Crystal Rose
Page 17
Realization and then denial passed through his eyes. “No, he would never look for death.”
“He’s been in pain since your mother died. How long ago was that? How much longer is he supposed to suffer? The only reason he kept going, I’m sure, was for you.” I touched his cheek, filled with sorrow for him. He and Everett had butted heads, had a lot of problems, but that was his father. They loved each other, and if I was right about this, it was a horrible loss.
Luke fought tears, and I felt my own eyes stinging. “If he’s not back by morning, we’re going to find him,” he stated adamantly.
I nodded. “After dawn. Yes, we’ll find him.” They’d gone in after my grandmother’s body. At least, if that’s all we found of Everett, he’d likely still be in one piece.
Chapter 25
I sat across from Cricket in the booth at the Irish pub she’d chosen for us to meet at, Luke at my side, watching the way she assessed both of us with curiosity and suspicion. “Something’s different about you,” she said, as if she wasn’t quite sure what it was but sensed the change.
If she could only fathom what had changed, she’d probably run away screaming. I smiled and shrugged. “You’ve just never seen me truly happy,” I told her. And it was true. Despite my attempts to remain cheerful and not drown in self pity due to my less than glorious past, the tragedies had kept me fairly distant from most people, and I’d never truly achieved utter contentment.
Now, I had Luke, who was my perfect match. Soul mate. That was a term hard to swallow but one I’d come to understand now, wholeheartedly. I couldn’t imagine life without him. And regardless of everything that seemed overwhelming, all the hardship the future held, I had something to cling to, someone to hold onto that wanted and needed me just as much.
Cricket still looked unconvinced. “When are you coming back to school?” she asked. “I know you said you’ve been keeping up online, but you don’t have a lot of time left. Are you going to graduate with us or what?”
I bit my lip. This was the part that was going to be hardest. “No, I’m going to finish my degree online. There are a lot of interviews that require traveling to finish my thesis, and there’s no way I can get that done and attend class on campus.” I hesitated. “Besides, Luke and I have a wedding to plan.”
She blinked several times and then shouted, “Shut up! You’re getting married?!”
I had to smile at her enthusiasm, even if it was a mixed bag of excitement and disbelief. “Well, we want to, but you have to agree to be my maid of honor.”
She practically launched herself across the table, throwing her arms around my neck so I laughed out loud, and Luke had to lean away to avoid being a casualty. “I can’t believe it! Of course, I’ll be your maid of honor!” She sat down, bouncing in her seat, and gave Luke a stern look. “No more hiding her away from me. And you better treat her like a queen, or I’ll hunt you down like a rabid animal and shoot you square between the eyes.”
I winced internally, but Luke took it graciously and smiled. “Of course, Cricket. I love her more than anything in this world.”
“You better,” she warned. “And speaking of hunting, are you planning to stay in that cabin? It’s not safe up there. I heard that story on the news, about the hunters looking for rabid wolves and shooting that old man instead.”
I swallowed against the lump in my throat, and I felt Luke shift in the seat beside me. I’d been right, and Everett had found relief in death. There was still something Luke hadn’t explained, I could tell, and I knew they’d left things unfinished. But Luke had taken it well, and he was working through it.
When he spoke, his voice was gruff. “That was my father,” he told her. “He was a bit senile and wandered off into the woods. There are charges pending against the shooters.”
Cricket was appalled and obviously embarrassed for bringing it up. “Oh, no, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fuss about it.”
“No offense,” Luke assured her. “It’s sad, but he lived a good life. He was old and tired. I’m not going to mourn it too heavily and bring everyone down. He wouldn’t want that. There’s too much good in the future to think of it that way.”
And he was right. Everett wouldn’t have wanted us to get down and live in grief. The whole point had obviously been to ease the pain he couldn’t live with anymore and to open up a world of possibilities for us.
We enjoyed a meal, and I said goodbye to Cricket, promising to call her to start working out wedding details. We didn’t want anything big and fancy. Neither of us had enough people we cared to invite for that. But I knew Cricket would take joy in the planning, even of something small.
As we drove away, I asked Luke, “So, what happens now, with the whole alpha thing?” We hadn’t really discussed his new position or what it would mean for him. We’d been too busy planning funeral arrangements and settling in. I was invigorated by how little trouble I’d had shifting, aside from the pain, and we had a lot to look forward to, despite the fog of loss still hanging over us.
“That’s going to take time to get used to,” he replied, reaching over and intertwining our fingers the way he had on our first real date. It never ceased to amaze me how romantic and intimate he was. “Eventually, I’ll have to meet with the council, and in the meantime, I’d like to find a loophole where I can pass the job to someone else without giving up the land. It’s not mine to give, it’s yours.”
I appreciated that, and I wondered if, in the end, he’d just decide to keep the title. After all, Everett hadn’t had to work at keeping his position, even when he was too weak to defend it. Would it really be that difficult? I didn’t ask because it wasn’t my decision, and there were still a lot of unknowns.
For now, I was content. I’d made it through the first shift, I’d found the home I’d always sought in the woods, with a man who loved me like no other. We had an ageless bond that had formed long ago, and there was nowhere to go from here but up.
Excerpt from Book 2 – A Rose’s Thorns
The envelope addressed to me caught my eye, and I scowled. Why would Everett have left me a note, especially in a place where it would take so long to find it? I glanced around, not sure I wanted to open it with Luke around. It wasn’t like I wanted to hide anything from him, but obviously, his father hadn’t meant to share the contents with both of us.
I bit my lip and slid the sheet of proper stationery out, smirking at the slanted but neat words. Even his handwriting looked surly.
As I started to read, my heart ached, missing the old man more than I should have, and I felt the stirring in my belly as the baby rolled over in protest. He – or she – never liked it when I got emotional.
But this was no lighthearted goodbye, and my head spun as I took in what Everett had to say. Even in death, he had found a way to be a factor in my life.
Leah Rhoades lives in Texas and has been writing since childhood. Aside from being passionate about all things otherworldly – especially werewolves – she enjoys spending time with her young son, Tristan, and watching horror movies.