II. Winds of Change

I guess nothing turned out like I planned
Everything's sure to fall out of hand
And it takes a lot to find it
And it takes a lot, I know
To believe that there is meaning
Inside this moment
In the winds of change
-Lifehouse

Rowan packed up the last of the glazed donuts and wiped her hands. She took off the white apron and hung it up.

"All done, Lacey!" she said.

"Oh, great!" Lacey was a plump woman in her early-forties who owned Ipswich's bakery. Rowan had been coming here since she was a kid, and a couple of weeks ago had gotten a part time job three days a week and sometimes on the weekends. She liked to try out new recipes and let the public sample them. "This is wonderful," Lacey told her.

Rowan smiled and shrugged just as thunder boomed outside.

Lacey frowned. "Such rain. You should get on home, dear, before it starts to pour."

Rowan nodded. "I'll see you Friday!"

Outside the breeze picked up, she straddled her motor scooter, put her helmet on and tried to start it, but the thing stuttered and the engine made a squeaky sound. Her heart instantly leapt to her throat and she silently pleaded for it to work. Several more tries in vain. She was not going to call anyone to pick her up; she would walk first if she had to. Rowan looked at the car garage across the street, knowing it was about to close but hesitant to ask Billy to look at her scooter at the last minute. She bit her lip, mulling her options, but fear of getting in a car won out. Rowan steered her scooter across the street and into the car garage. She steeled herself first, preparing for the scent of gasoline and the possible whirring of tools.

"Billy?" she called.

----

He saw her for the first time at the beginning of September walking with some guy. It was like something in the movies when you see someone and your heart stops, the wind blows and the leaves rustle on the ground. And you hate it, because you've never felt anything like that before and you suddenly find yourself watching out for that face in the crowd. She came around more often now. At the bakery across the street on her blue motor scooter. She had long black hair, light brown skin, intense eyes.

It was cloudy today but Abel hardly felt the chill. He worked in Ipswich's car garage and lived in the small apartment above for a decent price. He mostly kept to himself, and since he wasn't a local by a long shot it made it more difficult to get acquainted with people. Not that he cared; he wasn't here to make friends.

The thunder boomed outside, all the louder because the garage door was open. He should close it before anyone got any ideas that they could get in at the last minute. Billy had told him to hold down the fort while he retrieved his eighty-year old mother from her home to take her to her weekly Bingo game. Abel wiped his hands off on a rag and chucked it aside. Just as he was about to close the garage door he saw the girl and his heart thumped oddly. Abel saw her try to start her scooter but from where he was standing he could clearly hear the malfunctioning contraption. A distressed look flooded her face like she was about to cry.

Abel wondered why she was so upset just because her scooter wouldn't start. But she was starting to look panicked. He heard the phone ring in the back and went to answer it. He answered the question the customer had and just as he was, once again, heading to close the garage door he heard her.

"Billy?"

"Billy isn't here," he said.

Rowan blinked at the guy standing in the shadows. He stepped out and walked towards her. He had to bypass a car to get to her. He was tall with olive skin, thick brown hair that touched his nape and brown eyes that held an odd yellow cast to them when hitting the light. He wore grease stained jeans and a gray t-shirt over his toned body. She'd known Billy had a new mechanic, but just hadn't seen him.

"Hi," she said. "Um…sorry, I was just looking for Billy, but since he's not here…"

"Something wrong with your scooter?" he asked, coming closer.

"Yeah, the engine's funny."

"Funny?" he cocked a brow. She was pretty up close, wearing jeans, Chucks, a fitted gray hoodie and a black coat that touched her knees, her nails were polished a bright purple. But she had pained eyes, like someone who'd seen too much for her years. Beautiful, really.

"It just won't start," Rowan said. She knew the bits and pieces of her scooter, but certainly was no mechanic. "Would you mind if I left this in the parking lot, and I'll come back tomorrow?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, just found himself staring at her. "Let me take a look at it," he surprised himself by saying.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that. You were about to close," she said.

