He held me against his chest. “Don’t scare me like that.”
I was numb, rolling my mom’s ring between my fingers. “Sorry.”
After a few moments, he checked my levels again and sighed. “You’re good now. Tomorrow we should talk to the doc about this. He might recommend you showering with it on now.”
I gave him a weak smile. “Alright, Dad.”
He put me to bed and kissed my forehead. “Okay. Tomorrow, we leave around three.”
I nodded, and when he left, I grabbed my phone and looked up the text I sent Trace. I was worried that she hasn’t returned my calls or at least texted back. Did she take a sleuthing job that topped mine? I texted her again, slightly irritated.
Hannah: Can wait any longer. I'm calling her.
I scrolled back through my text history to find the photo of the business card that I had taken for her. I wrote down the number then called it. A soft feminine voice answered. “Hello?”
“Carly?”
“Hannah.”
“You’re right. I’m sick. Can you help me?”
“I believe so.” She rattled off an address in the Jag area, and I quickly wrote it down. “Meet me at this address tomorrow at ten am.”
My heart raced with the possibility of being well again. “I will.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next day, my dad went to work in the morning. He would return when it was time to take me in for my appointment. I was home alone until Win and Drex showed up.
“Hey, you weren’t at first period.” Win frowned. “Quinn told us that you were sick.”
I glanced warily at Drex. He wasn’t human. Then I let my gaze fall to Win. Was he? They were friends. And if not, did Win know?
“Yes. I'm on my way out, though. Can we talk later?” Then I thought about the baked goods I had wrapped up on a paper plate. I put my finger up. “Wait.” I pointed to Drex. “Brownies.”
His eyebrows went wide before they dropped and he licked his lips. “Mint fudge?”
Oh man, I didn’t want to smile or give him any attention, but with the way he looked, like the cat who got the cream, it was hard not to. “Yes.”
He nodded, slapping Quinn, who was watching the play-by-play, on his shoulder. “See, she’s a keeper. A true woman who bakes for her man.”
I snorted, all reservations of him temporarily gone. “You wish. Give me a second.”
I went to shut the door in their faces, but Quinn put a hand up. “Wait.” I opened it a bit and peered out. “Can we come in?”
“No.” Then I shut the door.
I raced to the counter and grabbed the brownie plate. As I walked back to the front door, my amusement dropped and reality came back. My shoulders sagged. Damn.
I opened the door, finding the two of them still there, and shoved the plate into Drex’s waiting hands. “Thanks.”
“We’re even.”
I stepped out and closed the door behind me then fumbled with the lock.
“Do you need a ride?”
I turned back to them, scrunching up my nose. “No.” I gestured to my car. “I got it.”
Drex balanced the brownies in one hand while he caught me with the other as I wavered on my feet. “You don’t seem good.”
After he touched me, I felt better. I briefly wondered if that was his talent. Maybe it was a good idea to have them take me. He was, after all, like my mom. Maybe they could help me with my illness by using their magic.
“Come on, let us take you,” Win urged.
I held out the paper with the address and Win’s brows raised. “You’re going to Carly’s home? How do you know her?”
So Carly was one of them? “From the movies,” I answered honestly. That’s when I learned two things. They knew Carly and Win was a part of this.
They helped me into the front seat of Win’s car and Drex got into the back.
“We’ll stop by my house first,” Win said, giving me a sincere smile. “Mom probably has some leftover pancakes, and you look like you could eat.”
“I’m good,” Drex chirped. “I have brownies.”
“Well, I like pancakes,” I agreed quickly. I was a sucker for them.
Win held my hand and played with my fingers as we pulled up to his neighborhood. Drex munched on my brownies, and all I could do was stare at the huge houses, which looked even more impressive during the daytime. It was the same community where the party had been. We passed the party house and moved further on down the lane.
"You live in here?"
"We all do," Drex replied.
"Who do you mean by ‘we?’”
Silence filled the rover for a tense moment before Win answered, "Carly and our friends."
Win turned left onto a street named Burke with a "Not a Through Street" sign. He drove to the third large brick home on the right and pulled into the drive.
