be right back.”
She watched his fantastic ass as he padded across the room toward the door. He hesitated a moment, head tipped to one side, inhaling deeply. She didn’t even have to ask. He was making sure they were alone. When he opened the door and disappeared into the hallway, she sighed. The room felt empty without him, irrationally lonely.
When he returned two minutes later, he was holding a wash cloth, and he climbed between her legs and gently cleaned her swollen flesh.
She whimpered. “You’re going to have to lighten up on the magic potion if you ever want me to leave the bedroom.”
He wiggled his brows as he dropped the cloth on the floor and climbed over her. “Why would I want you to leave the bedroom?”
She giggled, reaching for him, flattening her palms on his back and his chest as he settled on his side, one leg between hers, his chin on his palm. He reached for a lock of her hair again and played with it absently. His gaze met hers, his expression serious. “The stories were right. That was powerful. I would be devastated if you left me.”
She nodded, smoothing her hand from his chest to his cheek. “Then we won’t test it.”
He blew out a breath. “I don’t care if it’s too soon or sounds ridiculous. I love you.”
She nodded, choking up. “I love you too.”
His eyes slid closed, and he smiled.
“Hey, you never answered my question earlier.”
“Which question was that. I was singularly focused.”
“If we have kids, will they be able to shift?”
“Probably. They’ll be ¾. Not a guarantee. But likely.”
“Interesting. Not sure how I feel about that. The little rascals will be more perceptive than me and take advantage of me.”
He drew circles absently on her chest with one finger. “I think all kids do that. By default, we’ll be ignorant. They’ll tell us every day.”
She giggled. It was weird even contemplating children. She’d never thought much about it before. She’d been busy working. Plus, she’d never had a relationship that was serious enough to consider offspring.
In this twisted world, she was discussing procreating with a man she’d known two days. She shook thoughts of the future from her head. There was a lot to deal with in the here and now. “Layla…” she whispered.
“I’m sure she’s fine.”
“I’m sure she is too. She’s stronger than me. But it feels strange that I kinda made life decisions without telling her. What if she’s not on the same page? What if she doesn’t want to stay in Canyon Springs?” Elena sucked in a breath. “What if she repeats the sins of the past and leaves me here, breaking our bond.”
“Elena… You know her better than that. She’s not prejudiced like your grandmother was.”
Elena sighed. “I feel bad about how much time we’ve spent together since we arrived. This was supposed to be a week of hanging out together. Laughing. Drinking. Reconnecting. We haven’t seen each other in a year. So far the only time we’ve spent together was the drive here from the airport.”
“Well, the good news is that you don’t have to jam your reacquaintance into one week anymore.” He kissed her cheek and then nuzzled her neck.
“Assuming she’s on the same page.” Elena chewed on her bottom lip, worrying.
“You could call her if you want.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to mess with her own come to Jesus. I’ll just wait. Eventually she’ll come back here.”
“I agree.”
Elena snuggled in closer to Caleb. She’d never felt so content in her life. Home.
She closed her eyes and took several slow deep breaths, forcing herself to relax while her heartbeat fell into sync with Caleb’s. Layla was fine. She was strong. She would make the right decisions for her. It would all be okay. It had to be. They were sisters. Elena would never let them become separated like Marge and Mabel.
Never. It was out of the question.
Epilogue
Two months later…
“We really need to thank the service that packed up Mabel’s belongings for us. I can’t believe how organized this all is.” Elena stepped over one box in the storage unit and reached for another.
Layla was sitting on the ground near the entrance, going through a box of papers. “You’re gonna want to see this.”
Elena spun around to find Layla holding up a book. “What is it?”
“A journal. Like a diary.”
Elena’s eyes bugged open. “Seriously? Grandma Mabel’s?”
“Yep.” Layla lowered her gaze and started flipping through the pages while Elena climbed back in her direction.
“Holy shit,” Layla