting and I felt my mood rise again as I read down the list. What would I like to do? What was I good at? Well, the eldercare, that was easy. I'd helped look after my grandfather for a while, I knew how to look after an elder, make sure they got their pills, that they were eating enough, got to the bathroom when they needed. I put a check mark beside that and looked down the rest of the list.

Cleaning up after full moon nights? That was a good one—I marked that too.

Oh, there was a short shift every week at the library. Check. I felt sneaky getting that one, but I'd get to see all the new books as soon as they came in. Bax will be jealous. I hid a secret smile.

They were also looking for people to paint the insides of the new houses they were building. I checked that, too. It wasn't art, but I knew how to use a paintbrush.

The best part was I thought I'd managed to make sure they were all during the day, so I could be home with the pups after school.

Denver took the sheet and added everything up. "You're a little over, but that's okay. I'll set you up in the system so you get every third full moon off, if that's what you'd like."

"That sounds wonderful." By my third full moon here, I would probably be in a mood for a party that I could enjoy without worrying about work the next day.

Denver let me go then, with the warning that I'd be hearing from my tutor soon, and from her probably sooner once she'd talked to the people in charge of my jobs and figured out where I was going to be working.

With that done and the last of my relative freedom coming to an end, I thought I'd drop by to visit the pups before I went home, so I took the elevator down to the lobby—thankfully empty—and walked out into the cold January air. My feet scuffed along through the thin layer of snow that had fallen during the morning as I walked down the only real road the enclave had, aside from the one that led from the gates.

"Raleigh!" Bax's voice echoed across the open area in front of the pack building.

I stopped and turned to see him running across empty space in just a t-shirt and jeans, holding something in his hand. "You're going to freeze," I called.

"I don't plan to be out long," he puffed and skidded to a stop beside me. "I missed you inside. Here, this is for you. Don't go crazy with it."

It was a small box, white with black lettering on it. “Artist’s Charcoal,” I read. My heart stumbled to a halt, then leaped back into action again. “Oh, Bax. I can’t take this.”

“You can, and you will. Abel and I had to get Cas to write us up a shared custody agreement for that picture you drew of me. You’re good, Raleigh. If you can draw like that without any training, we need to take advantage of that.”

“I want to be useful,” I protested.

“You can be. I’m not saying you can’t do some other training, but promise me you won’t ignore this.” He squeezed my fingers again, then let go to shove them in under his arms. “And you still have to finish the high school courses, that’s the same for everyone. And Denver's full of plans for you." He laughed. "She's very enthusiastic. I'm glad we created that position for her. Let me know if you need help with the math."

"You can do math?" I asked, startled.

Bax nodded. "My first Christmas here, Abel gave me an algebra book and lessons. It's still my favorite Christmas present ever."

"I don't know if I'll have time for much in the way of lessons, with working and the pups." I hunched my shoulders. "I never was very good at math."

"Well, you have your very own private tutor here," he told me. "Bring the pups over to play and while they're busy with world domination, you and I will work on the math. Really, it's not that difficult, and you don't have to do the hard math to get your GED. Just enough to pass the test."

Really? Could it be that simple? I glanced over at him, his nose and cheeks gone bright pink with the cold. "I'm sorry I'm such a bother."

"You're not a bother, and I'm not sorry. Go, take the rest of the day off—there won't be too many of those now that you've been to see Denver. Why don't you get a movie at the library, or you can run past my place and see if there's anything you like on the shelves? Or borrow a book or two and have a soak in the bathtub? You know where my bookshelves are—take anything you want. The one I'm reading is by my bed, so as long as you don't take that, we're good." He danced a little in place, then laughed. "I have to go back in. Give me a call tonight whenever you've got the pups home from school and you can come over for dinner. We'll figure out schedules with Abel so he can be around to keep an eye on the pups while we study." He reached out to hug me. "Don't be afraid to look after yourself a little right now. I know it's hard, saying yes to yourself, but you aren't taking anything from your pups by doing it." His grip loosened on me and he rubbed his hands over my arms. "Go borrow something and have a day for yourself. I mean it. And come for dinner tonight, so we can talk about plans for your future here."

It felt irresponsible, but when I went over my list of things I needed to do, there was nothing pressing. Besides, if I did them all today, I'd have nothing at all to do tomorrow. "All right. What time?"

"Six good? I left soup in the fridge, so it only needs to be heated up, and I made bread yesterday."

"Sounds delicious. What can I bring?"

"Just yourself." Another shiver raced over his body. "I've got to go. Enjoy your afternoon!" He patted my arm again, then turned and raced off, his laughter dancing back over the snow to me as he slipped and slid all the way to the door of the pack building.

I pulled my jacket up closer around my neck and went left instead of right. Toward Bax's.

C H A P T E R 4 8