“Mama said to call you in for dinner,” Farhan said. “And Emmeline, too.”
Embarrassment burned Luke’s ears.
“Hi,” Emmeline said, sounding amused. “Do I know you?”
Luke tried to give his brother a silent warning, and a mischievous glint entered Farhan’s eyes.
“I’d tell you if I didn’t care for my life,” Farhan told Emmeline, giving her a boyish smile.
“Oh?”
Farhan strode over, offering Emmeline his hand. “I’m Farhan,” he said, helping Emmeline stand. “Luke’s brother. I’m sure he’s told you nothing about me, since in comparison he seems pretty dull. I am the better Hayward man, after all. Ask anyone.”
Emmeline finally smiled, and Luke cut his brother a look. “Quit being so charming,” he said. He was the one who was supposed to be making Emmeline smile.
Farhan only rolled his eyes. “Ignore him, he’s always like this,” he stage-whispered to Emmeline. Then, he grinned. “Now, come on, I’m starving!”
Chapter 21
Things felt good between Emmeline and Luke now. There would be no more fighting.
It had already been too much, things going too far, and it was all so stupid. Luke hadn’t been hurt—thank God—but he could have been, and just the thought made her stomach clench. She hated how she’d been behaving; how erratic everything had felt, how out of control.
A clean slate would put an end to all that.
While she still wasn’t quite certain of exactly what her feelings were, she knew that she wanted to stop hiding from them. She wanted to feel—even if it made her feel like she was on the edge of a cliff, about to fall.
She followed Farhan out of the barn and into the cold. He was explaining how he was a middle school teacher, telling her about some of his students as they headed into the house. Inside, the home was warmly lit by the golden glow of lamps.
It was a small place, a little messy, but cozy. There was a woman asleep on the couch, knitting on her lap.
“Our mother, Rhea,” Farhan said, voice quiet. Luke followed in after them, closing the backdoor. He took Emmeline’s coat, going to hang it, and Emmeline’s eyes dropped to the baby chimeras snuggled on Rhea’s feet.
“And this is Butternut and Squash,” Farhan said with a smile, scooping the baby chimeras into his arms. He brought them over to Emmeline, and she smushed their furry goat faces.
“How cute,” she said, petting them as they cooed. “I love the names.”
“I came up with them,” Luke interjected, coming back to stand between her and Farhan. Emmeline bit back a smile. She could sense Luke wasn’t enjoying the attention Farhan was getting from her.
“That’s really cute,” she said, smiling at Luke, and his face lit up. Her heart warmed. She hadn’t known a few simple words from her could make him so happy, and suddenly, she felt a little shy.
She turned back to the baby chimeras, who were obviously identical twins. She searched for something to tell them apart but failed.
“How do you know who’s who?” she asked, petting one of them.
“Honestly, I can’t,” Farhan said. “It’s a guess every time.”
Luke shook his head. “I’d expect better from a teacher,” he said. Then, he lifted the right wing of one of the babies and the left wing of the other. They had matching birthmarks on opposite wings.
“Butternut’s the one with the mark on her right,” Luke said. “Squash is the other.”
Squash wiggled in Farhan’s arms, trying to jump free, and Farhan let him. The baby chimera leaped onto Luke, where Luke caught him with one ringed hand, holding him steady against his chest. The chimera’s snake tail curled around Luke’s forearm, and her heart squeezed.
“Oh, hello,” a soft voice said, and they turned to see Rhea rouse from her sleep. She blinked slowly. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You’ve had a long day,” Luke said, going to her side. Rhea looked a little frail. She might have been sick because of the cold weather, Emmeline thought.
“Hi,” Emmeline said, going over to her. “I’m Emmeline.”
