by T. L. Haddix
There was that assessing look again. Whatever it was, he was clearly weighing whether or not to tell her. But given that Owen Campbell was a decisive man, the fact that he’d brought up the topic for discussion told her he’d made his decision. Otherwise, he never would have spoken.
“What I’m about to tell you, it’s not easy for me to talk about. There are less than probably a hundred souls on this planet who know this secret, Sophie, and it must stay that way. Understand me?”
She nodded. “It will, I swear.”
He smiled. “I know. If I didn’t trust you, you’d not be allowed on this farm, much less be here in this room working with me on this project.” He tapped one of the genealogy notebooks on the table. “You’ve read my books, right? The Tobias Hedge series?”
“Yes.” She was, in fact, a huge fan of the popular children’s books, had been for years.
“I’m Toby.”
That was all. Just a calm, quiet pronouncement. Two words that should have made sense, but she couldn’t get them to process properly in her brain.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Tobias Hedge, the boy who can shape-shift into a deer? He’s based on my life. I’m a shape-shifter.”
She laughed. Just for a second. Then horrified, she clamped her hand over her mouth and stared at him. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. But… Owen, with all due respect, you can’t be.”
He didn’t seem offended, even smiling at her consternation. “The ability comes through my mother’s line, the Wells line, and I didn’t know about it until I was in the eighth grade. When I discovered the truth, I was sent to live with my uncle Eli in Laurel County. That’s the simplified version. I have the ability to become either a deer or a wolf, depending on my mood, though I don’t shift very much these days. And I passed that ability on to Rachel and Amelia. Rachel’s the deer, and Amelia’s the wolf. Archer and Logan are also shifters,” he said, referring to his sons-in-law, “and they have a couple of children each who are shifters.”
She didn’t know whether he was kidding or something had happened while she and Eli were at lunch. Concerned it was the latter, she frowned and rolled her chair toward him, reaching out. “Are you feeling okay?”
This time, Owen laughed. “Is the idea really that foreign?”
“I… yes. I’m sorry.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, the same move Noah and Eli were wont to make, and scowled lightly at her. “Okay. Then look at me. Watch my face.”
He inhaled slowly, closing his eyes, then let his breath out. When he opened his eyes, they weren’t… well, they weren’t quite human anymore.
Sophie sat frozen for a minute as she stared at him, her mouth open with shock.
He closed his eyes in a slow blink, and when his lids raised, his eyes were their normal warm amber. He let out a short huff. “Well?”
She couldn’t take her eyes off him. “How did you do that?”
“It’s part of shifting. I just think about the wolf and let it happen.”
She sat back slowly, still staring at him. “Do you… howl at the moon?”
“Not much these days, though I spent quite a few full moons in my youth doing just that.” He frowned. “Sarah was always fascinated by that part of me. I rather despised my lupine side, but she thought it was endearing. I typically only used the wolf when I was having a bad day or working through something. Now, Amelia? She and her daughter Sadie? They turn into the most beautiful silver wolves you’ve ever seen. And they enjoy it. Logan’s a mountain lion, and Amelia loves to pester him when they shift together. She likes to nip at his tail. Maybe you’ve seen the statues in Noah’s garden?”
Sophie shook her head mutely.
Owen scowled. “That boy… he’s going to have to show you. Still think I’m crazy?”
She didn’t know how to answer that. “I don’t know what I think. Not that you’re crazy, never that. But…”
“It’s a lot to take in.”
“What about everyone else? What abilities do they have? Does Sarah have an ability?”
His expression took on the softness especially reserved for when he thought of his wife. “Nothing like what I can do, no, but I think there’s something special in the Browning genes. I’ve not been able to prove it, but I’m sure it’s there. See, our relatives have several abilities that came from somewhere, and it wasn’t through the Wells family. And for the record, not all her great-nieces and nephews know about what we can do. It’s that close of a secret.”
He told her about John and Ben, who had abilities with numbers and patterns, and flowers and plants respectively.
“In addition to being a shifter, Amelia’s also a Cupid. She can feel a couple’s harmony or something like that. She’s put quite a few couples together over the years. And Sydney… well, my eldest granddaughter is something of a sporadic healer. It’s nothing she can control, but it happens occasionally. Plus, she can sense people’s health situations from time to time.”
Sophie didn’t know how to feel, what to say. “You really believe what you’ve told me here, don’t you?”
He nodded slowly. “I know it can be a difficult idea to process.”
“Erica never knew, did she? No, of course not,” she said, answering her question before he could. “She’d have exploited everyone to her advantage. Oh, dear God, no wonder you all were so upset with what Eli had done. It wasn’t just Noah he’d put in danger—he put you all in danger. Oh, God.” As she thought about just how badly things could have gone, she felt sick.
“If she’d known, we never would have had another moment’s peace,” Owen said. “Of that I have not a single doubt.”
