Page 27 of Heartsong
She’d felt bad earlier, seeing him standing guard yet again at the window. Anna couldn’t adjust her schedule to keep nocturnal hours, so she needed to teach him how to use the TV and laptop. Maybe she could find a solid world history series for him to watch. His claws and wings gave her pause, and she apologized preemptively to her little remote as she set it down on the coffee table to get up and dress. Yet, he hadn’t broken a single thing since arriving. For his size, he was stunningly graceful.
And the guy needs a shirt.He hadn’t been wearing one when cursed, and that bare chest was even more distracting now that it was on full display in her own home.
Decided, Anna marched into her bathroom, determined to get Frey ready for the modern world. If she’d landed somewhere unknown, having a few things of her own, everyday things she knew and understood, would definitely help center her. She could give him that.
Then, maybe she’d get more answers out of him, to questions she was dying to ask—like all about the druids he’d said made his kind, the Saxons he’d said he fought, and the landscape of early-medieval Wales he’d said was his home. Her history degree nearly vibrated with excitement.
Essentials first. Then onto the good stuff.
That started with a trip to a big box store. Even with her new job, Anna was on a budget, and if she was going to feed a person as big as Frey, she’d need box store quantities at box store prices.
It was the first time in months she’d been out and about on an actual weekend, and the crowds quickly wore down her patience. A headache threatened behind her left temple as she weaved between wailing children and people crowded around the sample tables, so Anna ducked into the quieter clothing and bedding section to steal a sip of water.
Taking a few calming breaths, she perused the men’s clothing, looking for shirts that would cover Frey’s wide chest. She held up t-shirts and flannels to estimate if they’d fit over that expanse of muscle. It was finally in a small corner of big and tall that she found anything that might fit him and survive putting cuts in to accommodate his wings.
Happy with a pack of t-shirts and a blue flannel that she definitely didn’t imagine would suit his gray eyes, Anna wheeled her cart into the pants section. Jeans felt like too much trouble with his elongated, taloned feet. That meant dress pants were out, too.
And then she saw them.
Gray sweatpants.
A flush crept up Anna’s neck.
It’s just an internet thing. It can’t actually be true,she told herself, even as she rifled through the stack to find a big enough pair.
Just to be safe and let herself off the hook, she found him a black pair, too.
Which will match his hair.
Dammit, she didn’t need to be making outfits for him. He just needed clothes. And for her sake, she needed him to wear clothes.
Still, Anna wanted to get him things he’d like. She touched each of the fabrics and debated colors. It may have been a little thing, but she wanted him to enjoy his modern clothes.
Her budget wouldn’t allow for much, but she could do this.
Anna hadn’t had much chance or inclination to do things for others. Life so far had been about survival and meeting her own needs. She knew what it was to be in need and seek assistance. She’d signed up for every aid program she could in college and after, too. She wasn’t above taking charity if it meant a full stomach and warm clothes.
Lots of people needed help, there wasn’t any shame in it.
But…there was a bit of shame in being that friend who let someone else cover the bill and promised to pay them back but never did. Anna had lost more than one friend from becoming the girl who was never good for it. She hadn’t been above shoplifting a few times, either. Nothing crazy, just a sandwich here, a power bar there. Well, there was one time she took a puffer jacket into the store bathrooms and roughed it up and walked out without paying. But it was damn cold that winter, and she’d been hungry those other times and…and…
You did what you had to. Yeah, she was a bit guilty over it, but she wasn’t sorry. She was here because of those little indiscretions.
And look at her now—she was going to purchase everything in her cart, and most of it wasn’t even for her. She was finally good for it.
Until recently, she hadn’t been in much of a position to pay it forward. Hadn’t been in much of a mood to, either. Why help out the world that just continually fucked her over?
But she wanted to help Frey. She recognized something in that forlorn gaze of his. Unbelievable as his story was of being soulmates, there was no denying how earnest he was. She wasn’t stupid, she knew that even locked, if he’d wanted into her bedroom last night, he could have gotten in. He’d been a fairly polite houseguest so far, if bull-headed.
So yeah, she had a soft spot for Frey. She supposed she had for a long time. He’d been her favorite at the museum, so really, it shouldn’t surprise her that she wanted to help him.
It’s okay to have a soft spot,she reminded herself as she wended through the wide aisles.It means you’re a half-decent person.
Her mother and several of her myriad of boyfriends had a much harsher take on life—take what you can and guard it. Sharing, helping others, means less for yourself.
Anna had never really believed it, but growing up, she’d had no choice.
Now, though, things could be different.
