Hooked on a Phoenix

by Ashlyn Chase

  “There’s just one little problem,” Gabriella said. “Gabe is being quite an ass about it.”

  “What? Where did he go?”

  Gabriella patted his arm. “Now don’t go getting all upset with him. He’s just out for a walk. He came and got me and asked me to stay with Misty until he got back.”

  “I’ll go find him.” Antonio strode to the closet, grabbed his coat, and was out the door before anyone could stop him.

  “Oh no. Is he going to yell at Gabe?” Misty asked, concerned. “I don’t want anyone getting angry with him about this. It was not intentional.”

  “Of course not. They’ll just talk. We know how it feels to be in that position ourselves, but don’t let anyone else in on that.” She winked.

  “Oh. Don’t worry. I’ll keep it to myself.”

  “I’m sure Antonio remembers how it feels. I think it’ll be good for Gabe to talk to his father right now. Meanwhile, it will be good for you and me to talk a bit. Can I get you something to drink or eat? Milk? Some homemade cookies?”

  “No, thanks. I just had a cup of coffee.”

  She smiled. “It’s the Italian mama in me. I want to feed you as a sign of love.”

  Misty chuckled. “That’s sweet, but I really don’t need anything.” Other than a miracle. “Sandra didn’t tell you anything, did she?”

  “No. Does she know?”

  “Yes. She was there when the diagnosis was confirmed.”

  “Diagnosis. That sounds so clinical.”

  Misty stared at her lap. “Well, I’ve been to a lot of doctors recently. I guess I’ve picked up some of the clinical lingo.”

  Gabriella reached over for Misty’s hand. Misty took it, and they just held hands in companionable silence for a moment.

  “They made a positive diagnosis of MS the day before yesterday, too,” Misty added quietly.

  The Fierro matriarch leaned forward and clasped Misty’s cheeks. “Oh my goodness. You’ve really had a bad week, haven’t you?”

  Misty’s lower lip trembled. She did not want to cry, especially not in front of Gabe’s mother. She took a few deep breaths and got herself together.

  Gabriella gave her a knowing look. “You’re not alone. You understand that, right?”

  Misty smiled weakly. “I know. I can always count on you.”

  “And you can count on Gabe too. We’ll be hearing wedding bells soon. Long before the baby is born. When are you due?”

  “Sometime around the end of November.”

  “Ah, Thanksgiving. A perfect time to be grateful for one’s blessings, especially for a baby who’s bringing a young couple together. It’s meant to be.”

  Misty sighed. “I’m not sure about that. Gabe never wanted to get married, have kids, and all that.”

  “I’m well aware,” Gabriella said. “That’s why it’s meant to be. It would take something like this to make him realize he can do it.”

  Misty was confused. “Of course he can do it. But whether he wants to is a whole different question. I don’t want him to feel forced into something he doesn’t want. He’ll just resent me and the baby.”

  Gabriella laughed.

  Misty didn’t expect that reaction. She didn’t think her situation was funny at all.

  “Oh, honey. Men don’t know what they want. Sometimes they have to hold their child to know how much they love and want one—or seven,” she said and rolled her eyes.

  “And sometimes they have to lose things to really value them,” Misty said glumly.

  Gabriella stared at her, looking concerned. “You can’t be saying you’re going to walk away from him. There’s no way you’re going anywhere with my grandchild.”

  “I…I don’t know what to do.”

  Gabriella stroked Misty’s hair and tucked it behind her ear. “Oh, darling. My mother taught me, and now I’ll teach you, that when you don’t know what to do, the best thing to do is nothing. Soon enough, the answer will present itself.”

  Misty nodded. “Well then, I guess I’ll go to my room and lie down. If you don’t mind my calling it my room. I still don’t have my own place yet, but I will.”

  Gabriella sighed. “Please don’t rush off. We enjoy having you here.”

  “Really?”

  “Honest and truly.”

  * * *

  Gabe heard his father calling his name. “Oh, shit.”

  “Gabe, hold up.”

  There was no way he could pretend he didn’t hear him. A supernatural being has no excuse to ignore anyone for that reason. So he stopped, turned, and waited for his father.

  The elder Fierro slowed his steps and walked up to his son calmly.

  Maybe he wasn’t in for as bad a chewing out as he’d thought he was.

  “I hear congratulations are in order,” his father said and slapped him on the back.

  “Or condolences.”

  His father narrowed his eyes and stared at him shrewdly. “You can’t change the situation, Son. You can only change your attitude. If you look at it one way, you’ll be miserable. If you look at it as a blessing in disguise, you might be surprised by how true that is and how happy you’ll be.”

  Gabe let out a deep breath and hung his head. “I’m scared, Dad. What do I know about parenting? What do I know about marriage? I’ve spent years trying to keep relationships casual and breaking them off as soon as the woman got ‘that look.’”

  Antonio smiled. “What do any of us know about anything before we’re knee-deep in it?”

  Gabe crossed his arms. “I know they don’t let us fight fires until we’ve had quite a bit of education and training. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with so many parents. No training.”

  “Well then, take a parenting course. Read a book. Do whatever makes you feel more comfortable, because you’re doing this.”

