Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

and ending Z.
    I don’t recognize them all, but the big duplexes, the A and B houses, are pretty distinctive. The A houses look sort of like Eastern farmhouses—two-story, rectangular, and unadorned. B houses are single-story rectangles. Most of them have been changed a little from what they once were, porches added, converted from duplexes to single-family dwellings—and back again. But no matter how much they are renovated, they all have a sort of sturdy plainness that overcomes brick facades, decks, and cedar siding.
    Warren lived in half an A duplex with a big maple treetaking up most of his part of the front lawn. He was waiting on his porch when I drove up. When I’d met him, he’d had a sort of seedy I’ve-been-there-and-done-everything kind of look. His current lover had coaxed him into cutting his hair and improving his dress a little. His jeans didn’t have holes in them, and his shirt had been ironed sometime in the not-too-distant past.
    I was able to park directly in front of his home. As soon as I stopped, he hopped down the stairs and opened the van’s sliding door.
    He took in Adam’s condition in one swift glance.
    â€œYou say this happened night before last?” he asked me.
    â€œYep.” His accent is thick enough that I sometimes found myself falling into it—even though I’d never been to Texas.
    Warren stuck his thumbs in his pockets and rocked back on the heels of his battered cowboy boots. “Well, boss,” he drawled, “I expect I ought to feel lucky you’re alive.”
    â€œI’d feel lucky if you could see your way to helping me up,” Adam growled. “I wasn’t feeling too bad this morning, but this thing’s springs leave a lot to be desired.”
    â€œWe can’t all drive a Mercedes,” I said lightly, having gotten out myself. “Warren, this is Bran’s son, Dr. Samuel Cornick, who has come down to help.”
    Warren and Samuel assessed each other like a pair of cowboys in a fifties movie. Then, in response to some signal invisible to me, Samuel held out a hand and smiled.
    â€œGood to meet you,” he said.
    Warren didn’t say anything, but he shook Samuel’s hand once and looked as if he took pleasure in the other man’s greeting.
    To Adam, Warren said, “I’m afraid it’ll be easier to carry you, boss. There’s the front stairs, then the flight up to the bedrooms.”
    Adam frowned unhappily, but nodded. “All right.”
    Warren looked a little odd carrying Adam because, while not tall, Adam is wide, and Warren is built more along the lines of a marathon runner. It’s the kind of thing werewolves have to be careful not to do too often in public.
    I opened the door for them but stayed in the living room while Warren continued up the stairs. Samuel waited with me.
    Warren’s half of the duplex had more square footage than my trailer, but between the small rooms and the stairways, my house always felt bigger to me.
    He’d furnished the house comfortably with garage-sale finds and bookcases filled eclectically with everything from scientific texts to worn paperbacks bearing thrift-store price tags on the spines.
    Samuel settled on the good side of the plush sofa and stretched out his legs. I turned away from him and thumbed through the nearest bookcase. I could feel his gaze on my back, but I didn’t know what he was thinking.
    â€œOh, Mercy,” sighed a soft voice. “This one is pretty. Why aren’t you flirting with him?”
    I looked at the kitchen doorway to see Kyle, Warren’s current lover, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen in a typical Kyle pose designed to show off the toned body and tailored clothes.
    The pose was deceptive; like Kyle’s lowered eyelids and pouty, Marilyn Monroe expression, it was designed to hide the intelligence that made him the highest-paid divorce attorney in town. He told me once that being openly gay was as good for his business as his reputation as a shark. Women in the middle of a divorce tended to prefer dealing with him even over female lawyers.
    Samuel stiffened and gave me a hard look. I knew what it meant: he didn’t want a human involved in werewolf business. I ignored him; unfortunately Kyle didn’t—he read the disapproval and mistook its cause.
    â€œGood to see you,” I said. “This is an old friend visiting from Montana.” I