by Kelli Kimble
“They’re leaving next week. But they’re coming here to visit you,” Jacob said, his voice brightening. “They’re going to drive to Florida, so they said they’d come here and spend a few nights before they go.”
“Where will they stay?”
“I’m sure there’s a Howard Johnsons or something around,” Kal said. He gave me a serious look. “Your mother confided in Tessa, Iris. They’re at the end of their money. Nobody will hire either of them. They really have no choice but to do this for him.”
“I understand,” I said. Though I didn’t, not really. My parents had always been there for me. What was I going to do without them? Panic started to rise in me again, Jacob shifted uncomfortably beside me. He could smell my anxiety. I shut my eyes and concentrated on calming my thoughts. They aren’t abandoning you. They’re just taking advantage of an opportunity. They’ll make sure that you’re looked after.
Before everything had fallen apart and we’d moved in with Mr. Anu, we didn’t have the best financial situation. Daddy was forever telling Mother that she needed to budget better and forbidding her from buying some item or other that he thought was frivolous. They thought all of our problems would be solved when the insurance company finally paid for our house burning down. But then the bank had demanded a settling of the mortgage balance.
Between paying off the mortgage and my father not having a job, things weren’t looking good. He’d been on warning when many of the locals had started canceling their policies due to him being related to me—but when he’d been arrested that was the final straw. His boss said he’d rather shutter his business permanently than, as he put it, “employ a jailbird.”
Daddy might have been beaten down by all of the things that had happened since we moved to Salvation, but he was still proud. He’d rather be providing for us on his own, and taking a job from Mr. Anu was likely a bitter pill to swallow. But it was better than what they’d been doing. Helping out around the farm might have had value to Mr. Anu, but Daddy didn’t think it was enough to feed and house three extra people.
The waitress brought our food. I bit into my sandwich and stared out the window as I chewed.
“Are you okay?” Jacob asked, touching me on the shoulder.
“I’m fine. It’s just a surprise, is all.”
“That’s why we thought we should tell you,” Kal said. “Your Mother especially is excited, and I heard her talking to Tessa about how they wanted to surprise you with the news.”
I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “Mr. Anu is rich, huh?”
“Apparently,” Kal said. “Your father showed me a list of his properties. It’s pretty extensive.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” I said. “He’s had a long time to accumulate things.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes.
“Tessa sends her love,” Kal said. The waitress brought our check and he got up and followed her to the cash register to pay the bill. He loped casually; his stride confident. At the register, he leaned in towards the waitress, flirting with her. She seemed to blossom under his attention. Her cheeks flushed prettily, and her eyes sparkled. He said something that made her laugh, and she mirrored his lean against the counter, the cash register separating them.
Jacob scowled. “I wish he wouldn’t do that.”
“What’s the harm?” I asked. “I bet she never gets a second look.” I glanced around the restaurant. The patrons were primarily male, and all seemed to have their eyes on the pretty waitress working the other half of the dining room. She had striking green eyes and black hair. Her uniform revealed more cleavage than was tasteful. I noticed that there were no female patrons seated in her area.
“She’s human. That’s the harm. He’ll never find a partner if he spends all of his time flirting with humans.”
“It’s not like they’re going to date, Jacob. You’re here for this meal and then you’re leaving.” I glanced out the window at the parking lot. Mr. Anu’s truck was overloaded with Jacob’s things in the back.
I tried to change the subject. “Boy, you two complained about the amount of stuff I brought to school. You’ve clearly got me beat.” I poked him in the ribs, trying to be playful. “Did you bring the kitchen sink?” But his eyes were still on Kal and the waitress. He twisted his shoulders back and forth as if to shake me off.
He turned and glared at me. “Anu says he doesn’t have long. If he doesn’t find a partner, he’ll—”
“He’ll what? Be single?”
“No.” His eyes went back to Kal, who hadn’t yet stopped flirting. The waitress was writing something on her notepad, giving him shy glances as she did it. “If he doesn’t find a mate, he’ll become a loner. He’ll just wander around, never finding fulfillment.”
“That’s ridiculous. Love doesn’t have an expiration date.”
He rubbed the pads of his fingers over his eyes. “Look, I only know what Anu said. He says Kal only has a year or two if that.”
Kal finally returned to the table, smiling. He had a piece of paper that he folded up and put in his wallet.
“Why did you do that?” Jacob asked.
“Restaurants don’t like it when you don’t pay for your meal,” Kal said. He leaned back in the booth, putting an arm over the back and stretching a leg into the aisle. He turned an easy smile at Jacob, but there was a challenge in it, too.
“You know what Anu said.”
“I know what he said. I don’t have to believe what he said.”
“But you’ll be alone,” Jacob’s tone changed from anger to frustration.
Kal suddenly sat upright and leaned across the table. He stabbed his pointer finger into the surface of the table. “Anu is full of it. He loved a human. Why can’t I?”
“Can we not fight about this?” I asked.
Neither of them looked at me. “We’re not fighting,” they said in unison.
“Come on,” I said. “You’re brothers. You just said the same thing at the same time. You don’t need to fight.”
