Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,90
chair could be dangerous if one of the kittens got a paw or tail under a runner, so I jumped up and moved over to the recliner.
Meagan proved to be a delight, and watching her and Ari together, I could see something Ari didn’t want to admit. She was more attached than she thought she was. They made a good pair, and when Ari finally joined Meagan on the sofa and Meagan draped her arm around Ari’s shoulders, my heart warmed. Quasi-relationship? Nope. This was for real, even if neither of them knew it right now.
We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up, but I could tell they wanted to spend some time alone, so when Ari mentioned that they needed to be going, I didn’t try to keep them. Meagan casually brushed her lips across Ari’s and as the two women embraced, once again I felt the pull between them.
As they trod their way back to their car, my phone rang. It was Killian.
“Hey, are you there yet?”
“Yes, I just made it. My sister—I didn’t even tell you her name, did I? It’s Tally. Tally’s in surgery. She should be out of the operating room in about half an hour. I’m waiting with my mother. My father had to go home to get my younger brother situated.”
“I didn’t even ask about your family before this. I had no clue they lived up here,” I said, feeling remiss.
“We haven’t had much of a chance to discuss things like that. I have a little brother named Darryn, who’s…well…he’s the equivalent of being in his early twenties. And Tally would clock in around thirty-five, if she were human.” He paused, then added, “I miss you. I hate that I had to run off like that.”
“I miss you too,” I said, realizing that I did. “But Killian, I understand. She’s your sister and she’s in trouble.” Hesitant to ask, I finally decided to just come out with it. “How bad off is she?”
“Pretty rough. She’s…between serious and critical condition. I’ll probably stay here for a few days until we know what’s the verdict is. My mother’s a wreck and my father’s not far off from it. Tally almost died when she was a baby, so they’ve already almost lost her once. And she was on her way over to their house—she doesn’t live far and decided a run in the snow would be fun. So they’re blaming themselves even though it’s not their fault.”
“That’s hard,” I said. “Guilt has a way of settling in where it doesn’t belong. Keep me informed. Oh, is there anything at your house that you need me to take care of? I could…oh, I don’t have a key,” I added. “I can pick up your mail, though.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. I’ll call you after she’s out of surgery to give you an update.” He made kissing noises and then signed off.
I stared at my phone, then stretched and looked around. The house felt very quiet all of a sudden, but then Xi came streaking through the living room, followed by Klaus, and I broke out laughing as the feeling of sudden isolation vanished. Now, my house really felt like a home. Whistling, I headed in the kitchen to make myself some dinner, and then I planned to curl up with a holiday movie, with two kittens to keep me company.
Chapter Twenty
Killian ended up spending the weekend with his folks. His sister made it through surgery, but she was still in serious condition and it wasn’t until Sunday night that she started to come around. The cats and I got used to each other and while Xi didn’t speak directly to me again, I could feel her awareness growing. I, on the other hand, ended up being run ragged. I had forgotten how much work kittens were, but I was enjoying almost every minute of it, even when Klaus climbed the living room drapes and got himself stuck, mewing at the top of his lungs.
Neither one seemed interested in the tree. It dawned on me that, since it was an artificial tree and had no real scent, maybe they thought it was just furniture.
Still worried about leaving them alone while I was at work, I fixed up the guest bedroom so it would be kitten-safe and tucked them, their litter box, and food and water in there and shut the door. I turned on a radio for them—classical music—and headed off for work.