Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Callisto

Two things happened a few days later.

The first was that they were assigned a job working during the day digging holes for the new fence posts that were to be installed on the far side of Greenacre's lands. Whether that had been in the works for a while because it was impossible to guard the whole perimeter and cameras only went so far, or whether Samuel thought long and hard and came up with a job just for them, Callisto didn't know.

The second was that Rory let them know the day after the showdown with Samuel and Nelson, that Taylee had agreed to give them private art lessons on Saturday afternoons.

Callisto wasn't sure if she spent the following days in a state of acute dread, excitement, or something in between. Between sneaking out to Pinefall every night, creeping closer and closer to the cabin that Raven described as belonging to her parents, and lying awake trying to stem the emotions churning her stomach into storms of acid, she barely slept.

She should have been exhausted, especially digging holes for hours every day, but her body felt like a guitar string tightened far beyond what it could bear, ready to snap with that signature twang.

All her life, she'd wanted answers about where she'd come from, and when she'd paid someone to find her parents for her, and she'd discovered that she had siblings, she had wondered what they were like. Details on a page were just emotionless words. She craved so much more than that, craved it to the point of desperation.

Even in cut off denim shorts and a t-shirt, Sophia was drenched in sweat. They both wore ballcaps to keep the sun off their faces, but they couldn't do anything about the heat. Normally the summer days weren't so hot, but it wasn't a normal day. It was disgustingly sticky and as they worked the post hole digger and the shovel, going down a line that had already been staked out and marked for holes, there was little they could do to keep cool. It might have sounded as though they'd been given the job as a punishment, but Callisto knew that in small communities like this everyone had to band together, and if this helped with acceptance then she'd dig as many damn holes as needed.

They drank tons of water, but they seemed to sweat it out just as quickly.

Sophia paused over the mark where the hole should go. They both had work gloves on, which had been presented to them along with the pile of tools the day Samuel, Kier, Tavish, and Nelson came to explain the job to them and take them out to where they were to start, so their hands weren't blistered, but the rest of their bodies felt scorched.

"Oh my god," Sophia panted. "It's too hot. I'm going to pass out."

Sit down, Callisto signed frantically, laying her shovel down and taking over the hole digger. She rested it against her arm so she could still make the signs. Seriously. Just rest. We're not out here to kill ourselves. We don't have a hole quota we have to dig.

"I just don't want to embarrass Rory by doing a crappy job. I don't want them to think we've failed either."

If anyone says anything, I'll kick their ass.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sophia sat, unscrewing the lid off her big metal water bottle and chugging back the liquid. She wiped the back of her mouth and propped her chin on her knees, which she pulled up in front of her. "There's a huge advantage to buying pre-fenced land. I see that now." She leapt up so fast that Callisto worried she'd been bitten by something. "Fraiser?"

Callisto whirled around and spotted him in the distance. She lifted her hand and waved him over. He came running, and by the worried expression that twisted his face, something was wrong. Thinking about the girls or Rory caused a pain in her chest so wild that for a second she actually wondered if she was having a heart attack or if chest pains were the first sign of heatstroke.

No, damn it, she was a certified care aide. She knew better.

"It's dad," Fraiser exclaimed as soon as he literally skidded along the grass in front of them. He'd run all that way—and it was a far way—in hiking boots. That had to hurt, even broken in. "He collapsed in front of Thaddius and Keegan when they came to the shop to get a few boxes of meat to distribute throughout the clan. Josephine called the school when they took him to the clinic. She's running some tests, but she thinks he's just got a virus and was working too hard, trying to ignore it. Shifters don't get sick that often and dad hardly ever, so it's a novelty for him. She says everything is fine, but I wanted to come out and tell you."

They'd been digging posts for three hours and they'd started at ten, like every morning. There was still lots of time before the girls finished school.

"The girls? They're still at the school?" Sophia asked. As usual, their thoughts were pretty well in sync.

"They are. I can get them though. I'll be going back there, now I know dad's going to be okay."

"We'll quit for the day." Sophia started gathering up tools. "We'll head back and go to the clinic."

"He wouldn't want you to make a fuss about it. He already told me exactly that."

Sophia snorted. "We're going anyway and then we'll get back to the house and change the sheets so he can have his bed back. I don't have Taylee's number, but we better cancel on tomorrow."

The worry Callisto felt mingled with a fresh stab of disappointment so brutal she nearly doubled over. She had to make her hands work, they were so wooden.

