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“He hit her,” Turik said from behind me. “She begged him not to and cried.”
Mya’s gaze never wavered from mine, and I clutched my hands in my lap, letting my nails bite into my palms to keep my humiliation from showing.
“So you left your husband?” she asked.
“She removed his rings,” Turik said. “He is no longer her husband.”
I could feel the flush creeping into my cheeks but refused to look away. And I was glad I didn’t when I witnessed the softening in Mya’s expression.
“Good for you,” she said, surprising me. “That couldn’t have been easy.”
She took a seat at the table and slid a plate with a cookie in front of me. I couldn’t make myself reach for the treat. My hands were shaking too much.
“I don’t think there’s much in life that is easy,” I said instead.
“Oh, I agree with you there.” She set her cookie down and leaned forward in her chair. “Listen, you know that Matt and June didn’t want to exile you with the others. They understood you were being coerced. If Turik’s fine with taking you in, you’re welcome to stay here, and Ryan wouldn’t mind some help looking for a Tolerance two-point-oh if you’re willing. But staying here isn’t contingent on that.
“This is your second chance. Don’t steal, don’t cause trouble, and you have a home here. It’s that simple.”
My nails bit into my hands even harder.
“I don’t want to cause trouble, but it might follow me here.”
“You mean your ex-husband.”
“Removing that ring won’t mean anything to him. In his mind, I’m still his wife.”
She exhaled deeply and glanced over my shoulder.
“She thinks Nat is going to come looking for her. Make sure the fey keep an eye out for him and his men. They aren’t welcome here and should be removed if they show up.” She focused on me once more. “The fey won’t let him near you again. And if any of those men cause trouble, you’re not to blame for it. They’re making their own choices. Now, eat that cookie and tell me if I have a future as a baker. I need to figure out my occupation here.”
“I thought you were the leader,” I said, picking up the cookie.
“Temporary only. Once Molev gets back, I’ll happily return to consultant mode and be a full-time whatever this place needs.”
“A mother,” Drav said.
She rolled her eyes at him.
“Seriously, I’ll be lucky if I can hold this baby long enough to breastfeed it. All your brothers will be begging to babysit. Having an occupation is a good thing. It will give me a sense of purpose.”
He grunted, and she grinned at me.
“If he had his way, my purpose would be a baby PEZ dispenser.”
“They all seem to have that singular thought,” I said before taking a bite of the peanut butter cookie.
“They do. Well, how is it? Good or amazing?. Be honest.”
I swallowed and gave her a slight shrug.
“It’s good. Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I knew finding an occupation wouldn’t be easy. Sewing is next. Ryan found a few sewing machines, and my mom is going to give a couple of us lessons. She’s hoping there might be a natural in the group. I really hope that’s not me.”
As she continued to talk about all the career options Tolerance offered, I slowly relaxed. She truly didn’t seem to care about my past and invited me to join in on their quest to make Tolerance more self-sustaining.
“I’ve always had a bit of a green thumb,” I admitted. “Maybe once the weather warms, I can help with planting some of those seeds you mentioned.”
