Shifting the Night Away by Terra Wolf, Artemis Wolffe, Wednesday Raven, Rachael Slate, Lucy Auburn, Jami Brumfield, Lyn Brittan, Claire Ryann, Cynthia Fox Read Free Book Online

are your students?" asked a tall gentleman who had a collection of plastic bags tied around his belt so it looked like some type of flotation device.
    "They’re fine, Jonesy.   Thanks for asking," she said as she rubbed his arm gently.   "The citywide basketball tournament is coming up.   We’ve been practicing, not that I’m very much help.   I just need the principal to come through with our new uniforms.   How did it go with the Department of Housing?"
    Jonesy looked down and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.   "They approved me … and I moved into a little studio."
    "That’s fantastic!"
    He took a long pause and said, "But then I got evicted because I kept letting my sister and her kids use the place while I came back to sleep in the park."
    "Aww Jonesy, it’s okay.   Why did you keep returning to the park?"
    "All my friends are here," he said matter-of-factly as he swept his arms wide around him.   "Why be anywhere else?"
    "That’s a good point," she said, smiling up at him in appreciation of his kindness and innocent wisdom.
    He took a bite of his sandwich and expressed his approval by rubbing his tummy.   "Ham with cheese is my favorite.   Thank you."   Jonesy sat on a retaining wall with his friends as they laughed and enjoyed their food.   If you ignored their disheveled clothing, they appeared as people who wanted for nothing.
    Peter glanced at Charles and said, "They’ve got it right."
    "The homeless guys?"
    He nodded.   "Remember when we were young and all we had to do was play in the snow and help feed the pack?"
    "We had some lean years, but they were mostly fun.   Do you want to go back to simpler times?"
    "In some ways I do, although I have no desire to chase caribou all over the place," Peter said shaking his head.   "That guy really doesn’t have any material possessions to speak of, but he’s overjoyed because he has his friends and a simple sandwich.   He is probably ninety-nine percent happier than I am."
    "You have a great life!"
    "I’m not denying that, but YOU are my only witness and while I love you, my dear cousin, I have no plans to mate with you."
    Charles threw his head back and laughed.   "I should hope not.   We’re now sitting so close to your potential future.   What are you worried about?"
    "She may not be interested."
    "I have to agree that she isn’t like the others.   This one actually has a soul," he said with a laugh.   "I want you to forget about my suggestion that you find your Alpha balls.   She is human, so you should lean on your human emotions to woo her.   I don’t think this can be a rush job."
    As they were watching Mia interact with people, she suddenly turned her head in their direction as if she could feel their eyes examining her every move.   She couldn’t see very well in the evening light, so she tilted her head and squinted her eyes.
    "Shit!   She might recognize me from the basketball courts."   Peter jumped up and turned to face the thicket of trees.   "I’ll come out when the coast is clear."
    "She can’t make out our faces from that distance, but you can go into the bush if it makes you feel better.   I’ll stand guard in case we need to make a run for it."
    Mia hadn’t recognized Peter at all.   She turned back to help fold up the table and carry it back to the Sandwich Samaritans’ van.   Hugs and handshakes were exchanged and friendly waves sent the van off as it drove away in the dark.   Most of the people were slowly walking away to their preferred evening hangouts, but Mia had climbed atop Summit Rock with Jonesy.   They positioned themselves flat on their backs with arms clasped behind their heads as they stared at the stars beginning to appear overhead.
    "Sitting up here reminds me of being a kid in Queens" Jonesy said.   "The lock on the rooftop door was busted, so we used to hang out there all the time.   On the Fourth of July, we’d straddle the wall and let our legs dangle so we could