Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (26 page)

The
sound of scraping raises me from a deep sleep. I roll over to look
out my window and see Rabbit working in the garden. “Crap.”
I totally forgot that I told him I'd help him today. Since none of
the other boys will help, it's just us.

I pull on some shorts
and put my hair up as I head down the stairs with my boots unlaced.
“I'm so sorry, Rabbit. You should have come and gotten me.”

“No worries. I'm
just getting started anyway,” he says with cheer in his voice.
He's always so easygoing.

“Okay, I'm ready
and able. What are we doing?” I ask, putting gloves on.

“If you can start
on the first row and pull the weeds, that would be awesome.” He
pushes the shovel into the ground at the edge of the garden.

“I can handle
that.” I get to work.

“Just throw them
on that tarp over there.” He points to the blue tarp laid out
on the ground.

“Got it.” I
toss my first victim.

“I'm surprised
you were even able to get up,” he says absently, continuing to
dig.

“Why's that?”

“All the late
nights. I hear you go to bed most days when I'm leaving for work.”
I search for some kind of hidden meaning in voice, but with Rabbit
there usually is none.

“Yeah, I've been
super busy.” I continue pulling weeds. “You've been
pretty scarce around here yourself.”

“My internship
has been busting my balls. I've worked every day since the last
moon.” He blows out a breath.

“Man, that's
nuts,” I remark absently. “I'm surprised you even have
time for the garden, but I'm glad you do.”

“Well, Trevor
offered to help...” He waits for me to pick up the thread.

“Yeah, I know we
would have ended up with rows and rows of nothing but a variety of
peppers.” I roll my eyes.

“Exactly.”
He wipes the sweat from his brow.

“Isn't he
supposed to be helping today, too?” I ask accusingly.

“Yeah, but it's
Trevor and someone said it was work.” He laughs.

“Damn whoever
told him it wasn't a hobby,” I chide.

“I know, right!”
Rabbit shakes his head. “I swear, when is that kid going to
grow up?”

“Never,” I
say plainly.

“Truth.” He
nods.

“So what have you
been up to?” he asks. “You know, other than the research
stuff.”

“Mostly that.”
Please don't let this turn into a Cole-centered conversation.

“There has to be
more to your summer than that?” he asks.

“Just that and
hanging out.” I try to think of something quick to drive this
conversation elsewhere.

“You and Cole
have been hanging out a lot lately.” He hits a rock with the
shovel.

“Not you, too?”
I blow it out in frustration.

“What do you
mean?” he asks innocently.

“With all the
Cole stuff.”

“What Cole
stuff?” He studies me for an indication of what I mean.

Probably best if I can
drop it now, if he's not concerned. “Nothing.”

“No, really, what
do you mean?” He stops digging and looks at me.

“Is it really
possible that you live in this house, with all of us, but have no
idea of all the controversy that's been flying around because Cole
and I are friends?” I pull my lips to the side. “I'm not
buying it.”

“I didn't know
there was controversy.” He crinkles his nose, searching his
memory. “Is there something going on between you two?”

“No.”

“Then why is
there controversy?” He thinks for a moment. “Although,
come to think of it, you and Cole have both been uncharacteristically
cheerful of late.”

“Cole's been
cheerful?” I want more information now.

“Yeah, I don't
think I've seen him this happy in a long time.” He leans his
chin on the handle of the shovel in thought. I'm waiting for it. Here
it comes; he looks up and then nods at me. “That's awesome.”

“What?”

“I think it's
great.” He takes his glove off and scratches his nose. “You
two are both pretty dark-natured people. And if you make each other
as happy as I've seen you, then it's great.”

“Wow.” I'm
astounded that this didn't turn into a lecture.

“Think about it.
We all have a limited amount of time on this Earth. Why should it
suck?” He replaces his glove and continues digging along the
border.

“Thanks, Rabbit.”
A feeling of great satisfaction comes over me.

