Soul to Shepherd (26 page)

“Still purring like a kitten.”

“Well, don’t drive her too hard. You changing her oil regularly?”

“Twice in the past few months alone.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Doing some cross-country sightseeing. So nice of you to make time in your busy schedule to visit your family.” He looked at me. “And I see you’ve brought a friend.”

Quinn just looked at me and winked. “Tommy, I’d like you to meet Evie.”

“Evie, it’s nice to meet you.” He looked at me carefully, studying my face. It made me nervous. “Have we met before?”

Crap.
I was beginning to suspect that Quinn wasn’t the only one in this family who could retrieve memories buried by a Shepherd.

“No,” Quinn replied on my behalf. “I’ve just described her to you before. This is the girl who left me in Bloomington for a job,” he explained to Tommy in a more hushed tone.

“Back with Quinn so soon? What happened?” Tommy teased playfully.

“She came to her senses is what happened,” Quinn replied, beaming from ear to ear.

“Yeah, that’s one interpretation.” Tommy chuckled. “Being a glutton for punishment is another.” He winked at me. “Well, it’s great to meet any girl who can tame my baby brother.” Tommy swept me up in a big bear hug. “Let me introduce you to my better halves,” he said before setting me back down. “Evie, that’s my wife Sam, and that little lady over there being smothered by my mom is Mary.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Evie,” Sam said as she walked over to shake my hand. “Quinn convinced you to meet all of us at once, did he?” she asked good-naturedly before leaning in towards me. “I remember when I was in your shoes, and I was nervous as could be,” she whispered. “But I survived just fine. And something tells me you’re going to do great. Just relax.” She smiled and winked at me while giving my hand a reassuring little squeeze.

“Thanks.” I smiled in return and exhaled the breath I’d been holding.

“Quinn, always good to see you.” Sam hugged him.

“You too.” Quinn hugged her back. “Hey, Mom, stop hogging Mary for a second so I can say hello.” He walked over to his mother and took Mary from his mother’s arms, holding her up in the air and cooing before giving her a hug. Mary giggled, thoroughly enjoying all of the attention.

“Mary,” Quinn said softly, “this is Evie.”

“Hi, Mary,” I leaned forward to meet her at eye level. “You are very cute—and so happy,” I cooed.

Mary squealed gleefully and began clapping her hands together in excitement before holding her arms out to me, wanting me to hold her. Quinn chuckled while trying to hang on to his squirming niece.

“Wow!” Sam replied in shock. “These days, Mary’s usually pretty shy around people she doesn’t know—stranger anxiety.”

Mary was practically climbing out of Quinn’s arms to grab hold of me. He flashed me a knowing smile, realizing she’d remembered me.

“May I?” I asked Sam.

“Absolutely.” She smiled.

I reached out to Mary and took her from Quinn’s arms. The baby cupped my face with her chubby hands and stared at my face—studied it. She squealed again and began giggling as she flung herself at me. I could tell she was completely healthy. I hugged her back, fighting back tears of joy.

“She’s just beautiful—and so affectionate.”

“She’s also a good judge of character,” Maggie stated. “And she obviously likes you.”

“I guess I’m lucky to pass Mary’s test.”

“You are, indeed. Not many do—trust me,” Tommy said with a wink. “So, what’s on the menu? I’m starving and the smell of that food is driving me crazy.”

Dinner went as well as could be expected. I managed to get by with only eating a few bites of food here and there and sipping water. Quinn helped me out by sneaking food from my plate whenever possible.

With the pressure of eating gone, I had the opportunity to sit back and observe the family dynamics. The room was full of laughter, friendly banter, and love. There was a certain melodic rhythm to their conversation; it ebbed and flowed in pitch and volume depending on who was speaking. Of course, Mary joined in as well, intermittently squealing in delight—or in frustration if she felt like she was being ignored.

