AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Right. And Maya wants a rec center."
"To hone our skills," she said.
"Through table tennis, pinball, and pool," Daniel said. "Don't ask."
"I wouldn't mind a pinball game," Derek said.
"Then you can ask Sean for that," Maya said. "Tell him it'll help you work off any extra aggression. We'll divvy up the list. So we agree that we want to be back for Sean's visit and that we still want to go to North Bay for the weekend?"
We did. Which meant we had to pack fast.
The town looked deserted. It was, almost. We get monthly trips to Toronto, by helicopter, but after about a year, a few of us started skipping alternate months. Some of the kids chafed at small-town life. Others embraced it. While "embrace" might not be the word to use for Derek, he was certainly happier here, in the middle of our wilderness. Maya was the same--she's a skin-walker, and her dad is a forest ranger, so even small-town living could be a bit too much for her. Like Maya, Daniel is accustomed to living in a village of under two hundred people. Me? I just want to be where my family and friends are, which is here.
They'd brought my dad in a few months ago. We were still getting used to that, after a year apart. To be honest, we'd never been very close--my mom died when I was five, and he'd buried himself in his work, including endless business trips. To come here, he had to take a back seat in his own company, which is tough, but it's what he wants. I'll be off to college soon, and it's important to him to make up for lost time.
Dad does the monthly trips to Toronto for business. Aunt Lauren was gone too, along with Kit, and Maya's parents and pretty much everyone else in town. The only adults left behind were members of the security team, including Moreno and Antone, who is Maya's biological father. Both would be joining us on our North Bay trip.
One more person was coming with us: the only other kid who didn't join the Toronto excursion. Maya and I went to talk to him after we had dropped off Derek and Daniel at their respective houses. I'd been staying with Maya while our parents were away, so my stuff was at her place, too.
When we saw the door to Maya's animal rehab shed open, we headed that way. Kenjii walked to the house porch instead, knowing he wasn't allowed in the shed. We went in and found Ash sitting on a crate, staring at a hutch of young rabbits.
"If you're hungry, Mom and Dad left a house full of food," Maya said.
He flipped her the finger and stood, shoving the crate away with his foot. This was Ash. Actually, Ashton, but the only person who calls him that is Tori and just to piss him off. He's Maya's twin brother. They'd been separated as babies and reunited a year ago.
Anyone who thinks Derek is antisocial has never met Ash. The only thing the twins have in common is a quick tongue. With Ash, though, that tongue can be vicious. Which might explain why Tori is kind of crazy about him.
Ash saw me and nodded. For him, that was a friendly greeting, far better than the snarl or cold shoulder that most people got.
"You need to pack," Maya said. "We're leaving ASAP. Sean's coming in Monday."
"Not going."
"What?"
He shrugged. "Changed my mind."
"But--You... The plan... It was for you. Rent ATVs, do some rock climbing, camp overnight on the escarpment, work on your shifting... It was for you, Ash."
"Changed my mind," he repeated.
No one is more patient with Ash than Maya. He hasn't had an easy life. He spent three years on the streets. He has a reason to be prickly. But as she stared at him, I could feel her patience fraying. When she finally said, "All right then," the words came out brittle.
She turned to walk out. He caught her arm, leaned over and murmured, "Next time, okay? I just...I have stuff to do."
"What could you--?" She cut herself short and shook her head. "Never mind. I'll talk to Antone."
"Nah, I'll do it. You go and get ready. Have a good weekend."
"I'd have a better weekend if--" Again, she stopped herself. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow night."
We got about ten feet from the shed when I said, "Oh, I forgot to check on the owl." The injured young eastern screech owl was my first solo patient. Maya nodded, distracted, and headed for the house.
Ash was still in the shed, now crouched and checking the hinges on the rabbit hutch. He handled construction for Maya's shed, and he was forever fussing with it, worrying it wasn't quite good enough.
"She's pissed, isn't she?" he said as I walked in.
"She put a lot of work into planning this weekend. You agreed to come, and she didn't want you feeling like a fifth wheel, so she and Daniel dreamed up this whole aganda to suit you."
