Page 11 of Flare (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #17)

Superpower

“ Emmie, grab that bowl of potato filling for me, please,” Mom said, glancing up from the square of dough she was rolling out on the flour-dusted counter.

Emily was in the kitchen of her childhood home, with its rose wallpaper border under the ceiling and the honey oak cabinets.

An old ceramic cookie jar shaped like a rooster—Mom had always insisted it was good luck—shared counter space with a Mr. Coffee machine, toaster, and big glass storage jars filled with flour, sugar, and coffee beans.

Emily turned and lifted a pan from the stove, then set it down on the cork mat painted with a pot of African violets.

“ Thanks, pumpkin.” Mom looked exactly as she had before the cancer—her blonde hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, cheeks rounded with health, blue eyes bright with humor.

She was wearing her favorite apron, the one with geese wearing bonnets printed across the front.

“ I ’ m sorry things didn ’ t work out with Andrew, but I ’ m sure you ’ ll do just fine on your own.

Now, did it ever occur to you,” she continued gently, “ that Maggie kept that secret to protect herself and her family, not because she wanted to hurt you?”

Mom wasn ’ t mad I broke up with Andrew? Emily bit her lip. “ I guess I didn ’ t think of it that way.”

“ I went to school with Ash, you know,” her mother continued, cutting perfect circles in the dough with the rim of a glass. “ I always thought his family were good people. And I never heard anyone say a bad word about them.”

Emily nodded. “ Yeah. Maggie and Elle and everyone else have been super-nice to me. They promised to protect me from Andrew.”

“ Then trust your heart, Emily.” Her mother filled a dough circle with potato filling and deftly pinched the edges closed. “ People can surprise you in good ways, too..”

She set the pierogi aside and began filling another.

Emily ’ s eyes snapped open as something kicked her out of her dream. For a moment, she lay there disoriented, the dream still so vivid she could almost smell the onions and butter from the pierogi filling.

Then she realized her phone was vibrating frantically on the nightstand, its screen flashing. She reached for it with a groan and squinted at the screen.

She froze when she saw a string of text messages from an unknown number.

5:00 AM: Emmie, please. I know you ’ re scared. I didn ’ t mean to frighten you. Let ’ s just talk, okay?

5:03 AM: I love you. I need you. Whatever happened—whatever you think happened—we can fix it. Come home.

5:05 AM: Grandma ’ s furious. She says I should let you go. That you ’ re ungrateful and impulsive. But I told her no. I told her I forgave you. You ’ re mine. You ’ ll always be my one & only.

5:05 AM: Just text me, Emmie. Just let me know you ’ re okay. Please.

5:06 AM: Emily. Answer me. I know you ’ re reading these.

5:06 AM: Don ’ t do this. Don ’ t ignore me like I don ’ t matter to you. You know that ’ s cruel.

5:07 AM: Fine. I see how it is.

5:07 AM: But why did you go through my files? That was private. Confidential. You knew how much pressure I ’ m under right now.

5:09 AM: Do you have any idea what you did to me? You triggered me. You made me lose control. If you hadn ’ t snooped, none of that would ’ ve happened.

5:10 AM: I trusted you. I gave you everything, and this is how you repay me?

5:11 AM: You ’ re the one who ran. You left me. And now you ’ ve turned everyone against me. Just remember, Emmie—you don ’ t get to play the victim when you ’ re the one who started this.

Emily ’ s heart pounded, and sickening fear cramped her stomach as she read the messages.

Andrew must have gotten a new phone number, since she ’ d blocked his number.

She quickly powered off her phone, her heart pounding. Does he know where I went?

Then she tried to go back to sleep, but couldn ’ t. Lying sleepless in her darkened cabin, Emily felt shame creep over her as she recalled how she ’ d hurled accusations and run away from the friend who had taken her in when she had nowhere else to go.

Maggie ’ s grandmother had welcomed her with open arms. She ’ d not only given Emily a safe place to stay, but welcomed her into the family, and even promised to protect her from Andrew. And how had she repaid Elle and Maggie?

By acting as if they were monsters.

Emily sighed and rolled onto her side.

She couldn ’ t blame Maggie for keeping the bear thing a secret. It wasn ’ t exactly the kind of thing you casually mentioned to someone you hadn ’ t seen in years.

Hey Em, great to see you again! By the way, my entire family can turn into bears. Pass the salt?

Yeah, she definitely owed Maggie an apology.

Maggie had been her friend for years. If Emily couldn ’ t trust her, who could she trust?

She sat up and flicked on the bedside lamp, blinking at the painful brightness. First thing, she needed to talk to Maggie. And apologize for how she ’ d reacted last night.

