“Who is busy on school nights?” Isaac asked the group.
“I’ve got band practice a couple of days a week.” Ethan wiped his fingers on a napkin.
“Are you still working at the climbing center?” Miles asked Asher as he pulled out a small notepad from his pocket.
Asher nodded with his mouth full.
“Isaac?” Miles asked, not looking up from his notes.
“Free all week,” Isaac muttered, paying more attention than he needed to his pizza.
Miles sent Zeke a look over the top of his glasses. “Zeke?”
“Not this week.” Zeke’s voice was rough. “But Fridays normally.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You took a week off?”
He avoided my gaze and nodded before setting his still full plate on the table. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it. And I didn’t push.
“Shouldn’t…” Isaac glanced at me before turning back to Miles. “Shouldn’t Red have a public boyfriend? You know, one of us that if someone asks her out, she can say, ‘sorry, I’m dating that guy.’”
Miles’ eyes unfocused. “That would stop any rumors that might start—”
“Fuck that,” I scoffed, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I’ll hold everyone’s hand and kiss every single one of you in front of the entire town.” I shook my head. “I’m not hiding what you guys mean to me.”
Smiles and grins spread around the group.
“Beautiful has spoken,” Ethan announced.
We chuckled.
The front door opened. Everyone turned in time to watch Jessica climb the stairs with a duffle bag.
Asher watched her disappear upstairs, his face growing serious. “I need to talk to Jess, guys.”
We got to our feet and started cleaning up. I set the one full pizza box in the kitchen while the others said goodbye. I was the last to stop at the front door Asher was holding open.
I smiled up at him before I glanced back at the guys talking on the sidewalk.
He closed the door a little more so they couldn’t see us. I went to my toes and brushed my lips with his. His lips moved against mine, making my blood rush from my head. I braced a hand in the middle of his firm chest. He took a slow, deep breath through his nose as his other hand moved to cover mine. He gently pulled my hand from his chest and tilted his chin away, leaving his forehead pressed against mine. “Careful, Ally. Really careful.”
I opened my eyes and pulled back to meet his. “Sorry. I just… I’m happy you’re home.”
“Me too,” he whispered as he squeezed my hand and let me go.
I walked outside with a warm face. Ethan raised an eyebrow and sent me a naughty look before he headed toward their house. I was still smiling as I climbed into the Blazer.
Asher
I watched as Ally walked down the porch steps and headed for her Blazer. My body was harder than rock as I eased my grip on the door. Deep dents were in the wood of the front door from where I had gripped it to keep from touching her. The moment she touched me, it took everything I had not to slam the door and take her upstairs. My wolf vibrated deep in my chest, agreeing with me. It used all my focus to keep us both still until she left.
I closed the door carefully and took several deep breaths until my body stopped aching. Dreading this, I walked back into the family room and sat down. My wolf rubbed under the surface, practically rolling over and showing his belly. My reaction to Ally… it wasn’t normal. Astrid had been right. Something was different with her.
Jessica’s footsteps moved over the aged floorboards a moment before she shut her door upstairs and started down the steps. Her step halted halfway down. “Ash?”
I put everything else out of my mind and turned to my sister. My still human sister. Her cheeks had become a bit thinner since I last saw her and the bags under her eyes were heavier. She smiled and it was like a soft blow to the heart. She looked so much like Mom when she smiled.
“Hey, Jess.” My wolf raised its head inside me, waking only long enough to recognize family before going back to sleep.
Jessica hopped down the rest of the stairs and latched on to me. Surprised, I hesitated while she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tight. It wasn’t more than a heartbeat before I was hugging her too. My little sister. I hadn’t hugged her in a long time. My wolf rose to the surface and rubbed against the inside of my mind. Fear. Protect.
I blinked several times as I tried to understand what I was feeling. Jessica was talking about how she missed me while I tried to sort out what my wolf was seeing that I wasn’t. Jessica needed protection? My wolf agreed before settling back down, allowing me to focus on my sister. “Are you okay?”
She stopped midsentence and squeezed me tighter. “Yeah, great.” Her voice was high as she pulled back. She avoided meeting my eyes as she headed for the kitchen.
I followed, stepping into the kitchen as she pulled pizza from the box. “The guys said they stayed with you a lot this month.”
She carefully set a piece on the plate and ran her fingers over the edge of the plate. “So?”
“What’s going on, Jess?”
She shrugged, picked up the plate and turned away. “I kept hearing weird noises.”
“Jess—”
“You know, you missed the start of football practice.” She put the plate in the microwave and set it for a minute.
I sighed. I might as well get it over with. “I’m not playing football this year.”
Her head snapped around; her eyes grew wide. “What?”
I leaned against the doorjamb and repeated myself. “I’m not playing football this year.”
She blinked at me. “Why not?”
I sighed. “Because I’m done with it and I don’t enjoy it anymore.”
“But… but it’s your ride to college.”
I shook my head. “That’s what Dad thinks. It’s not.”
She shifted on her feet while looking down at her hands. “Dad’s coming home tomorrow.”
I growled. Her head snapped up.
