It was pitch black when Grace pulled up to her cabin. Rain was starting to fall, making it impossible to see. It didn’t help that there was only a half moon. Thankfully, the cabin was so secluded, and Black Bird itself so isolated, that her parents had never bothered to lock any of the doors. Grace parked her car, full of her garbage, in the shed outback and made a dash for the cabin.
She slammed the door behind her, shaking water off as she flipped on her flashlight.
Grace almost flinched. The cabin was way worse than she remembered. It looked like raccoons had set up a hotel in the kitchen.
Chairs were knocked over, their legs broken. Open cans rolled under Grace’s feet nearly tripping her. The couch was torn apart. Grace could only blame herself. She hadn’t been to the cabin in years.
Fearing an ambush from the furry intruders, Grace locked the front door. She could start cleaning up the damage in the morning. For now, she needed sleep.
The cabin was small. Past the main entrance was a narrow hallway. It led to two bedrooms and a bathroom. That was it. Grace walked past her bedroom and looked in on the room her parents had shared.
It was trashed. There was no nostalgia in that room only garbage. Luckily, after her dad had passed away Grace had gone to the cabin to retrieve family photos for the wake. At least the furry bastards hadn’t destroyed cherished memories when they’d taken up residence. Only a twenty year old quilt and Grace didn’t care about that.
Shaking her head, knowing that tomorrow was going to be long, she schlepped her overnight bag into the bathroom. She didn’t bother trying to turn on the light. She stood the flashlight up turning it into a makeshift lantern. Grace tested the sink. After some loud clanking, brown water sputtered out.
She turned on the shower not waiting for the water to heat up. The hot water heater wasn’t turned on. Jumping in, Grace took the shortest, coldest shower of her life. She barely washed the shampoo from her hair before deciding she was too cold and getting out.
Grace threw her sleeping bag on top of her childhood bed. She was exhausted. Her muscles were sore but when her head hit the pillow she was too wired to sleep.
She kept thinking about the past and what her future could look like. As horrible as it had been, being rejected by Jack had set her free. Grace could dream as big as she wanted. She could travel or move. The world was her oyster.
All she had to do first was fix up the cabin. Then she could live in it or sell it to bankroll her new life.
The wind was picking up outside. The sounds of rain hitting the old roof nearly drown out the whistling. Grace hoped the roof held the night. She knew it was sagging in places but she couldn’t gather enough energy to get out of her sleeping bag to check for leaks. She could look for puddles in the morning.
Grace had barely started to fall asleep when something made her sit up on her elbows. She couldn’t pinpoint what had her skin prickling. Between the rain and wind, it was impossible to hear if anything was moving around the cabin. The feeling didn’t go away as Grace sat up, listening. It got stronger.
Sliding out of her sleeping bag as quietly as possible Grace crept to the door of her room. She hadn’t bothered closing it, thinking there wasn’t a point. Thankfully, that meant she could peek into the hall without the door creaking open. Crouching low, she poked her head out.
Grace stared down the hall into the living room. All she could see were shadowed outlines. Nothing moved. Her heart beat impossibly loud while she waited.
Then she heard it.
The only reason she heard the noise over the sound of the wind and rain was because she was hyper focused. Once she heard it though she knew exactly what it was. Someone was trying to open her door.
Grace couldn’t move. Her scream was caught in her throat. She gripped the door frame so tightly she felt her nails pierce the wood.
The door rattled again.
Time sped up. Grace didn’t think, she just moved. One second she was in her room and the next she was in the bathroom. Breath wheezing through pinched lips, Grace shut the door as quietly as she possibly could. She locked the door.
Under the sink was a toolbox. Grace threw the metal top up and blindly grabbed the thickest wrench she could. Armed and terrified Grace stepped into the bathtub not caring that she was getting wet.
Huddled in the stained porcelain Grace waited for whoever was at the front door to break in. The seconds crept on. It felt like hours passed but she wasn’t sure. Grace just kept her eyes glued to the space between the bottom of the door and the floor, waiting to see a shadow pass by.
It never came.
Gray light bloomed under the door telling Grace that she had been in the bathroom all night.
Still terrified, Grace unlocked the door and slowly opened it. No one jumped out. From her vantage point nothing looked different in the living room. The door was shut. Cautiously, she made her way to the front of the cabin.
Honestly, Grace couldn’t tell if anyone had robbed her last night. The room looked like a tornado had gone through it. She tested the door knob but it didn’t turn. It was still locked.
Wielding the wrench like a bat, Grace opened the door anticipating someone to rush her. Nothing happened. She looked down expecting to see some sort of evidence that someone had tried to break in last night. She didn’t see anything.
