Nella stood in front of her mirror and resisted the urge to chew her lips. That would smudge her lipstick. She wore nude tights, a black pleated skirt, (Nella loves pleated skirts), a white shirt, and a knitted vest over the top with a white, light blue and navy diamond pattern. Her long brown hair was long and sleek as usual, her block fringe curved, and her makeup smokey nude. Happy that she looked and felt feminine, Nella made her way downstairs.
She smiled.
She’d never lived in a house with stairs. Nella giggled as she thudded giddily down the steps. She was still laughing when she found her mother in the kitchen.
“Good morning.” Ruby sat at the kitchen table, halfway through her second cup of coffee and an empty plate with the crumbs of her breakfast on it. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby.” Nella giggled and noticed her mother wasn’t in her usual go-to outfits. A, pajamas when inside the house, or B, jeans and the black T-shirt with Vince’s logo on it. She always tied her hair back, yet today it was freshly styled down with soft waves in it from her side parting.
“Come on then.” Ruby noticed her daughter’s curious gaze at her attire. She stood up and held her arms out for Nella to pass judgement. “I have to leave for my interview at the dance hall in half an hour. Lay it on me. What do I need to go change?” Nella smiled and put her hands on her waist. She walked around her mother and hummed, nodding with approval. Sure she was interviewing to be a bartender, but it was still an interview. Black shoes with a modest heel, slacks, a white blouse, and a fitted jacket that fasted with two buttons to the left under her bust. Her long blonde hair was naturally wavy and soft around her face. She didn’t wear makeup, not a fan, but did wear pearl earrings and a simple matching necklace.
“Actually, you’re good.” Nella smiled and elegantly lowered herself to sit at the kitchen table. As always she crossed her legs, a habit to keep her thighs shut and therefore ensure her gaff wasn’t visible. “You look smart and pretty, and you didn’t even need my help this time. Well done.”
“Sassy madam.” Ruby chuckled and the toaster popped with the last of the bread she brought from their apartment. “We didn’t have any butter left but there’s jam?” She shot over her shoulder as she reached into the cupboard. The kitchen was polished hardwood with a dark steel sink and drainer. The cupboards lining the base level and up high to the ceiling were mostly bare, as they moved in yesterday. “Today would have been grocery day.” Ruby muttered to herself as she spread strawberry jam over two slices of toast.
“Perfect!” Nella beamed and pressed her palms against the table. She drummed her freshly painted french tip nails and waited for her mother to return to the table.
“What is?” Ruby sat back down and slid the plate over to Nella, but the toast was ignored for now.
“Leave me your wallet and I’ll get the groceries.” The brunette drummed her nails on the table again. “You’re going to be gone for hours. Leave me your wallet and a list and I’ll get the groceries.”
“Oh honey, I don’t know?” Ruby didn’t like the idea of her daughter, vulnerable beneath her hopeful smile and the honeymoon sheen of this fresh start, wandering a strange town without her. Nella must have sensed the reason for her hesitation as the brunette’s smile became borderline psychotic and she cocked her head to one side.
“Mum? There is no cell service or internet in this house. What exactly do you expect me to do for hours in here? I’ve already unpacked and I have no one else to talk to?” She darted her blue eyes to one side, grinned, and locked back onto Ruby. “Other than Frankie.”
“What?” Ruby didn’t like the sound of this.
“Frankie. He can escort me to go get groceries. This place has a landline right? I’ll give him a call and we can-”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea Nel. I don’t want you going anywhere with him without me. Not for a while.” She frowned, knowing her daughter would be disappointed, but she was 17 and not the most street smart. “You don’t know-”
“Exactly!” Nell stood up and braced her hands on the table as she pleaded her case. “The store is a public place, and it’s the perfect opportunity for me to get to know my Dad.” Ruby hesitated too long. “Please? If anything did happen to me, you can tell the cops Frankie did it.”
“That’s not funny.” Ruby pointed up at her.
“No, and neither is being stuck in the stone age whilst you get to go and check out the dance hall and get a shiny new job. We need food. I need to something to do so I don’t go crazy. Oh, and we both know that Frankie’s going to turn up here at some point anyway.” The brunette smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Surely it’s safer to be out in public with him, than all alone in this house with him?”
