Etienne (The Shifters of Shotgun Row Book 1)(52)

“You had an accident.” Meemaw took his hand. “Think.” What happened.

There was a pause far longer than comfortable as he stood there, holding Meemaw’s hand and his head fell down, his eyes on the ground.

“I hit a tree.” He finally broke the silence, his head snapping up as he screamed, “Bear threw it.” While he attempted to make his way to Bruno, Meemaw held him in place.

“Yes he did.” Meemaw took her other hand, turning his cheek to face her. “But you hit it with your car because you were drinking.”

“It’s not fair.” Something changed in both his voice and his posture, his anger now less hostile and scary and more sorrow filled. Not that I could blame him. He made a stupid-arse choice and paid the ultimate consequence for it.

“No, no it’s not.” She enveloped him in a hug, and they stayed like that, her giving him comfort and him accepting it.

“Let me take you someplace better.” She kissed his head like he was but a small child and wrapped her arms around his shoulder.

“Better?” He nodded.

“Away from the bear,” she promised, her smile warm.

“Can’t.” His panic began to return, and Etienne’s arm tightened around me, letting me know that under no circumstance was I to leave his side. “Can’t leave him. I tried. Oh how I tried.”

Poor guy thought he was trapped, and being trapped with Bruno was enough to make anyone freak out.

“Hold my hand. I’ll show you the way.” She grabbed his hand and instantaneously he was gone.

“Holy fucking shit! Did you see that?” Loic bounced up, going to where they had stood.

“Of course I did, dipshit.” Callum took a swig of his beer.

“Is—is he gone?” I’d never seen Bruno so frail. He was still a jerkface, but I kind of felt bad for him. He lost most of his adult life to a mistake that wasn’t truly his, being haunted at every turn. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

“I think so.” I snuggled into Etienne. “Meemaw doesn’t mess around.”

“Your grandma is badass,” Justice beamed. I couldn’t blame him, she had kicked some serious ass.

“Was,” I corrected, for that was the harsh reality of it. “And, yeah, she really was, wasn’t she?”

“You were, too, Tans,” Callum added as he grabbed another two beers, throwing one to Bruno.

“I did okay.” I grabbed Etienne’s hand, and we joined the guys around the fire, Bruno standing off to the side, but still sort of kind of part of the group. “Do you think Meemaw is gone gone?” I finally got up the courage to ask.

“Heck no.” Loic spoke with assurance I wish I had. “If she can do that, she won’t be able to.”

“What are you talking about, Loic?” Etienne finally broke his silence.

He’d been strong and silent, at my side when I needed him, without distracting me. Good mate.

“Marie is a fucking psychopomp. She brings a whole new meaning to the words bad ass.”

The guys in the circle all nodded as if he had spoken in English.

“What is a psych whatever you just said?” Because, apparently, I was the only one who had not a clue.

“A psychopomp—like a midwife to the dying,” Justice tried to mansplain to me. Bonehead. Except I understood, so maybe mansplaining wasn’t always a bad thing. Not that I’d let him know that.

“No freaking way. My Meemaw is a reaper. Holy shit.”

My Meemaw was a reaper. She helped people cross to the dead which meant I wasn’t going to lose her. Tears formed in my eyes as the impact of that hit me. Of course, that’s not what was filling the guys’ heads.

“Tansy cursed.” Because that was what mattered to Loic and all the guys now smiling at his comment.

“Fuck yeah, she did.” Etienne spoke as proudly as if I’d just won a Nobel prize. Silly mate.

Love you, I spoke in his mind before throwing my lips to his. It had been far too long since we last had a proper kiss. Hours even, and that just wasn’t acceptable.





Etienne



My mate was beyond. She’d stood up against a bear and his ghost leech, found a way to make things happen and, with her grandma, did.

“Another one?” I called to Bruno who looked like he had been carrying around a ten-ton boulder all his life and Tansy had just snipped the rope.

He huffed out a long breath, still looking at the fire. “Better not. My bear likes to run around drunk. It’s his thing. One more and I’d go grizzly on this place you’ve tried to make better.”

I thought maybe he’d just half-assed complimented us. Shotgun Row had cleaned up a little since Tansy got here. After we, or mostly the crew, set up the outdoor kitchen, the boys went to cleaning up the porches of their own houses, and Lazare even built some cypress stump benches for us to sit on around the fire.

Actin’ like we all cared and shit.

“Um, that might be kind of funny. I’m just sayin.” Of course, Justice thought it was funny for a grizzly bear to stomp around our place drunk off his ass. Of course he did.

“Tansy.” I said the one word, and it shut him up. They could bullshit me all they wanted, but I knew better. I saw them take care in how they handled my mate, making sure to thank her when she cooked.