"This is your house?" I asked as I stared in awe.
"Yeah," Win muttered as the vehicle pulled into the driveway and he turned off his car.
All of us got out, and I followed them up the brick walkway and through a large oak frontdoor. Noise from a television could be heard and the sounds of kids rompin' around. I leaned in toward Drex. "If you have six siblings, how many does he have?"
“It’s not a picnic with ten.”
My eyes went wide and I drew back. “Ten?”
It was at this moment that a kid appeared out of nowhere and grabbed a hold of Win’s legs. That boy was almost as fast as me. "Winnie!"
I snorted. "Found my name for him."
Drex's shoulders shook with laughter.
Winnie peeled the kid from his legs and threw him over his shoulder, giving the boy's bum a good smack.
"Hey!" the boy cried out, covering his backside.
"What did the dads say about... showing off?" Win spoke sternly to the boy.
The boy sagged and lifted his head to glare my way. "To be normal."
My eyebrows scrunched. Not normal comes in all sizes.
"That's right." Win set him down and the boy peered around his waist to stick his tongue out at me before running away. Win never turned around. He just kept walking until we were in a kitchen where a woman was cooking with two other men. It smelled like pancakes.
They all glanced up when we entered, but it was the man with the bright red hair that had me pausing. He must have been Win and Snowden's father.
"Winter," his mom addressed him as she wiped her hands on a dish towel. "Tarragon. Why aren’t you in school?"
My eyes widened as I turned around to Drex. His cheeks were red.
"Yeah-yeah." His hands met my shoulders to turn me around.
"Mom, Dads, this is Hannah,” Win-Winnie-Winter introduced me. “We stopped by her house because we heard she wasn’t feeling well. We found her on her way to see Carly, so we decided to bring her. But you have food, Mom. And we’re still hungry. So we came here.”
Win’s mom turned to me with a curious smile. “Hi, Hannah, sorry you’re feeling under the weather. I hope it’s not catching.” She turned her gaze back to her son before returning to me. “But I’m glad Win is helping you out. You can call me Deb.” She came over to where I was with a bright smile and gave me a squeeze, even with her reservations about catching what I had. I didn't want to seem like a bitch, so I hugged her back. Her hug was soft and firm all at the same time. And she smelled like sunshine and roses. She made me miss my mom.
“Don’t worry,” I told her. “You can’t catch what I have.”
"Oh there-there." She patted my back and didn't move; if anything, she snuggled me up even closer in her arms. "You can hug me anytime." I wasn't crying or even sniffling, but somehow she knew. She knew.
"Mom," Win groaned.
And just like that, she let go and swept a strand of hair from my cheek. Glancing over my face, she replied, "You come to me, hm? For anything. Hugs included. Your mama would have wanted you to."
"What?" I stumbled away, my eyes solely on D
eb. "What do you mean? How did you know my mother?"
Win tensed. "Mom, she's not."
Drex's hands met my shoulders, holding on for comfort.
"Honey." My gaze slanted over to the one guy who didn't have red hair. "What are you saying?"
I glanced back to Deb. Tears filled her eyes. "Don't you see it, Ben, Able? She's a Caldwell girl. She’s Ann’s child."
"Dun-Dun-Duuuuun," the little boy voiced from behind us.
"Go play, James!" Able called out to the boy.
"Fine," he groaned and popped out. Just disappeared. Like Drex had.
"He can...” I shook my head. “Nevermind.” I was more curious to know about my mom than how the boy, and Drex, could disappear. I turned to Deb again. “You knew my mother?" She was from here. It wouldn't be that big of a stretch, but surely Deb couldn't know by just my face alone.
She nodded. "Until she left."
"Why did she leave?" That part hadn’t been in the dream thing I had experienced. This woman had answers, though.
Drex squeezed my shoulders again, reminding me of his supportive presence, and Win came over to where we stood. "Do you know who you are, Hannah?" he asked softly. "Did your mother ever tell you about herself?"
