As we approached, Cree was saying, “I think we should take a vacation. We’ve earned it.”
“For once he speaks sense,” Wes said dryly, and Cree lightly punched him.
Burr shrugged. “Well, I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.”
Ben looked contemplative. “Could we go right now, though? We still have a lot to do.”
I glanced back over the wasteland and suddenly noticed that where Paige and I had been standing, where we’d kissed, a green sprig had poked its head up.
“We do,” I agreed. “But I don’t think it will hurt. After all, we’re just getting started.”
Bonus Story!
Epilogue: Coyote Summer
Paige; ten years later
“And so the mountains did not burn. All was well, for peace had come back to the land.
“In time, everything was green and whole again. The animals returned, the flowers bloomed and the trees grew tall. For all knew the coyotes kept guard of their lands – even if sometimes they liked to go on vacation to tropical islands, or Alaska or Great Britain.
“So while the guardians of the wilderness, in essence, had a job that was never done, they had plenty of help. They had the Elders, of course, wise and ancient shifter teachers.
“But they also had a shaman, a Moonstone guardian, a warrior, a scribe, and a rabbit trickster. Each of whom was the true love of one of the coyote shifters and who they would marry in the following years. In those years, too, a new generation was born to them.
“And it became a saying that the ending was a beginning.
“For the mountains did not burn – they rejoiced.
“The end.”
“Isn’t that a contradiction?” Sana asked as I finished, her tone serious and meditative. She was a precocious eight-year-old, with two long dark pigtails and bright green eyes.
“An ending as a beginning?” I asked her and she nodded. “If you think of things in a linear way, perhaps. But what about a circle?” I asked back with the gravity Sana loved and she smiled widely, nodding. “Where does it start and end?”
“Hm. I will think about it. Thank you, Auntie,” Sana said gravely.
“Aw, Auntie Paige, will you read it again?” Kitchi, or Kit, piped up, his blue eyes huge and winsome in his small, tan face. One dimple dented his cheek as he smiled and shook back his heavy blonde curls. “I know it’s long, but I love it so much. And I like it when you read it. Dad does too many silly voices. And mom gets the sniffles.” He made a comical face like he was crying and I laughed.
Rosette, sitting next to Kit with her face buried in her sketchbook, said nothing, but she looked up quickly. She had hazel eyes in a lovely brown face and dark ringlets toppling down her cheeks.
“Ro, don’t you want her to?” Kit asked, sensing her glance and elbowing her.
“Kit, don’t be obnoxious,” Rosette said in a superior, cutting tone. “Auntie Paige, it’s fine.”
I glanced up at the twins, Aspen and Helaku. Both were also dark haired and green eyed, like their older sister. They were watching Kit and Rosette with great interest, hoping Ro would punch him, probably. “Boys?” I asked. “What do you think?”
Helaku shrugged. “I mean, I don’t get tired of hearing it, but my butt kinda hurts.”
“Let’s play and she can read it to us again later,” Aspen said decidedly. “Sun’s going down.”
“Plus, maybe Tristan’s back!” Sana said, her face glowing with excitement.
I laughed as they scrambled up and ran away, bare feet padding across Aunt Sil’s shining wood floors. It was a sound I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of – running feet and laughing children.
Getting up, I followed them as they tumbled outside. Cree, Wes, and Burr were sitting on the ground at the bottom of the porch steps, their backs to us, and I winced as the kids crashed into their dads.
Kit was a blur as he toppled onto Cree, all but knocking him over, making him laugh. Then he darted away, sprinting around the lawn so fast it was hard to keep track of him.
Rosette, outside, became a cartwheeling whirlwind. But she stopped to give Wes a hug around the neck from behind and a kiss on the cheek. He reached up and pulled her down on his lap, making her squeal with laughter – her mother’s golden mirth all over, contagious and wonderful.
Burr, meanwhile, had a pig-pile of kids on him, the twins climbing on all over him and Sana hugging his arm.
