Building the Home (The Dancing Wolf Book 2) Read online

  Book Two

  The Dancing Wolf Series

  Building the Home

  By: Amy DeMeritt

  Building the Home

  Book Two of The Dancing Wolf Series

  Copyright © 2017 Amy DeMeritt

  All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1548710538

  ISBN-10: 1548710539

  This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Cover designed by Amy DeMeritt

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Coming Soon…

  Other works by Amy DeMeritt

  Chapter One

  Since my ribs have pretty much fully healed, I haven’t been able to sit still. When I’m not in classes or studying, I’m spending my time dancing, working out, or running. In preparation for the dance squad she’s creating, my older sister, Sara, has been showing me some new dance techniques over video chat so we won’t have as much to learn while I’m home for a week at Thanksgiving. I’ve been practicing the new techniques a lot, if Whitney’s not home. If my roommate is home, then I hit the streets to run off my energy, like I’m doing now.

  I’ve run several miles around campus, trying to burn up some energy, but I still have way too much energy. I feel like I’ve been injected with pure caffeine or something.

  I stop running to catch my breath and check the time. It’s just after five o’clock. Madison is at her last rehearsal for the school’s Fall Music Festival and won’t be done for at least another hour. Shannon should be home from work by now. I have a lot of energy left, but I’m getting bored with this now.

  Me: Hey, baby. Are you home?

  Shannon: Hey, sweetie. No, I’m at the grocery store buying stuff for this weekend. How does fajitas sound for dinner tomorrow night?

  Me: Fajitas sounds amazing.

  Shannon: Ok. How does cinnamon rolls sound for breakfast?

  Me: You’re making me so hungry. I haven’t eaten since this morning and I’ve been running for hours. Cinnamon rolls are perfect.

  Shannon: Why didn’t you eat lunch? I’ll be done here soon. Why don’t you come over and I’ll make you dinner? When will Madison be done with rehearsal tonight?

  Me: She should be done in about an hour. I’ll text her. I should wait till she’s done so she doesn’t have to walk to your apartment in the dark by herself.

  Shannon: We can pick her up. I’m getting in line now. I can pick you up when I leave here.

  Me: Ok, we’ll pick her up. I have energy to burn, so I’ll meet you at your place.

  Shannon: Sweetie, that’s at least 3 miles from your dorm. Where are you?

  Me: Far end of campus, by the library.

  Shannon: You won’t make it before we need to pick up Madison. Meet me in front of your dorm.

  Me: Then I’ll just meet you both at your place.

  Shannon: No! I’m picking you up.

  Me: Are you going to spank me if I don’t listen?

  Shannon: Nope, because you’d enjoy that.

  Me: Fine. I’ll meet you in front of my dorm.

  Shannon: Thank you. See you soon. I love you.

  Me: I love you too.

  I know she probably won’t see it for a bit, but I send Madison a text so she knows what’s going on. We had planned on meeting outside the arts pavilion, where her rehearsal is, when she was done and then walking over to Shannon’s together.

  Me: Hey, Maddi. Shannon’s picking me up after she finishes grocery shopping, then we’re going to pick you up after you’re done with rehearsal. Anything special you want for dinner tonight?

  I start jogging back to my dorm at a pretty fast pace so I can make it before Shannon. All that talking about food suddenly used up the energy I thought I had by making my stomach drop in hunger and it’s making it hard to run as fast as I probably need to. My phone vibrates in my hand. I stop and quickly open the message.

  Madison: Hey, baby. I should be getting done here in less than an hour. We’re actually done, just having to go over boring lighting and sound checks. I’m really hungry for a giant cheese burger and those smiley-face fried mashed potato things. I know they’re for kids, but I love those things. You know what I’m talking about?

  I laugh and rush to respond.

  Me: Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. That sounds really good. I think we’ll have to go back to the store, but I’ll make sure we have what we need. What do you want on your burger?

  Madison: Everything

  Me: Ok. So, peanut butter, marshmallows, and gummy worms will be at the top of the list, right above fried onions and bread and butter pickles.

  Madison: You just made me laugh really loud and the lighting director gave me such an evil look. I better go. I’ll text you when I’m being released. I love you.

  Me: Ok. I love you too.

  Shannon beats me to my dorm, of course. When I come running around the corner, she’s parked along the curb and is sitting on her trunk in her nurses scrubs she has to wear for work at the hospital, where Madison and I met her and decided to add her to our family. With Sam, my ex-girlfriend from before I met Madison, we are a very happy family of four. Shannon smiles brightly and hops down off of the trunk of her car before I even reach her.

  “Damn. I knew you’d beat me. How long have you been here?” She smiles and looks at her watch. “Five minutes.”

