Changing Hearts by Marilu Mann

anyway. I should be used to being left.”
    But still, why had he left and where had he gone? What if he never came back? Joie sank down on the porch to lean back against the gray weathered railing. What on earth was she going to do about Malcolm if he did come back? Energy surged through her. Sit here on this porch like a lost little girl waiting for her mother? No way.
    Joie walked the yard. As she rounded the back of the house, she noticed his clothes adorning the shed. Relief washed over her. He would be coming back and he wanted to make love to her.
    “Oh God, what am I going to do?” He might leave tomorrow or the next day. Could she take her one shot at having a mad passionate affair before he permanently erased himself from her life? Tante Kay’s words came back to her then. “No better time than today.”
    “Could I?” Joie spoke again to the empty yard. Her gaze roamed restlessly from the edge of the bayou to the tree line and the road. Would he be back soon? What were the pros and cons of actually letting herself do what she wanted? Would he be as incredible a lover as she imagined? The way he kissed her, the feel of his hands on her body, all made her knees weak. But what about when he fled the bayou? Would she be able to just have a brief physical relationship? Not give her heart to someone she shared intimacy with?
    Joie stopped in the middle of the yard. The heat of the day wrapped around her. Then Joie realized why she knew she could sleep with Malcolm. He already had a large part of her heart. When had that happened? Then it hit her. Yesterday he’d stretched out of Tante ’s car into her world in human form. That had been “all she wrote” for Joie’s heart where Malcolm was concerned.
    Her ex hadn’t done that. Not even the night she’d conceived had he truly rocked her world. That had been an accident, a happy one for her but not for him. The arguments they’d had about whether or not she’d even have the baby, much less keep it. Tears welled in her eyes again. Shaking those memories aside, Joie paced back to the shed, forcing her thoughts back to Malcolm.
    This strong, gorgeous man wanted her, but he wouldn’t stay. He couldn’t stay because of the people…the Pack…chasing him. For a moment she let herself dream of a baby with Malcolm’s eyes and cinnamon hair curling against soft sweet-smelling baby skin. And Malcolm laughing down at both of them. Silly girl, stop dreaming about what can’t be.
    She almost laughed at the thought of a relationship based only on sex. That sort of thing happened to other people, not to her. She’d never been the type to even inspire such thoughts, much less be having them. But she realized now that it wasn’t just a physical attraction. At least not for her…
    Deep inside, she knew that he would never hurt her physically. The fact that he hadn’t forced himself on her at any time, that he’d stopped kissing her when she’d asked even though his very obvious arousal had pressed against her, weighed heavily in his favor.
    Somewhere, hidden under that tough, mean façade beat a good heart. Perhaps being here with her and Tante Kay would help him discover the goodness in his own heart.
    But what about her own heart? Would it be enough for her to love him without him truly loving her? Perhaps the healing she sought here would work for him as well. Joie knew she searched for healing of her heart. She wondered if Malcolm didn’t search, unknowingly, for healing of his soul.
    Joie watched a flock of birds fly over the bayou. Their freedom echoed Malcolm’s. The question of whether she could make love with him, even if they only had one night together, suddenly seemed less important. She couldn’t take a wild thing’s wildness away. Would sleeping with Malcolm do that? Would he feel obligated to stay? Suddenly she knew that she would never hold him against his will, even if she took what he offered. She gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists. It