Henri – 37

 

Taegan did as promised and introduced Henri to Camilla the next morning. She and Henri hit it off immediately. Thus, once he proved to her he knew 'his ass from straight up' about woodworking, she hired him.

 

Over the next two months, Henri and Taegan spent several evenings a week together, either at Taegan's place or Henri's. Other nights, and sometimes over a weekend, Henri would accompany Allyn to help save one endangered pack of wolves or another. That was one job Henri had no intention of giving up. Thankfully, Taegan understood his dedication and never said or did anything to deter him from going.

 

During all that time, Henri thought long and hard about where his life was going. One afternoon, many weeks after he'd begun working for Camilla, he was talking to himself while he put together a partner's desk for a local art gallery.

 

"I'm not the recluse I used to be," he murmured. "Not by a long shot. But am I ready to give up my new-found freedom and take Taegan up on his… Well, his offer, I suppose. Although it has deeper ramifications than calling it an offer suggests."

 

"What offer?" Camilla asked. "Yes, I was sort of eavesdropping. You looked quite intent and worried. As your friend now, as well as your boss, I wondered what was bothering you so badly."

 

"A while ago, Taegan asked me to move in with him. I turned him down."

 

"I see." She smiled, tapping her lip. "How did he respond to that?"

 

"He accepted it, once I told him why."

 

"Which would be?"

 

Setting down his tools, Henri studied her. "How much did he tell you about me?"

 

She shrugged. "That you were a good man and a hard worker. That you knew what you were doing when it came to furniture-making, which you do. Otherwise, not much." She patted his arm. "Still, it's more than you've told me. You're not one to talk about yourself, no matter how nosy I am."

 

He smiled at her in acknowledgement. "All right. Until a year ago, I lived alone—by choice. I…" He took a deep breath, asking, "Has Taegan ever told you about…umm…?"

 

For a moment she frowned, then nodded, replying quietly, even though they were the only ones in the workshop at the moment. "About his other half, as he puts it," she replied.

 

"Yes."

 

"Can I presume you're like him in that respect?"

 

"I am. As a result, I was abducted by a man who wanted to experiment on me." He went on to tell her the rest of the story, including how Taegan and his friends had helped stop Xavier. "For the first time in my life, I found out what it meant to have people who honestly cared about me."

 

"It scares you, doesn't it?" she said.

 

"Not…scares, I don't think. But having been alone for such a long time, totally independent and…in control of my own life, the idea of being part of a couple with all that entails… Yeah, it frightens me." He realized as he was speaking, that was why he was unwilling to totally commit to being with Taegan.

 

"You already spend most of your time with him, don't you?" Camilla asked. "Including sleeping with him? Oh, stop blushing," she said, laughing. "I wasn't born yesterday. I know you are."

 

Henri nodded. "True."

 

"Then I have a question for you. Since you are, and if you care for him as much as you seem to, why does taking that last step seem so hard? You won't be losing your hard-worked-for freedom. He's not the sort of man who will try to control you. You have to know that by now."

 

"I do. I suppose I'm just being…well, stubborn and, yeah, stupid."

 

She chuckled. "It happens to the best of us."