Then there was a happy yell and barking, as Nim came charging around the corner, announcing the arrival of my eight-year-old son and Rayner, holding the hand of our five-year-old daughter, wearing a satisfied smile under a layer of dirt.
Rayner, seriously, how does that always happen? I thought with exasperation and affection. Meanwhile, Nim barreled up the stairs and ran to the water bowl, gulping it down.
“Hey, Mom!” Tristan waved, beaming like a sun as he ran across the lawn, his lanky limbs flailing as if they were trying to catch up to him. He had floppy strawberry blonde hair and my amber eyes. Like his Auntie Sky, he was sunshine in human form.
A small ache went through my chest. It seemed like only the other day, Willow and I had sat on this same lawn, two new mothers, watching Sana and Tristan sleep and fidget on a blanket for hours and hours.
Sana stood up now, racing towards Tristan, all of Willow’s lithe elegance in her small form. They collided in a wild hug, Tristan enthusing, “Sana, look what I found, see these rocks? They’re thousands of years old. I got them for you. And, well, everyone else.”
As Tristan dumped the biggest one into Sana’s hand, I put a hand up to cover a smile. Her eyes were shining and she murmured, “Wow, thank you. You’re the best best friend, Tristan.”
The other kids had clustered around, holding their hands out and Tristan doled out the stones happily, but I saw a goofy smile had spread across his face at Sana’s words.
Behind me, the door opened and Willow came out, a chubby toddler on her hip, with Burr’s wild curls and dark eyes. He smiled at me over her shoulder and I held my hands out.
As she passed Leo to me, she said in a low voice, “I just caught that. Sana is over the moon.”
I laughed. “So is Tristan.”
“Still think I’m wrong?” she teased.
Willow had a theory that Sana and Tristian were not unlike her and Burr as kids, although according to her, Sana was a lot kinder and Tristan a lot less dense.
“Who can say?” I asked. “But they’re definitely attached at the hip.”
“How did they all get so big?” Willow asked.
“I was just wondering the same thing,” I murmured, rubbing my hand up and down Leo’s back.
“Look who woke up,” Hazel said, coming outside now, Ben following her. Each of them had a baby in their arms and Willow laughed.
“Here, I’ll take Luke,” she said to Hazel, who frowned.
“You can have him in a minute,” Hazel murmured, snuggling the blue-blanketed infant.
“Fighting over Luke again?” Rayner asked, grinning as he came to the porch railing. “You do know he is my son, right?”
“It just seems like it’s been so long since we’ve had a newborn,” Hazel murmured. “Besides, we only saw him a little while after he was born and then not for like months.”
“I think it was a few weeks, Hazel,” Ben said. “I mean, he’s only six months old.”
“Sh, what does a dad know of these things?” Hazel chided and he laughed.
“Here, I’ll take Ivy,” Willow said, holding out her hands to Ben, who made a face but handed his gurgling two-year-old over.
“Lolo?” asked Ivy, poking Willow’s cheek and her dark eyes lit up. “Lolo!”
“Ivy, you’re so precious, you’re just like your mommy,” Willow crooned, tousling Ivy’s chestnut curls. “No, not at all like your grumpy-guss daddy.”
“Hey!” Ben said, then he laughed and shook his head as he sat down on the steps. “Aunties.”
“Look, daddy, I’m all
cwean!” came an announcement through the porch door. We glanced back to see Lily, Hazel and Ben’s five-year-old, peering through the door. Aunt Sil was just behind her, sleeves rolled up and dress splattered with water. Lily’s dark curls were wet and her blue eyes shone as she stepped out. Then there was a yell of: “Chloe!”
And Lily was down the steps hugging my daughter.
“Oh no,” Aunt Sil sighed and shifted the blanket on her arm. “That bath took forever, too.”
“Rayner, really?” I scolded.
But he was watching Chloe and Lily giggle as they hugged, Lily now covered in mud again. The look on Rayner’s face – an open and tender love – made me forget what I was going to say.
