Page 59 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

Why don’t we bring him home?

I froze as she trotted through the trees, nearly bruising my tail end as it bounced against the saddle. “Do you miss the little guy?”

Of course not!

Wow. She was getting soft.

Am not,she said petulantly. She smacked me on the foot with her tail.

Doc’s wordswere going round in my mind the next day as I helped Dad with chores around the house.

Stress. Can that really cause something so horrible?

“Do you think someone can cause someone else to get sick?” I asked.

Dad paused in washing a large pot. I was sharpening my knives in between drying the pans and plates. “I don’t know. Never thought about it, to be honest. What makes you ask?”

I avoided his eyes. “Just something I heard.”

He grunted. He knew there were things I couldn’t share because of missions. “I understand. I’ve heard of older warriors becoming physically ill because of battle trauma. But I don’t know if someone can make another sick. Is this in relation to your sister?”

I glanced up to find his eyes on me. I gave a slight nod. “When did she begin getting sick?” I asked.

“You were there. It was about a year after Fina’s birth, though she showed signs of sickness much earlier.”

“Why do you think she got sick?”

He scrubbed the pan with extra vigor. “I don’t know. I’m no healer,” he said, his voice hard and unyielding. He paused,shoulders slumping. “Sorry, kiddo. I didn’t mean to yell. I just want my baby girl well and happy.”

I touched his arm, knowing heneedscomfort. “Dad, you’re doing the best you can. You’re an amazing father.”

“An amazing father wouldn’t have a sick baby girl,” he said, almost under his breath.

I shook my head. “Terrible dads have healthy kids. Terrible dads have unhealthy kids. The sun shines on both the good dads and the bad ones. Rain also comes to both. Do you really think you’re so special as to control who gets sick or who doesn’t?”

Dad stared at me for a moment. Then he cracked a tiny smile and ruffled my hair. I batted him off and undid the braid of my dark hair that he’d messed up.

“When did you grow up into a woman, kiddo?” he asked, smiling before going back to washing.

I returned his smile, though I was thinking I hadn’t been a kid in a very long time.

“I heardyou speaking with your father,” Mom said as I returned inside. She was changing Fina’s diaper. I felt herneedand grabbed a clean washcloth from the kitchen and handed it to her just as she opened the cloth. She jerked back with a frown as Fina giggled.

I stifled a smile and a gag. “Glad that one’s yours,” I said.

Mom shot me a look. “Get your hinny back to sweeping before I give this one to ya,” she said. I quickly grabbed the broom and swept up the rushes. “And thanks for the wipes!” she said, still frowning.

I nearly laughed. “You’re welcome.”

“I heard what you said to Dad,” Mom repeated.

I shrugged. “Yeah, it was a stupid idea?—”

She shook her head. “No, hon. I’ve thought the same thing before.”

I stared at her, forgetting all about the rushes at my feet. “What? Why haven’t you mentioned it?”

She shrugged. “I did. Nobody believed me. So I stopped mentioning it.”

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