And there I was, sitting at the table being part of it all instead of a ghost in the room; it was as great as it was nerve-wracking. I was mindful of being under the magnifying glass, watching everyone’s reactions towards me—and, more importantly, Quinn’s interactions with me.

I was careful to pay attention to the shifts in topics of conversation and the questions directed my way. The last thing I wanted to do was sit there like a wallflower, but I also didn’t want to find myself backed into a corner, coming face to face with my inability to lie. Much to my relief, his family didn’t ask me anything too unusual or surprising, and Quinn did a great job at fielding any questions that would require me to stretch the truth beyond what I could.

Quinn told them all about my parents’ house in Michigan and my dog, but steered clear of talking about my parents, letting me talk about them. We both spoke about how we’d met at IU, lightheartedly correcting each other and finishing each other’s sentences to add our own spin to the story. By the end, everyone was laughing and smiling.

I caught Tommy studying us. At one point, Quinn put his arm around me, and I swore I could see a déjà vu moment pass over Tommy’s face, which made me anxious. And Tommy and Doug occasionally threw in a few playful remarks about Quinn “settling down” at such a young age, which also sent a few ripples of concern through me.

“Nicely done, Mom. You always know how to throw together a great meal,” Tommy commented, throwing his napkin on the table as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach.

“Thanks, but you can thank your brothers for this one.”

“What?” Tommy asked in surprise.

“Actually, you can thank Sarpinello’s,” Quinn clarified.

“No wonder I liked it so much,” Tommy blurted out before realizing his blunder. “I mean, not that I don’t like your food, Mom. It’s great, too.”

“Thanks, Thomas,” Maggie replied dryly.

“Crash and burn,” Doug muttered under his breath while Quinn stifled a chuckle.

“Well, I think it might be a wise move for me to excuse myself and get Mary ready for bed,” Tommy said.

“You’re staying here tonight?” Quinn asked.

“You did see us haul in all that baby gear, didn’t you? I mean, even for us, that’s overkill,” Sam joked.

“Yeah, I’ll say. The guest room isn’t even big enough for the three of us with all that crap, so Mary’s staying in my old room with her entourage of toys.”

“So, where does that leave me?” Quinn asked.

“Do I hear a couch with your name on it?” Doug cracked up, laughing at Quinn’s predicament.

“I can stay with friends if my sleeping here tonight will cause a problem,” I said.

“Nonsense,” Maggie replied. “We’re all adults. Quinn and Evie can share his room.”

“Oh,” I looked at Quinn, wide-eyed. There was
no
way I was staying in his room with him while his parents were there.

“Or, Quinn can stay in Brady’s room,” his mom added, slightly amused by my reaction.

“Perfect gentleman that I am, I’ll crash in Brady’s room.” Quinn put his hand on my knee and squeezed it gently. I squeezed his hand in thanks.

“Yeah, I bet you weren’t much of a gentleman this afternoon,” Doug quipped under his breath to Quinn. Quinn glared at him and kicked him underneath the table, which made Doug cough as he swallowed his laughter. All I could do was sit there and try my best not to turn beet red.

After the table was cleared, the leftovers stored, and the dishes stacked in the dishwasher, everyone sat down to look at Quinn’s father’s photos in the family room. By the end of the slideshow, Mary had fallen asleep in her pack-and-play, so Tommy carefully picked her up and transferred her to the crib in the guest room. Sam and Doug excused themselves fairly quickly thereafter, followed by Quinn’s father.

“I’m going to run upstairs and grab our bathing suits,” Quinn informed me. “I’ll be right back.” He kissed me on the forehead and then bolted for the stairs.

I walked over to the mantel and looked at the family photos. There was one that always caught my eye—it was a picture of Quinn and Brady when they were probably no more than six and eight years old, carrying a huge pumpkin, wearing the most triumphant smiles they could muster.

“That’s my favorite picture of the two of them,” Maggie commented from behind me. “It took the two of them hours to carve that thing.”