“Or none of the above? Keep the damn door locked and wait until I get home.” Ruby grumbled and aggressively retrieved her empty breakfast plate to start washing it in the sink. She scowled, lathered a sponge, and scrubbed the plate with far more vigour than was required. I just want to keep her safe. I get he’s her father, but I don’t know this guy. If anything happened to Nella I don’t think I’d survive it.
“Please?” Nella gently put her left hand on Ruby’s left bicep. “I wouldn’t go anywhere off the high street with him. You could meet me in town at a café or something? In the public eye, and all those street cameras, at all times. Please?”
A knock at the door nearly made Ruby jump out of her skin. She barely managed not to spill soapy water down her suit. “Well…three guesses who that probably is?” Ruby scowled as she ran a dish towel over her hands to dry them. Nella put her hands together and shuffled after her adorably. “Please please pretty please?”
Ruby seethed under the weight of her daughter’s big blue eyes, and her own desire to lock Nella in a gilded cage. To tell the world, Frankie especially, to fuck off and leave them alone. Life was so much simpler before he turned up on her doorstep and threw their world akilter. As her daughter predicted, it was Frankie at the door.
“Good morning.” He smiled, dressed in another one of his pressed navy uniforms and looking as frustratingly handsome as ever. “Oh wow you look-erm-smart.” Frankie self-censored and blushed. “Interview this morning right? Linda is desperate for a new bartender, so you’re a shoo-in I’m sure. You know. As long as you don’t drop all the booze and set the dance hall on fire.” He laughed nervously and held the back of his neck. “Though I guess if you do I’ll be the first to hear about it through the station.”
Ruby deadpanned him and wondered if he ever heard himself when he spoke. Was he this awkward 18 years ago? I guess I was pretty drunk, and stupid, but I recall him being pretty smooth. Not clumsy with his words like this.
“Frankie can you take me shopping please?” Nella blurted out and wore a nervous smile that matched Frankie’s. Ruby narrowed her green eyes on her, and the teen knew exactly what she’d done. Frankie was none the wiser, nor did he pick up on the instant scathing look Ruby was giving her daughter. His wolf’s tail was wagging and he beamed a smile directly at Nella.
“I’d love to. Have you had breakfast yet? We could nip into Levi’s Diner for pancakes or waffles?”
“Pancakes! I love pancakes!”
“Nel?” She warned her daughter as she got way too excited, and ahead of herself. Ruby cleared her throat and half turned her back to Frankie to shield her daughter from him. “I made my feelings on this pretty clear already. Why can’t this wait until I get back?”
“We have nothing in the house to eat, or do, and Frankie’s already here.” Nella stood her ground and shrugged with her arms folded. “Let me go get pancakes with my Dad? Please?”
“I would love to take Nella for breakfast and shopping, but I would also like your consent.” Frankie weighed in. He ignored the whine his wolf gave, clearly wanting to spend time with his pup. “I didn’t realise she’d already asked you and you said no.” He frowned. “I don’t want to undermine you. I can come back later when you’re in if that’s better?” Ruby folded her arms and narrowed her green eyes on Frankie. He didn’t know it, but she appreciated knowing he wasn’t planning on battling her over when and where he got to spend time with Nella. She could tell from the strain of his smile that he was disappointed that she didn’t want Nella to go with him without her present, but he would respect her decision. At least he’s being sensible and reasonable. Unlike Nel.
“Oh come on mum.” Nella groaned and put her hands together dramatically. “Pancakes and a Dad I haven’t had in my life for 17 years, in a public place with cameras. What’s the big deal here? Frankie’s the fire chief and he’s in uniform. He’s not exactly inconspicuous. P-lease can we-”
“Just!” Ruby put both hands up to indicate the teen should stop and listen. “The highstreet. Public places. And I will collect you when I’m done.”
“Yes!” Nella giggled and skipped off to find a pair of black knee-high suede hoots with a high block heel.
“Thank you.” Frankie was genuine and smiled warmly at her. “I will take her to Levi’s diner, then walk her through the highstreet so she knows where everything is, and then go grocery shopping.” Ruby nodded firmly. She also appreciated knowing exactly where he was going to take Nella.
“No one joins you, and you don’t leave her side until I’m there, or this will be the last time you are alone with her.” Ruby was firm and unwavering in her resolve. She meant every word, legal paternal rights be damned. At the first sign of anything not being above board, she would take Nella and run.
