“You’re twenty-nine and haven’t found your mate yet either.”
“Could Kelseybecomehis mate, maybe? Could that be why she’s back?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t become Cassius’s mate, I just am. That’s it.”
“Well…” Ezra spread his hands, turned to Trevor. “You’re too quiet, bro. Am I way off base here?”
“Just…” Trevor propped his head in his hands. His body felt again as if it would fold, as if he had poured out all his strength along with the truth. “Just treat her well while she’s here.”
“Okay,” Sydney said, and her grip tightened on Trevor’s shoulder. “Okay, Trev. We’ll be civil, okay?”
No, not civil. Be good and kind to her. Be a friend. But Trevor could find no more words. He put out a hand to the wall, braced against it, and his head drooped low.
“Trevor,” Ezra said, alarm in his scent.
Force it back down. Breathe in, absorb it, and keep functioning. So many mantras. But…they worked. In a few seconds Trevor’s chest filled with a full breath as the pain began to lift.
“Your scent’s not right,” Ezra said quietly. “Something’s not right.”
“I’m okay. It was a lot, that’s all. A lot to talk about.” So much for the plan to ream Ezra out for being a jerk.
“No. That’s not all.”
Trevor forced his head up, looked into Ezra’s eyes. He drew a long breath, hoped it would calm whatever upheaval Ezra smelled on him. Inconvenient wolf senses, especially when Trevor couldn’t match them.
“She was faithful to me the whole time. She’s no deserter. So you’d better treat her well at Aaron’s tomorrow, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
The plan had been to arrive at 12:30, offer her hands to serve the food if needed, get a chance to say hello to old friends. Also to test whether Ezra would warm up or keep his distance, whether his feelings were shared by Sydney and their parents, who’d likely attend as well. But when Maggie woke at eight unable to sit up without crying, all thoughts of the cookout melted away.
Kelsey made her peanut butter toast and sat beside the bed, helping Maggie eat safely from a horizontal position. Tiny bites, tiny sips of water from a straw. Then the pain meds. Then the wait to see if they would help. Kelsey made small talk at Maggie’s request, didn’t leave her side. At last Maggie reached out and squeezed her hand.
“Kicking in,” she said.
“The meds?”
“Mmhm.”
“Oh, good,” Kelsey said and began to cry.
“Shh, it’s okay, Kels. It’s just life. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay, it sucks and I hate it and you shouldn’t be the one giving the comfort.”
Maggie’s laugh was soft, still a bit strained. “It does suck, and I hate it too. But it sucks less right now than it did three hours ago, and I’ll take that.”
“Do you need anything?”
“Well, I need to pee, but I’d better not move for another ten minutes or so. Just to be safe.”
By noon Kelsey had assisted her aunt to the bathroom—a whole new level of familial closeness—and helped her change from one set of button-up pajamas to another. Maggie had designated certain pajamas for daytime and certain pajamas for bedtime, her way to “feel dressed” when she wasn’t able to deal with stiff jeans, bras, or pullover tops.
When she was settled in the recliner with her feet up, Kelsey perched on the couch across from her. “Okay, what are we watching?”
Maggie frowned. “I’mgoing to watch a certain blue-eyed baking-show host for a few hours.Youare going to catch up with friends and bring me back pictures of adorable children.”
“What—? I’m not going.”
“I made the last trip to the bathroom just fine, and I won’t need anything else for a while.”
