We met everyone downstairs for dinner. Nana glanced away from her conversation with Charlene to look at us, then did a double take. Her sudden wide smile told me she knew.
“About time he pulled his head from his...” Grey started to mutter, but a nudge from Carlos cut him off.
Four new members had joined our group. Michelle’s brothers clung to two faces I recognized. Paul and Henry. They spoke to Gabby with a long time familiarity as they entertained the boys. Michelle and Emmitt spoke off to the side with Gregory and Mary. Michelle’s eyes were red from barely restrained tears.
When Paul looked up and saw me hand in hand with Luke, he smiled and nudged his brother. Heat rushed to my face.
Dinner moved slowly, just the way we needed it to. Michelle agreed to let the boys go on a long holiday with Gregory and Mary. Or as the boys thought of it, with Paul and Henry. We spent the time talking about nothing important, though I caught Gabby’s unfocused gaze as she constantly monitored the Urbat progress.
After dinner, we all agreed to meet in the lobby early the following morning. The next day’s travel would bring us to Peace.
I went to bed eagerly and looked forward to another good night’s sleep. But I didn’t get what I wanted.
“Daughter,” she said, standing beside the bed dressed in her usual taupe gown. “You are so blessed to have finally Claimed a Mate worthy of you.”
I stood at the end of the bed, looking at Luke on his side, curled around me, his arm resting over my waist. I looked so small compared to him.
I glanced at the Taupe Lady. “I thought I only dreamt of the past.”
She smiled. “This is the past. Just minutes old.”
“Why am I dreaming this?”
“I’m bound to the past as much as I’m bound to the present, floating in the shadows in between. This is the only place we may speak. You must hurry to find your sisters. His anger is growing and even she won’t be safe much longer. Tread carefully, loved one.”
She smiled and reached out to pat Luke’s bare arm. He shifted in his sleep. Then, she leaned over him to place a kiss on my sleeping self’s cheek.
I bolted upright, eyes wide, the feeling her lips lingered on my skin. The place beside the bed was empty, but I couldn’t shake the creeped out feeling.
“What is it?” Luke asked, instantly awake and sitting up with me.
I turned worried eyes to him. “I don’t think I’m done dreaming, yet.”
He kissed me gently, coaxed me back under the covers, and encouraged me to lay my head on his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair and rubbed my back until I relaxed again. Still, I lay awake long after he started snoring.
She was worried about Courage, I was sure of it. If she lived in the past and the present, she had to know what we planned and where we were headed. I bit my lip thinking of what Courage might be enduring despite Michelle’s vision of gentle treatment.
Luke inhaled long and loud just then, his fingers twitching in my hair. I smiled at the sound before closing my eyes again. We would never need to share a room with anyone else with the noise he made.
Epilogue
The morning brought heartache for the group. We all witnessed Michelle hold back tears as she pasted on a bright smile and said goodbye to her brothers.
I glanced at Nana and wondered if she’d reached my mother. She met my gaze briefly, but her expression gave nothing away other than how she felt about the current situation.
Liam gave Emmitt a hug and asked him to watch over Michelle. Everyone heard his loud whisper. “I think she’s sad we want to play with Paul and Henry.”
Emmitt smiled and hugged the boy until he protested. Then, Emmitt promised to take care of Michelle, always.
“You too, you know,” Luke murmured close to my ear.
Puzzled, I turned to him.
His eyes looked slightly green in the morning light. He wrapped his hands around my arms and pulled me close. “I promise to take care of you, always,” he whispered just before his lips brushed against mine.
“Always is a long time for a girl who keeps coming back,” I said leaning into him.
“Forever isn’t long enough,” he said enfolding me in a warm embrace and taking the kiss to the next level.
