Yet, the gamut of emotions that flooded her at the thought of Kane with Anabel tore Lilly up inside. Wanting him made her selfish, especially since she knew he deserved so much more than someone like her, broken inside. Maybe if she found him true happiness, leaving him wouldn’t be so damn difficult.
Lilly tried to come up with a plan, but couldn’t. Since Kane insisted on staying near her 24/7, meeting up with Anabel by herself would be difficult. She’d need help. Though she liked Kane’s brothers’ wives well enough, neither Debi nor Sharon seemed like the type to keep a secret. That left Kane’s sister, Kathy. Who apparently had remained in touch with Anabel, at least accepting the letters for Kane. Lilly had to wonder why she hadn’t forwarded them on.
“I haven’t seen Kathy around lately,” Lilly mentioned casually the next morning. She’d just poured them each a fragrant cup of coffee and Kane had promised to make them scrambled eggs. She loved the way he looked first thing in the morning, with his short dark hair all spiky and his silver eyes still molten liquid from sleep.
“That’s because we haven’t been up to the house around dinnertime,” he said. “But I do need to talk to her. I want to ask her about those letters Anabel supposedly gave to her.”
Opening the egg carton, he swore. “We only have two eggs.”
Which gave her the perfect opening. Maybe, just maybe, if they had breakfast at the main house, Kathy would be there and Lilly could have a word with her separately from Kane.
“How about we have breakfast with your folks?” she said, acting as if she didn’t care one way or another. “Maybe Kathy will be there and you can talk to her.” She felt a flash of guilt as pleasure replaced the surprise in Kane’s expression.
“I’d love that,” he said quietly. “Let’s go.”
Outside, the breeze felt chilly despite the sun. They drove the short distance instead of walking, as Kane said he was too hungry to wait too long. When they entered the house through the back door which led directly into the kitchen, Lilly was disappointed to see no sign of Kathy.
Kane’s mother beamed. “Welcome, you two. You’re just in time for my famous cinnamon French toast. Kathy and Tom are on the way, too.”
“Great.” After kissing his mother’s cheek, Kane squeezed his father’s shoulder and then pulled out a chair for Lilly. Once she’d taken her seat, he dropped down next to her. “Where are Kris and Kane and the bunch?”
“They went into town to help with the planning committee for this year’s Labor Day Parade. Preparations have been in full swing for a couple of weeks. They’re already building the floats.”
Kane shook his head. “It’s hard to believe summer is almost over.”
“Labor Day is tomorrow.” Mr. McGraw smiled at Lilly. “They need all the hands they can get. Maybe the two of you should volunteer to help. I think Lilly would enjoy it.”
Lilly couldn’t resist glancing at Kane. He knew her well enough to know how much she’d hate something like that. One corner of his mouth twitched in the beginning of a smile. “We’ll keep that in mind, Dad.”
Kathy and Tom blew in. Kathy’s glorious mass of wavy hair had been pulled back into an untidy ponytail and she appeared radiant with happiness. “Look!” With a dramatic flourish, she pointed to her stomach. “I finally have a baby bump!”
Mama McGraw rushed over and enveloped her daughter in a hug. “I hope you’re hungry. Sit, and let me get started cooking. You need to eat lots—remember, you’re eating for two!”
Grinning at his wife, Tom pulled out a chair next to Lilly, fussing over Kathy as she settled herself in her seat.
“Good morning, Lilly,” Kathy fairly sang the words. “Do you want to feel my belly?”
Taken aback, Lilly wasn’t sure how to react. Finally, she held her breath and placed her hand on Kathy’s newly rounded abdomen. “Will I feel it kick?” she asked.
Kathy smiled. “Not yet. I can’t wait for that. If you’re still here, I promise to let you feel once the baby does.”
If you’re still here. Funny, how the casual words wounded her. Lilly managed to smile and nod, gently moving her hand away.
Luckily, Kane’s mother returned with a huge platter of French toast. “Here you go,” she said, setting it down. “I’ve warmed maple syrup. I just need to fetch it from the kitchen. There’s butter in the bowl in the center of the table.”
