Amanda's Wolves(36)

Mary’s shoulders slumped farther, and she reached up to set a hand on Jaz’s. “I know. You were right. I was chicken.”

“Mary?” Amanda slowed her breathing, still taking in this new development. She glanced at Jaz, who was now totally unapologetic about her obvious relationship with her sister. In fact, she wrapped her arm around Mary’s waist and hauled her in closer.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you were ready to hear about us.”

“Why would I care who you’re involved with? What pisses me off is you standing all high and mighty here judging me not two minutes ago while you huddled in your proverbial closet.”

“There’s a big difference between me being in a committed relationship with one woman and you sleeping with two men.”

Amanda threw her hands up in the air. “I have not slept with anyone, Mary. And that’s not the point. I’ll sleep with whoever I damn well please. At least I had the guts to come home and tell you immediately. You, on the other hand, have been sneaking around ever since I arrived and for God knows how long before that. Does the entire world know besides me?”

Mary shook her head. “No. And we don’t want them to.”

Jaz interrupted with more of an explanation. “People around here aren’t very understanding of things like this. If they found out, we could both lose our jobs.”

Amanda blinked at Jaz. She liked her. She really did. And as soon as she had a chance to wrap her head around the fact she and Mary were a thing, she was sure she would embrace it fully, but for now, she was too stunned and confused about her own problems to put much weight on that issue.

She did understand her reasoning, however. Both Mary and Jazmine owned preschools. That’s how they’d met, at a convention.

Jazmine was Native American and her school was in Sojourn, forty minutes south along the end of the lake on the reservation.

Amanda pulled her gaze back to Mary. “Then we’re even. I won’t tell anyone you’re in a relationship with Jaz, and in return you can keep the details of my unconventional arrangement to yourself too.”

Mary opened her mouth, but hesitated before speaking. “Are you sure, Amanda? You just met them. You couldn’t have spent that much time with them.”

“I’m sure.” She was. She might not have admitted it to Logan and Sawyer, but it was growing clearer to her with each passing moment.

“There’s more,” Laurie stated.

Everyone turned to face her while Amanda groaned. “Do we have to have a complete come-to-Jesus moment? Can’t we keep a few things for later?”

“No. Keeping this a secret will only make things worse, Amanda.” Laurie met her gaze directly. “You want me to tell them? Or do you want to?”

Amanda slumped forward and grabbed the edge of the table. Her coffee was cold now. Oh how she wished she’d swallowed every drop before the shit hit the fan. “Go ahead. Your mind is working better than mine, and I’m not even sure where to begin.”

“Let’s go in the living room. Sit.” Laurie stood and turned around to head toward the entertainment center.

“What now?” Mary asked. She and Jaz plopped down on the couch.

Amanda dragged herself unwillingly to the chair that sat at an angle facing the television next to the couch.

Laurie stood across from them all in front of the television. “There’s a reason Amanda was so quickly attracted to my brother and Logan. I’m sure you’ve always suspected something about my family was a little different. And I’m impressed you never asked before.”

Laurie took a deep breath, her gaze on Mary, or Jaz. They were practically on top of each other. “Normally, I would never divulge this sort of private part of my family to anyone. Not to a single living soul. But occasionally we have to make exceptions, especially when one of us happens to meet and discover that a regular human is destined to spend their life with us.”

“A regular human?” Mary asked.

Laurie nodded. “Let me finish.” She glanced slightly to the side to look at Jazmine. “I’m going to include you in this revelation because I know you’re as committed to Mary as anyone can be. You’ve been together over a year. I know how Mary feels about you. And I assume you feel the same about her.”

“Without a doubt,” Jazmine confirmed. “She’s my soul.”

Amanda gulped as she watched Mary turn to Jaz and smile. She even kissed her gently on the lips. A tear fell down Amanda’s face, and she quickly wiped it away. She was overly emotional and so happy for Mary.

Laurie continued. “My family and several others in the area aren’t strictly human. We’re what we call shifters.”