Page 6 of The (Maybe) Murderer Who Knocked Me Up

“I remember when your Uncle Dagger left home. He was seventeen, wasn’t he?” she asks Aunt Emerald, who’s icing cookies with us. Uncle Dagger is two years older than Mom and Aunt Emerald. They were in the same litter along with Aunt Crystal.

“Yes. Crystal was so upset. She wouldn’t take her raccoon form for a week,” Aunt Emerald says.

“Why isn’t Uncle Dagger in a litter?” I ask.

Aunt Emerald and Mom look at each other meaningfully.

“I suppose you’re old enough to know the truth,” Mom says. “Uncle Dagger was conceived before Grandpop bonded to your Grandpa. It was quite the scandal back in the day.”

I’m confused. “So he has a different alpha dad?”

“No. Your Grandpop just hadn’t put his paws on your grandpa yet. When they… you know,” Aunt Emerald lowers her voice, even though she hasn’t said anything inappropriate.

“When they had sex,” Mom says.

She and Aunt Emerald laugh.

“It’s rare for a raccoon shifter to have multiples unless they’re bonded,” Mom explains. “So your Uncle Dagger is a single. Poor guy. He was always jealous of us growing up. The bond a litter shares is special.”

Link ambles into the room wearing nothing but a pair of jeans riding low on his hips. Mom slides the bowl of frosting away from him, just as he reaches for it. “Hands off. You can have a sugar cookie when we’re done with them.”

“But I like the frosting by itself,” Link says.

She holds fast to the bowl. “Yes, I’m very aware of that. If you’re good, I’ll let you lick the bowl when I’m done.”

“You’ll let me lick the bowl? What am I? Five?” Link asks.

“Sometimes you act like it. Go put on a shirt. Uncle Dagger’s about to leave with Coin. You don’t want your brother to remember you like that, do you?”

My stomach sinks. “Coin is leaving with Uncle Dagger?”

Mom presses her lips together. “I thought he told you. I’m sorry. He’s going to help Uncle Dagger fix some things at his furniture shop. They arranged it all yesterday.”

Then it’s started. My brothers are officially leaving.

“Coach wants me on campus by next week,” Link says. “Practice starts at seven in the morning. During the summer.” He scoffs like he hasn’t had early morning football practice every summer for the last four years.

I guess I should have realized he’d leave for college early.

“Silver was thinking he might come with me. Maybe get a job or something.” Link shrugs his shoulders.

Then it will only be Tin and me this summer. I set my knife down and stand up.

“Sequin, it’s okay. I was thinking we could go camping this summer,” Mom starts, but I escape the dining room and run past a few of our cousins down the hall to our bedroom. Luckily, it’s empty. I don’t want anyone to see the tears burning in the corner of my eyes.

Why are they so eager to leave? Don’t they like living with our moms? We have the best parents anyone could ask for. I sit on the hammock and rest my head in my hands. What will I do when this hammock is no longer ours, but just mine? What will dinner be like with only me and our moms? An emptiness spreads through my chest. I’m not ready for everyone to leave. I thought I would have more time.

The door opens. Silver steps inside, his long shiny hair swishing across his shoulders. Normally, he has it pulled back in a pony tail. But like Link, he’s shirtless and only wearing a pair of jeans. They usually take off their shirts when they smoke weed behind the shed in the backyard. Link claims their shirts soak up the smell.

I think Mom can smell it either way.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey.”

He sits down next to me in the hammock. He’s heavier than I am, so the hammock bows, forcing me to lean against him.

“I guess Link told you about my plans?” Silver says. His voice is gentle, like I’m a wild animal about to bolt or something.

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