Yes. You're right.

Sophia clearly knew how hard that decision was for her, she put her hand on her arm. Callisto never was comfortable with touch, unless it was a child or Sophia. Ironically enough, she never did mind kids with their sticky, hot little hands. It was just everyone else who made her skin crawl and her stomach twist into nauseous waves.

She couldn't bear to look at Sophia, so she swallowed back the pain making her throat and eyes hot and grabbed up the rest of the tools.

They stopped at the clinic, only to be told by Josephine and Trace and a more suspicious Kier and Tavish—who apparently also worked there—that Rory had insisted that he was fine and had walked back home. Josephine told them it was just a virus, but urged them to make sure Rory drank lots of fluids and rested. She was sure he wouldn't do either of those things.

It turned out, she was right. After they'd returned and tucked their tools away outside, they found Rory upstairs. He was wiping down couches and the vacuum was out beside a soapy pail of hot water. A roll of paper towel sat unraveled on the living room carpet and the whole place stank like vinegar, which was obviously in the cleaning solution.

"Whoa." Sophia rushed to take the cloth from him. "What's going on? You're sick, Rory. You can't be doing this."

He'd been fine just that morning, or at least Callisto hadn't noticed anything off, but she was tired from sneaking out at night and from working all day. Chances were, she hadn't paid close enough attention. She'd been focused on her triumph at closing in on her parents' cabin the night before. Even if she hadn't seen them, she knew she'd found the right building at last. There was no aura surrounding it, sinister or otherwise, but she'd noticed all the details Raven gave her. Rosebushes planted beside the porch, the tiny crack in the one lower windowpane on the south side of the cabin, and the eaves set slightly lower on the east side than the west. It wasn't much to go on, but they were all details that would have remained constant.

She'd also been far too wrapped up in thinking about meeting her sister, at last.

Now she realized that she'd probably missed the signs that morning. Rory was shivering visibly even though beads of moisture stood out on his forehead. His skin was horribly pasty except for his cheeks, which were flushed bright pink. He swayed when he stood in one place.

Sophia forced him to drop down onto the couch he'd just been cleaning. "I don't want the girls to get sick," he protested. "Or Fraiser, but especially them. They're so young."

"Two is old enough to fight off a virus." Sophia took the drenched hand towel from him. "Plus, they go to school. They're around all the other kids who are around their families. Shifters are supposed to have hardy immune systems, so they'll be fine."

Rory tried to get up from the couch, but Sophia pushed him back down. The fact that she could do that, given the size difference, showed just how weak and probably dizzy Rory was. "I know you don't like it either, but that's tough because you're going to get lots of care and fussing, starting right now" She set her hand on Rory's forehead. "Goodness. You're burning up."

Rory shrugged. "Wasn't going to stay at the clinic when I need to be here."

"Fair enough, but just sit here and rest. I'm going to put fresh sheets on the bed and get it made up for you, and then it's straight in there. I'll bring you books and we'll make you some chicken soup. Even if you're not sleeping, you need to give your body time to fight this off."

"I need to—"

Callisto shook her head. She crossed her arms to show that she was with Sophia, and she meant business. She went straight to the hallway, where she grabbed out an armful of fresh sheets and a few washcloths. She did the cloths first, soaking them in cold water. Sophia passed her in the hallway, and they did a neat exchange of the sheets. They worked well together, but it was easy to anticipate someone else's needs when you'd lived with them your whole life.

She hadn't lived with Rory for more than a few weeks. Approaching him, Callisto felt suddenly shy. She was with him on this one. She would never willingly let anyone else take care of her. She'd hate to be seen like this. Rory wasn't a hard man, but you didn't need to be hard to have pride when it came to someone else getting close when you weren't at your best.

She edged herself up to the couch. All she had to do was put the cloth on his forehead and leave, but he watched her like she was carrying a knife, and she was going to carve something into his skin with it.

She leaned over the edge of the couch, water dripping down her arm. She probably should have wrung the thing out better. She motioned with it, brushing her own forehead with her free hand. Rory closed his eyes, which seemed to be his version of acceptance, or maybe he just wanted to get it over and done with.

She leaned closer, shocked at how hot he was. Furnace didn't begin to describe the heat coming off him. She'd thought the sun was punishing out there doing fence posts. He was more like a roaring bonfire. The sweat dripped down his face and trickled down to the black t-shirt he wore. She realized it was wet too. He was soaking all over. Could she get him in the shower? Maybe a bath?

