Thinking about that possibility, I dismissed it. “I don’t care if you don’t believe me, that’s not what’s important. There’s something else that’s far more urgent.” I glanced up at Doc. “I think we’re running out of time.”
“For what?” he asked.
I picked at a stray thread on the quilt. “To save Nana. She said something to me about how she’s been holding off whatever it is that’s affected her. But she definitely told me she’s starting to lose the battle.” Tears welled in my eyes.
“Did she tell you how to help?” Matt pressed. “Because if not, then what can we do?”
With a sniff, I told him everything I could recall. “Nana said I had to stop some woman and then wake her up. But she never told me who she was talking about.”
Big Willie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I can make a pretty educated guess.”
“You don’t think she’s the cause for Vivi’s condition,” Mimsy gasped.
Ada put an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “She hasn’t hidden her desire for control of this town. It’s almost comical if it weren’t so close to happening.”
“I’m missing something,” I said, glancing around the room. My stomach rumbled loud, and I covered it in embarrassment.
“Quite a lot of somethings,” Matt admitted.
“It sounds like you might be up to eating something.” Doc Andrews lifted my arm, and I noticed the IV for the first time. “I’ll take this out and let’s see if we can get something in you.”
Another loud gurgle from my tummy confirmed his diagnosis. “That sounds like a plan, Doc. And while I’m eating, y’all are gonna give me the important highlights and catch me up.”
I stopped chewing my scoop of mac and cheese. “What do you mean Mason’s not here yet?” Still a little bit groggy from my ordeal, I took stock for the first time the lack of my normal group of friends around me.
Matt sat in a nearby chair, not willing to stop hovering over me. “He stayed to help integrate the shifters that Dash called on into their search.”
“So, he’s not coming back anytime soon?” My heart sank like an anchor in deep waters.
“No, he should be here sometime tonight. Willie contacted him through mirror talk and even spoke to the chief in charge. But he wasn’t the first to get in touch,” Matt explained. “Dash stopped watching you sometime in the middle of the night and got Ms. Ada to help him make the call.”
My eyes widened, and I dropped my fork. “Why did he do that?”
Matt sat forward, considering his words with care. “Why do you think?”
“He did it for me,” I breathed out, giving words to the truth I kept ignoring. “Because he still cares about me.”
My brother snorted. “And he shows it by calling your boyfriend and insisting he return right away.”
The gravity of the wolf shifter’s actions weighed heavy on me. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that. I mean, I care for Dash.”
“But you don’t love him?” Matt asked.
I shook my head back and forth. “No. Not like that,” I admitted. “Maybe there might have been something between us if he’d stayed. But he didn’t, and we’ve both changed now.”
Pushing the tray of food away from me, I flopped back on the pile of pillows and threw my arm over my face. The man I wanted here was too far away, and the man who stood watch over me did so knowing I was out of reach. I groaned long and loud.
“Stop being so dramatic,” Matt teased. “So, you’ll have to find some time to talk to him one on one. It may not be a fun discussion, but you both deserve to have some closure.”
I flipped him the bird. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to have ‘the talk,’” I said, making quotation marks with my fingers.
“Ooh, I’m Charli, and my life is so-o-o hard because I’ve got two men chasing after me,” my brother mocked in a crappy high-pitched tone.
“I do not have two men.”
The last thing I needed was a boyfriend plus a whatever. My brother was right, although there was no way those words would ever be uttered out of my mouth. I did need to talk to Dash.
“You said there were other things I’ve missed,” I said, changing the subject.
Matt scooted his chair closer. “You want the good, the weird, or the bad updates first?”
I’d had enough stress since waking back up, and Doc Andrews had insisted I try and take things as easy as possible. “Give me the good.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll hear about it soon enough, but it seems our friend Mr. Bennett Rayner, finally plucked up some courage and asked Lily to marry him,” my brother crowed.
“What?” I shouted. “When?”
Puzzled, my brother frowned. “I thought you’d be happy for them.”
“I mean, in general, yes,” I spluttered. “But I know for a fact that Ben wasn’t ready yet. He said as much after the meeting yesterday.”
“You mean four nights ago,” Matt corrected.
I’d been able to ignore the pounding behind my eyes, but the throb increased as I processed his words. “Fine. Four nights ago. I hate that I lost time.”
“At least you woke up,” my brother grumbled.
Scooching over, I patted the space next to me on the bed. With a roll of his eyes, Matt moved the tray of food to the floor and sat down beside me.
I took his hand in mine. “You’ll have to trust me that I think Nana’s okay. She’s strong.” Squeezing his hands three times, I pushed, “What else?”
Taking a deep breath, my brother ticked off his fingers as he listed several odd changes in our town’s population. Most of the details were benign, but a few were downright head-scratchers.
“And then there’s Sassy,” he said with wonder. “You’ll never believe it until you see it. I think what happened to her has to be filed under more weird than good.”
His veiled
