Page 11 of Same Difference
“The Pack was done so he wanted out.” Delta stared out the window at the falling snow. “Nory, I don’t want to be with a man who doesn’t want to be with me. I feel so embarrassed. So stupid. I was so happy talking to you about this property, and thinking Nate would be so happy, and he was talking to my ex and my dad behind my back to dump me.”
Nory nodded. She nodded and nodded, eyes full of sympathy. “What do you need?”
“Shelter.” She swallowed hard. “A car. A job. Independence. I want all the things he thought I needed, but on my own terms. Iwant to get them for myself. No man will ever be tethered to me again.” A sob escaped her. “It hurts so bad.”
“Oh my gosh, Delta,” Nory whispered, her heart in her eyes as she pulled her in for a hug. “You can come back to my apartment with me and Liam. I have a couch that folds down into a bed.”
But the thought of falling apart in Nory’s apartment with her and Liam in the next room, in the honeymoon phase they had earned, didn’t feel appealing at all.
She opened her eyes and looked around the small room. It had been the living room of the cabin, once upon a time, and the doors to the rooms had all been closed, and old soggy towels shoved under the cracks to staunch the flow of cold air.
“Can I stay here?” she asked softly.
Nory stopped rubbing her back and eased out of the hug. “You want to stay in this place?”
“Just for a little while. I just need time to breathe and figure my life out.
Nory looked around the room. There was clutter everywhere, and something had built a nest in what used to be a forest green couch. A raccoon perhaps? The stuffing was pulled out and littered the floor in gray, fuzzy clumps. A healthy layer of dust covered everything. Cobwebs decorated the rafters, and old, chipped dishes cluttered the small kitchen counter. The doors to the cabinets were missing, and they were all full to overflowing with old boxes of food and trash. The small pile of wood that sat beside the wood stove looked ancient.
“This place hasn’t had electricity in years,” Nory said.
Delta shrugged. “What do I need it for right now?”
“Um, heat?”
“I don’t get cold like you. If it drops too low, I’ll build a fire.”
“Okay, then for charging your cell phone?”
“I have a portable charger in my bag.”
“There’s no food in here.”
“No appetite,” she said. “If I get hungry, I’ll Change and hunt.”
She could tell Nory was considering it.
“Please?”
“This place is about to fall down around us,” Nory pointed out.
“Go get by the door,” she said, gesturing toward the exit. The front door had been boarded up from the inside. When Nory was out of the way, she went and tested the walls, pushing her hand against them. She tried the support beam that was near the dilapidated side of the house, but it only creaked. She tried again, but it wasn’t budging.
“This place has probably been here for eighty years. It’ll stand another couple of days.”
Nory cocked her head and offered a sympathetic smile and then nodded. “Liam and I are camping just outside tonight. I’ll bring you some food, and our extra sleeping bag.”
“But then you’ll be cold,” Delta argued.
“Next to Liam? Impossible. He’s the temperature of a bonfire. The extra sleeping bag is just sitting in the back seat of his truck.
“I need to grab my bag before Nate leaves.”
“Want me to get it?” Nory asked.
But Delta shook her head. She needed to be tough about all of this. She needed to end this with her head held high. She and Nate would still be in the same Pack. She would have to find some kind of stability between them. “I’ve got this.”
Nory followed her out and veered toward Liam’s truck, squeezing her hand just before they parted. The guys were still arguing, but it was more subdued, and the fireworks seemed to be over. Nate’s eyes locked on her and he approached, his hand out like he wanted to help her over an uneven patch of ground.
