Free Wonder: A Soul Savers Collection of Holiday Short Stories & Recipes by Kristie Cook

woods.
    Let’s just get this over with. She closed the bathroom door and dropped the blanket, ready to throw on the clothes and hurry through dinner so she could get out of there. But when she saw her reflection again, in a full-length mirror on the back of the door, she gasped out loud at the ugly sight. Her olive skin stretched tightly over her bones, barely enough muscle between them to show any kind of definition. And she probably only had that much because of the wolf inside her. Her collar bone angled sharply from her chest, her once full breasts had become almost non-existent, and her soft hips had disappeared, leaving more angular bones jutting against her skin. And dirt smudges graffitied her body from face to feet. How embarrassing!
    She couldn’t believe Gray hadn’t been appalled by the way she looked and probably smelled after spending weeks in the woods. And he wanted to eat dinner with her? Not like this. No way in hell . Rissa stepped into the small shower stall, pulled the plastic curtain shut, and blasted herself with hot water and soap that smelled like man. The metal rings scraped against the rusting rod when she opened the curtain again and found a fresh towel folded neatly and sitting on the closed toilet seat. She held it to her face and inhaled the scent of fabric softener. Oh how she missed the little things like clean skin and the smell of freshly laundered towels.
    She didn’t miss having to brush out her unruly hair. After pulling on the red sweat pants that she had to roll up at the legs and tighten all the way with the drawstring and a black t-shirt so large, the pants were practically unnecessary, she snooped around the bathroom for a hairbrush. She only found a plastic comb that would never make it through her thick hair in one piece. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, she wrapped the towel around her head and stepped out of the bathroom, steam following her out.
    Gray glanced over at her, and his mouth fell open. His hands shook so badly, she thought he was going to drop the bowl he held, filled with something steaming and delicious smelling. After a long moment, he finally blinked and his adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. A sexy glint sparked in his eyes.
    “You, uh, feel better?” he asked as he set the bowl on the counter.
    “Much. Thank you,” Rissa said, offering a small smile for the first time. Gray’s eyes went wide again, but he quickly recovered.
    “My sister probably has a brush in the upstairs bathroom,” he said, nodding at the stairs by the front door in the living room.
    Rissa blinked, and a new wave of anxiety rolled over her. “Your sister? Is this her house?”
    He turned back toward the stove and picked up a second bowl. “It’s ours. Just a cabin our parents left us both. Neither of us lives here, and she hardly ever makes it up anymore, but she keeps pretty much everything she needs here. Just in case ...”
    His voice trailed off.
    “Just in case what?”
    He paused, then cleared his throat and gave a nonchalant shrug. “In case she forgets something when she packs. You know how you girls are—can’t live without your hair stuff and makeup and everything.” He turned around, the second bowl filled with some kind of stew. “Of course, you might be a little different?”
    Rissa heard this as a question, one she wasn’t about to answer. “I’ll, uh, see if I can find a brush. It might take me a while, though. My hair’s a pain in the ass like that.”
    Gray eyed the towel-turban around her hair with curiosity. “This stew needs to cool for a bit anyway, and the bread’s still in the oven warming.”
    Rissa gave him a small nod then headed for the stairs. The stew would be ice-cold and the bread burnt to a char if he waited on her, so she tried to hurry. Although the upstairs bathroom was a little bigger and even had a tub and a linen closet, she found the brush easily enough, but pulling it through her wet hair wasn’t so simple. She