Page 39 of The (Maybe) Murderer Who Knocked Me Up

Ruby presses her lips together. “I wondered if that’s what happened.”

“What? Really?”

She nods. “The way you talked about him made me suspect there was something deeper going on, but I couldn’t be sure.”

“We also wondered why you never dated,” Shae says.

Quin’s eyes become glassy. “I should have told you.”

Ruby squeezes his hand. “You are telling us. It’s okay, Quin. We still love you. We’re still proud of you. Yes, I wish you would have told me earlier, but like I was just saying, we all make mistakes.”

I try not to take it personally, but I’m the mistake Quin made. That does hurt a little bit.

“Our bond never formed properly,” Quin tells her. “But our connection never faded either. We… wanted each other this whole time. And now I’m not sure what we should do. Have you ever heard of something like that happening?”

Ruby’s gaze darts between Quin and me. “Really? For six whole years? That must have been unbearable for the two of you.”

“Yes,” Quin says.

I’m not as eager to respond. I don’t know what Ruby would think if I told her that I found my connection to Quin comforting. Yes, I yearned for him, but there’s a softness in yearning for someone. It only happens if there’s sweetness there to miss.

“As far as I know, there isn’t a set time for a bond to settle between a raccoon shifter and the person they put their paws on. It usually takes a month or two, but sometimes it’s shorter or longer, depending on the couple. I’ve heard of it taking six months. Six years is a stretch, but if you still feel connected to one another, that probably means the jury is still out on your bond. It will either form or fade.”

Quin eyes her warily. “But Aunt Emerald said something must be wrong if it’s unresolved after all this time.”

“You told your Aunt?” Ruby asks.

Quin swallows hard. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s good. I’m glad you confided in her. She might be right about there being something wrong with your bond.” She turned to me. “But you just got out of Sciff, didn’t you? How long ago?”

“I went to pick him up this morning,” Quin admits.

“Whatever is wrong might be fixed by simply spending time together.”

Hope blooms in my chest. Does that mean I still have a chance with Quin?

“Do you know of any experts on raccoon shifter bonds?” Quin asks. “I was sort of hoping to ask someone who might have seen something like this before.”

Ruby considers that for a moment. “Maybe. Kaleidoscope’s Grandpop is a healer. He might know something about bonds.”

I hear a door open on the other side of the house.

“Quin?” A male voice calls out. “We’re back!”

Quin’s eyes widen.

A pitter patter of small feet echoes through the hallway until a little girl with two long braids comes bouncing in the room. “Daddy! You’re back!”

She throws her arms around Quin.

All the pieces fit together. The welcome mat mentioning grandkids, the missing pictures on the wall, and the shape of the little girl’s face. She’s a spitting image of Jake, with eyebrows that curve in the exact same shape, and a short nose that looks identical to his when he was a child.

That little girl is mine. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.

19

SEQUIN

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