Page 14 of The Wolves of Forest Grove

She’s blind, I thought to myself as I watched her speak to Clay—looking in his general direction, but not directly at him.

Not meeting his gaze. The dullness in the blue of her eyes wasn’t from age at all.

What the hell was a blind old lady doing walking around with a freaking basket in the forest?

She could be mauled by a bear, or trip and break her hip.

I’d been about to turn back to the cabin when Clay’s jaw clenched and he stopped me with a look, jabbing his head in the direction of the woman he calls Grams. I wondered if she was his actual grandmother and where the hell she came from.

Clay seemed exasperated, rubbing a wide hand over the scruff on his face.

“Grams, this is Allie.”

Clay’s gaze prodded me forward to meet the woman and not knowing what to do, I gulped and stepped down onto the dirt lawn, reaching out my hand to her.

I quickly dropped my hand an instant later, feeling like an idiot for offering a handshake to a blind woman.

God, I could be so dense sometimes. “Um. Hi. I’m Allie. Allie Grace.”

The woman bent to set down her basket on the bottom stair of the porch and stepped forward, reaching her slight wrinkled hands forward. I nervously eyed Clay, unsure what to make of the woman who came from the trees. He looked thoroughly amused at my discomfort.

I glared at him and turned back just as the woman set her cool hands on my arms just near the elbows.

I did my best not to flinch away as she drew my hands forward to hold in hers.

Her milky gaze found mine, and for a heartbeat it was like she could see me after all.

Her stare was piercing. “So much pain,” she said so quietly I almost didn’t hear her. Wasn’t really sure if I had.

“Pardon?”

She frowned and bowed her head, examining my palm. “Strange.”

“What is it Grams?” Clay asked, looking at me with an accusatory stare.

The woman ran her index finger along a line on my palm, making me begin to doubt whether she was actually blind at all. “You were two once.”

“What?” Clay cocked his head, confused.

But I wasn’t. I didn’t know how she knew, but I understood her perfectly.

I knew exactly what she meant. A shiver ran up my spine and my lungs squeezed painfully.

I ripped my hands away from her and bent to retrieve my mug.

“It was nice to meet you,” I said, maybe a little too hastily and made to run inside and grab my bag, not wanting to stay here another minute longer than I had to.

I was going to be late for work. I needed to go.

“Here,” the woman said, stopping me. I clenched my fists.

She bent to retrieve the basket and stuck her hand beneath the red fabric to retrieve two cookies.

They smelled of oranges and cranberries.

My mouth watered. “Take some cookies.” Her smile was bright and made it impossible to be upset with her.

Her gaze was blank again and her eyes stared at a spot just over my right shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to overstep. Please. Have some. ”

I took the proffered cookies, careful not to touch her this time and muttered a hasty thank you before I retreated inside, falling against the door to catch my breath the moment it closed.

“Allie?” Jared said from the bottom of the stairs. His dirty blond hair was sleep tousled and his eyes were droopy at the corners. His shirtless torso stole my breath and his baggy plaid pajama pants hung on his hips showed off the dips of the deep ‘v’ shape that disappeared beneath his waistline.

I choked on my response, wanting to avert my eyes, but knowing that would only make it more awkward.

“You alright?”

I rushed to conceal me expression, pushing off from the door to grab my bag. “Yeah. I’m fine. There’s a…an old lady outside with a basket of cookies.”

His gaze snapped to the window next to the door. “Hazel?”

“Is that her name? I—I didn’t catch it.”

I tucked the cookies into my pack with shaking fingers. “I have to get to work. I’m going to miss the bus.”

“The bus?” Jared squinted at me, perplexed. “Don’t rush. I’ll drive you.”

I shook my head. “No!” I said hastily and then rushed to correct the tone of my voice. “I mean, no, that’s alright. You can’t be driving me everywhere.”

I slung the pack over my shoulder and turned back to the door.

“Allie, I have to go to town, anyway. It’s no big deal, if you just give me five—”

“You don’t need—”

“I want to,” he interrupted, his voice harder than it had been a moment before. Hard enough to make me pause and turn to see him shaking his head at me. “You are so frustrating,” he said smirking.

I crinkled my brow at him.

“Would you just give me five minutes?”

I licked my lips and loosened the grip on my pack, setting my jaw. “Fine.” I ground out. “I guess if you have to go to town anyway—”

“Good.” He nodded and turned to bound back up the stairs.

“Thank you,” I hollered up to him as an afterthought. I mean, I hadn’t asked for the ride. Hadn’t really even wanted it, but with my ankle still a bit tender and only fifteen minutes standing between me and the bus stop, I was already liable to miss it.

Just then Clay pushed through the door and it bumped into me from behind, hitting me hard on the shoulder. “Fuck!”

Clay glared at me as he entered, and I shuffled out of his way as the giant brute filled the entryway.

The basket was clenched in his hand. Where it looked large and heavy in the arms of the woman named Hazel, it looked like a toy in Clay’s.

Like a giant with a toddler’s toy between his two fingers.

I bit back a laugh at the esthetic.

Clay shouldered past me and into the kitchen, discarding the basket atop the table before he set to making more coffee, getting the engine grease still coating his fingers all over the silver knob of the cupboard.

“Is she not staying?” I asked, pushing back the sheer curtain of the window beside the door to peer outside. I didn’t see the old woman anywhere. Had she already left?

Had she really only come to bring some baked goods?

How strange.

Clay never answered me, his brows were pinched as he viciously scooped massive mountainous spoonsful of coffee into an askew coffee filter.

“If you don’t fix that filter, you’ll have grounds in your coffee.”

He turned on me with a snarl, his blue eyes aglow. This time, despite myself, I did flinch.

“Did I ask for your opinion?” He snapped.

“Wow dude,” Jared said, coming back downstairs. The sight of him and his calm demeanor soothed the suddenly erratic beating of my heart in my chest. “Who shat in your corn flakes this morning? Chill.” He turned to me. “Sorry, Allie.”

Clay muttered something but I didn’t catch it. “What did you just say?” Jared snapped at Clay and I thought I saw his face pale.

Clay didn’t answer him, and I was about done with this whole conversation. “Um, if you’re ready, I have to get to work…” I trailed off, eager to leave the aura of rage in the room.

Jared snapped out of whatever had shaken him and moved with me to the door.

“Oh,” I said as I pulled on my new shoes, figuring I might as well tell Jared in front of Clay so he would know, too.

It might make him less agitated to know I wasn’t coming home tonight.

“I almost forgot to tell you; I’m going to a party tonight with Viv so I’m going to stay at her house. ”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Clay pause for an instant before jabbing the button to brew.

Good, he’d heard me.

“Oh,” Jared said, and I could tell he was trying to sound indifferent.

“Which party?” Clay asked, and Jared and I were both taken aback by the question.

I shared a look with him, hesitating before I answered Clay. I cleared my throat. “Um…it’s Thompson’s.”

Clay nodded, but his lips were pursed in distaste. I knew that he knew Thompson’s older brother who’d moved away for college, but they weren’t friends. Or at least, I didn’t think they were.

“Sounds fun,” Jared said offhandedly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of the jean jacket he’d just finished pulling on. “Think I could tag along?”

My lips parted, but no sound came out. “Um…”

I couldn’t show up to a party with Jared Stone. No freaking way. But looking into his soft amber eyes, something in my chest pulled and my traitorous lips were already forming the words… “Sure.” And then more strangled, “Sounds good.”