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“An air pilot visited the school today,” she panted. “Probably the worst possible thing that could have happened to me. I’ve been trying to get him to land since I picked him up.”
I laughed and held my arms out for Noah, and he ran toward me, launching into my arms. Squeezing him close, I kissed the top of his head. “Have fun at school?” I asked.
“Yeah!!” he exclaimed. “I want to tell Momma about the airplanes!”
“I’m sure she’ll love that,” I said, meaning it. Marley always seemed to be so engaged with Noah’s little ramblings. “You want to head back up the mountain now?”
“Yeah!”
I smiled at my mom, and she came to give me a kiss on my cheek. “How you guys doing up there?” she asked.
“Things are going well. You ought to come see it,” I suggested. “Gramps is flying into town soon. I’m sure he’d like to see you both.”
My mother pressed her lips into a line and gave me a look. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the Georgia Pack these days, Mom,” I told her. “Just come say hi at least. I know he misses you both.”
“I’ll talk to your father about it,” she said. “We’re getting older and more and more set in our ways. You know how it goes.” She looked down at Noah and ruffled his hair. “And I’ll see you tomorrow, alright, little man?”
“Okay! Bye, Nanny,” he said, tilting his head back toward her. She leaned down and gave him a little kiss before turning to leave.
“You both drive safe, alright?” she said. “The roads are getting icy up there.”
“We got snow tires already, but we’ll be careful,” I promised.
She took her leave and waved over her shoulder. I looked over at Travis. “You gonna come up with us tonight?”
“Nah. Gonna finish up some work here and stay with Lana tonight,” he said. “Been a while since we’d had some alone time with each other.”
“That’s relatable,” I said. “It feels like I only ever get to see Marley right before we both crash into bed these days.”
Travis clapped a firm hand on my shoulder and gave me a little shake. “Here’s hoping you both get some time to yourselves soon, man. Gotta fill the cup once in a while, you know?”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Maybe after we get all this gene therapy done and over with. You should come see Gramps tomorrow, too, by the way.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t miss it, man. I gotta go with the guys to check the place for code compliance, anyway,” he said. “I’ll see you then.”
“Perfect,” I said, hefting Noah up onto my hip. “See you.”
Travis gave one last distracted wave as he typed away on his laptop. I carried Noah outside to the dimming evening light.
“Daddy?” Noah asked as I helped him buckle into his car seat.
“Yeah, buddy?”
“What’s gene therapy?”
I stilled for a moment. I hadn’t even been thinking about him listening to the conversation when I was in the house with him. It hadn’t even occurred to me that he might want to ask about it.
“Ah,” I said. “Well, remember how Uncle Travis used to not be able to shift into a wolf, and now he can?”
Noah nodded.
“That’s because he got gene therapy. So that he could be like us.”
“Isn’t Momma going to do that?” he asked. “You and her have been talking about it. And she’s been talking to the other pack members, too, right?”
“That’s right,” I said.