“Why do we even bother trying to keep those two clean?” Hazel asked with a sigh.
“It’s a losing battle,” said Aunt Sil. She was a little grayer but no less spry. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she was immediately surrounded by the kids, the twins hugging her legs. “Here, help me spread this out,” she said to them. “Room for everyone while we wait for Kalin.”
They spread out the blanket, gesturing for us to follow. Then Kit looked back toward the house and lifted up his voice. “Mom!” he shouted, his voice echoing off the woods, and we all jumped.
“Kit,” Cree said, grabbing him in a headlock. “What did we tell you about yelling like that?”
“What, what?” Sky came running out. “Oh, Kit. Cree, let him go, it’s fine.”
“Sorry,” Kit said in a muffled voice. At that moment Kalin and Deray appeared around the corner, Kalin grinning as she held up the bags in her hands. “Auntie Kay! S’mores!” He slipped away from Cree and grabbed Rosette’s hand. “C’mon Ro.”
As the two scampered off, Wes sighed. “What are the chances those two won’t get married?”
Cree grinned at Wes. “Not good. He has my smile and Sky’s hair.”
“And Ro has my common sense,” Wes retorted as Deray ran over. “But Kalin’s heart.”
Clapping Wes on the back, Cree said in a teasing, affectionate voice. “Nah, it’s both of you, ya old softy.” Then he swung up Deray, who was a like a miniature Wes with Kalin’s eyes. “Hey, D.”
“I missed you, Uncle Cree,” Deray said, laying his head on Cree’s shoulder.
“What about me, kid?” Wes asked, laughing and rubbing Deray’s head.
“I meant before, Dad,” Deray explained, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t get a chance to tell him when everyone got here yesterday.” He became scornful. “Like you said, it was ‘familial chaos.’”
“Kalin sass!” I crowed as I walked down to them and hoisted Leo up higher.
“Can I see him?” Rayner asked, coming up next to me. Leo laughed as Rayner swung him into the air. “Hi, Leo. Man, you look just like your dad.”
Suddenly Kit ran by me, Rosette in tow. Cree laughed while Wes groaned. Kalin came up to us, her hands now free and they settled on her hips. “Wes, she’s six, not sixteen. Chill, papa bear.”
“Ha, can you imagine Wes with a teenage daughter, oh boy.” Cree laughed even harder.
“You’ll be in the same boat not long after, tonto,” Kalin shot back. “You’ll be glad to have his advice then – since you’ll probably be ten times worse.”
Rayner and I looked at each other, then at Kalin, then at Cree. “Wait, what?” I asked. “Cree?”
“Sky?” Rayner asked, turning around.
Kalin put her hands over her mouth as Wes shook his head at her and sighed. “Wow, Kay.”
Cree was now roaring with laughter and he choked out, “And here we thought Kit couldn’t keep a secret. Who’s tonto now?”
Bright red, Kalin looked from her husband to Cree. “Oh no, no. I’m so sorry.” She ran to Sky, hugging her. “Sky, I’m so sorry. Cree was being, well, Cree.”
As we all clustered around Sky, Kit dropped the bags and rushed over, hugging his mother’s hand. “Can I tell them, can I? You said I could!”
Handing Deray over to Wes, Cree went over to a flushed Sky and Kalin, shooing the latter off. Then he threw his arm around his wife’s shoulders, whispering something in her ear and she nodded. “Go ahead, Kit,” Sky said.
“There’s gonna be another baby girl in our family,” Kit said proudly. “My little sister.” Reaching out, he patted Sky’s stomach. “Hi, sis. I don’t know why, but she’s in here.”
Laughter rang out, along with congratulations. My eyes filled with tears as Rayner held his younger sister close for several minutes. The kids were all saying hi to the baby, basically shouting at Sky’s stomach and then hugging Kit, who was beaming with his new role as a big brother. Rosette was giving him impressed looks, remarking on how well he kept the secret and Kit beamed.
