Blood Brothers Page 0,117

yourself out of the middle. I haven't asked you to stand there."

Cal held up a hand for peace. "Fine."

"Sounds like the old man's stuck on Steps Eight and Nine with me. He can't make amends on this, Cal. I don't give a damn about his amends."

"Okay. I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. Just letting you know."

"Now I know."

IT OCCURRED TO CAL WHEN HE STOOD AT THE window on Friday morning, watching the headlights cut through the dim predawn, that it had been almost a month exactly since Quinn had first driven up to his house.

How could so much have happened? How could so much have changed in such a short time?

It had been slightly less than that month since he'd led her into the woods the first time. When he'd led her to the Pagan Stone.

In those short weeks of the shortest month he'd learned it wasn't only himself and his two blood brothers who were destined to face this threat. There were three women now, equally involved.

And he was completely in love with one of them.

He stood just as he was to watch her climb out of Fox's truck. Her bright hair spilled out from under the dark watch cap. She wore a bold red jacket and scarred hiking boots. He could see the laugh on her face as she said something to Cybil, and her breath whisked out in clouds in the early morning chill.

She knew enough to be afraid, he understood that. But she refused to allow fear to dictate her moves. He hoped he could say the same as he had more to risk now. He had her.

He stood watch until he heard Fox use his key to unlock the front door, then Cal went down to join them, and to gather his things for the day.

Fog smoked the ground that the cold had hardened like stone overnight. By midday, Cal knew the path would be sloppy again, but for now it was quick and easy going.

There were still pockets and lumpy hills of snow, and he identified the hoofprints of the deer that roamed the woods, to Layla's delight. If any of them were nervous, they hid it well, at least on this first leg of the hike.

It was so different from that long-ago day in July when he and Fox and Gage had made this trip. No boom box pumping out rap or heavy metal, no snacks of Little Debbies, no innocent, youthful excitement of a stolen day, and the night to come.

None of them had ever been so innocent again.

He caught himself lifting a hand to his face, where his glasses used to slide down the bridge of his nose.

"How you doing, Captain?" Quinn stepped up to match her pace to his, gave him a light arm bump.

"Okay. I was just thinking about that day. Everything hot and green, Fox hauling that stupid boom box. My mother's lemonade, snack cakes."

"Sweat rolling," Fox continued from just behind him.

"We're coming up on Hester's Pool," Gage said, breaking the memory.

The water made Cal think of quicksand rather than the cool and forbidden pool he and his friends had leaped into so long ago. He could imagine going in now, being sucked in, deeper and deeper until he never saw light again.

They stopped as they had before, but now it was coffee instead of lemonade.

"There's been deer here, too." Layla pointed at the ground. "Those are deer prints, right?"

"Some deer," Fox confirmed. "Raccoon." He took her arm to turn her, pointed to the prints on the ground.

"Raccoons?" Grinning, she bent to take a closer look. "What else might be in here?"

"Some of my namesakes, wild turkey, now and then-though mostly north of here-you might see bear."

She straightened quickly. "Bear."

"Mostly north," he repeated, but found it as good an excuse as any to take her hand.

Cybil crouched by the edge of the pool, stared at the water.

"A little cold to think about taking a dip," Gage told her.

"Hester drowned herself here." She glanced up, then looked over at Cal. "And when you went in that day, you saw her."

"Yeah. Yeah, I saw her."

"And you and Quinn have both seen her in your heads. Layla's dreamed of her, vividly. So...maybe I can get something."

"I thought yours was precog, not the past," Cal began.

"It is, but I still get vibes from people, from places that are strong enough to send them out. How about you?" She looked back at Gage. "We might stir up more in tandem. Are you