“I was actually thinking about you,” I answered honestly. When Liam pulled back a smidgen, his eyes full of unease, I rushed to clarify. “I was thinking about your ultimate betrayal.”
“My ultimate betrayal?” His shoulders slumped. “Listen, Scout, I--”
“I mean, Canadian, Liam? You’re a freaking Canadian? How am I supposed to deal with that?” I had to work at not breaking into a grin at his startled response. “Do you secretly listen to Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne? Do you douse all your food with maple syrup when I’m not looking? Do you have a poster of Alex Trebeck stowed away in your overnight bag?”
Liam smiled, one of his real folded-cheeks smiles, and I fastidiously ignored what the sight did to me. “You are impossible.”
“Although, this could work to my advantage,” I mused. “Do you happen to know Ryan Reynolds? Because it would be kind of cool to meet him. And talk to him. And maybe touch him…”
“Yes. Of course I do. You know, all Canadians know each other. I’ve got Estella Warren on speed dial.”
“Who is that?”
“Americans,” Liam sighed dramatically.
“And Bryce? Really?”
That wasn’t met with even a hint of humor. “Bryce is dead.”
“I’m just trying to imagine the person he was,” I railroaded on. “Bryce. Bryyyyyyce. That’s the name of a Mustang-driving, cheerleader-dating, popular quarterback if I’ve ever heard one.”
At first I thought he wasn’t going to relent, that I had gone too far with bringing up his past, but then he said, “Americans are quarterbacks. Bryce played center.”
“Basketball?” That I could understand. We Kentuckians are all about some hoops, and my family is particularly enamored since Jase is pretty much a basketball rock star.
“Ice hockey. It’s Canada, remember? Try to keep up.”
I leaned into his personal space, putting my face mere inches from his.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking at your teeth,” I said. “You have all of them. I don’t buy this hockey story.”
He flashed his teeth, something between smiling and baring them, and I saw my assessment was right. They were all there.
“This one, this one, and this one,” he said, pointing at three different teeth, “have all been broken.”
“Ah-ha. The old Shifter thing worked to your dental advantage.”
“Yeah. Thank God I didn’t knock any out, or they would still be gone.”
I thought about that. “Because the Change repairs damage but can’t regrow something that’s gone?”
“Exactly. Matter can’t be created or destroyed, only changed. Or Changed. Or something like that.”
We sat there for a bit, me watching the world whip by while Liam tried to derive meaning from the stains on the upholstery.
“So,” I said, once my curiosity could no longer be contained, “I need you to say it.”
“Say what?”
“It.” I nodded my head slowly, giving him a come-on-you-know-what-I’m-talking-about look. “You might as well get it over with.”
“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Say it, Liam. Say ‘out and about’.”
His laughter was so abrupt and loud many people turned their heads in our direction.
He never did say it, but it was okay. I made him laugh, and not by ineptitude. It was a small victory, but it felt more like winning the war.
***
We had to change buses in Columbus. There was enough time to grab something to eat before we hit the road again, so we found a little run-down place selling barbecue and filled our bellies. Liam is a pie man, and since I honestly can’t think of anything to say against them, we ended up splitting a homemade coconut cream pie that tasted like it was made by a blue-haired granny who loved butter like a grandchild. We didn’t chat the entire way through the meal the way I would have if it had been Talley, Jase, or Charlie keeping me company, but it wasn’t the absolute silence of meals past either. We remarked on our food and fellow diners. Liam asked why Western Kentucky barbecue was so superior, and I explained something about dry rubs, smoking processes, and sauces that may or may not have been one hundred percent true. It was, for lack of a better word, nice.
There was a three hour ride until our next stop, and during that time I drifted off to sleep. I was somewhat surprised to find myself back on a familiar stretch of beach.
“Alex Cole,” I said, making my way to where he lounged on his favorite rock. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes, well, it seems I’m not quite as trusted as I once was.” Nicole scampered up behind him. “My comings and goings are more guarded these days, and all extraneous visits are nipped in the bud.”
I sat down beside him and greeted Nicole with a scratch behind her ears. “So what you’re saying is you need something and that’s the only reason you’re here?”
Alex lifted a shoulder. “Apparently, not that anyone will tell me what that might be.” He directed his last words to the clouds.
“Are you talking to God or the angels?”
He turned, dropping one leg to the ground to brace his weight. I readjusted ever so slightly so we would be face-to-face. “You know I can’t answer that, right?”
“I know,” I said. “But you know I can’t keep myself from asking.”
His dimples showed. “I know.”
Nicole, not liking her place in our new seating arrangement, got up and moved around until she could drape herself over both our legs. I stroked a hand through her multi-toned fur, marveling at the softness. She was even fluffier than I remembered Alex being, probably because she was still a puppy.
“Her coloring is almost exactly like yours,” I said to Alex. “I really should have figured out she was your sister sooner.”
Alex’s eyes flew wide. I didn’t realize he was holding a breath until it came rushing out in something between a sigh and laugh. “And that, I assume, is why I’m here.”
I continued stroking Nicole’s fur. “Liam and I talked.”
“About…?”
“Everything.” I was still coming to terms with it all. I thought my story was a sad one, but Liam and Alex experienced more tragedy in a few short years than most people are forced to endure over their entire lives. Then there was the whole anti-Alpha movement, and the fact they wanted me to be their champion or sacrifice, depending on how you looked at it. “It was a long talk,” I said.