at him as much.
Chapter 3
“Okay, guys, let’s cast on. Remember, all you need is the yarn and a single needle for this.”
Scott smiled at his daughter, who immediately followed Lucy’s very concise, simple instructions with her pink yarn and stick. He liked his blue yarn, but strongly doubted he was going to be able to make it do what his six-year-old was.
“Like this, Daddy.” Jessie held her hand just as Lucy had and slowly showed him the steps of casting the yarn on the needle. “Nice and slow, see?”
He tried, fumbling the yarn horribly before finally getting a second loop to stay on the needle.
Jessie smiled. “Good job. Now do it again.”
“How’s it going over here?”
Scott looked up at Lucy and was nailed by the scent Jessie had spoken so fondly of. Everyone Scott had ever met was a mix of scents. Anger, aggression, happiness, sadness and all the rest seemed to intermingle on people. There was a difference from someone who was basically content and happy in their life and those who were genuinely sad.
It wasn’t often something so pure hit his nose. In addition to looking the part of a teacher, with soft red curls and a slight sprinkling of freckles on her nose, Lucy smelled the part, with patience and joy. The heady combination had made him stutter more than once since they’d entered the yarn shop.
“My daddy isn’t quite getting it, Miss Lucy,” Jessie explained, her yarn already cast on the appropriate amount of stitches. “He tries really hard, but I think his big fingers get in the way.”
“That might be it,” Lucy said seriously, yet when she took the seat beside Scott, he saw the humor in her eyes. “Sometimes it takes a few more tries. Here, try it with me.”
She touched him and Scott was a goner. Werewolf senses were fantastically better than humans’ and touch was no different. She felt as pure and sweet as she smelled and he had to brace his feet to stay in his seat. The other options were to fall out of his chair or jump her. Neither was going to happen, especially in front of his daughter and two other students.
“See, like this. Sometimes it’s difficult to get a feel for tension from the start, but I think we can at least get you on.”
Something was on all right, but he controlled himself, schooling his expression to passivity and concentration. Beside him, Jessie looked on intently, her innocent concern for his knitting skills helping him rein in his libido. It had been years since he’d wanted a woman. He’d wanted Tiffany, because she was his mate and they were monogamous. She was the only option.
However, after Jessie was born, being sexual with Tiffany had become a last resort when his freaking horny werewolf would take over and finally give in to the temptation she presented. Such a crazy bitch. If he’d met Lucy first, he would never have looked twice at Tiffany. And after Tiffany, he could truly appreciate the peace of Lucy, but being burned so brutally also made him cautious.
“There, you got it,” the woman playing hell on his body said. “Now, take it all off and try again.”
“Practice will help,” Jessie added. “Miss Lucy, can you help me start my second row?”
“Sure, Jessie. Let me sit between you and your dad so I can help you both for a few minutes before helping the others.”
Taking off the stitches sounded like a horrible idea, but Scott did it anyway, clumsily fussing with the yarn again until, uneven and ugly, it was back on the stick. Lucy helped Jessie, like he’d wanted, and left him to his stumbling.
The teaching moment gave him more time to stare and smell her. No viciousness, no jealousy or discontent. He took a deep breath and bit back a sigh of contentment that would have filled the room. Better than having her beside him was being in her space. Even with the other humans and their muddled fragrances, the essence of Lucy surrounded him. The yarn must have absorbed pieces of her just being in her presence. Lucky yarn and buttons and doodads.
“Well, it’s a good start.”
Scott smiled when he found Lucy looking at his work. He could have tried harder, he was sure, but she didn’t know him well enough to know that.
“Jessie will help you,” Lucy added.
“I’m thinking this might take a few more classes,” he admitted.
She smiled. “You’re in luck, we have them every week. I need to go help Susan and her mother. You two keep casting on.”
When Scott led Jessie out of the yarn shop an hour later, he did so with heavy feet. His body didn’t want to leave, his wolf sure as hell didn’t want to leave, but it was time to pick up the boys from football. Usually werewolves didn’t play school sports. Since they were still young and had a few years before their change, he thought it was safe. Their coach liked their intensity and there hadn’t been any problems yet.
“That was fun, Daddy. Can we go again next week?”
“Absolutely. I’ll even practice so I can get to the next row thing.”
She patted his hand. “It’s okay, Daddy. Miss Lucy said you’d learn quickly once you got the hang of your tension. Tension can’t really be taught, it has to be practiced.”
Already quoting from the woman. That made sense, though. Lucy was the kind of woman Jessie had been missing in her life. A good teacher was a valuable thing and he’d happily pay the small fee for knitting class as long as Jessie wanted to go. He also wouldn’t mind seeing Lucy again. Finding a new mate hadn’t crossed his mind, not until he’d stepped into Lucy’s shop and he was slammed in the groin with lust. Exploring what could be with the pretty shop owner might be something he could make time to do.
“Can I maybe buy some of my own yarn next time?” Jessie asked. “Some of the stuff in there is really pretty.”
“You bet, darling.”
“And I don’t want the boys to get it either,” she said. “Can you tell them not to use it like a bunch of cats?”
Scott laughed, thoughts of Lucy evaporating. “You got it, sweetheart. I’ll talk to the boys especially about this. No cat-play with your new yarn.”
She hugged his side before they made it to the truck. “Thanks, Daddy. You’re the best.”
* * * *
With ‘best’ in mind, Scott stopped by the yarn shop the next afternoon. He usually had an hour between finishing work and picking up the kids from summer school. He used the time for grocery shopping and running errands. After the knitting class, while Jessie was in the shower, Ross had gotten into Jessie’s yarn before Scott had a chance to warn him away from the stash.
His little girl had cried when the simple cotton yarn proved tangled beyond repair. Ross had tried his hardest to put it to rights, but like any young wolf, he’d gotten carried away the first time and it hadn’t been possible.
So now, with Ross’s allowance in his pocket, Scott was going to get Jessie new yarn and help his son make amends. His rambunctious boys loved their sister and went out
