Page 49 of Marked By Shadows

“I’ll show you when we get home. Just know I miss you. Take care of Sky, and we will call tomorrow. I promise to ramble on about what I see at the convention. It’s the first day which is exclusive?” Alex looked at me.

“It’s a vendor only day. Not open to the public yet. So the crowds should be smaller,” I said.

“Sounds great to me,” Alex agreed. “I’m sort of becoming a fabric whore,” he told his brother. “And Micah won’t save me from myself. I’m going to be working for free until the end of the year at least to pay for all the fabric I want.”

Lukas laughed. “Micah’s been adrift on that boat for years. But I gave you a card. It’s your money. What you get from the Army. Use it. Buy what you want. You could probably buy yourself a fancy machine if you really wanted. If you’re really into this hobby.”

“I think they are expensive,” Alex said.

“A couple grand,” I added.

“Yeah, you have more than enough for that and a bunch of fabric,” Lukas said. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Go. Have fun. Keep me updated. And I better not hear from the police again.”

“No promises,” Alex said. “But we’re off to get BBQ. Night, big brother!” He hung up before Lukas could reply.

I stared at him.

“What?”

“You’re worried about him.”

“Lukas? Nah. He has Sky. He’s fine.”

“Mhmm.” I started the car.

“I want him to be happy. And not need me so much,” Alex admitted. “So, like if something happens to me. If the shadow takes me back… he’ll be okay.”

“Yeah? If the shadow takes you back, what about me?” I asked him, pulling the car out of the lot.

“I try not to think about that,” Alex said in a small voice. “I hope it doesn’t happen, and cling to you in hope of a future. Meanwhile I worry something will happen to me and break your heart. Or even worse, something will take you and leave me alone and crazy.”

I thought about that for a few minutes. “Would you be any less invested in what we have right now if you knew I was going to vanish tomorrow?”

“No. But fuck would that hurt. I’m kind of fond of your face, among other things.”

“Same,” I told him. “Now, where are we going first? You said something about a stop before dinner.”

“Freya said there is a shop that sort of inspired Simply Crafty.”

“Mae’s Craft Emporium. I haven’t been there in years. They are pretty old school. Don’t have all the online options we do. But it’s not normal inventory. It’s handmade items and donated supplies. People give up their stash to them. So the fabrics are all out of print. Sometimes you can find a gem in all the florals.”

“Sounds awesome to me. Do you remember how to get there?”

“Vaguely. Did Freya give you the address?”

Alex scrolled to something on his phone. “Yep.”

“Let’s go check out Mae’s then.”

“Is Mae an actual person?” Alex wanted to know.

“She was. Passed over a decade ago. Never met her myself.”

“So this shop might be haunted?”

I gave him the side eye. “Stop looking for ghosts everywhere.”

“Can’t help it. They sort of just appear at random. You knew this from the get-go,” Alex pointed out. “No backing out of my weird now.”