Page 11 of The Healer

Brianne ignored him and dipped to whisper in the girl’s ear. “We’re so excited to meet you, Georgy. Rhys said I could go crazy, so there’s cake, cookies, tea, soda, and tons of sweets.”

George squealed. “Pizza? Hotdogs? Candy?” She clapped her hands and lunged for Brianne’s offered hand.

The children engulfed her, asking too many questions as they touched her clothes with their grubby paws.

“I’ll stay here, Rhys.” Jase folded his arms across his chest. “Noah’s handling alpha business. Why don’t you take a nap or something?”

“As my beta, he can handle only so much before he too will be overwhelmed.” Rhys chuckled. “But thanks, grandma, for urging me to nap.”

“Rhys, look at you. You’re exhausted. Noah worries you don’t rest enough, and overdoing it isn’t helping the pack. We need you at your best.”

Rhys’s bear grumbled, skittering goosebumps along his skin and raising the hair at the back of his neck. He’s not saying we’re not capable of doing the job, bear. Neither is he challenging us for alpha. What the fuck has gotten into you?

“…just for a few days, is all,” Jase continued, unaware his alpha almost shredded his throat.

“Days?” Rhys faced him, aware he loomed.

Bending backward, Jase threw up his hands. “Take a break, visit Aiden in Coedwig, run through the forests, and give your bear free rein.”

Shit, that did sound amazing. To not worry Rhys might be photographed or shot, to sleep in without having to deal with pack business, and to visit with his carefree brother working in another town?

He sighed. Exhaustion saturated every cell as his human bones bore the weight of his bear. “Whose idea was this?”

“Noah’s, but to breach the subject with you, I drew the short straw.” Jase grimaced. “Don’t kill the messenger.”

“Organize it, and I’ll go.”

A bright grin split Jase’s cheeks. “You mean, I don’t die today?”

Noah slipped from the shadowed porch into the sunlight, nodding at Rhys.

“Maybe next time.” Chuckling, he swiped a cookie, dropped a kiss onto George’s dark head then joined Noah to attend to pack business.

Chapter Five

THE BLACK BOX

“Imeanit,Ilona.Call if you need anything.” Evie’s furrowed brow, concern etched into her polite smile, and her outrageous black-and-white, flower print dress couldn’t warm Ilona’s heart.

“Thanks.” She accepted the fragrant hug, smashed her face in her best friend’s unbound tight curls, and returned the squeeze with more effort than she had shown any other guest.

“Now, if you want to feel alive and jump out of a plane or off a bridge with nothing but strings as a lifeline, I’m not your girl.”

Ilona laughed as expected of her. “Right, I’ll ask Kelly.”

Evie hugged her again. “Call me, or text. I can do texts.”

“Go.” Ilona nudged her onto the porch. She stood there, waving, a fake smile cracking her lips, denting her stiff cheeks, and making her scar itch.

The afternoon sky glowed the blue of the Caribbean Sea, soft cotton-ball clouds and a cool breeze added to the cacophony of cheerful birds mocking her sorrow. Shutting the front door, she scanned the chaos with the wake and funeral over. Gran waltzed through the lounge and dining room, gathering dirty glasses and abandoned plates.

Everyone offered to help, but Ilona wanted the silence without pitying gazes and condescending shoulder pats. In the kitchen, Gran rinsed the glasses for the dishwasher.

The house wasn’t the one Ilona had grown up in. She didn’t have to deal with childhood memories. This was a newer home, but it still smelled like her parents. Mom had a weakness for vanilla candles, and Dad’s orchids perfumed the hallway. A shopping list on the fridge would never see closure. Magnets held onto brochures of possible vacation destinations. Ilona on her prom night sat centerstage, the photo curled at the edges. How was she supposed to go through their things? She couldn’t sift through their lives as if they no longer mattered.

“Evie gone?” Gran glanced her way before closing the dishwasher door with a flick of her ballet-slippered foot. “Wipe the counters down for me, sweet pea. I need to fetch something from the car.”

Seconds ticked past as Ilona stared out the kitchen window, the wet cloth gripped in her hand. The sun was beginning to set, and the colors splashed across the deepening blue took her breath away. Or was that her smothered sobbing?

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