Changing Hearts by Marilu Mann

stupid.” He seemed to be studying her face very closely. It impressed her to see his gaze hadn’t strayed to her breasts. She knew her breasts were too large for her frame. She’d heard all the Dolly Parton jokes she could stand for one lifetime, but Malcolm’s eyes had never left hers.
    “Well, I think it was very brave and I thank you.” She moved across the kitchen and, before she could change her mind, stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. Because she was so short or he was so tall, if he’d turned his head at all, she’d have kissed his mouth.
    As it turned out, he froze, then stared down at her. The heat in his eyes now totally unmistakable. Joie moved away before he could reach for her. She was sure his eyes were glowing now.
    “I, um, I have some work to do. Excuse me.” She whirled around, leaving the kitchen almost at a dead run.
     
     
    It took every ounce of willpower he had not to follow her. Slade stood in the small kitchen and touched his fingertips to the side of his face where Joie had kissed him. Tenderness? From a human? He’d never experienced anything like that before.
    Besides, he’d rather focus on the way it had felt to have her luscious breasts pressing against him as she’d kissed him. Slade closed his eyes briefly, then smiled. He left the kitchen, following Joie’s scent.
    It turned out to be easy to find her. She’d gone into a small building beside the main cabin. He could smell herbs drying inside, along with alcohol and some herbal scents he couldn’t place. The animals inside the small building knew he stood outside. He sensed them going still. Fox, raccoon and—he paused, wrinkling his nose—cat.
    Slade pushed the door to the small building open to see Joie stroking the side of the cat. She moved slightly and he saw the kittens. The mother cat hissed at his approach. Slade stood perfectly still until the cat calmed herself. Joie finished checking the cat and her kittens, then closed the door to the cage. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled.
    “I don’t think Queenie likes you.”
    “Most cats don’t. Are you a vet?” Slade stepped farther into the small room.
    “No, I’m training to be a traiteuse like Tante Kay, but I seem to have more affinity for animals than humans.” Joie busied herself feeding the raccoon that had bandages around both front feet, then the fox who stared warily from the back of his cage.
    “That’s odd. Renaud generally comes to the front for everyone. He is a social little guy. Not an animal person, I take it?” Joie smiled at him.
    Slade answered her question with one of his own. “What’s a traiteuse ? French, right?”
    He’d been curious as a boy, one trait no one had ever been able to beat out of him. It still showed up now and again. He bit back a curse. He hadn’t meant to spend more time with her. But she was candy for his sweet tooth and, human or not, he had to have more. Besides, one or two more questions couldn’t hurt, could they?
    “ Traiteuse is what the Cajun call their healers. We use herbs, prayer and other things to help the body work its own magic. Nowadays there are precious few of us because the young people keep moving away. They don’t want to be trapped in the swamps. Me, I think I like being in the bayou away from people.” As she spoke, her speech pattern changed to mimic her Tante ’s.
    It amused Slade to hear her talking about “young people” when she couldn’t be much past her early twenties.
    “You like animals better than people?” He trailed a hand along the low roof. The smells here were intense but welcoming.
    “I love them and they seem to respond better to me than to other people.” Joie faced him now, a slight smile on her face. “What about you? Do you like animals even if they don’t seem to like you?”
    “Yes. Animals get used to me. I don’t hurt them. I’m…” Slade shrugged as he stopped himself from saying he was an animal. He’d never hidden what he was because it