If he yelled at me for whining, I’d blame the medications or the concussion and its accompanying headache.
There was a thump and a curse on the other end of the line, followed by the clatter of the phone bouncing on something hard. “Damn it, Dante!” my twin bellowed.
I winced. “I’m reasonably intact, Elliot. I lucked out. However, I have a concussion, so if you could not yell in my ear, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sorry,” he replied in a much softer voice. There was a sharp edge in his tone as he demanded, “Where are you?”
“It’s a top-secret location. I’m about to be wined and dined by one of Canada’s finest chefs, but apparently I don’t get to drink any of the wine.”
There was a long moment of silence. “Are you all right?”
I sighed. “I’ll live. I have a couple of stitches, a sprained wrist they insisted on trapping in a brace, a variety of cuts, and even more bruises. Add in the concussion, and I’ve seen better days. Nothing broken. I don’t know what happened to Evelyn or the others.” I could hear the worry in my voice. Maggie paused in what she was doing to stare at me. I shook my head and waved her off, earning a narrow-eyed glare.
“Alex is frantic with worry about both you and Richard, let alone the ladies. Remind me to thank Gerald for the sleeping pills he managed to get me a prescription for. I don’t know what are in his, but they calmed him down.”
“I’m sorry I worried you.”
“Damn straight you worried me!” he bellowed.
“Headache,” I reminded him.
“Sorry. Seriously, where are you?”
“I’m with Gerald, who has informed me that he didn’t mean for me to end up hospitalized when he wanted me to enjoy Canadian hospitality.”
My twin snorted. “You’re in a good mood.”
“It’s the drugs.”
“What do they have you on?”
“No idea. Gerald had Maggie guard the hoard to ensure they’re out of the kids’ reach and ensure they’re stuffed down my throat at the appropriate intervals.”
Maggie laughed. “Tell your brother I said hello, please.”
“The drug dealer’s lovely wife wants me to tell you hello,” I relayed obediently.
“Tell her thank you for me, and hello as well.”
I played messenger before saying, “Richard’s wife is apparently trying to set a land speed record driving here from Yellowknife.”
“Good, if Richard was hurt in the crash, we’ll need her to keep him under control. But seriously, are you all right?”
I had the feeling he wasn’t going to leave me alone until I told him everything I knew, so I said, “I came within a few inches of losing my head. That said, if I hadn’t been trapped in the cockpit, I probably would have walked away. From what Gerald has told me, it took the rescue people three chainsaws and two hours to cut me out.”
“Three chainsaws?”
“And two hours. I told you, he hit a tree.”
“He really landed in the water and managed to hit a tree?”
“He did. Don’t ask me, Elliot—I don’t know what happened. All I remember is waking up with the plane wrapped around a tree while half submerged.”
“Wonderful. Gerald isn’t going to fetch us tonight, is he?”
I smiled a bit at the frustration in my brother’s tone. “You won’t be missing much. Even if he did, from my understanding of the situation, in about thirty minutes, I’ll either be passed out or higher than a kite from the medications they’ve prescribed. I’m really sorry I worried you.”
There was a long pause followed by a heavy sigh. “You have nothing to be sorry about. Can you give Gerald the phone?”
“He’s with his girls. I’ll give you over to Maggie.” Before I could do anything other than hold the phone out, she claimed it, stalking back into the kitchen. After several moments, she drew a deep breath and bellowed, “Gerald, phone!”
It didn’t take him more than a few moments to make his appearance, claiming the phone from Maggie. “Good evening, Mr. Anderson.”
From behind their father came Beth and Ruth. They both had their brunette hair tied in pig tails, watching me with wide eyes. Both had grown more than I had expected. Ruth clung to a floppy-eared bunny. At six, she was a year older than my Jacqueline would have been, if she were still alive.
“Hi,” she said, clutching her bunny tighter.
It took me several moments to compose myself before I could speak without my voice betraying my anguish. “Hey, girls. It’s been a while.” I couldn’t get over how big they had gotten; when Ruth had been born, Beth had been a wobbly, collision-prone toddler. They fidgeted, which made me suspect Gerald had warned them to be gentle. “Where are my hugs?” I begged, giving my leg a slap.
