“I understand.”
Sterling slides the last page over. I sign it. He gathers everything and caps his pen. “Well, that should be all—”
The sound of small footsteps on the stairs makes him look up.
Ethan rounds the corner in his rocket-ship pajamas. ChuChu’s worn ear is clutched in one fist. His hair sticks up at the back, and he stops in the doorway when he sees three adults at the kitchen island. His eyes scan over Sterling and Coach, then find me.
His whole face transforms.
“Miranda!”
He’s across the floor before I can brace. He hits my legs at full speed, his arms wrapping around my thighs. When his face presses into the hem of Grayson’s shirt, a sound escapes me that I try to cover with a cough.
My ribs are screaming.
For a four-year-old, his grip is really strong. Grayson immediately grabs him by his shirt and pulls him back. “I told you she’s hurt. You have to be gentle.”
“Stop it.” I frown at him, slapping his hand away. “He’s just a baby. Come here, Ethan.”
Ethan hurries over to me, and I carefully lift him onto the counter.
The room has gone quiet, and when I lift my gaze, Coach Ramirez is watching me with a complicated expression on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He looks away, but his expression is troubled. Completely uncaring of the grim atmosphere, Ethan looks up at me. “What’s for breakfast?”
“What do you want to have?”
“Pancakes?” Ethan announces hopefully.
Sterling fixes his tie. “And that’s my cue to leave. I’ll see myself out.”
Coach pushes back from his chair but doesn’t move toward the door. He lifts his chin toward the porch. Grayson follows him out without a word.
The screen door clicks shut. I exhale.
Ethan tugs my hand toward the stove. “With chocolate chips?”
“If we can find any.”
“There are some in the fridge. Linda keeps them there.”
As Ethan and I get busy making pancakes, I try not to let the events of this morning derail me. I’d just heard voices and come downstairs. I didn’t catch the entire conversation, but I heard words like ‘pack’ and ‘humans.’ It makes me uneasy. The whole reason I was recruited to work for the hockey team was because I was willing to turn a blind eye to the unnatural strength, the fast healing, and the other odd things. But the more I hear, the more curious I’m getting.
I know I shouldn’t pry.
It’s dangerous to look for answers when I know that Grayson and his team are definitely not humans. Humans don’t refer to other humans as such. But then, what is Ethan?
I find myself looking at the little boy who is aggressively mixing the pancake batter. He looks and acts like a child.
Don’t think about it, I tell myself. You love the boy. Just focus on that.
By the time the screen door opens behind me, I’m already pouring the pancakes on the skillet. I don’t turn around.
The silence between us has always been comfortable. But not today. Today it’s awkward and tense, and somebody needs to break it. I look over my shoulder at him. “How many pancakes do you want?”
His mouth parts, and then he says roughly, “Three.”
