Kaiser pressed send, then looked up at the light in time to see it turn green, glanced down at his phone once more to make sure that the message sent, then dropped his phone in the cup holder in the middle console he kept it in while he was driving.He merged onto the entrance ramp that led up and onto the interstate.
His mind wandered to Keegan, and his foot eased off the accelerator. “No!” he half-shouted at himself. “Not now.” He forced his foot onto the accelerator again, and pushed images of workout routines, and conditioning clinics into his mind. If this was going to work, he was going to have to stay focused on the team and his career, not the girl he left behind. It wasn’t time for that to happen yet. It just wasn’t time.
~~~
Lucas pulled up in front of his house and killed the engine. He kicked his shoes off before he even stepped up onto the porch so the sound of him walking across the wooden porch wouldn’t wake Keegan or Tia. Both were shifters and carried magics from their mother so making an intentional effort to move quietly while they slept was appreciated. He opened the door and let himself inside the house. His nose twitched as he took in the scent of breakfast sausage and English muffins. He followed the scent to the kitchen and smiled when he saw Anahla standing at the stove taking patties of breakfast sausage out of the skillet and laying them on a paper towel to drain. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, kissing the side of her neck.
“I will have you know that I did not burn the sausage,” she said, leaning her neck to the side so that he could have better access.
“I see that. Smells delicious.”
“It is delicious. And I made English muffins, too. Well, I toasted them. I bought them at the market yesterday morning.”
“I love English muffins,” he said, kissing the other side of her neck.
“And I’m making fried eggs to put on the muffins, too. And I’m putting cheese on them.”
“I love sausage, egg and cheese English muffins.”
“I know. And I bought hash browns, too. They’re in the air fryer.”
“Look at you being all fancy and shit,” Lucas said, still hugging her and kissing her from behind.
“I decided that my male needs to be able to eat at home instead of at the restaurant every day. So, Maia’s been teaching me. And Keegan, too. Did you know she can cook?”
“I did. Seems to come naturally to her,” Lucas said. “Speaking of…”
“She’s sleeping. Seemed a little unsettled but I think it’s because Tia has decided to talk about Kaiser non-stop,” Anahla said.
“Why is Tia talking about him?” Lucas asked.
“Wishful thinking. He’s all over the news. In the magazines and celebrity reels and he’s easily accessible — he’s Pride.”
“What did Keegan say?”
“Threatened to beat her stupid if she didn’t stop going on and on about him.”
“Do you think she knows?” Lucas asked.
“I don’t think so. I think she feels something, but isn’t even sure about why she’s feeling it. You talk to him?”
“Yeah. We’re all on the same page. He’s headed home for now. I’m glad I went to talk to him. It went well.”
“Me, too. One less worry,” Anahla said.
“It’ll all work out,” Lucas said.
“I think so, too. Until then, we don’t know anything,” Anahla said.
~~~
Down the hallway, in her darkened bedroom, Keegan lay in the darkness, an ever widening chasm spreading through her chest — figuratively, of course.
She didn’t know why she felt such a loneliness descending on her. It was so overwhelming that it woke her from a deep sleep. She didn’t know where the feeling was coming from, but it was so heavy that she could barely breathe. She closed her eyes and sent her senses out into the night, searching for someone, anyone that could be radiating the sorrow she was experiencing. She couldn’t zero in on anyone in particular, or at least anyone she knew, so she did the only thing she could do. The same thing she’d have done if she’d have identified one of her friends or one of her Pride as the person suffering with the crushing sense of loss. She focused on the pain she felt and pushed a warm, inviting, supportive burst of love toward the center of that pain. The pain Keegan was feeling seemed to falter, the radiation of emotion she’d sent weakened the sense of loss just enough to make it bearable. Deciding to ignore the desire to get up and search out the source of the pain, Keegan turned over to her side and closed her eyes. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.
~~~
Miles from his family home, Kaiser focused on the route he’d take until he arrived at his home in Atlanta. He planned every minute detail of the workout he’d start in the morning and stubbornly ignored the suffocating pain that was threatening to drag him into oblivion as he drove further and further away from the only thing that mattered to him anymore — Keegan. The increasing loneliness became a physical pain as he put moremiles between them. “At least I know she’s not feeling this. I’ve saved her that much at least,” he said to himself aloud.