Mrs. McGraw returned with the syrup as everyone helped themselves. Silence fell, while they dug in.
Lilly nearly moaned out loud as the first bite melted in her mouth. “This is wonderful,” she said, meaning it. Around her, everyone smiled and nodded and just kept right on eating.
When the platter had been emptied, Mrs. McGraw stood and began gathering the plates.
“Let me help you, Mom,” Kathy said, pushing to her feet and reaching for the silverware.
Lilly saw her perfect opportunity. “I’ll help, too.”
“Let me assist you lovely ladies,” Kane put in.
“Sit,” Lilly ordered, before she had time to think. “I need a break from you.” Everyone stared at her, looking amused. She thought about trying to explain, and then decided against it.
Surprisingly, Kane looked stung. But he remained where he was and Lilly continued to help clear the table.
Once everything had been gathered up, she followed Kathy and her mother into the kitchen.
“Dishwasher’s broken, ladies,” Mrs. McGraw told them. “We’ll have to wash this batch by hand.”
“Mama, go relax.” Placing her plates on the counter near the sink, Kathy shooed her back towards the dining room. “You’ve done enough, cooking all this. Lilly and I can take care of the dishes.”
Laughing, the older woman wasted no time returning to the rest of her family.
“I’ll wash and you dry.” Kathy handed her a towel. “Is that all right with you?”
Lilly nodded. “I’ve helped my brother’s wife, Blythe, do this a lot back home.”
After rinsing off the dishes and filling the sink with soapy water, Kathy began scrubbing. “Where’s home to you?”
For some reason Lilly thought of Kane. Which confused the heck out of her. “I grew up in Texas,” she managed to say without wincing. “And before here, I lived with my brother and his wife in Seattle.”
“I love that city.” Kathy handed her the first plate. Lilly carefully dried it before placing it in the dish rack on the counter.
They chatted a bit, working through the dishes, while Lilly tried to figure out how to ask her question. Finally, she simply inhaled and plunged into a gap in the conversation.
“Kane and I had a strange visitor yesterday,” she said. “A woman named Anabel.”
Though Kathy continued working on cleaning the silverware, Lilly noticed a kind of watchful stillness in the other woman.
“Really?” Kathy’s brows rose. “I’m surprised I haven’t heard about that yet. How’d it go?”
“She claimed Kane is her mate. And she also said she’s been giving you letters to give to Kane.”
“Letters?” Now Kathy turned to face Lilly, frowning. “That doesn’t make sense. She has his email. Everyone does. His veterinary practice has a website.” She paused, then reached for another handful of silverware. “I wonder if she’s confusing him with her husband, David. She used to send him care packages along with handwritten letters. I know because I helped her box them up a couple of times.”
Lilly pondered this. “Is she mentally ill?”
“Probably.” Kathy didn’t hesitate. “She stopped going to grief counseling after she fell apart in one of the sessions. I feel bad for her, but she won’t let anyone help her. She’s become a recluse these past few months. Rarely leaves her home and when she does, she dresses in an outfit that looks like a Halloween witch costume.”
It was a pretty accurate description.
“And now she’s fixated on Kane.”
Kathy made a sound. “Poor him. How’d he deal with that?”
“He was kind,” Lilly said, feeling compelled to defend him. “And firm. He told her they were never mates and asked her to leave.”
“He’s right about that. They aren’t mates.” Tone firm and no-nonsense, Kathy just looked at Lilly. “You do realize that, don’t you?”
Lilly shrugged. “I don’t know how to tell.”
The strangled sound coming from Kathy might have been laughter, or something else entirely. “You honestly don’t know?”
Slowly, Lilly shook her head.
“Kane and Anabel aren’t mates, because you and he are. Anyone with eyes in their head can see that.” Handing Lilly the last of the silverware, Kathy pulled the drain plug and began draining the sink.
Meanwhile, Lilly stood frozen, clutching a bunch of wet forks and knives before belatedly placing them on her dish towel. “No,” she said faintly. “He and I aren’t mates. We can’t be.”