They swarmed me, jostling and elbowing each other in their attempt to climb on my lap. I picked Ruth up under her arms, and ignoring the stabbing pain in my wrist, I hauled her up. Beth clung to my suit, weighing enough to tip me in her direction. After settling Ruth, I tried to figure out how to fit both of them on my lap without either one of them ending up on the floor.
Maggie put her hands on her hips. “Girls, he is not a tree for you to climb on. Be gentle, he’s not feeling well.”
“They’re fine,” I murmured, hugging both of them. “They’ve really grown, Maggie. At the rate Beth’s going, she’s going to be as tall as I am.”
Giggling at me, Beth wiggled on my leg, wrapped her arms around my neck, and planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek. While both of them could chatter a storm, I was impressed by how quiet and restrained they were. I returned her kiss with one on her forehead.
“Girls, come help set the table. And no, Jackson, you may not help. I won’t have you breaking any more of my dishes!”
The girls jumped down off of me to patter into the kitchen. I feigned a heavy sigh. “It was only one dish, Maggie. Just one!”
“You will stay where you are, Mister,” she ordered.
Gerald leaned against the kitchen counter, mimicked my sigh, and said into the phone, “You’re not getting your way, Mr. Anderson. No, I will not give you my address. I will have someone pick you up tomorrow morning, early. It’s dinnertime, and I have to go supervise your brother. Go to sleep. If you haven’t already, take those sleeping pills. I asked for them to be prescribed for a reason.”
Without waiting for my brother’s reply, Gerald hung up. “He’s excitable today.”
“I wonder why,” I replied.
Maggie tapped the pot with a metal spoon. “Enough play, boys. After dinner, it’s a very early bedtime for you, Mr. Jackson.”
Suspecting arguing would prove fruitless, I said, “Yes, Mother.”
She laughed. “You’re such a brat.”
~~*~~
I was the first one awake the next morning. Driven downstairs by the pounding in my head, I bumbled around Maggie’s kitchen with the coherency of a zombie, disregarding the doctor’s ban against coffee. The black sludge I ended up with didn’t taste like coffee, but it was hot and it took off the edge of my exhaustion. I made myself at home at the kitchen’s island, flipping through one of Maggie’s gardening magazines. My other options were a two-week old newspaper and a financial magazine I had already read.
Halfway through my second cup of coffee, the doorbell rang. I glanced at the microwave’s clock, wondering who would be visiting Gerald at a little after six in the morning. Mug in hand, I hobbled my way across the house.
Too tired and achy to put in the extra effort to peek through the peephole, I disengaged the security system and opened the door.
I came face to face with my father, whom I hadn’t seen up close and personal in at least six years. Too busy gawking to form a coherent thought, let alone say something, he shouldered his way in, dragging a pair of suitcases and a gym bag.
“What did you do to your wrist?” he demanded, glaring at the brace. After setting the luggage down, he got out of the doorway to let in the two women behind him. I recognized Nicole from the countless times she had made an appearance during video conference calls with Richard. She had dark rings under her eyes, and her dark hair was a tangled, ratted mess. I admired her for her lack of makeup; many women relied on tricks to be beautiful, but Nicole was genuine, which made me like her all the more.
Ignoring my father, I exchanged kisses on the cheek with Richard’s wife. Like Maggie, she was short enough I had to bend over for her to reach me without forcing her to stand on her toes. “There’s coffee in the kitchen if you’d like, ladies.”
“You look like hell. I hope we didn’t wake you,” she replied.
“I was already awake. Judging from the lack of squeals and thumps from upstairs, the kids are still asleep, which means Gerald and Maggie are as well.” Operating under the hope that if I ignored my father he would go away, I turned my attention to the taller, brown-haired woman flanking Nicole. “You must be Amber. Forgive me for not shaking your hand,” I said, raising my coffee mug in salute.
Amber nodded. “I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I agree with Nicole: you look like hell. Go sit before you fall down. I’m too tired to help you up.”
“The kitchen’s this way, ladies.”
As I passed my father, I considered whether or not my coffee counted as a weapon and if I had the energy to smash it over his head. Deciding against the idea, I guided the trio to the kitchen, setting my coffee aside to pull down some mugs from the cabinets, careful not to break any of them. For a second, I considered only fetching two, but I brought down the third to remain polite.
