Lion came out of the hidden staircase in the den, then crossed the room and went directly out the patio doors. He didn’t stop until the sun was on him. Every time he was around Kit, he expected his skin to be peeled from his body. The fight between him and Kit was coming soon. And of course he would lose, because he couldn’t bring further pain to Casey or shame to the warrior who was her father.
It occurred to him that he had nine hundred and ninety-nine brothers, if the legend was true. He wondered who they were, what they were like. How many had survived to adulthood? How many were watchers like him?
A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Casey was sitting on the rock wall that bordered the steps down to the lower lawn. She wore a T-shirt and shorts. Her blond hair was loose and waved in the breeze. Without intending to, he headed in her direction.
At the top step, he paused. “Hello, Casey.”
She looked up at him, then away, then her gaze abruptly shot back to his. She straightened. “Hi.” She looked around—as did he. Kit broke out in hives whenever he was near Casey. And after what had happened back at her camp, Lion couldn’t blame him.
“Do you mind if I sit here for a minute?”
“No. Go right ahead.”
Lion sat on the step. She folded her legs and turned slightly to look at him. His gaze fell to the book she held. “What are you reading?”
Casey glanced at her open book, then quickly hid it behind her. “Nothing. Just a book.” Her face was washed with the color of guilt. He grinned at her. Her eyes widened.
“I’ve been wanting to apologize about what happened in the woods at your camp. I didn’t mean for the lady warrior to be injured. And I didn’t know how frightened you were.”
“I wasn’t scared.”
He nodded. “I didn’t realize exactly what we were involved in.”
“Is my dad helping you?”
“Your dad would rather gut me than help me, but yes, he is. And I appreciate his help.” He got to his feet. He’d said what he’d been wanting to say. He nodded at her, then started back toward the house. Selena was already halfway across the lawn. She met up with him fast.
“Listen, cat-boy, you don’t need to be prowling around Kit’s kid,” she snapped.
“I wasn’t prowling around anyone. I came to apologize. To her—and you.” The woman wasn’t quite as tall as he was, but she was a little older and had had more years to train. He was tempted to challenge her to see how she fought, but that would doubtless break another rule, and he was walking a fine line as it was.
“Yeah, well, you need to find a girl your own age.” The warrior female gestured toward the house. “Shall we?”
Lion looked back at Casey, who was still watching them—hopefully they were out of earshot. “You think I’m interested in Casey?” He couldn’t keep the full horror from his face. “She’s a kid, no different from a boy yet.”
The warrior woman laughed and shook her head. “I got news for you, Lion—girls are born different.”
“She isn’t even old enough to have done her tithe.”
Selena gave him a sharp look. “What tithe?”
Lion stared into her eyes, conflicted about answering her question—or any of those posed by Kit and his fighters. He’d been raised to protect his people. Outsiders knew and understood nothing of the way they lived.
He shrugged and faced forward. “It’s a service our young render our community when they first become adults.”
*
Mandy walked toward the back of Ivy’s diner. She’d made a lunch date with her to chat about hiring a teacher. They hadn’t gotten much one-on-one time with each other in the last few weeks. With school scheduled to start soon, the time had come to decide what to do—home-school or send their kids to the local public school.
Zavi, at just four years old, was advanced for his age but too young for kindergarten. He needed special attention. Casey, just starting middle school, was attached to her friends; it would be a difficult adjustment for her to leave her regular life and be home-schooled.
Ivy smiled at her as she hung up from a phone call. “I’m so glad we made time for us.” She stood up. “I’m afraid to think that we’ve found a new norm, that we’ve gotten used to the strange world we’re living in.”
“I know. I never saw this summer coming, that’s for sure.”
“Where do you want to have lunch? We can eat here or at Mama Rosa’s.” Her eyes sparkled. “Or we can slip down to Cheyenne like a couple of rebels.”
Mandy smiled. “Don’t think I’m up for an adventure. How about Mama Rosa’s?”
“Works for me!”
They waved to Cord Ryker, Ty’s dad, as they passed the kitchen. Out in the sunshine, Mandy felt her cares lift a little. It was nice to have time with her best friend—something they couldn’t easily do at Ty’s house. Ivy linked arms with her, and Mandy smiled.
They chose a table toward the back at Mama Rosa’s. After ordering, Ivy leaned forward and looked at her. “Let’s get business out of the way first. What’s your thinking about a tutor for Zavi?”
“He needs one. He’s too young for school, but he needs that intellectual stimulation. His maturity is that of a typical four-year-old, but he’s ahead of the kids his age when you consider his reading level and linguistic skills.”
“Wasn’t Rocco just like him? How did his parents handle his abilities?”
“I asked him about that. He never knew his dad—he took off when Rocco was little. His mom was a cook on the ranch where they lived. The cowhands raised him. His mom would school him for a few hours each day, then he’d go tag along with the men. He learned various dialects of Spanish from the Columbian, Venezuelan, and Mexican hands. No one thought anything of it.”