“Why’s that, hon?” Grabbing the dish towel from her, Kathy gently removed the pieces from Lilly’s hands and dried them. “Why can’t you and my brother be together?”
“We just can’t.” Oddly enough, Lilly felt like she might be about to weep. “Please, just leave it at that.”
Kathy stared at her for a moment in silence, and finally nodded. “Have it your way,” she said. “Come on, let’s go rejoin the others.”
“Wait.” Lilly grabbed her arm. “I need your help.” She glanced at the still-closed door. “I want to talk to Anabel without Kane.”
Kathy studied her through narrowed eyes. Just now, the dove-gray color appeared more silver, like Kane’s. “Why?”
“I think I can help her.”
“You’d better talk to Kane about that.” Kathy sighed. “I can’t help you do anything that might not be safe. And with Anabel’s fragile state of mind...”
“Please.” Lilly continued to hold Kathy’s arm. “It can be in a public place, and you can be there, too. I just need a few minutes with her. That’s all.”
Kathy’s hand crept up to rest on her slightly rounded belly. “I still don’t understand what exactly you’re trying to do.”
“Just talk. Nothing more.”
“We need to run it by Kane.” The firm set of Kathy’s jaw told Lilly she wasn’t budging on this.
Which meant Lilly wouldn’t be meeting with Anabel. “How about giving me her phone number?” Lilly tried to keep her voice casual. “That’d be nearly as good. I can speak to her on the phone instead.”
“I don’t know...” Kathy glanced at Kane before looking back at Lilly. “All right,” she finally said. “I can give you her number. I can’t guarantee that she’ll even talk to you, and I want your word you won’t try to sneak off and meet with her.”
“You have it.” Lilly smiled as Kathy scribbled the number on a paper napkin. Pocketing it, she thanked her.
“What I don’t understand is why you want to get involved in this,” Kathy mused. “You have enough crazy stuff to deal with as it is. Why add more?”
“Because I truly believe I can help her. Since I was rescued, I’ve done nothing but accept assistance from others. It’s time I give back.”
Kathy smiled. “That’s really nice. Good luck with it.” They went back in the room and sat. For a while, everyone sipped coffee, sated and relaxed.
After they’d socialized for another half hour, Kane got up. “Come on, Lilly. We need to stop at the cabin before our drive.”
Drive? Lilly knew better than to ask in front of Kane’s family. Pushing to her feet, Lilly thanked Kane’s mother for a wonderful meal. The older woman beamed at the praise.
Outside, the morning air still carried a bit of a chill, hinting that fall was just around the corner.
Once they were in the Corvette, Kane started the engine.
“I understand you want to talk to Anabel,” he said, the instant they pulled away from the main house.
Her stomach clenched. “Kathy told you.”
“Of course she did. I’m trying to keep you safe. I can’t do that if you go around contacting people like Anabel. You don’t even know her. Why would you want to do that anyway?”
She swallowed. “Because she’s hurting and I know how that is. I identify with her. And I think she’s just fixated on you as a way to cope with the loss of her husband.” She lowered her voice. “I want to try and help her. Because if there’d just been one person during all my years as a prisoner, a simple kindness like a conversation would have meant the world to me.”
His expression changed. “Just don’t be hurt if she rebuffs you.”
“I won’t.” She gave him a smile. “And don’t be surprised if she doesn’t.”
One hand on the steering wheel, he handed her a cell phone. “Here. You can keep this. It’s a spare prepaid one I bought before we came out here. Have at it.”
Despite her brave assurances, Lilly’s heart was in her throat as she dialed the number Kathy had written.
It went straight to voice mail. Lilly sighed, debated hanging up, and left a message instead. “This is Lilly Green. I met you yesterday, out at Wolf Hollow. I was hoping to talk to you. We have quite a bit in common. Please call me back at this number.”
After disconnecting the call, she sighed. “Now I just need to wait and see what happens.”
Kane shook his head as they pulled up to their cabin. “I doubt she’ll call you back.”
“Well, until she does, since you mentioned we were going for a drive, I’d like to go into town. I need to buy a few things.”
