Page 29 of Four Calling Birds

“Thanks Momma,” he said, lifting his plate. He looked at me with a crooked smile, as if this little gesture was the greatest kindness. What had happened to the poor boy? I wanted Mack to tell me, but we didn’t have time. I couldn’t get him alone to question him. Even if we had, I don’t think he would have told me.

“VD not eating enough pussy?” Taz said under her breath.

Goose chuckled, quietly. Mack gave her a reprimanding look, and she zipped her mouth. None of that surprised me. Whatdidshock me was the look on Greg’s face. I still refused to call him by his nickname, VD, which was short for Venereal Disease. It was a jab at his popularity with the ladies.

That had been something he was proud of – as most young men would be – but not today. He was… embarrassed. He hunched down into his chair, his brows creased, as if he didn’t want to be there. Like he didn’t want the attention.

There was just something sooffabout the dynamic between them. They still seemed like friends, but there was a heaviness in the air. Like they were separated by an impenetrable fog, and couldn’t reach one another. They weren’t the single unit that had been a shield wall, linked seamlessly into each other. They were… puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit together.

Not to say that Brett Bradley and my team weren’t great. They were. But we worked solo. We were agents, working independently to bring down international criminal organizations. Sometimes we operated in the states, but mostly, we spent our time infiltrating others in order to bring them down. I had brought down the Scorpio Network.

For my efforts, I got a knife in the gut, and had to sneak my way into Moldova. That wasn’t a terrible pay out.

But I had accomplished my mission alone.

Mack always got to operate in a team he trusted. I envied that. His team was so often my only sense of connection to a family, that when I left Mack, I felt like I was losing all the ties that kept me grounded.

Now, they were here, at a grand table in the middle of a Victorian house with taupe-colored walls, and ancient, wooden furniture. A Dickensian dream.

I could already imagine how wonderful this place would look at Christmastime. I could put up evergreen boughs, and mistletoe. I’d put red velvet ribbons around every banister, and huge bows on each door. Grumpy old Mack would scoff at it, while secretly loving it at the same time.

“How was your Thanksgiving, Goose?” I asked, sitting down in front of him while I served him a plate of potatoes and duck.

“It was great. Kids got to hang out with their grandparents, and I got to have a beer without all hell breaking loose.” He took the plate and dug in. “It’s nice to be able to sit down without having to get someone juice every fifteen minutes.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” I said with a laugh. “Glad the grandparents are helping out.”

I assumed they were Sandy’s parents, not his own.

“Yeah, well… you do what you gotta do. It’s too bad that grandma and grandpa are going on a cruise for Christmas. That holiday is going to be absolutely nuts with just us.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Last Christmas dinner was a disaster. I burned everything. The kids were pulling me in every direction… killed all the magic. Plus, it was our first one without…”

He paused, not needing to say her name.

No one said anything, as we all pushed our food around. I felt terrible for him.

“Oh!” I said, suddenly excited. “Why don’t you bring the kids here for Christmas! I can cook for you, and I’m sure Mack won’t…”

I paused, my hands coming to my mouth. Had I just invited people to someone else’s house without thinking? As if we were still a couple? As if I’d still be here when…

“You should,” Mack said, handing him a can of soda and a glass full of ice. “Bring the kids over.” He sat down beside me, putting his hand across the backrest of my chair. “We can go sledding on the hill, and the fireplaces should all be working by then. Plus, I’m sure Lotte will try to decorate this place like the Paramus Mall.”

He toyed with the hair at the base of my scalp.

“I’d love that,” I whispered, smiling at Mack. Were we doing this? Staying together? Really?

Then my heart sank. What about Mack’s father? He usually came over for Christmas… is that what would happen this year? Would it just end in another fight? Another screaming match? Me, getting my shoes thrown at me as I drove away?

“So, we’re just pretending that she’s gonna stay?” Taz’s irritated voice crawled over the table like a crawling, poisonous gas, ruining the sunshine and rainbows of denial I was living in. “I mean, she left before, what makes you think she won’t now…”

“Taz!” Mack said in a low, warning growl.

“I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking!” She looked at me with a pair of downturned brown eyes that harbored the bitterness of an angry sea. “Is she only here because she needed something? Is she gonna leave as soon as it’s all over? Why bother even making plans, when you know they’re bullshit.”

“That’s enough, Guerro,” Mack said, invoking her last name.

She shut her mouth and still looked at me with an angry fury that broke my heart. She had no reason to trust me. I knew that.

“Thank you for coming,” I said through the lump in my throat. “I’m sure it’s not easy for you to come help when...”

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