Page 29 of Flare
Relief rushed through her. It was Maggie.
Her friend stood on the porch, holding an insulated carafe in one hand and a foil-covered plate in the other
Emily opened the door.“Hi.”
“Good morning,” Maggie said, her voice sounding as uncertain as Emily felt.“I hope you don’t mind… I saw your light was on and I thought you might be awake.”
Emily’s throat tightened as a wave of embarrassment rolled over her. Her next words came out in a croak.“I’m so sorry about last night. I, uh… I feel like an idiot.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. But can we talk? I, um, brought breakfast.” Maggie held up the carafe invitingly.
Emily stepped back and opened the door wide.“I was planning to walk over to your place, but I didn’t want to wake you if you wanted to sleep in on your day off.”
“I usually have to be at work a lot earlier than this, so 5:00 a.m.issleeping in for me,” Maggie said wryly as she entered the cabin.
Emily pulled a carton of half-and-half from the fridge, and they both sat down at the cabin’s small dining table.
Maggie poured steaming coffee into two mugs, and the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the cabin.
“I hope you like breakfast sandwiches.” Maggie peeled the foil off the covered plate.“Scrambled eggs, smoked Gouda, and Black Forest ham on the bakery’s multigrain toast.”
“Yum.” Emily took a sandwich. It was still warm, and the mouthwatering scents of smoked ham and fried eggs made her mouth water.
They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Maggie set down her coffee mug with a sigh.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you the truth as soon as I found out that you were engaged to Andrew.” She stared earnestly at Emily, a deep line appearing between her dark brows.“It’s not something we really talk about. We have to be really careful who knows about us.”
“Because you’re afraid people would react the same way I did?” Emily asked with a renewed pang of mortification about how she’d handled things last night.
Maggie nodded.“In the past, when Ordinaries found out we could shapeshift, it rarely ended well.” She cradled her mug between her hands.“The way you found out was… awful.”
Emily nodded.“He was so angry, he lost control of himself. I thought he was going to kill me! But I shouldn’t have freaked out at you and Ward like that. Not after everything you and your family have done for me. I’m sorry if I seemed ungrateful. I appreciate you—all of you—so much!”
Maggie’s face lit up with relief.“No, no, your reaction was totally understandable. Finding out that shifters exist is a huge shock for most people. And after the way Andrew threatened you…”She reached across the table and squeezed Emily’s hand.“I’m just glad you didn’t run screaming all the way to Boise or Salt Lake City last night.”
Emily laughed weakly.“Not gonna lie, I considered it for a hot minute.” She wondered whether to tell Maggie about Andrew’s string of increasingly unhinged text messages this morning and decided not to.
Now that she’d had time to recover from the shock of hearing from him, she realized that he probably didn’t have a clue where she was. No sense in getting Maggie all worked up.
“I’m glad you stuck around.” Her friend’s expression grew even more serious.“Emily, I need to ask you: will you keep our secret? Not just mine, but my whole family’s?”
Emily didn’t hesitate.“Of course I will.” She gave a huff of laughter.“Besides, who would believe me if I started talking about people who can turn into giant bears? They’d think I was crazy or high.”
“You’d be surprised how many humans do believe,” Maggie said, her lips quirking in a half-smile.“But thank you. That means a lot.” She hesitated, then added,“Please don’t be scared of us. We’re still the same people you’ve always known. We just come with some extra features.”
“I’m not scared of you,” Emily said, surprised to find it was true.“It was just a shock. It’s better now that I’ve had a chance to process it.”
“So Ward doesn’t scare you either?”
Emily stared at Maggie.“Uh… should he?” she asked warily.
Maggie grinned at her.“Nope. He’s still the same sweet guy you remember. Just… furrier sometimes.”
Despite herself, Emily laughed.“That’s one way of putting it.”
She remembered how nice it had felt to hug him yesterday. And how sweet and protective he’d been at dinner.
The last thing you need right now is a rebound relationship with another bear shifter, she told herself sternly.Besides, he’s such a sweetheart, and it wouldn’t be fair to him.
