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“That would be great.” Greenacre kids went to school all year round. It wasn’t like regular school. There were only a few teachers and kids of all ages went. They learned together and helped each other out. Obviously, they didn’t just learn the regular stuff either. There was a lot of training done there on what it meant to be a shifter.
Grace came up, interrupting them. Their conversation wasn’t private, and she dropped into the other side of the loveseat. She set a hand on Tay’s shoulder and Tay gave an unconvincing smile in response. “Lyric’s been coming by a lot. I can’t make excuses for you forever. She’s your best friend. And Melody.”
Kier didn’t know Tay had been avoiding her friends. It made sense, though. She’d always been so strong. She’d had a lot of pride, but she never let it get in the way. Was she tripping over it now, or was she just scared that she’d have to hang out with people she no longer knew, but who knew everything about her? It would be unnerving, to say the least, if he was put in that position.
For Taylee, the whole world was now full of strangers. Everything had been wiped clean out.
“Mom,” Taylee hissed. “I know.”
“They keep asking me when you’re going to start painting again.”
“Ugh. I don’t—I can’t.” She hung her head and something terrible roiled through Kier’s gut. He felt like this pretty much every moment of the day now. Powerless to fix any of this. Powerless to do much except the rudimentary basics. “I’ve forgotten everything. I can’t just pick up the brush and do everything I used to do. It’s gone. All of it.”
“You don’t know that,” her mom argued. “Why don’t we sit down together tonight and give it a try? After Onyx is in bed.” Her eyes flicked across to Kier. “If you and Misty would like to come over for dinner, maybe she’d like to paint too. I taught Taylee. I wouldn’t mind teaching them both again.”
“Mom!” Tay gasped.
Kier just about gasped too.
Onyx made a gulping noise at her bottle, and he realized she was finished. When he moved the thing away, she screeched at him, flailing fists through the air. His warrior daughter. She had her mother’s spirit. He set the bottle on the coffee table and put his daughter up to his shoulder. He’d learned just how to pat her back, lightly, and then rub, to get a burp. She wasn’t stingy with them, and she blasted one that would do a full-grown man proud.
He hid his surprise at the offer with a grin at Onyx. He settled her on his lap, so she could face her mom, but also so she was fully supported by his arm. She still felt so impossibly tiny in his arms. He felt terrified and thrilled and so much astounding love every single time he held her. She’d been a shock to them both. He hadn’t heard it from her. He’d heard it from her brother, who wanted to kick his ass, but in the end, it was all fine. They were all excited. For the notorious Pinefall clan to tell him that he could come around and see their daughter, that was a huge deal.
Kind of like Tay’s mom’s offer.
“We’d love that,” he said, but hesitantly, because he didn’t want to answer for Taylee. Maybe she wouldn’t love that. Maybe this would be just another thing that made her frustrated.
“We can invite Lyric and Melody too. They’d love to meet Misty, I’m sure. And Kier. They haven’t even met him yet.”
“That’s because we don’t mix. Everyone’s said that a hundred times. Really, it’s getting boring, hearing that so often. Why not? We’re all shifters. Why are we being snobby when we could be making friends, getting along, having more people in our corner. It’s hard enough being a shifter. We don’t have to make it worse.”
“We’ve just always…this is how it’s been done,” her mom stammered. She was the type of woman who was kind, but who also knew how to get shit done. “But just because it’s always been done, doesn’t mean it’s right. We gave Clay permission to go out and live with Glendy when they were dating and when they were married. Not that he needed it, but he wanted to do that, and we supported him.”
“He never brought Glendy back here. You told me that when you told me everything about them.”
“No, he didn’t. But things are changing. Slowly, but they are. Misty and Kier are your family. They’re Onyx’s family. They’re shifters. They’re not outsiders. They already know our secret and it’s their secret too. We’re more protected here than we were in Texas. If I say that Kier and Misty can come over and paint, that we’re all painting, then that’s what we’ll be doing. Clarence has already okayed Kier coming here, and Misty too.” She looked up at him, a little beseeching. “You wouldn’t consider moving here, would you?”
“Mom!” Taylee stood up, hands balled. “That’s too much! We’re not going to move in together and set up a house when he’s still basically a stranger to me!”
Kier patted Onyx on the back. She’d made a little snort of fear at the outburst. Taylee immediately softened, her eyes filling with tears. “I would consider moving here, but Taylee’s right,” Kier murmured softly. He watched the utter relief on her face, but at the same time, it was like stepping on a nail and feeling that puncture go straight into your flesh. How would he ever be able to reconcile that he wanted anything and everything for Tay, but that he also wanted her to want him too. He wasn’t going to ever put that out there or rush her, but he missed the past. Not the old Tay. She wasn’t an old or a new version of herself. He just missed the affection. The trust. The way she used to look at him. The way she’d melted for him. The fact that she’d known him better than anyone else. The intimacy they’d shared. The plans and dreams and hopes they had. “Greenacre isn’t far and I’m more than happy to try out this arrangement. It’s probably better for Misty too, that we stay in our house while she’s adjusting. She’s just getting to know the community and her way around.”
“That does make sense,” Grace admitted. “I just hoped—”
“We’re fine for now, Mom,” Taylee ground out. She forced another smile for him that just wasn’t her at all. He missed the real thing. So freaking much. “I think Misty would love learning how to paint. I’ll take one for the team for her.”
“You might find that you like it. There wasn’t anything more you loved in the world than your art. There wasn’t anything that frustrated or challenged you more either. It will be good for you. It might jog things.”
“Probably not. Don’t get your hopes up,” Tay groaned. “You promised you wouldn’t.”
“I’ll always have my hopes up. Hopes for happiness and health for you and for all of us. I’m your mother. That’s what mothers do. They love their children and their grandchild no matter what, but it’s never going to stop us from wanting the best for them.”
“What if the best is me just—”
“Being here, pushing forward, giving all the love you have in you to give to that precious baby girl right there and Misty, who needs you so much? Absolutely. That’s what you were put on this earth to do, Taylee. To love. You don’t need your memories to be able to do that.”
Tay’s eyes flicked to him.Yes I do,they said, before skittering back to her mom. “It’s just painting, mom. Not a miracle. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I don’t know. You found yourself in it before. You found a passion and a love for it.”
