Page 39 of Shadow

I reached out and cradled her cheek.

“Cady cat,” I whispered.

A tear leaked from her blue eye and ran a trail along my hand.

“I-I’m sorry,” she choked out. “F-For everything.”

I shook my head at her. She never needed to apologize to me, especially for something like Adam Larson.

I pressed my finger to her lips and shook my head. She quieted immediately, crying silently. It was rare to see my sister cry. She was always so strong, so this was breaking my heart further.

“Cadence, welcome to the world of the living,” Church said, coming into the living room to stand beside me. “I made dinner. Come. Eat.” His voice was no-nonsense. He kissed my temple before calling out for Stitches to help him in the kitchen.

I gave Cady a reassuring smile and offered her my hand. She took it and let me lead her to the table where she sat in Ashes’s spot, her eyes focused on her plate.

Despite her being here, I was still worried about her. She wasn’t herself.

But she’s been through so much trauma just like me. She needs time. Give her the time she needs.

Church and Stitches placed the food on the table, and I stared at the strange dish.

“Pelmeni,” Church said when he noticed me staring. “It’s a Russian dish. Dumplings, basically. They have a ground beef and onion filling and are buttered. The white stuff here is sour cream. They taste good with it. The pelmeni has a dill pesto I made, and I have some sauteed mushrooms, sauerkraut, and dinner rolls here glazed in garlic butter. For dessert, we’ll have some chocolate mousse.” He settled in his seat and poured me a glass of ice water before filling Cady’s glass.

I had no idea Church could cook. He always said he couldn’t.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Stitches called out as if reading my mind. “He can’t cook for shit. This is the only thing he knows how to make.”

Church gave him the finger, making Stitches chuckle. I smiled at the pair as Church doled food onto my plate. Once satisfied with how full my plate was, he speared one of the dumplings and sour cream and raised his brows at me.

I blinked at him but parted my lips. The guys liked to feed me. It was sweet and cute, but I liked feeding myself whenever possible.

He put the food into my mouth, and I chewed slowly, taking in the burst of flavor. It was good.

I parted my lips when I swallowed, making him smile and give me more. He did this several times before I took the fork from him. He sighed but relented, allowing me to eat on my own.

I caught Cady’s eye from across the table as she pushed her food around.

“Eat, Claws,” Church said in a husky voice. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

She quickly put food into her mouth and chewed. I reached out, rested my hand on Church’s thigh, and squeezed it. He locked eyes with me and sighed, clearly understanding what I wanted.

Stop being a jerk.

I knew he and Cady had a rocky relationship. All the guys did with her. She was like the annoying little sister they tolerated. I appreciated that they did, but I wanted them to be kind and sweet to her. She’d been through a lot recently, and the last thing I wanted was for her to retreat upstairs and not come down again.

I saw Stitches had finished his first serving and was working on his second.

“Are you going to classes tomorrow?” Church asked, looking at Cady.

She stopped eating and glanced at him. “I, uh, yeah. I should.”

“Good.” He put more food into his mouth and continued to eat. I gave Cady a smile, which she returned with a shaky one that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Church and Stitches talked again. Most of it was just chatter about classes and Ashes going to burn tomorrow.

“You want to come with us?” Stitches asked, looking over at Cady.

She seemed surprised at the question because she dropped her fork, making it clatter on the porcelain dish. Quickly, she picked it up and cleared her throat before casting me a glance.

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