Her temples started to pound as the memories started to assault her. All the times she'd been sick, not from viruses, but from eating spoiled food. A few times she'd legit caught the flu or had a cold, but not often. Sophia had been sick far more times than she had, what with being human, but she'd handled it with grace and had never once complained. She was a natural caregiver, and she was born to be gentle and loving. Callisto… yeah. Not so much. She kept what she felt far closer to her heart than her sleeve.

She edged the cloth to Rory's forehead. She'd never done this for a man before. Despite being unwell, he still smelled good. Strong and masculine.

She dabbed at his face before folding the cloth and setting it on his forehead. The heat of him blasted straight into her. His breathing seemed more shallow than normal, but if Josephine had been worried about him, she would never have let him leave the clinic no matter how much he protested.

Callisto straightened, her stomach burning and throat knotted. She felt ridiculous, but she mimed a shower, using her fingers above her head and wriggling them and then scrubbing at her arms.

She fully expected to be turned down, but Rory nodded. "That'd be great. Thank you."

She went straight to the bathroom and got the shower turned on. Lukewarm was probably best. No one wanted a hot shower on a hot day anyway, but she didn't want to turn the poor man into an ice cube.

She let Rory know it was ready by pointing down the hall.

He went to get off the couch, but swayed as soon as he stood up. He tried to support himself, but there was only air. Callisto rushed at him, catching him under the arm and wrapping herself around his back. He swayed and even though she was strong and powerfully built, it took all her strength to hold him up.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Just a little dizzy getting up. I'm fine now."

She shook her head and inclined it to the hall. She gave him the stink eye which meant there was no way she was letting him go.

They stepped together, surprisingly efficient, even though he leaned most of his weight on her. As Rory used her for support, she could feel every muscle under his damp clothing work. It wasn't just the heat of him burning into her that infused her body. Lots of that was heat of her own. Her body reacted viscerally to the strength and size of him. Even if he needed help now, he wouldn't always.

In foster care, she'd been abused in every way other than sexually. Darlene was a shitty person and nowhere near what anyone would call a mother. She fed them rotten food or forgot to feed them. She got drunk and she got high, and she left her foster kids to take care of themselves. As far as she was concerned, they were just a means of getting money from the state. The older ones looked after the babies, and they all looked after each other. There was no nursery, every room had as many beds as it could fit, cribs included. Darlene was often passed out by the end of the evening, and there was no getting up when anyone cried. She'd strategically placed older kids with the babies so they could tend to them. The supplies all went into those rooms. Formula and diapers.

For children who were abused or who were left to grow up the way she'd been left, the psychological effects were often brutally scarring. Maybe there was something wrong with her because she permitted male company in only one way. Unattached and rough, no intimacy and no sweet words.

Sophia hated being touched. She never dated. Honestly, Callisto wasn't even sure that she wasn't a virgin. Callisto never kept it a secret when she needed to be with someone for a night and Sophia knew enough about what went on. Callisto wasn't ashamed. Even people who'd grown up with perfectly vanilla, happy childhoods still grew up to have kinks and fetishes and desires people wouldn't call mainstream.

She'd known Rory was a big man and that he was fit and strong, but until she pressed her body so tightly up against his, she'd been content to basically ignore the raw masculinity of him. It hit her like a steamrolling boulder bouncing off a crumbling cliff. Her heartrate kicked up, her blood was immediately overheated, and every step she took made her thighs rub together with noticeable friction that she felt right in her core.

It was completely inappropriate in every way, but her body just cared about one thing. That Rory was male and stacked and that he smelled good. That's all it took to get her imagination spinning with images of him behind her, plowing into her with his long, thick cock, or of him commanding her to get on her knees before he fucked her mouth, making her choke on him repeatedly.

There was no way Rory would do that, but her brain didn't care.

She closed her eyes, burning up and assaulted by the barrage of images, some which also included Rory on his knees but no less powerful, doing filthy things to her with his tongue in all places until she was screaming in ecstasy.

She tore her eyes open because having them shut wasn't helping her cause, it was a good job she did, because she just about ran straight into the corner of the wall where it branched into the hallway. Thank goodness Rory was sick so he wouldn't pick up on how turned on she was by his closeness. By the time she'd gotten Rory to the bathroom door, they were both practically panting. At least he probably thought it was because he'd leaned too heavily on her.