"It's okay," he said. He took the place beside her bike and began to tinker with it.

Rowan watched him, hoping that he could magically fix it so she wouldn't have to call anyone for a ride.

"What's your name?" she blurted.

He was kneeling down, and without looking at her he said, "Abel." He stood up. "I can fix it, going to take me about an hour, tops."

"You mean now?"

He half-smiled. "Yeah, now."

Rowan shifted so her weight was on her left leg, her hip was aching again. "I'm not…putting you out or anything am I?"

"No." He turned away so he could, finally, shut the garage door. He didn't need anymore people trying to come in. He was just doing her a favor, and he liked that she'd visibly relaxed when he said he could fix her scooter.

Abel went to work on her scooter and Rowan took a seat on the couch that was against the wall. She set her backpack down and placed it at her feet. God, she was tired. Her eyes felt scratchy, and the calm of working in the bakery was wearing off. She hadn't had any crying jags since last Wednesday, which was good. The nightmares still came though. There was no stopping them. Rowan dialed Caleb's cell phone to tell him she'd be home late.

Abel listened to her as he worked. He liked the sound of her voice, but her conversation was odd.

"Can you feed Ernie, Bubbe and Bruce Lee for me?" she was asking someone on the other line. "Yeah…no, my scooter crapped out on me, but Billy's new mechanic is fixing it for me…No, I don't need you to pick me up, he said it'd take an hour, tops…Yeah, I'm sure…Positive. Okay, bye Cay." Rowan looked at Abel who was diligently concentrating on his task.

It was after five and she could see through the high windows that the wind was picking up even more and she knew within five minutes the rain would start pouring. On a whim she took out her small photo album from her backpack and began to flip through it. The first page was of her, Ernie, Bubbe and Tyler the guinea pig. Then there was that picture of the five of them bald and smiling. The picture that she had been cropped out of by Reid's ex-girlfriend Christine, who had put it on a flyer and distributed it around the whole school. Oddly, this was the first time Rowan had thought about it in months, and no feelings emerged remembering it. Christine and Allison, who had known about it, still went to Spensers but she had no classes with them, and she did not know if Caleb still spoke to Allison…

An hour later, as Abel had predicted, he was finished with the girl's scooter. He fired it up and it purred wonderfully. He was about to tell her, but he looked over at the couch where she'd been sitting only to see that she had curled up on it and was fast asleep. He turned off the scooter before she could wake up. Now he didn't know what to do. When she had come in she'd looked tired and frenzied. Abel had seen that expression on people's faces and in their eyes after a traumatic situation. Abel found himself kneeling in front of her by the couch, seeing her closer than he ever had.

Her skin was flawless though she had dark circles under her eyes. Her eyelashes were long and luscious, her lips full and cherry-hued. The tightness that had been on her face had relaxed into a repose of contentment. Her breath was barely audible but with his hearing he could hear it, it was level and smooth. He felt an indescribable urge to reach out and brush away the wavy tendrils of her hair that were whispering across her face.

Oh, get a grip, Abel. You idiot. What the hell are you thinking?

His odd reaction to this girl was baffling and frustrating to him, and he didn't like it one bit. The last thing he needed was for his mind to be sidetracked by a pretty face. A beautiful face, he amended. She was definitely one of those people that stopped people in their tracks…actually no…she should have been, but there was something reclusive about her, and he had a strong feeling that she could easily hide herself from eyes that stared too intently.

A grumbly engine outside pulled into the parking lot and Abel knew Billy was back from chauffeuring his mother around from the Bingo Palace. Abel sensed the girl waking up so he moved away before her eyes could open. He was near her bike again when she sat up.

Rowan winced, regretting her tightly curled position which had exacerbated the ache in her hip, which was now stiff. Oh well. This too shall pass, she told herself. She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her thick hair. She wondered how long she had slept, took a look at the wall clock. A good hour. Wow, that'd been the best sleep she had had in…well, since she'd come out of her coma. Odd and ironic to have slept soundly in a place that smelled like gasoline and was occupied by cars.