“We’re not fighting,” Jacob repeated, though his eyes were still locked on Kal’s. “If we were fighting, the whole restaurant would know it.”
Nobody else seemed to be paying them any mind.
“All right, you’re not fighting. Lunch is paid for and you need to get to your dorm. How about we leave?”
Kal swept out of the booth, not waiting for us. His long strides took him to the door before we’d even stood. The plain waitress lifted a hand, waving goodbye, but Kal ignored her. Jacob and I hurried after him.
“Thank you,” I said to the waitress. She didn’t answer. She was craning her neck, trying to get a last look at Kal. I couldn’t blame her; Kal is as handsome as they come. I wanted to tell her to forget about him, that there was a nice man somewhere who would be lucky to have her. But instead, I followed Jacob out the door.
Kal had both hands on the steering wheel, his knuckles white from clenching it so tightly. Beside me, Jacob was just as tense. Aggressive pheromones were stirring through the air in the cab, making me feel dizzy.
“What is it with you two?” I asked.
“Yeah. You’ve had a bug up your butt for weeks now,” Jacob said, crossing his arms. “I’m sick of it.”
“Fine,” Kal said. “I’ll tell you what it is. I think Anu is right. Only, I think it’s already too late. I’m already a loner.” He banged on the steering wheel with a clenched fist to punctuate his final words.
“I don’t understand where all of this loner talk is even coming from,” I said. “Would one of you explain what is so horrible about not yet having found someone?”
“Anubians find each other,” Jacob said. “We form groups that survive together.”
“You make it sound like we’re wolves,” I said. “We’re not animals.”
Kal sighed. “According to Anu, we’re a lot closer to animals than we’d like to think.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s true,” Jacob said. He sought o
ut my hand and squeezed it, not bothering to hide it from Kal this time. “You and I are forming a pack with our relationship. As we move together, our pack will form around us. Kal is part of our pack. But he’ll only have a limited time to establish his—”
I interrupted. “Mate? His mate. That’s what you were going to say.”
He shrugged. “Mate. Partner. Wife. Spouse. Whatever you want to call it.”
Heat flushed my body as I thought of the implications. “But you and I aren’t married or . . . anything.”
Kal smirked, and his eyes flicked from me to Jacob and back again. “Nice to know who the alpha is.”
“Shut up, Kal,” Jacob’s voice was icy. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The truck rumbled to life, and Kal guided it out of the parking lot. “I think I know enough.”
* * *
The ride back to my dormitory was tense. Neither of them spoke. I was too embarrassed to intervene again.
Jacob slid out of the truck, but Kal didn’t move. Kal gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. “It was good seeing you, kid. I’m sure you’ve got this education thing covered.”
“Kal, I—”
But he stopped me with a raised hand. “Jacob’s waiting. I’ll see you soon. Anu wants you both to come home for the long Labor Day weekend.”
“Okay.”
“Iris, let’s go,” Jacob was standing outside the truck, staring Kal down. Kal looked away. I hesitated for a moment more, then got out of the truck.
“Thanks for lunch,” I said.
Kal raised a hand in a mock salute, keeping his eyes averted.
Jacob grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the dorm. I yanked my hand away when we got to the doors. “I was only saying goodbye.”
“It’s not that.” He spun me to face him. “Who do you think the alpha is?”
I chuffed at him. “I don’t even know what you mean by alpha.”
“You know, the alpha of the pack. The leader.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I couldn’t even fathom what he was talking about.
“A wolf pack. It has an alpha, a beta, an omega. The ranks. Within the pack?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “This pack thing is news to me, and I’m not exactly well-versed in the social hierarchy of a wolf pack. But if I had to guess, I’d say that Mr. Anu is the alpha. We’re all just orbiting around him, learning what he wants us to know.”
He pulled me to him and kissed me. My pulse raced as I kissed him back.
He broke away but pressed his forehead to mine. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you soon.”
“Write to me?”
“Of course.” He backed away, gave my hands one final squeeze and turned to go.
As he walked back towards the truck, I shouted loud enough for both of them to hear. “Make up with your brother!” Then I ducked inside. I didn’t want to see the expression on either of their faces when they realized what I’d said.
* * *
The next day, Professor Cane kept me after class again. Sweat broke over me as my curious classmates exited the auditorium. When the last person had left, I got up from my seat and went to the front of the room where he was erasing the chalkboard still.
“Anu called me last evening. It seems your parents are coming for a visit.”
“Yes, sir. I think next week.”
“Ah, yes. Anu said you might not have the current information. They’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Oh.” I frowned. Why would they have changed their plans? Was something wrong?
“There’s no cause for worry. Their plans have just accelerated. Anu asked me if he could impose upon my hospitality. Your parents are to be my guests.”
“That’s very kind of you,” I said.
“It’s no trouble at all. It will be a nice change of pace to have some guests. My wife passed some time ago, and sometimes my house feels too big for one person.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, sir.”
“It was a long time ago.” He gathered a sheaf of papers and stuffed them into his briefcase. “He said they’d be arriving in the morning. I thought the three of you might like to have brunch. You might be surprised to find that I’m a delightful though amateur cook.”
I tried not to let my surprise creep into my voice. “That would be very nice, sir.”