  “Just like that, huh? I have no say in it. Is that right?”

  “You bet your ass that’s right. You did the deed. Who else should clean up your mess?”

  He sighed. “It was just one night. And it was her birthday. She wanted it more than I did.”

  Antonio set his hands on his hips. “It doesn’t matter if it was her idea or not. I’m guessing she didn’t rape you.”

  Gabe dropped his gaze to the sidewalk. “Of course she didn’t. It was my fault for going along with it, but at the time, it seemed innocent enough. I used condoms. It’s just that I fell asleep and… Never mind. I guess it doesn’t matter how it happened.”

  “Now you’re getting it. The point is, you need to come to peace with this, and soon. That beautiful girl is going to need your help. Of course, your mother and I want you to do the right thing and marry her.”

  “I can’t, Dad. I just can’t.”

  “And why is that? Do you think you have to be in love first?”

  “It has nothing to do with love.”

  “Good. Do you have any doubt that your mother and I love each other?”

  Gabe’s jaw dropped. “Of course not. How could I? You show it in a million little ways all the time. Are you saying you don’t love her?”

  “Don’t be an idiot. Of course I love her. Desperately. More than anything on earth, including myself. The point is, it wasn’t always that way.”

  Gabe had to think about that for a minute. “When did you know you loved her?”

  “There wasn’t any kind of lightbulb moment. It was just a gradual knowing. And it got stronger over time.”

  “And you think that’s how it will happen for me?”

  His father laughed. “Hell no. I think it’s already happened. You just need to stick with it, nurture it, and let it grow. You could easily destroy it at this point and break that poor girl’s heart. I forbid you to do that.”

  Gabe sighed and shook his head. “I don’t want to be an ass, but I d
on’t want to be a martyr either.”

  “Good. Because you don’t have to be either one of those things. You can man up, get your head in the game, and allow yourself to enjoy the happy accident.”

  “You make it sound easy, but there’s one little detail you’ve forgotten.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Misty doesn’t know what we are. And none of us knows what’s growing inside her. She could be pregnant with a phoenix.”

  “You think I didn’t have that same situation with your mother? Where would we be if we hadn’t taken a chance? More importantly, where the hell would you be?”

  “I…I guess I wouldn’t be anywhere.”

  “Exactly. Now answer one question for me. Do you like Misty?”

  “Hell yeah. Of course I like her. She’s awesome.”

  “Good. That’s more important than being head-over-heels crazy in love. That stuff fades. If you’re left with affection and friendship, you’re in good shape.”

  “I feel more than affection for her.”

  “Oh?”

  Gabe struggled with what to say next. “I—I guess I love her, but…”

  “But what?”

  Gabe shrugged.

  “Damn, you’re stubborn.”

  Chapter 14

  Misty was curled up in a fetal position, ironic as that seemed. She was occupying Gabe’s old room on the third floor. There were still trophies from his football days. A few pennants. They must’ve been from college teams he supported. As far as she knew, he never went to college himself. There was so much she didn’t know about him.

  A knock at her door made her stop ruminating and sit up. “Come in.”

  Gabe opened the door. “Am I allowed in here?”

  Misty smiled sadly. “It’s your room, Gabe.”

  He entered and sat beside her on the bed. He took her hand and seemed to be studying it. He kissed her palm and then laced his fingers with hers. Looking at her intently, he said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you at the coffee shop.”

  Misty squeezed his hand. “I understand. You needed a few minutes. I needed that too, but I had time to think at the hospital and later at Julie’s, and I still didn’t know what to say to you.”

  Gabe looked at her, concerned. “About the hospital… I’m not sure that’s the best place for the birth of our child.”

  Misty skipped over the part where he wanted to avoid the hospital and was just thrilled that he said “our child.” When she’d caught up to the whole sentence, she asked, “Why? I would have thought you’d be more comfortable with the doctors and all the emergency equipment right there if anything were to go wrong.”

  “I guess we can talk about that later. But there’s something we really need to talk about now.”

  She waited.

  “I’m glad you’re sitting down. What I have to tell you may come as a shock. There’s a family secret that you have to know. Now, not later. It’s part of why I didn’t know what to say or do.”

  He had her attention, so she just said, “Go on.”

  He scratched his head. “I don’t quite know how to say this, so I guess I’ll just spit it out and then answer the hundred questions you’ll have after that.”

  Her brow furrowed. What could they possibly have as a family secret?

  He cleared his throat. “We’re shape-shifters, Misty. All of us, except my mother. We can take the shape of a bird called the phoenix. We have very long lives, unless we spend a lot of time in bird years. Then we age faster.”

  She leaned back and stared at him. He seemed to be sincere. Had he lost it? Had he gone around the bend due to the shock of her situation? She patted his arm. “It’s okay, Gabe.”

  His eyes rounded. “It’s okay?”

  Misty shrugged. “Yeah, well… I’m sure there are doctors who can help you. I wish I knew what to do, but I don’t. All I can say is”—she glanced at her lap then up at him again—“I love you, anyway.”

