“Maggie told me you’ve had some trouble. And for Maggie to tell me anything means that she’s worried. Let them help you, Tina. Trust in them. They’ll stand for you until the very end; it’s in their natures.”
I nodded.
“And if they don’t, I’ll just knock the hell out of your ex with a fire extinguisher. It’s sort of my thing.”
I snickered, pressing my lips together to keep from ruining this bonding moment. Mo was known for her prowess with both kitchen knives and fire-suppression equipment, having knocked Maggie unconscious with a fire extinguisher when her sister-in-law had gotten just a little too close to wounding Cooper in a street brawl.
“We gals are in the same boat when it comes to being mated to these yahoos,” she said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “We humans have to stick together. Maybe we can form a club or a support group. Nick would be perfect for organizing that sort of thing. Hey, Nick!” She called after her brother-in-law, who was in a corner, holding a digital recorder in Caleb’s face. Mo easily handed her daughter off to Cooper, who watched his wife scamper off with a bemused expression.
“Runs at a mile a minute, my mate,” he said fondly. “And her brain runs even faster.”
“I really missed you all,” I told him, letting Eva play with the beading on my sweater while she leaned her head against her daddy’s shoulder. I stroked her sleek blue-black hair, still marveling at the full mane this toddler managed to grow. She was only two, and it was almost down to her waist. “I know I was only gone a few months, but I feel like I missed so much. Eva’s getting so big!”
“But not too big, right?” Cooper asked, anxious. “She’s where she needs to be growth chart–wise?”
“She’s perfect,” I assured him as my fingers brushed over her forehead. I paused. She was a little warm. I checked her nose, which was predictably runny and flush with thin mucus. Her lymph nodes were slightly swollen, and from the way she draped herself against her daddy, you could tell she wasn’t exactly bounding with energy.
“Everything OK?” Caleb asked, anxious again.
“Well, it looks like she could be coming down with a cold. Has she complained about her head or her throat hurting?” I asked.
“No, but she’s napped a lot today, more than usual,” he admitted, rubbing her back.
“Well, it’s in the early stages yet, and at this age, she can’t really articulate headaches,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. “Hey, Uncle Dan, do you have your Maglite?”
Dan proudly held up the little flashlight he kept in a holster at his hip, an idea he’d latched onto after watching too many episodes of CSI. “I told you it would come in handy!” he crowed.
“Yes, your moment of triumph has arrived,” I retorted, taking the offered flashlight and gently prying Eva’s mouth open. I shone the light into her throat and winced at the sight of red, inflamed tissue. “Oh, yeah, that’s some sinus drainage you got there, sweetie.”
“What do we do?” Cooper asked, his voice slightly panicked. “Do we need to take her to the hospital? Should we call nine-one-one?”
“This is why Mo handles most of her checkups, isn’t it?” I deadpanned.
Cooper grumbled a bit. “Yes.”
“It’s going to be fine. Right now, it’s probably just a little cold, one of many little colds she’s going to have over the course of her life. But just to be sure, take her back into Maggie’s office, and I’ll do an exam. I just have to run over to the clinic to get my medical bag and some of the medications she might need. You keep her in here where it’s warm.”
“Shouldn’t we come to the clinic with you?” Cooper asked. “You have all of the equipment there, those defibrillator paddles and the intubation stuff and . . .” He trailed off as I gave him an amused look. “We’ll just go wait for you in the office.”
“OK, then,” I told him, patting his arm. “Let Caleb know where I went?”
Cooper nodded.
I quietly slid into my coat, hoping not to attract the attention of aunties with second helpings. I stepped out into the bitter cold, refreshed by the untouched air, even as it slapped against my cheeks. It was a bit of a relief to get out of the crowd and the noise. As much as I loved the pack, it would take some time before I was used to their exuberance again.
Shivering, I stomped out onto the street, watching for patches of black ice under the shin-deep blanket of snow. The last thing I needed was to bust my butt on slick pavement and lie there in the dark for hours while the party raged on.
Who was I kidding? Caleb would notice I was gone within a few minutes and organize a full-on search party.
I shivered in my jacket, my steps slowing as I crunched through the snow to listen for . . . what? The sound of the whistling between the buildings along the main street? Fat white snowflakes splatting against the windshield of Maggie’s truck? I shook my head, trudging forward, only to stop a few steps later and peer down the street toward the north ridge of the valley.
There was something off. Some organic, nervous alarm skittered up my spine and had me turning on my heel to go back to the community center. I shouldn’t be out here on my own. I needed the pack. I needed—
I’d just passed Maggie’s truck when I heard soft, steady footfalls behind me, with none of the natural grace of the Grahams. I shuddered, my breath coming in short white puffs in the frigid air. Shards of icy panic wormed their way through my stomach, making it hard to breathe or think.
Whipping around, I turned back toward the north ridge and saw Glenn standing there in all his angry glory, practically vibrating with rage under his thick Gore-Tex coat. The climate had not been kind to Glenn. His overbright brown eyes watered against the cold, prickling wind. His cheeks were fire-engine red. And instead of making him seem pathetic, the wear and tear just made him seem that much more unstable, unpredictable. Any veneer of civility had been torn away to reveal a level of crazy I’d never seen before.
My heart stuttered in my chest as my brain shouted, Not real! Not real! Not real!