Chapter 7

I jerked at the knock on the door, but then relaxed as I checked through the peephole. Red hair bobbed up and down on the other side.

"So glad you could come over," I said brightly as I opened the door. Natalie was carrying a garment bag over one shoulder and her purse on the other while juggling a pink umbrella in her hand. So, umbrellas did exist in Portland after all.

"Thanks for inviting me. With this rain, I was just going to spend the night on the couch and watch some cheesy horror flicks with my cat, Delilah." She walked in, setting the dripping wet umbrella down near my coat rack.

"What do you have there?" I asked.

"Oh, this?" She lifted the bag up as a big grin spread across her face. "It's my dress for the gala on Tuesday. I wanted you to see it. Lydia was donating some of her old dresses and said I could pick out a couple before she took them to the dry cleaners and called Goodwill."

Natalie removed the covering to reveal a black satin strapless dress, with a white silk band at the neckline, and a subtle train.

"Wow, that's beautiful," I awed.

"Isn't it? It's a freakin' Armani Privé gown," she boasted. "Penolope Cruz wore an Armani Privé on the red carpet last year."

I was completely ignorant when it came to high-end fashion, so I nodded like that meant something big.

"You're going to look stunning, for sure," I said with a big smile. Natalie squealed as she held the dress up to her torso. "I'm gonna have to get it cleaned and altered this weekend, but it's so worth it." She was at least five inches shorter than Lydia, so the dress hung on the ground. But even with the money for the alterations, a free dress was a free dress. Natalie put her prize back in its bag and laid it on my chair. "So, do you have a dress yet?" She looked at me with her blue eyes. Blue eyes?

"Umm, no not yet… but… Aren't your eyes usually hazel?" I asked tilting my head slightly.

"You noticed, good!" she beamed. "I'm trying out different colors. These are the same shade as Lydia's. She referred me to her optometrist." Did you know that statistically women with blue eyes get checked out more often than women with other color eyes?"

"I wasn't aware there were studies on that," I replied. I had to hold back a laugh. "I'd hope you didn't want to change your eye color over something like that."

"Well, I thought it might be something to try on my own. See if it makes a difference."

"If a guy snubs you because of your hazel eyes, then that's really not the kind of guy you need to be going out with."

"Oh, I know. It's just something I'm trying on… Like a new pair of shoes."

"Okay, like a new pair of shoes," I chuckled. "So what movie did you bring?" I hesitantly asked. Oh, let's hope she hadn't brought a horror movie to watch. My nerves wouldn't be able to take it.

She pulled out a DVD from her purse. "Bridget Jones's Diary," she beamed as she held up the cover for me to see. "I just love it. It's the ultimate chick flick for a girl's night."

I nodded, as I breathed out a relieved sigh. I'd seen it a time or two on cable. "I'll make us some popcorn."

Most people would probably have turned up their noses to merlot and popcorn, but Natalie and I made it work. We both sat on the couch, watching poor Bridget count cigarettes and calories as she figured out her love life.

"I don't know why she's even interested in Colin Firth when she could have Hugh Grant," Natalie said as she scrunched her nose.

"Colin Firth has a lot of charm," I replied. I was a sucker for a guy in a crazy sweater. "Besides, Hugh Grant is kind of a prick in this movie."

Natalie nodded. "True. But he is handsome though."

We talked most of the night while watching the movie. She told me about growing up in Seattle. She'd moved here to go to the University of Oregon on a volleyball scholarship. Who knew there were scholarships for that type of thing?

"Have you ever played before?" Natalie asked.

"No, I was more of a runner than a ball player."

"Oh, it's a lot of fun. And not to brag, but even though I'm short, I can jump incredibly high. That's my advantage. I'd spike the ball better than most of the taller girls on my team. You know, there's a group I play with. Maybe you could try it sometime."

"I don't think I'd be very good."

"It's a great way to meet people and we play co-ed, so the guys there are just… Oh, sorry. I forgot you're not on the prowl," she giggled.

I grinned at her. "No, my prowling days are over."

Natalie went on to tell me she'd majored in Communications in college, and she was still trying to find a niche for her degree. For now she worked as a copy clerk for The Oregonian newspaper. She had a second job as a waitress at the Café Mango in Goose Hollow, which she loved.

