shot back a minute later. Molly ignored me, her pen zipping across the pages as she initialed some sections and boldly stroked through others.
MISS U. BED COLD. COME BCK SOON. LUV U
The lump in my throat could have throttled T. rex. I’d become a pretty good liar over the years due to my profession but this wasn’t trying to trick some guy into telling me about his mistress or digging at some bar floozy to see how often a client came in and drank away his paycheck before going home.
This was the man I loved.
Each letter singed my fingertips as if I were pounding on red-hot iron. I needed to get this done and done quickly.
BE BACK ASAP. LUV U 2
The response shot back within seconds.
XOXOXO. I CALL LATER MAYBE WE MEET FOR LNCH?
I closed the tiny keyboard and felt even worse, if it were possible.
Molly scribbled something in the margin on one of the pages. “I’m changing this from quarterly to monthly. I don’t want to end up destitute ’cause David forgot to make a payment. Monthly I can at least budget for mistakes and hold it together until things are sorted out.” She looked over. “I’m telling you because I know he’s going to give a big sigh and say he wouldn’t forget.” Her thin lips twisted into a smile. “He forgets.”
The baby stirred in the portable crib. A low burble started, rising in volume.
I got up and waved Molly back to studying the forms. “I’ll get him.”
She eyed me for a second, sizing me up, before nodding. “That would be great, thanks. I’ll be done in a few minutes.” She returned to reading and marking up the paperwork.
I walked over to the dark purple crib and leaned in to see Liam. The blue-eyed boy grinned at me. He didn’t have much hair, the reddish fuzz on his head barely enough to cover the fair skin. Wrapped securely in a light blue blanket he cooed and gurgled at me, a little bundle of happiness.
“Aren’t you a sweetie?” I purred. He flicked his little tongue out with a look of surprise, as if he’d just discovered it.
I leaned in and picked him up carefully, supporting his neck and back as I’d been taught by Ruth.
I sighed, missing my old friend. She’d been a surrogate mother to me and dozens of other Felis kids, from changing our diapers to helping us on our first hunts. The wound of losing her was still raw.
Liam burbled at me. He blinked, trying to figure out who this stranger was.
I smiled back and took a deep whiff of baby powder, formula...
And something familiar.
Liam settled into the crook of my arm, smacking his lips in anticipation of a feeding. I drew in a deep breath before focusing all my senses on the baby in my arms.
I smelled Molly’s scent on him, fresh and powerful.
A secondary smell lay under, a blending of his parents. It wasn’t as reliable as DNA but for the Felis it was as important. I’d been able to identify a Felis’s lost child once through the scent of the boy’s fur, a combination of the two parents along with his own distinct trace.
I sniffed again, mentally eliminating Molly from the mix.
The father wasn’t Brayton. My short time in the office had provided enough for me to remember his scent. His sweat had thickened the air around us—imperceptible to anyone unless they had enhanced senses.
Like a Felis. Like me.
I tried to calm my racing heart. If Brayton was willing to take in someone else’s child as his own, who was I to interfere? The arrangement between the two adults was none of my business as long as there was nothing illegal going on.
There was something familiar about the smell, like a faint memory of a mother’s cooking in the kitchen. I wrinkled my nose and mentally flipped through my files, trying to identify the father.
My knees went weak for a second as my mind finished processing the odor and spit out the result.
Michael Hanover.
I was holding Bran’s half brother.
Chapter Three
I turned back to Molly, who was poring over the documents. Liam squirmed for a second
MISS U. BED COLD. COME BCK SOON. LUV U
The lump in my throat could have throttled T. rex. I’d become a pretty good liar over the years due to my profession but this wasn’t trying to trick some guy into telling me about his mistress or digging at some bar floozy to see how often a client came in and drank away his paycheck before going home.
This was the man I loved.
Each letter singed my fingertips as if I were pounding on red-hot iron. I needed to get this done and done quickly.
BE BACK ASAP. LUV U 2
The response shot back within seconds.
XOXOXO. I CALL LATER MAYBE WE MEET FOR LNCH?
I closed the tiny keyboard and felt even worse, if it were possible.
Molly scribbled something in the margin on one of the pages. “I’m changing this from quarterly to monthly. I don’t want to end up destitute ’cause David forgot to make a payment. Monthly I can at least budget for mistakes and hold it together until things are sorted out.” She looked over. “I’m telling you because I know he’s going to give a big sigh and say he wouldn’t forget.” Her thin lips twisted into a smile. “He forgets.”
The baby stirred in the portable crib. A low burble started, rising in volume.
I got up and waved Molly back to studying the forms. “I’ll get him.”
She eyed me for a second, sizing me up, before nodding. “That would be great, thanks. I’ll be done in a few minutes.” She returned to reading and marking up the paperwork.
I walked over to the dark purple crib and leaned in to see Liam. The blue-eyed boy grinned at me. He didn’t have much hair, the reddish fuzz on his head barely enough to cover the fair skin. Wrapped securely in a light blue blanket he cooed and gurgled at me, a little bundle of happiness.
“Aren’t you a sweetie?” I purred. He flicked his little tongue out with a look of surprise, as if he’d just discovered it.
I leaned in and picked him up carefully, supporting his neck and back as I’d been taught by Ruth.
I sighed, missing my old friend. She’d been a surrogate mother to me and dozens of other Felis kids, from changing our diapers to helping us on our first hunts. The wound of losing her was still raw.
Liam burbled at me. He blinked, trying to figure out who this stranger was.
I smiled back and took a deep whiff of baby powder, formula...
And something familiar.
Liam settled into the crook of my arm, smacking his lips in anticipation of a feeding. I drew in a deep breath before focusing all my senses on the baby in my arms.
I smelled Molly’s scent on him, fresh and powerful.
A secondary smell lay under, a blending of his parents. It wasn’t as reliable as DNA but for the Felis it was as important. I’d been able to identify a Felis’s lost child once through the scent of the boy’s fur, a combination of the two parents along with his own distinct trace.
I sniffed again, mentally eliminating Molly from the mix.
The father wasn’t Brayton. My short time in the office had provided enough for me to remember his scent. His sweat had thickened the air around us—imperceptible to anyone unless they had enhanced senses.
Like a Felis. Like me.
I tried to calm my racing heart. If Brayton was willing to take in someone else’s child as his own, who was I to interfere? The arrangement between the two adults was none of my business as long as there was nothing illegal going on.
There was something familiar about the smell, like a faint memory of a mother’s cooking in the kitchen. I wrinkled my nose and mentally flipped through my files, trying to identify the father.
My knees went weak for a second as my mind finished processing the odor and spit out the result.
Michael Hanover.
I was holding Bran’s half brother.
Chapter Three
I turned back to Molly, who was poring over the documents. Liam squirmed for a second
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