“They look so happy.”

“They always were back then. All four of my boys were close growing up, but those two had something special. The closest I’ve ever seen two brothers get—and I should know, I grew up with seven of them. From the minute I brought Quinn home from the hospital, he and Brady were inseparable. They’d always look out for each other, make sure the other was included in whatever was going on. They even had the same friends. Everyone always thought they were twins.” She sighed sadly. “I’m assuming Quinn has told you about Brady?”

I nodded slowly.

“It broke all our hearts when we learned the extent of Brady’s gambling addiction, but it hit Quinn the hardest. Tom and I have tried everything to help our son, but Brady is like a different person—a stranger I no longer recognize. I often look at this picture and try to remember all the good in him—all the joy, love, and compassion he exuded—and hope he can find it again and come back home to us.”

“I hope he can too,” I said. She squeezed my arm gently and offered me a sad smile, which I returned with one of my own.

“So?” Quinn asked once we were inside the pool house. I knew he wanted to hear my thoughts about how the evening went.

“So?” I toyed with him.

“So, it wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Your family’s amazing. And I must admit, it was really nice to feel like part of one again.” I turned to Quinn. “And when you think about it, the timing was perfect—my meeting them tonight.”

“And why’s that?”

“Well, your dad took up a lot of time talking about the trip and showing us pictures. And Mary took up another good chunk of your mom’s attention. So I wasn’t the sole focus.”

“True,” he conceded. “But you would’ve handled everything just fine even if the spotlight had been solely on you.”

“Well, I’m just glad they didn’t start in with the twenty questions. I mean, did you see the way Tommy looked at us when you put your arm around me? I thought he was going to remember me right then and there!”

“I know what you mean.” He sighed. “Still, I’m curious to see what they all thought about us.”

“I’m sure they won’t hold back telling you
exactly
what they think about us—about
me
—as soon as any one of them gets you alone for a minute. I can hear it now: ‘What’s going on with you and that girl?’ ‘How come you’ve never mentioned her name before?’ ‘How serious is this?’ ‘What’s her deal?’”

“That’s what family is supposed to do, right? Look out for each other?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, fighting back the wave of sadness bearing down on me as I thought about my parents. I looked away from Quinn, not wanting to spoil his good mood.

“Crap,” he muttered under his breath, running his hand through his hair. “I’ve been so wrapped up in you meeting my parents I haven’t even thought about how hard this would be on you—that it would make you miss your own.” He took me gently by the arms and turned me to face him. “Evie, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine—I’ll be fine. I just miss them sometimes, you know? But I’m getting used to being apart from them. And I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time for me to visit them when all this blows over.”

Just then my cell phone vibrated. I looked at the incoming text: “GOT IT. TMRW. SAME PLACE. SAME TIME. BRING THE KID — J”

“It’s them.” I showed Quinn the text.

“The Bloodhounds did it!” he exclaimed in disbelief.

A huge grin spread across my face. “Without your blood, the Servants can’t perform the ceremony on the eighteenth.”

“So, that’s it? We don’t need to hide out?” Quinn almost sounded disappointed.

“I don’t want to take any chances, so I think we should stick with the original plan.”

Quinn wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me to him. “You just want to keep me all to yourself for the next week, don’t you?”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.” I did revel in the thought of being alone with him for the next eight days. I kissed him and suddenly felt my stomach turn. I pulled away and almost gagged.

“Wow, I’ve never had
that
effect on you before,” he half-joked in concern.

“It’s not you.” My stomach churned violently again. It took everything I had not to get sick right there and then. “It’s the food. I—I’ll be right back.”

Early the next morning, Quinn knocked on the door to his bedroom and opened it to find me sitting in bed, reading the last of the magazines I’d grabbed off the family room coffee table when I returned from the Falls last night.

“When did you get back?” he asked.

“An hour or so after I left. You were already asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Feel better?”

“Yes. Much.”

