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She couldn’t look away. It must’ve been so painful, but he wasn’t even favoring that side as he shaved. He paused, and she glanced up to his reflection in the mirror to realize he was looking at her. “You were hurt too. We all were. It’s nothing special.”
Eliza pursed her lips. “For me, it was something special. I’m not like you. I didn’t expect any of that.”
“This is the life,” he said harshly. “It won’t get better.”
“Yeah, but you could be kinder, don’t you think? How was it for you? Huh? How was it the first time you got in a wolf fight? Did you have someone breathing down your neck, telling you everything you did wrong? With no instruction? Believe it or not, I did my best. Hell, I’ve been doing my best since the day I arrived here, but you’ll never see that.” She exhaled a sigh. “I’ll always do everything wrong, Garret.”
He locked his arms against the sides of the washbasin and glared at her in the mirror. “You scared me.”
“You aren’t scared of anything,” she muttered, turning to leave.
“I was scared last night.”
She paused, her back to him.
“I saw them damn wolves after you, and I was busy killin’ the asshole who was shootin’ at you and I…”
“You what?” she asked, turning slowly.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to get to you in time.”
“Why did you yell at me?”
“Why did you jump on that wolf?”
“Because he was hurting Lenny—”
“Lenny can take care of herself—”
“She’s my friend, Garret! You can understand that. I know you can. You have people. You have a Pack. I just have Lenny. And sometimes you, when you feel like being polite to me, which is almost never. And you know what? Even on your worst days, when I want to push you into a cactus, I would still help you. And you know what I think?”
Garret just glared, and didn’t answer.
“I think you would help me on my worst days, too. Learn to apologize, sir. You shouldn’t have yelled at me last night. I did my best in a shocking situation.”
His jaw clenched with how hard he was gritting his teeth. “You gonna get the door or what?”
“I’ll never be enough, will I?” she uttered, and her heart hurt with how much she felt those words. It was a realization, and a big moment for her. She really would never be able to do enough, or be enough, for him.
He didn’t answer.
“Will I?” she asked again.
Garret lowered his gaze, then turned and went back to shaving, and that was answer enough.
Oh, she loved and hated that man.
With a roll of her eyes, she made her way into the den. She held the untied dress more securely over her front as she moved the curtain to the side by inches and peeked out the front window. It was Lenny!
Her mood changed instantly when she realized it was her friend. Lenny looked beautiful in a deerskin dress that had somehow been bleached white, and matching leather shoes adorned with colorful beadwork. Strips of fringe lined the downward side seams of her dress. A length of beadwork was tied at her waist, cinching the material and showing off her figure.
Eliza threw open the door and squealed a greeting. Lenny shrugged up her shoulders and winced as if the volume of Eliza’s voice had hurt her ears. “Eek. Terribly sorry,” she told her, ushering her in. “Hear that, Garret?” she called. “Did you hear how easy it was to apologize?”
Garret’s boots echoed across his bedroom floors and he came to stand in the hallway, buttoning a charcoal gray shirt up. His brown suspenders hung at his hips, and his eyes were the muted blue of his human side. His face was clean-shaven now, and the line of his jaw was quite attractive. If he wasn’t a brute.
“I’m sorry you nearly got yourself killed last night,” Garret told her.
Eliza narrowed her eyes. “That does not count.”