Soon, the rest of the Elders arrived and we wandered over to the fire pit. Each of the them was starting to fade a little bit, their time here coming to an end, but their stories would live on with our children. I already knew Tristan, so much like his father, was taking care to write down these stories, his pen already advanced beyond his years.
Once the fire was going nicely, Crowfoot began to weave the smoke into shapes to enchant and calm the kids. It was nice – tonight all of them were being so polite and sweet.
However, we were well aware that within a few days, fights would spark into miniature wars. There’d be rough patches. Timeouts and punishments. Broken toys or furniture. Or both.
But, in the main, our next generation was a loyal and loveable little gang.
Every summer we managed to get together, all living at Aunt Sil’s for a few weeks and remembering the old days. While all of us lived fairly close, all around Montana, our lives easily got busy and overwhelmed with obligations and other things. These weeks in the summer were our time to come back together as a family and celebrate each other.
Somehow Rayner had managed to get Luke back from his adoring aunties and I watched as held our youngest gently – my heart melting at the sight of the snoozing infant tucked in his father’s big arms. Nim, Chloe, and Lily were curled up at my feet, whispering secrets and drawing in the dirt. I met Hazel’s eyes and we both shook our heads, smiling tiredly and giving up a lost battle.
Leaning against Rayner, I tried to hold onto this moment as I gazed around.
I watched as Tristan sat close to Sana, their knees bumping, elbows locked and eyes wide as they listened to Crowfoot. Every so often they’d look at each other and raise their eyebrows.
Beyond them, Fern and Pea sat, with Rosette at Pea’s side, between her and Kit. Ro was already showing signs of being a healer, her touch deft and gentle. The rest of the children sat clustered just beyond, one twin each on Big Bear’s knees, and Deray between Aunt Sil and Kalin.
Deray was holding Kalin’s hand and I felt a brief flash of envy. Tristan’s hand-holding days were long behind; I was lucky to get a quick hug from my always-moving eldest.
Wes was sitting on the ground in front of Kalin, leaning against her knee and his hand over hers on his shoulder. He looked back at her, a gentle smile on his face and she smiled back.
Sitting next to Kalin was Cree, his legs stretched out and a hand on Sky’s knee. Every so often, he’d whisper something to Sky and she’d laugh quietly.
Then it was Burr and Willow, Burr holding a sleepy Leo in one arm and Willow with the other. Willow was glancing between Leo and Burr, something unsaid passing between them.
On the other side, Ben and Hazel sat. Ivy was in Hazel’s lap, smiling up as her father made faces and tickled her. Hazel had her head on Ben’s shoulder and her eyes closed.
Inhaling deeply, I let the scent of summer wash over me, marking our second night here together. The magical smell of the crackling fire, the fresh earth and grass, and faint hint of flowers from the garden. The rumble of Big Bear’s voice and Crowfoot’s smooth tones as they traded off in storytelling. Aunt Sil’s interruptions and the kids’ laughter. From beyond, in the woods, the melody of the mountain night, frogs, wind, and sleepy bir
ds.
Then, away in the distance, the howl of a coyote.
The story broke off as the shifters looked at each other. I took Luke back from Rayner; Ben, Burr, and Wes rose to their feet. “We won’t be long,” Rayner said.
All the kids were awed as their dads moved into the forest, eyes shining with excitement. Leo bounced up and down on Willow’s lap, pointing and saying, “Coyote.”
After the five had shifted and vanished into the woods, the kids lifted up their voices in a chorus of howls. Nim joined in. In the distance was an answering call and they shrieked with laughter. Somehow, impossibly, the gang of them managed to let out an even louder chorus.
Sana came over and squeezed between me and Willow. Glancing between us, she smiled. She leaned against me, looking at Tristan, who was standing up and howling, his whole body quivering with excitement for the day he’d become a shifter.
“I get it now, Auntie Paige. Thank you.” Willow and I looked at each other, then at Sana, who said in a triumphant, happy voice, “The ending was a beginning. And so, the mountains rejoiced.”
The End
HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters Page 85
