Page 40 of All of Me

I processed that. Well, I struggled. Thanksgiving was a family thing, and the thought Drake wanted us there—and included me—made my throat a little tight.

Shae Turner! How many times do I have to tell you those potatoes won’t peel themselves?

Gran’s voice echoed in my ears and for a moment, I wanted nothing more than to hear it one more time.

I glanced at Drake, and he arched an eyebrow, his eyes encouraging, and my insides warmed a little. I wasn’t sure I could manage a nod, but I tried to look like I wanted to go.

Diesel chuckled. “I’ll tell Pink. Should she contact Connie to sort out sides?”

“And I should know because…” Gael teased.

“Anyway,” Gael switched back to business. “I got a message from Thor for you.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “I’m assuming we’re not talking either a mythical god or a Marvel universe character here?”

I glanced at Drake in confusion, but Danny must have seen my look. “Thor will be a computer,” he explained. “Since Gael started talking to them it’s a bit like AI on steroids. But they all love Gael, so it’s not like they want world domination or anything.”

We heard the chuckle from Gael. “Actually, Thor wants an introduction to Daisy.”

“Who’s Daisy?” Danny asked.

Gael sighed. “Would you believe me if I said the computer that runs the ticketing for the Tampa Bay Lightning? Although,” Gael continued. “Thor says Daisy can get us box seats whenever we want.”

“Derek says hi,” another voice interrupted, and I assumed it was Jake, Gael’s husband.

“Hi Derek,” everyone chorused except me, and I pretended to look at my phone so no one would notice. I absently started googling Gael, as I’d never seen a picture of Derek, but stopped because of course Gael—who was talented with computers—would never allow a picture of their son on the internet.

“And what did Thor want that was so urgent?” Danny asked, all attention while everyone else was still smiling about Daisy and hockey tickets. And because Danny’s voice was so soft, everyone instantly sobered and listened.

“There’s a hacker, as you know, called Asylum,” Gael said.

“Is he even still alive?” Danny said dismissively.

“I haven’t looked, but his signature searched for Shae and someone called Tamzin Turner earlier today. They found the link to John Turner, but then they tried to search an Albert Davis. The fact that their search was blocked at every turn told Thor—so he tells me—something important. Namely, that this Albert Davis has a pretty large firewall behind him, and that ran up red flags. Thor is quite happy to delve, but he’s a bit sensitive so he doesn’t want to do anything to upset Derek.”

“Derek is like Gael?” Kane whispered. Danny sent him a fond look.

Gael chuckled again, obviously hearing him “You know my son is getting good with his tablet. Thor plays scrabble with him.”

I didn’t get a chance to register that startling comment before Gray chimed in. “Woah, Derekisexceptional, but he uses the equivalent of a kid’s educational tablet.”

“I’ll be sure to tell my son you called him exceptional.” Jake said, chuckling. I knew about most of the team even the ones I hadn’t met because Pink had told me. “You hear that, buddy?” Jake asked, showing their son, Derek, was with them.

I knew Derek—Jake and Gael’s adopted son—on the face of it, was disabled. In actual fact, he was incredibly intelligent and had helped them numerous times. Gael and Jake were fiercely protective, according to Pink, and I was ashamed to say a little jealousy reared its ugly head. I picked up my phone and googled adopting teenagers because for some reason I wanted to twist the knife.

How pathetic was that? I put my phone back down, not waiting for the results to load.

This clever kid was in a wheelchair. I had the use of both my legs, but I was jealous because he had great dads? I looked down at the table, unwilling to meet anyone’s eyes in case they read my shame.

My phone suddenly lit up.

Derek is a friend of Shae.

The fuck? What the hell was that?

I knew it was genuine because Pink had said this was the way Derek talked. He would never say I or me. My throat grew tight, and my chest ached. I picked my phone up and stared at the message, not questioning for one second how he got my number. Or even if he was some sort of mind reader. After a moment, I typed.

Good, because I need all the friends I can get.

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