Clay's Hope

Fourteen

I sat on the bed and watched Gabby get ready. A female from one of Gabby's classes had invited Gabby to a Halloween party. And Gabby had said yes.

She wore my favorite flannel shirt and a pair of my jeans. The jeans sagged on her and mostly covered the boots she wore. Thankfully, she'd belted the waist to keep the pants from falling off completely. I liked that she wore my clothes. It gave me a certain sense of possession...if only she weren't planning to leave and go mingle with other men at one of those party houses.

Most of Gabby's blonde hair was hidden under a ball cap. I tilted my head, studying her as she sculpted some thick sideburns with the hair gel. She was too cute to pull off being a man, but it was better than the cocktail waitress costume Rachel had given her.

When she started coloring manly looking eyebrows on her face, her cuteness dropped a level, and I started to worry. She was dressing tough. Human men weren't rational when they drank. Someone might take her attempt at toughness as a challenge.

"What do you think?" she said, turning around.

Unhappy with the situation, I jumped off the bed and turned toward the door, pretending to ignore Gabby as I tried to decide if I would be able to follow her from a distance. That wouldn't help when she went into the house. I needed to go with her as a man, but would she let me?

Lost in thought, I didn't hear Rachel until the door was already opening. I jumped out of the way just before it hit me.

Rachel stopped and stared at Gabby in shock. For once, I agreed with Rachel's reaction.

"What the hell did you do?" she said.

"I'm going for dude. It's safe, right? What guy is going to want to hit on a guy even if he knows that underneath, it's a girl? Guys get weird about that stuff."

"You know what's going to happen?" Rachel said, sitting on the bed. "All the guys are still going to be attracted to you. Only they're going to freak out because you're going to make them think they're gay. You're going to get your ass kicked tonight."

I swore and rushed from the room. There was no way I'd let Gabby go without me now. Gabby and her classmate would just need to adjust to the change in plans.

With Rachel in Gabby's room, I shifted my hand, let myself out the back door, and went to the garage. Dale had given me some coveralls a few weeks ago, which I'd hidden in the back. I grabbed them, dressed with speed, and pulled back my hair. I wanted every man I encountered tonight to see my eyes and know the threat they faced if they got near her.

Less than a minute later, I was at the door again. I almost let myself back in, but remembered Rachel was inside, and knocked. It didn't take long for Rachel to answer. When she saw me, she grinned.

"I'm glad you're here. That girl's going to need someone to keep her safe tonight."

I nodded. Finally, we were on the same page.

"It's for you, Gabby," Rachel said loudly.

Rachel didn't move to invite me in, so I waited outside for Gabby. As soon as she reached the kitchen arch, she stopped and stared. Slowly, some of the anger and annoyance left me, and I found myself grinning at her stunned expression.

Her scent changed the longer she looked, and it made my gut clench.

Someone knocked at the front door.

"I got it," Rachel said, grinning at us before she rushed from the room.

Gabby glanced down at my coveralls, read the name sewn on my chest, then met my gaze. "You have some explaining to do, I think."