“No, you wouldn’t have.” She looked at the table, not seeing the grain of the oak. “That’s why the property is so large, why you’re so reclusive. Or at least part of it, isn’t it? My God, what an awesome, terrible truth to know about yourself. And to have to guard your secrets so closely and those of the ones you love…”
He smiled softly. “Exactly. It took me a while before I could look at what I was without being ashamed, before I could even begin to feel pride in what I could do. I’d even been writing Toby for some time at that point. It wasn’t until I married Sarah that I really started to see myself differently. Through her eyes, I guess.”
“How do you do it? How is it that you didn’t snatch up the kids and Sarah and go live in the middle of nowhere so no one could hurt you? Doesn’t it terrify you, the fear that something could happen like what did with Eli, with Erica telling everyone what she knew? And why in the world are you trusting me with this secret?” Of everything she’d just learned, that was perhaps the most surprising.
Owen cocked an eyebrow. “Are you saying I shouldn’t trust you?”
“No, not at all. I’d never put you all in danger by telling another soul. But given who I am, how could you take the risk?” she whispered.
He leaned forward. “Because of who you are. Not because of who you happen to be related to but because of who Sophie is. You’re part of this family, young lady, and you deserve to know the truth about us.”
Sophie very much felt as if she was going to cry. She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I don’t know what to say other than thank you.”
Owen stood. “That’s good enough for now. I’m sure you’ll have a thousand and one questions when you’ve had time to think. In the meantime, I’m going to get some coffee started.” He patted her shoulder as he passed.
Until that moment, she hadn’t really understood that it was possible to be devastated by kindness. But it was. Surely it was.
She meant what she’d said, that she’d take the secrets to the grave.
But Owen’s revelation gave her pause as she considered how she viewed her role in the Campbell family.
She’d been the overtly welcomed but secretly shunned outsider often enough to know how things went. They didn’t include learning someone’s deepest, darkest secrets, secrets that could hurt them if they were exposed. Not unless that exposure was accidental.
There was a definite learning curve with this job, with this family. One she never would have expected to encounter.
Between what Owen had said and the questions Eli had asked at lunch, her head was spinning. Owen never would have told her what he did if he—and the family—expected her tenure to be temporary. And the fact that they didn’t? Blew her mind.
Chapter Fourteen
“How’d she take it?” Sarah asked. She and Owen were snuggled up under the covers after the boys had left.
Owen rubbed his face over her hair as he considered the question and how to answer. “It stunned her, but I expected that to some degree. I think that I was trusting her with such powerful secrets surprised her more than learning I can turn into a wolf or deer. That girl has been hurt so much, Sarah, it’s painful to watch her try to navigate the world.”
“Noah still loves her, you know.” She sighed and nestled into him.
“I can see why having spent some time with her. She’s absolutely perfect for him. There’s no judgment in her, not for any of the peculiarities this family has in spades. I know someone else like that.” He kissed her forehead.
Sarah touched his chin then traced his nose. “Do you now?”
He kissed her softly. “I do. And I had the good sense to marry her and build a life with her and love her. And miracle of miracles, she loves me back. Sophie loves Noah, I think. But she’s so afraid of being hurt again it’ll take one of those miracles for her to let her guard down.”
“Do you think Noah’s ready to try again?”
He thought of how at ease the boy had been after learning at supper that Sophie knew all their secrets. “I think he might be. I also think Eli’s as determined to throw them together as we are. He might have more luck than we would too.”
Sarah sighed happily. “We have so much to be thankful for, you know that?”
Owen smiled and turned off the light, pulling her closer. “I do. And with any luck, within a few months, so will our boys.”
Chapter Fifteen
Noah hadn’t had guests over for a game night in… well, ever. Entertaining just wasn’t in his wheelhouse. Sure, he’d go to the homes of his various family members and socialize. He and Summer had even gone out occasionally to do things.
But having people in his house? No.
The fact that he’d not only opened the house—his sanctuary—up to that sort of invasion but that he’d done so willingly? He felt a little as if he’d fallen down the rabbit hole.
They’d set the time for seven, so when he heard Sophie’s car arrive just a couple of minutes after six, he was thrown off. But then he considered who’d set up the time…
“Eli, you asshat. You set us up. I’m surrounded by damned matchmakers,” he muttered as he hurried to the door to let her in. But he wasn’t really upset. He was dangerously close to looking forward to spending time alone with Sophie again. He swung the door open as she stepped onto the porch. “Hi. Come on in.”
“Hi. Am I early?”
He gave a sheepish shrug. “Kind of, but I think there was a mix-up with the times. No biggie. How are you?”
“Okay. Are you sure it’s all right that I’m here early? Just how early am I?” she asked as he took the dishes she carried and set them on the counter.
“Um, maybe an hour? And yeah, I’m sure it’s fine. I can press you into service here in the kitchen,” he told her with a grin. He had to force his attention away from the muted purple sweater that draped softly across her curves and the faded, form-fitting jeans she wore it with.
She pushed a lock of blond hair off her forehead. “Okay, I’m game. How can I help?”
“Finish slicing the baguettes for the bruschetta, brush them with the garlic butter?”