“Why?” I tried to cover.
She tilted her head to the side and sent me a look.
It hit me. “Because Coach Barstein called him.”
“Bingo.” She leaned against the counter behind her as the microwave dinged.
Great. Dad was coming home. My phone dinged.
Still thinking about Dad and the pain in the ass he was going to be, I pulled out my phone.
Brody: Welcome home, now get your ass out to Bickman’s trail for a run.
I cursed. Brody was one of the rogue wolves that had moved to town as a favor to Astrid. He was supposed to take over mentoring me while Astrid and Ranulf took care of an issue in San Francisco.
Asher: I’ll be there in fifteen.
I put my phone in my pocket. “I gotta go for a run.” Before she could ask, I turned and headed upstairs.
“You just got home,” Jessica said, following me up the stairs.
“Yeah, I know.” I closed my door in her face and quickly changed into workout shorts and a tank.
“Does this have anything to do with you being gone for a month?” she asked.
I shoved my feet into my sneakers and quickly tied my shoes. “Yeah, I’m used to the camp’s training program now. I kinda liked it. Thought I’d keep it going.”
“If you weren’t going to play football this year, why did you bother with the football camp?”
I opened the door to find her scowling. “I realized I was done there.” God, I hated lying to her. I had never been very good at it, and by the narrowing of her eyes, it looked like I still wasn’t. I hurried down the stairs, grabbing my keys on the way. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Thankfully, Jess didn’t follow me outside to my truck. I headed out to Bickman’s trail, which was the hardest hike you could get around here. And we were about to run it.
I sighed. This was it. This was my life now. Managing my wolf and keeping the danger to the people aro
und me to a minimum. At least Astrid said it eventually became instinct and I wouldn’t have to think about it at some point.
As I drove through town my mind drifted back to Ally on the couch. I had barely been able to stop biting her. What the hell had set me off like that? I ran through what I remembered and couldn’t figure it out. And I had to. If I didn’t…
Chapter 2
Sunday Morning
Lexie
I walked into the town’s café smiling. Jake was already there with his left arm still in its sling. The football star had separated his shoulder bad enough to need surgery during an accidental hit at practice a couple of weeks ago. His shoulder would heal, but his football season was over and he was already going stir crazy.
He looked up and smiled as I dropped into the chair across from him. “You’re practically glowing.”
“I’m happy.” I couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
“That’s a ‘got some’ smile.” He acted shocked.
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t get laid. But I did finally get to kiss a couple of my… boyfriends.”
He leaned forward, his face eager. “Tell me more.”
The memory of Asher’s touch made me smile and my face warmed. “Uh… I got some much-needed kisses.”
He chuckled as he adjusted the strap around his neck.
I shook my head. “Seriously, the whole look but don’t touch thing was killing me.”
“I wouldn’t have lasted the month.” He sighed. “So, Asher’s home?”
“Yeah and the dating schedule begins tomorrow night.” The waitress came over. I ordered an iced tea. “How’s Derrick?”
It was Jake’s turn to smile a big smile. “Great. Dating again is great.”
I smiled. “Still being jealous?”
Jake’s cheeks turned pink. “No. Not at all.”
I leaned forward, just as eager for details as he had been. “Do tell.”
He chuckled. “He’s been very sweet. I admit, I did get jealous when one of his ex-girlfriends was at a party last week, but I didn’t say anything rude. I didn’t blame him for it or anything. I didn’t even get mad.”
I grinned. That wasn’t it. He was smiling way too much for that to be the end of the story. “And what happened next?”
His cheeks turned pink. “Oh, nothing, we just went and had some alone time.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you two sleeping together?”
“There’s not much sleeping,” he hedged.
“Oh, you hussy,” I teased.
He raised his eyebrows. “Okay, little miss dating five guys.”
“But not sleeping with any of them,” I countered.
He grinned. “And how long is that going to actually last?”
I thought about it honestly and smirked. “Probably not long.”
He snickered as the waitress brought me my tea. I paid her and thanked her before turning back to Jake. “It’s not that easy, I want everyone to have a better idea of how this is going to work before we throw that wrench into the mix.”
“Don’t you mean wench?” he teased.
I snorted into my tea. “Nice. How’s your shoulder?”
He grumbled wordlessly.
“That good, huh?”
“I’m bored,” he admitted. “I can’t run, I can’t play football. Hell, I can’t even type at a decent rate right now. And I never realized that Derrick’s schedule was as busy as mine before.”
“I know it sucks, but if you want to keep your range of motion, then you’ve got to take the time to heal.” I took a sip of my tea.
“I know.” He grinned. “That just means that I have more time to get you and Riley talking to each other again. And…” His grin disappeared. “Dylan’s dad.”
“He’s getting worse?”
Jake nodded. “They’re not giving him much longer.”
I cursed. “How’s Dylan handling it?” I didn’t talk to my ex, but I had liked his dad, and well, no one deserved to lose both parents.
He shook his head. “Not well, we’ve all been chipping in at the store so they can keep his treatments going. And we can all spend time with him.”
“I’m sorry, Jake. He’s such a nice guy.”
