know that?” Jacob asked. “I’m the one who had to give up his mother and sister. I know exactly what I’m saying. You and I both know that if they want to find her, they will. Maybe playing their game is the best way to go for now.”
Reggie turned and glared at Jacob. “I’m not going to marry your sister just to make our fathers happy,” he said. “There has to be a different way. We could hide her better, send her someplace where they’d never think to look.”
“That could work if she’s willing to, but to do that, we’re going to have to tell her, Reggie,” Jacob said.
“You can’t tell her; she might want to go back,” Reggie said.
“I already have,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “She has to know the truth, Reggie, she’s a grown woman and capable of making her own decisions. We probably should have told her a long time ago.”
Reggie sank back down into his chair. “When did you see her?” he asked.
“This morning,” Jacob said.
He whipped his head around. “This morning?”
Jacob shrugged his shoulders. “She’s been living here in Stoney Bridge for a couple of years,” he said. “It seemed like the most logical place to steer her towards. You’re here in case something happened, and it’s a shifter-friendly community.”
“Who is she?” he asked, even more shocked than he’d been before. “I mean, what’s her name?”
“Janice Coleman,” Jacob said. “She works at a salon downtown.”
Reggie could only sit frozen for a few seconds as his brain digested the newest twist in his life. “That can’t be right,” he finally said. “She can’t be your sister.”
Jacob studied him for a second. “Do you know her?” he finally asked.
“Oh, I know her,” Reggie said, slapping himself on the forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it.”
“What does that mean,” Jacob asked, narrowing his eyes at Reggie. “How well do you know her?”
“Her best friend married my best friend,” Reggie explained. “And we went out on one date, but it didn’t go well, and now she kind of hates me or something.”
“Or something?” Jacob asked, still suspicious. “What did you do to her?”
Reggie jumped to his feet. “I didn’t do anything to her; we just didn’t get along, I guess,” he said, pacing around the living room again. “I might have been trying too hard, but...never mind; let’s just say that there’s no way she’d agree to marry me if it comes to that.”
Jacob sighed. “I didn’t anticipate this little turn of events,” he said. “I think we’d better keep you out of this for a while. She wasn’t very receptive to the news about her real identity. In fact, she ran away from me—not that I can blame her.”
Reggie turned and faced Jacob, a feeling of panic rising. “You have to convince her to stay away from them, Jacob,” he said. “She can’t go back there. They’ll chew her up and spit her out.”
“But she can’t stay here either; it won’t be long before they find her,” Jacob said, getting to his feet. “I’d rather she knew the whole situation before that happens. I’ll try to talk to her again tomorrow.”
He walked Jacob to the door, the weight of his new life dragging heavily on him, and made Jacob promise to update him, then closed the door, wishing he could block the whole situation out of his mind as easily. After splashing some cold water on his face, he looked in the mirror thinking that he looked exactly the same as he had the day before but felt ten years older.
It was only early afternoon, and he had appointments booked for the rest of the day, but the last thing he wanted to do was sit in some dingy office sorting through someone’s accounting mess. After rescheduling, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door, not sure where he was going but desperate to talk to someone. In the end, he ended up at the farm, sitting on the front porch, unburdening himself to Ryan about everything but his attraction to Janice, which he wasn’t ready to admit to out loud.
After listening quietly, Ryan took a second to think it through. “I think Jacob is right; Janice should know everything,” he finally said. “No matter how much you want to protect her, ultimately, it has to be her decision.”
“What if she decides to go back?” Reggie asked. “How can I just let her go knowing what will happen?”
“I don’t think you can, and you know