My father remained silent, watching me, probably trying to decide which one of his sons I was. I had no idea what his relationship with Elliot was like, nor did I want to know. Determined to remain at least somewhat polite, I ignored my surging resentment at his presence.
Making coffee delayed the inevitable, so I focused all of my attention on the pot. Stifling a yawn, I eyed the coffee machine warily. “I’ve been told I shouldn’t operate any machinery. I think they were right. I’m fairly certain I made poison disguised as coffee.”
Nicole joined me at the kitchen counter, lifting the carafe to sniff at the brew. “If it tastes as bad as it smells, I’m impressed you still have taste buds.” She dumped the pot into the sink. “Get away from the coffee maker.”
I turned to head back to the island when she snatched the mug out of my hands. Its contents ended up in the sink.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, but I wasn’t aware that you were a threat to coffee,” Amber said, perching on the stool next to mine.
Nicole leaned against the counter while the coffee brewed, flashing a tired smile at me. “He’s the second sweetest man you’ll ever meet. Richard being the first, of course.”
“Richard could have rabies and you’d still think he was an angel,” I countered, grinning back at her. “I’m not going to ask how you got here so fast without flying.”
My father sighed, hooked a stool with his foot, and sat at the far end of the island, well out of my range. “Never have twins, ladies. They’re not double the trouble, they easily triple it.”
Bursting out laughing, Amber shook her head. “I don’t need twins to know that, Mr. Anderson. Nicole’s the elder of a pair, and they’re incorrigible.”
“They picked me up in Toronto. It probably would have taken longer to fly, but would have been substantially safer,” my father announced.
The island was disappointingly devoid of things I could use as a weapon. “I’m the one who doesn’t exist,” I informed him in a grumble.
“You look remarkably intact for someone who was in a plane crash,” was his neutral reply.
“Who was flying?” Nicole demanded.
“Not me. I was napping when the plane went down. I don’t remember anything. When I woke up, it was daytime and the others were gone.”
“Fuck.” Snarling, she clenched a hand into the fist and banged it on the granite counter. “I’m going to kill him once I find him.”
Judging from the way Amber sighed, it was something the wizard had been saying a lot lately. “Easy, Nicole. Richard’s a good pilot. I’m sure he didn’t mean to crash the plane. Take a look at Jackson. If he survived, there’s no way any of the Fenerec were seriously injured. Wherever he is, he’s fine.”
“Richard’s running wild. That does not constitute as fine. He didn’t tell me he was intending on bringing two new Fenerec into the pack. The pack’s in flux, which means I can’t figure out where he’s at.” Nicole spun to pour the coffee, muttering curses.
Most of them were directed at her husband, although I heard a few aimed in my direction. I pretended not to hear any of them.
Amber rubbed her temples. “Please forgive her. She’s worried sick, and I mean that quite literally. She puked in the car twice on the way here. It doesn’t help that she doesn’t know who the two new Fenerec in the pack are.”
Nicole scowled. “He didn’t need to know that, Amber.”
“Their names are Evelyn and Vicky,” I supplied.
With wide eyes, Nicole turned her full attention onto me. “Vicky? You don’t mean Mr. Anderson’s Vicky, do you? His boss?”
I gawked at her. “You know about her? Does everyone know about her? I just met her this week.”
“Did you know about this?”
I grimaced, wondering how much I could risk telling them with my father listening in. It was unnerving enough knowing he was nearby, staring at me. The fact he remained silent didn’t help me relax any, either. “I did. Richard thought it would be wise considering our special familial circumstances.”
On the phone, I knew Nicole as an even-tempered woman who didn’t take any bullshit from anyone, especially her husband. Snorting, she poured a fresh cup of coffee and handed it to me. “That’s the understatement of the year, Jackson. I’ve heard quite a bit about your familial circumstances. They’re crazier than mine, I’ll have you know.”
“What did you mean by Richard running wild?” I asked, sipping at the coffee. It tasted a lot better than what I had made.
“He’s a wolf, that’s what I mean—he’s a wolf without any care of the fact he’s also human,” was Nicole’s subdued reply. “It happened right after he brought the two new members into the pack. I’m willing to bet one of them was at risk of running wild and he got caught up in the pack bonds. That’s why he’s never supposed to bring new members into the pack without Amber, Alex, or I there. We can stop that from happening.”