Page 56 of Abundant Moon

Over near the dining area windows, Robert and Ash stood together holding hands. Their respective families were not in attendance today, either uninvited or having already visited recently. They would only be able to stay until Robert’s wolf had enough. For once, Ash hoped the cranky Lupine got fed up sooner rather than later – forcing them outside and away from the noise and crush of people. Until then, they participated in the food and polite conversation with the lively crowd.

Robert’s forthcoming book,All in Good Taste, gave the couple something to talk about as they interacted with guests. He’d also decided to start a website calledThe Hungry Reviewer; sampling food products sent to him by entrepreneurs all over the country. It would serve as a great starting place to promote his book to a fast-growing fan base, eager to hear from their semi-famous food critic.

Ash, of course, spent his days laboring on the new cabin-style homes surrounding Eastside. Using Robert’s savings, the couple decided to go ahead and have their own home built while the crew was at it and they had their pick of location. While the plans were similar, each incorporated unique interior and exterior features, blending in with the natural terrain. Ben’s designs were garnering attention in the trades already, selling particularly well among shifter packs across the country.

Robert smiled when Donna and Lou approached to say hello. His little sister gave him a warm hug and stepped back to look him over.

“Pack life agrees with you, I see. Ash might have something to do with it, though!”

Robert kissed his grinning mate on the mouth, squeezing even tighter against his side.

“Well, I sure wouldn’t be here without him! My wolf seems to think he’s all right, too, if that tells you anything.”

Ash pretended offense.

“Just all right? Hell, I’m the best thing he’s ever seen!”

They all laughed and Robert kissed him again.

“That you are, Babe. Between you and Gladstone I have everything I want. And now if you’ll excuse me, I believe someone has grown tired of the party.”

Seconds later, a sleek, handsome wolf stood among the remains of Robert’s clothing, tail wagging and nose pointed towards the exit. Ash made their excuses and followed his mate out the door into warm spring sunshine. Time for a run.

Epilogue

WITH WILLIAM PREPARINGlunch and the twins asleep, Jack took advantage of the peace and quiet to work on Hezekiah’s journals. At this point, only a few gaps remained – most of them in a book he’d come to think of as the last, though none of the entries were dated. The jumbled pile of brittle pieces had to contain multiple pages, but until he reassembled them, there was no telling where the information belonged or even what it said. With great care he lifted each piece gently with the tweezers, placing them in short rows to read the individual words.

Writing on both front and back made it difficult to tell which side of a page he was looking at, or even if the pieces he’d chosen actually belonged together. Over the months, he’d gained skill at noticing changes in Hezekiah’s handwriting, wideness of the letters, or alteration in the ink. These clues, along with adjustments to the light or viewing angle often enabled him to reconstruct the ruined pages. Border pieces were easier to spot as they were edged with blank space.

By the time he stopped for lunch, a page began to take shape - albeit with large and small gaps. Unfortunately, the twins needed constant attention well into the evening, forcing him to resume his work the next day. William encouraged him to finish the tedious project as quickly as possible, and not only for the sake of preserving history.

“The twins won’t be small and helpless forever, my love, and we’ll never be able to protect the journals from toddlers.”

This page, however, contained a curious blank space at the bottom without a single word. Unusual, given that Hezekiah filled every other journal page from top to bottom and both sides with his distinctive handwriting. Looking over his shoulder, William neatly solved the mystery with a simple suggestion.

“I think what you have here is the back side of the final page. He must have run out of things to tell you and stopped writing.”

Jack nodded in agreement.

“I believe you are correct, my love. I hope we can find the rest of it, as I am intrigued by what Hezekiah chose to tell me in his final entry.”

During stolen moments over the next two days, Jack gradually recreated the page until there were only a few postage-stamp size gaps remaining. Curious, he decided to see if he could make sense of it anyway. Jack soon caught the gist of what his long-gone mentor wanted to tell him, but he couldn’t be serious! If what he described was true, Jack had missed a lifetime of personal interaction. He’d have to wait until the next full moon to test the idea, but his heart soared with hope and possibilities. Sensing his mate’s disquiet, William hurried into the room to find his mate pale and shaking; delight and wonder etched on his tear-stained face.

The End