He turned, with what she’d already realized was his characteristic broad smile. “Nope. Just take a seat. You’re welcome to coffee or juice or anything.” He indicated the counters with a broad sweep of his hand.
Lillian had to admire Teri’s taste. Zach was a cheerful, personable, good-looking man...who made breakfast. Young, of course—though she didn’t know when she’d started looking at the mid-twenties as practically babyhood. But for all his youth, he seemed serious and responsible, and she was glad for Teri.
Another head poked into the kitchen, this one belonging to Teri’s sister-in-law, Nina. Lillian had met her briefly the night before, and learned that she was quiet, a bit shy, but had a hidden fierceness that had come out when she’d told Lillian privately that no matter what happened, the leopards in the house were ready for anything, and Lillian didn’t need to worry.
Lillian had been hopelessly charmed. Nina was even younger than Teri, and a beautiful girl—also one of the only African-American women Lillian had ever seen settle up here in northern Montana—and Lillian wished a little wistfully that she could have the opportunity to get to know her better.
Maybe. Maybe if this all got settled, Lillian could work out a way to keep seeing Teri, and Teri’s new family, without disrupting her home too much. Perhaps she could invent some kind of library event once a week, or pretend that the work schedules had changed and she was working two evenings instead of one, and come visit for dinner without their mother knowing.
If she’d be welcome. She hoped so.
“Please sit down.” Lillian smiled at Nina. “Do you want some coffee?”
Nina nodded fervently. “Coffee would be lovely, thank you. We were up in shifts.”
Lillian paused, halfway to the cupboard where she’d learned the mugs were stored. “You didn’t sleep? Just because of me?” Behind her, Teri tripped into the kitchen, her blonde curls in their usual morning frizz, rubbing her eyes. Lillian turned on her. “Teri, did you keep this poor girl from getting any sleep just because of my silly problem?”
Teri’s eyes flew wide, and she held up her hands. “Whoa, wait! Everyone volunteered. And agreed. Nothing is my fault!”
Nina broke in, nodding vigorously. “We want to keep you safe. No one should have to deal with that. And it’s—it’s bad for shifters, when some of them behave like that. It makes it hard for the ot
hers, because it means humans are afraid of them, or it means that there are fewer good packs out there to join.”
There was a wealth of sadness—bitterness?—in Nina’s voice. Lillian wondered what her story was. All she’d said when Lillian had mentioned she’d never seen her around before was that she’d come in from out of town.
“I just don’t want any of you inconveniencing yourselves for what’s probably nothing,” Lillian insisted. “Don’t lose sleep on my account.”
“We’ll lose as much sleep as we choose,” Teri said, going for the coffee. Then she softened the words with a smile. “It’s worth it to me. I want you to be safe.”
Seeing protectiveness from her younger sister was very, very strange, Lillian decided as she sat back down and sipped her coffee.
Being hosted by her was even more strange—Teri went to set the table and help Zach finish cooking, and they all sat down to breakfast together. It was a pleasant meal, though mostly quiet.
Lillian had gotten used to her mother’s litany of complaints every morning over breakfast. It was shocking how restful it was to go without them.
She insisted on cleaning up afterward, as everyone else had to go to work. Lillian had called in sick.
“Am I coming to the Park with you, then?” she asked Teri.
Teri shook her head. “Cal said he was going to stop by this morning. He learned a few things last night, apparently, and he wanted to tell you about them. I don’t know when, though.”
There was a knock on the door.
“Now, I guess,” Zach said, and went to answer; the bass rumble of Cal Westland’s voice drifted down the hall.
Lillian came forward to say hello, and found herself startled at how much room the man took up. She’d thought she had a sense of how tall and broad he was when he’d been seated at his desk yesterday, but really she’d had no idea. He was well over six feet, and his shoulders seemed endless.
Lillian wasn’t a small woman, in height or in weight, and she’d gotten used to feeling a bit large and ungainly around most men. But Cal made her feel positively petite.
“Thank you for taking time out of your day.” She was annoyed to hear her voice come out just a tad breathless. The man was doing her a favor, and probably missing some work because of it. There was no need to get all girlish over him as an additional burden.
“No problem.” He glanced around at what suddenly seemed like a crowd of people. “Looks like some people are about to be late for work.”
There was a sudden scramble to decamp. Even Nina, who from what Lillian understood didn’t work in the Park, got sucked along in the whirlwind, leaving alongside Joel.
Teri grabbed her hand. “Cal can drive you to the Park later if that’s what he thinks is best. Keep me updated!”
“Of course,” Lillian managed.