I shook my head. "She never talked about any of you. Or her family." I was sticking with that. I wasn’t sure what to say at this point or if I should bring up the ring and my mom’s memories or not. So I opted to say less until I knew more.
The redhead husband came to stand by Deb and asked, "And your father? Who is he?"
I shifted, uncomfortable with these questions. But I had my own that I wanted answered, so I replied, "Rex Cain." There was silence. Win's mother turned to her husbands, and they shared a glance. "So why did my mother leave?"
Deb’s gaze came back to me and softened. "Because she fell in love it would seem."
My lips pressed; my hands shook in agitation. "And my grandparents didn't approve? Was she in an arranged marriage as well? Was she-"
"Hannah," Drex voiced. "Calm down."
I twisted away from him as my gaze popped up to his. All the energy I had bottled inside surged, and I yelled, “Don’t tell me to fuckin’ calm down! You know things.” I pressed a finger to his chest, my eyes flashing. “My mom died.” Poke. “Said nothing about her life here.” I gripped his shirt, tears filling the corners of my eyes. “Why?”
His hands landed on my shoulders once again. “I’m sorry, Jumper.”
I felt soothing tingles, and my body responded, sagging into his touch. Win bent down and scooped me up into his arms, walking out of the kitchen. My head rested on his shoulder, and my arms curled loosely around his neck. I was suddenly too tired to care. I breathed him in, wanting to forget what had happened. I felt Win stride into a room and sit down on a couch, holding me in his lap. My eyes closed. Tears spilled out and left wet tracks down my cheeks.
"Did you have to sedate her?" Win growled before his lips touched my forehead. Was that why I was so tired suddenly? “So sorry, Flirt.”
Flirt. I relaxed. I liked it.
"I didn't know what to do," Drex defended himself. "She was going to bolt, and we don't know if she can shim yet!"
Shim? Was that the light disappearing thing?
“Poor thing. What was Ann thinking? Marrying a human,” Deb murmured.
“And didn’t you hear her? Ann has passed on.” It wasn’t Able who spoke, so it could only have been Ben.
“Her dad’s human,” Drex said. “That’s... that's not allowed. ”
Win tightened his arms around me. “We can’t tell anyone. And she’s supposed to meet Carly.”
“Carly? Son, what if she and her father came here looking for answers?”
I felt Win’s fingers tighten on my body. “Are you going to tell her grandparents, Mom? You know what they would do. She’s human, but she’s not.”
“Are we sure?” Drex asked.
A shift in the air told me someone else had entered the room.
“Hey, where’s breakfas-” a new deep voice started then paused. “Honey, why does our son have a girl sleeping in his lap?”
Where did he come from?
“Hannah Cain, Dad. A girl from school.” Win’s chest rumbled.
“Hannah...Cain? You’re sure?” He sounded shocked.
“Yeah, honey,” Deb answered. “Why?”
“She's my patient. We have an appointment today.” He sounded worried. Win tensed. I felt a hand go to my head. “Is she okay?”
“She’s not feverish.”
Deb gasped. “She’s your patient? Is she terminal?”
He sighed. “Yeah.”
Well shit, hello Dr. Churchill, who I will NEVER allow to touch me again.
“I just put her to sleep, Doc,” Drex answered softly.
My heart thumped. I was sooo not asleep.
“Why is she here?”
“The boys thought it would be good for her to eat with us. Something about her father working and having no one else,” Deb answered
“Yeah. We stopped by when we realized she hadn’t shown up and Quinn was worried.” Drex’s voice sounded off.
The hand drifted away from my from head and to my wrist. I tried to move. Nope. I guess Dr. Churchill could do whatever he wanted. What did Drex do to me?
“Her pulse is racing.”
“She’s Ann Caldwell's’ daughter,” Win stated.
The fingers let go. “Are you sure?” He sounded skeptical.
“Tom, Deb touched her,” Able said.
“I only gave her a hug, but I sensed Ann in her blood. I didn’t realize. I didn’t know.”
Win’s chest rumbled. “Didn’t know what?”
“She’s human, son. And she doesn’t have a mark. I didn’t look, but in her charts, it doesn't say she has a birthmark.”
