Chapter 14

The week before Christmas, Calvin sat on a barstool in the Crushed Nut next to Pete. He was doing a good job of drowning his sorrows in booze.

He’d already had three beers and the shot of Jim Beam he’d just tossed back was his eighth. “No more women. I told everyone that it would end in disnarster,” he slurred. “But nobody listens to clumsy ole Calvin. He dunno nothin’.” His bleary eyes found Pete’s. “I guess I knew what I was talking about after all.”

Pete’s heart ached for Calvin. Twice he’d been rejected because of being a shifter and Pete knew that Calvin was never going to get over losing Riley. He’d go on, but already Pete had seen the changes in his best friend. Calvin had grown cynical and sarcastic, and he’d taken to drinking almost every night.

Calvin slammed his shot glass down on the bar as tears filled his eyes. It was the first time since the horrible night at Riley’s that he’d allowed that outward sign of his inner torment to show. “Go ahead, everyone said. Be happy. It’s okay to fall in love.” He banged the glass on the bar again. “Bullshit! All of it! Horse shit, any kind of shit you can think of because all your advice stinks like dung!” he shouted.

Pete put a hand on his shoulder. “You need to quiet down before they toss us out.”

“Steve! Another one,” Calvin called out. “Just bring the bottle.”

The bartender came down to him and Pete. “I’ll give you one more shot, but I’m not giving you the bottle, Cal. You’ve had enough.”

Calvin reached across the bar and grabbed Steve’s sweatshirt. “Give me the damn bottle! I’m a payin’ cusotomer. I mean constomer. Damn it! You know what I mean.”

Pete dislodged Steve’s sweatshirt from Calvin’s grasp. “Okay. Time for you to go home to bed.”

He hauled Calvin off his stool and guided him outside despite Calvin’s protests. Once they were outside, Calvin shoved Pete away from him.

“I’m gonna run home,” he announced.

“No, Cal. You’re too drunk.” Pete looked around to make sure they were alone. “I doubt you can even change at this point.”

Calvin held up his right hand and concentrated as hard as his alcohol-flooded mind would allow. His hand turned into a hoof. “Ha! Shows what you know.”

Pete took hold of Calvin’s wrist and yanked his hand down, hiding it with his body. “Knock it off. Someone might see.”

With a defeated look, Calvin changed his hoof back to a hand. “I hate myself, Pete. Hate what I am.” Searing pain clawed at his heart. “I want to die.” Tears welled in his eyes as misery clogged his throat.

Pete pulled Calvin into his embrace. “Don’t talk like that.”

Calvin didn’t hug him back, just standing with his arms dangling loosely by his side. “You don’t understand. You’ll never know what it’s like to be a freak that no one can ever love. She said she did, but she didn’t really.” A hoarse sob shook his body.

Tears pricked the back of Pete’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, buddy. So sorry. Come on. Let’s get you home.”

Calvin didn’t have the physical or emotional energy to fight Pete about leaving. He let Pete lead him to his SUV and succeeded in getting in the car on his second try. Leaning his head on the cold window, Calvin stayed that way all the way home.

Pete helped him into the house and down the hall to his bedroom. He pulled Calvin’s boots off, got him in bed, and covered him up.

“Thanks, Pete,” Calvin mumbled. “You’re a good friend.”

“No sweat, buddy.” Pete patted Calvin’s shoulder. “Hang in there. It’ll get better.”

Fresh tears filled Calvin’s eyes. He didn’t want to talk anymore, so he closed his eyes and pretended to go to sleep.

Pete left, closing the door. Calvin gave into the crushing pain, venting the desolation that lived inside his heart now. Never again would he put his heart on the line, just to be cleaved in two. It was a long time before Calvin’s tears slowed and he fell into a deep sleep.

A yawn took Riley by surprise, and she sat down on one of the large boxes filled with dog food cans in the storeroom. She wasn’t sleeping and exhaustion weighed on her. So did the four pounds she’d packed on. Unlike some people, Riley was an emotional eater and she’d scarfed down all manner of junk food the last couple of weeks.

She missed Calvin more than she would a limb. People talked about a broken heart, but hers now lay in tiny, ragged pieces, and she knew that it would never fully recover. Her throat hurt with unshed tears as her mind played memories of her time with Calvin; all the fun things they’d done together, getting to know his family, and the hours of intense passion they’d shared.