  “I might have won if I didn’t stop to talk to Maddi. We have to go back to the store. She wants burgers and smiley-face potatoes.” Shannon smiles and lifts her arms to hug me, but I hold up my hands. “I’m very sweaty. I’ve been running for,” I look at my phone and raise my eyebrows in shock, “Wow, uh, for almost three hours.”

  “Kayla! Have you been drinking any water?” I bite my bottom lip and shake my head. “Ok, let’s go. We need to get you home so you can eat and drink some water.”

  We get in the car and Shannon starts heading back to the grocery store. The fatigue I hadn’t felt while I was running, suddenly hits me and I feel very sleepy. The grocery store is only a couple blocks from my dorm, but by the time she’s parking, I have my eyes closed and my head leaning against the window, starting to fall asleep. Shannon gently rubs my thigh and squeezes my knee.

  “Sweetie, we’re here. Do you want to just wait out here and I’ll run in?” I look up and shake my head. “No, I’m ok.” She smiles and leans forward, giving me a soft kiss on the lips. “Ok, we’ll be quick and then you can take a little nap before dinner.”

  Shannon heads straight to the produce department first and grabs a big beef steak tomato, an onion, and some lettuce. While she’s trying to pick the rolls, my eyes start to get heavy. I wrap an arm around her waist and lean my head on her shoulder. She giggles and gently rubs my cheek a moment, befor
e giving me a soft kiss on the lips.

  After she has the rolls, we grab some ground beef and then head to the frozen section for the smiley-faces. While we walk, I keep an arm looped in hers and rest my head on her shoulder. There’s an older woman looking in the case we need to get into, so we patiently wait for her to finish. We stand back out of the way, but she looks over and sees me leaning on Shannon and her face pinches with disapproval. I start to release Shannon, but she grabs my arm and holds me firmly against her. The woman notices and releases a sound of disgust as she quickly turns to walk away.

  Shannon reaches in the case to grab a bag of the potatoes we need before she turns to face me. She gently caresses my cheek and gives me a soft kiss on the lips.

  “Why were you going to pull away when that woman gave us a dirty look?”

  “Because, I don’t want people looking at you like that. I don’t care if people give me dirty looks, but I don’t like people being mean to you.” She smiles and gives me another soft kiss. “I’m not going to hide who I am just because people like her don’t want to see it. I’m not ashamed of who I am and retreating in the face of disapproval seems like I have something to hide or to be ashamed of, and I don’t.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong. Come on.”

  Shannon takes my hand in hers and we start making our way towards the registers. Just as we’re passing an aisle, I hear a spitting sound, which causes me to stop and look to my right. The same woman from the frozen potato display is standing there as if she was waiting for us to walk by and is giving me the dirtiest look I’ve ever received. We’re only a couple feet apart and she actually spits at me again and I feel it on my hand, which I quickly wipe off on my sweatpants.

  “Wow, you’re very mature for your age for spitting on someone. Did they teach you that at the nursing home for elderly bigots?”

  “What? She spat on you?”

  Shannon turns to face the woman and the woman’s head tilts back as if she’s going to spit again. I step in front of Shannon to block her and the woman freezes.

  “You dare spit on her and I’ll gladly go to jail for kicking your wrinkly old ass.”

  “Is there a problem here?”

  A man that looks like he’s in his early twenties, wearing a white shirt and dark blue vest with a store name tag, has walked up and looks very nervous.

  “This dirty homo just threatened me.”

  The young man’s eyes narrow at the woman and then looks at me with sympathy.

  “Did you threaten her?”

  “Not exactly. She spat on me twice and was about to spit on my girlfriend. I told her if she spat on my girlfriend then I’d have no problem going to jail for kicking her ass.”

  “Did you spit on her?”

  “I sure did and I’ll do it again. Dirty homo.”

  “Ma’am, are you aware that spitting on someone is a felony? I’m going to need you to come with me.”

  The woman scoffs loudly, pulls an orange out of her cart, and throws it at Shannon. I catch it with one hand before it hits her chest and hand it to the store associate.

  “Being a filthy homo should be a felony! You should be locking that piece of shit in a cage and electrocute her till she’s gone straight!”

  I’m stunned speechless. I can’t move or say anything. I’ve never had anyone say or do anything so horrible to me because of my sexuality.

  “Ma’am, that’s enough. Let’s go.”

  “No! I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been coming to this grocery store for twenty years. I hope our new president rounds all you up and cleans up America. You know what they do to terrorists? That’s what they need to do to you. Evil. You’re just evil and dirty. You’re probably not even American. You’re probably an illegal living on our taxes – probably going to buy that food with food stamps that hard working American’s like the one your corrupting pays for.”

  Shannon pulls on my hand, but I’m frozen, just staring at this woman. My insides have turned to ice, and I can’t feel anything except my racing heart.

  “Oh, are you going to cry? You should cry; you’re ruining this country with your dirty evil ways. You and your lot are bringing the wrath of God’s judgement on this country. It’s time to toss your whole lot into the fire with the rest of the garbage.”

