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thing that could have happened. “I just know how lucky I was Tess took me in. It’s not like having a teenager to look after was on her to-do list.”
    Jason closed his eyes, but I could tel he was stil listening.
    “Anyway, I was so far behind in school. Hank had us moving so fast and so often that half the time he didn’t even bother registering me for classes. We were in math and Mr. O’Leary asked me to do something simple—multiply, I think—and I couldn’t do it.”
    “He was making you do a problem on the board.” Jason’s voice had a far-off quality. “I remember your clothes didn’t fit right. Your sleeves didn’t cover your wrists.”
    “Thrift store fashion.” I smiled a little. “Something you’d know nothing about.”
    “Touché.”
    “Anyway, he made a big deal of the fact that I couldn’t make it past the first step. I just stood at the front of the class while everyone stared.” I blushed at the memory of dozens of kids watching me, al knowing they were smarter than the girl with the messy hair and threadbare clothes.
    Jason opened his eyes and grinned. “And I rode to your rescue like a knight on a white horse.”
    I nodded. “You caled him fat and bald and a buly. It was the I nodded. “You caled him fat and bald and a buly. It was the first time I’d ever seen anyone stand up to a teacher. You didn’t even know me.”
    “He deserved it.” Jason watched as I settled back against my pilows. “The guy was a jerk.” He said it causaly, like it was no big deal.
    I wished I could tel him how much it had meant to me without sounding like a Halmark card. Instead, I said, “You should get some sleep.”
    “What if you have another nightmare?”
    I shrugged, trying not to let on how much the thought unnerved me. “I’m a big girl.”
    Jason frowned. “Would it be okay if I stayed until you fel asleep?”
    Something about the thought of Jason watching me sleep made me uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t quite pin down. I opened my mouth to refuse, and a shadow of disappointment slid over his face. To my surprise, I found myself saying, “Al right.”
    I tried not to think about how Tess would react if she found out.
    She wouldn’t care about Jason staying over, but she’d definitely draw the line at him being in my room at three thirty in the morning
    —despite her constant teasing that my love life needed some, wel, life in it.
    “Thanks,” he said, a hint of relief in his voice.
    I had the sudden suspicion that I wasn’t the only one who’d had a bad dream.
    It took me a while to get comfortable. I wasn’t used to having It took me a while to get comfortable. I wasn’t used to having another person around while I tried to sleep. The faint sound of Jason breathing and the rustle of cloth as he shifted positions made it hard for me to completely relax. Eventualy, though, I started to drift off.
    “Mac?”
    “Mmmhmmm?”
    “Do you think it’s my fault?”
    “No.”
    “If I had been there . . . with her . . .”
    It was the what-if game. We al played it. We couldn’t get away from it.
    Even though it was warm in the room, I drew my blankets a little tighter around myself. “It’s not your fault.”
    “Okay.”
    Jason was quiet for a few minutes, and I started to drift off again.
    “I’m going to find it.”
    “Uh-huh.” I struggled against the current of fatigue that was dragging me under. “Wait. Find what?”
    “The wolf that kiled Amy.”
    “Jason . . .” Even if the new attack meant the wolf was back, Jason couldn’t go after it. Not on his own; he’d get himself kiled.
    “I hear vendettas are going out of style,” I said, reaching out and fumbling until I found his hand. His skin was cold, almost as cold as Amy’s had been in my dream.
    “Not for everyone. There are people who wil help.”
    Something in his voice set off warning bels. I started to sit up, Something in his voice set off warning bels. I started to sit up, but he gently let go of my