Chapter 68
LEAH Stepping into the familiarity of Lucy and Dani’s home made my heart clench. I missed them, but I also missed their home too. It was my comfort when I needed it, especially when my father passed away. Stepping inside, I stopped just by the stairs when I heard the front door close and looked to the side to see Josh looking around the house until his eyes met mine. “It is a nice place,” he murmured, keeping his voice low. I said nothing and looked away. I looked back at Lucy, standing near the kitchen door. I watched her open it and call out to her mother. “Mum, come here,” she said, smiling at me. “We have a visitor.” I smiled. Tala came closer but kept her distance so neither Lucy nor Dani could see her. She said nothing, but I knew she was curious to find out what would happen here. “What do you mean we have a—” she said, coming closer. She didn’t finish her sentence when her eyes landed on me, and her mouth dropped open. “Leah!” she whispered as I moved toward her. “Dani,” I murmured just as she opened her arms to me, and I walked into them. I hugged her, and I felt something wet hit my shoulder. I knew she was crying. I hugged her tighter until she let me go and stepped back. Her eyes searched my face until it hardened. I knew where she was looking—Josh. I stepped out of the way and turned to face him. His face was blank, but there was some emotion there that I couldn’t figure out. Josh stepped closer and held out his hand for Dani to take. She looked at it but didn’t move. “I’m Josh,” he said with a smile. “I’m Leah’s mother’s partner.” It was weird to hear it in his mouth, making Tala huff. “This will not end well till he apologises to them for how your mother acted and how she took you. He was there, too. She blames him, but your mother more.” I said nothing. It shouldn’t be Josh apologizing more. It should have been my mother’s, but this hopeful one way of taking the first step. “I know who you are,” Dani said curtly. “I gathered you are the one she left Leah’s father for.” I noticed Josh was tense with her words, but I looked away and at Dani. Her eyes were solely on Josh. I placed my hand in hers, which made her look away from him. “Josh has something to say,” I said, looking back at him. I gave him a stern look, which made him nod. His eyes went to Dani. “I am here to apologize for my actions that evening we showed up here,” he said, giving her a sympathetic look. “I didn’t know what was going on. If I had been aware, I would have recommended waiting another day or two to take Leah, but someone else took control.” I stared at him, feeling slightly dumbfounded. Did he blame my mother and my uncle for all that? “He is trying to defuse the situation for now,” Tala murmured. “He is trying, and that is all that matters.” Something in her tone made me think she liked him. I had to admit that I saw him in a new light, but I was still wary of him. It was long for me to be anything more than this toward him. Dani stared at him while I looked between them, but my eyes went to Lucy, who seemed okay with his words. “I think, mum, he means it,” she said, placing her hand on her mother’s. “Besides, he turned up after her mother did. You can not blame him for that. Most of everything happened long ago, and not even our business.” That last statement made me tense and made me wonder what my friend was up to. Dani looked at her and frowned. “I will blame whoever I want,” she said, glancing back at Josh. “But I have taken the apology onboard. I was more annoyed it all happened the day of the funeral. You all should have waited until she was ready and a few days later, whether it was because something was returning home. Leah should have been the focus, not whatever was happening around you.” I said nothing while trying to keep my emotions at bay. “That is true,” Josh said. “I will always think more of Leah and how she would feel.” That made me look back at him, slightly stunned. Josh’s eyes looked at me and softened a bit until he looked back at Dani. “Well, at least that one person can think about Leah in this matter,” she said. “But why are you here and not your partner?” I knew this would come. Dani was the one who wanted answers, hard ones. “Well, Leah’s mum wanted to come back with her,” he said, which made me frown when I looked back at him, but he continued and ignored the look I was giving him. “We came here to sort out the deed to the house and make sure everything was stored away while Leah got better.” Anger rippled through me while he continued his lie. “When she was in that state, both her mother and I decided it was best for me to bring her back and ensure everything was sorted before she had to settle back into life where we are living,” he said, staring at her. I wanted to punch him in the face, which only made Tala laugh. “I will do it when we are on our own,” she said after she calmed down. I didn’t know if she meant what she said, but part of me held her to that. “I guess that is fair,” Dani mumbled, making me look back at her. She believed his lies. “I mean, it would be hard for Leah to have her around the house, especially since she hadn’t been there in so long.” I could sense her little jab at my mother in her comment, but either Josh or his wolf acted on it. 1 Dani stared for a moment before she sighed and turned to face me. “Well, since you are here,” she said, “You should stay and have some food. I am making apple pie and homemade lasagna, too, which I know is your favorite.” I smiled. I loved lasagna, and Dani’s homemade one was out of this world—one of my favourites. When my father was alive, she would bring up a dish every Wednesday when I played soccer. She would make it, even if it weren’t what she and Lucy were having. It was something that she and my father had set long ago. “I would love some,” I said, looking at her, but then turned to look back at Josh, who had a blank expression. Tala came closer and huffed. “It seems he has a mind link,” she mumbled, taking a few steps back until she was out of sight. “It could be your uncle or even your—” “Don’t say her,” I mumbled and stared at him. After Josh’s words to Dani, I found it hard to keep calm, but that will all change when we return to my house. “What about you?” she said to Josh. Josh looked back and let out a sigh. “I would love to stay,” he said. “But I have an important phone call and must be there.” His eyes went to me, and he smiled. “You should stay with your friend and her mother,” he said with a smile. I stared at him. He was up to something, but what? “Something is going on,” Tala mumbled. “But it seems he wants you to stay to protect you.” I said nothing, but gave him a grin. “Thanks.” Josh nodded and moved back through the door when he looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. “Leah, be back over after you finish,” he said. There was something in the way he said that, which had the back of my hair sticking up. Saying nothing, Josh walked back outside and left me standing with Dani and Lucy. When he was gone, Dani spoke. “Well, I want to know everything,” she said, making me look back at her. “I can tell you hated what he said. The look on your face gave it away. Come on into the kitchen and help me. We can all catch up.” I said nothing and nodded. Dani turned around and headed back into the kitchen, with Lucy and me following behind her. We headed into her kitchen, where she pulled out a chair for me to sit in. I sat down and let the moment of being back with them get to me. I missed them. Knowing they wanted answers, I knew I had to give them something, but what? Knowing Tala was with me made it even more comfortable. “I will help,” Tala said. “We must be careful with what we say to them. No mention of wolves, but there are a few things you can say.” I had to get used to it. The human way was the only way I knew how. I watched Dani potter around the kitchen while Lucy helped her. Both told me what they had been up to since the last time I saw them, and it was all normal for things until Dani told me when we had food or after, I had to tell them all about my time with my mum, which was the worrying thing.