“Breakfasts service.” He grinned.
His eyes raked down her body.
“Only breakfast?” she joked.
“We’ll see how the day goes. May I?”
“Please.” She stepped out of the way and let him enter the room. “Is that French toast?”
In addition to two plates of French toast, the tray held bowls of fruit, jams, butter, fluffy scrambled eggs, and two cups of steaming coffee.
“Where do you get all this stuff?” Holly’s mouth watered as she spoke. It turned out, all she needed was a good night in bed to bring back her appetite. She’d eaten half her weight in diner food yesterday.
“The kitchen,” Trevor replied. “Mrs. Sanders is an excellent cook.”
“She makes this for us every day?”
“Not just for us,” Trevor said. “She cooks for all the guests. It comes with running a boutique inn.”
“Other guests?”
“You didn’t think I bought the place out, did you?”
“No, I just never thought of people coming here from out of town,” Holly said. “What about the barrier?”
“Maybe it only affects residents?”
“Technically, I’m not a resident.”
“True, but whatever made it knew you were coming,” Trevor said.
“Was that part of your plan from the beginning?” Holly asked. “Did you go into the battle at the silver mines, knowing I’d be coming back with you?”
“That’s complicated,” Trevor said. “I knew I needed to get you in a position where I could tell you everything. I didn’t walk into that battle planning on holding Loch hostage. I knew if I didn’t get you with me that night, I’d have to try again.”
“Is there anyone else who knew that?” Holly said.
“Everyone knew I wanted to capture you,” he said. “You’re the only one who knows the truth.”
“Shouldn’t I be actively trying to escape if people think I’m here against my will?” Holly asked.
“I thought of that,” he said between bites. “If you pretend to like me, it’ll look like I’m destined to lead the bear clans and father your child. That’ll keep people off my back for now.”
“I want to meet the dark shifters,” Holly said.
Trevor choked on his coffee. “Have you lost your mind?”
“If Elise learned magic, one of them could’ve learned magic as well,” Holly rationalized. “You said the transition into a dark shifter can drive a person mad if it doesn’t work, right?”
Trevor nodded.
“What if all of this is because a wannabe dark shifter got desperate and learned magic? Does that sound like anyone you know?”
“No.” Trevor sighed. “All of the shifters who worked with me in the silver mines turned tail after the battle. Well, the ones that didn’t die, at least.”
“Damn it.” Holly set down her mug harder than she’d meant to. “We can’t do jack shit from in here.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Trevor squeezed Holly’s shoulder. “Besides, Elise and the other firstborns know about the barrier. I bet they’re working on it, too. They’ll have more resources than we do, certainly.”
“I suppose,” Holly mumbled. “I hate feeling useless. I’m supposed to be the one stopping this bullshit from happening in the first place. Instead, I’m holed up in a B&B—”
“Luxury inn.”
“Stuffing myself on French toast and amazing jam.”
“It’s locally made,” Trevor added.
“Not helping.”
“I’m sorry.” He chuckled. “I don’t mean to make light of your frustration. I’ve been playing this balancing game for years. I’m used to periods of being completely useless.”
“How do you get used to it?”
“It’s never easy,” he replied. “But in times like this, the best thing to do is to plan for when the tide changes. The tide always changes. Something will happen to propel the world forward.”
“What if you can’t guess what’s going to happen?” Holly asked. “What if all of our theories are totally off the mark?”
“It doesn’t matter much in the end.” Trevor shrugged. “No matter how thoroughly you plan, at the end of the day, all you’re left with is your will and your wit. That never changes, no matter what happens.”
Silence fell between them as Holly processed his words. She nibbled on a sweet, crispy bit of French toast.
“You never showed me the letter,” Holly murmured.
“What?”
“You showed me one of Pearl’s letters, but you never let me read it.”
“That’s because it wasn’t addressed to you.” Trevor smiled slyly. “Pearl wrote it to me.”
“My grandmother wrote you letters? I didn’t realize you knew each other.”
“We didn’t. She only sent it to me because her gift of foresight told her to.”
“Is it a nice letter?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Trevor smiled. “It’s nice. It makes me wish I knew her when she was alive.”
“Me too,” Holly murmured.
“You didn’t know her?”
“I only met her once,” Holly said. “I was much younger. I don’t really remember her.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She blinked away unexpected tears. “It’s my own fault I never knew her. I could’ve gone to visit her, especially when I moved to California.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Holly blinked in surprise.
“You don’t have to answer that if it’s too painful.”
“It’s not that.” Holly shook her head. “No one’s asked me that before. As much as I wish I had a reason, I don’t. I was too wrapped up in my own life to think about her. Now she’s gone.”
“No, she isn’t.” Trevor smiled. “She lives in you. That’s how family works.”
Holly tipped her head to look at Trevor. “You’re a surprising person.”
“So, I’ve been told.” He nodded. “Are you finished eating? We have a long day of walking around a wall.”
“Think we’ll find a weak spot?”
“I doubt it, but maybe we’ll get a chance to speak to the others.”
