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A car pulled up across the street and a man got out bearing pizzas.I flagged him down and paid him, then carried the food back up the crumbling steps.
Now that I was relatively unencumbered, I noted the steep, weedy yard and tilting fence.Edie couldn’t handle this place by herself.The house had great bones, great potential, but it could easily turn into a money pit.She didn’t know the contractors or the market.It made sense for her to sell it—here was no way she could manage this project from Baltimore.
My heart tugged, as if she was already pulling at it from hundreds of miles away.
“Food’s here,” I announced as I came in.
“Oh.I was going to pay,” Edie said.“It’s the least I can do as a thanks for your help.”
I wasn’t sure I could eat with my stomach knotted by guilt.“Don’t worry about it.”
She clearly didn’t take my advice.Her hands twisted as she glanced back at the kitchen.“Let me get some plates.”
“I asked them to throw in some paper plates and plasticware.No sense dirtying dishes when there’s so much else to do, right?We could eat on the porch,” Mom said, taking charge as usual.“Jasper, will you carry that table outside?Thank you, sweetheart.And Edie, I unearthed a couple of chairs from the dining room, if you don’t mind taking them out.I’ve got some napkins in my purse,” she said, following us out as we did her bidding.“Jasper, dear, we have some bottles of water out in the truck.Would you mind running down to grab them?”
I looked down at the steps I had just climbed, sighed, then went down again.It was easier to obey my mother than to argue with her.Was she Alpha because she was so comfortable giving orders, or was she so comfortable giving orders because she was Alpha?No way of knowing.She’d been Alpha all my life, and I’d never known her any other way.
By the time I made it down and back up again, they had the pizzas and plates set up.Edie dug in right away.“Mmm.You’re right, this is good.”
“They’ve been in business forever.My husband used to bring it back for me when he came into the city.”
“So, you live nearby?”
I saw Mom realize her mistake.We were supposed to have a cover story, after all.It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who was struggling to keep up the ruse.“We…used to.Now we’re in Billings.Have you ever been to Montana before?”
“Not exactly.My mother always said that I was conceived during her honeymoon camping trip in Montana.”She made a small, sad sound around a bite of pizza.“It was the beginning of the end, as it turned out.My dad claimed he saw a shifter on that trip.My mom didn’t believe him.He wouldn’t let it go.A year later, I was born, they were divorced, and my mother and I were living back East.”
“And your father stayed here?”Mom asked gently.“You didn’t come out and visit?”
Edie jerked up one shoulder.“The timing was never right.My mother…she made sure I had plenty of opportunities.Camps, internships, that sort of thing.My schedule was very demanding.And my father…well, I guess he was busy,” she said, tilting her head at the overstuffed house.“We used to talk on the phone, but that petered out over time.All he ever wanted to talk about was shifters.”
Mom and I didn’t look at each other.“Being a single mother can mean making hard choices,” my mom said finally.
“That’s right, Jasper told me his father died when he was young.I’m so sorry.”
Now Mom did look at me, but I looked away.I rarely talked about my father.Everyone in my life already knew what had happened to him, or they didn’t need to know.Telling Edie, however, had felt as natural as breathing.
Edie chewed contemplatively for a minute, then shook off whatever she was thinking.“Well.I do feel better with some food in my stomach.Thank you,” she said to my mother.“It was very kind to offer your help.But I’d really appreciate if you’d tell me what you are actually doing here.”
Mom laughed unconvincingly.“What do you mean?”
“Melinda,” Edie said patiently.“I know you’re looking for something.Why don’t you tell me what it is?Then I can decide whether I want to help you find it.”
“We already found it,” I said.Underneath the table, I deflected my mother’s kick.I was gambling.“We’re here because we want to buy this house.”