Getting upset, Grace went down the front steps looking for footprints. There weren’t any. The rain had gone on all night. It was possible that it had washed away any footprints.
Now, Grace was getting pissed. She couldn’t see any physical indication that someone had been at her cabin last night. Determined to prove she wasn’t imagining things, Grace stripped naked right on her porch and shifted.
Transforming from human to animal was something magical. Grace had grown up seeing people change their skins. It was natural. At times it could be beautiful to watch the magic take a human and convert them into something different.
Right then, it wasn’t a beautiful moment where Grace gave herself over to her other half. No, this was an anger filled transformation. Grace needed her better senses to track whoever had scared the shit out of her last night.
Trotting carefully down the half rotted stairs, Grace put her nose to the earth and tried to pick up on any unnatural scent. She couldn’t smell anything at the foot of the stairs. Thinking they might have gotten onto the porch from a different place, Grace circled the house.
She didn’t find anything. All she could smell was rain, dirt, and raccoons. She didn’t find any disturbed bushes either. Or footprints. There should have been something.
Nearly two hours later, freezing and covered in mud, Grace gave up. She went back to her cabin. She shifted and grabbed her discarded clothes.
Grace was angry and confused. Last night, she could have sworn someone was at her door. It wasn’t just the sound of the doorknob rattling. Her other senses had picked up on another presence. But she didn’t find shit this morning.
Standing under the cold water of her shower, Grace shook her head. The last two days were rough ones. That and the new house change must have messed with her. She must have imagined that someone had tried to break in last night.
After wasting enough time chasing shadows, Grace was determined to get her day started. It was only after warming up, slightly, that she had forgotten to bring any food.
“Grace!” Someone yelled from the yard. “Get your ass out here. I’m not stepping one foot inside that death trap. Piece of shit, rotted out dump.” The last sentence was muttered but with her sensitive hearing Grace heard it.
Betsy Robbins sometimes forgot that wolves heard things that people muttered under their breath. Although knowing Betsy, she probably did it just to be contrary.
Betsy was one of Grace’s best friends. She was one of the only humans in Black Bird. Betsy’s mom had married a wolf when Betsy was a baby. She had grown up around wolves. She had three huge wolf step brothers. Butting heads with them her whole life had made Betsy a battle ax. Grace secretly thought that it was a good thing that Betsy wasn’t a wolf. She would have taken over the town by now if she was.
“I’m only coming out if you brought food.” Grace yelled back.
She heard Betsy’s snort. “Of course I brought food. I knew you’d forget the important stuff.”
Betsy was sitting on the hood of her car. She was wearing her chef’s jacket over baggy black pants. The clothing swallowed her small frame. Her long auburn hair was braided into a rope that hung over one shoulder. She had a thick sandwich in her hands. The thing was almost too big for her to take a bite out it. Grace could smell the ham, eggs, and cheese from the porch.
“There better be one for me,” Grace hopped onto the hood and grabbed the bag that Betsy thrust in her direction. She dug around pulling out a tinfoil brick. Her hands wrapped around warm tinfoil and she practically moaned.
After a few bites, Grace broke the silence. “So, what brings you to my neck of the woods this early in the morning?”
“Oh, you know, I wanted to see for myself the shithole you’d managed to find yourself in.” Betsy never censured her opinion.
“It’s not that bad.” Sure, the roof was sagging in a few places and the front stairs were rotted out but the cabin was on a good piece of land. And it was Grace’s. That made it a castle in her mind.
“Yeah, it is. This place is one stiff wind away from turning into dust. But I wasn’t talking about that,” Betsy rolled up her empty tinfoil and turned to Grace, “I was talking about the state of your life.”
Grace frowned around her sandwich. “Wow, Betsy, don’t hold back on my account.”
“I won’t. Anne is a straight shooter but she loves you like a baby sister. She would support you if you wanted to shave your head and move to the moon. I, on the other hand, love you like a best friend. And I am not about to hold back when you make crazy decisions.” She pointed wildly to the area around the truck. “This is a crazy decision.”
Grace looked around where they were sitting. The cabin was in a small clearing surrounded by huge trees. Blackberries bushes were climbing the trunks making a wall of thorns. The grass was brown. The road was unkempt.
“It needs work,” Grace hedged. “I really feel like this is where I’m supposed to be right now.”
Betsy stared at Grace not saying a word. The silence dragged on until Grace started to get uncomfortable. Betsy might be human but she had the Alpha stare down. Finally, Betsy nodded.
“Okay, I get it. It’s time for you to spread your wings. Make a few bad choices.” Betsy brushed crumbs off of her pants. “I know what that’s about.”
