“No, Gray. It’s a beautiful day, and who knows how long it’ll last. You need some fresh air and alone time.” She offered me a warm smile, then nodded toward a basket covered with a towel. “Take two blueberry muffins to go.”
I reached for the basket. “Two? These things are huge.”
In response, she leaned her head out the kitchen doorway, calling across the dining room to a pile of witches in the living room, most of them crashed out on the air beds and sleeping bags they’d brought back from the supply run. Elena had set some of the beds up in the basement downstairs, but most of them had wandered back up here sometime in the middle of the night. It seemed they’d gotten used to close quarters in prison and didn’t want to be separated.
I couldn’t blame them. Now that I had my rebels back under the same roof, I didn’t want to be separated from them, either. The five of us had crashed in the room Emilio and I had shared, Ronan taking a sleeping bag on the floor, lest we accidentally bump toes and start a fire.
“Haley!” Elena shout-whispered, as if that wouldn’t wake up the entire room. “Haley! Get dressed.”
“Hmm?” came the groggy reply, and like a litter of kittens piled up in a box, the rest of them stirred, too.
“Get up, girl,” Elena said, and Haley’s head finally popped up from the pile.
“I’m up, I’m up.” She stifled a yawn, slowly getting to her feet and picking her way across the floor. “What’s going on?”
“Gray needs your help outside with the hounds,” Elena blurted out, and I almost smacked her. “I don’t want any of you wandering out there alone. Even during the daylight hours.”
“No worries. Give me five minutes.” Haley stretched, then disappeared into the bathroom.
“What iswrongwith you?” I asked the minute Haley was out of earshot. “I thought you said I needed alone time!”
“You do—alone time with your sister. You have to tell her,loca,” Elena said. “You keep putting it off, and you’re going to miss the chance and regret it forever.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Elena was right. If anyone knew about regret, and potentially rocky sibling reunions, it was her.
Still, I wasn’t ready. Telling Haley she had not just one but three sisters, that I was one of them, that we were all part of some ancient witchcraft legacy, that our mother had tried to kill us… The conversation was a lot more involved than dropping one simple truth-bomb about a long-lost sister.
“Aren’t you happy that she’s your sister?” Elena asked, cutting right to it, as usual. “Don’t you want her to share that joy?”
“I’m thrilled,” I said, because I truly was. “It’s just that… I don’t know. I guess I keep waiting for a sign from her. Like some kind of guarantee that she’ll feel the same way.”
“Oh, Gray.” Elena wiped her hands on the towel tossed over her shoulder, then cupped my face. “How could she not?”
I shrugged. I know it seemed obvious to her, but I’d been alone for so long, I felt totally clueless about how female friendships worked, let alone sisterhoods. Sophie was the first and only female friend I’d ever really had, and I’d kept her at a distance, too. It was kind of ironic that she was the one to bring Haley into my life. And though Haley and I had gotten pretty close since Sophie died, I had no way of knowing how she truly felt about me.
What if it totally freaked her out? Or worse—what if she already knew we were sisters, and didn’t want to tell me because she didn’t want the burden that came along with that? The obligation?
What ifshedidn’t want to claimme?
“No, no, no. Don’t do that.” Elena whipped me on the butt with her towel, recapturing my attention. “You’re overthinking it, Gray. You need to just tell her, get it all out, and let things unfold naturally from there. Haley will listen. She’ll—”
“Listen to what?” Haley appeared in the doorway looking as fresh and perky as if she’d already downed half a pot of coffee. She was all bundled up, just like me, her cheeks pink, her eyes bright. We looked like a pair of snow-beasts about to embark on an Arctic adventure.
“I’ll… tell you outside,” I mumbled. My heart fluttered with fresh nerves, but they weren’t necessarily bad ones. Just… nervous ones.
Brilliant, Desario. Really.
Haley shrugged, then spotted the basket on the counter. “Ooh, muffins!”
“I already got one for you.” I laughed, catching Elena’s eye. Yeah, it was time.
Thank you, I mouthed.
Elena winked, then shooed us all toward the back door, Sunshine and Sparkle practically peeing themselves with excitement.
“Brunch will be ready in an hour,” she said, “so don’t go too far. I’m counting on you two to referee the bacon plate. You know how guys are about their meat.”
Haley cracked up. “Grayisthe expert on guys and their meat.”
