And the way my pulse quickened when he looked at me said I wasn’t immune to the change.
“Well,” I said to Athena, who had returned to her methodical consumption of pancake pieces, “we’ve got a barbecue to prepare for.Should we see what clothes we brought?”
She nodded, reaching for me with sticky fingers.I lifted her from the chair, breathing in the scent of syrup and child, trying to ignore the lingering warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with mothering instincts and everything to do with the man who’d just left.
* * *
The area Viking had pointed out to me during our talk when I first arrived looked transformed in the afternoon sun.String lights zigzagged overhead, unlit but waiting for dusk.Portable speakers pumped out classic rock at a volume just loud enough to create atmosphere without drowning conversation.Men in leather cuts manned smoking grills while children darted between picnic tables where women arranged platters of sides and desserts.It was so normal -- a neighborhood barbecue with motorcycles instead of minivans -- that for a moment, I forgot why we were here.Forgot about government conspiracies and the brother I’d lost.I adjusted Athena’s sunhat and squeezed her tiny hand.“Look at all the people,” I said brightly.“Isn’t this nice?”Her grip tightened on mine, her body pressing closer to my leg.Not convinced, then.
We hovered at the edge of the gathering, neither of us quite ready to dive in.I’d dressed Athena in her best outfit -- a yellow sundress that made her copper curls shine like new pennies -- and spent twenty minutes braiding her hair into two neat plaits.My own outfit -- jeans and a floral blouse -- suddenly felt too prim, too schoolteacher, compared to the women in cutoff shorts and tank tops who moved through the space with easy confidence.
“You must be Karoline.”A woman approached us, her smile warm and genuine.She was older than me, probably closer to Viking’s age, with streaks of silver in her dark hair and laugh lines around her eyes.“I’m Leah, Preacher’s wife.Viking told me to keep an eye out for you two.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, relieved to be acknowledged.“This is Athena.”
Leah knelt down, bringing herself to Athena’s eye level.“Well, aren’t you pretty as a picture.I love your braids.Did your auntie do those for you?”
Athena nodded, the tiniest movement, but didn’t speak.
“Viking said she’s shy,” Leah said, straightening up.“That’s okay.My girls were the same at her age.Come on, let me introduce you around.”
She led us toward a cluster of women setting out platters of potato salad and coleslaw.“Ladies, this is Karoline and Athena.Viking’s guests.”
The women welcomed us with varying degrees of warmth -- some merely nodding, others offering hugs and exclamations over Athena’s hair.I caught bits of their stories as we helped arrange food: Darian was with Bull.Amity was with Thunder but was also related to Hammer and Ghost.Kasen was with Tempest but was the daughter of Tank and Emmie.
“There are worse places to lay low,” Leah said quietly as we filled cups with ice.“The Reapers take care of their own.”
“Are we ‘their own’?”I asked, genuinely curious.“I’m just the sister of Viking’s old friend.”
Leah’s eyes, shrewd and kind at once, assessed me.“Honey, Viking gave you a place in his house without even talking to his President.Got the Prospects to child-proof the entire place in under thirty minutes.”She smiled.“You’re his, which makes you ours.”
I felt my cheeks warm at the implication in her words.“He’s just being kind.Honoring his friendship with my brother.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Leah hummed, clearly unconvinced.“Well, there he is.You can judge for yourself.”
I followed her gaze across the way to where Viking stood beside a massive grill, laughing at something one of the Prospects had said.The afternoon sun caught in his blond hair, turning it golden as it fell loose around his shoulders.Without the constant vigilance I’d seen in his face at his house, he looked younger, more like the man I remembered from years ago.
As I watched, he took the spatula from the Prospect’s hand, demonstrating the proper way to flip burgers without losing juices.His massive hands, capable of violence I could only imagine, moved with surprising delicacy.When he handed the spatula back, he clapped the younger man on the shoulder -- encouragement, not dominance.
“Uncle Viking!Uncle Viking!”A small boy, maybe five or six, came racing across the grass and launched himself at Viking’s legs.Without missing a beat, Viking scooped him up and settled him on broad shoulders, the child’s delighted giggles carrying across the courtyard.
“Is that…” I wasn’t sure what I wanted to ask.Couldn’t be his child, and I knew he didn’t have any nephews, but I found myself unable to tear my eyes away from the sight of this giant, dangerous man gently steadying a child’s legs against his chest.
“No blood relation,” Leah said.“That’s Amity’s boy.Viking’s just good with the kids.”She gave me a pointed look.“All of them call him uncle.”
I tried to imagine Athena comfortable enough to call anyone “uncle,” let alone race across grass with such abandon.My heart ached at the contrast between that laughing child and my silent niece, still pressed against my leg as if afraid she’d be swept away.
“Ohhh, look at your pretty hair,” a small voice piped up beside us.A little girl with pigtails stood there, clutching a stuffed unicorn nearly as big as herself.“It’s like fire!”
“This is Junie,” Leah said.“Savior and Dessa’s daughter.”
“This is Athena,” I supplied when Athena remained silent.“She likes your unicorn.”
“You can hold her,” Junie said, thrusting the stuffed animal forward.“Her name is Sparkles.”
I braced for Athena to shrink farther behind me.Instead, to my amazement, she reached out one hesitant hand to touch the unicorn’s rainbow mane.
“Go on,” Junie urged.“She’s really soft.”
