I shrugged. “I had friends, but no one like you guys. I guess I convinced myself that just calling you guys and video chatting with my brother constantly was enough. That it was okay if most of my relationships here felt… like surface relationships. Like, I’m friends with someone because they’re friends with Rick, or because So and So was the mom of one of Travis’s friends. It wasn’t until I went back to Mystic Hollow that I realized just how much I missed being with people I could be myself with.”
“This is a good time for you to appreciate how your life has changed,” Carol said. “Things are never going to be like that again.”
Her words felt like a bell had suddenly been rung within my soul. She was right. Things were never, ever going to be like that again. I did hope that I was able to find Rick and Candace, but it was mainly because I knew once I did they would be out of my life forever. Rick and I would be able to finalize our divorce and I could sell this place and finally,finally, cut all ties with Springfield and my ex.
“Maybe adding a date with someone new?” Deva added slyly, pulling me from my thoughts. She knew darn well Daniel and I had talked about it.
I couldn’t stop the blush from creeping up my cheeks. I was looking forward to that date. Could it even really be called a date though? I supposed I'd have to wait and see. I had no idea what Daniel had in mind, but it had very obviously been a while since I'd been single and I wasn't sure I even knew how to date anymore. Those were worries for another time though.
“What about you?” I asked Carol, trying to take some of the heat off myself. “Ready for a new outlook?”
She shrugged and didn’t quite meet my eyes. She hadn’t moved on from the love of her life, Bryan, and didn’t apparently want to talk about it. I wish I knew about what had happened between them, what had made her completely shut herself off from even dating anyone else? I could barely remember him, the memories were distorted by time and pregnancy brain. In all honesty, it was a miracle I'd even recognizedDanielthat first time.
When Carol stayed quiet my gaze wandered to Beth who also stayed quiet. I hated the thought of her hurting from her ex’s death. She still cared for him and her sister, even if she had been done so wrong by them. They were her family for such a long time. Sometimes it was hard to shut your heart off from something like that.
In fact, Deva and I were the only ones out of our group that seemed to be moving on. Maybe we were the only ones that were ready to? I did hope that Beth would get there eventually. All of my friends deserved to be happy, but Beth deserved to have someone love her for exactly who she is, just like Deva deserved to be appreciated for her amazing talents.
Carol seemed happy enough on her own, but I'd catch her looking distant sometimes, and not that creative distance where I could see that she was working on something either. This was a lonely distance. One that only came from being by yourself for a long time. One that I recognized all too well, though I would have denied it at the time as well.
Are we going to talk all day or hunt some toads?Buster asked, startling me out of my deep thoughts.
“Is Mr. Grumpy ready already?” I asked as he jumped up onto the table and sat in front of a plate of eggs that Deva had made just for him. He may have been a cat, but he was a cat with taste, and if we needed him then the last thing I wanted was for him to be grumpy and dragging his feet.
He sucked in a deep breath.You spiced it with catnip, you wonderful chef, you.
Well, that would perk him right up, I hoped. Couldn't catnip make some cats pass out as well? I hoped Buster was more a peppy nipper than a sleepy nipper because I had a feeling we were going to need his help today.
Chapter Six
Daniel
“Geez, guys, I really appreciate you coming.” I rubbed the back of my neck and smiled at Emma’s brother and his girlfriend. I hoped Henry didn't think I was taking advantage of my friendship with his sister. He was a good guy, and I really did appreciate him helping me. He was still very much in his thirties, and probably still felt like he was in his twenties, even I felt that way sometimes, until I did something extravagant like tie my shoes and my back protested. He and Alice were a good fit, that much was obvious from just looking at them together.
Henry nodded his head once, quiet as he normally was around me. For the first time I realized that he had the same deep chestnut eyes as Emma. There was no doubt that they were brother and sister once you saw it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice cock her head at me and stare steadily as she asked, “What’s this all about?”
I shifted from one foot to the other. Yes, I lived in a town full of supernatural beings, but that didn't mean that it was an anything goes type of situation. Besides, Henry was human, yes, a human that knew about the truth of things, but still human nonetheless. And Alice? Well, I wasn't really sure where she fell on the spectrum, but from what Emma had said she was some kind of witch or maybe she was just sensitive. It was hard to say.
After a moment I took a deep breath and as matter-of-factly as I could I said, “I feel kind of crazy about it, is the thing. But my best friend, he died years and years ago. And yesterday, he appeared to me. Here.” I motioned toward the rock. “As a ghost.”
That got Henry’s attention and his dark eyes widened. “Like, white and filmy? As in Casper, the friendly?”
I nodded. “Yes. But he couldn’t speak to me. He was trying to, but nothing came out, or through or whatever.”
“So, why us?” Alice asked with her head still cocked. She reminded me a little of a dog that had heard a strange noise. No, scratch that, she reminded me of a bird that was curious about something.
I got the feeling she was evaluating me, deciding how honest to be, how much effort to put into helping me, that kind of thing, which I completely understood. Sometimes you could move heaven and earth to help someone and they'd think it was nothing, the same as grabbing someone a drink while you were already in the kitchen, that type of thing. Then there were other people who would fight you when you tried to help them. While I was a cop I'd seen it all so I understood where Alice was coming from.
Honesty is always the best approach in my book, except when it comes to keeping the supernatural secret of course, so I said, “Well, I’m friends with Emma. And I know about her particular abilities.”
“And she’s told you about mine?” Alice guessed, which made Henry scowl.
I grinned apologetically. “Yes, but please don’t think we were gossiping or anything like that. She’s new to this world and I’m a shifter. So, I sort of already could tell you had extra abilities, but I wasn’t sure what they were.”
She accepted that explanation with a nod of her head. “All right, then. Tell me more about your friend.”
“Thomas, as I said, was my best friend. We were more like brothers really. As a bear, I don’t have a pack to speak of. But when he became alpha, the wolves welcomed me in as one of their own. I’m still connected to the pack, but not like I was when he was alive.”
"You don't have your own family?" Henry asked, blunt as ever.
