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Nana…
Nana checked the find your roommate option on the shipboard app. There she was, her daughter-in-law on the Lido deck. The creature kept slipping away. At least Mary Lynn wasn’t in the casino again.
Her behavior was disgraceful. They were going to throw her daughter-in-law off the boat if she kept this ridiculous winning streak going. Last night she’d snuck over to her empty suitcase in the closet and stashed some of her winnings when she thought Nana was asleep. Mary thought she didn’t know, as if anyone could sleep through the racket she made.
How much trouble could that girl be getting into in the game room? How bad could winning every day be? Because it was almost dinnertime, Nan made her way to the elevator. Having all of her meals made for her and never having to wash a dish was a luxury Nan could get used to.
Peering in through the etched glass that surrounded the well lit dining room, her gaze swept right past Mary Lynn at first. She was laughing. The sight of it froze her in place. How long had it been since she had seen her face soft, with her eyes catching the light? The difference stunned her.
The last time Nana had seen that smile, her son had been alive, leaning across her kitchen table teasing his wife. They’d been alone in the dining room, just the two of them. Kendie and she had been cleaning up after making cookies. Her son had loved that crazy girl so much.
That damned man was with her again. It made no sense to her. They were in the middle of the ocean. What on earth was he supposed to protect them from? Violent dolphins? A rough game of shuffleboard?
It was madness that they had been shipped off to begin with. Nana had made it this far safely in life without leaving good old American soil and she was fine. Her life had been quite tidy and pleasant before all of this mess with Kennedy.
The only good part was that Kennedy was settling down. Of course, in a nontraditional way. When they were all together, the men were practically underfoot in any room you went in. That poor girl was going to have to go outside into her yard to toot.
Nana’s feet wouldn’t move forward. Seeing Mary laugh was like glimpsing a double rainbow. Her boy would forgive her for not breaking the spell. He’d understand. That man had lived to make that ornery woman happy.
Nana gave a sigh, turned herself around, and headed toward the snack bar. She had a feeling Mary Lynn would prefer dining without her tonight. That was fine. Nana had been working up her courage to have a sherry in the piano bar. When she had been a girl, one of her aunts had been quite the scandal, one sherry a week, after Sunday dinner and church. As far as she knew, Aunt Mable had never been struck by lightning.
*
Red…
Arms crossed, he tried to ignore the casual chatter his mom was having with her best friend. Ms. Kathy had picked them up right after the breakfast dishes had been put away. He’d tried to get his mom to stay at home, but she had utterly refused. Sitting in the back seat like a small child, he gritted his teeth together. If only he hadn’t had Mondays off. It was humiliating not to be driving.
Red did not want his mother to see how few people were going to show up. Finding the land empty was going to be embarrassing. He hadn’t been to Terry’s property since the fire and wasn’t prepared to see the remnants of the mother’s room. For a brief time, he’d been happy. Life had fooled him again and driven him into the ground. His family might as well burn and bury him.
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When they turned the bend and started up the dirt road that led to the property, the line of cars parked along the drive startled him. “Who are these people?”
“Who the heck do you think they are?” Ms. Kathy chuckled.
Red rotated in his seat when he saw the Thunderbird kid and his dad unloading tools from the back of a pickup.
“You can act like a butt hole as much as you want, but your actions have consequences.” His mom sounded happy and excited.
Red saw that damn Sheep librarian he’d taken gas to twice. “What the hell kind of consequences are these?”
“We are going to re-roof the damaged side of the barn.” His mom explained, as if her words made perfect sense.
“Why in the hell would these folks be willing to do that?” Red couldn’t believe how many people were here.
“So your stubborn self doesn’t sit in the rain while your woman is sleeping in her mother’s room.” Ms. Kay’s cheeks were pink with excitement.
“But it’s gone. Everything was destroyed.”
His mom’s friend shrugged.
Red’s mother patted the covered bowl in her lap. “I brought the left over biscuits from this morning in case anyone gets hungry.”
*
Two hours later…
Hammers rang, boards scraped, and somebody had a radio playing. An old door had been found in the salvageable part of the barn and some folks had placed it on top of two saw horses. There were people here he had never met. A shy teenager being tailed by the oldest basset hound he had ever seen was mixing up lemonade. Friends of Jeremiah’s. Folks Terry knew.
Red looked up into the rafters. They had unanimously decided that he wasn’t allowed on the ladders. He’d bristled a bit at first, but then taken over measuring boards. There were men and women, perched like angels above him, driving in nails. The Mother’s room itself had been untouched. Enough roof had been left on one side to shelter it. Leaves had blown in, and there had been a visitation by raccoons, but the space was still sacred and standing.
The bed itself had been stripped, pillows sniffed and abandoned. The mattress had been declared acceptable. Kennedy would have a safe place to come home to. Thanks to these people’s help, he could offer her that. Board after board was passed upward. The diner had sent up sandwiches. Soon he wouldn’t be able to see the sky when he looked up.
When one of the trucks arrived from the hardware store laden with roofing paper rolls, he’d tried to pay them, but the guy had brushed him away. “That’s done, Sir. It’s a gift from the mountain.” The man hesitated. “These supplies are an apology.”
“Is it the kind of apology that drips poison on you every time it rains?”
“No, Sir. I imagine she’ll explain herself.” The man walked away from him toward the back of the truck. Whist slid out of the passenger side and Red stiffened his spine.
“You’re the only useful husband, not off running with those damned wolves.”
He stood tall and pushed his shoulders back. They’d met a time or two, but never under the best of circumstances.
The woman looked up at him. “Do you know who I am?”
“Whist.” He looked her up and down. “One of Old Joe’s.”
“You could say that. Ba feels bad about what has happened. Things got out of hand.” She swallowed. “What your woman did has exposed a bigger problem. One that is a lot more complicated than a grainy video.”
She had his attention. “What does that have to do with my family?”
“Well, you are on those humans’ radar.” She took a breath. “From what we are hearing from the Wolves. There is a group of humans that are growing. They are hunting specifically for those who are abandoned to their heart shapes and killing them.”
“Why in the hell would they do that?” Others had approached the truck and begun helping the driver unload the heavy rolls. If he wanted to stop them, he was going to have to do something quick.
Whist interrupted his thoughts. “Because they crave being what we are.”
Red brought his focus back to her unsmiling face. He snapped, “And a video caught on a baby cam has caused this?”
“No, a tortured Wolf, whose body shifted trying to escape the pain. They wear his flesh like jewelry.”
Red recoiled. The very idea made his skin crawl. “That’s disgusting.”
“The video aimed them like an arrow at your family.” She wiped her hands off on her jeans. He could smell her horse on her and wondered if it had been hard for her to come here alone. “I thought you should know.”
“I’m not afraid of Sheep.”
“From what the Wolves are sharing with us…” Her mouth tightened. “You should be.”