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“And what were you going to do about it?” Rami hissed, shielding Jesse’s ears with his hand.
She flicked her hand at the stroller sitting a foot away from him, ready to go with Jessa’s bunting inside. “I was about to try a walk when you barged in.”
Her fingers clenched into fists at her sides. What was it about him that made her temper flare? She reached out for Jessa, smoothing her fingers down the baby’s back. All she wanted was to soothe her.
“I’ll take it from here.” Rami twisted away from Vera and started to buckle Jessa into the stroller.
It was clear he didn’t trust her to do it herself. Clear that she’d failed on her first day trying to be maternal. Maybe she didn’t have what it took after all, and her younger self had known that, had tried to lead her down a path that would focus on a career rather than children.
“Fine. I’ll just go.” She didn’t wait for him to respond, pushing past him and out the door while he smoothed the blanket over Jessa.
Tears were prickling the corners of her eyes, and she wouldn’t let him see her cry.
“Vera—“ he started, but she pulled the door shut behind her, blocking out the rest of his words before they could land.
The brisk air was a slap to the face, one she needed after the close-quarters encounter with Rami. She ran down the street, not caring if she attracted attention from any of theneighbors, and didn’t stop until she was three streets away and certain Rami wasn’t right behind her.
She was such an idiot. Why hadn’t she run away the moment she’d realized the nannying job was with Rami? Or better yet, why had she tried to get a job for which she was so obviously unqualified?
Vera pushed her fingers into the hair at her temples and squeezed until it ached. It was bad enough getting dumped by her boyfriend, the first guy she’d dated in years. It was way, way worse to make a total fool of herself in front of him, failing at something she was pretty certain was supposed to come naturally to her.
She walked aimlessly, past the roads with streetlights and sidewalks, to the dark corners of Silversand that edged the forest. There was nowhere she needed to be. No one missing her. She could walk for hours.
Her phone vibrated against her leg. She ignored it, but it pulsed over and over until she couldn’t help but pull it out. Rami’s name flashed across the screen.
Pushing down hard on the red button, she declined the call and slid the phone back into her pocket. No doubt he was calling to officially fire her, like she didn’t already know. She’d save them both the embarrassment of a conversation.
But her phone didn’t stop vibrating. This time with the short double pulse of a text message. Despite herself, she checked the screen.
Where are you? I told you to take the car to get your stuff.
She had to reread it three times. Her stuff? Did he think she was coming back after that? More to the point, did hewanther back after that? He must have realized the same things she had as they stood in the foyer, sparks flying between them. It was too messy. Too raw. Even if she hadn’t utterly failed at nannying, she knew she couldn’t just treat him like her boss.
Again, she ignored his attempt to reach out. Silencing the phone, she struck up a faster pace, pushing until her muscles ached and her mind cleared. The salt wind carried unfamiliar scents of the sea, nothing like the sweet, floral aromas of Rosewood. Nothing like home.
Vera wrapped her arms around herself and slowed, hitting a dead end. Firs and spruce towered like sentinels at the wood line, the crossed spears of their branches unwelcoming. Her skin prickled. Something was watching her, there within the trees’ shadow, hidden by the impenetrable darkness.
All of the tiny hairs that ran along her skin stood on edge as she began to shift to her wolf form. It was easy, like slipping into a heated pool or a lover’s embrace. Whatever lurked in the woods, she could handle it as a wolf.
The roar of an engine filled the quiet street. Tires crunched over gravel and sand, spraying grit as the car abruptly stopped behind her. Its headlights flooded her vision, temporarily blinding her when she spun around, reluctantly halting her shift before it had gotten past the lengthening of her fangs.
Her tongue touched the tips of the pointed teeth as they shrank back down. Rami. The familiar old muscle car sputtered and growled like a beast at the end of a chain, a sound that he had reassured her was ‘normal’ and ‘one of the best sounds ever’ but had always sounded to Vera like the car might give up and keel over at any moment.
The driver’s side door swung open. Vera spun back around, searching for the watcher in the woods with the headlights dancing in her vision. Whoever it was, they were gone.
“There you are.” Rami shut the door carefully, gently, completely at odds with the anger in his voice. He stalked toward her. “I’ve been texting and calling for over an hour.”
Vera’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I’m sorry,Dad. Did I miss curfew?”
His jaw was tight, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “I had no idea where you went or when you were coming back. You can’t just run off like that.”
She laughed, incredulous. He was taking this fatherhood thing way too far. “Since when do I need your permission to go anywhere? The nanny thing didn’t work out. I know. You didn’t have to come all this way to tell me I suck at it.”
Rami looked over his shoulder at the car. Now that her eyes had adjusted, she could see Jessa sleeping in the car seat in the back. He ran his hand over his face, looking weary.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you when I got home. I was a dick.” He hung his head. “But it didn’t really have anything to do with you. I need you, Vera.”
Her throat constricted.
