His Wolf (Wolf of My Heart) Read Online Free PDF Page B

get you anyway."
    I nodded. "Cancer?"
    "Yeah."
    "My mom, too. Ovarian. When I was nine."
    "Do you miss her?"
    "Every minute of every day."
    "I know the feeling.  Pops died of lung cancer, but not the smoking kind. It was asbestos that got him."
    I didn't know what to say. "Did he build the cabin?"
    "Yeah. He was in construction and did a dang good job on it, too. It'll be here long after I am."
    "You said something about your Uncle Greger earlier. Did he think he was going to get it?"
    Erik smirked a little. "Yeah. He and his sons were going to turn the land into a deer camp or something. But Pops had too much respect for the wild to shoot anything. He loved the deer around here. Fed them, even. Same for the squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits. So he wasn't about to leave this place to hunters."
    "Were they pissed?"
    "Oh yeah."
    "At you?"
    "I think so. Must've thought I'd talked him into it, though I didn't. Anyway, things got a little uncomfortable between us, and since I was living with them at the time, it was a big relief to have somewhere else to go."
    Though I wondered why Erik was staying with relatives he didn't like, I didn't ask and he didn't elaborate. "Are your parents living?"
    "Yes. Mom and her second husband live in Santa Fe. Dad and his third wife have a place in Gulf Shores."
    "Any brothers and sisters?"
    "Two stepbrothers and three stepsisters."
    "Do you get along with everyone?"
    " Now I do."
    So he hadn't always?  "My dad's in Lake Village near Springfield. He just remarried."
    "So what do you think of your stepmom?"
    "I haven't actually--" I caught myself. "I mean, I haven't spent that much time with her, but I'm thinking she fits right in." After all, she taught at MSU , just as Dad did. So that was a pretty safe guess.
    "You were on your way to see them when you had the wreck?"
    "Not exactly." I drummed my fingers on the table. "See, this whole shapeshifting thing, well, it's pretty recent, and I think my dad might freak if I told him. So I haven't been home in quite a while."
    Erik seemed a little surprised. "But you inherited the gene from him."
    "Not true. I definitely got it from my mom. Dad's half German, half Scottish. Mom was the child of Eire."
    "Ah." He sat in silence for a moment. "Guess that would be a shock. The whole shapeshifting thing has sure weirded me out, and I don't even know you that well.  Where do you call home?" His gaze dropped to my sweatshirt.  " MSU ?"
    "I haven't been enrolled there in over a year.  I've actually been working in Texas for the past year and a half."  I didn't tell him why.
    "Oh."  He suddenly seemed very thoughtful.  "And you're in Missouri because…?"
    "Just taking a little break. There's, um, no prettier state."
    Erik didn't seem to be buying my story.  "You're this close and you aren't dropping by your Dad's?"
    "I told you it's complicated."
    "You are staying in touch, aren't you? I mean even if you don't go home."
    "I…  Not really." Was I actually squirming?
    "Did you guys have a fight or something?"
    "Nosy much?"
    His gaze nailed me to my chair. "You're right.  This isn't any of my business, but speaking from experience, you'll only regret it if you cut ties.  He's probably thinking he did something to alienate you."
    With my lips in a tight line of anger, I got up and threw my plate in the trash. "I'm doing what I have to do. He'd never believe me or be able handle this if he did."
    "So lie a little." He sighed. "At least think about it. I accidentally hurt my dad once upon a time without knowing I did it.  He imagined all kinds of things, none of which were true.  I was just caught up in my own life.  Mending fences took forever."
    I just looked at him, unconvinced.
    "For what it's worth, I'll go with you if it'll help."
    Really? With a doubtful slight shake of my head, I tossed Erik's plate, too, and changed the subject. "Lunch was delicious."
    "Thanks." He got up and stretched, looking out the window the whole time. "I really need to