Chapter 2

Jeremy Black’s unease didn’t settle down after Poppy Fields texted to ask if Chelany could spend the night with her girls. He knew there would come a day when he had to begin letting go. She was five years old now. Still a baby in his eyes, and certainly not in control of her gifting to be allowed too much time without him nearby. He knew how to keep her calm. How to keep her gifting calm. She would learn how to control it too, but at her age, she acted and reacted just a notch or two above her basic mammalian brain.

Not that he didn’t trust Poppy to provide a safe and calm environment for his Chelany. It was her husband he didn’t trust. The man was volatile. And a volatile environment could set Chelany off. Jeremy paced the floor. Why had he agreed to let his daughter spend the night? She wasn’t old enough.

Poppy had said the girls wanted to camp out in the treehouse in their backyard. That would be an experience Chelany couldn’t get here in their apartment. It would be fun. Fun for her and good for her too. He tried to reassure himself the experience was a good one for Chelany.

He slapped together a bologna sandwich and sat down to watch tv while he ate. Poppy had said, “Chelany is a dear.”

Poppy was a wonderful woman. She was a sweet lady. His heart raced just thinking about her. He’d met her when he put Chelany in a half-day toddler head-start program. He had lingered, watching the room full of toddlers play behind a two-way mirror.

He couldn’t pull himself away, just in case Chelany lost control. He wanted to be near, to swoop in and whisk her out before anyone was the wiser. But Poppy had the same misgivings and lingered at the hazy mirror.

They smiled at one another and laughed at themselves being so scared to leave their children alone. Could he always be that Jeremy-on-the-spot-dad who protected his daughter from exposing her gift in front of mere mortals?

Their life was normal ... to him and his ancestors. It had skipped his generation. Neither he nor his brothers had the gift. Papa, Great-grandpapa, and on back through the ages, skipping through every other one, his family, male and female, had been shapeshifters.

He and Poppy had become friends that day. He’d bring coffee-house brew and she’d bring homemade muffins or cookies. They talked easily about all sorts of subjects, except the obvious one. And then Hank showed up one day, being the ass that he was. Jeremy immediately stopped bringing Poppy coffee. He respected her marriage, even if Hank deserved little respect.

Still, his feelings had grown for her, blossoming into a full-scale desire in his heart. He found another place to watch Chelany’s class and avoided being alone with Poppy when possible.

So different were these feelings for Poppy. He loved his wife, but their marriage had been a neutral agreement between friends. His feelings for her were neutral as well. Her Canadian citizenship inhibited her ability to continue to work as a publisher in Colorado and she really wanted to stay. So, he agreed to marry her. She became pregnant with Chelany the next year and died giving birth thirty-six weeks later. He grieved for her, but it was grief for a friend, grief for Chelany’s loss of her mother, not grief for the love of his life.

Never had he felt so strongly for a woman, as he did for Poppy. It was ridiculous. She was married and untouchable. If only his heart would listen to reason. His feelings would remain his secret. Buried deep in his heart. As long as She and Hank were married, Jeremy would treasure his amore in private. No other woman he knew could hold a candle to Poppy. After three years of private pining, he had to admit, if only to himself— she was his only desire.

Every time he closed his eyes to sleep, she came to him. It was as if their souls traversed the ethereal spaces to be together as lovers. Deep in his heart, he knew her intimately because of their nocturnal spirit walks. Perhaps Hank Fields sensed the bond that existed only in a fantasy realm. He harshly accused Poppy of having an affair with Jeremy every opportunity he got.

Poor Poppy. Her husband had no idea how spot-on he truly was in a spiritual sense. It was all the more reason why Jeremy went out of his way to steer clear of any possibility beyond school activities with the girls so that Hank couldn’t ever have any concrete evidence to substantiate his claims.