“So is there
something going on?” His tone is curious, not accusatory.

“Not really, just
hanging out.” I throw a huge clump of weeds on the tarp.

“That's cool. You
never know where it will lead.” He pauses again. “Who
knows, maybe you're the one to show him that the heart can fill with
joy easier than tears of loneliness.”

I go over and hug
Rabbit. He always knows what to say. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”
He smiles, and the innocence shines in his eyes.

“So have you
heard from back home?” I ask, hoping that he's gotten some
news.

“No, nothing in a
while.” He pulls his lips to the side. “My family are
nomads, you never know where they are. Sort of why I like it here so
much. There's a lot more stability.”

“I can see that,
if they were always moving around.” I've never been out of
Georgia, never mind all over the country or the world.

“It's cool. I've
seen a lot of places. I've still got my home pack, but I hardly know
anyone there. I prefer it here.”

“You were in New
Mexico, right?” I try to recall.

“Yeah, my mom
moved here when I started sophomore year.” He looks at me
sweetly. “I really like Georgia.”

“Me too.” I
smile.

“So if it isn't
Rabbit and Kanga working in the garden.” Tor stops at the edge
of the garden.

“Very funny.”
I let out a fake laugh.

“It was funny,”
he deadpans. “Oh, hey, look. Here comes Pooh.” He ticks
his head toward Aunt Rain's house to Trevor coming down the path.

Rabbit and I exchange a
look. “Yeah, he is just like Winnie the Pooh.”

“If he's here for
honey, I swear I'm going to piss myself laughing,” Rabbit
whispers.

Tor, Rabbit, and I
start giggling.

“Hey, nucks,
what's so funny?” Trevor says, walking through the backyard.

“Nothin,' we were
just talking about what a dick you are,” Tor says in his
signature monotone.

“Thanks, babe.”
Trevor lets it roll off his back. “What are you doing?”
He directs his question at Rabbit.

“Putting in the
irrigation you were supposed to help with last week.” Rabbit
gives him the stink eye.

“Sorry, man, I've
been super busy.” He starts to walk away.

“I didn't know
there was a new champion in League,” Tor says accusingly.

“There's always a
new champion when I'm playing.” Trevor flexes his muscles,
holding a jar in one hand. Holy crap, he's actually coming for honey.

“So whatchya got
there?” I ask cautiously, exchanging a glance with Tor and
Rabbit. Rabbit snorts, shaking his head, and Tor’s flat smile
curves upward slightly.

He looks at the jar,
and I'm pretty sure he knows that he's been busted. “Mom asked
me to come and get some honey.”

“I call BS. Aunt
Rain's been out of town for a week and isn't coming back for another
couple of days,” I remind him.

“She wanted to
have honey when she got home,” he says defensively.

“Yup, just like
Winnie the Pooh.” Tor shakes his head disapprovingly.

“I should have
made the bet,” Rabbit says with regret in his voice.

“I wouldn't have
taken that bet.” The judgmental stare I'm giving Trevor could
set ants on fire.

“Me neither.”
Tor huffs a laugh.

“Screw you guys.”
He continues walking toward the house, to the pantry no doubt. I'm
thinking of raising the protections to give him a little jolt.

“You're going to
have to go to the hive. There's no honey in the pantry,” I
inform him. There's a jolt.

“What?” he
whines.

“Sorry, Pooh,
you're going to work for it,” Tor says with a grin.

“Claire, why
haven't you been tending the hives?” I can't believe he just
said that.

“Why haven't
you?” My sisterly sneer makes an ugly appearance.

“Can you do it,
please? The bees hate me and I end up with welts all over me.”
He pushes the jar in my direction.

“No, I'm helping
Rabbit with the garden,” I say with a snide brand of pride.
“I'm afraid you're going to possibly have to break a sweat.”

“Screw it.”
He starts to walk back toward his house.

