I waited a long time for him to write me back before I gave up on him. Months and months of checking the P.O Box,, only to come up empty handed. I’m worried he’s going to hurt me all over again.

When we get to my moms’ house, Coin is seated on the front porch with his guitar. Judging by the black eyeliner smudged under his eyes and his wrinkled clothes, he had a late night, but still managed to make it here early to hang out with his niece. Chime extricates herself from her seatbelt in record time and sprints toward him without bothering to close the car door.

“Uncle Coin! You have your guitar!” She squeals.

“That’s right. Do you want another lesson, little wind chime?” he asks.

“Yes!”

I climb out of the car and shut both doors. “How about breakfast first? She hasn’t eaten yet.”

Coin gives a single nod in my direction. “Okay. Food first, music later.” He stands up, and I can’t help but be worried by how thin he’s gotten. His black T-shirt and baggy pants are too big for him now.

We all file into Moms’ house. The scent of cinnamon rolls and coffee rushes at us the moment we step inside. The family room twinkles from the lights of the chandelier and reflects against the hundreds of metal picture frames, making my raccoon shifter heart fill with happiness. There’s nothing like returning home. We head to the dining room and find Silver setting the table. His long, silver hair is now shorter than mine. He had to cut it when he joined the Air Force four years ago. He waves at Chime as we walk in.

“Hey, you. Do you have room in that little belly of yours for some cinnamon rolls?” he asks her.

“Yes. Because I let Daddy sleep for longer.”

Silver smiles at me. “That sounds like a fair bargain.”

He stands up and gives me a long hug. God, it’s good to have him home. Over the last few years, he’s been stationed in Germany, Korea, and Hawaii. Even when he’s in Texas, he lives near the base in San Antonio, which is three hours from here.

Our omega mom walks into the kitchen with a pan of steaming cinnamon rolls. She grins at Chime with a joy I never saw in her until my daughter was born. “Well, look who it is! Are you ready for a day with your grandmas? And your uncles, because they never let us have you to ourselves.”

By now Coin has made it into the dining room, too. He and Silver smile at one another.

“Are Uncle Link and Uncle Tin coming?” Chime asks.

“Tin will be stopping by this afternoon, but Link can’t make it this week. He should be done with practice next week, though. Hopefully we’ll see him then.”

Link is now the quarterback of Dallas’s shifter NFL team, the Rattlesnakes. He’s the first raccoon shifter to go pro in football. Hence, the exorbitant amount of money he has to burn on Chime’s whims.

Mom sets the pan down on a hot pad at the center of the table. “How about I wrap up a cinnamon roll for you to take with you?” She gives me a hug too, which is nice with all the anxiety I’m dealing with this morning.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

Chime climbs onto one of the chairs without giving me a second glance.

“I’m going to go, okay?” I say.

“Okay. See you later, Daddy.” She turns around and holds out her arms for a hug. I crouch down to embrace her properly. She smells like the vanilla lotion I put on her skin every night and some indefinable scent that’s distinctly her. I inhale deeply and remind myself that meeting Slade today is for her sake, too.

He’s her alpha dad. I know he was convicted for murder, so he must be dangerous, but a part of me hopes there was a good reason he killed someone. That’s why I wrote him. I hoped he’d explain himself to me. I didn’t tell him about Chime in the letter. Maybe if I had, he would have responded. But I’ll get to ask him in person today.

I have to be sure he’s safe before I let him be a part of her life.

I reluctantly pull away from her. “Be good for your Grandmas, okay? And don’t ask your uncles to buy you anything.”

“I won’t,” she says, as if the idea is so far-fetched, she’s offended.

Mom returns to the dining room holding a cinnamon roll halfway wrapped in a paper towel. “Oh, hush. Let your brother buy things for his niece. When he has children, you can take revenge by spoiling his kits. It’s a time-honored tradition among raccoon shifters, you know.” She hands the cinnamon roll to me and I take it without complaint.

Truthfully, I’m grateful for my brothers’ generosity. When I was first getting my bakery started, I needed every toy and outfit my family bought for Chime. She’s never had to go without because of her uncles.

Silver slips something into my back pocket, then whispers, “For summer camp. Link’s paying the other half.”