He shook his head slowly. “The guy practically raised all of us.”
Before I could figure out what else to say, that chill ran down my neck. I took a casual look around. A lithe ghost stepped through the windows across the café. She had been a few years younger than me when she died. Her marching band uniform still had bloodstains covering her side, staining the gold embroidery red. And I knew why. On the way to a football game several years ago, the bus crashed. Three people died, including Misty. She made eye contact with me and headed for the back of the café near the bathrooms.
“Um, I’ll be right back.” I got to my feet and followed the girl only I could see.
“Running away isn’t going to stop me from being nosey,” he warned.
I flipped him off over my shoulder before turning the corner. Misty took a hit of her inhaler. I didn’t say anything, I had already told her that since she didn’t have a body, she didn’t have asthma anymore and didn’t need it. She had simply waved me off saying it was psychosomatic and to let it go.
When she could, she said, “We took the trails that were farther out today, and we still found nothing.”
I cursed. Ever since we came back from Swan Lake I’d sent souls out searching for another setup like we found at the lake. They had more time on their hands and walls didn’t bother them. Only, we hadn’t found anything yet. “Did everyone come back?”
She nodded. “Yeah, why?”
“We’re still losing ghosts daily.” And I couldn’t figure out why. “I really need you guys to stay on top of who is going where and if they get back. That'll give us a place to start if they go missing.”
“If who goes missing?” Jake’s voice made me jump.
I spun around; the blood drained from my face as I spotted Jake. “What? Oh, Hades. I was just thinking out loud.”
“Okay, weirdo.” He eyed me before going into the men’s room.
Shit. I turned back to Misty. “I’ll see you guys tonight at the cemetery.”
I went back to my spot and mentally cursed myself. I knew better than to talk to a ghost around normal people. I was still berating myself when he came back and sat down.
“So, have you talked to Riley?” he asked as he picked up his coffee.
I played with the straw in my tea. “Nope.”
“She’s going to be here in a couple of minutes.” He shook his head. “Don’t you miss her?”
“Yeah, I miss her. But it’s gotten easier over the last few months.”
“Lexie, you said you’d listen with an open mind,” he chided me.
“I will. But frankly, I feel like I just called her on her shit.” I shifted and got more comfortable.
He sighed. “I know. And honestly, I feel the same way. She even admitted to me that some of her other friends said the same thing. But you can’t go in already pissed off and not willing to listen to what she has to say. That won’t help.”
I started to rub my temple. “Yeah, I know. And I’m trying.” I liked Riley. I really did. But she hadn’t believed me when I said how I felt about all the guys. She also didn’t like the fact I had been thinking of dating all the guys at once. In fact, she had a very clear opinion on it.
Jake’s gaze moved over my shoulder. “Here she comes.”
The door of the café opened and a tall girl with lavender hair walked over. Riley had a pretty, round face which was now tense as she sat down in the chair next to Jake. “Hey, how’s the wing?”
“Annoying.” Jake grinned. “How are the cousins?”
“The same.” Riley’s face loosened up before she turned to me. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I started tapping my fingers on my thigh, wishing one of the guys were here.
So…” She shrugged. “What was your decision?”
I barely resisted the urge to flip her off. “That’s what you want to know? Not, what have you been up to? How’ve things been? Or even talking about our fight? Just straight to if I’m dating the guys.”
Riley crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, I thought I knew you. You are a funny, pissy bitch that I love to hang out with.”
“You bailed on us.” I refused to answer until I said what I needed to say. “You got a boyfriend, and you bailed.”
“Deep breaths, girls,” Jake reminded us. “This isn’t about blame or who did what. This is about talking about how you feel. ‘I feel’ statements.”
“I feel like one of my friends ignored me. I’m hurt that she didn’t return my calls or texts for months.” Anger boiled in my chest, anger I didn’t realize I still had.
Riley started picking at the fabric on the arm of her armchair. “I shouldn’t have done that. I just…” She met my eyes. “I got carried away. I shouldn’t have dropped out of contact. You’re right about that. So, I’m sorry for not returning calls or texts.”
Some of my anger fizzled. “Thank you. I’m sorry I kinda blew up at you at the fair.”
“You got really defensive,” Riley said.
I thought about it. Had I gotten defensive? I chewed on my thumbnail as I went over it again. “Okay, I can see that. What you were saying made me feel like I was doing something wrong.”
She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “If that’s all it took, then maybe that should tell you something.”
My shoulders grew tense as anger bubbled up again.
“Riley, you said you would state what you’re worried about in a positive way,” Jake reminded her.
Riley looked at him and nodded before turning back to me. “I’m worried that you haven’t thought that much about this.”
I let out a deep breath. Just tell her, she’ll either understand or not. “Not thought about it? It’s been on my mind for months. Ever since I realized it, it has kept me up at night. I’ve had panic attacks over it. I’ve been terrified it would tear them apart from each other. I’ve felt everything from guilt to planning on going into homeschool so they’d never have to see me again if they decided to not try the dating option. Believe me, I’ve thought about this.”
When the Dead Come Home Page 3