Eddie—no, Ward—probably thought Emily was the world ’ s biggest drama queen now. It stung, but she totally deserved it.

She got out of bed and trudged to the bathroom to wash her face and get ready for the day.

She ’ d just finished dressing when she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. This early, it was still dark outside.

Oh, God. He found me! She froze, her heart rate spiking before tiptoeing across the cabin and peering cautiously through the living room window.

Relief rushed through her. It was Maggie.

Her friend stood on the porch, holding an insulated carafe in one hand and a foil-covered plate in the other

Emily opened the door. “ Hi.”

“ Good morning,” Maggie said, her voice sounding as uncertain as Emily felt. “ I hope you don ’ t mind… I saw your light was on and I thought you might be awake.”

Emily ’ s throat tightened as a wave of embarrassment rolled over her. Her next words came out in a croak. “ I ’ m so sorry about last night. I, uh… I feel like an idiot.”

“ There ’ s nothing to apologize for. But can we talk? I, um, brought breakfast.” Maggie held up the carafe invitingly.

Emily stepped back and opened the door wide. “ I was planning to walk over to your place, but I didn ’ t want to wake you if you wanted to sleep in on your day off.”

“ I usually have to be at work a lot earlier than this, so 5:00 a.m. is sleeping in for me,” Maggie said wryly as she entered the cabin.

Emily pulled a carton of half-and-half from the fridge, and they both sat down at the cabin ’ s small dining table.

Maggie poured steaming coffee into two mugs, and the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the cabin.

“ I hope you like breakfast sandwiches.” Maggie peeled the foil off the covered plate. “ Scrambled eggs, smoked Gouda, and Black Forest ham on the bakery ’ s multigrain toast.”

“ Yum.” Emily took a sandwich. It was still warm, and the mouthwatering scents of smoked ham and fried eggs made her mouth water.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Maggie set down her coffee mug with a sigh.

“ I ’ m so sorry I didn ’ t tell you the truth as soon as I found out that you were engaged to Andrew.” She stared earnestly at Emily, a deep line appearing between her dark brows. “ It ’ s not something we really talk about. We have to be really careful who knows about us.”

“ Because you ’ re afraid people would react the same way I did?” Emily asked with a renewed pang of mortification about how she ’ d handled things last night.

Maggie nodded. “ In the past, when Ordinaries found out we could shapeshift, it rarely ended well.” She cradled her mug between her hands. “ The way you found out was… awful.”

Emily nodded. “ He was so angry, he lost control of himself. I thought he was going to kill me! But I shouldn ’ t have freaked out at you and Ward like that. Not after everything you and your family have done for me. I ’ m sorry if I seemed ungrateful. I appreciate you—all of you—so much!”

Maggie ’ s face lit up with relief. “ No, no, your reaction was totally understandable. Finding out that shifters exist is a huge shock for most people. And after the way Andrew threatened you…” She reached across the table and squeezed Emily ’ s hand.

“ I ’ m just glad you didn ’ t run screaming all the way to Boise or Salt Lake City last night. ”

Emily laughed weakly. “ Not gonna lie, I considered it for a hot minute.” She wondered whether to tell Maggie about Andrew ’ s string of increasingly unhinged text messages this morning and decided not to.

Now that she ’ d had time to recover from the shock of hearing from him, she realized that he probably didn ’ t have a clue where she was. No sense in getting Maggie all worked up.

“ I ’ m glad you stuck around.” Her friend ’ s expression grew even more serious. “ Emily, I need to ask you: will you keep our secret? Not just mine, but my whole family ’ s?”

Emily didn ’ t hesitate. “ Of course I will.” She gave a huff of laughter. “ Besides, who would believe me if I started talking about people who can turn into giant bears? They ’ d think I was crazy or high.”

“ You ’ d be surprised how many humans do believe,” Maggie said, her lips quirking in a half-smile. “ But thank you. That means a lot.” She hesitated, then added, “ Please don ’ t be scared of us. We ’ re still the same people you ’ ve always known. We just come with some extra features.”

“ I ’ m not scared of you,” Emily said, surprised to find it was true. “ It was just a shock. It ’ s better now that I ’ ve had a chance to process it.”

“ So Ward doesn ’ t scare you either?”

Emily stared at Maggie. “ Uh… should he?” she asked warily.

Maggie grinned at her. “ Nope. He ’ s still the same sweet guy you remember. Just… furrier sometimes.”

Despite herself, Emily laughed. “ That ’ s one way of putting it.”

She remembered how nice it had felt to hug him yesterday. And how sweet and protective he ’ d been at dinner.