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Her words struck me so hard that I teetered back slightly. Were it not for Adam’s quick reflexes, I might have hit the ground.
“You look pale,” Adam pointed out. “Are you okay?”
“I, uh…” I coughed nervously. “You must be mistaken, Marina. Adam and I aren’t—”
She glanced at my neck and shrugged. “Babysitter. Mentor. Whatever. People are changing the language of families these days.”
I laughed a little too loud for my taste. Once the awkward moment passed, Marina bid us farewell and walked toward the group of wolves gathered near Lorena. They wandered off, leaving me with Adam and Henry near the ritual circle. What energy crackled once within its dirt altar no longer existed. It was just another patch of dirt.
“Do you want to…?” Adam trailed off while rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, we probably all need showers, right?”
Henry yawned. “I want to go to bed.”
“Dinner first.” Adam glanced expectantly at me. “You hungry?”
“Yeah, I should head back to the inn.”
His shoulders twitched. “Oh, right.”
“Food and sleep will do us all good.”
“Of course. That makes sense. We can walk you back to the cabin and I can drive you back.”
After a moment of hesitation, I agreed. There was no point in walking by myself when I knew I would be alone shortly after that.
Chapter 19 - Adam
“I don’t care how many times you want to put this puzzle together,” I told my son. “We’ll spend all afternoon doing it over and over again.”
“You sure, Dad?” Henry’s lopsided grin sparked relief. “You never liked it before.”
I shrugged while sweeping the pieces from the table into a box. “Yeah, well, I never appreciated the skills it can teach you.”
“Like what?”
“Like retaining patterns,” I explained while shaking the box to mix the pieces. “And learning how to solve problems. Creating strategies. All kinds of stuff.”
He nodded. “Do you think Charlotte likes puzzles?”
It had only been a day since I last saw the woman, but her memory couldn’t escape me. Henry asked about her at every turn. Even Donovan inquired at some point whether she was going to visit again.
For security reasons, he said. But I suspected he had ulterior motives.I need to make sure Lucius and the others don’t get worried over her frequent visits.
I shook my head now as I had when he asked.
Henry tugged my shirt sleeve. “Dad, did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you.”
“I figured since she likes challenges, then she would love puzzles.”
I snorted. “So, she must love me.”
“I hope so. I want her to love me, too.”
His heartfelt request sanded my rough exterior. The kid was holding out hope for something that probably wasn’t going to happen.
“I think she does in her own special way,” I assured him. “But she might not be back for a while.”
