“It’s been less than a year since we lost Zeke,” I argued, grabbing a towel. “Give us a minute to?—”
“Oh, because the Bouchers are going to sweep in and fix everything, right?” she said, throwing her hands in the air. “Uncle Dalton and my pop have been searching for these guys for a lot longer than you, and they still barely have anything.”
“I realize that.”
“What makes you think that you’re going to find things out so much faster?”
“Well, for one, we won’t be using mortal humans asbait,” I bit out, my hackles rising.
“Then what was Charlie?” she snapped back.
“Charlie is immortal.” I tossed the towel back onto the counter.
Rosemary’s mouth snapped shut, and her head jerked back in shock. “What?”
“He’s mated. He’s no longer mortal.”
“But Zeke?—”
“Is dead,” I said flatly. “They completed the bond before he was killed.”
Rosemary stared at me, her eyes growing glassy. “Oh, man. Poor Charlie.”
I nodded. “Lucy tethers him here. For now, at least.”
“Lucy is his sister, right? Ambrose’s mate?”
“Yes. When we went searching for Charlie after we lost Zeke, we found Lucy.”
“I can’t believe he’s…” She paused. “He seemed okay. He—I talked to him. He introduced himself.”
“He struggles,” I replied. “Obviously.”
“I’ve never met someone who’d lost their mate before.”
“They usually don’t live long afterward.”
“I know. But Charlie, he’s choosing to stay?”
“Yes.”
“Incredible.” She shook her head. “How fucking sad. I can’t even imagine it. I mean, I don’t even like you that much, but I don’t know if?—”
“Hey,” I protested, yanking her toward me. I didn’t want to hear the end of her sentence.
“Fine, I like you a little,” she conceded, smiling. “So don’t die, okay?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I promised.
She continued to smile, but her gaze shifted away from mine. “Let’s finish cleaning up.”
I washed, and she dried the pans, and then we made our way outside and sat down on the sofa on the back patio. The night was clear enough that the stars were easily visible between the clouds, and I felt my body relaxing against the cushions. It was cold outside, but Rosemary seemed comfortable enough pressed up against me, and I liked being able to hear everything going on around us.
The walls of the house muffled a lot of the sound, and I found myself listening more intently than I usually needed to, trying to be sure that there wasn’t anyone getting close to the house. There wasn’t anyone around for a pretty good distance, and being there reminded me of home. The closer you got to town and neighbors, the harder it was to filter out the noises that were normal and those you had to be aware of. I’d spent my entire lifedoing it, and it was second nature, but that didn’t mean I didn’t notice and enjoy when I didn’t have to do it.
“I didn’t expect to start a family so soon,” Rosemary said after she’d been quiet for a long time.
“We can wait.” I kissed the top of her head.