“You can’t,” he said, grimacing. “Too risky until we find out where the cultists are. If you’ll give me a list, I’ll have Kathy or Debi or Sharon pick up whatever you need.”
Her cheeks warmed. “How about we go to the next town over? It’s been ages since I went shopping. Shopping is one of the things I really enjoy.”
“What woman doesn’t?” He chuckled. “All right. We’ll stop in Kingston while we’re over that way.”
“Where are we going?” Fairly bouncing in the seat, she couldn’t hide her anticipation.
“I thought I’d take you over to Woodstock. It’s a touristy sort of place and at this time of the year it should be crawling with people. I figure it’ll be safer that way.”
“Safer.” Though she nodded, a sudden realization struck her. “You know, since coming here, I’ve been almost as much of a prisoner as I was before.”
His smile disappeared. “Ouch. I’m sorry you feel like that. Everything we do is only to protect you.”
“I know that.” Without thinking, she lightly touched his arm. He tensed under her fingers. “It’s just that I’ve been feeling a bit like a butterfly, emerging from a cocoon. No.” She waved away any potential comments. “Let me rephrase that. Like a bear waking up after hibernating all winter.” She laughed, amused at her admittedly rough analogy. “I’m eager to discover and learn and fierce to protect my right to explore.”
After a startled second, he laughed with her. He took a deep breath. “You’ve been doing so well with your self-confidence. I’ve seen a side of you I didn’t expect to see, at least not so soon.”
She smiled at the compliment.
They parked in front of the cabin. “You can wait here if you want. I just need to grab my backpack.”
“I need to freshen up.” She got out, closing her door quietly and hurrying in ahead of him. She felt like a kid, getting a day off from school to do something fun. Just because she was getting to do an ordinary thing, something other people didn’t even think about before doing.
* * *
The instant Lilly disappeared into the bathroom, Kane sent a text to Sly, the leader of the Protector team on-site. He requested backup, needing someone to shadow them while they took in the sights. The most important aspect was that Lilly not notice. Her newfound independence might be fragile. He didn’t want to upset it.
After receiving the text response assuring him that Sly would have the situation handled, Kane relaxed. He grabbed
his backpack, checking to make sure his camera battery was fully charged, and sat down on the couch to wait for Lilly.
When she emerged, his heart turned over. She’d put on a brightly patterned sundress, which showcased her long, creamy legs. Her soft, ivory shoulders and slender body made her look dainty and graceful. The low-cut bodice highlighted her shapely figure. She was a pleasing contrast of wholesome yet seductive.
Just like that, he burned for her.
Stunned speechless, he tried to find the right words to compliment her without betraying the way she affected him.
He knew he was staring, but he couldn’t help it. Slowly, he rose to his feet, holding his backpack in front of him like a shield. “You look great,” he rasped. He kept his gaze riveted on her face, but then, unable to help himself, let it travel over her once again slowly. As if he were photographing her with his eyes.
“Thanks.” Her porcelain complexion turned pink. “Are you ready to go?”
Inside, his wolf roared. Looking at her, he swore he could see the faint suggestion of hers, doing the same.
Shaking it off, he turned and held the door for her. The light, floral scent she wore drifted to him as she passed, making him ache.
“It’s a bit of a drive,” he told Lilly. “But scenic. So relax and enjoy. On the way home, there’s a great fruit-and-vegetable stand I want to stop at. Mom always likes for me to pick up stuff for her there.”
She smiled back. “Sounds lovely.”
The winding road meandered through the occasional older neighborhoods, large two-story houses set way back off the road. Traveling to the highway was easier if he drove directly through town, but he wanted to keep Lilly away from Leaning Tree, so he took the long way. This involved making a circle around town, cutting around the reservoir, and finally reaching the main road.
“I love this.” Cheeks still flushed, eyes bright with excitement, Lilly seemed enthralled with their surroundings. “I bet it’s really beautiful once the leaves start turning.”
“It is.”
As he hit the interstate, his cell phone rang. His brother Kris.
The Wolf Siren Page 20