AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Didn’t mean she didn’t want to, though. As she put the truck into gear, she checked the rearview. Kru had climbed up onto the bed and sat with his back resting against the cab of the truck. That wasn’t what had her frozen though. Gunner was settling onto the edge of her flatbed, and also? So was Lucia.
She frowned and rolled down her window. “I didn’t know you would be riding with us,” she called to Lucia.
“It’s a big day,” she said somberly as she sat by Gunner and stared out at the woods.
Jenna and Cadence exchanged glances. Okaaaay.
Even with everyone here, she had her moment—the one where she missed Lucas. There was a huge shadow over this place now, something missing, something incomplete. Or perhaps it was just something that was missing inside of her.
She missed him terribly.
If he only knew what she had done to the nest in the past week, how big she’d built it, he would think her crazy. Bright side: he wasn’t here to see her unsteadiness. No one should see that part of her. No one should see how lonely she was at night, and how hard she was struggling at work. She just wanted to hide it and be positive and make sure everyone at Smashland was good.
“You good?” Cadence asked.
“You ask that a lot. Too much. I’m great.” Lie. From the eye roll Cadence offered her, she had heard the false note in her tone, but oh well.
Cadence reached across the console and squeezed her hand. She’d been checking on her a lot over the last week, and showing her the affection that was so important to most shifters. She’d stepped in as a friend ever since Jenna had protected her from Kru.
She would miss Cadence terribly when she left in the morning. She had hated every minute of helping her pack up her trailer.
Jenna pursed her lips and tried not to think about it. Not today, when they were supposed to make it one last fun adventure.
To get some fresh air, she kept her window rolled down and let her arm rest outside, catching the wind between her fingers. When she checked the sideview mirror, it looked like Lucia was doing the same. Her mother, Aviana, was a raven, and she wondered if a raven-blooded grizzly ever regretted that she couldn’t fly.
Everyone was quiet as they made their way through Damon’s Mountains, but she understood. They were gathering mental strength to spend the day pretending that they were all fine, when really, the almost-Crew had fallen apart.
As Jenna crested the last hill to Boarland Mobile Park, the crowd was already gathered.
“I thought we were getting here early,” Jenna murmured, confused as she eased the truck to a stop beside a line of others.
“I have something to tell you,” Cadence said. Her voice was thick and choked up. Not understanding, Jenna looked over at her to find tears rimming Cadence’s eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Cadence’s bottom lip trembled. “You should know it’s okay.”
“What’s okay?” she asked as Gunner, Lucia, and Kru came to stand by Cadence’s window.
“What’s about to happen.”
Jenna shook her head, and followed the line of Cadence’s pointed finger out the front window.
The crowd parted slowly. Her parents, Kellen and Skyler Brown, Kong, Bash, Harrison, Damon and Clara…Beaston…Kirk and Ally. Kirk was smiling and Ally was crying. She was holding Jenna’s mom’s hand, and they were standing shoulder to shoulder. Lucas stepped forward and Jenna gasped. She clapped her hand over her mouth and rested her forehead on the steering wheel in shock, so they wouldn’t see her break down.
Her shoulders shook with her sobbing.
He was here.
He had come back.
Lucas had come home.
He’d come back to the mountains.
Cadence rubbed her back comfortingly. “He called us,” she whispered. “He gave us all a choice. We’re going to do this, okay? If you want to, we can do this. Only if you want to.”
“Do what?” she squeaked out through her tightening vocal cords.