“Seriously? You
aren't going to get any honey?” Rabbit says in disbelief.

“I'll get it
later.” He stops. “I'm telling Mom that you've been
spending too much time with Cole to do your chores.”

I can't help but laugh
at him. “Are you kidding me? You're going to tell on me?
Besides, when was the last time you did a chore?”

“She's got a
point.” Tor folds his arms across his chest.

Trevor shakes his head.
“Do you have any milk? I'm out.”

“Then go buy
some,” I snap at him. “I'm not the corner soup kitchen.”

“Come on,
Claire,” he pleads.

“No.”

“Hey, Tor, since
you've already got work gloves on, are you going to help me with the
irrigation?” Rabbit's tone is hopeful, either because he'd like
to stop the sibling quarrel or that Tor really will help.

“Nah, man, I
gotta cut the branches in the driveway.” He has that same flat
smile as always. “Locke's been bitching about them scratching
his truck.”

“Why didn't
he
cut them down?” I can't believe how these boys will do anything
to get out of manual labor.

“He made the
mistake of telling work that he had open availability and has been
working a ton,” Rabbit says, digging his shovel into the
ground.

At that, I feel Cole's
presence, then hear his truck.

“Your boyfriend's
here,” Trevor snipes.

“He's not my
boyfriend. I didn't even know he was coming.” I don't finish
the thought,
this early.

“Cole's helping
me with the branches.” Tor gives Trevor a look. “You
should, too. It might help with that belly.”

Trevor gives him the
finger as Cole comes around from the front of the house, carrying an
eighteen pack of beer. “Hey, guys.” He looks at me. “Cool
if I put this in the fridge?”

“Yeah, it's
safe,” I answer, and try not to stare at him for too long.

Trevor starts to stalk
off again. “Hey, you hold on right there.”

He turns around.
“What?”

“You're either
going to collect the honey, help in the garden, or clear the
branches,” I demand.

“You can't tell
me what to do.” He folds his arms over his chest.

“No, but Aunt
Rain can, and I'll call her.” I take my glove off and pull my
phone out of my pocket.

He lets out a big long
sigh. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cole jump down the three
steps off the porch. “Hey, Trevor, come give us a hand, it'll
make the work quicker and we can all get to relaxin' a lot faster.”
He comes to a stop, putting his arm over Trevor's shoulder and
leading him toward the front yard.

“Yeah, that's his
super power.” Tor follows behind them. “Relaxing.”

Rabbit and I exchange
an amused glance. “It's funny how he'll listen to Cole but no
one else.”

“He'll listen to
Aunt Rain.” I widen my eyes at the thought of how scary she can
be.

“Sometimes.”
He pulls his lips to the side. “She's way too soft on him.”

“Agreed.”

The sound of music is
already flowing from the porch. I was the last one to shower from the
day’s work. Although, Trevor did make Cole shower at his house.
He's so ridiculous. I feel that all of the boys are home. Brogan and
Kyle are here. The house is pretty complete.

Lili's ridiculous laugh
flows into the kitchen from the porch. I love her so much! I grab a
bottle of water from the fridge and head for the porch.

No one has seen me yet.
I lean in the door frame for a moment, just feeling content and
happy. Everyone is joking, laughing, and it feels like life could
never be any better than this. A satisfied smile rises to my cheeks.
I look at Cole, who's gazing at me lovingly.

His voice sounds in my
head.
Happy?

Yeah.
I look at
him and nod.

This is heaven for
you, isn't it?

It is
. I nod.

A slight melancholy
crosses his features.

What's up?
I
ask, concerned.

He shakes his head.

What?
I pucker
my lips, narrowing my eyes at him.

It's just that the
only thing that would make this moment more perfect is if you could
come over here, sit in my lap, and give me a big kiss.
He arches
his brow and discreetly pats his lap.

My expression falls,
partly from shock, partly from sadness. There's no way I could ever
do that with everyone here.