Timber and Grace were both awake and moving early and were in the kitchen getting ready to go. It was the day of Timber's field trip to Fort Ross and Grace had volunteered as a chaperone. Timber was happy her aunt was coming with her. It made her feel better about leaving town. They each packed lunch for themselves and Grace packed an extra meal in case someone was without food. Timber's brightly colored lunch box was filled with a fried bologna sandwich with mayonnaise and tomato, a moon pie, fresh peach slices, baby carrots, a plastic mason jar full of sweet tea, and a small can of root beer. Grace carried the other lunches in the monogrammed tote she had carried Timber in.
Three days prior, Timber was made aware of the two hours she would be spending on the school bus before reaching Fort Ross and that the whole trip would be down Highway 1. The bus ride is what made Timber nervous since Highway 1 ran along the coastline of California and one side of the road would be a sheer drop into the ocean in some places.
Timber and Grace left before Emily was even stirring. They had to be at the school at 7:30 am to get on the school bus on time. Timber had never been on the school bus before, but she knew all her friends took it to school and rode it home and they enjoyed it. Timber walked beside Grace without saying much. She yawned several times during her usual ten-minute walk but she managed to keep moving even though she was walking slower than usual.
"Too excited to sleep last night?" asked Grace with a smile. Timber nodded.
"I'll take a nap on the bus," said Timber after a yawn.
"Oh no, you won't," said Grace firmly. "You'll slip into your wolf form. Besides, you'll see your friends, get on the bus, and then you won't be sleepy anymore. You can nap when we get home, but you're not gettin' any sleep until then."
"Oh well," said Timber with a disappointed shrug. "Thank you for coming with me."
"You're welcome, Honey," said Grace cheerfully. "I'm very happy too. My Mama went on all my school trips with me. She went with your Aunt Rosie and your father too, until he went to Haven."
"Aunt Grace? Do you know how my dad got his bite?"
Grace stopped and looked at the clear sky for a moment. Then she looked down at her niece and said, "He was savin' me, bless his heart." She sighed heavily. "We were playin' by the creek one night catchin' lightnin' bugs in a jar. Daddy was watchin' us from his chair on the back porch while Mama was cuttin' a cherry pie in the kitchen. We heard somethin' loud in the trees, but we thought it was our dog diggin' up the ferns again. It came out at us. We ran to the house screamin'. I tripped and fell. Daniel ran back for me and threw himself over me. The wolf bit him twice before Daddy emptied his shotgun into its side. Daniel was taken to the hospital and stitched up. We didn't know anythin' was wrong until the next full moon when he changed. He was small enough to lock in his room then. Daniel was taken away by a man with long brown hair. I think his name was Avanti. He was taken to Haven the followin' mornin' after we had all said goodbye. Rosie didn't speak for several days. After that, she went wild. She wasn't the same."
"Do you miss him?"
"Every day," said Grace. "Not a day goes by that my brother doesn't cross my mind. It's a tradition in our family for the father and her brothers to walk a bride down the aisle. I missed Daniel the most on the day I married your uncle. Now, we should change the subject or I'm goin' to turn into a mess before we even get to the buses."
A few minutes later, they reached the front of the elementary school. Parents and students were waiting for the buses. Timber could smell her friends coming so she turned around in time to glimpse their faces before she was buried in bodies and arms.
"YAY! You're here!" cried Xianna happily.
"We thought for a minute you weren't coming," said Gina.
"I thought for a minute I wasn't either," said Timber, straightening her dark grey cardigan. "I've never been on a bus before."
YOU ARE READING
The TimberWolf Effect (Book I)
WerewolfNine-year-old orphan Timber Brogan was headed to an unknown future with her father's sister and her family. Being half-human and a trained killer, Timber must learn to embrace her more human side and accept her new family despite her fear. But life...
