She set down the tray next to the sink, then pushed a piece of peroxided hair off her forehead and seized the teapot from me. “Here, let me do that. Black, green, herbal?”
“Earl Grey,” I said. Evelyn only liked dark teas. “But I can do it-”
She shooed us away. “Out of my pantry.”
“Thank you, Skylar,” Evelyn said. “We will be on the terrace. It is not raining yet, is it?”
Reaching up to grab the tin box of loose-leaf tea, Skylar said, “Not yet, but I suspect it’ll come down any minute.”
“We will take our chances,” Evelyn said, guiding me through the dining room and out onto the deck.
Only Lucas was out here. He’d taken a seat on one of the many Adirondacks and was checking out something on his phone. Had Liam sent a message? I was tempted to pull out my phone, but it could wait until after my visit with Evelyn.
The sky was tiled with mauve clouds that reminded me of the quilt Mom had sewn for me when I was a kid, the one I’d given to the army vet on our street corner one unseasonably cold winter day. While the man’s dog growled at me-I assumed because I still smelled like a wolf-his master smiled, raising the bottle of liquor that seemed forever grafted to his palm, and gathered the cover around himself and his pet.
Eyeing Lucas, Evelyn walked toward the farthermost edge of the terrace. We took our seats at a square teak table.
In a low voice, she said, “Frank informed me that my ex-husband has purchased the inn from your family.”
I darted a glance toward the enormous glass sliding doors, making sure that Skylar hadn’t emerged from the entrails of the inn. I didn’t want to alarm the loyal staff before alarm needed to be sounded. Perhaps Aidan Michaels would safeguard their jobs. I didn’t know his intentions for the place. Was it simply a strategic location to keep the packs in check, or was this a business transaction to grow his real estate portfolio?
“Evelyn, do you think he bought it to insult… us?”
By us, I meant werewolves, although I didn’t doubt for a second that Aidan was the type of man who’d take great pleasure in thwarting his ex-wife’s happiness. Since the man was a snoop with too many connections, I didn’t doubt for a second he knew she was back in Boulder.
“Or do you think he bought it as an investment?”
She scratched at a piece of citronella candlewax that had melted onto the teak. “He does not need more money or more land, querida.”
In other words, this was no commercial endeavor.
“Here y’all go,” Skylar said chirpily, depositing a wooden tray loaded with two mugs, a teapot, a bowl of sugar, a tiny pitcher of milk, and a plate of bite-sized jam cookies-one of Evelyn’s specialties.
Since Evelyn had gotten access to a larger kitchen and a limitless quantity of fresh produce, she’d been making the jam herself, and the already delicious cookies had become downright sinful.
“Can I get you anything else?” Skylar asked, eyeballing the sky.
“No thank you,” Evelyn said. “You have already spoiled us.”
I smiled up at Skylar, who returned my smile, but her lips kept bending and straightening, as though she wanted to ask me what was wrong. Even though we’d only known each other for two months, I sensed she understood me; perhaps it was because we’d both lost our mothers. Skylar had once told me that she was a good listener in case I needed to talk.
I hadn’t wanted to talk about Mom then. I still didn’t want to talk about her. Her absence remained too fresh. Although I no longer cried when someone brought her up, it still abraded my heart.
“I haven’t seen Emmy yet, but can you thank your wife for covering last night’s shift, please? Jeb and… and Lucy, they really appreciate it.”
She grinned. “Will do. Anyway, let me know if you need anything else.”
Evelyn poured two cups of piping hot tea while I pilfered a cookie from the plate.
“Frank has an extra bedroom, which I readied for you last night. I want you to come and live with us. I know Jeb is your legal guardian, but he is incapable of caring for you, and I am not too fond of the men who prowl around you.” She flicked her gaze toward Lucas, which had my nose wrinkling. I hoped she didn’t assume he was a suitor, because… gross.
“Are you sure Frank won’t mind?”
She placed her calloused hand over mine. “Frank does not mind. His house is… it is big. On weekends, his grandson Joseph visits, but otherwise, he lives there alone.”
“Not anymore.”
Her lips curled into a demure smile.
How I loved the glimmer Frank had put in her obsidian eyes and the rosiness he’d brought to her foundation-caked complexion. I loved that she’d gotten her happy ending. If anyone deserved happiness, it was Evelyn.
“Meet me in the kitchen tonight. We will leave together after I finish making dinner.”
“Okay.”
We drank our tea quietly after that, both of us enjoying each other’s easy company. Almost an hour later, we both stood to leave. She leaned toward me as though to kiss my cheek, but instead she asked, “Why does the boy over there keep looking in your direction?”
“He’s just helping me out with some errands today. You know, driving me around.”
If I told Evelyn the truth, that Liam was afraid Everest might try to hurt me, she’d fret, and I didn’t want her to fret more than she already did.
She kissed my cheeks and then rubbed them. “There. I’ve added some color to that pale face of yours.”
In spite of my summer tan, I could feel I was pasty, the same way I could feel the first drops of rain needling my bare arms. I closed my lids and lifted my face skyward, welcoming the downpour.
Once I was showered and changed, I dropped by Jeb’s room, Lucas in tow. It took a lot of convincing on my part, but I managed to get him to stay outside while I visited with my uncle. My intentions for stopping by weren’t only selfless, though. I’d printed all the forms for my permit, for which I needed my guardian’s signature.
Isobel must’ve drawn the curtains open, because the muted light splashed his bedroom.
“Hi, Jeb. It’s Ness,” I said as I approached him. I didn’t want to spook him.
“Is it done?” His voice was jaded, just like his expression.
“I don’t know.” I pulled a chair up to the bed. “Have you eaten?” The laden tray on his nightstand told me he hadn’t, but I was hoping my question might stir his interest in food.
“And Lucy?”
“Lucy?”
He fastened his pale-blue gaze flecked by burst blood vessels to my face. “I thought you might have some news.”
I shook my head. “But I can call Eric. Do you want me to phone him?” I didn’t have Eric’s number, but Lucas probably did. I could get it from him.
“No,” Jeb said quietly. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Then my uncle’s insubstantial voice gusted through the quiet bedroom. “What do I have to live for now, Ness?”
I could’ve lied to him and said the inn, but he didn’t even have that anymore. Who was going to take him in?
“You heard Everest sold the inn to Aidan Michaels?”