“Well, considering your reaction to last night’s dinner, I thought we’d go into town this morning before anyone else got up. That way we can escape the big family breakfast.”

“I’m in,” I said, shuddering as I remembered how sick I was last night. I jumped out of bed and morphed into jeans and a white t-shirt. “Let’s go.”

Quinn laughed. “Just give me a couple of minutes to get ready.”

I frowned slightly.

“We’ll be in the car before you know it, I swear.”

I exhaled slowly in relief as we pulled out of the driveway.

“Had enough family time, have we?” he teased.

“You know, the longer we’re here, the bigger the risk of exposing who and what I am.”

“I’ll make sure your secret is safe.”

“By running out the door to avoid breakfast? What are we going to do for lunch? And dinner? And what about Tommy? Give him enough time and he’ll figure it out.” I took another breath and sighed. “Quinn, maybe I should leave a little early so you can spend the day with your family. I can go help Dylan and Minerva.”

“Relax, I have a plan,” Quinn responded calmly. “I left a note saying we’re going to go visit some friends. We’ll
both
come back this afternoon, spend time with my family, and then head out of town before dinner.”

“Your parents aren’t going to like that.”

“I’ll just tell them we don’t have much time left to travel together and promise I’ll be back at the end of next week to spend a few more days with them. As long as I’m coming back home, my parents won’t mind.”

I studied Quinn’s face carefully.

“Trust me, Evie, with Mary there my Mom won’t even notice we’re gone.”

“Okay, we’ll try it your way.”

Dylan was waiting for us outside the same local café where we’d run into Ruben.

“Hey, Dylan. What’s up with—” Before I finished my question, however, I could tell something was definitely on his mind.

“Something’s happened,” he said numbly.

“What?” Quinn asked in concern.

“The Journal—it’s gone,” he admitted remorsefully. “It was in the Falls, just where I left it, and now—now it’s not.”

“What?!?” I glanced back and forth between Dylan and Quinn. “But I thought—Quinn said you took it to the
new
place,” I whispered, fully aware that someone—anyone—could be eavesdropping on our every word.

“I was going to,” Dylan whispered back. “But I’ve been spacing out my visits there to reduce the risk of being followed. I’ve been stashing things in the Falls in between trips, but when I went up there this morning to get the rest of the stuff, it was totally trashed.”

“Trashed?” Quinn asked in shock.

“I knew something was wrong the minute I arrived. The cairn had been knocked over, and the stones were scattered about like someone had stumbled over them. And when I saw the cave—” Dylan shook his head. “It looks like a tornado swept through it.”

I cringed. It was horrible to think the portal, the closest thing Quinn and I had to a home together, had been vandalized. One glance at Quinn and I knew he was thinking the same thing. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

“I’m sorry,” Dylan continued. “I should’ve known better. It’s just … man, I really thought the Falls was safe.”

“This is definitely not good,” Quinn announced.

“Where’s Minerva? Is she all right?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s back at the house watching over things.”

“So, what do you think happened?” I asked in a hushed tone. “I was just up there last night after dinner and everything looked fine.”

“What time was that?” Dylan asked

“I’m not sure exactly—some time between ten-and eleven-thirty.”

“So that means those demon bastards hit the place and took the Journal within the last six
Mora
hours,” Dylan stated.

“Six Earth hours,” I explained quietly to Quinn without him even asking. I turned to Dylan. “And you’re sure it was them?” I whispered. “You found traces?”

“Now that you mention it—no,” Dylan replied, looking a little perplexed. “I just assumed it was them.”

“That’s weird. I would think the smell would saturate the place for days considering the mess you described,” I paused to think of what or who else could’ve been the thief. “Tell me, was anything else taken besides the Journal?”

“I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so.”

“So, what do we do now?” Quinn asked, dumbfounded.

“I don’t know.” I felt helpless. The rug had just been pulled out from underneath us. The only information I had on the Servants—on the ritual—was gone.