Mark? I had a bruise. The one on my hip that never went away. Who were these people? Why did they care about a mark? I tensed and this time my muscles responded.
“Shit, I think she's waking up.”
I felt another touch and that same feeling come back. “What are we going to do with you?” Drex whispered next to my ear before I fell into a deep sleep. Indeed. What would they do with me?
***
"Hannah?"
I groaned and rolled over onto a hard body and snuggled in. The body rumbled as hands met my sides. "Flirt, I know you're into me, but I'm still upset that you jumped a train and another bridge." Win chuckled.
"Shit, I'm upset she didn't take me," Snowden grumbled.
I stiffened and rolled over to glare at him. "I won’t be taking you any time, thing two," I cursed at him.
Win's chest rumbled. "Thing two? Just give him some time. He’ll make it up to you.”
"Hate that name, babycakes."
"It's sticking," I pressed, curling back into Win.
A palm met my head and petted my hair. "She's adorable."
I opened my eyes and really looked around this time to find myself in a bedroom with the sun shining through a large window. Shit, was I late?
I turned over on the bed to find Snowden in all his badass glory sitting on the side of it. He looked put out. My gaze went past him to the open door then back to him. "Ah, where am I?"
Snowden shot up and whirled away, angry. "Damn you, Drex!" he yelled, heading out the door.
I turned back to look at Win; he seemed concerned. "Do you remember anything?"
I blushed, eyes wide as my body tensed. "Holy hell, did we...?"
He drew back, green gem gaze full of honesty, and replied firmly, "No, Hannah, we didn't do anything. You're still dressed."
I looked down at myself to see the clothes I had worn earlier still there. "I guess I am.”
I promptly got up and brushed the hair out of my face. My heart skipped, thinking of my life pack, and calmed when my hands found it on my side.
"It's still there," Win said softly, getting up himself. He stretched, his t-shirt lifting slightly at his midsect
ion, giving me a quick peek of his stomach muscles. I bit my lip and watched, unconcerned with how I got here and why. It teased the back of my thoughts, like a word or a place you might not remember but hovered just on the edge of your memory.
When his arms came down, I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans and glanced back up to meet his eyes. He was studying me.
I raised an eyebrow and gestured to the bed. "So, care to explain, sleep buddy?"
His face cracked a grin. "Sleep buddy? I think you have that confused with a- "
I waved a dismissive hand at him and turned around. "No, I don't."
"-fuckbuddy, and I'm okay with both."
Ignoring him, I walked out the doorway and went the same way Snowden had gone. I could hear the loud voices of Drex and him and kept going that direction.
"Flirt? Where do you think you're going?" Win asked from behind me.
"To break them up," I told him, rounding the corner, right into a little boy. He would have fallen, but I caught him. Win scooped him up from behind me, and the boy giggled. "Winnie!"
I twisted around, eyebrows darting downward. I knew that name. I glanced down to the kid. And him too. I turned around and pressed forward until I reached a great room where it seemed like the whole clan was at. Snowden was up in Drex's face yelling something about too much power and how I couldn't remember. Quinn and Jamison were on the sidelines, not helping, and I wondered what the hell they were doing. Why weren’t they breaking up the fight?
I raced in between Drex and Snowden – fast – and pushed them apart.
Everyone gasped.
"You... you can run?" Snowden's brows creased.
Keeping them separated with a hand on each of their chests, I rolled my eyes. "And jump, and swim, and-"
"Fly?" one of the younger kids asked.
I shook my head and smirked. "No, but sometimes it feels like it."
Quinn snorted. “Almost.”
“Is it ditch day for school? What is this? Why are you all here?” I asked, glancing at all of them. Then I pointed to Drex, feeling hurt. “I gave you brownies.”
He swept a hand behind his neck; I’m sure he was feeling stressed. “Sorry?”
I glared at him.
Snowden grabbed my wrist to tug me toward him and started to pull my shirt sleeves up to my shoulders, then the back of my shirt neckline down. I caught his hand before he pulled the front of my shirt down too.
The Bridge Over Snake Creek Page 14