“Love can come around twice. I don’t want you to get me wrong. I love your mother more than there are stars in the sky and drops of water in all the oceans on the earth. But years ago, before I met her, I loved someone else. Her name was Priscilla. She was the kind of woman who would walk down the street and cause grown men to lose their heads. More than one fight happened over her. Not by me, mind you. But she was alooker.
“Anyway, I fell for her hard and fast. When she up and married someone else, I almost died on the inside. I thought I’d never love another woman again. But I was wrong. Dead wrong. Not two years later, I met your mom. And let me tell you, I thought I’d known what love was—I didn’t haveaclue.”
While he paused, Greg tried to process his words. He’d loved someone before his mom? The revelation stunned him as much as the point his dad was tryingtomake.
“You’ll find another girl to be sweet on and she might be the one you end up marrying,” his dad said. “So you take the time you need to get yourself back together, and then come on home. Your mom made a huckleberry pie. She’s a smart woman. She sent me out here to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid. Sodon’t.”
Greg watched him with sad eyes until he’d strolled around the bend toward the house. Maybe he would find someone else to be his wife, but right now he couldn’t believe he’d ever find someone likeDaisy.
He moped around the lake a few more minutes before lumbering back toward the house. There was one thing he couldn’t refuse, and that was his mom’s huckleberry pie. The closer he came to the house, the stronger the scent became. By the time he reached the porch, his stomach wasgrumbling.
After shifting back into his human form, he walked in and headed for his room. He got dressed, then joined the rest of the family in the kitchen. Everyone was extra friendly and nice to him while they took their seats. His mom dished out an extra-large sliceforhim.
“Thanks, Mom,”hesaid.
“You hang in there, hon,”shesaid.
He nodded before returning his attention to the pie. But no matter how many forkfuls he shoveled into his mouth, it didn’t take away the pain. When Daisy had left, she’d taken a chunk of his heartwithher.
Chapter12
Daisy hadn’t spoken morethan a few words in the three days it had taken to drive to Canada. They’d crossed into the country using a set of forged passports they’d picked up in Chinatown before they’d left San Francisco. The border patrol hadn’t blinked at eye at the fakepapers.
Three hours later, they rumbled into Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The city sprawled out in every direction. She raised her head long enough to take a glance around, thendroppedit.
Cars honked their horns. Some poured gray plumes of smoke from their exhausts. She wrinkled her nose, already missing the clean scent ofmountainair.
“Where should we drop you off?” River asked from the driver’s seat. They’d taken shiftsdriving.
“Let’s find a park. There’s got to be some hip people there,”Meadowsaid.
“Okay,”Andysaid.
Daisy stayed silent. They’d finally gotten her brother to Canada. This leg of her journey was almost over, so why wasn’t she excited? Maybe because she dreaded never seeing her brother again. What if she couldn’t find him? They’d already agreed that when the war ended, he’d return home. But if he didn’t, she’d have no way of knowing where he’d gone. She wasn’t ready to lose the only family member shestillhad.
They drove through the city past several parks before they found Central Memorial Park. Clusters of young men and women dressed in flowing garments dotted the grass. As they pulled up to the edge, a woman with long braids adorned with feathersapproachedthem.
“Groovy bus, man,”shesaid.
“Thanks,” River said. “Is thisyourpad?”
“Yeah, a lot of us live free here,” she said. “We’re always ready to welcome like-minded souls. Are you looking for a place tocrash?”
“Yeah, my friend’s runnin’ from the Man,”Riversaid.
“He got into a bad scene somewhere?” sheasked.
“Yeah. I’m River,”hesaid.
“Shanti Blue Jay,” she responded. “You can chill with us for a bit. The land’s free, but the pot’s cash or ass. We don’t get electric until after dark. Too many pigs roll through here duringtheday.”
“They hassle you a lot out here?” Andy asked from thebackseat.
“Nah, we scatter like pigeons if they roll up,” Shanti said. “You need help with yourstuff?”
“Nah, we got it, babe,”Riversaid.
Daisy glanced up to catch Meadow’s scowl in the rearview mirror. They’d been getting on her nerves a little more every day and she was starting to have second thoughts about traveling to Woodstockwiththem.