“Sure.” She went to the sink to wash her hands. “What all are we having?”
“Finger foods mostly. Bruschetta with different toppings, traditional and tapenade. Just don’t tell Eli there’re anchovies in it,” he teased, scooping some out and spreading it on a slice of bread. “Meatballs, baked ravioli with marinara for dipping, caprese, and some regular salad just to pretend we’re eating on the healthy side. Some thinly sliced meats, and I think that’s it. Plus whatever Haley’s concocted. What did you bring?”
Before she could answer, he held the bread up to her mouth. With her nose wrinkled, Sophie took a delicate bite. He watched her eyes flare wide then half close as she chewed. When she gave him two thumbs up, he popped the rest of the bread into his mouth, not even realizing what he’d done until her cheeks flushed.
“Oh, that’s good,” she said once she’d swallowed. “I might tell Eli what’s in it just so I can have more for myself. Where’d you get it?”
Noah scowled as he checked on the meatballs in the slow cooker. “What do you mean, where did I get it? I made it. And what do you want to drink?” He rattled off a list almost as long as the menu.
“Water’s fine. I knew you could cook, but I didn’t know you could cook that well.”
He got her a fresh bottle from the fridge. “Giacomo’s wife taught me a few culinary tricks. After she gave up trying to marry me off to one of her daughters or nieces, she said she’d better teach me to cook or watch me starve. As if that was ever a danger. I lived in a little apartment over his woodshop, and she was constantly bringing me food.” He tapped the lid on the top container she’d brought. “Well?”
She nudged him aside a bit to grab the end piece of the baguette he’d been slicing, then she pried off the lid. “Spoon?”
“What is it?” he asked, handing her the requested utensil.
“Smoked salmon dip. A little bit of dill, some cream cheese, some really good smoked salmon, a few other things.” She smeared a thin layer on the bread then offered it to him.
Instead of taking it from her, he gently clasped her hand and bent down to bite the bread. It was possibly better than his tapenade, practically melting in his mouth.
“Mmm, geez. Maybe we should tell him there are anchovies in there too. Share the recipe?” When he saw that she wasn’t comfortable eating the rest of the bread she held, he took it and devoured it.
“Only if you will.”
Noah grinned. “Done. Now, tell me, what’s in the second bowl?” It was a much larger dish, and he was very much hoping it was more of the Butterfinger treat she’d made for Thanksgiving.
Sophie smiled. “Guess. And it should probably be refrigerated, ditto the dip, until they get here.”
As they worked on getting the rest of the fixings prepared, Noah broached the subject he’d been curious about since last night. “Grandpa said you had an interesting discussion yesterday about Campbell genetics.”
Sophie lifted her gaze to stare across the room at the bookshelves that lined the entire wall except the portion where the stone woodstove hearth was. “That’s an apt way to put it, yes. It was unexpected, that’s for sure.”
“Really?” He snatched a carrot from the tray of veggies he’d laid out and crunched on it.
She shot him an irritated look. “Yes, really. It’s one thing to know what you can do, what I could do. It doesn’t happen anymore,” she said with the shrug of one shoulder when he sent her a questioning look. “And no, I don’t miss it.”
He frowned. “I thought you said it did a few weeks ago.” That had been part of their discussion at the barn the day of the kiss.
When she was about eleven, she’d started seeing people’s emotions written in the air and on their bodies. It had been a mysterious gift that had come out of nowhere, and it vanished after the wreck just as mys
teriously as it had appeared.
“I did say that. I didn’t want to admit the truth, not then. Regardless, those abilities? Compared to what Owen told me yesterday… well, I’ve never felt so normal.”
Noah laid down his knife and gripped the edge of the counter, laughing, and gestured between them. “So we’re the normal ones?”
This time, she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him. “Yes, we are. Don’t you think?”
He shook his head, laughing the whole time, and got back to chopping the last of the tomatoes for the bruschetta. “Sophie, you… you’re the only person in the world, besides the family, I think, that I do feel normal around. Wow.”
He felt the shock go through her, but he didn’t look at her. He didn’t dare—he’d revealed too much with that statement, and if she didn’t take it well, he didn’t think he could face her reaction head-on. “So when did you stop reading people?”
“After the wreck,” she said quietly. “Of all the things to come out of that horrible night, the peace I felt after I realized that was gone was a gift of sorts.”
“It really doesn’t bother you, not having your ability any longer?”
“No, it really doesn’t.” She tilted her head and studied him. “But losing your ability would bother you. Noah Campbell, have you finally come to terms with yourself?”
When they were teenagers, she’d been all too aware of how self-conscious being a medium made him, and that was before anyone outside the family knew what he could do. Before Erica had taken that tidbit of information and run her mouth about it, a secret Eli had apparently told her as part of his teenage efforts to make himself feel more important than he thought he was.
He slid the tomatoes off the cutting board and into the bowl with the rest of the salsa ingredients. “I guess I have. It’s not always easy to deal with, but I wouldn’t turn it off permanently, no. It’d be like losing a part of my vision or hearing, I think.”