Sins of Mine - Mary E. Twomey Page 0,2
to…”
The second I pause, Cassia chimes in, ever-so-helpfully with a smug “…tap back into your magic? How silly of me to call it what it is.”
“Oh, shut it.”
She engages in an obnoxious gyrating dance that she always does when she knows she’s right, and someone else is wrong. “Tell the students I’ll be there after my run. I could stand to brush up on a few things. I’m glad you’re putting your fancy education to work for us.”
“They’re not students because it’s not a class!”
Charlotte giggles as Cassia stretches, her pant leg riding up as she thuds her heel on the counter. “Is it a group of people that meet at a regular, specified time to learn more about a certain subject?”
“Yes, but…”
“Sounds like a class to me, Professor Paxton. See ya!” Then she grins, turning with a flourish as she trots to the front door, flashing me another glimpse of her “I’m right, you suck” dance. “By the way, you’re still loading the dishwasher wrong!”
The second the door closes, I grumble my frustration. “It’s like she wakes up ready to get on my last nerve.”
Charlotte snickers as she munches on her orange segment. “Pretty much.”
I itch to ask Charlotte again to teach me how to load the dishwasher, but I resist, reasoning that would only give Cassia yet another reason to be smug if she found out. I’m sure I loaded it just fine. “Do you want to come to the not-a-class and help instruct them?”
“Not this morning. I’m going to go for a walk in the orchard. I love how the whole thing smells. Then I’m going to start up the lunch crew.”
Though nothing’s blooming or growing in the orchard, I don’t bring that to her attention. Being outdoors for reasons other than grunt work at Prigham’s is a gift none of us takes for granted.
“See if you can get Gray to join you, yeah? He’s stressed about the pack. You’re good at calming him down.”
Charlotte’s smile falters. “He’ll get through it all. It just might take him some time. I can’t believe his own pack won’t take him back. Though, I’ll admit, I selfishly don’t want him to go back to them. He belongs with us.”
“That’s the truth of it.”
“Cheers, guys,” Gray says as he appears, his bare feet dragging as he mopes into the kitchen. “But I belong with my own people… who don’t want anything to do with me.”
Instead of countering his logic or yet again pointing out that being with his pack would mean being without us, I trot over to him and scoop him up in a hug. Though he’s taller and bulkier than I am, his listless nature makes him feel smaller in my arms.
I wait until his chin leans on my shoulder, which is how I know he can actually feel the fraternal affection I have for this man. He’s got too big a heart for this fight. The least I can do is be a safe place for him while he wrestles with the loss of the life he assumed he’d be able to return to.
“Breakfast here or at the tent?” I inquire after I release him, making it subtly clear that skipping his first meal of the day is not an option anymore.
“I don’t care. I’m not hungry.”
“Well, I am, and I’m not about to eat alone. Let’s go to the tent.”
“They stare at me when I’m there. It’s like being the only animal at the zoo. They know I don’t belong here. They’re wondering why I haven’t gone back to the pack.”
I pat him twice on the back and turn to put my glass in the dishwasher, which I’m certain I loaded correctly. “Actually, I think people are friendlier to you now, since you were a crucial element in getting us out. They’re less prone to prejudice these days.”
No matter how I try to compliment him about his role in our escape from prison, he won’t hear it. “I’m not hungry. I just came down to get some water. I’m thinking of tracking down another pack to see if they’ll let me join.”
I pour him a drink, but remain firm. “You need to get some food in you. Fresh air will do you some good.”
He takes a drink, which seems to perk him up a little. “Is Arly around?”
“She’s been on the phone for most of the morning. I think she took her call out into the orchard, so as not to wake you.”
“Okay. I’m stepping out for