“Right. Of course. Sorry.” Laurie closed her mouth and bit her lower lip.
The world had gone completely mad. Amanda would swear Laurie was keeping several thoughts to herself. But that was the least of Amanda’s concerns at the moment. She wrung her hands in front of her and pondered this situation. The truth was it was getting late. In fact it was much later than it had been when Laurie first would have called Mary.
“You have an extra room for me? I won’t be putting anyone out?”
“We have plenty of space.”
The front door opened, and several people stepped out onto the porch. Or maybe everyone. They kept coming.
Logan and Sawyer stood and shook hands with most of them as they filed down the steps and made their way to several cars and trucks.
Amanda didn’t want to face them. She turned around and tromped down the driveway away from the commotion. She felt Rebecca on her heels, but had no idea how she knew that and didn’t turn around to confirm it.
When they were far enough away to avoid any sort of interaction with the rest of the family, Amanda stopped walking and plopped down on her butt next to the far end of the circular driveway. She put her head in her hands and leaned against her bent legs. “What a mess.”
Rebecca sat next to her. “I’m so sorry. I know it’s a lot.”
“Do you know what the worst part is?” Amanda asked the ground.
“What?”
“Every cell in my body is clamoring to do exactly what you’re suggesting. I want nothing more than for those two crazy shifting wolf men to strip me naked and have their way with me. I’m that aroused.”
“It’s normal.”
Amanda lifted her face. “It’s not normal. Nothing about this is normal. It sounds like even my own sister has a secret man on the side she hasn’t told me about. I thought she was spending the evening with a girlfriend, but from the look on Laurie’s face, she’s been holding back on me, and Laurie didn’t realize it.”
“Maybe it’s not what you think.” Rebecca said.
“What am I supposed to think? I saw Laurie’s face. She didn’t realize Mary was keeping things from me. In fact, I’m kinda hurt. Why does Laurie know stuff about my sister that I don’t know? I thought we were closer than that.”
“I’m sure you are close. Don’t read so much into it. It could simply be that Mary has been sheltering your feelings. Right?”
“I guess. But I’m not a baby. I don’t care if she has a boyfriend. I’ve been sort of pissed to find out she didn’t. I was hoping we could go out together. Meet people. I was hoping she had gotten a life and become more normal since she moved here. I was banking on following in her footsteps without my mother hovering over my shoulder.
“Instead, Mary never leaves the apartment. She sometimes meets up with Laurie, and she often hangs with Jazmine, but that’s not a life.”
“Are you sure? Maybe that’s the life she enjoys.”
“Whatever. I can’t focus on her right now. I have a new pile of problems longer than my arm.” Amanda looked up to see the last truck pulling away. The night was silent once again. She turned her gaze to find Sawyer and Logan still on the porch. Laurie was with them. They hadn’t left.
Shit.
∙•∙
Logan turned his body toward Sawyer, gripping the railing around the edge of the porch and not taking his gaze off their mate where she sat at the end of the drive with Rebecca. He could feel the vibe coming off her. She wasn’t ready to face them yet. “I need to run.”
“What? Now?”
“Yes.” He nodded at their mate. “Look at her. She’s scared out of her mind. She needs more time. To think. To let it sink in.”
“Are you crazy? My cock is so hard now, it’s about to burst through my jeans.”
“All the more reason.” Logan finally jerked his gaze from Amanda to Sawyer. “Let Rebecca handle this. I don’t think she’ll let her leave. I’m going to check out that logging site. It’s not far from here, and I want to be able to traipse into the center of it while no one’s there. Maybe I’ll get a better vibe if I can get closer.”
“You want to do that now?” Sawyer stepped closer. “In the middle of the night?”
“Yes. Can you think of a better time? Amanda needs a little space. I need a run. And I have to admit I feel more drawn to the strange vibe I had at that logging site now than I did before Mimi honed in on my emotions. It’s going to drive me crazy until I face it.” He released the porch railing and stepped into the darkness at the edge of the house, the same spot he’d shifted earlier for Amanda.