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He mhm'd his agreement. “You know, if you want company on the drive to your family’s gravesite, I’d take that road trip.”
“For the investigation?” I asked, dubious.
“I don’t want to see you looking like you were with Zakar.” With a sheepish grin, he laid his hand on my thigh. “Unless it’s you and me.”
???
Cars and motorcycles filled Calico's driveway, the overflow spilling into her front yard. Strings of lights, visible over her fence, swayed in the breeze. Somewhere distant within the orchard, fire crackled.
“Where are your people?” I asked Caelan, though the answer was obvious.
He nodded farther up the street, close to my house, where a nondescript Chevy Malibu sat with its blinker on and a GPS unit glowing on the dash.
Caelan reached for the bag containing Stephen’s pelt. “You don't have to go in, Marcy. This may not be the time to see your sister, if Mina is in fact her.”
“I've got to,” I said. The crowded estate added to my concerns that Cal had little to no idea of Mina’s plans. “If she or her baby is in trouble, I’ve gotta be there for her. Give me a minute.”
I waited for him to exit, then unwrapped the knife, wrapped it in bunch of napkins shoved into his console, and eased it into my back pocket. Hopping out, I tugged the shirt over the sight, thankful the tee wasn't form-flattering, and met the sheriff at the mailbox. The bag, the top scrunched so its contents stayed hidden, I hugged to my chest, and together we made our way to the door.
My sister may have spent a lifetime on the other side. I never had to be alone all these years. What I would've given to be able to share my secret with someone, to take away those days when I was younger, watching the other kids play with their siblings. What I wouldn’t give, for two extra decades of memories with Rhetta.
The door opened before we knocked.
“This is a Celebration of Life, reaper. Darken someone else’s doorstep. We’ve a permit for the bonfire,” Calico drawled, a half-filled wine glass in her left hand. She wore a cream shawl over a pale paisley dress which complemented her dark skin. Her curly hair was pulled off her neck and draped to one side over her shoulder.
When she spotted me a step behind, she moved to walk me in with a hand on my shoulder. I ducked out of her grasp so fast my elbow hit her drink.
Wine spilled across the floor as she sprang back. “What's wrong, sugar?”
I’d spent the car ride thinking of what to say. Anger won. “You bitch,” I hissed, clutching the bag against my chest, tears welling.
Her mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“I didn't think we were besties who buy matching necklaces or anything, but I thought we were friends,” I continued.
“We are.” Caelan eased around the alpha. Dark eyes narrowed, she grabbed his arm. “What'd you do to her?”
“Rhetta,” I snapped, pushing past her. Strangers filled the living room and kitchen, poured out into the hall. All faces I didn't recognize, and all of them had turned to regard the commotion with an intense interest. I drew level with Caelan and stopped.
Behind us, Cal set her empty glass on the nearest table, then shut the door and leaned against it.
Aiden ran for his mother, shrieking, “Human! Human!”
“It’s okay.” With a loving touch, his mother stroked his hair. “She’s blood, hun. Your aunt.”
Her dark eyes lifted to mine; picking up her son, she walked beside me to address her pack. “This is Marcy, my little sister, the one whose house many of you have guarded these past few weeks. A long time ago, my mother adopted Marcy's sister into our pack and promised to keep an eye on Marcy here, as well. Stephen made the same promise, as have I in his stead. She’s a good woman. And we love Rhetta, don't we?” Several voices raised in agreement. “Any sister of hers, is a sister of ours.”
Aiden wasn’t impressed, but the words calmed some of the interest in our arrival.
Cal slipped an arm in mine and Caelan's. She flipped her hair to my side and laid her head on the reaper’s shoulder. “Shall we retreat upstairs for privacy? I'd suggest outside, but these days the night is filled with teeth.”
“Where’s Rhetta?” I peered into each face, man and woman alike, scanning the Weres. “Is she here now?”
Cal caressed my wrist. “Please, come along before the pack gets nosy.”
“Aiden,” I called, breaking out of her grasp.
The boy clung to the table a few feet away, assessing me as I set the bag down. Calico and Caelan observed the scene, one inquisitive, the other composed.
