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“I bet some of yours involve rejection and abandonment.”
A hard lump formed in my throat. “So you think I shouldn’t be upset about West?”
“I’m not passing judgment on your response. You feel how you feel, and that’s okay, but I thought it might be helpful to understand that you’re not crying over Weston Davies. You’re crying over every kid who cowered from you. Every time your grandfather yanked you from school and made you start over again somewhere else. It’s hard enough to make friends the first time around, but you had to do it so often with the same miserable results, you finally gave up.”
More tears welled in my eyes. “Thanks, Ray. As hard as it was to hear that, I feel better.”
“Good. Glad I could help. I wish I could’ve done more of this in my lifetime. Been a more compassionate man for my family.”
“Oh, Ray. I have no doubt you were. Look at Alicia. She’s a testament to your positive influence.”
He chuckled. “The girl who tried to summon a demon to improve her dance moves? Yeah, I can see why you’d say that.”
I laughed at the memory of Alicia accidentally summoning Lamashtu, bringer of fever, nightmares, and death. It was only funny now because she lived to tell the tale. It could’ve ended in disaster if not for Kane and me.
“She’s a stubborn kid with a strong personality. It’s the reason I like her so much,” I admitted.
“Because she reminds you of yourself?”
I looked at him askance. “Are you calling me stubborn?”
He bit back a smile. “In our family, it’s a compliment.”
“What if West decides to force me out?”
“Do you want to leave town?”
I answered without hesitation. “No.”
“Then he won’t force you, will he? You’re a goddess, Lorelei. He can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. That’s what scares him so much.”
Ray was right about my past melding with my present. West’s rejection stung because it reminded me of every rejection I’d ever felt. Every person I helped who then turned on me because I was weird or different. I made it mean something about me instead of letting it be their issue. And now West’s issue.
Then it hit me. He was an alpha afraid of power. He’d seen it torn from his father’s grasp. He’d been hounded for it. No wonder the werewolf objected so vehemently to anyone with what he viewed as excessive power. It explained his opinion of Kane, too. The problem wasn’t that the prince of hell was a demon, it was that he was powerful.
“That isn’t all that scares him,” I said. West was terrified of losing the life he’d created, of watching everyone around him suffer.
And I understood that fear more than he knew.
CHAPTER 10
With Sian hard at work on the bed upstairs, I summoned Ray and Nana Pratt to the kitchen to review the list of names from Birdie. They’d both lived in town long enough to recognize a couple last names, even if they didn’t know the Sarah associated with them.
“I knew Miles and Michelle Stewart,” Nana Pratt said. “We went to the same church.”
“Any Sarahs in the family?”
“Possibly. They had two daughters and a son.” She squeezed her eyes shut, as though trying to force their names to the surface of her mind. “The girls were called Polly and Caitlin. They weren’t the happiest bunch. They always arrived at church looking like they’d lost their dog.”
I couldn’t rule them out. Sarah could’ve married the son and taken Stewart as her name.
Ray pointed to the next name on the list. “I knew Ines and Frank Ludwig. They had two sons and a daughter. Can’t remember their names, though.”
“Any other names seem familiar?”
“No,” they said in unison.
“Okay, thanks. I’m going to head out and see how many Sarahs I can get through today. Keep an eye on Sian, will you?”