“K.C., I
really
am sorry. I thought I was being careful.”

“It’s not your fault,” I told him. “I was the last one up there. I probably led the thief straight to the front door.”

“We can find the Journal,” Dylan offered repentantly.

“Let’s worry about it later,” I stated. “Right now, we just need to make sure we all survive the next eight days.”

“Agreed,” Dylan said.

We returned to the Harrisons’ in the early afternoon, after we knew lunch would be over. I tried to take my mind off of what had happened at the Falls and the missing Journal by watching Mary crawl around in the grass. Quinn’s dad was taking a million pictures of her while Tommy and Sam cheered her on. Eventually, Quinn and I made our way into the kitchen and greeted Quinn’s mom, who was emptying the dishwasher.

“Hey, Mom,” Quinn kissed her on the cheek and gave her the bouquet of flowers we’d picked up at the local market.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Maggie’s tone was off. She cast a glance at Quinn, then at me, and then at him again. I could tell she wanted to speak to Quinn—
alone
.

“Um, I’m just going to go upstairs and freshen up a bit,” I said.

“Okay. I’ll be up soon,” Quinn replied nonchalantly, completely oblivious to his mother’s mood.

I ran the shower in Quinn’s bathroom while I morphed into different clothes and began packing up my “bag” and Quinn’s duffel with some of the stuff he’d set aside to bring to the new portal. I opened the door to his closet and noticed a bunch of clean shirts hanging in his closet.

Huh, Maggie must’ve done some of Quinn’s laundry while we were out. That was nice of her.
Suddenly, Maggie’s concerned expression flashed before my eyes, and I felt like every last breath was sucked out of my body all at once.
Oh crap!

Please be there. Please be there. Please be there.
I frantically chanted in my head. I leaped over to Quinn’s dresser, yanked open the top shelf, and tore through the clean, folded clothes placed within earlier today. It wasn’t there. It was gone. Quinn’s grandmother’s ring was gone.
No! Please—not this. Please.

“Oh shit,” I whispered in horror, instantly feeling sick to my stomach.

“You can say that again,” Minerva replied quietly as she phased in barely enough for me to see her.

“You saw her find the ring?”

“You should’ve seen her face.”

“Shit!” I whispered in a panic. “What am I going to do?”

“Nothing,” Minerva answered frankly. “This one is all on Quinn.”

“Great. Just what he needs right now.”

“Well, he did say he wanted to know what his family thought about the two of you.”

“I don’t think this is what he had in mind. Holy crap, what do you think she’s saying to him?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Minerva’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“I’m not sure I want to know.” The very
idea
of her lecturing Quinn about what a huge mistake he was making by asking me to marry him was enough to make me dizzy with dread—but
hearing
her say the words would be a whole other nightmare.

“You may not
want
to know, but you
need
to know—for your sake and Quinn’s.”

I knew Minerva was right. As much as I feared hearing what was happening downstairs, I didn’t want to be in the dark about Maggie’s thoughts on our engagement.

“Let’s go,” I said, sighing.

We phased out of view and hovered invisibly by the entrance of the kitchen. I wanted to be able to see the expression on Maggie’s face when she asked him why he had the ring. I could sense Dylan close by. I knew there was no way he’d miss this
. Great.

“Must you two really leave today?” Maggie asked Quinn, standing across the kitchen island from him. “I’ve hardly gotten to spend any time with you—to catch up on what’s going on in your life.”

“Evie and I want to check out a few more places while we still have time to travel together this summer, but, don’t worry, I’ll be back in a week or so.”

“Will Evie be joining you when you return?” The tone in Maggie’s voice was laced with more than just innocent curiosity. Quinn shifted in his seat, sensing the difference as well.

“I doubt it—not that she doesn’t want to,” he added guardedly. “She’s really enjoyed meeting you all. It’s just she’s got a bunch of stuff to do in the next couple of weeks.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I’ve barely gotten to know her.”