"So many interesting people pass through there. The conversations are endless," she grinned. "You oughta come out some night. I could get you a discount."

"I'll keep that in mind," I smiled at her.

The thunder outside crashed loudly and I shrieked, spilling my popcorn.

Natalie laughed. "Gosh, calm down, it's just the weather."

"Sorry, I've just been on edge lately." That was an understatement. I took a sip of wine.

While Bridget was making blue soup in her kitchen, there was a loud bang that came from mine. I jumped forward in my seat.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Natalie.

"Yeah, but it's probably just an animal or something."

"No, there's protection for that," I replied. Monroe had doused my fence for that reason. Oh, but it was raining. Maybe that had washed away. The bang happened again and my heart leapt.

"Protection? Like one of those sonic device things?"

"More like a spray," I replied. That was as close to describing it as I wanted to share.

"You want me to go check it out?" Natalie offered.

"Oh, no," I replied quickly, dusting the stray popcorn from my jeans. If it was something, I didn't want my new human friend getting hurt. I stood slowly and went to my wall in the hallway, removing my Louisville Slugger bat.

"What are you going to do with that?" Natalie asked.

"Hopefully nothing." I pursed my lips holding in my breath. I encouraged the practiced calm to flow while I walked slowly to my kitchen. As I edged toward the window under the sink, a shadow passed by. I took in a short gasp. It was someone. Oh, God. I reached for my cell phone and scrolled through until I was at Nick's number. I couldn't call Nick. That was stupid. What would I tell him? I shook my head. I could call Monroe, but…

The Shadow passed by my kitchen window again and my heart stopped in my chest. Oh, hell. Someone was definitely out there. Scythes… Reapers… They were all I thought about. I gripped my Louisville Slugger with one hand while I held my phone with the other. Even if I called Monroe, he wouldn't get here in time. I put the cell back in my pocket. I had my bat. I could knock whoever… or whatever out much quicker. Another bang outside. My skin prickled up.

"You okay in there?" Natalie called out.

"Yeah…" I absentmindedly said.

I moved to the back door. In horror movies, did the girl ever just open the door and go out there? I couldn't recall. Thank goodness I wasn't wearing a negligee and heels. Regardless, I wasn't going to hide in here and wait for someone to burst through. No, I'd just charge out there and swing.

I opened the door slowly, darting my eyes for any sign of the Shadow. The rain distorted my vision. A flash of forked lightning lit up the sky followed by a loud clap of thunder and I stifled another shriek.

The noise happened again near my fence. I crept out cautiously. Rapid, shallow breaths came out and I steadied my breathing. I was too reckless to turn around and cower in my house. If there was someone out here, then they were going to feel the wrath of the Louisville Slugger right on their noggin.

The torrential rain pounded against my head and poured down my back in pools as I moved out on the patio. I wiped my face with my sleeve. Carefully slinking down the back steps, I silently crept around the side of my house, gripping my bat tightly.

I gradually moved toward the noise, my bat ready for whatever. As I edged around the corner, the Shadow bobbed near the fence. Holy crap, it was close. It was too dark to see, and with the rain I could barely maneuver around the stones near my flower bed. In spite of the obstacles, I moved toward the Shadow, poised my bat, and let my recklessness lead the way. It had done a good job before. The Shadow moved… it was definitely someone. Oh, God. I swung hard, making contact with a loud whack.

"Shit!" it growled. I tried to swing again, but the Shadow grabbed my bat, jerking me forward as I held on. Red eyes glowed harshly at me.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?" the Shadow yelled and moved out closer into the light from my kitchen window.

Holy hell, I'd just hit Monroe! I shuffled back a step. He let go of my Louisville Slugger and clutched his shoulder where I'd struck him.

"Monroe? Why are you out here?" I squeaked out.

"Trying to mark the area again. It's raining, so… Well, that kinda erases what I did last night."

"So, you just come by and make noises in my backyard?"

"So, you just come out and swing?" He held his shoulder again, emitting another growl.

"Well, I heard a noise then I saw something outside. So, yeah, I'm going to beat the shit out of whatever is outside."

