Page 6

As we drove, I answered his questions as best I could.

The highway wove through the mountains of upstate New York until we finally reached the town of Lakeview.

It wasn’t big, but wasn’t small. Thick woods and tall mountains surrounded the town, and of course, the namesake lake in the valley.

It was a perfect place for dragon shifters to build their clan.

Since it was a tourist destination, most of the people who lived there full-time knew Stephan’s clan well enough to keep their distance.

Mom lived in a lovely A-frame cabin on the east side of Lakeview. It was a small house on a big plot of land, but it was a little dilapidated. The roof and wraparound porch needed some repairs.

I parked on the gravel driveway, then took a deep breath.

Mom knew I was coming, but that didn’t make me any more excited to see her.

We didn’t have a bad relationship, but it had been tough growing up.

It’d been a few years since I’d seen her.

When I was a kid, I’d needed a parent, but my mother had always wanted to be more of a friend.

She wasn’t really the nurturing type and had willingly given up custody of me to my dad.

She’d never wanted to be a mother, nor had she been keen on being a grandmother, either. But we were making it work as best as we could.

Dylan clambered out of the car and rushed up the driveway to the porch. “Mama Liz!”

The front door swung open, and Dylan barreled into my mom like he was already a full-grown dragon.

“Oof!” Mom said as Dylan nearly knocked her off her feet and back across the threshold into the house.

Laughing, she regained her balance, then stepped onto the porch.

Mom wore her graying hair to her shoulders, and she was dressed in tight jeans and a flannel shirt.

She didn’t like being called a grandmother, and she didn’t like looking like one, either.

“Dylan! Let me take a look at you!” She stepped back with her hands on Dylan’s shoulders to give him a once-over. “Jesus, you got tall!”

“He shot up like a weed the past two years.” I shut the car doors and joined them on the porch. “All legs.”

Like his Dad. But I didn’t say that. I’d never really told Mom about Dylan’s father, and I wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news.

“Come on, you must be tired from all that travel,” Mom said. She hugged Dylan again, then turned to me. She pulled me into a brief hug, then waved me toward the door. “We’ll get the bags later.”

The cabin was cozy, all hardwood floors and exposed wooden beams. The bottom level was a big open den and kitchen, with old, overstuffed furniture in front of a big fireplace that looked like it hadn’t been used since the last time I was here.

“I’ll show you your room, Dylan,” Mom said.

“You look exhausted. Do you want to take a nap?”

Dylan nodded, and the two of them went upstairs.

Sighing, I slumped onto the overstuffed couch. Same old mystery novel paperbacks on the bookshelves. Same old photos of her friends on the mantle, with a single baby picture of Dylan. God, it was weird being here again.

Mom came back down. “He conked out immediately. That travel must’ve worn him out.”

“Travel and puberty,” I said. “He’d sleep fifteen hours a night if he could.”

“You want anything to drink?” Mom asked as she puttered into the kitchen. “Glass of wine?”

“No, I’m good,” I said with a wave of my hand.

Mom poured a glass for herself—of course—then joined me on the couch. She took a sip of the wine and then raised her eyebrows at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked.

“You gonna tell me why you’re really here? I know you didn’t come all the way up to Lakeview for a last-minute vacation.”

I sighed and tipped my head back against the back of the couch. Even though we didn’t always get along, Mom still had a good read on me. “It’s… it’s Dylan.”

She paused. “Is he okay? Is something wrong?”

“No, no. Nothing’s wrong, it’s just his shifter puberty.”

“Okay…”

“I thought we could handle it on our own in Atlanta, but he’s been having a really hard time with it. It’s why he’s so tired. I did some research, and it seems like for him to have a safe first shift, he needs to be with his father.”

“And his father is here in Lakeview,” Mom said. “Mm. Makes sense. Not a lot of dragon shifters around on the East Coast anymore, so I figured his daddy was one of the guys from the clubhouse. So, who is it? Do you know?”

“Of course I know ,” I said.

Mom raised her hands in surrender. “What? I don’t know how wild you were back then!”

“I wasn’t wild at all.”

“Wild enough to get wrapped up with the shifters.”

“ Mom. Please.”

“All right, just tell me. Who’s the lucky dragon?”

I pressed my lips together for a moment, then exhaled and finally told her the truth. “It’s Stephan.”

“What?!” Mom squawked. “You mean Ace? The clan alpha Ace?”