  Gabe fell back on his elbows. “I’ll be damned. I never thought it would be that easy. But what did you mean about doctors? This isn’t something we’re infected with.”

  “Oh, I know that. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation for why you believe this whole phoenix story. Maybe it’s just the stress.”

  Gabe dropped down the rest of the way till he was lying flat and covered his face with his hands, mumbling through them, “Shit.” Then he started laughing.

  He sat up and shook his head at her. “It’s not that you accept me or don’t. You just think I’m crazy. Is that right?”

  Misty worried her lip. “I don’t think the word crazy is exactly right. I think there might be some psychological thing…a kind of delusional escape from the stress of reality or something.”

  “If my parents back up my story, would you believe it then? We can’t all be delusional, right?”

  Misty just stared at him. Either the whole family believed this nonsense, or they were just humoring him. It was probably best to find out which it was. “Okay. Let’s go talk to your parents.”

  “Wait. Before that.” Gabe slid down onto one knee. “There’s something else I have to say.”

  Misty jumped up. “Oh, no. No, don’t do that yet. I need to know more about what you just told me first.”

  Gabe rose. “Of course. I understand. Let’s go downstairs and find my parents.”

  “No need,” Antonio said, and the door opened wider. “We’re right here.”

  Gabe frowned. “You were eavesdropping?”

  “We just thought you might need some help, dear,” Gabriella said. “I remember when Antonio first shared the family secret with me. I doubted his sanity too. I think it’s probably best if we all talk about it together.”

  “Is it okay with you if they come in?” Gabe asked Misty.

  What could she say? It was their house. She had nowhere else to go. Unless she moved back to the suburbs to hide from the baby’s crazy family. “Of course. Come in.” She rose.

  Gabriella crossed over to her and took her hands in both of hers. “I know what you’re thinking. You probably think the whole shifter story is crazy. And that I’m crazy for believing it. But they can prove it, if you want them to.”

  Misty was scared now. Either all of these people were nuts, or she was about to witness something so bizarre, she never would have believed it otherwise. But she had to know—one way or the other. She gulped and straightened her shoulders. “I think I need a demonstration.”

  “As you wish,” Gabriella said. She turned to her husband and son as she put her arm around Misty, grasping her tightly. Part of Misty was uncomfortable, and yet part of her thought it was a good idea to keep from falling if she fainted.

  “Are you ready?” Gabe asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Misty said.

  In the blink of an eye, the man she loved shrank, shifted into a colorful bird, and flapped its wings to get free of his clothes.

  She gasped and recoiled. Gabriella tightened her grip on Misty’s waist and arm. Then Antonio followed suit but let his sleeves drape over extended wings. The bird that was Gabe shifted again and became the man she thought she knew.

  He asked her to turn around so his father could shift and yank up his sweat pants. Meanwhile, he put on his jeans again.

  When they were dressed, Gabe asked, “Are you okay?”

  She turned back and faced them. “I…I think I am.”

  Antonio nodded sagely. “You’re a strong, brave woman, Misty. I give you a lot of credit for not fainting away. We need women like you in this family.”

  Gabriella placed her hands on each side of Misty’s face, then kissed her on both cheeks. “I knew you’d be all right. That you’d understand.”

  “Oh, I understand nothing. How do you do this? Why did this happen? Where do
you come from?”

  “It’s time for a brief history lesson,” Antonio said.

  Misty’s mouth was suddenly dry. “Can I have a drink of water or something?”

  Gabriella nodded. “I’ll go get you something, dear. You’d probably like something stronger than a glass of milk or a cup of coffee, but…”

  Misty snorted. “You got that right. No, it wouldn’t be good for the baby. You don’t have to get it for me. I can go downstairs.”

  Gabe took her hand and smiled. “I’ll lead the way.”

  She wasn’t afraid of him. She had just witnessed something she’d believed he couldn’t make happen. But he did. And according to him, everyone in his family except his mother could shift like that. All six brothers. She had grown up knowing every one of the Fierros and was never afraid of any of them. She liked them all.

  Come to think of it, Sandra had married Miguel years ago. She must have known. Ryan and Jayce were married too, although she didn’t know their wives. So it wasn’t just Gabriella and Antonio who’d had to navigate the revelation of a major secret. This was startling.

  When they were all settled around the dining room table, Antonio began his story.

  “The first reference to a firebird was in ancient Rome. However, the legend has roots in different cultures around the world. That should tell you there’s something more than legend to it. The Native Americans never met the ancient Romans, but both cultures believed strongly in a bird that can rise from the ashes after it’s engulfed in flames.”

  “And as you can see,” Gabriella added, “it isn’t a legend at all. This is the family I married into. They were kind enough to tell me before Antonio proposed. I had some time to think it over and come to my own conclusions and decisions. Gabe can give you that time too.”

  * * *

  Gabe watched Misty sipping her water when she abruptly set her glass on the dining table. “Wait! The baby… Will he or she be a phoenix and able to do that shifting thing too?”

  “We don’t know for sure,” Gabe said. “If it’s a boy, probably. But we haven’t had a girl born in the family for generations. No one can remember if the last girl shifted into a phoenix or not.”