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After a while, her sobs slowly subsided to just tears and eventually those calmed down to a trickle. Using the tissues she blew her nose, sounding like an elephant, she was sure. Kenzie glanced up at Uncle Jake’s face; he had tears running down his cheeks too.
Kenzie reached up and gently wiped them away with one of the unused tissues she still held. "I'm sorry Uncle Jake, I didn't mean to cry on you like that." Looking down she noticed his shirt was soaked in one spot, "Ah man, I'm so sorry!"
When she went to try and dab at the wet mess, he gently took her hands. "Stop apologizing, it's okay. We both needed a good cry. Come on kiddo, let me take you home."
As Jake wrapped his arms around her shoulders to lead her out of the door, Mr. Fielding gently patted her arm, "Again, I'm so sorry for your loss. Be well dear. Remember to call me if you need anything."
Again, Kenzie nodded at him as her uncle led her from the room. He kept his arm around her all the way down to the lobby and out into the sunshine. Walking into the warm summer day didn't feel right.
Shouldn't it be storming? Raging? Shouldn't it be a gloomy day to match her emotions? The sunshine was too cheerful, but Mom would have been happy, she would have loved it.
Kenzie’s little green mini was parked right out front and Uncle Jake, always the gentleman, walked her right to the door. When he turned to face her, she knew he was going to ask but Kenzie smiled anyway when she heard the words, "Will you be okay to drive? I could take you home and come back for my car later if you want? I don't mind."
She leaned up onto her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, "Thank you Uncle Jake, but I'll be okay. I'm going to drive right home, grab a glass of sweet tea and go sit out on the dock for a while." She almost asked him if he wanted to join her, but knew he needed to head to work.
"Okay kiddo, get home safe and text me when you get there. I'm gonna head to work. I love you bunches." He kissed her on the forehead, then leaned past her to open the car door.
She kissed his cheek one more time, “Love you too.” Then she slid into her car, and he closed the door, then headed off toward his own car.
Jake was a police officer here in Wilmington, North Carolina. Kenzie’s mom brought her here to be near him when she was just a baby, after her birth mother died. Megan adopted Kenzie with his help, and they raised her together. She knew Megan wasn't her birth mother, but she was her mom.
Kenzie knew the whole story about Rhiannon, how she was injured in an attack and brought her to Megan’s cabin for help. Her mom used to tell her stories about Rhiannon and all the shenanigans that they used to get into.
It always made her sad to think about it, but Kenzie couldn't imagine anyone else raising her. Megan was her mom, period. Jake was her uncle, period. At least she wished it ended there, but really, there was so much more.
Is that bad to say? Kenzie didn’t know, but she just wished it could be simple. Again, she felt that itch under her skin.
Kenzie had lied to Jake. She was going to go for a quick run in the woods behind her house. She bought it specifically because of its location and the fact that it sat on six acres of woods with a small lake. The driveway was so long you couldn't even see the house from the road. It was isolated and quiet, and no one ever ventured onto the property. It was perfect.
As she drove herself home, she tried to relax a little; To think of anything other than her mom and the fact that she would never speak to her again.
Kenzie reached over and turned the radio on, smiling as she heard the song that was playing. She cranked up the volume, rolled down the windows, and belted out the words to “Hotel California”.
The drive took about twenty minutes and each time the song changed, she would sing along as loud as she could. If anyone could hear her, they probably would throw something. She wasn't even trying to sound good, but it felt so great. It felt freeing, so she let out all her emotions into the lyrics of the songs.
Pulling into her driveway, she could already feel the woods calling to her. It was a different kind of song, a song in her blood. The voice was so beautiful it was hard to resist.
Finally, she reached the house and pushed the remote to open the garage door then slowly pulled into her spot. She turned the radio volume down so she wouldn’t be blasted the next time she got in, raised the windows back up, shut off the car, and then just sat there.
Glancing over at her purse, which she had thrown unceremoniously onto the passenger seat, she realized the folder from Mr. Fielding was sticking out of it. She figured Jake stuffed it in there while she was blubbering all over him. Pulling the folder out, she took a deep breath and opened it.
In the right-side pocket was the will that Mr. Fielding showed them earlier. But in the left pocket, there was an envelope.
Pulling the envelope out, Kenzie turned it in her hands. There was no writing or decoration of any kind, just a blank envelope. She opened it and pulled out two folded pieces of paper.
It was her mom’s stationery. It was seafoam green, with pictures of lavender sprigs in the bottom corners. Her mom liked to use this paper to take notes or write the grocery list. Everything about her was so happy and colorful, which Kenzie always found fascinating seeing as her mom was a lawyer.
She was a civil rights lawyer and consulted with firms and companies all over the country. Kenzie assumed that's why it was such an easy process for her to be adopted. She was pretty sure her mom called in a few favors, though she would never tell her.
Looking at the stationery made her want to cry all over again. Closing her eyes for a second, she breathed away the tears, then opened them again and began to read the words in her mother’s handwriting.
My Dear Little Mac,
I'm laying here in this stuffy hospital bed waiting for you to come back from the cafe. I don't want to write this but we both know it's almost time and there are a few things that I need to say. My darling girl, you know how loved you are. That's not even a question. But we are not the only ones who love you. That day when your mother brought you to me, I was terrified. For her and me, for you, and for the rest of your mother’s pack. I truly hoped they had survived but I had no idea. I lingered a few days, then went to the boundaries to see if I could learn anything. I was met by a man who I did not know, though I did know he was a wolf, just not one of Silver Lake. I left, packed a bag, and drove straight through to Jake’s with you. You know the rest. But what you don't know is that I did check one more time if the pack had survived. You were 13 at the time, and it was the day after your first shift. I was so scared. I didn't know how I would raise a little wolf and for a moment I thought, maybe I could find someone to help. However, I chose not to because you were mine, and I couldn’t give you up. Maybe that was selfish. I know now it was, because what I learned that day is that your father was alive. He survived the attack that day. So now it is time. You need to go to them Mackenzie. They are your family too, and they need you. Please don't hate me. I did it because I didn’t want to lose you. I will love you always my girl. I’ll be watching over you.
Forever yours, Mom.
Kenzie could barely breathe. Alive? All this time and he was alive? Why wouldn’t she tell her? She could have at least said something once Kenzie was older, once she could understand.
