“It’s alright. It’s about what I expected anyway.”
“What does that mean?” Daniel demanded.
“It means that I’m just not cut out for a relationship.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Avaleigh said.
“The right person will see that you’re one of a kind,” Daniel said.
Angelle laughed, though it was clearly not a happy laugh. “I’m sure anyone that gets to know me will see exactly what Boon did. That I’m a little strange, and more of a loner. And that’s okay. I’ve always been that way.” She tapped the paring knife on the side of the metal bowl she was filling with sliced peaches. “Do you think this is enough?”
Avaleigh and Daniel shared a look and Daniel lifted his lip to show her he was irritated, but did manage to withhold the snarl he really wanted to release.
“Maybe one more,” Avaleigh said, encouraging her to finish making her breakfast for them all so that she wouldn’t feel that her entire plan fell through.
“Yeah, I was thinking that, too,” Angelle said, refusing to allow herself to be upset that the male she’d allowed to kiss her, the male she’d actually thought was different, the one she’d let herself believe was actually for her and her alone, had left in the middle of the night without a word.
~~~
Lily opened her eyes long before the sun came up, but lay there for a few moments trying to determine what woke her. Finally, she smiled to herself and slipped out of bed.
“You okay?” Carrik asked when he felt her get up.
“Yes! I’m going to start breakfast. Tempest is here.”
“In the house?” he asked. “I have to start paying more attention. I should have felt her.”
“No, but she’s in Whispers. I can feel her magic. She’ll be here soon.”
It was just as the sun began to break through the darkness, and the birds began singing to greet the day that Lily and Carrik heard the front door open.
“Mom? Dad? Surprise!” Tempest called out.
“Double surprise,” Boon added as he followed Tempest inside.
Lily set her spoon down and hurried into the living room. “I knew it! I knew you’d come by!” she exclaimed as she made a beeline for Tempest.
Tempest hugged her mother like she hadn’t seen her in a year. “I missed you!”
“I missed you, too,” Lily said. “Where’s the baby? And Brandt?”
“I left them home.”
“Why?”
“She’s helping me get my house in order,” Boon said. “Plus, she said she never gets to be the baby anymore so we were coming here before going back.”
Lily laughed. “Kind of sneaks up on you, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, but you always had to share your parents. I didn’t. Now suddenly, I’m not the baby anymore, and even my husband is focused on the baby. I’m the one that had him, shouldn’t I be getting a little of that nurturing?” she demanded playfully.
“And that’s how we know there’s a little bit of Lore in there,” Carrik said, walking into the living room to shake Boon’s hand and hug Tempest. “You’ll always be my baby,” he said, hugging her tightly.
“See?” Tempest said like a toddler, tossing an ‘I told you so’ look at Boon as she snuggled against her dad.
Boon chuckled.
“What are you cooking? It smells wonderful!” Tempest said, her nose in the air, following it toward the kitchen as she let go of her father.