"Bike's done," Abel said.

Billy came in then bringing a hail of lashing rain. He stomped his heavy boots on the floor and took off his slicker. He was a big burly bald man with tough hands and a pirate's vocabulary.

"Raining like a bunch of pissing angels," he growled.

"Partying too hard last night," Rowan said, and Billy saw her.

"Rowan!" he grinned widely. "How ya doing, kid?"

She shrugged. "Okay."

Abel realized that he had never asked her for her name, but at least now he knew.

"Something wrong with your bike?"

Abel then explained to him the engine trouble. Etc.

"Ah…well that was mighty nice of you to work overtime," Billy said with a knowing look in his eyes at his young mechanic.

Abel studiously ignored him and handed Rowan her keys.

"Thank you," Rowan said. "Let me get my wallet…"

"No, it's fine," Abel interrupted. "Don't worry about it."

Billy cocked an eyebrow at him.

"No really, you worked overtime…" Rowan went on.

Abel waved off her thanks. "It's cool."

She still seemed uncertain. "Okay… Well, I really appreciate you doing this."

"Kid, you ain't seriously gonna ride home in this piss-storm are you?" Billy asked.

"I am," she replied. She gathered her things and buttoned up her coat.

"I guess there's no stoppin' ya…" Billy said. But he'd known the kid for years and didn't think it was safe for her to be out on her scooter at the moment.

"No stopping me," Rowan echoed.

Abel was opening the garage door for her.

"Drive safe, kid!" Billy said.

Rowan chuckled ruefully. "I'm the last person you need to say that to Billy." And she was off.

Billy sighed heavily. "Damn, poor kid."

The garage door shut with a clang.

"Why do you say that?" Abel asked against his better judgment, he couldn't help but be curious about her.

"Just seems to have one trial after another," Billy said, hanging up his slicker. "Cancer when she was kid, dad's dead, and a few months ago she was in a car crash. Two people dead, one guy paralyzed. Rowan was in a coma for three weeks, lotta broken bones." He shook his head.

Guess that's why she doesn't want to get in a car, Abel thought.

"Lotta people around here find her weird, but she's one of the nicest people you'd ever meet though," Billy added.

"Odd?" Shut up, Abel!

"Yeah, she's a real animal-lover. Always around with her dog, cat, and…well," –he scratched his stubbly chin - "she had a guinea pig, but he died some years back, but now she's got a ferret." He chuckled to himself. "Good kid." Then he turned to Abel. "Good kid."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Abel asked.

"Fixed her bike for free…after the garage was closed?"

"She would have walked home without it," Abel said. "The wind would have blown her away, she's so light."

"Noticed that, did ya?"

Abel sneered. "You don't have to look hard at her to see that."

"Yeah," Billy drawled. "She's got a pack of brothers, just so's ya know."

"How was bingo?" Abel deadpanned, knowing that'd shut Billy up.

"Smart ass…" Billy mumbled.

----

Rowan ran into the house to get out of the rain. Ernie, Bubbe and Bruce Lee had heard her arrival and were already running to greet her. Bruce Lee was popping up and down doing his ferret war dance. Still a new member of the household, he had not learned quite how to conduct himself when someone came through the door.

"How many times a day does he do that?" Reid complained.

Rowan rolled her eyes. "He's just happy."

She was approached by a hoard of boys that might have overwhelmed a lesser individual, but Rowan was used to it.

Tyler picked up Bruce and the ferret calmed down a bit, the animal having become quite taken with him.

Caleb gave her a look of disapproval. "You're soaked."

"You're going to get sick," Pogue added.

Hunter shrugged off Rowan's coat, and took her back pack.

"Yeah, yeah," she said. "Did they eat?"

Caleb nodded. "Bruce took some of his food…somewhere." His eyes glanced at wherever in the large household Bruce Lee was nesting various objects.

"And he stole my beanie," Reid added.