“Well, with Evie, what you see is pretty much what you get.”

“Still, when a young man looks at a woman and begins to think about the future, about
commitment
, a family of his own—well, it’d just be nice for a mother to know a little bit more about her.”

“Where are you going with this? Evie and I—” Quinn stopped short when he saw his mom pull his grandmother’s ring out of her pocket and place it on the countertop. His jaw dropped a little and his face paled.

Crap.

“I was putting some of your clothes away and found this in your top dresser drawer. When did you plan on asking her?” she asked cautiously.

“I—well, umm,” Quinn was scrambling for something to say. I felt so bad for him at that moment. I wanted to rescue him, but I couldn’t.

She sighed. “Quinn, is Evie the girl you mentioned to me when you were home over winter break? The one you were dating?”

“No. I was with Evie before her, but then something happened—something that prevented us from being together for a while. That’s when I met the other girl.”

“And now?”

“And now Evie and I are back together.”

“And will there be something else to prevent you two from being together again?”

“Mom, you’re asking me to predict the future.”

“What are you two going to do when you go abroad?”

“She’s coming with me.”

“Is Evie in the same program you’re in?”

“No.”

His mom frowned. “Quinn, is she even still in school?”

He shook his head briefly. “Evie was offered a job opportunity she couldn’t refuse.”

“In London,” his mother said skeptically.

“Actually, it requires her to travel all over the place, but her home base can be with me in London.”

“Sounds almost too good to be true.”

“It’s a tough job.”

“What will she be doing?”

“I don’t know all of the details, but it has to do with foreign affairs. Evie has the chance to deal with some globally influential individuals in high places.”

I had to give Quinn credit; he was walking the truth tightrope very well.

“Wow. She must be a natural with languages then.”

“I can’t even tell you how many languages she’s speaks—probably all of them,” he replied, chucking a little uneasily.

“And what happens when it’s time for you to come back home? Will Evie be in a position to follow you then?”

“I hope so.”

“So, why not wait and see if that’s the case before you rush into anything?”

“Mom, I know this might seem out of the blue to you, and that’s my fault for not telling you about Evie sooner. But you have to trust me on this one. I know what I’m doing. Evie’s the one I love—the one I’ll always love. I didn’t realize that last winter when you and I talked, but I’ve realized it since then. And asking her to marry me is the best way to let her know that—to show her I don’t want to be apart from her ever again.”

“And she feels the same way? She loves you and wants to be with you always?”

“Yes—well, I mean, I hope she still does after meeting all of you,” he joked.

“Quinny, can you be serious please?”

“Mom—”

“It’s just that you’re both so young. You have your entire futures ahead of you.” His mom sighed heavily, looked down at the ring and then at Quinn.

“You and dad were this age when he asked you to get married.”

“That was different. Times were different back then. It was expected that you get married early. Now, you can wait until you’re truly ready for this level of commitment.”

“Mom, I am ready. Evie’s the one.”

“But—”

“Mom,” Quinn cut her off. “She already said ‘yes.’”

Oh crap. He said it. He told her.
I almost phased on the spot I was so taken aback. I even heard Minerva gasp slightly.

“Well,” Maggie said, putting her hand on her chest.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hide this from you. I just wanted to wait for the right time to tell you, but you beat me to it.”

“And—you’re sure about this.” She looked as though she needed time to catch her breath.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything. I want Evie in my life for as long as I can have her.”

Maggie studied his face carefully, probing for some hint of doubt in his eyes. Quinn looked as confident and certain as ever.

“How can it be that my baby is ready to get married?” She took a deep breath and exhaled as she handed him back the ring. She smiled as tears welled up in her eyes, but I couldn’t tell if they were tears of joy or sadness. “Boy, I must be getting old.”

“No,” Quinn responded. “I’m the one who’s getting older.” He smiled at his mom and hugged her.