"You were supposed to call me if you heard something."

"Why didn't you call me if you were coming over?"

"I didn't think about it. I figured I'd be in and out. I wasn't expecting to be mistaken for a baseball."

"I wish you would've knocked when you got here." I twisted the bat in my hands.

"Umm, your friend was inside. Natalie, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"I heard you two talking."

"Right… the hearing thing," I replied. How could I forget that?

"So, I couldn't just come in. It would be kinda hard to explain that I needed to go outside and…"

"Okay, okay," I cut him off. "I understand." I reached over to check on him. "Is your shoulder all right?"

"It'll be fine," he replied quickly. "You sure have a mean swing."

"Well, good," I said. "Not that it hit you, though." I rubbed his shoulder.

"Ooh!" he winced and flinched.

I shook my head as we stood in the rain. "I'm really sorry, Monroe. Come inside, so I can put some ice on that."

"Well, maybe I shouldn't since your friend is in there."

"No, it's fine. Let me look it over. I really didn't mean to hurt you."

He sniffed the air. "I didn't realize your friend was Wesen," he said. "And is she chewing strawberry gum?"

"Wesen? No, uhh… She's human," I stammered as I looked to the house, then back. "I don't know. She could be?" Natalie had never showed any Wesen signs and she'd had a few emotional episodes where it would've come out. The downfall to my ability was I only knew someone was Wesen if they had a woge. No woge? Then they looked as human as anyone else.

Monroe sniffed the air again. "No, I'm catching something and it's definitely coming from your gal pal in there. Or it may be a raccoon outside." He moved his head around the backyard area. "This rain makes it hard to tell. It messes with my nose, you know? Otherwise, I might have caught wind of you before you started swinging. But I definitely smell strawberry gum." Monroe made a sour face. "I don't know how anyone can handle artificial strawberry flavors."

"But you think she might be… Wesen? But you've met her a couple times now. Wouldn't you have picked it up before?"

"I don't go around sniffing everyone I meet. That's rude."

I nodded and held back a chuckle. "At least come in and dry off. You're soaked to the skin and it's freezing out here." I leaned into his wet, brown sweater. He growled again, but this wasn't a growl of pain. His arms pulled me in close.

"You know, I should probably just go." I raised my head as his face morphed. He pushed it back. Rain dripped down his bearded chin.

I backed up then asked, "So, not sitting well? Even with the overcast sky?"

"Doesn't matter," he said with a snarl as he let his arms fall to his sides. "Last full moon of the season. Too bad it's raining though, or I might be doing something else since I'm here. Not that the rain would be a real issue for me, but for you it might be."

"What do you mean?" I asked blankly. He wasn't making sense.

"Never mind… My mind is elsewhere right now." He looked me over as the red in his eyes changed to a shade of lust.

"You sure you gotta go?" I'd missed him like this. But, I was really worried about that shoulder, too.

"Yeah, I did what I came to do." He looked down at me with red eyes fierce, hungry even. I shivered partly from the rain, but partly from that stare. Monroe closed his eyes and shook himself. When he opened them again, they were back to brown.

"I'm glad it was you out here and not something else."

"Well, if it was something else, that bat isn't going to stop it. It'll just piss it off." He shook his head, grasping his shoulder. "So, can you please just call me instead of taking matters into your own hands, Dizzy Dean?"

I huffed out a sigh. "Okay. But will you promise to call me if you're going to be doing things in my backyard?"

"Yeah, I'm not about to get pulverized again, I can assure you."

I moved forward to hug him, but he had another woge and I halted. This time it was full on. He twisted his body, pushing it back.

"Sorry, I can't help it right now," Monroe gasped, sounding out of breath. "I really need to get out of here. He shook himself and the rain splattered from his hair. "Keep your phone on and call me tomorrow," he said and pointed to my house. "And get inside before you catch a cold or something."

More thunder lowly rumbled like a deep growl in the night. I nodded and fought the urge to kiss him. He didn't seem like he was in a kissing mood right now.

Hoisting my bat over my shoulder, I walked back into the house. Natalie was in my kitchen with her eyes staring me up and down. Pink gum hung loose in her mouth as she gaped at my appearance.