  “Security, please, aisle seventeen.”

  “What did I do to you? You don’t even know me.” The woman sneers at me and actually lunges forward and spits in my face. I quickly wipe it off on my sleeve and the young man steps between us. “That’s enough! This is harassment and assault and you need to stop.”

  “Baby, come on. Let them handle her.” The young man looks over his shoulder at us and his eyes looks red. “I’m so sorry. Please wait by customer service for me. I’ll be there in a couple minutes.” A large security guard arrives just as we’re walking away. “Please take her to holding. We need to call the police.”

  “You’re not holding me anywhere!”

  Shannon quickly pulls me away and we go stand near customer service to wait. She sets the hand basket down and wraps her arms around me. In her arms, I can feel that I’m trembling. I bite back tears and cling to her.

  “Sweetie, I’m so sorry that just happened. Are you ok?”

  “No.”

  “Uh, I’m sorry to interrupt. Are you both ok?”

  I release Shannon and wipe at my eyes. I nod once and cling to Shannon’s hand.

  “Yeah. Fine.”

  “Look, I know it can’t make up for what you just went through, but whatever you needed tonight, it’s on us. We’ll be filing a report with the police, as it is store policy to do so. If you decide to press charges, you’ll have full cooperation from us in terms of being able to get a copy of the report we file and the security camera footage. Were you done your shopping or was there anything else you need tonight?”

  “No, we’re done, but we can pay for the groceries. It’s not your fault that happened.” He shakes his head and picks up the basket. “No, please, I want to do this for you.” Shannon shrugs a shoulder. “Ok, thank you.”

  He nods and goes behind the counter. He rings everything up, swipes a card that tenders it out to zero, and then bags everything up for us. He walks us to the door, carrying our bags for us, and turns to us with a sad look in his eyes as he holds them out for us to take.

  “I’m really sorry you had to experience that. There are some really messed up people in this world. I have to get back in there and deal with that woman, but I hope your night gets better.”

  “Ok, thank you for everything.”

  As soon as we get in the car, Shannon wraps her arms around me, holding me tightly, and my emotion bursts out into her chest. My tears are heavy and my sobs are deep and chest rattling. Shannon kisses my head and rubs my back while she just holds me, allowing me to try to release the weight of what just happened. It takes several minutes for me to relax enough that I’m reduced from sobbing to sniffling.

  “Shannon, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  “Shh, sweetie, you don’t have anything to be sorry about.” I pull back and shake my head. “How am I supposed to protect you against that? I can stand in front of you and take spit in my face, catch oranges, or take a beating for you, but I can’t block the verbal assaults. I can’t catch those horrible words before they enter your ears.”

  “Kayla, it’s not the first time I’ve heard those horrible things, and it won’t be the last.”

  My phone vibrates so I quickly pull it out. “Maddi’s ready.” My eyes tear up and I look at Shannon. “I don’t want Maddi and Sam to know what happened.” Shannon smiles in a kind way and gently strokes my cheek. “We don’t have to tell Sam, but Madison is going to know something happened the instant she looks at you. Are you even capable of keeping something from them?” I look down at my phone and shake my head. “No, you’re right. It won’t work.”

  I quickly respond that we’re on our way
and lean back with my eyes closed, trying to pull myself together.

  “Shannon?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  “For what, sweetie?”

  “For being stronger than me tonight. I don’t know what happened. When she said that she wanted us locked in cages and tortured, I was frozen in fear. It was like the nightmares I had in the hospital with Darren hurting the people I love. Her hatred sent ice through my veins. I was just so scared of what would happen to all of you.”

  “You did great. You blocked me from her assaults and I know if she had become any more physical, you would have been standing in front of me to take it. Being upset by what she said does not mean you were weak. What she said hurt me too. And the way she thinks scares me too. It scares me that so many people think that way. But we can’t live in fear.”

  “I know. I don’t want to hide and I’m not going to hide. You know, the most insulting thing she said, is that I’m probably not even American and that I’m probably an illegal. This was my peoples land first and we had it stolen from us! My people were massacred for this land that she thinks is hers.” Shannon releases a small laugh and wraps her arms around me. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh. You’re right. It’s just horribly ironic.” I kiss her cheek and smile a little. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  When we get to Madison, she’s sitting on the curb waiting. I get out of the car to offer her the front seat, and as soon as our eyes meet, she grabs the sides of my face. Damn, Shannon was right.

  “You’ve been crying. What happened?”

  “I’ll tell you when we get home.” She shakes her head. “No, tell me now.” I kiss her forehead and give her a hug. “In the car, Maddi.”

  She reluctantly releases my face, but instead of getting in the front seat, she slides in the back with me. Shannon pulls away from the curb and starts heading back to her apartment. Madison grabs my face to look at her and the worry on her face makes my eyes sting with emotion.