"Again? Don't leave it hanging around then," Rowan said. "You know he likes it."

Reid eyed the creature who was mucking up all Tyler's attention. He gestured that he wanted the ferret but instead of chastising the animal Reid smiled. "You're a thief, you know that? Klepto." And Bruce Lee made a happy squeak sound. "That's right, you're a klepto."

"He pretends he's all tough, but he's in love with Bruce Lee," Hunter said, smirking.

"It's great that you're all getting along," Rowan said. Knowing her brother was about to harangue her about her wet clothes she beat him to it, went upstairs to take a warm shower and put on some dry clothes that consisted of jeans, t-shirt, and knee-length belted sweater.

When she went back downstairs she had a bowl of warm tomato soup waiting for her, which was the extent of what any of the guys – except for Reid, who could barely make anything – could make without messing it up. She took her soup in her apothecary and the guys settled in there, too. The animals played hide-and-seek.

"So, what was wrong with your bike?" Tyler asked.

She shrugged. "Something wrong with the engine, but Abel fixed it."

Reid paused. "Who's Abel?"

"Billy's new mechanic," she replied.

"Yeah, he's good," Pogue said. "Knows his bikes."

Hunter nodded in agreement.

"He fixed your bike after the garage was closed?" Reid prodded.

"He wouldn't even let me pay," she said.

"How nice of him," Reid said dryly.

Rowan glared at him. "You think he had ulterior motives or something?"

"I didn't say that."

"Did he hit on you?" Caleb asked.

Rowan rolled her eyes to high heaven. "No, he did not."

"He's a loner," Hunter said. "One of those strong, silent types."

"Been paying attention, hmm?" Reid joked.

"Nah, he's more interested in a certain Cajun sorcerer," Pogue said.

"Wee, wee," Reid added with zero-finesse of the French language.

Hunter knew his brothers were about to gang up on him. "Shut up. Or else you're all doing a free-fall." But they sniggered anyway.

"Running up the phone bill," Pogue went on.

"You really like him?" Caleb asked.

"He's blushing," Tyler smiled.

Hunter was gay, but had dated Rowan for two years after they'd met in the fifth grade. He was telekinetic and came from a long line of supernatural peoples called Shepherds – a largely defunct name – who used to guard witches. Reid dubbed him an honorary member of the Covenant years ago, and he fit in their circle easily, like he had always been there.

Hunter decided to take the heat off of him. "Pogue finally made a move."

Reid scoffed.

"Don't be jealous, Reid," Pogue said with a smug grin.

"What?" Rowan asked.

"I have a date with Kate this Friday," Pogue said.

Rowan smiled wide and gave him a big bug. "Finally!"

"Took you long enough," Caleb said. "Only been staring at her for the past year."

"If I'd wanted to I would have already been there," Reid said.

"Then why haven't you?" Pogue snapped.

Reid sighed as if it should have been obvious. "Because I knew you liked her. I figured I'd let you have her."

"Don't be mean, Reid," Rowan said. "Are you going to borrow a car?"

Pogue was silent for a moment. "Why would I do that?"

"It's going to rain on Friday; you can't take her wherever on your bike."

"Why not?" Pogue asked, oblivious. "She likes my bike."

"Pogue E. Parry," Rowan began sternly, and he winced at his middle initial. Only the families and the people in this room knew his middle name, and he intended on keeping it that way. "She's probably going to get all dressed up in a skirt and heels, do her hair, and then you're going to make her get on your motorcycle in the cold rain, with a helmet on her head that will likely smudge her make-up. Did you think of that?"

His shoulders rose and fell slowly.

Rowan shook her head in mock disappointment. "I know you love your bike, but Kate's not the kind of girl who's going to love it as much as you."

Pogue looked stricken, and they laughed.

"You can take my car," Caleb said.

"The back seat is small," Reid pointed out, and he was met with a chorus of 'shut-ups' and pillows.


Hey, thanks for the positive feedback so far. :) Mega-appreciated.

I have a picture of 'Abel' up on my profile.