“Shh, you’ll wake Dylan! Yes, it’s Ace . He was always Stephan to me.”

“Good lord, girl, you’ll be the death of me yet.” Mom rubbed her hand across her forehead. “I never would’ve guessed Ace was Dylan’s father. Though, now that I think about it, there is a resemblance…”

“Apparently since Stephan is an alpha, it’s likely that Dylan is, too. An alpha dragon will only listen to its sire . So, here we are.”

“Harley, do you have any idea what Ace has been up to since that summer?”

“No, we haven’t kept in touch. Obviously. He doesn’t know about Dylan.”

Mom’s phone, screen-down on the coffee table, began to buzz. She grabbed it, raised her eyebrows at the screen, then stood up in a hurry. “Hold that thought. I need to take this.”

“What? Mom! What has he been up to?”

She grabbed her wine and hurried up the stairs with her phone pressed between her shoulder and her ear.

Classic Liz Founty. Ignoring me right when I needed her most. Shaking my head, I went to the kitchen.

I’d only had fries since my crappy airport lunch, and I was getting hungry.

I opened the fridge. Beer and condiments.

I checked the cabinets. Expired pasta and…

More condiments. The wine rack was full, though, and the cabinet over the sink was as well-stocked as a liquor store.

Great. So now I’d have to wrangle our own dinner, too. Ridiculous of me to think Mom would have anything in mind other than a shitty pizza delivery. Dylan needed at least one real vegetable today.

I poured myself a small glass of wine, then killed some time shooting off a few check-in texts to Suri and Cassidy, and answering the last of my work emails.

By the time I was done, Mom was back downstairs.

Except now she was dressed differently. Same tight jeans, but she’d put on a tight white T-shirt, a pair of chunky heels, and a swipe of red lipstick.

“I’ve got to run, honey,” Mom said. “I’ll be out for a bit, so you and Dylan make yourselves at home, okay? There’s a list of good delivery places on the side of the fridge.”

“What the hell, Mom, are you going on a date? ”

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Mom called, and then she was out the door.

“So, what has Ace been doing?” I asked the empty house. Of course, there was no answer.

Dylan came downstairs with his hair mussed like a bird’s nest, still dressed in the clothes he’d traveled in. He blinked a few times blearily at me. “Mom? Did Mama Liz leave?”

“Yeah, she had plans,” I said. “But she’ll be back later.”

“I’m hungry,” he said sheepishly. “What’s for dinner?”

I knew I should go grocery shopping, but after a long day of travel, even nuking a frozen dinner in the microwave sounded like too much work. “How does pizza sound?”

“Pizza!” Dylan cheered.

“I hope the good place downtown hasn’t closed. We’ll grab some groceries afterward.” Might as well stock Mom’s kitchen for our whole stay, since she apparently had no intention of doing so.

We made our way back out to the car. The engine protested a little when I turned the key but eventually kicked on, and we drove away from Mom’s house and into Lakeview proper.

I’d forgotten how cute the Lakeview downtown really was.

It was a sleepy little strip of buildings, all no more than two stories, so the mountains surrounding the town looked even larger as they soared into the sky.

It was a perfect little tourist strip, with little shops selling local pottery and clothes, a mix of restaurants and cafés, and even an old-fashioned soda fountain.

And lucky for us, the old pizzeria on the corner was still open.

Downtown was a little busy, the narrow sidewalks dotted with people coming in and out of the shops.

I slung my arm around Dylan’s shoulders.

It was a casual gesture, but one rooted in my protectiveness.

I didn’t know if he noticed the looks, but I sure as hell did.

As we walked, more than a few people glanced at Dylan, then me, with confused and even shocked expressions.

I was grateful none of them said anything.

It had been a serious understatement when Mom said there was a resemblance between Dylan and Stephan.

Dylan looked exactly like his father. He got my snark, my stubbornness, and my independence—but all of his looks came from Stephan.

Funny that these random citizens out for the evening seemed to notice that when my own mother hadn’t.

Funny and sad. My mother was never great at paying attention.

“What kind of pizza should we get?” Dylan asked as we walked into the shop. “Whoa, look at that big oven!”

“Anything you want, but pick at least one vegetable for the topping,” I said. “It’ll make me feel better.”

We sat in the back corner and split a large pie—and by split, I mean Dylan had six huge slices while I had two. It was nice, but almost surreal. I used to come here with my mom way back in the day. It made my heart hurt a little, an old pang of nostalgia. At least the pizza was still delicious.