“Terrific. I’m sure they’ll stop at your dormitory to pick you up.” He snapped his briefcase closed. “Then I'll see you in the morning.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
“Please, this is the least that I can do for Anu. And for you.” He tilted his head, “Until tomorrow.” He started for the door.
“Sir? Before you go—can you, I mean—my parents don’t know that they’re Anubian.”
“Understood, Miss Hond.”
Chapter 4
“Professor Cane, you’ve set a delightful table,” Mother said as she took in the beautiful dining room table laden with silver and china. A crystal bowl overflowed with fresh flowers in the center of the table, and lit candles bookended them. The sideboard was groaning with platters of food: hash browns, bacon, sausage, eggs benedict and fruit salad. The elaborate nature of the food and settings matched the decor of the room. It was high-ceilinged, with tall windows, each nestled within a cocoon of velvet curtains. The walls were papered in a fussy blue and white pattern with scenes of peasants harvesting apples.
“Yes, well. It’s the least I can do. I’m glad that you could come and stay. I always welcome the opportunity to get to know the parents of a student. Especially a student like Iris. You must be very proud of your daughter.”
“Yes, of course,” Daddy said as he put his arm around me. “We’re very proud of our little Cinnamon Bun. She’s overcome some difficult things.”
Professor Cane nodded and politely didn’t ask questions about what difficult things I might have overcome. “Why don’t we make our plates?” He gestured for us to attend the buffet. “Ladies first.”
Mother and I walked over to fill our plates. I took a small amount of each item, following Mother’s lead. Daddy followed behind me, and finally Professor Cane. The brunch consisted mostly of Mother talking about how they were going to Paris on the way to Mr. Anu’s estate.
“I wasn’t aware that Anu had holdings overseas,” Professor Cane said. He sipped a mimosa daintily from a champagne flute. “And you’re going to oversee some work he’s having done there?”
Out of nowhere, Mother produced a photograph. “Modernization of this home. Can you imagine? A mansion without running water or electricity. In this day and age.” She clucked her tongue. “I do believe we’ll have our work cut out for us.”
“And you have a background in something of this nature? I could use your opinion on a few things myself.”
“Oh, no,” Mother said. “Clark sold insurance and I’m only a homemaker. We’re not doing any of the actual work. We’re just making sure that the work gets done, that no corners are cut, and everyone is paid. Simple, really.” She smiled and looked at Daddy.
“Yes, it shouldn’t require any special skills,” Daddy said. “We’ll just be doing the accounting, really.”
“Well. Anu is quite lucky to have found someone willing to undertake it for him. When we spoke, he seemed relieved.”
Mention of Mr. Anu made me think back to the day when my parents first met him. They’d invited him to dinner because I was working on his farm and they wanted to be sure that he was someone they could trust. What stuck out was my mother asking if he’d ever been to France.
“Have you been to Paris?” Mother asked.
“France, yes. Paris is lovely.”
“How delightful,” Mother breathed. “We should go to France, Clark.”
“Have you won some kind of sweepstakes you haven’t told me about?”
Mother frowned. “Don’t be crass, Clark.”
“To tell you the truth, the loveliest vistas I’ve seen
around the world have been right here in West Virginia. There’s no need to leave when there’s beauty in your backyard.”
“Iris?” Mother was looking at me. I snapped out of my thoughts.
“I’m terribly sorry,” I said. “I was thinking about how much you’ll see in France.”
“Oh. Yes, we will. I was just asking if you’d found Professor Cane’s class helpful.”
“Of course,” I said, though it was a lie.
“She’s being modest. She’s way beyond everyone in her class,” Professor Cane said.
Mother smiled and flushed. Daddy gave me an appraising look.
Professor Cane began a long and rather dry history of the college. I allowed my thoughts to drift away. He seemed overly interested in what my parents would be doing for Mr. Anu, and it didn’t sit right with me that Professor Cane had been mentored before me. How many others were there? And, where were they?
As the meal came to a close, I offered to take my parents on a tour of the campus.
“Oh, but Professor Cane has a lot of cleaning up to do. We should help,” Mother said.
“No, no. It’s quite all right. I have some hired help that does this sort of thing.”
“I have to be blunt, Professor Cane,” Daddy said, allowing the professor to shepherd us towards the door. “You have done very well for yourself. I wouldn’t have thought an educator could afford such a beautiful home or servants to keep it.”
“I inherited the house,” he said. “Along with an endowment. From my wife’s family, though she has passed away.”
“I’m terribly sorry,” Daddy said. “I didn’t realize.”
Mother was looking as if Daddy had dropped his pants while singing the Star Spangled Banner.
“Why thank you, but she passed a long time ago. And though I do miss her, the memory is no longer painful.”
“Clark,” Mother admonished. “You shouldn’t pry.”
Professor Cane laughed. “You sound much like her, Mrs. Hond. I can see that we’ll get along quite well.”
“Thank you for brunch,” I said.
“Yes, it was very hospitable of you,” Daddy said.
“Like I told Iris, it will be nice having someone else here, even if it’s only for one night. Will you all join me for dinner tonight? At six?”