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since she was facing truths tonight, she admitted she wanted to play with the body beneath the suit.
    Rose rolled over to stifle that thought before any sharp wolf noses scented her body’s reaction to the mental image of Sky naked. Good night, Rose , she told herself firmly.
    But she wasn’t responsible for her body’s reaction in dreams, was she?

Chapter 5
    When Rose entered the dining room the next morning the first thing she noticed was Sky. Her present was still wrapped up tight. Out of the two dozen men eating breakfast, he was the only one wearing a shirt and shoes. And the shirt, though in a casual style, was an expensive one, made from machine-knit fabric. In her old life in the Times Before, a polo shirt or T shirt would have been cheap, but now, with the technology she’d taken for granted almost unknown, a machine-knit shirt was what a city man wore. Intricate hand knits were far more common in Kearney than the store-bought, machine-made ones.
    She went to the serving window and helped herself to the fried potatoes and ham, and carried her plate to the head table where Taye and Sky sat. Sky stood up with a smile and pulled out the chair beside his own.
    “Good morning, Rose. Come sit next to me.”
    She sat. Actually, he seated her, the gallant way her mom’s dates seated her while trying to impress her mother with their manners. “Good morning, Sky. Hi, Taye.”
    She began eating, feeling the gazes of the men in the dining room on her. To shake off an odd sense of self-consciousness, she smiled at Sky. “How was your visit to the Plane Women’s House last night?”
    Sky’s dimple appeared when he smiled. Taye had the same dimple, but his didn’t make Rose’s breath catch. When Sky smiled, Rose couldn’t help but notice his lips. “I enjoyed seeing what Des and his pack have done with the old place. Each family has their own apartment, and they’ve set it up so everyone has jobs, working in the restaurant or minding the children. Red Wing and Hawk and Des are all fathers. It’s amazing.”
    She cut her ham into small bites to avoid looking into his eyes. The blue was vivid between dark, thick lashes. How unfair that a man had such gorgeous eyes. “I bet Raven was happy to see you.”
    “Yes. We talked until after midnight. I’m all caught up on every bit of family news.”
    Rose noticed Taye watching them with the expression of an indulgent uncle. He caught her staring and turned to Sky. “I’m going to run a wide perimeter patrol. Wanna let your wolf out for a run this morning?”
    Rose saw Sky hesitate and then shake his head. “No. I promised all of today to Rose.”
    “That’s okay,” she said quickly. “I have things to do this morning. We can do something together after lunch.”
    “No.” He touched a fingertip to her chin. “I promised I’d spend all of today with you, and I don’t lie or break my word. And especially never to you. I can help you do whatever you usually do in the morning.”
    “Well, it’s not all that exciting.”
    He lifted a brow, so she listed what a normal day consisted of. “After breakfast, I go out to the garden for an hour or so to pull weeds and harvest whatever has ripened. It’s getting to the end of the growing season, but there are still cucumbers and tomatoes, and the pumpkins aren’t ready yet so I try to keep up with the weeds. Then I do some cleaning and laundry. The kids always create lots of laundry, especially with Little Feather here now. His dirty diapers are a full load by themselves. Then while the laundry is drying, I play with Patia for a couple of hours to give Carla a break. Are you bored yet?”
    He shook his head, smiling.
    “After lunch, I brush the cat and then I knit or spin or I go to town to visit friends. Twice a week I spend a couple of hours with the men for fight practice.”
    “Brush the c—” Sky began, but interrupted himself. “Fight practice?”
    She frowned at his incredulity, but before she could snap