"Where did you go? Gosh, you're drenched," she commented as a puddle of water accumulated below my feet on the black, tiled floor.

"I went to check on the noise I heard," I replied while walking forward and grabbing a kitchen towel from the drawer, running it over my hair. It really didn't help much since I was soaked from head to toe.

"So, was it an animal?"

"Yeah, just an animal," I replied while biting back a sheepish grin.

Once I was dry, Natalie and I finished our movie. I was distracted through most of it, thinking about Monroe. He came out in the rain during a full moon to protect me… and I hit him with a bat. Ugh. I was a horrible girlfriend. I glanced over at Natalie. Was she Wesen and I didn't know? The fiery redhead had flared her temper a few times, but there had never been a hint of a woge. But I'd run across some Wesen that had a firm control on that. Maybe she was good at keeping that part of herself under wraps.

"Okay, maybe Colin Firth wouldn't be so bad," said Natalie startling me out of my thoughts as I glanced up to Bridget and Mark Darcy kissing in the snow.

"There ought to be more Mark Darcys in the world," I said with a sigh.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Natalie had moved on from Hugh and Colin and was discussing the newest, crazy dating website she'd signed up for. She showed me her profile, asking my opinion of what she'd written. Since she was asking for advice, I helped her tweak her wording on interests and what she was looking for. She wanted a guy who was smart, that made her laugh, who enjoyed movies and TV, and who wanted to settle down. We mellowed it out so it didn't sound too needy. She seemed pleased with the re-writes.

While pulling up some of the responses she'd received, she got excited about one interesting prospect.

"See, this guy is just perfect." She pointed out a sexy photo of some stud muffin named TomCat69. I held back a laugh. Such a poetic name.

She scrolled down and clicked on his likes. "He enjoys candlelit dinners, long walks, and he's looking for a long-term commitment."

"Yeah, and I think that photo is from a magazine." I moved my finger over the far edge where the bozo hadn't cropped it completely. A few words were still visible. I pulled up Google, using the words I could make out and found the article complete with the same picture.

Natalie scoffed. "Oh, wow. That's just… Why would someone lie like that?"

"The world is full of deceit," I replied patting her on the shoulder. She looked deflated and let out a sigh.

"There's gotta be a better way to meet someone," she moaned as her head fell back onto my couch. I watched for a hint of Wesen. Nothing. No changing eyes or tufts of hair. Either Monroe was wrong, or she was excellent at control.

"You're a wonderful, beautiful woman. You'll meet someone equally fantastic, I'm sure. Just don't fret over it. Sometimes the right person comes along when you aren't looking." Monroe sure had worked out that way.

"But I'm always looking," Natalie bleakly replied.

"Then maybe that's the problem. Stop looking and let the universe do its thing."

"I think the universe gets a kick out of my despair."

I laughed then said, "Nah, you're just trying too hard."

It was getting late and Natalie and I both had to work in the morning. As she was turning to go, she dropped her purse, spilling the contents over my carpet.

"Dammit, I'm sorry," she said, bending down to pick things up.

"Here, let me help you," I offered, putting back her lipstick, contact lens case, and a whole pack of condoms.

Natalie blushed a beet red. "Umm, I like to be prepared in case."

I held back making a face, keeping my face smooth and nonjudgmental. "Better safe than sorry," I said.

Once her purse was back in order she headed for the door.

"Thanks again for the girl's night. We really should do this again. Or maybe go out shopping. The Saturday Market just opened up for the season. Oh, you haven't seen that yet since you just moved here. I oughta take you there some weekend."

I smiled at her. "Yeah, I'd like that." I forced my eyes away from her face. I was staring, I just knew it. If she was Wesen she was going to pick up on me gawking at her like a… Well like Nick Burkhardt would. "Have a safe trip home with all this rain."

"Oh, I will. Goodnight, Renée."

As I closed the door I was back to being alone again. I donned my PJs once more, made some chamomile tea, and called it a night.

A/N: Poor Monroe!

I wonder if there's anyone out there that might be a good fit for Natalie.. Hmm... LOL! Maybe later, right?