Right out of high school Betsy had gone to culinary school. She had made a name for herself in the kitchens of New York. She was set to make a big wave in the city. But then her step dad had gotten sick. And without a second thought Betsy had given up her job in New York and come back to Black Bird. None of that sounded like a bad decision from where Grace was sitting.
Betsy clapped, “Alright, what else is on the horizon for Grace Copeland? You’re gonna make this rat nest livable and then what?”
“I want to finish my degree. It’s fun helping Anne out but it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life.” It was Grace’s turn to brush invisible crumbs off of her pants. “I also want to go on some dates. Maybe go to that nightclub that you and Holly are always going to.”
Betsy smiled evilly. “And you’ll let Anne dress you up? And let Holly drag you on the dancefloor?”
Grace growled at Betsy but Betsy just laughed. So Grace wasn’t known for being overly sociable. There hadn’t been a very good reason to be before now.
“Yes,” she gritted.
“And you’ll let me teach you how to cook a decent meal.” At Grace’s look Betsy rolled her eyes. “Meatloaf is great for June Cleaver but if you want to reel in a man, you’re going to have to stack to deck. Believe me, knowing how to cook an amazing dinner will make you feel confident. Besides,” she shrugged, “cook a man a meal at your house and he’s closer to your bedroom. If you catch my drift.” Betsy elbowed Grace.
“Ew, but you’re right.” Knowing a few tricks in the kitchen wouldn’t hurt. Not just when it came to dating but also because Grace couldn’t live off take out this far in the woods. She threw her arm over Betsy. “Thanks for coming to check on me.”
“That’s what family does. Besides, I’m trying to butter you up so you can take one of the troublesome three off of my hands.”
Grace barked out a laugh. There was no way Grace was going to date one of the Robbins boys. She wouldn’t stand a chance. They’d take over her life. “Thanks but no thanks.”
After Betsy left, Grace made a list of things that she needed to buy and what work needed to be done to the cabin. She felt confident doing some of the work but there were a few bigger projects that she would need to get a contractor for. Grace wasn’t about to get on the roof, let alone fix it.
She decided to go into town. She could pick up food and see about hiring someone.
Stepping into Martin’s Hardware store Grace grabbed a cart and started loading up. She got cleaning supplies, stuff to fix the sink, a hand sander and paint samples. When she got to the front she went straight to Robert Martin.
He was nearly sixty but you could hardly tell. The man kept active managing his store and taking side jobs around town. He was the just the man for the job Grace had in mind.
“Robert,” Grace practically sang, “how is your family?”
“We’re doing just fine, Grace.” His eyes darted to her face quickly before dropping back to ringing her up. Grace caught it though. It was the obvious sign that Robert had heard the gossip but was trying his best to not gawk.
“That is wonderful to hear. Robert, I was wondering if you would be willing to fix my roof for me. And my porch. I’m trying to get my parent’s old cabin back in shape.”
Robert clucked his tongue. “I’d love to but I’m already stretched pretty thin, you might want to ask Jack. I know he just finished his last job a few days ago. He might be available.”
Grace felt her eye twitch. “Now that just won’t work, Robert. You know as well as I do, since you’ve no doubt already been briefed on what happened yesterday, that Jack Taylor is the last person on earth who would come fix my roof.”
Robert had the decency to blush. “Oh, yeah, well I-I didn’t think about that.” Grace made an unamused sound at the back of her throat. “If you want it done anytime soon, you’ll have to hire Grady. He’s the only handyman who has time right now.”
Grace clenched her teeth as she paid for her purchases. Grady Thompson was the only handyman available because he was the worst handyman the town had to offer. She’d rather have her house fall down around her than have Grady come and make things worse.
She would just have to do some searching for someone who would be willing to come from out of town. Paying more would be worth not having to ask Jack for anything.
Frustrated beyond belief, Grace stomped through the rest of her errands. By the time she made her way to the library she had talked to the power company about getting the electricity started at the cabin again she had finished all of her errands. She had bought a mattress and gotten some nonperishables. Until she had power though, she was stuck coming to the Black Bird Public Library to use their computers.
Throwing her purse on the ground, Grace started searching for companies close to Black Bird who could come fix her house. Ignoring the glares coming from the circulation desk, she started calling people. The first company wasn’t willing to drive to the next town over and the other companies would only come to Black Bird if Grace was willing to pay time and a half. She left one last message before printing off a list of names and numbers and leaving before the library closed.
Grace wasn’t going to let one setback take the wind from her sails. She was going to sequester herself at the cabin. Maybe she would watch some “How To” videos once the internet was up and running and fix her roof herself.