“It’s all right,” she whispered. “I sense them, too.” Her gaze shifted up, then around, before meeting Ken’s again. “I feel them here. Guarding everyone. I dream about them when I’m here. Chelsea more than Charles.” She sadly smiled. “Chelsea always scolds me to eat more. When she’s not cooing over Maisie, that is.”
Ken finally laughed, his fugue broken. “That sounds about right, from what I’ve heard from everyone.” He had a thought. “Wait, have you told anyone else?” He was beyond trying to argue points such as ghosts couldn’t be real, because a year ago, he would have argued shapeshifters were impossible…
Yet here I am.
She nodded. “I talked about it with Gillian and Asia when they traveled to Florida for Dewi’s baby shower. I realized I never dream about them when I’m not here. Then they showed me a picture—I suppose I was too upset during my first stay to notice the family portraits—and they told me they’ve also dreamed of them quite frequently. Especially once they were pregnant.”
Whenever Tamsin was here, Peyton and Gillian always put her up in a bedroom in the main house. “Have you dreamed about them this trip?” Ken asked.
She smiled. “Yes. Last night. I must say it’s a comfort, in some ways. That echoes of them remain behind, watching over everyone. I wish I could have met them.”
He sadly sighed. “Me, too.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ken
Ken dreaded driving the rental van, but Gillian came to his rescue, handing him the keys to her smaller SUV. “I’ll trade you that for time with Lyssa,” she joked, reaching for the baby. Adair was currently asleep. “I won’t get nearly enough time with this little one before you head home.”
“I figured you’d be babied out by now,” he joked as he passed her over.
“No, never.” Gillian smiled down at her niece. “I love babies, and I honestly wasn’t sure I’d ever see the day this precious little one would arrive.” She gently nudged Ken with her hip. “Because I wasn’t convinced we’d ever see the day Dewi was happily mated.”
His smile faded as he thought about Peyton’s earlier phone calls. “Is there something going on I need to know about?”
Gillian slowly shook her head. “No more than what you and I already know. I mean, that you and I are read in on.” She glanced around to make sure they were still alone. “Try to relax and enjoy this family time, okay? I know that’s difficult, given everything, but…” She shrugged. “Be greedy about clinging to the easy times.” She glanced toward the fireplace. “Things can change in a heartbeat. We all unfortunately learned that the hard way.”
Ken checked in with Dewi to let her know Lyssa was with Gillian before heading into town. It lay on the west side of the pack compound, just outside the main entrance. While populated mostly by packmates who lived and ran businesses there, they also dealt with clueless humans who passed through on their way to other locations for activities such as hunting, fishing, and hiking. It felt like little had changed in the picturesque town since their last visit that past December.
When Ken entered the market, the clerk sitting at the counter looked up from his book.
“Hey there. Ken, right?”
Ken nodded. “Webster?”
The man grinned. “You remember. Glad to see you’re still in one piece. I hear congratulations are also in order? For the baby.”
“Yes, thanks.” He grabbed a hand basket. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for calling Peyton so fast that afternoon.” It looked like they were currently alone in the store.
Webster waved his comment away. “You’re pack. We take care of ours. And from what I understand, you did a damned fine job keeping the two of you alive.”
“Well, Duncan deserves a majority of the credit for that.”
“Oh! Is he coming out for the ceremony, too?”
“Yes.” Ken glanced at his phone to skim the alerts the airline sent him. “He and Badger are already in the air. They’ll arrive later today.”
“Excellent. I made sure to order extras of something.” He emerged from behind the counter and waved for Ken to follow him past one of the large banks of upright coolers, leading him through an “employees only” door. He reached into the back of one of the coolers and pulled out three six-packs.
“Badger loves Guinness,” he said, handing one to Ken while carrying the other two. “I usually sell out within hours of getting a shipment, so I put one back for him when I heard he was coming.”
“Thanks, I’ll tell him.”
“So, what else are you looking for today, son?”
Ken showed him his shopping list and was pleasantly surprised that Webster not only had everything on it and then some, but Ken was also able to purchase ingredients to make a few of his favorite vegetarian dishes during their stay.
After ringing him up, Webster waved off Ken’s attempt to pay. “Nah. Peyton has an account. Gillian settles with me every week.” He grinned. “If I took money from you for groceries, Peyton would literally chew me a new one.”