“Agreed.” Frankie put his hands in the pockets of his navy uniform jacket that had ‘Chief’ on the back in big white letters. “People might come up and say hi to us. I’m the Fire chief and the Mayor’s assistant-” Huh? He has two jobs? “-so I’m pretty well known. In a town like Glen Valley news get’s around quickly. But-” He cleared his throat and nodded in total support of her wishes. “I won’t let them sit with us. I won’t let Nella out of my sight until she’s back in your care. I promise.”
“…” Ruby looked over her shoulder and watched as Nella giddily pulled each of her boots on and zipped them up the sides. She fussed with her reflection in the mirror, making Ruby’s scowl soften to a sad smile. This was the expression she was wearing when she returned her green eyes to Frankie's blue ones. “Nella is my whole world. I don’t know you well enough to trust you with all of her, but I’m going to trust you enough to take her for pancakes and keep your promise. If you break that promise, you won’t get another chance with me or her. Am I clear?”
“Yes Mam.”
“Good, because I couldn’t care less if you walked out of my life tomorrow, but not Nella.” Ruby stepped out onto the porch to whisper to Frankie, who listened to her every word like it was gospel. “Her whole life only I have given her unconditional love and acceptance. She gave up seeking that from anyone else a long time ago. Yet I can tell she’s hoping that her father is going to accept her and love her too.”
“I’m pretty sure I will.” She’s my pup. Werewolves are highly territorial over their children. He hadn’t expected Caleb to refuse his request to bring Nella back to Glen Valley, but if he had Frankie would have become a wanderer to take care of her. “Trust me, I don’t want to screw this up with Nella, or with you. As my mother used to say, don’t bite the hand that feeds you and know which side your bread is buttered.” He knew this would go a lot smoother with Ruby’s support.
Especially as Nella would shift for the first time and have to keep her true nature a secret from her mother for another two months. She would need to spend a lot of time learning how to control herself through her transition, and that wouldn’t go very well if Ruby didn’t allow them to be alone together. She couldn’t exactly be present when father and daughter took to all paws to practice how to track and hunt. Not for another two months, anyway.
“If you mean that…then good.”
“Purse please?” Nella bounced to a stop beside her mother with both palms open and level with her chest.
“Oh no, I’ll cover it.” Frankie quickly offered. “Pancakes and groceries. Anything else you need?”
“You mean other than wifi?”
“Nel?” Ruby chided her. “Don’t be cheeky.”
“It’s fine.” Frankie chuckled and shrugged, his hands still in his pockets. “You’ll both need to get satellite phones here in Glen Valley. I can sort those out for you today, if you like? The wifi though? That just needs you to sign up with our local provider and get a router.”
“Which I will sort out.” Ruby insisted. Frankie was waving so much of his cash around it was making her feel a tad uncomfortable. “Right after I get to my interview and get the job.” She muttered to herself and ushered Nella out of the house. “You stay in public and you stay with Frankie. No wandering off, or I won’t allow this again.”
“Yes mum.” Nella held her black handbag over her shoulder and beamed up with hope in her steely blue eyes. “You heard the lady. I’m sticking with you today.” Ruby rolled her eyes and walked with them down the drive.
“It would be my honour and pleasure. Now I have to ask? What kind of toppings do you have on your pancakes? Strawberries or maple syrup?”
“Both?”
“Is the correct answer.” They both laughed and Ruby smiled, even with her stomach swarming with nervous butterflies. She needed to turn right on the sidewalk, but hesitated and watched as Frankie opened the passenger door to a white sedan. Nella smoothed her hands under her backside and skirt beneath her thighs as she lowered to sit on the black leather seat. She gracefully lifted her ankles up and together until she was securely inside the car. Frankie shut the door and looked up to see how wary Ruby looked as she watched their daughter get in the sedan. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to her.” His smile was kind and his gaze sympathetic. “I want her to be my whole world too.”
“…just don’t…let her down, and don’t let her out of your sight.” Ruby gripped her fists and didn’t move until Frankie nodded and got behind the wheel. He drove past her and Ruby’s heart ached. The blonde wore a brave smile and waved as Nella waved at her through the tinted windows. She didn’t want to share her Nella with Frankie…but she also knew that wasn’t fair to her daughter. As long as she’s safe. It’s only a couple of hours at most. Ruby marched with purpose towards the dance hall. I have to get this job so we don’t have to rely on Frankie. I need to make sure I don’t hang around so I can get to Nella as soon as possible.
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