A pang of longing filled her, and she craved the only man she’d ever loved with such intensity that it sometimes physically hurt. She’d avoided sleeping in her bed and never looked over at the place by the barn where they’d expressed their love for each other for the first time.

Calvin was everywhere in her house. The couch where they’d watched movies and made love. In fact, there were only a couple of rooms in the house where they hadn’t made love. He might be clumsy, but Calvin was an inventive lover and in those erotic moments his awkwardness seemed to leave him.

Closing her eyes, Riley could almost feel his beautiful, clever hands on her body and her skin flushed. No other man had given her the extreme pleasure Calvin had and she knew that no man would ever compare to him.

“Hey, you okay?”

Riley startled, and her eyes flew open to see Nate standing in front of her, a concerned expression on his face. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.”

Compassion filled Nate’s eyes. “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

“Me, too.” She stood up. “But I can’t dwell on it. I have too much to do. Speaking of which, I better get back to stocking.”

Nate said, “If you want to go home, I can finish that.”

“No. I need to keep busy.” Especially since I need to burn off some calories.

Riley picked up another box of liniment and left the storeroom, intent on getting through the rest of the day without breaking down. She had to go on and live her life, had to find whatever happiness she could. The only problem was that her heart would always belong to Calvin.

Settling down on her couch that night with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, Riley hit the power button on the remote and decided to find a horror movie to watch. One time, she’d made a huge mistake in watching a romance movie and had ended crying off and on all that night.

Loud knocking on her kitchen door made her jump. Entering the kitchen, she picked up the revolver that sat on the stand by the door. Looking through the window, she was surprised to see Pete standing on the porch.

She opened the door. “Pete. What are you doing here?”

His face was set in somber lines. “I need to talk to you about Calvin.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. It’s over.”

Pete said, “Look, I understand how weird all this is about the Lightfoots. I’ve been friends with them since I was thirteen. They’re some of the finest people I know and Calvin’s my best friend. He’s always been there for me.”

Riley shivered in the cold air coming through the door. “Come in.”

Pete stepped inside, and she shut the door, sitting the gun on the stand.

“They murdered someone and then just buried him like it was no big deal,” Riley said. “That’s not what I call good people.”

Pete shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “They had to kill him. The guy shot Adam and he would’ve shot Tyra, too, but she got the drop on him.”

Surprise made Riley’s heart knock against her ribs. “Tyra killed him?”

“Yeah. She had no choice, the same way you had no choice but to help Abe kill the asshole who attacked you.”

He was right. She was an accomplice to murder, and she’d let them take the body and hide it. She was no better than they were. But what was she supposed to do? Let the stranger kill Abe? No way.

She should’ve called the police, but she hadn’t. Nor had she told anyone about the Lightfoots’ odd abilities. Why? Looking into her heart, she found the answer. Despite what they were, she’d come to love them and realized other than one part of them, they were just as human as anyone else.

Yes, Tyra had killed someone, and they’d kept the murder a secret, but there’d been extenuating circumstances. Why hadn’t she been willing to accept that before now? Because I’m an idiot. Her fear and shock had blinded her to the truth; the Lightfoots couldn’t have done anything differently.

Their survival depended on keeping their secret. If the government got a hold of them, who knew what sort of horror they’d be subjected to? They’d be tested and tortured to see what made them tick, all in the name of science.

Her mind turned to Calvin. She’d been so wrong to hurt him the way she had. He’d been afraid she’d end up regretting their relationship and she’d proven him right. Guilt and sorrow dragged on her.

“You broke Calvin’s heart, but he still loves you.”

Hot tears sprang into Riley’s eyes, and she fought back a sob. “I still love him and I’m never going to stop.”

“Then why stay away? Why not work things out?” Pete made a frustrated gesture. “At least think about it.”

She fell silent. Pete made a noise of disgust and left.

He was barely to his car before Riley ran upstairs to get changed.

Apprehension paralyzed Riley as she was about to get out of her truck at the Lightfoots’. She’d only seen a few of them in passing around town and their scathing looks had made her heart hurt every time. How would they react to her showing up?