Free The Storm and the Darkness by Sarah M. Cradit

actually were, so after he stitched her up, he told Ana he would take the cat home with him to keep an eye on her.
    "You do that?" Ana asked. “What happens to her after that?”
    "I'm not sure," he said, even though he was. It wouldn't be the first stray he brought home to keep an eye on and ended up adopting. Finn’s dog, Angus, started off as a patient. “But if she lives, it will be because of you.”
    "Not me," she said, meeting his gaze for the first time. "You."
    He shrugged, but it still mattered to him when he could save a life, and when others could witness his gift.  
    "After this, maybe you’ll let me properly introduce myself finally," she said after a pause, extending her hand. "Anasofiya Deschanel."
    Jon nodded and turned away, his heart racing, hating these moments where he knew he was supposed to do something, anything, even the smallest polite gesture. Why was he like this? The air grew cold between them as she realized he was being rude. Of course it seemed rude…but was he really capable of, or willing to, explain the details of his physiological make up to her, simply because he couldn't return a handshake and an introduction?
    "Alright, well I already know who you are, so I suppose introduction aren’t necessary," Ana said, some of the warmth gone from her voice. "How much do I owe you?"
    He felt bad. He did. But not bad enough to apologize. "Nothing," he said, his back to her still. "You did the cat a favor."
    Jon felt her stiffen behind him, but the warmth was back. "I thank you again, Dr. St. Andrews. I'm sorry for any inconvenience. If you ever need anything, you know where I live."
    She lingered for a moment, waiting for a response. When he said nothing, she left.
    "Sheriff Horn said you helped Ana today," Finn had said, later that night. Finn had been drinking at the Thirsty Wench, and was home even later than Jon.
    "Ana? Oh, you mean the new girl.” Jon had pretended not to know who she was.
    Finn gave him a side-eye glance. "Uh-huh. The new girl. You know, the one you are terrified of. The one who you watch at nights, horrified that she might come and–god forbid–introduce herself. The one I've seen you watching me wave to in the evenings. The one people say you were actually rude to in public. The one with the pretty red hair. That new girl."
    Finn was the only one allowed to tease him about how he was, but it didn't mean Jon liked it. "She won't be here long enough for us to care one way or the other," he grumbled.
    "She's nice. She has a lot of hair, but I didn't notice any horns. We haven't talked, but Alex didn’t mention a forked tongue or fangs. And she's quiet...like you , you know."
    Jon had sensed that about her, but it didn't change the fact that she had interrupted his efforts at seclusion. He realized that he didn't really want Finn talking to her either, because if they hit it off, then he might have to see more of her. Jon was used to Finn's girls, but only because he had known them his whole life, too. It wasn’t as if they ever lasted long.
    “You know the cat was hers,” Finn said. “Kind of.”
    Jon looked up, surprised. “Hers?”
    “Well, a stray that had been hanging around her house. She’s been feeding it and made a bed on her porch for it. She even gave it a name. Cocoa, I think. Alex was talking about it tonight. I swear that codger is in love with her, the way he goes on and on about her...course that would be a first for him...Pa always said he was a eunuch...”
    Jon barely heard the last of his brother’s ramblings, but the first part of what he had said took him off guard. Feeding a stray was something he would have done, so it would seem logical that her kindness would have warmed him to her a bit. But Jon’s feelings were not logical, and so instead he was simply annoyed that she had done something that he knew he should be giving her praise for. He also wondered if she would want to come visit Cocoa once she figured out Jon had brought her