"Are you going to be okay, Rory?" Sophia was there and she'd never had better timing.

Callisto heard the washing machine filling up and knew she'd finished making the bed.

"You're not going to pass out or hurt yourself, are you? I'm pretty sure if you injured yourself, the entire clan would hold us responsible." Sophia managed to say that with a sarcastic little smile.

Rory laughed, but then groaned. He was feverish and probably feeling it in every aching bone in his body. It made Callisto feel doubly ashamed for the thoughts her brain just sparked off. She had zero control over it and all the annoying signs of desire, but still.

But still nothing. Rory wouldn't be sick forever.

She quickly stepped back, putting distance between their bodies. She didn't cool off one bit, especially not when she noticed how damp she was from him leaning up against her. Maybe another woman would be disgusted by a sweaty man, but not her.

The sound of the shower hissed inside the bathroom and Callisto quickly turned around before Sophia could see her flaming face when her brain force fed her another image, one of Rory bending her over under that spray, pounding into her so violently their skin slapped together.

For the love of god.

"I'll be fine. The cold water will revive me."

"Okay," Sophia said, but she sounded doubtful. "Don't be too proud to call if you're not. Your pride isn't worth our necks. We'll start on that soup."

Rory shoved into the bathroom and after listening at the door for a minute without hearing any crashes or groans meaning that he'd split his head open and was bleeding out, Sophia led the way to the kitchen.

"I'll do the chicken. You do the veggies. We'll roast the thing first probably, and then boil down the carcass for broth." She hesitated. "I know it's going to smell very chickeny in here. Am I going to have a second patient down for the count?"

Callisto shook her head. I'll be fine, she signed. But you have to take the lead. I have no idea how to cook one of those things.

"Lucky there was one in the fridge. I think it was meant to be dinner tonight or tomorrow."

Lucky indeed.

Sophia used signs to make sure there was no way they could be overheard, however unlikely. Were you actually thinking about jumping Rory's bones? When he's better?

Fuck. So turning her face away hadn't been enough. Absolutely not. We're in agreement on one thing. We have to stay loyal to Greenacre and that means not hurting anyone, including and especially Rory.

Oh? Especially Rory. Since when is it especially him? Sophia signed while getting the shopping board and knives ready.

Since he went to fucking bat for us over everything here. I'm not a monster. I'm allowed to appreciate what he's doing for us and still not give up my plan.

Sophia got the chicken out of the fridge. Callisto turned away so she didn't have to look at the limp carcass. Bile clawed up her throat anyway. Maybe when her brain was serving up thoughts she didn't want on offer, she could just open up the fridge and stare down a bunch of that nasty, raw, bloody meat. An animal poisoned once often loses the taste for the thing that did the poisoning. It was survival. She'd learned early that avoiding meat meant fewer bouts of food poisoning—but even now she was in charge of her meals, she just couldn't face it no matter how fresh or safe. Sophia, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

I know you didn't tell me last night, but I also know you found it. I know you're close. Sophia signed as soon as she set the chicken down on the counter. Please just watch them, Callisto. Don't do anything without consulting me first. I know this is your battle, but I love you, and it's mine too. We're two parts of one whole. We've been that way since we were three. Don't leave me out of it now just because you think you have to spare me. I'm not too gentle for it.

Callisto nodded. She hugged Sophia hard. At least if she was hugging her, Sophia couldn't see her face. She had a thousand reasons to be tense, her body language wasn't sufficient to give her away, but her expression would have in a second.

She had no plans on informing Sophia once she'd made a decision. She needed Sophia as far away from the act as possible. Someone needed to go back home to Wyoming and keep things together. Before they'd left, she'd transferred all title deeds of the land into Sophia's name and had an account set aside for her with a lawyer who would contact Sophia if anything happened to her.

All her life, Sophia had been her voice, and for all of Callisto's life, she'd been Sophia's protector.

She certainly wasn't going to stop when Sophia needed to be sheltered from the absolute worst of it.

"Callisto?" Sophia whispered in her ear. "I know you wanted to meet Clay and Taylee first. Please, just wait for them before you make any decisions."

It didn't look like she was going to get the chance. She felt that hope slipping away like a knife cutting it out of her flesh. Maybe it was better that way. Let her siblings hate her as a stranger than as someone who'd tried to get closer and ultimately betrayed them too.