“Trust me. You’ll have all the first class you can get,” Dev promised as he pushed back from the table. “I’m going to call and make sure our plane is going to be ready. That means taking the portal to the outside world. I might be late for supper.”
Daniel stood. “I’ll go with you.”
One by one they left, eager to get to work. Dinner would come soon, and I was thinking seriously about asking for a tray in my room. I didn’t know if I could sit at the table with Lee and not break down in tears. Then Rhys would want to know what had happened, and he would hate me, too.
“Are you all right, my darlin’?”
My father was the only one left at the table. I gave him a wan smile. “I’m as good as I can possibly be.”
“Something’s happened,” he said. Shy’s big brown eyes seemed to look into my soul. It was odd to be talking to my father and looking at the gorgeous woman my son was infatuated with. “I saw Lee earlier. He told me he was good, too.”
I thought seriously about getting up and basically running to my bedroom, but knowing my dad he would simply follow me. If he truly thought something was wrong, he wouldn’t care about privacy. “Lee found out I’ve been investigating ways to change the timeline.”
Shy’s head dropped back as my father unleashed a frustrated groan. “Damn it, Zoey. I was hoping you would keep that nonsense to yourself.”
“It’s not nonsense, and I tried to. It turns out Lee’s still excellent at eavesdropping and spying. I suspect someone’s given him a charm or a spell of some kind or Danny would have known he was coming.” I wasn’t used to anything getting through Danny’s senses, but even as a child Lee had found ways around anything in his path.
“They’ve been working on some spells that fool supernatural senses. Lee tries them out all the time. He’s always looking for an advantage in a fight. It’s what happens when a human has to survive in the supernatural world. I should know. Like you and Lee, I grew up in this world. I wasn’t a child, but I was young when I first learned there was something beyond the human world we knew, and I was eager to explore it. I learned quickly how dangerous it could be.”
I knew most of his stories. He’d fallen into this world. Even when he’d been young, he’d had a reputation in the human world as an expert safecracker. My grandfather had been a locksmith, and my father had grown up surrounded by them. He probably should have taken over the business, but Dad had rebelled. One day a mysterious man had hired Dad to crack a safe. That man had turned out to be a vampire who worked for the Council. They’d taken a vote and decided Harry Wharton was trustworthy and had skills the supernatural world could use, and thus began his career. “That was why you needed a fierce reputation.”
“I needed more than that. I needed friends. I needed protection. Like Lee, I took every advantage I could get,” my dad admitted. “Lee feels his vulnerability every day. I wish he hadn’t heard that. He’s been looking forward to your homecoming for years and years. He’s missed his mother.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t Kelsey he missed?” I couldn’t help it. The question was out of my mouth before I could think to disregard the impulse. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know why they’re so close.”
“Yes, but it still had to hurt when he would choose to spend time with her instead of you,” my dad said, sympathy plain in his tone.
“I don’t truly resent them for it. I’m glad they got to spend time together.” But I was self-aware enough to admit that it hurt. Now that I looked back, I could see that mere months ago Lee was already pulling away from me. Not in a bad way. He was growing up and finding a place for himself. Finding spaces that didn’t include me. It was the painful part of parenting. If you’re successful, they leave you behind.
“I like Kelsey, but it hurt the first time Lee told me he couldn’t go out for ice cream because he was working for Kelsey,” my dad admitted. “I had to tempt him with lessons to get him to spend time with me.”
“I’m sorry. Their relationship was new.” And on a level most of us couldn’t truly understand.
“Well, we’ve had a good time together now,” my dad said. “These last few years with the kids… I wouldn’t take them back for the world.”
“Not even if you could get more? Not even if you could have been alive all this time?”
“My darlin’, not even if I could have spent those years with you.” Tears swelled in Shy’s eyes. They shimmered in the soft light that illuminated the brugh. “It’s not that I don’t love you, that I didn’t miss you. It’s that these years with them were precious, and I’ve learned that we cannot change the past. We take what we’re given and we do the best we can. Watching my grandchildren become what they have…”