Page 9 of Fight (Kitsune #2)

I t was Sunday dinner at my parents’ house, Devon was in the living room, watching baseball with my Dad and my brother Raine, and from what I could tell, doing that whole male bonding thing.

I was in the kitchen, helping Mom cook and get the table ready for dinner, when my PCD rang.

I pulled the device out of my pocket and stepped into the empty hallway to take the call.

I checked the screen to see who it was, but the screen read 'Unknown'. Shrugging I picked up the call anyway.

"Hello?" I asked, pausing for a response. After a few seconds I asked again, "Hello?"

"Did you like them?" A muffled voice asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Did you like them?" The voice asked again, slower this time.

"Did I like what?" I couldn't tell if the caller was male or female and I had no idea what they were talking about.

"My roses."

"You sent the flowers?"

"Of course. That idiot you're seeing wouldn't have sent them. Did you like them?"

I was losing my patience. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Someone who's been watching you."

"Do I know you?"

They ignored the question, instead asking. "How's the family dinner? Do they know what you are?"

I was starting to get angry. "Who is this ?" I demanded without raising my voice.

"Someone you should watch out for." The voice remained calm.

"Who is this?" I repeated, becoming more agitated. I was about to start pacing the short hallway when I sensed Devon behind me.

The device at my ear went quiet. I looked at the screen to see if they were still there, and saw that the call had been disconnected. Sliding the device into my pocket, I turned to face Devon.

"Who was that?" Devon asked, concerned.

"I don't know, the number was blocked."

His brow furrowed. "They didn't identify themselves?"

"No."

"And you didn't know the voice?" He didn't sound happy.

I shook my head. "It was muffled, disguised somehow,"

He reached out and rubbed his hands up and down my arms. "He upset you. What did he say?"

I looked up, meeting Devon's eyes. "He asked if I liked the flowers."

A glint of something flashed in his eyes. "The roses you got at work the other day?"

I nodded. "He said he sent them."

"But not who he was." He asked again.

"No." I shook my head.

"Did he give any clues? Say anything we might use to figure it out?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"What exactly did he say?"

I recounted the short conversation for him, as closely as I could recall, ending with the thought that had just popped into my head. "Do you think it could be Brandon?"

"Do you?" He asked back. "You know him, his voice, his speech patterns, better than I do."

"Not as well as I thought, obviously. I never would have guessed that the Brandon I knew would have done half the things he's done."

"All right, disregard what you think he would do, and don't think about the voice itself. Consider the way they spoke, the pacing, the pronunciation. Do you think it could be Brandon, or anyone else you know?"

I stood there, staring past him at the wall without really seeing it, as I replayed the conversation in my head. "I'm not sure." I said after a moment. "There was nothing to make me say for sure, yes, it's him. There's nothing to make me say it's not him either." I shook my head, uncertain.

"That's all right." He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him. "You said he knew you were here." He spoke softly.

"I'm not sure it was a man, but yeah, he asked 'how's the family dinner? Do they know what you are?'"

"Who knows you do a big dinner here on Sundays?"

"Pretty much everyone who knows us. We've always done it."

"So, that wouldn't narrow it down to Brandon."

"No, besides, he's always called it Sunday dinner with the family, not family dinner."

"But he asked if they know what you are. That means he knows, so it's going to be one of the kindred."

"That's true," I agreed. "that narrows the suspect pool some."

"But it may also mean you're being watched. I want you to keep an eye out. Watch for anything strange, out of place."

"I can do that."

"Not just that, but watch for the same faces to pop up, over and over.

I'm not talking running into someone at the grocery store, but seeing them again two, or three, or four times, even from a distance, the same day, makes it suspicious.

Even if it's not someone you know, they could know who you are, and be following you. "

"I'll keep an eye out, I promise."

"Good." He kissed the top of my head. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Me either." I tilted my head back, stretched up, and kissed him. A deep, languorous kiss as we stood in the hallway, in front of the door.

I was lost in his kiss, when my mother's finger poked me in the side. Startled, I jumped and tried to pull away from Devon.

"Enough you two. You can do that later. You're sister's almost here with the kids," Mom said. "and we need to get the rest of the food done. Devon," She turned to him. "will you be a dear and dump the potatoes for me?"

"Of course, Ma'am." He reluctantly let me go and headed into the kitchen.

Mom followed close behind. "What have I told you about calling me Ma'am?" She asked sternly.

"Not to." he grinned, "But I can't seem to help it."

"Well you better figure out how to help it. I want you to call me Brenda or Mom. No more of this Ma'am crap. Especially after I had to break the two of you up like a pair of teenagers." She was teasing him, but making her point at the same time.

"I'll try, but I can't promise it won't slip out now and then.

" He pacified her as he picked up the large pot of boiling potatoes off the stove and carried it to the sink.

He carefully poured the contents into the large colander, already sitting in the sink.

He dumped the drained potatoes back into the hot pan and set them on the counter.

He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and went to rejoin my father and brother in the living room.

