She drove a sensible silver car, albeit a posh brand. At first, I didn’t know why anyone would bother with a luxury car like this, but when I slid into the butter-soft leather seat, I started wondering how many hours I’d have to work to pick up something like this.
“So how are you handling all the shifter stuff?” she asked, with a slight smile.
I shrugged. “Is it weird that I’m more okay with being a shifter than my daughter going down a bad path?”
She laughed. “Nah, I think it’s a mother’s instinct. I don’t have kids myself, but I adore my nephews. I could probably handle one of them becoming a mermaid more than I could handle them falling in with a pack like that one.” A shadow crossed her face. “Adored. Holly’s boys and husband died a while back. It’s what pushed her into the life she’s in now.”
My stomach twisted, along with my heart, but I didn't want to ask her about things that might be too painful to talk about. “How bad is the pack?”
Her mouth pulled into a thin line. “Bad.”
Okay, that wasn’t very helpful. I changed the subject a bit. “I heard you guys talking about me shifting into a mouse and a dragon. Is really that uncommon?”
“It is,” she said, but then we pulled into her driveway and the conversation ended.
Tabi’s house wasn’t as big as Esther’s but definitely not as cozy as mine. The wall colors were warm and rich and the furniture comfy and overstuffed. She led me through a designer decorated living room, and down a long hallway with numerous doors. She went to the end and pushed open a white door.
I stood in the doorway gaping like I’d never seen a bed before. But this wasn’t just a bed. This was a canopy-covered oasis of pillows and frothy white blankets. A garden of roses trailing up and around the columns at the four corners and across the twisted metal pieces that connected one corner to its farthest opposite. It was artful. Like a masterpiece. And if it were mine, I would’ve never gotten out of bed.
She strolled past while I drooled over the bed, and she opened a closet door. I walked inside and expected an angel's aria to sound a hallelujah chorus and a beam of light to shine down from the heavens. It was kind of anticlimactic for the amount of perfection in this space. It was organized. The shoes had an entire wall that disappeared inside another wall of shoes. The gowns hung in a glittery and sparkling row across from a wall of shelves—sweaters and purses. Below the shelves of sweaters was a bar of slacks and jeans. And in a cubby that seemed to go the length of the long wall on its backside were two bars of skirts and blouses and some drawers.
Tabi motioned to the line of gowns. “Pick any one you like. If you don’t find anything here, I have another closet in the spare room, too.”
“There aresomany.”
“You should go with a short one. You have great legs. Long.” She walked ahead of me to one of the dresses. It was short with spaghetti straps and sequins. Way too flashy for me. I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “Too much?” She pawed a few more out of the way then she found it. Tabi actually had the dress of my dreams on the rack. Long and flowy with a fitted top. A deep wine color. If this thing was my size, I was going to wear theheckout of it.
“Oh, wow,” I whispered.
“With your coloring…” She chef-kissed her fingers.
The gown really did look like it had been made for me. The only thing missing was a pair of glass slippers.
I was ready for the ball.
CHAPTERTWENTY
Once I’d changed back into my own clothes and the dress was sealed in a garment bag, Tabi took me down to her kitchen. I practically glided across the hardwood floors. Not only was the dress perfect, I’d actually looked halfway decent in it. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt really confident in something I wore. Amazing what a good dress could do for a woman.
We sat with cups of tea in front of us and cookies on a plate. She served it all with an effectiveness that hinted she’d been a server before. I had done enough odd jobs to recognize a professional, but I didn’t point it out. Less was often better when getting to know new people.
Tabi chewed quietly then looked up at me. “Did you mean to turn into a mouse in the car when we left the hotel?”
It was a good question. One that I wasn’t entirely sure how to answer. “I didn’t mean to shift at all. It just happened.” I shrugged because I didn’t have an answer.
“Do you think you could pick an animal and shift into it?” Her brow pinched as she stared at me. Maybe it was an assessment or an appraisal or maybe she was just curious.
I had no idea. “Maybe?”
“You want to try? We could work on it. Practice together in a safe space. I mean you will need to learn to control your shifting because you don’t want to do it while shopping or something.” She sounded almost timid, but if there was one thing, I’d figured out about Tabi and Esther, it was that they were seldom insecure.
And she had a point. I definitely didn’t want to shift in public. Or while wearing a very expensive dress.
“Sure.” What did I have to lose except some clothes?
Besides, I had my own questions about shifting. If she could teach me how to do it of my own free will, then I could stop randomly shifting, stop appearing naked away from home, and actually feel a little control over my newfound situation. Actually, I should have been the one to suggest this, not her. But either way, it was the perfect idea.
She clapped her hands together. “All of us—me and Esther and all the other girls in the pack—have houses at the edge of the woods. We didn’t plan it so much as it’s just how it worked out, but we’ll have a safe place to try out the shifting.” She led me to a mud room and pulled a slicker from a closet. “You can put this on before your shift, so you don’t ruin your clothes. If you keep shifting out of them, you’re going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe.” She chuckled. “Ask me how I know that.”
