The Dark Divine(48)

Disappointment washed over me with the flood of my returning doubts. I sighed and looked out at the house. For the briefest of seconds, I thought I saw Jude watching us from my window. But that wasn’t who called our names. It was my dad.

He stood at the base of the tree, wearing the same clothes from yesterday. It looked like he had a wooden box tucked under his arm. The Corolla was parked in the driveway.

Daniel moved as far away from me on the branch as he could.

“Oh hey, Dad.” I gave a slight wave.

Dad crouched and picked up my sketch pad from the grass. It must have fallen when Daniel caught me. He looked at the drawing and then up at us.

“We were just working on an assignment for class,” I said.

Dad shielded his eyes from the sun. “Come down now,” he said, sounding more tired than I’d ever heard him.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He looked at Daniel. “We need to talk.”

Daniel nodded. He turned to me and said softly, “Meet me on the porch after dinner. We’ll go to the store and get some linseed oil and varnish.”

“Can we go for a run afterward?”

He brushed my cheek. “Anything you want.”





CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Lost Sheep





LATE AFTERNOON




“Grace!” Charity bellowed from the front room.

I came in from the kitchen. She was sprawled across the couch, watching TV.

“What?”

“Phone.” She waggled the cordless over her head.

I grabbed it from her. I was about to put it to my ear when I noticed two wolves on the TV screen. They were gnawing on bloody, fleshy bones.

I covered the receiver. “Gross. What are you watching?”

“It’s for school.” She lowered the volume a bit. “I’m doing my paper on wolves. Did you know there haven’t been any in our county for over fifty years?”

“Really?”

One of the wolves howled. It sounded just like what I’d heard in the ravine.

I watched as a third, smaller wolf approached the eating pair. It tried to snatch a bite from the bloody carcass. The two other wolves growled. One of them lunged at the third, snapping and snarling. The small wolf retreated a few feet and watched longingly as the two larger wolves devoured their food.

“Why won’t they let that one eat?” I asked. “There’s plenty to share.”

“That one’s the omega.” Charity pointed at the smaller wolf. “He’s the lowest member of the pack. They treat him like a whipping boy.”

“That’s so not fair.”

“At least the alpha of this pack isn’t totally brutal. He’ll let the omega eat eventually.”

The large wolf bared its teeth as the small one tried to approach again. It lunged at the omega’s throat.

I turned away. I’d hate to see an alpha more brutal than that.

“Don’t forget about your boyfriend.” Charity pointed at the phone.

“Oh.” I knew that she was teasing, but I wondered if I’d ever be able to call Daniel that. I walked into the kitchen. “Hello?” I said into the phone.

“Grace?” It wasn’t Daniel.

“Oh hey, Pete.”

“Hey, so my mom wants to know how James is doing.”

“He’s fine.”

“Good.” Pete paused. “I hope you don’t hate me for not saying good-bye yesterday. My mom wasn’t feeling too great after everything that happened.”

“No worries,” I said. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought of Pete since I went into the woods with Daniel.

“So what’s up?”

“I’m calling in my rain check.”

“Rain check?”

“For bowling. You still owe me a date.” I could tell from the sound of his voice he was using his “triple threat” smile.

“For tonight?”

“Yeah. We’re doubling with Jude and April,” he said, like the date was already set in stone. “Dinner, bowling, and then a party at Justin Wright’s.”

“Oh.”

I wondered if I should go. Not for Pete’s sake, but for Jude’s. I hadn’t talked to him since he’d freaked out the night before. The fact that he even wanted to go out and have fun with his friends was a good, but surprising, sign. How would he feel if he knew I was passing on spending time with him and April so I could hang out with the person he hated most? But as much as I felt I should go, nothing could make me blow off a chance to run with Daniel.

“I’m sorry, but I already have plans for tonight.”

“Then change them,” Pete said.

“I can’t.” I tried to sound apologetic. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at church, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” His voice sounded hard. No smile at all.





DINNER THAT NIGHT




Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, my mother makes her famous turkey à la king. It’s this creamy sauce with chunks of leftover turkey and fresh veggies she serves in little flaky pastry cups. And since we have it only once a year, no one in my family ever misses this meal.