I went back to getting things ready for dinner, as if nothing had disturbed me. The call lurked in the back of my mind.

I was setting the platters full of food onto the table, when the front door opened.

I figured it was my brother Cameron, who had a habit of showing up just in time to keep Dad from yelling at him, and I didn't look, or scent the air, to find out who it was.

I was as surprised as everyone else when we heard the familiar voice.

"Is this all the welcome I get?"

"Payson!" Mom breathed, rushing to clean her hands and go see my sister.

I finished placing the dish in my hand on the table and quickly grabbed a couple more, putting them in place before heading into the hallway to greet my sister.

I knew that our parents would want to get their hugs, and to assure themselves she was really there, and it would be a couple of minutes before it was my turn anyway.

Stepping into the hallway, I snuggled up next to Devon.

"Is it always like this?" He asked softly.

"Pretty much." I answered. "Anytime one of us lives out of town, and isn't seen very often, even when it was the boys, they get greeted like this."

"It's nice, you never doubt you're missed."

After my parents and Raine stepped back, giving Payson a chance to breathe, I stepped forward to get my hug.

"Hey, Nick, I hear you have a new boyfriend?" She teased.

"Yep," I replied, not taking the bait. "I even brought him home to meet the family." I stepped away from her and held one arm out toward Devon, as if presenting him to her.

Apparently, whoever had told her I was dating someone, hadn't told her who it was, because when he spoke, the look of shock that appeared on her face was comical.

"Hey, Pace. How have you been?" He asked casually, a smile on his face.

"Devon Wilson!" She looked at me for confirmation. "You're dating Devon Wilson?"

"I am." I shrugged. Devon stepped up beside me and wrapped one arm around me, as if backing up my claim.

Brittney and her husband, Tracy and their kids, came through the door a moment later, stopping Payson from saying anything more.

We once again went through the rounds of hugs and greetings, this time with the newcomers.

Payson turned back to me and Devon, smiled and shook her head. "All those years ago, I never would have guessed." She looked at Devon. "I thought you left town? I didn't know you were back."

I left him recounting his story of the time he spent in the Army, and why he'd come home, while I went back to putting food on the table. I knew I'd get a chance to talk to my sister at the table and after dinner.

I grabbed another place setting and made room for Payson at the table, Mom and I soon had everything ready, and we called the rest of the family to eat.

We were all seated around the table, an empty seat waiting for Cameron, who hadn't shown up yet.

"So, how long have you been back, Devon?" Payson asked, serving herself from the bowl of mashed potatoes, before passing it around the table.

Devon was quiet for a moment, mentally doing the math. "Almost three months. I came back at the beginning of June."

"And how long have the two of you been seeing each other?"

"Well, we started out as just friends, not long after I got back. But we've been seeing each other more seriously for a couple of weeks." He looked at me for confirmation. I nodded, agreeing with his time line.

"Whoa, only been seeing him a couple of weeks, and you're already bringing him to Sunday dinner? It must be serious." Her tone said she was teasing.

I laughed. "I brought him to Sunday dinner before we started seeing each other.

He's an old friend and I thought he might like to see everyone.

" I said. "But yeah, it's serious." I leaned into Devon slightly, not enough to be really obvious but enough to rub my shoulder against his. He turned and smiled at me again.

"Plus," Devon added. "I've come to really appreciate your mom's cooking." Dad laughed, and Mom smiled at Devon. Payson looked confused.

I rolled my eyes and took mercy on her. "Dev took the job of Dad's summer hand. If he comes in early enough, Mom feeds him in the mornings."

Understanding, Payson nodded and smiled, then frowned and looked at Devon. "Couldn't you find a better job?"

"I probably could have found something that paid better, but I doubt I would have found one that was as reasonable about letting me work my leg as I needed. As long as the work gets done, your dad doesn't care how long it takes me, or how many breaks I need to take."

Payson nodded.

"Plus, this year he didn't lose his help when school started, and he gets some time off himself."

"It's been nice." Dad admitted. "I'm considering taking your mother out of town for a while, now that I know this place will be taken care of while I'm gone."

"If you wanted to go somewhere, we would have taken care of the animals for you, Dad." Raine said. Brittney, and her husband Tracy, nodded, silently agreeing.

The front door opened, and a moment later Cam stepped into the kitchen, his girlfriend Janelle close behind him. "Sorry, I thought we'd be back from Tucson earlier."

I stood before Mom could and gathered another place setting, we all shifted our chairs, making room for Janelle at the table. Conversation shifted to the only Daniel’s family member, not at the table.

"Has anyone heard from 'Low lately?" Payson asked.

The noise level rose sharply, as everyone spoke at once, to share what they knew of our absent sister.

I leaned back in my chair, and watched my nearly complete family, content.

I missed having everyone together, and it didn't happen often enough to suit me.

Devon and I ended up staying later than normal, enjoying my sister's visit, and having the family mostly in one place for a change.

It was worth being tired the next day to get to spend time with everyone.