“Then, what’s the matter?”
“I’m not ready.” She looked up at him sheepishly. “See … I’ve been his mother figure for half of his life now. And I know he’s always looked up to me. I’m not ready for him to see that I could do stuff like that. Get drunk and … other things. I mean, I’ve dated before. Always discretely, and he’s never met any of those men because I’d never been comfortable enough with any of them. But I can’t show him that … that …”
“That you’re a normal human being?” His tone turned serious. “That you’re an adult woman with feelings and needs and wants.”
That last word sparked something between them, and he knew she was thinking of what happened in the bathroom. He reached out toward her. “Sarah, I—”
“Good morning!” Thoralf’s booming voice echoed across the kitchen, and Sarah whipped around and busied herself with the pan. “Another breakfast feast, I see.” His eyes scanned the table laden with food. “I have never been so well fed and warmly welcomed anywhere.” He stepped aside to let Adam roll in. “You are so lucky, Adam, to have a sister who cooks breakfast so skillfully.”
Adam sniffed at the table. “I’m starving,” he said to Sarah. “Can we eat now?”
“Of course.” Sarah excitedly ran over to him. “Do you want some juice? Or some water? Coffee? Let me get some food for you.”
The teen shifted uncomfortably. “I’m fine.” He yanked the plate away before she could grab it. “I can feed myself, okay?”
She shrank back but nodded. “Okay. I’m here, just tell me what you need.”
Her nervous energy made the atmosphere even more awkward. Daniel understood that she was edgy, but she was probably making things worse by coddling him, especially in front of two other males. But at the same time, he hated seeing his mate in distress like this. An idea popped into his head. “So, Adam, do you know anything about Blackstone?”
“Only that it’s a town full of shifters.” He bit into a strip of bacon. “You’re a grizzly, right? What about you?” he asked Thoralf. “What are you?”
“Adam!” Sarah admonished. “That’s rude.”
“What?” he said through a mouthful of bacon. “I’ve only ever been around one shifter, and Darcey isn’t anywhere near a bear or wolf or lion. I bet he’s something huge.”
Sarah’s sister was a shifter? Now he was even more intrigued. But he filed that away for now. “Yes, that’s true about Blackstone, and yes, I’m a grizzly bear. I’ll let Thoralf answer your other question if he wants to. But, aside from that, Blackstone is also known for its mountains. There’re tons of things to do up there if you like the outdoors. Camping, swimming in the lake, and lots of hiking trails that’ll bring you up to some awesome views. Would you like to go up and see some with me today?”
The teen glared at him. “Are you stupid or somethin’?”
“Adam!” Sarah looked daggers at her brother. “This is Daniel’s home. Watch your mouth. God, what is it with you today?”
The teen’s lips peeled back. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m never ever going hiking with these.” He slapped a hand on his legs. “So, no, I don’t want to go hiking with you, unless you wanna carry me all the way up there.”
Sarah’s face was all red now, and her breathing turned ragged. Reaching over, he placed a soothing hand over her knee. “The Blackstone Mountains is one of the most wheelchair-accessible forest reserves in the United States,” he began. “There are several trails that are wheelchair-friendly.”
Adam’s eyes widened as he swallowed audibly. “Really?”
“Yeah. A local ADA advocate petitioned to have those trails built, and the rangers and the Lennox Foundation were only too happy to oblige.” He couldn’t help the smile that tugged up the corners of his mouth. “His mate, you see, loved hiking up in those mountains, and they wanted to share that together.”
He seemed in awe at first, but in a very teen-like way, shrugged his shoulders. “I guess that would be nice.”
Daniel fought another smile. “Sure. Maybe you and I could check it out first. Before we invite anyone to come.” Sarah looked like she wanted to protest, but he squeezed her knee harder.
“Yeah, I can do that.” Grabbing the plate of eggs, he heaped some onto his plate and shoveled it into his mouth.
The rest of the breakfast passed by in relative silence, though the tension had somewhat eased.
When every bit of food was gone, he said to Adam, “Go and get ready, and we’ll leave in twenty minutes.” Catching Sarah’s eye, he cocked his head toward the doorway and then got up and strode out. Thankfully, he heard her chair scrape the tile as she stood up to follow him.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said when they were in the hallway out of earshot. “It’s your day off, isn’t it? You shouldn’t have to go into work today.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” he said. “Really, I love being up there. Look, it’s obvious to me that neither of you are ready to talk to each other yet. At least this way, I’m buying you time to think about what you have to say to him.”
She bit her lip. “I think … I think Adam always wished he could do stuff like this. You know, sports and outdoor things. He never gets to do it. There just wasn’t any opportunity or time or money to get him all the special stuff he’d need.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I wish—”
“Stop that.”
Her head snapped up. “Stop what?”
“Beating yourself up for things that aren’t your fault.” Gently, he wrapped his hands around her arms. “Can’t you see what an amazing job you’ve done raising a kid when you were one