Shifted by Lily Cahill Read Free Book Online Page B

Falls was a good thing.
    Charlie had been diligent about keeping his secret—always transforming in private, always well away from prying eyes. Months of caution, of circumspection. Then he had given in to the desire to cheer up a pretty girl and made the monumental mistake of transforming in front of her. 
    What had he been thinking? He never should have approached her in the first place, let alone reveal his biggest secret. When he’d seen that crushed car, all logic had left him. All he’d been thinking about was rescuing the person inside. And now he had put himself at risk. If she told …. 
    He wouldn’t put it past her. Briar Steele had a reputation for telling fantastic stories, all of which were obviously made up. The girl clearly had more imagination than sense. They were in the same grade, lived next door to each other, but Charlie had always avoided her. He preferred straight shooters, and Briar was anything but.
    She’d moved to Independence Falls when they both were eleven. Charlie still remembered the first time he’d seen her. He’d been playing catch in his front yard, as he did every chance he got. He was just starting to come into his height, then; just discovering that his long limbs seemed made to play baseball. His partner that night was Frank Greg, who didn’t have much of an arm but made up for it with enthusiasm. They’d been pitching to each other when Patrice Staples, his next-door neighbor, pulled into her driveway. 
    Charlie raised his hand to wave, then froze when he saw a small girl get out of the backseat.
    She was shivering in the brisk fall air, wearing only a thin dress and sandals. Her wild blond curls were haloed around her thin, vacant face. Charlie was staring at her when he heard Frank’s shout. He turned, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop Frank’s pitch from punching him in the gut.
    That’s how he usually felt around her, come to think of it. As if something had struck him and he couldn’t quite get his breath.
    She’d grown up into a beauty, that was for sure. In high school, guys had come sniffing around her house. Because of her tendency to make things up, not to mention her perpetual status as the school dunce, no one really took her seriously as a girlfriend. Instead, there was plenty of locker room talk about what she was willing to do for someone who listened to her silly stories. 
    Charlie tried not to pay attention to rumors, but in a small town like Independence Falls they were impossible to ignore. How many of the stories about her were true? There was something about the way she had touched his fur that made him think about the way her hands would feel on his skin.
    But that, he reminded himself, was ridiculous. As a cat, she had stroked his body. But as a man, she had been horrified by his scars. 
    Charlie pulled into his driveway just as the garage door rattled open. A moment later Charlie’s father stepped out, wearing blue plaid flannel pajamas tucked into work boots. He waved hello to Charlie with the shovel he had clasped in one hand. 
    Jimmy Huston had the same rangy build as his brother Rick, but lacked the cowboy swagger. “I take it you heard,” he called out as Charlie turned off his engine.
    Literally, Charlie thought. He said, “I ran into Rick. He said to come pick you up.”
    “Plenty of room in your truck bed to load up some tools,” Jimmy said agreeably. “And your mother is gathering up first aid supplies like she’s Florence Nightingale.”
    “Fine,” Charlie said, struggling to remove the shifter pole so he could get out of the truck. “I’ll help you load.”
    “Oh, there’s no need for that, son.” Jimmy’s voice was so falsely jovial Charlie wanted to smack him. “You just sit there and rest. Your mother and I can get everything loaded.”
    On the heels of Rick’s dismissal, his father’s solicitude burned. Charlie managed to get the pole out with one final yank and shoved his way out of the car. “You’re