Page 27 of Flare
“Through all of us,” Maggie added.
The silence that followed rang in Emily’s ears. She stared at Ward, seeing both the boy she knew in high school and the man he’d become. A man who apparently could turn into a bear.
Emily’s thoughts churned in confusion. She should be terrified of the two of them. She should run.
Yet there was something in Ward’s expression that made her hesitate. A sincerity that even her fear couldn’t dismiss.
“We’re not monsters, Em,” Maggie said.“We’re people. Just… people with an extra ability.”
“An extra ability?” Emily almost laughed, the sound threatening to edge into hysteria.“That’s what you call it?”
“What else is it?” Ward asked, his voice soft but steady.“It’s part of who we are. Like having blue eyes or being left-handed. It doesn’t make us evil.”
Emily swallowed hard.“Andrew…”
“Is a bad person who is also a shifter,” Maggie finished for her.“Not a bad personbecausehe’s a shifter. There’s a difference.”
Emily felt confusion, terror, and—strangely—a sudden burst of hope battling for dominance inside her.
Who better to protect me from a monster… than other monsters?
Not that she was ready to voice that thought. Not yet. Not when everything she thought she knew about the world had been turned upside down in just four days.
“I-I need to think,” she said.“I just… I need some time.”
“Take all the time you need,” Maggie said.“We’ll be here when you’re ready to talk. Just… don’t leave the ranch, okay? At least not until tomorrow.”
Ward said nothing, but his eyes never left her face. There was something in his gaze—concern, yes, but something else too. Something that made her chest tighten in a way that had nothing to do with fear.
“Fine,” Emily said, then turned to wobble her way to the front door.
They didn’t stop her or follow her out into the night. And she wasn’t sure if that made her feel better—or worse.
The cool night air hit her face as she stepped outside. She gulped it in like a drowning woman. The stars overhead were the same as they had been a few minutes ago, when she’d walked down this path feeling safe and content.
But nothing was the same. Nothing wouldeverbe the same again.
Chapter 7
Superpower
“Emmie, grab that bowl of potato filling for me, please,” Mom said, glancing up from the square of dough she was rolling out on the flour-dusted counter.
Emily was in the kitchen of her childhood home, with its rose wallpaper border under the ceiling and the honey oak cabinets. An old ceramic cookie jar shaped like a rooster—Mom had always insisted it was good luck—shared counter space with a Mr. Coffee machine, toaster, and big glass storage jars filled with flour, sugar, and coffee beans.
Emily turned and lifted a pan from the stove, then set it down on the cork mat painted with a pot of African violets.
“Thanks, pumpkin.” Mom looked exactly as she had before the cancer—her blonde hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, cheeks rounded with health, blue eyes bright with humor. She was wearing her favorite apron, the one with geese wearing bonnets printed across the front.“I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Andrew, but I’m sure you’ll do just fine on your own. Now, did it ever occur to you,” she continued gently,“that Maggie kept that secret to protect herself and her family, not because she wanted to hurt you?”
Mom wasn’t mad I broke up with Andrew?Emily bit her lip.“I guess I didn’t think of it that way.”
“I went to school with Ash, you know,” her mother continued, cutting perfect circles in the dough with the rim of a glass.“I always thought his family were good people. And I never heard anyone say a bad word about them.”
Emily nodded.“Yeah. Maggie and Elle and everyone else have been super-nice to me. They promised to protect me from Andrew.”
“Then trust your heart, Emily.” Her mother filled a dough circle with potato filling and deftly pinched the edges closed.“People can surprise you in good ways, too..”
She set the pierogi aside and began filling another.
