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Excerpt
A Family Portrait
Book 3: The Montgomery
Family Chronicles
J.J. Massa
Chapter 1
Tavist
Darke stood deep in the woods watching as one of his new neighbors got
off the bus. He recognized the child’s scent. Her family had rented the
small house just past his at the end of the road. He’d kept the agency
from naming him as the owner. He would, of course, introduce himself
later, if he found a reason to. Theirs were the only two houses here.
Tav’s house was hidden in the trees with a short path connecting the two
homes.
There were
other things he’d noticed when he’d gone to check out the new family. He
found that no man lived there and fear had moved into that house. One
woman lived there, one girl, and two young boys, all very much afraid of
something or someone.
As he
watched the little girl, he saw that she didn’t walk down the middle of
the road like most innocent children eager to get home. She was furtive,
like a little animal. Her actions reminded him of tiny mice, rabbits,
even small birds that so cautiously peek out and very carefully make
their way from safe haven to safe haven.
Predators
were everywhere, of course; he knew that better than most. During his
short military career, he’d been stationed in Somalia and other distant,
war torn places where he’d served his country. The children, the
mothers, everyone would edge so carefully out of their homes trying to
meet various needs and not be noticed or attacked. It broke his heart
that the most innocent of the world’s citizens had to live in fear. He
couldn’t help but wonder what had inspired such caution in this
particular child.
Today, it
seemed, the little girl was right to be cautious. She was being
stalked. From behind her came two boys who were a little older than her
seven or eight years. One boy pushed her down and the other grabbed her
backpack and dumped it out.
“Go home,
new kid! Go back where you came from,” they sneered, chanting in unison.
The larger
of the boys had begun to kick at her when Tav grabbed them by the backs
of their necks and lifted them into his face. They were Were pups.
“Go home.
Tell your Mamas and Daddies that I was mean to you. Tell them to come
and talk to me. They’d better bring the Sheriff. It’s not safe to walk
down this road if you don’t live here,” he growled, dropping the two
miscreants.
The young
werewolf boys didn’t wait to hear more. The older of the two choked out
a broken, “yessir,” as he whirled and ran back up the gravel road,
toward the bus stop. His cohort dashed up behind him and soon, they were
out of sight.
If the
Sheriff came, that was fine. He was a werewolf, too. He and Tav
understood one another very well. Tav would not interfere with his pack
or issue a pack challenge. Tav’s territory began at the southern edge of
town and consisted of the forty acres he lived on. He owned the only two
houses on the property.
Turning
back to the little girl, Tav dropped to one knee. She was struggling to
hold back her tears and contain her fear. His heart melted. Without
speaking, he began to gather her books, papers and pencils and stuff
them back into her backpack.
Handing it
to her, he noticed that her knee was scraped up with gravel from the
road. He pulled out his handkerchief and began to dab at it.
“N-no,
mister, I’m, I’m okay,” she stuttered, jerking away from his care. “I
gotta get home. M-Mama’ll be worried!” She scrambled backward and ran.
He listened
to her progress and heard her stop much sooner than she should have. If
he wasn’t mistaken – he lifted his nose to the air – yep, she was
standing in the trees on the right. Nowhere near her house. Was she
trying to throw him off? How did a young child like this one know
anything about misleading a grownup in such a way?
Tav decided
to wait. He sat in the dirt at the side of the road and just listened to
the rooting and chirping of small animals that lived in the woods on
either side. He kept his attention on the little girl who was finally
resuming her journey home from the bus stop.
Closing his
eyes, he pictured her coming into her yard and running up the steps to
her porch. He imagined her throwing open the door to her house and
calling out for her mother.
Emotions
strong and painful seemed to hit him square in the chest in an
unexpected blow to his heart. He wrapped both arms around his middle and
doubled over. If he hadn’t been sitting, he would have been driven to
his knees.
Tate, his
little boy, would have been that girl’s age if he’d lived, he realized.
He would have had dark hair like hers, and pretty dark eyes. Grief
overwhelmed him. In the seven years since the death of his mate and pup,
the hurt hadn’t lessened. How he missed the feel of that warm little
body squirming in his arms. Tav closed his eyes and imagined the last
time he’d seen his son alive.
The little
boy had been so proud of himself – he’d put his own shoes on that
morning. His mother, Kylie, had been rushing around the house, anxious
to drop Tate off at daycare so that she could meet with some gallery
owners that wanted Tav’s work. She felt it was important that Tate
socialize with other children and drove him every day.. Tav missed him,
both of them, so much. He howled low in his throat, still mourning his
family. |
