I nodded. We wanted to call the night before, but neither of them was available.
Lachlan disappeared into the bathroom and a few moments later I heard the water come on. Immediately, the sound conjured up images in my mind that I shouldn’t entertain. Visions of water pouring down over naked skin and sculpted muscles.
Shaking my head, I stood up and carried the coffee I’d been drinking out on to the front porch. I needed to put distance between us. As I settled on a rickety chair, propping my feet on the railing that surrounded the porch, my cell phone rang.
When I saw the name on the caller ID, I smiled and answered, “I knew you missed me.”
“Yeah, you and my sanity,” Ricki snarked. “You both left at the same time.”
I chuckled. “How are the pups?”
“They’re trying to kill each other on a daily basis, but other than that, they’re good.” Ricki’s tone was indulgent and affectionate, as if spending time with three homicidal shifter toddlers was her favorite thing to do.
I couldn’t blame her for thinking that because the little devils were adorable. I still remembered the look of shock on her face, and Calder’s, when they realized they weren’t having one baby, but triplets. As soon as they’d arrived back at the compound, Calder had hidden in Lach’s house because Ricki was pissed at him for “knocking her up with a litter.”
“How are things going with you?” she asked. “Have you learned anything?”
“More than I bargained for,” I sighed. “We found out that Darrell did kill my parents.”
“What? Why?” Ricki had heard of Darrell, though she’d never met him. I’d told her all about my childhood.
“I don’t know why,” I replied. “But I intend to find out.”
Ricki was silent for a long moment. Finally, she spoke, “How’s Lach doing?”
“He seems better than he’s been in over a year. He’s eating more and gaining weight.”
“He was really upset when you left,” Ricki stated softly. “Especially since you didn’t say good-bye.”
Grateful she wasn’t close enough to smell the lie, I answered, “I didn’t think he’d notice I was gone.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” she retorted. “You ran away because he’s your mate.”
Every muscle in my body froze, locking into place. “What did you say?”
“Lachlan is your mate, isn’t he?”
There was no way I was answering that question. “Why do you think that?”
“Don’t do that,” Ricki snapped. “Don’t answer my question with a question. Calder and I both noticed how you reacted to him. Well, I noticed and mentioned to Calder that I thought you had a crush on Lach. He started paying attention then and told me that you were acting like a she-wolf with her mate.”
I couldn’t say anything. All these months I thought I’d been hiding my feelings, but Calder and Ricki both knew.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Chloe?” Ricki asked.
I stared blindly into the trees that surrounded the cabin, unable to answer. If I started speaking, it would all come out in a flood and now wasn’t the time.
“Chloe?”
“Because it wouldn’t make any difference,” I stated. The words hurt as they escaped my tight throat. “He’ll never see me that way.”
“You don’t know that,” Ricki replied. Her voice was so gentle that tears pricked the backs of my eyelids.
“I do. Even if he recovers enough to want a female, it won’t be me. He’s never been interested in me sexually. Hell, he treats me like a little sister.”
Ricki was quiet for a few moments. “I think you’re wrong.”
“I know I’m not.”
