“Better.”
Holding Lloyd’s photo in one hand, her other hand curled up on Connor’s thigh, she eventually fell asleep.
Seeing her tight grip on the photo, Connor worried at first his friend would always intrude in his relationship with Elaine. But after a while, he began to think this might be her last real moment with her mate, and he would never begrudge her that.
After about half an hour, her hand relaxed and the photo slipped onto the bedspread.
Connor was about to reach for it, to tuck it between her fingers once more, but stopped himself.
He couldn’t help thinking it was Lloyd’s way of saying goodbye.
* * * *
“I saw a big doggie.” Andy mumbled in his sleep, his eyes fluttering. He hovered on the verge of consciousness, but his head dropped to the side and he remained asleep.
“I’m sure you did, little guy.” Josh checked the pulse in Andy’s wrist. Nice and steady. He tucked the blanket around the boy and checked on Layla. She was sleeping soundly as well, showing no ill effects from the shift. Although he remained wary, he was relieved. The kids would be fine. Their premature shifts were clearly stress-induced.
Elaine’s condition, however, was more of a concern.
During her exam, he’d detected an arrhythmia where there had been none before. In speaking to her, he’d also learned she sometimes suffered from chest pain and breathlessness, the same sort of wasting disease he’d seen in other shifters who’d lost mates.
When he’d cautioned her about overdoing it and giving into stress, she’d brushed him off in typical Elaine fashion. If she wasn’t careful, her condition could worsen.
There was a soft knock at the cabin door.
He glanced at the clock. Six in the morning. Who on earth would be visiting Elaine now?
He strode over to the door and prepared to chastise the intruder, whipping it open. “It’s a bit early for a social call.”
Marcelle Burgess poked her head around the corner of the cabin. She held a tray with a couple of take-away coffees on it. Bright pink blotches of embarrassment covered the lovely cocoa brown of her cheeks.
“Marcelle. I’m sorry.”
“I know it’s early. I don’t want to bother Elaine. I was hoping to see you.”
“You were?”
“Yeah. We never got to have that drink last night. After I changed, a friend called me, and I got stuck on the phone.”
“No worries. I was sort of needed with Elaine and her kids anyway.”
“Of course. Still, I wouldn’t have kept you waiting without good reason. My friend was having a love life emergency and wanted my advice. I missed most of the commotion at the party. Anyway, I was heading back to the mainland this morning, and when I was walking to the dock, I noticed the light on in here. I saw you through the window. You’ve pulled an all-nighter, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, but I don’t mind. Everyone was worried about the kids.”
“Are they okay? I mean, have they shifted back?”
“They have, but considering the violence and spontaneity of the shift, I wanted to make sure there were no aftershocks, so to speak. I just felt better monitoring them through the night.”
“You’re so dedicated.” She knocked her boot toe against the stoop, shaking off some of the snow on it. “I don’t want to keep you. I can just drop off the coffee for you and run.”
“No.” The eagerness in his voice surprised him. “I’d love to have coffee with you, if I’m not holding you back.”
She smiled. “I have some time.”
That smile. It did things to him. Josh’s bear took a good sniff, sat up on its haunches, and huffed in curiosity.
Funny. His bear had always been sort of ambivalent.
